Effect of Laser-assisted Subepithelial Keratectomy with Mitomycin C on Corneal Optical Density Measured with Confocal Microscopy.

Significance: The development of confocal microscopy allows one to obtain high-resolution corneal images like its optical density. Some studies have evaluated the optical density with Scheimpflug cameras in the early post-operative period after photorefractive keratectomy, but no studies have evaluated the long-term evolution of optical density after surface ablation when mitomycin C is used.

Purpose: This work aimed to study the changes in corneal optical density measured with confocal microscopy in eyes treated with laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy (LASEK) and intraoperative mitomycin C (MMC) to correct myopia.

[Corneal nerve repair and optical density in patients with high myopia after three kinds of corneal refractive surgery].

To investigate the repair of subepithelial nerve fibers in different areas of the cornea and the difference of corneal transparency 12 months after small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE), femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) and excimer laser in situ keratomileusis (LASEK) in high myopia. A cohort study. From June 2018 to October 2019, 30 patients with high myopia (60 eyes) were selected for corneal refractive surgery in the Department of Ophthalmology, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, including 16 females (32 eyes) and 14 males (28 eyes).

Interactions of Linear Analogues of Battacin with Negatively Charged Lipid Membranes.

The increasing resistance of bacteria to available antibiotics has stimulated the search for new antimicrobial compounds with less specific mechanisms of action. These include the ability to disrupt the structure of the cell membrane, which in turn leads to its damage. In this context, amphiphilic lipopeptides belong to the class of the compounds which may fulfill this requirement.

Predicting the safety zone for steroid-induced ocular hypertension induced by intravitreal dexamethasone implantation.

Background/aims: This study aimed to predict the possibility of steroid-induced ocular hypertension (OHT) after intravitreal dexamethasone (DEX) implantation and to identify a proper safety zone for such injections.

Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted and included 908 patient eyes that underwent DEX implant injection due to various retinal diseases. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured before injection, at 1 week, and at 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months thereafter.

The Effectiveness of Corneal Epithelial Debridement Performed with an Alcohol-Impregnated Sponge.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent corneal surgery with debridement of epithelium by localised application of an alcohol-impregnated sponge instead of the usual alcohol reservoir method.

Design: This study retrospectively included 52 eyes of 27 patients who underwent LASEK (laser-assisted subepithelial keratectomy) and CXL (cross-linking) surgery after application of this alcohol-assisted debridement method between January 2019 and April 2019.

Participants: Twenty-four patients who underwent LASEK and three patients who underwent CXL surgery were included in this study, which comprised a total of 52 eye operations.

Binge-like ethanol drinking activates anaplastic lymphoma kinase signaling and increases the expression of STAT3 target genes in the mouse hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) has a complex pathogenesis, making it a difficult disorder to treat. Identifying relevant signaling pathways in the brain may be useful for finding new pharmacological targets to treat AUD. The receptor tyrosine kinase anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) activates the transcription factor STAT3 in response to ethanol in cell lines.

Acute acral eruptions in children during the COVID-19 pandemic: Characteristics of 103 children and their family clusters.

Background: A marked increase in frequency of acute acral eruptions (AAE) was observed in children during the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring period.

Objectives: In this observational multicenter study, based on children with AAE, we aimed to assess the proportion of household members possibly infected by SARS-CoV-2.

Methods: We collected data from all children observed with AAE, prospectively from April 7, 2020 to June 22, 2020, and retrospectively since February 28, 2020.

Global variation in postoperative mortality and complications after cancer surgery: a multicentre, prospective cohort study in 82 countries.

Background: 80% of individuals with cancer will require a surgical procedure, yet little comparative data exist on early outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared postoperative outcomes in breast, colorectal, and gastric cancer surgery in hospitals worldwide, focusing on the effect of disease stage and complications on postoperative mortality.

Methods: This was a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of consecutive adult patients undergoing surgery for primary breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer requiring a skin incision done under general or neuraxial anaesthesia.

Epigenetic mechanisms underlying stress-induced depression.

Stressful life events are a major contributor to the development of major depressive disorder. Environmental perturbations like stress change gene expression in the brain, leading to altered behavior. Gene expression is ultimately regulated by chromatin structure and the epigenetic modifications of DNA and the histone proteins that make up chromatin.

Motor signs in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia: Detection through natural language processing, co-morbid features and relationship to adverse outcomes.

Background: Motor signs in patients with dementia are associated with a higher risk of cognitive decline, institutionalisation, death and increased health care costs, but prevalences differ between studies. The aims of this study were to employ a natural language processing pipeline to detect motor signs in a patient cohort in routine care; to explore which other difficulties occur co-morbid to motor signs; and whether these, as a group and individually, predict adverse outcomes.

Methods: A cohort of 11,106 patients with dementia in Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia or a combination was assembled from a large dementia care health records database in Southeast London.

Wavefront excimer laser refractive surgery for adults with refractive errors.

Background: Refractive errors (conditions in which the eye fails to focus objects accurately on the retina due to defects in the refractive system), are the most common cause of visual impairment. Myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism are low-order aberrations, usually corrected with spectacles, contact lenses, or conventional refractive surgery. Higher-order aberrations (HOAs) can be quantified with wavefront aberration instruments and corrected using wavefront-guided or wavefront-optimized laser surgery.

Effects of taking pregabalin (Lyrica) on the severity of dry eye, corneal sensitivity and pain after laser epithelial keratomileusis surgery.

