East African cichlid fishes.

Cichlid fishes are a very diverse and species-rich family of teleost fishes that inhabit lakes and rivers of India, Africa, and South and Central America. Research has largely focused on East African cichlids of the Rift Lakes Tanganyika, Malawi, and Victoria that constitute the biodiversity hotspots of cichlid fishes. Here, we give an overview of the study system, research questions, and methodologies.

Effect of benzalkonium chloride-free travoprost on intraocular pressure and ocular surface symptoms in patients with glaucoma previously on latanoprost: an open-label study.

Background: Prostaglandin analogs reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension; however, these medications may affect the ocular surface and elicit ocular discomfort when preserved with benzalkonium chloride (BAK).

Methods: This was an open-label, single-arm study conducted in Latin America from February 2012 to May 2013. Patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension who were intolerant of latanoprost 0.

Preference for a fixed combination of brinzolamide/timolol versus dorzolamide/timolol among patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

Objective: To assess ocular discomfort upon instillation and patient preference for brinzolamide/timolol relative to dorzolamide/timolol, in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective, patient-masked, randomized, crossover study. On day 0, patients received one drop of brinzolamide/timolol in one eye and one drop of dorzolamide/timolol in the contralateral eye.

Volatile organic compounds in paper--an approach for identification of markers in aged books.

Volatile organic compounds emitted from historical books made from cotton/linen rag and wood pulp paper have been studied. Different profiles were obtained using different solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibres to access the compounds involved in the decomposition reactions occurring in cotton/linen rag and wood pulp paper upon natural ageing and precocious/accelerated degradation. Contact headspace solid-phase extraction coupled with gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) was improved as a non-destructive methodology for the analysis of historical books.

Effects of postoperative cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% (Restasis) following glaucoma surgery.

Purpose: To determine if postoperative topical cyclosporine 0.05% has any beneficial effect following trabeculectomy.

Methods: This was an interventional, randomized, prospective, double-masked clinical trial of 44 consecutive patients with uncontrolled glaucoma requiring filtration surgery.

HPLC quantification of dye flavonoids in Reseda luteola L. from Portugal.

A HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous identification of Reseda luteola L. (weld) flavonoids and quantification of the main compounds responsible for the yellow color. This method was applied to a large number of wild Portuguese weld to evaluate its potential application as dyestuff for textile factories, as a substitute for the synthetic dyes currently used.

Simple gas chromatographic method for furfural analysis.

A new, simple, gas chromatographic method was developed for the direct analysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), 2-furfural (2-F) and 5-methylfurfural (5-MF) in liquid and water soluble foods, using direct immersion SPME coupled to GC-FID and/or GC-TOF-MS. The fiber (DVB/CAR/PDMS) conditions were optimized: pH effect, temperature, adsorption and desorption times. The method is simple and accurate (RSD<8%), showed good recoveries (77-107%) and good limits of detection (GC-FID: 1.

Simultaneous chromatographic separation of enantiomers, anomers and structural isomers of some biologically relevant monosaccharides.

A one-step chiral high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed to separate anomers and enantiomers of some carbohydrates--glucose, fructose, arabinose, ribose, fucose, mannose, lyxose and xylose, using a Chiralpak AD-H column. The method allows the carbohydrate identification and determination of the absolute configuration (D or L) and simultaneously also determine the configuration of the anomeric center (alpha or beta) of the monosaccharide. The method was applied to matrices involved in food chain and human health, as part of a general strategy for the structure determination of their constituents, due to the extreme importance of sugars since they are involved in food authenticity and nutritional characteristics and the biological role depends on the enantiomer and the anomeric form of a given monosaccharide.

Systems for staging the amount of optic nerve damage in glaucoma: a critical review and new material.

The evaluation of the appearance of the optic disk is central to the diagnosis and management of patients with glaucoma. Grouping patients into categories, monitoring change, and quantitating the rate of change all require some type of quantitative staging of the amount of damage. Though the scientific literature regarding the appearance of the optic disk in glaucoma is extensive, there is remarkably little about quantitative staging of the amount of damage.

Subconjunctival sodium hyaluronate 2.3% in trabeculectomy: a prospective randomized clinical trial.

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy of subconjunctival sodium hyaluronate 2.3% in increasing the success rate of glaucoma filtering surgery and promoting filtering blebs with characteristics presumed to predict better success.

Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial.