The impact of sucralose and neotame on the safety of metal precipitation in electronic cigarettes.

This study investigated the impact of sweeteners on the release of heavy metals during the heating and atomization processes in electronic cigarettes. Based on a PG/VG base e-liquid with the addition of 2% and 5% neotame or sucralose, we quantitatively analyzed the impact of sweetener content on the levels of heavy metals such as Ni, Cr, and Fe in the e-liquid and aerosol after heating and atomization. Additionally, the heated e-liquid samples were used to culture SH-SY-5Y and Beas-2B cells, and their cytotoxic effects were assessed using the CCK-8 assay.

Presbyopia-Correcting Intraocular Lenses Implantation in Eyes After Corneal Refractive Laser Surgery: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review.

Purpose: To assess the efficacy, safety, and predictability of presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses (IOLs) in cataract patients with previous corneal refractive surgery.

Methods: A systematic literature search was performed to identify studies evaluating the clinical outcomes of presbyopia-correcting IOLs implantation in cataract surgery after laser refractive surgery. Outcomes were efficacy, safety and predictability parameters.

Cofilin 2 Acts as an Inflammatory Linker Between Chronic Periodontitis and Alzheimer's Disease in Amyloid Precursor Protein/Presenilin 1 Mice.

Increasing evidence has shown a correlation between chronic periodontitis (CP) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nevertheless, there is still a lack of direct evidence, and especially key molecules to connect the two diseases. This study aims to investigate potential protein links between CP and AD within the inflammatory aspect.

Lens Opacities Classification System III-based artificial intelligence program for automatic cataract grading.

Purpose: To establish and validate an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted automatic cataract grading program based on the Lens Opacities Classification System III (LOCS III).

Setting: Eye and Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Design: AI training.

Conjunctival Microbiota in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Influences of Perioperative Use of Topical Levofloxacin in Ocular Surgery.

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are prone to ocular surface infections. We therefore characterized the conjunctival microbiome of T2DM patients and the influence of topical levofloxacin to investigate whether a dysbiosis is associated with this phenomenon. Conjunctival microbiome of 79 T2DM patients and 113 non-diabetic controls was profiled using the 16S rDNA sequencing approach.

Comparison of the rotational stability between plate-haptic toric and C-loop haptic toric IOLs in myopic eyes.

Purpose: To compare the rotational stability of a plate-haptic toric intraocular lens (IOL) vs a C-loop haptic toric IOL in myopic cataract eyes.

Setting: Eye and Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital of Fudan University, China.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled study.

Exosomes from adipose-derived stem cells attenuate UVB-induced apoptosis, ROS, and the Ca level in HLEC cells.

Cartilage acid protein 1 (CRTAC1) encodes a protein containing the Cabinding domain, which can promote apoptosis of human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) induced by ultraviolet B radiation. Exosomes secreted from adipose-derived stem cells (ASC-exo) have been used to treat many diseases, but the effect of ASC-exo on cataracts has not been established. We hypothesized that ASC-exo has a therapeutic effect on cataracts by regulating CRTAC1.

Variants of WNT7A and GPR124 are associated with hemorrhagic transformation following intravenous thrombolysis in ischemic stroke.

Aims: The canonical Wnt signaling pathway plays an essential role in blood-brain barrier integrity and intracerebral hemorrhage in preclinical stroke models. Here, we sought to explore the association between canonical Wnt signaling and hemorrhagic transformation (HT) following intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients as well as to determine the underlying cellular mechanisms.

Methods: 355 consecutive AIS patients receiving IVT were included.

Chronic Periodontitis and Alzheimer Disease: A Putative Link of Serum Proteins Identification by 2D-DIGE Proteomics.

Increasing evidence indicates Chronic Periodontitis (CP) is a comorbidity of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is the most common form of age-related dementia, and for the latter, effective diagnostic and treatment strategies are lacking. Although inflammation is present in both diseases, the exact mechanisms and cross-links between CP and AD are poorly understood; and a direct association between the two has not been reported. This study aimed to identify a direct serum proteins link between AD and CP.

