Contour integration deficits at high spatial frequencies in children treated for anisometropic amblyopia.

Purpose: This study was conducted to reexamine the question of whether children treated for anisometropic amblyopia have contour integration deficits. To do so, we used psychophysical methods that require global contour processing while minimizing the influence of low-level deficits: visibility, shape perception, and positional uncertainty.

Methods: Thirteen children with anisometropic amblyopia (age: 10.

Dichoptic Perceptual Training in Children With Amblyopia With or Without Patching History.

Purpose: Dichoptic training is becoming a popular tool in amblyopia treatment. Here we investigated the effects of dichoptic demasking training in children with amblyopia who never received patching treatment (NPT group) or were no longer responsive to patching (PT group).

Methods: Fourteen NPT and thirteen PT amblyopes (6-16.

A Pilot Study on the Effects of Yi Jin Jing Exercise for Older Men with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia and its associated lower urinary tract symptoms seriously affect both the physical and mental health of older men. In order to determine the efficiency of Chinese Qigong Yi Jin Jing on prostate health in older individuals, thirty participants were randomized into either an Yi Jin Jing group (n = 15) or a control group (n = 15). After the 6-month intervention, the Yi Jin Jing group showed a significant decrease in international prostate symptom score and a significant increase in maximal urinary flow rate (compared with the control group p = .

[Expression of HIF-1α in the prostatic tissue of mice with high-fat diet-induced obesity].

Objective: To investigate the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in the prostatic tissue of mice with high-fat diet-induced obesity and to explore the effect of hypoxia on BPH in obese male mice.

Methods: We randomly divided 20 C57BL/6J male mice into two groups of equal number and fed them on a high-fat diet (HFD group) or a normal diet (control group) for 17 weeks. Then, we measured the body weight, prostate weight, prostate volume and levels of serum triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and free fatty acids (FFA) by ELISA, observed the morphology of the prostate by HE staining, calculated the area of the prostatic glandular cavity, and determined the expression of HIF-1α in the prostatic tissue by immunohistochemistry.

Repair mechanism of astrocytes and non-astrocytes in spinal cord injury.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a destructive disease that incurs huge personal and social costs, and there is no effective treatment. Although the pathogenesis and treatment mechanism of SCI has always been a strong scientific focus, the pathogenesis of SCI is still under investigation.

Aim: To determine the key genes based on the modularization of in-depth analysis, in order to identify the repair mechanism of astrocytes and non-astrocytes in SCI.

Anti-depressant effect of curcumin-loaded guanidine-chitosan thermo-sensitive hydrogel by nasal delivery.

Curcumin, a polyphenol compound extracted from the roots of plants, possesses anti-depressant effect by regulating the levels of neuroendocrine immunological factors. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-depressant effect of curcumin through nasal delivery. The results of phase solubility, Fourier transform infrared spectra, Differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray powder diffractometry and H NMR spectra assays showed that curcumin/hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin complex had been obtained.

[Meta-analysis on efficacy of salvianolate in prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy].

To systemically evaluate the efficacy and safety of salvianolate intravenous drip in combination with hydration against contrast-induced nephropathy( CIN),and guide clinical medication. Chinese and English databases( PubMed,EMbase,the Cochrane Library,CBM,VIP,Wan Fang database,CNKI) were retrieved to collect the randomized controlled trials( RCTs) about the efficacy of salvianolate intravenous drip in combination with hydration( trial group) vs routine hydration( control group) in the prevention of contrastinduced nephropathy. The methodological quality of the RCTs was evaluated by using the Cochrane 5.

Dichoptic De-Masking Learning in Adults With Amblyopia and Its Mechanisms.

Purpose: Recently, we reported that dichoptic de-masking training can further boost stereoacuity, but not visual acuity, in adults with amblyopia after extensive monocular perceptual training. Here, we investigated whether this dichoptic training targets on interocular suppression directly, or improves vision through high-level brain mechanisms.

Methods: Eleven adults with amblyopia first used amblyopic eyes (AEs) to perform contrast (n = 6) or orientation (n = 5) discrimination training, while resisting dichoptic noise masking from fellow eyes (FEs).

A mathematical model for predicting putative association between E2/T ratio and the development of benign prostate hyperplasia in rats.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) develops more likely with increasing age and changing serum concentrations of circulating estradiol (E2) and/or testosterone (T). In this study, we explored the relationship between serum E2/T ratio and BPH risk in rats by fitting a mathematical model. A total of 176 rats were randomized to one of the following treatment groups: normal control, castrated control, and 20 more groups of castrated animals treated with increasing dose combinations of T and E2, once daily for 30 days.

Dichoptic training in adults with amblyopia: Additional stereoacuity gains over monocular training.

