Mercury concentrations in blood, brain and muscle tissues of coastal and pelagic birds from northeastern Canada.

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element which has increased in marine environments for more than a century, due largely to anthropogenic activities, and biomagnifies in food chains to harmful levels in some top predators like waterfowl and seabirds. We analysed total mercury (THg) concentrations in blood, brain and muscle tissue from healthy specimens of 13 coastal and pelagic bird species from eastern and northern Canada to provide a baseline on current concentrations, especially for brain concentrations which are highly underrepresented in the literature. We also examined within and among tissues relationships of THg concentrations within individuals.

Increased expression provides a selective advantage for gain of whole chromosome 7 in IDH wild-type glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma is the most frequently occurring and invariably fatal primary brain tumor in adults. The vast majority of glioblastomas is characterized by chromosomal copy number alterations, including gain of whole chromosome 7 and loss of whole chromosome 10. Gain of whole chromosome 7 is an early event in gliomagenesis that occurs in proneural-like precursor cells, which give rise to all isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) wild-type glioblastoma transcriptional subtypes.

The Tedeschi collection: A collection of documented and undocumented human skeletal remains at the Museum of Anthropology, Padua University (Italy).

Objective: Documented and undocumented skeletal collections offer unique windows into life in the past and are integral for research in biological anthropology. The objective of this article is to describe the documented and undocumented collections curated by the Museum of Anthropology at Padua University (Italy) to demonstrate their potential for research and encourage researchers to consider them for future projects.

Materials: The collection was established by Prof.

Surgical management of severe ocular surface injury due to Roman candle explosion accidents.

Purpose: To report the clinical features, management, and outcomes of patients with ocular surface damage secondary to Roman candle explosion accidents.

Methods: Retrospective, noncomparative, interventional case series of 11 patients with Roman candle explosion-related ocular surface injuries referred to the Cincinnati Eye Institute between 2007 and 2016.

Results: Eleven patients (10 male, 1 female, mean age 22.

Modification of Lipase with Poly(4-acryloylmorpholine) Enhances Solubility and Transesterification Activity in Anhydrous Ionic Liquids.

Tuning the molecular interaction between enzymes and their solvent environment through polymer modification can greatly improve activity and thus utility in biocatalytic reactions. In this work, this approach was exploited to enhance the activity of lipase A (LipA) from Bacillus subtilis in anhydrous ionic liquids (ILs), which are highly attractive solvents for biocatalysis. Specifically, we showed that the transesterification activity of LipA in anhydrous 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF]) was improved up to 19-fold via covalently conjugating the enzyme with the IL-soluble polymer poly(4-acryloylmorpholine) (PAcMO).

Rare Variant, Gene-Based Association Study of Hereditary Melanoma Using Whole-Exome Sequencing.

Background: Extraordinary progress has been made in our understanding of common variants in many diseases, including melanoma. Because the contribution of rare coding variants is not as well characterized, we performed an exome-wide, gene-based association study of familial cutaneous melanoma (CM) and ocular melanoma (OM).

Methods: Using 11 990 jointly processed individual DNA samples, whole-exome sequencing was performed, followed by large-scale joint variant calling using GATK (Genome Analysis ToolKit).

Ocular comfort assessment of lifitegrast ophthalmic solution 5.0% in OPUS-3, a Phase III randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: To evaluate ocular comfort of lifitegrast ophthalmic solution 5.0% among patients with dry eye disease (DED) in the OPUS-3 trial.

Methods: OPUS-3 was a multicenter, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled study.

Dexamethasone Intracameral Drug-Delivery Suspension for Inflammation Associated with Cataract Surgery: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Phase III Trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of an anterior chamber intracameral dexamethasone drug-delivery suspension (IBI-10090; DEXYCU; Icon Bioscience Inc., Newark, CA) that provides medication for up to 21 days with a single application in treating postoperative inflammation in patients undergoing cataract surgery.

Design: Prospective, randomized, double-masked, multicenter trial.

Cross-species transcriptional analysis reveals conserved and host-specific neoplastic processes in mammalian glioma.

Glioma is a unique neoplastic disease that develops exclusively in the central nervous system (CNS) and rarely metastasizes to other tissues. This feature strongly implicates the tumor-host CNS microenvironment in gliomagenesis and tumor progression. We investigated the differences and similarities in glioma biology as conveyed by transcriptomic patterns across four mammalian hosts: rats, mice, dogs, and humans.

Technique for Preparing Ultrathin and Nanothin Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty Tissue.

Purpose: To describe and report outcomes of our single-pass microkeratome technique for preparation of ultrathin (UT, ≤100 μm) and nanothin (NT, ≤50 μm) Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) grafts.

Methods: To prepare NT-DSAEK grafts, a pachymetry nomogram specific to each technician and individual microkeratome head was developed based on accumulated precut and postcut pachymetry data from previous DSAEK grafts. Mean graft thickness as well as precut and postcut endothelial cell counts (ECCs) of NT-DSAEK, UT-DSAEK, and Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) grafts between July 2015 and July 2017 were calculated and compared statistically.

Authentication of synthetic environmental contaminants and their (bio)transformation products in toxicology: polychlorinated biphenyls as an example.

Toxicological studies use "specialty chemicals" and, thus, should assess and report both identity and degree of purity (homogeneity) of the chemicals (or toxicants) under investigation to ensure that other scientists can replicate experimental results. Although detailed reporting criteria for the synthesis and characterization of organic compounds have been established by organic chemistry journals, such criteria are inconsistently applied to the chemicals used in toxicological studies. Biologically active trace impurities may lead to incorrect conclusions about the chemical entity responsible for a biological response, which in turn may confound risk assessment.

