Misdiagnosed as Fungal Keratitis: Herpes Simplex Virus-1 Keratitis Confirmed by Next-Generation Sequencing.

The purpose of this study was to report a case of herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) keratitis misdiagnosed as fungal keratitis due to its clinical presentation being similar to that of fungal keratitis, ultimately diagnosed by NGS. A 59-year-old male presented with reduced vision in the right eye, combined with a history of trauma with vegetative matter. The corneal ulcer was accompanied with feathery infiltration, satellite lesion, and endothelial plaques.

Impacts of air pollution and meteorological conditions on dry eye disease among residents in a northeastern Chinese metropolis: a six-year crossover study in a cold region.

The purpose of this study is to explore the associations among dry eye disease (DED), air pollution, and meteorological conditions in the cold region of a northeastern Chinese metropolis (i.e., Changchun).

Rejection of Acellular Porcine Corneal Stroma Transplantation During Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

To report 2 successfully managed cases of graft rejection with acellular porcine corneal stroma (APCS) transplantation in patients with fungal corneal ulcer. Two patients were diagnosed with fungal corneal ulcer and received APCS transplantation. Graft rejection developed due to the lost follow-up during the period of coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak.

Mechanistic insights into the amelioration effects of lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury by baicalein: An integrated systems pharmacology study and experimental validation.

Background: Acute lung injury is an acute progressive respiratory failure caused by several of non-cardiogenic factors which involves in excessive amplification or uncontrolled inflammatory response.

Objectives: In this study, we investigated the protective effect of baicalein against acute lung injury induced by LPS and explored the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Forty-eight SPF male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into normal group, model group, dexamethasone group and baicalein low-dose, medium-dose and high-dose groups.

The Effect of Erector Spinae Plane Blockade on Prevention of Postherpetic Neuralgia in Elderly Patients: A Randomized Double-blind Placebo-controlled Trial.

Background: Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most common chronic complication following the onset of herpes zoster (HZ). Both the incidence of HZ and the proportion of patients with HZ who develop PHN rise with age. Ultrasound-guided erector spinae plane blockade (ESPB) has been reported to relieve neuropathic pain and PHN in elderly patients, but no randomized controlled trials have been conducted regarding the effect of ESPB on elderly patients with HZ in the acute or subacute phases.

Air pollution and meteorological conditions significantly contribute to the worsening of allergic conjunctivitis: a regional 20-city, 5-year study in Northeast China.

This study is the first to explore the potential associations among allergic conjunctivitis (AC), air pollution, and meteorological conditions in Northeast China. Data of meteorology, ambient atmospheric pollutants, and the incidence of allergic conjunctivitis (IAC) in prefecture-level cities between the years 2014 and 2018 are analyzed. The results show an increasing trend in the AC of average growth rate per annum 7.

Use of Intense Pulsed Light to Mitigate Meibomian Gland Dysfunction for Dry Eye Disease.

Dry Eye Disease (DED) is a common ocular condition that needs prompt diagnosis and careful treatment interventions. If left untreated, it can lead to numerous sight-threatening complications, including ulceration of the cornea, blepharitis, alterations of the tear film, conjunctivitis, and in severe cases, may lead to scarring, thinning, and even perforation of the cornea. Intense pulsed light (IPL) is a non-laser high-intensity light source that has shown to play a valuable role in dry eye disease.

NONRATT021972 long-noncoding RNA: A promising lncRNA in diabetes-related diseases.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a principal health problem with increasing incidence worldwide. It can be associated with various systemic diseases. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), a member of non-coding RNA has been newly linked with various human diseases.

MALAT1 as a Diagnostic and Therapeutic Target in Diabetes-Related Complications: A Promising Long-Noncoding RNA.

Diabetes mellitus is a global issue with increasing incidence rate worldwide. In an uncontrolled case, it can advance to various organ-related complications leading to an increase in morbidity and mortality. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) appears to be a fairly novel lncRNA that is relevant to diabetes and its role in diabetic-related diseases initiation and progression have long been a subject of attention to many scholars.

Circular RNAs: Novel Promising Biomarkers in Ocular Diseases.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel class of endogenous non-coding RNAs produced by back-splicing. They are found to be expressed in eukaryotic cells and play certain roles in various cellular functions, including fibrosis, cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and angiogenesis. Dysregulated circRNAs are found in several human disorders including, malignancy, vascular, inflammatory as well as nervous diseases.

The Effects of Lysimachia christinae Hance Extract Fractions on Endothelium-Dependent Vasodilatation.

Background: Endothelium-dependent dilatation is a predictor for vascular function. NADPH oxidase-derived O2- can inactivate nitric oxide and induce vascular injury.