Down-regulation of CRTAC1 attenuates UVB-induced pyroptosis in HLECs through inhibiting ROS production.

Pyroptosis has been found to be related to diverse ocular diseases, including cataract. Abnormal CRTAC1 expression has been reported to involve in cataract formation by affecting cell apoptosis. Whether CRTAC1 regulates pyroptosis in the formation progress of cataract is completely unknown.

Decentration and tilt of plate-haptic multifocal intraocular lenses in myopic eyes.

Background: To investigate the decentration and tilt of plate-haptic multifocal intraocular lenses (MfIOLs) in myopic eyes.

Methods: Myopic (axial length [AXL] > 24.5 mm) and non-myopic (21.

NF-κB/Cartilage Acidic Protein 1 Promotes Ultraviolet B Irradiation-Induced Apoptosis of Human Lens Epithelial Cells.

The apoptosis of human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) is a characteristic change that occurs during the development of cataracts. Ultraviolet B (UVB) is known to induce the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis in HLECs, and thus cause cataracts. Previously, we reported the functions of cartilage acidic protein 1 (CRTAC1) in UVB-treated HLECs.

The Necessity for Second-eye Cataract Surgery in Bilateral Highly Myopic Patients with Good Visual Acuity in the Unoperated Fellow Eye.

Purpose: To evaluate the necessity for second-eye cataract surgery in bilateral highly myopic patients with good visual acuity in the unoperated fellow eye.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-five bilateral highly myopic patients who underwent uneventful sequential cataract surgery (the eye with worse visual acuity operated first) were included in this prospective study. The preoperative BCVA of the eye with better visual acuity in these patients was ≤ 0.

Case Series: Slight Intraocular Lens Malpositioning as a Potential Cause of Vision Loss.

Significance: The cases illustrate an insidious cause of decreased visual acuity after cataract surgery.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify cases of postoperative vision loss caused by slight intraocular lens (IOL) malpositioning after cataract surgery.

Case Reports: Three patients presented with visual acuity decreased after cataract surgery.

Intraocular lens power calculation in eyes with extreme myopia: Comparison of Barrett Universal II, Haigis, and Olsen formulas.

Purpose: To compare the accuracy of the Barrett Universal II, Haigis, and Olsen formulas in calculating intraocular lens (IOL) power in eyes with extreme myopia.

Setting: Eye and Ear, Nose, and Throat Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Design: Prospective case series.

TRIM69 inhibits cataractogenesis by negatively regulating p53.

Ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation can induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis in human lens epithelial cells (HLECs), thus leading to the formation of cataracts. We studied the role of tripartite motif 69 (TRIM69) in cataract formation. The expression of TRIM69 protein was down-regulated in both human cataract capsule tissues and HLECs treated with UVB, whereas the expression of p53 protein exhibited an opposite trend.

Evaluation of the antioxidant effects of different histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) on human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) after UVB exposure.

Background: To compare the protective effects of the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) β-hydroxybutyrate (βOHB), trichostatin A (TSA), suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) and valproic acid (VPA) on human lens epithelial cells(HLECs) following ultraviolet-B (UVB) exposure.

Methods: HLECs were divided into subgroups: four HDACi groups, a control group, a UVB-treated group and a DMSO group (cells treated with DMSO and UVB irradiation). In the HDACi groups, HLECs were cultured with different concentrations of HDACis 12 h prior to UVB irradiation.

Dome-shaped macula: a potential protective factor for visual acuity after cataract surgery in patients with high myopia.

Purpose: To evaluate whether the presence of dome-shaped macula (DSM) is a protective factor for visual acuity after cataract surgery in patients with high myopia.

Methods: Included were 891 highly myopic cataract eyes (600 patients) that were examined by optical coherence tomography (OCT) through the central fovea and underwent cataract surgery in our hospital. DSM was defined as an inward bulge >50 µm in horizontal or vertical OCT sections.

Neuroprotective effect of insulin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles/PLGA-PEG-PLGA hydrogel on diabetic retinopathy in rats.