Three Hundred Sixty-Degree Fuchs Superficial Marginal Keratitis Managed With Annular Lamellar Keratoplasty.

Purpose: To report a case of extensive Fuchs superficial marginal keratitis managed with annular lamellar keratoplasty.

Methods: Interventional case report.

Results: A 72-year-old man presented with 20/80 best-corrected visual acuity in his left eye and demonstrated 360-degree peripheral deep immune stromal keratitis and pseudopterygia with peripheral stromal thinning.

Rational library design by functional CDR resampling.

Successful antibody discovery relies on diversified libraries, where two aspects are implied, namely the absolute number of unique clones and the percentage of functional clones. Instead of pursuing the absolute quantity thresholded by current display technology, we have sought to maximize the effective diversity by improving functional clone percentage. With the combined effort of bioinformatics, structural biology, molecular immunology and phage display technology, we devised a bioinformatic pipeline to construct and validate libraries via combinatorial assembly of sequences from a database of experimentally validated antibodies.

Challenging Treatment of Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia in Patients with Atopic Disease.

Purpose: Few studies have described ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) and its association with atopic diseases and there is no consensus on the course of OSSN in atopic patients. We thereby report three patients with atopy and OSSN.

Methods: Retrospective case series.

Combined Conjunctival Limbal Autografts and Living-Related Conjunctival Limbal Allografts for Severe Unilateral Ocular Surface Failure.

Purpose: To describe the technique and present 2 cases of a combined conjunctival limbal autograft (CLAU) and living-related conjunctival limbal allograft (lr-CLAL) procedure for treatment of severe unilateral ocular surface failure.

Methods: Interventional case series of 2 eyes of 2 patients sustaining severe thermal/chemical injuries from firework explosions. They both underwent the combined CLAU/lr-CLAL procedure followed by penetrating keratoplasty.

Long-term Outcomes of Ocular Surface Stem Cell Allograft Transplantation.

Purpose: To investigate the long-term outcomes of ocular surface stem cell allograft transplantation (OSST) in patients with total limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) owing to various etiologies with a follow-up ≥ 5 years.

Design: Retrospective interventional cohort.

Methods: Setting: Single tertiary referral hospital.

Loss of host-derived osteopontin creates a glioblastoma-promoting microenvironment.

Background: Microglia and periphery-derived monocytes infiltrate human and mouse glioblastoma and their density is positively correlated with malignancy. Using microarray and RNA sequencing, we have previously shown that glioblastoma-associated microglia/monocytes (GAMs) express osteopontin/SPP1.

Methods: We used quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR, immunofluorescence stainings, western blot, and flow cytometry to identify the various sources of osteopontin (OPN) expression in human and mouse glioblastoma.

Intermediate-Term and Long-Term Outcomes With the Boston Type 1 Keratoprosthesis in Aniridia.

Purpose: To report the intermediate- and long-term visual outcomes and complications with the Boston type 1 keratoprosthesis (KPro) for the management of aniridic keratopathy.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 46 eyes of 34 patients (20 females and 14 males) with aniridic keratopathy who underwent Boston type 1 KPro surgery by a single surgeon from 2004 to 2012 with minimum 2-year follow-up was conducted. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative parameters were collected and analyzed.

Update on the Management of High-Risk Penetrating Keratoplasty.

Purpose Of Review: In this article, we review the indications and latest management of high-risk penetrating keratoplasty.

Recent Findings: Despite the immune-privilege status of the cornea, immune-mediated graft rejection still remains the leading cause of corneal graft failure. This is particularly a problem in the high-risk graft recipients, namely patients with previous graft failure due to rejection and those with inflamed and vascularized corneal beds.

Fidelity to a motivational interviewing intervention for those with post-stroke aphasia: a small-scale feasibility study.

Objective: Depression after stroke is common, and talk-based psychological therapies can be a useful intervention. While a third of stroke survivors will experience communication difficulties impeding participation in talk-based therapies, little guidance exists to guide delivery for those with aphasia. We need to understand how to adapt talk-based therapies in the presence of aphasia.

Donor-Derived Conjunctival-Limbal Melanoma After a Keratolimbal Allograft.

Purpose: To report a single case of donor-derived conjunctival-limbal melanoma that occurred after a keratolimbal allograft (KLAL).

Methods: Case report and literature review.

Results: A 56-year-old white woman with a history of bilateral limbal stem cell deficiency developed a donor-related melanoma after a KLAL.

Putting Glioblastoma in Its Place: IRF3 Inhibits Invasion.

With an unsurpassed capacity for invasion into normal brain tissue, glioblastoma multiforme is the most lethal primary brain tumor. New research suggests that altering a subset of extracellular matrix factors, including interferon regulatory factor (IRF)3 and casein kinase (CK)2, may decrease the migratory potential of these aggressive tumors.

Long-Term Ocular Surface Stability in Conjunctival Limbal Autograft Donor Eyes.

Purpose: To investigate the incidence of limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) in donor eyes after conjunctival limbal autograft (CLAU).

Methods: An observational retrospective review was performed on all patients who underwent CLAU alone, combined keratolimbal allograft with CLAU ("Modified Cincinnati Procedure"), or combined living-related conjunctival limbal allograft (lr-CLAL) with CLAU having ≥6 months of follow-up after surgery. The outcome measures were best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and ocular surface status.

Outcomes of Keratoplasty After Ocular Surface Stem Cell Transplantation.

Purpose: To investigate the long-term outcomes of penetrating keratoplasty (PK) and deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) after ocular surface stem cell transplantation (OSST).

Methods: An observational retrospective review was performed on all patients who underwent OSST followed by either PK or DALK with a minimum of 6-month follow-up.

Results: One hundred two eyes fulfilled the inclusion criteria.