Ocular microvascular alteration in Sjögren syndrome.

Background: Sjögren syndrome (SjS) is a systemic disease affecting exocrine, including ocular lacrimal, glands. It is uncertain whether ocular microvascular alterations are associated with this disease. In this study, we evaluated retinal and conjunctival microvascular changes in SjS patients using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

[Effects of tillage managements on soil microbial community structure in soil aggregates of fluvo-aquic soil].

In order to explore the impacts of different tillage managements on the structure and diversity of microbial community in fluvo-aquic soil, the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) method was used to determine microbial community composition in soil aggregates. Four tillage treatments were set up in Qihe County, Shandong Province, including rotary tillage with straw return (RT), deep ploughing with straw return (DP), subsoiling with straw return (SS) and no-tillage with straw return (NT). Our results showed that DP treatment significantly increased the amount of fungal PLFAs and fungi/bacteria ratio in >5 mm soil aggregates compared with RT.

Brain Functional Connectivity Changes in Patients with Acute Eye Pain: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Study.

BACKGROUND By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we aimed to study the changes in potential brain function network activity in patients with acute eye pain. Also, by using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method, we aimed to explore the relationship between spontaneous brain activity and the clinical features of patients with acute eye pain. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 15 patients with acute eye pain (5 women and 10 men; EP group) and 15 healthy controls (5 women and 10 men; HC group), were scanned by fMRI.

Altered Spontaneous Brain Activity Patterns in Patients After Lasik Surgery Using Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuation: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study.

Objective: Previous studies demonstrated that myopia could result in alterations of brain activity in specific areas. However, whether the visual function could improve by Lasik surgery, with the brain activity alterations also change, is still unknown. Here, we intended to use the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) technique to investigate the intrinsic brain activity changes in pre-Lasik (PRL) and post-Lasik (POL) patients.

Netrin-1 promotes epithelium repair in corneal injury.

Aim: To explore netrin-1 functions on corneal epithelium and .

Methods: the human corneal epithelial (HCE) cells were treated with serum free DMEM-F12 basic media containing 0, 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, 800, and 1000 ng/mL of netrin-1, respectively. The cells viability was detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8).

Altered brain network centrality in patients with late monocular blindness: a resting-state fMRI study.

Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate the underlying functional network brain activity changes in patients with late monocular blindness (MB) and the relationship with their clinical features using the voxel-wise degree centrality (DC) method.

Material And Methods: A total of 32 patients with MB (25 males and 7 females), and 32 healthy controls (HCs) (25 males and 7 females) closely matched in age, sex, and education, underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. The DC method was used to assess local features of spontaneous brain activity.

Resting cerebral blood flow alterations specific to the comitant exophoria patients revealed by arterial spin labeling perfusion magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: It has been shown in many previous studies that there were significant changes of the brain anatomy and function in strabismus. However, the significance of the alterations of resting cerebral blood flow (CBF) in comitant exophoria (CE) remains obscure. Arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI, which is a noninvasive method, could be applied to detect the cerebral blood flow quantitatively.

Reduction in interhemispheric functional connectivity in the dorsal visual pathway in unilateral acute open globe injury patients: a resting-state fMRI study.

This study investigated the changes in interhemispheric functional connectivity (FC) of the whole brain in open globe injury (OGI) patients, using voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC), and their relationships with clinical features. Totally, 16 male and 2 female acute OGI patients and 18 sex, age, and education-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. All subjects were scanned through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Xanthatin inhibits corneal neovascularization by inhibiting the VEGFR2‑mediated STAT3/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Alkali burn is one of the main causes of corneal injury. The inflammation and neovascularization caused by alkali burns aggravate corneal damage, resulting in loss of vision. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of xanthatin in the treatment of alkali burn‑induced inflammation and neovascularization.

A murine model of dry eye induced by topical administration of erlotinib eye drops.

In the present study, the effects of erlotinib on mouse tear function and corneal epithelial tissue structure were investigated. Throughout the 3 weeks of treatment, no notable differences were observed in the body, eye or lacrimal gland weights of the control and experimental mice. However, in the experimental group, the tear volume and break‑up times of tear film were significantly lower following treatment with erlotinib compared with the control group.

Retinal microvasculature alteration in central serous chorioretinopathy.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the changes of retinal microvascular network in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). A total of fifteen patients (right eye) with CSCR and 15 normal controls (right eye) were recruited. We used optical coherence tomography angiography to scan 6x6 mm macular retinal blood flow images with the application of a series of customized image segmentation processing program software to obtain microvascular and macrovascular density, and compared the superficial microvascular (SMIR), superficial macrovascular ring (SMAR) and the superficial total microvascular (STMI) density between CSCR patients and control group.

Antiangiogenic effects of catalpol on rat corneal neovascularization.

To investigate the effects of catalpol on corneal neovascularization (CNV) and associated inflammation, eye drops (5 mM catalpol or PBS) were administered four times daily to alkali‑burn rat models of CNV and inflammation. Clinical evaluations of CNV and the degree of inflammation were performed on days 0, 4, 7, 10 and 14 under slit lamp microscopy. Eyes were collected on day 14 and prepared for hematoxylin and eosin, and immunofluorescence staining; corneal cell apoptosis was investigated via terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‑mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining.

Effect of mistletoe combined with carboxymethyl cellulose on dry eye in postmenopausal women.

Aim: To investigate the protective effect of mistletoe combined with carboxymethyl cellulose eye drops on dry eye in postmenopausal women.

Methods: Sixty postmenopause female patients diagnosed of dry eye were assigned randomly to mistletoe combined with carboxymethyl cellulose eye drops treatment group (=30) and control group treated with normal saline eye drops (=30). The subjective symptoms of ocular surface, Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), tear film function tests, tear protein and corneal morphology by confocal scanning microscopy were analyzed before treatment and at 1, 2, 4 and 8wk after treatment respectively.

Network centrality in patients with acute unilateral open globe injury: A voxel‑wise degree centrality study.

The present study aimed to investigate functional networks underlying brain‑activity alterations in patients with acute unilateral open globe injury (OGI) and associations with their clinical features using the voxel‑wise degree centrality (DC) method. In total, 18 patients with acute OGI (16 males and 2 females), and 18 healthy subjects (16 males and 2 females), closely matched in age, sex and education, participated in the present study. Each subject underwent a resting‑state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan.

Altered regional homogeneity in patients with late monocular blindness: a resting-state functional MRI study.

Many previous studies have demonstrated that the blindness patients have has functional and anatomical abnormalities in the visual and other vision-related cortex. However, changes in the brain function in late monocular blindness (MB) at rest are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the underlying regional homogeneity (ReHo) of brain-activity abnormalities in patients with late MB and their relationship with clinical features.