Effectiveness of dexamethasone implants in treating diabetic macular edema with hard exudates: a clinical observation.

Objective: This study seeks to explain the relationship between systemic conditions and hard exudate formations in diabetic macular edema patients. Besides, the study aimed to quantitatively examine changes in the area, location, and impact on visual function of hard exudates following intravitreal dexamethasone implant injections.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted, including 40 patients (40 eyes) diagnosed with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy and concurrent macular edema between January 1, 2022, and January 1, 2024.

Epidemiological profile and molecular genetic characterization of HIV-1 among female sex workers and elderly male clients in Guangxi, China.

The HIV/AIDS prevalence in female sex workers (FSWs) and elderly male clients is increasing in Guangxi, China, but the transmission relationship between them remains unclear. This study aims to illuminate the transmission network between FSWs and elderly male clients using molecular epidemiological analyses. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that CRF01_AE was the dominant strain, followed by CRF07_BC and CRF08_BC in both groups.

The Effects of Irreversible Electroporation on the Colon in a Porcine Model.

Background And Aim: Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a method of targeted cell ablation which has been suggested as a potential cancer therapy as it leaves structures such as blood vessels and the extracellular matrix intact, thereby allowing the rapid recovery of healthy tissue. Here, we investigated the effects of IRE on the colon in vivo in a porcine model.

Methods: IRE ablation was performed on the colon walls of 12 female Tibet mini-pigs, creating a total of 24 lesions.

Lentivirus-mediated knockdown of M-phase phosphoprotein 8 inhibits proliferation of colon cancer cells.

M-phase phosphoprotein 8 (MPP8) has been reported to be overexpressed in various human carcinoma cells and was associated with tumor malignant characters. However, its functional role in colon cancer (CRC) is still unclear. In the present study, lentivirus-mediated short hairpin RNAs were designed to silence the MPP8 gene in CRC cells including RKO and SW1116 cells.

Down-regulation of GPR137 expression inhibits proliferation of colon cancer cells.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPRs) are highly related to oncogenesis and cancer metastasis. G protein-coupled receptor 137 (GPR137) was initially reported as a novel orphan GPR about 10 years ago. Some orphan GPRs have been implicated in human cancers.

In vivo label-free microangiography by laser speckle imaging with intensity fluctuation modulation.

We present the theory of laser speckle imaging improved with intensity fluctuation modulation, where the dynamic speckle pattern can be isolated from its stationary counterpart. A series of in vivo experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in achieving microangiography and monitoring vascular self-recovering process. All results show the convincing performance of our imaging method in both structural and functional imaging of blood flow, which may have potential applications in biological research and disease diagnosis.

Laser speckle imaging based on intensity fluctuation modulation.

We present a method, intensity fluctuation modulation (IFM), to obtain a full-field laser speckle microvessel image. Different from laser speckle contrast analysis, IFM imaging is insensitive to flow velocity and can be used to reconstruct microvessel images with higher spatial resolution and SNR. An in vivo animal experiment on a mouse pinna is conducted to demonstrate that IFM imaging is capable of achieving laser speckle microangiography.

Phosphomannopentaose sulfate (PI-88) suppresses angiogenesis by downregulating heparanase and vascular endothelial growth factor in an oxygen-induced retinal neovascularization animal model.

Purpose: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most potent angiogenic mitogen, and has been associated with angiogenesis. Heparanase is an endoglycosidase that specifically cleaves heparan sulfate side chains, which can induce VEGF expression. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the heparanase expression and its relationship with VEGF in the retina of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) mice, and to investigate the effect of the heparanase inhibitor phosphomannopentaose sulfate (PI-88) in the OIR retinas.

[Clinical analysis of 106 school-aged children with eye trauma].

Purpose: To detect the characteristics of school-aged children with eye trauma for giving an appropriate way of treatment and prevention.

Methods: One hundred and six cases (107 eyes) of school-aged children with eye trauma treated in our hospital in the last 7 years were analyzed retrospectively.

Results: The main causes of trauma were playing plastic guns, firecracker and fireworks, scissors, or needle.