Associations of Retinal Vessel Geometry and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Metrics With Choroidal Metrics in Diabetic Retinopathy.

Purpose: To elucidate the mechanism underlying changes in choroidal metrics (choroidal thickness [CT], choroidal vascularity index [CVI], and choriocapillaris [CC] flow deficit [FD]) observed in diabetic retinopathy (DR) and examine the association of choroidal metrics with both retinal vessel geometry and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) metrics.

Methods: Overall, 133 eyes of 133 patients were analyzed retrospectively. Retinal vessel geometry parameters were assessed using semiautomated software.

Licochalcone A Exerts Anti-Cancer Activity by Inhibiting STAT3 in SKOV3 Human Ovarian Cancer Cells.

Licochalcone A (LicA), a major active component of licorice, has been reported to exhibit various pharmacological actions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anticancer activity of LicA and detail its molecular mechanisms against ovarian cancer. SKOV3 human ovarian cancer cells were used in this study.

Exploring Socio-Demographic Factors Affecting Psychological Symptoms in Humidifier Disinfectant Survivors.

This study aimed to compare the psychological symptoms of humidifier disinfectant survivors to the general population and explore socio-demographic factors influencing survivors' psychological symptoms. A one-way Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) and a series of two-way MANCOVA were conducted with a sample of 228 humidifier disinfectant survivors and 228 controls. The results demonstrated that the survivor group displayed higher anxious/depressed symptoms, withdrawn symptoms, somatic complaints, thought problems, attention problems, aggressive behavior and rule-breaking behavior than the general group.

A Study of the Association Between Retinal Vessel Geometry and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Metrics in Diabetic Retinopathy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) metrics are related to retinal vessel geometry parameters in diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: In total, 119 eyes (119 patients) were included in this retrospective cross-sectional study. Retinal vessel geometry parameters were analyzed using semi-automated software.

Effect of Alternate Treatment with Intravitreal Corticosteroid and Anti-VEGF for Macular Edema Secondary to Retinal Vein Occlusion.

Purpose: To evaluate whether treatment with intravitreal corticosteroid and anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections alternately can improve treatment outcomes of macular edema (ME) caused by retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

Methods: This dual-center retrospective study included 112 eyes with treatment-naïve ME secondary to RVO that were alternately treated with intravitreal corticosteroid and anti-VEGF injections (33 eyes, alternate group) or treated only with intravitreal anti-VEGF injections (79 eyes, anti-VEGF group) on a pro re nata basis.

Results: During the 12-month follow-up period, the alternate group achieved a visual acuity gain of 0.

Decomposition of biological macromolecules by plasma generated with helium and oxygen.

In this study, we attempted to characterize the biomolecular effects of an atmospheric pressure cold plasma (APCP) system which utilizes helium/oxygen (He/O(2)). APCP using He/O(2) generates a low level of UV while generating reactive oxygen radicals which probably serve as the primary factor in sterilization; these reactive oxygen radicals have the advantage of being capable to access the interiors of the structures of microbial cells. The damaging effects of plasma exposure on polypeptides, DNA, and enzyme proteins in the cell were assessed using biochemical methods.

Characterization of monoclonal antibody specific to the Z39Ig protein, a member of immunoglobulin superfamily.

Z39Ig, a recently identified immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily member, is localized in the pericentromeric region of human chromosome X and detectable in all human tissue, but it is predominantly expressed in fetal human tissues as well as in adult lungs and placenta. In the present study, we generated a monoclonal antibody against Z39Ig protein to investigate the immunological role of Z39Ig protein on various immune cells. The anti-Z39Ig mAb that we generated specifically bound to Z39Ig protein on human promonocytic THP-1 cells, monocytes isolated from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and mature CD14(+) dendritic cells (DC) differentiated from umbilical-cord blood CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitor cells.