Dichoptic training is a recent focus of research on perceptual learning in adults with amblyopia, but whether and how dichoptic training is superior to traditional monocular training is unclear. Here we investigated whether dichoptic training could further boost visual acuity and stereoacuity in monocularly well-trained adult amblyopic participants. During dichoptic training the participants used the amblyopic eye to practice a contrast discrimination task, while a band-filtered noise masker was simultaneously presented in the non-amblyopic fellow eye.

Comparative effects of Yi Jin Jing versus Tai Chi exercise training on benign prostatic hyperplasia-related outcomes in older adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and its associated lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) occur very commonly in older men. BPH and LUTS cause substantial physical and psychological impairment that could seriously affect the quality of late life and greatly cost the health-care systems. Current surgical and pharmacological therapies are expensive, may not effectively improve prostate function and health but cause adverse effects.

Pharmacodynamic study of I-labeled CA215 antibody on an animal model of estrogen-resistant OC-3-VGH ovarian cancer.

The aim of the present study was to explore the inhibitory effect of I-labeled ovarian cancer antigen 215 (I-CA215) antibody on human OC-3-VGH ovarian cancer. A subcutaneous transplanted tumor model of estrogen-resistant human OC-3-VGH ovarian cancer in nude mice was established. The model mice were randomly divided into seven groups, which were the negative control (NC), positive control (PC; 60 mg/kg cyclophosphamide), high-dose CA215 antibody (HA; 10 mg/kg), low-dose CA215 antibody (LA; 2 mg/kg), high-dose I-CA215 antibody (I-HA; 10 mg/kg + 125 μCi), medium-dose I-CA215 antibody (I-MA; 6 mg/kg + 75 μCi) and low-dose I-CA215 antibody (I-LA; 2 mg/kg + 25 μCi) groups.

Correlation between exposure to magnetic fields and embryonic development in the first trimester.

Objective: To explore the correlation between maternal magnetic field (MF) exposure in daily life and embryonic development.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 149 pregnant women who were seeking induced abortion of unwanted pregnancies. Participating women were asked to wear an EMDEX Lite magnetic field meter for a 24-h period to obtain MF exposure level within 4 weeks following the abortion.

Oral exposure to low-dose bisphenol A aggravates testosterone-induced benign hyperplasia prostate in rats.

The declining level of androgen during aging, associated with an inclining level of estrogen, has been hypothesized to be important in the development of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Within physiologic range, increasing estrogen levels can stimulate prostate to develop and permanently increase prostate size. As an estrogenic endocrine disruptor, bisphenol A (BPA) might be stimulatory to prostate development.

The therapeutic impact of perceptual learning on juvenile amblyopia with or without previous patching treatment.

Purpose: To investigate the therapeutic impact of perceptual learning on juvenile amblyopia that is no longer responsive to patching treatment (PT group) or was never patch treated (NPT group).

Methods: Ten PT and 13 NPT subjects aged 8 to 17 years were trained with a grating acuity task for 40 to 60 sessions. Half in each group were further trained with single or crowded tumbling E acuity tasks for 8 to 10 sessions.

Possible mechanism of benign prostatic hyperplasia induced by androgen-estrogen ratios in castrated rats.

Objectives: To explore the role of androgen-estrogen balance in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) induced by varying doses of estradiol/testosterone propionate (E(2)/TP) in castrated rats.

Materials And Methods: A total of 222 rats were divided into 37 groups at random, including 35 groups of different E(2)/TP, one control, and one castrated group. All 37 groups except the control group were castrated, for eliminating endogenesis of testosterone in rats.

Bis(nitrato-κO)(5,7,12,14-tetra-methyl-1,4,8,11-tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane-6,13-diaminium-κN,N,N,N)copper(II) dinitrate tetra-hydrate.

In the title compound, [Cu(NO(3))(2)(C(14)H(36)N(6))](NO(3))(2)·4H(2)O, the Cu(II) atom, lying on an inversion center, is six-coordinated in a distorted octa-hedral environment by four N atoms from a centrosymmetric 14-membered tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane macrocyclic ligand and two O atoms from two nitrate anions. The supra-molecular network is consolidated by extensive O-H⋯O and N-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter-actions.

Diaqua-bis(5-carb-oxy-2-propyl-1H-imidazole-4-carboxyl-ato-κN,O)magnesium(II) 3.5-hydrate.

In the title complex, [Mg(C(8)H(9)N(2)O(4))(2)(H(2)O)(2)]·3.5H(2)O, the Mg(II) atom is six-coordinated by two N,O-bidentate 5-carb-oxy-2-propyl-1H-imidazole-4-carboxyl-ate ligands and two water mol-ecules, forming a distorted octa-hedral environment. The complex mol-ecules are linked into a three-dimensional network by N-H⋯O and O-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter-actions.