Background: To pursuit effective sustained release systems for insulin to treat diabetic retinopathy (DR), a novel insulin delivering system was developed via loading onto chitosan nanoparticles/poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) hydrogel (ICNPH).

Methods And Materials: Examinations including electroretinography, HE staining, transmission electron microscopy, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferased UTP nick-end labeling, immunofluorescence, Western blot, and real-time polymerase chain reaction were performed to evaluate the neuroprotective efficacy of ICNPH on DR by a single subconjunctival injection.

Results: Compared with the insulin, blank, and sham treatment groups, subconjunctival injection of ICNPH significantly reduced the decrease of scotopic B-wave amplitude, alleviated retinal micro- and ultrastructural changes, and reduced retinal cell apoptosis caused in DR rats.

Metabolic characterization of human aqueous humor in the cataract progression after pars plana vitrectomy.

Background: While pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) has become the third most commonly performed surgery in the world, it can also induce multiple post complications easily. Among them, cataract progression is the most frequent one that can lead to blindness eventually.

Methods: To understand the underlying mechanisms of post PPV cataract progression, we performed comprehensive metabolic characterization of aqueous humor (AH) samples from 20 cataract patients (10 post PPV complication and 10 none PPV cataract) by a non-targeted metabolomic analysis using gas chromatography combined with time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GC/TOF MS).

Potassium 2-(1-hydroxypentyl)-benzoate attenuates neuronal apoptosis in neuron-astrocyte co-culture system through neurotrophy and neuroinflammation pathway.

Potassium 2-(1-hydroxypentyl)-benzoate (d,l-PHPB), a new drug candidate for ischemic stroke at the phase II clinic trial, has been shown to protect neurons by inhibiting oxidative injury and reducing neuron apoptosis in previous studies. But the mechanisms of d,l-PHPB remain to be studied. In this study, a neuron-astrocytes co-culture system was used to elucidate the roles of astrocytes in neuroprotection of d,l-PHPB under oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R) condition.

The pathological roles of NDRG2 in Alzheimer's disease, a study using animal models and APPwt-overexpressed cells.

Aims: To investigate the roles of N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2) in the pathology of aging and neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Results: In this study, we confirmed the upregulation of NDRG2 in the brains of aging and AD animal models. To explore the role of NDRG2 in the pathology of AD at molecular level, we conducted a cell-based assay of highly expressed wild-type human APP695 SK-N-SH cells (SK-N-SH APPwt).

Metabolic characterization of human aqueous humor in relation to high myopia.

High myopia is the common eye disorder worldwide, which may contribute to increase the risk of serious disorders including glaucoma and cataract. Although various studies including genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics have been implicated to identify potential biomarkers (genes or proteins) for predicting high myopia and to reveal the underlying mechanism, the comprehensive metabolomics in relation to high myopia is very limited. In this study, we identified 242 metabolites in aqueous humor (AH) from a set of 40 cataract patients (including 20 with high myopia and 20 for controls), using a non-targeted metabolomic technology, gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GC/TOF MS).

Inhibition of Cartilage Acidic Protein 1 Reduces Ultraviolet B Irradiation Induced-Apoptosis through P38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase and Jun Amino-Terminal Kinase Pathways.

Background/aims: Ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation can easily induce apoptosis in human lens epithelial cells (HLECs) and further lead to various eye diseases including cataract. Here for the first time, we investigated the role of cartilage acidic protein 1 (CRTAC1) gene in UVB irradiation induced-apoptosis in HLECs.

Methods: Three groups of HLECs were employed including model group, empty vector group, and CRTAC1 interference group.

Effects of histone acetylation on superoxide dismutase 1 gene expression in the pathogenesis of senile cataract.

Histone acetylation plays key roles in gene expression, but its effects on superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) expression in senile cataract remains unknown. To address this problem, the study was to investigate the influence of histone acetylation on SOD1 expression and its effects in the pathogenesis of senile cataract. Senile cataract was classified into three types-nuclear cataract (NC), cortical cataract (CC), and posterior subcapsular cataract (SC)-using the Lens Opacities Classification System III.