Method: The crude ethanolic extract of Lysimachia christinae Hance were separated out 4 fractions of different olarities by petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, n-butanol (NB), and aqueous.

Anti-BCMA immunotoxins produce durable complete remissions in two mouse myeloma models.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a B cell malignancy for which new treatments are urgently needed. The B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is a lineage-restricted differentiation protein highly expressed on myeloma. Recombinant immunotoxins (RITs) are proteins composed of the Fv or Fab portion of an antibody fused to a bacterial toxin.

Curcumin protects against diabetic cardiomyopathy by promoting autophagy and alleviating apoptosis.

The effects of curcumin on regulating cardiac apoptosis and autophagy were analyzed in diabetic models both in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, experimental diabetes was induced in mice by low-dose STZ injection combined with a high-fat diet. In vitro, cultured H9c2 cardiomyoblasts were exposed to high d-glucose concentrations combined with palmitate.

Interplay between reversible phosphorylation and irreversible ADP-ribosylation of eukaryotic translation elongation factor 2.

The functionality of eukaryotic translation elongation factor 2 (eEF2) is modulated by phosphorylation, eEF2 is simultaneously the molecular target of ADP-ribosylating toxins. We analyzed the interplay between phosphorylation and diphthamide-dependent ADP-ribosylation. Phosphorylation does not require diphthamide, eEF2 without it still becomes phosphorylated.

HOXA11 antisense long noncoding RNA (HOXA11-AS): A promising lncRNA in human cancers.

The cancers are the leading cause of disease-related deaths worldwide with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a critical role in a wide range of biological processes, including tumorigenesis. HOXA11-AS (NCRNA00076), the antisense strands of HOXA11 gene, was initially revealed in a mouse embryonic cDNA library in 2009 and it was a fairly novel lncRNA.

The Nrf2 Signaling in Retinal Ganglion Cells under Oxidative Stress in Ocular Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are one of the important cell types affected in many ocular neurodegenerative diseases. Oxidative stress is considered to be involved in retinal RGCs death in ocular neurodegenerative diseases. More and more attention has been focused on studying the agents that may have neuroprotective effects.

Resveratrol Modulates Apoptosis and Autophagy Induced by High Glucose and Palmitate in Cardiac Cells.

Background/aims: Diabetic cardiomyopathy is associated with increased apoptosis and suppressed autophagy in cardiac cells. The polyphenol resveratrol has shown beneficial effects in various cardiovascular diseases. This study investigated if resveratrol protected cardiac cells by modulating apoptosis and autophagy in the context of diabetes.

The BRAF activated non-coding RNA: A pivotal long non-coding RNA in human malignancies.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) participate in the complex network of cancer and play an important role in tumourigenesis and progression. BRAF activated non-coding RNA (BANCR), a 4-exon transcript of 693-bp, was first discovered as an oncogenic long non-coding RNA in BRAF melanomas cells in 2012 and was related to melanoma cell migration. Besides melanoma, increasing evidence has explored the potential role of BANCR in the development and progression of multiple other human malignancies, such as retinoblastoma, lung cancer, gastric cancer etc.

Tolerogenic nanoparticles restore the antitumor activity of recombinant immunotoxins by mitigating immunogenicity.

Protein-based drugs are very active in treating cancer, but their efficacy can be limited by the formation of neutralizing antidrug antibodies (ADAs). Recombinant immunotoxins are proteins that are very effective in patients with leukemia, where immunity is suppressed, but induce ADAs, which compromise their activity, in patients with intact immunity. Here we induced a specific, durable, and transferable immune tolerance to recombinant immunotoxins by combining them with nanoparticles containing rapamycin (SVP-R).

Nrf2, a Potential Therapeutic Target against Oxidative Stress in Corneal Diseases.

Corneal diseases are one of the major causes of blindness worldwide. Conservative medical agents, which may prevent sight-threatening corneal disease progression, are urgently desired. Numerous evidences have revealed the involvement of oxidative stress in various corneal diseases, such as corneal wound healing and Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD).

Panbinostat decreases cFLIP and enhances killing of cancer cells by immunotoxin LMB-100 by stimulating the extrinsic apoptotic pathway.

LMB-100 (RG7787) is a recombinant immunotoxin, which kills mesothelin-expressing cancer cells and now being evaluated in phase 1 trials. To enhance the anti-tumor activity of LMB-100, we have searched for agents, already approved for cancer therapy, that can be combined with LMB-100 to increase its efficacy. Panbinostat is a pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor that is used to treat multiple myeloma.