Background: Corneal nerve damage after laser epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) is thought to be the cause of dry eye and pain. Therefore, we investigated whether taking pregabalin (Lyrica), which reduces peripheral neuropathic pain, alleviates corneal nerve sensitivity after surgery and reduces dry eye and pain.

Methods: Patients were treated with pregabalin (150 mg two times a day for 15 days) from the day before surgery onward and compared with those who did not receive the medications.

Evaluation of femtosecond laser-assisted anterior capsulotomy in the presence of ophthalmic viscoelastic devices (OVDs).

The introduction of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery is an alternative approach to conventional cataract surgery. Our study aimed to determine the effectiveness of femtosecond laser-assisted capsulotomy in the presence of different ophthalmic viscoelastic devices (OVDs) in the anterior chamber. Fresh porcine eyes (n = 96) underwent LDV Z8-assisted anterior capsulotomy, either in the presence of an OVD (Viscoat, Provisc, Healon, Healon GV or HPMC) or without, using 90% and 150% energies respectively.

Residual, differential neurobehavioral deficits linger after multiple recovery nights following chronic sleep restriction or acute total sleep deprivation.

Study Objectives: The amount of recovery sleep needed to fully restore well-established neurobehavioral deficits from sleep loss remains unknown, as does whether the recovery pattern differs across measures after total sleep deprivation (TSD) and chronic sleep restriction (SR).

Methods: In total, 83 adults received two baseline nights (10-12-hour time in bed [TIB]) followed by five 4-hour TIB SR nights or 36-hour TSD and four recovery nights (R1-R4; 12-hour TIB). Neurobehavioral tests were completed every 2 hours during wakefulness and a Maintenance of Wakefulness Test measured physiological sleepiness.

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in children: an international, multicentre, prospective cohort study.

Introduction: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). However, there is a lack of data available about SSI in children worldwide, especially from low-income and middle-income countries. This study aimed to estimate the incidence of SSI in children and associations between SSI and morbidity across human development settings.

Comparison of the Levels of Transforming Growth Factor-β1 in Tear Fluid in Patients with High Myopia after Transepithelial Photorefractive Keratectomy and Laser Subepithelial Keratomileusis (LASEK).

We compared the level of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) in the tear fluid of 20 patients with high myopia who underwent transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (T-PRK) in one eye and laser subepithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) in the contralateral eye. Tear fluid samples were collected with scaled microcapillary tubes before (day 0) and on days 1, 3, and 5 after surgery. The release of TGF-β1 was determined by multiplying the concentration of TGF-β1 by capillary tear fluid flow.

Physicochemical and Biological Characterization of Novel Membrane-Active Cationic Lipopeptides with Antimicrobial Properties.

We have designed and synthesized new short lipopeptides composed of tetrapeptide conjugated to fatty acids with different chain lengths. The amino acid sequence of the peptide moiety included d-phenylalanine, two residues of l-2,4-diaminobutyric acid and l-leucine. To explore the possible mechanism of lipopeptide action, we have provided a physicochemical characterization of their interactions with artificial lipid membranes.

Industrial tests of co-combustion of alternative fuel with hard coal in a stoker boiler.

This paper presents the results of industrial research on co-combustion of solid recovered fuel (SRF) with hard coal in a stoker boiler type WR-25. The share of SRF in the fuel mixture was 10%. During the co-combustion of SRF, no technological disturbances of the boiler were noted.

Targeting Type II Toxin-Antitoxin Systems as Antibacterial Strategies.

The identification of novel targets for antimicrobial agents is crucial for combating infectious diseases caused by evolving bacterial pathogens. Components of bacterial toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems have been recognized as promising therapeutic targets. These widespread genetic modules are usually composed of two genes that encode a toxic protein targeting an essential cellular process and an antitoxin that counteracts the activity of the toxin.

The Prevalence of Infectious Keratitis after Keratorefractive Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Study.

Background: The keratorefractive surgeries (KRS) are one of the most common ocular surgeries. One of the dangerous complications of these surgeries is infectious keratitis (IK), which is the second cause of blindness after cataract surgery. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of IK after KRS in different parts of the world.

Quantum advantage in postselected metrology.

In every parameter-estimation experiment, the final measurement or the postprocessing incurs a cost. Postselection can improve the rate of Fisher information (the average information learned about an unknown parameter from a trial) to cost. We show that this improvement stems from the negativity of a particular quasiprobability distribution, a quantum extension of a probability distribution.

In vivo creation of plasmid pCRT01 and its use for the construction of carotenoid-producing Paracoccus spp. strains that grow efficiently on industrial wastes.

Background: Carotenoids are natural tetraterpene pigments widely utilized in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Currently, chemical synthesis of these compounds outperforms their production in Escherichia coli or yeast due to the limited efficiency of the latter. The use of natural microbial carotenoid producers, such as bacteria of the genus Paracoccus (Alphaproteobacteria), may help to optimize this process.

Molecular Beam Epitaxy of Transition Metal (Ti-, V-, and Cr-) Tellurides: From Monolayer Ditellurides to Multilayer Self-Intercalation Compounds.

Material growth by van der Waals epitaxy has the potential to isolate monolayer (ML) materials and synthesize ultrathin films not easily prepared by exfoliation or other growth methods. Here, the synthesis of the early transition metal (Ti, V, and Cr) tellurides by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) in the mono- to few-layer regime is investigated. The layered ditellurides of these materials are known for their intriguing quantum- and layer dependent- properties.

Visual outcomes after three different surgical procedures for correction of refractive error in patients with thin corneas.

Aim: To investigate and compare the visual and refractive outcomes of small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE), laser assisted sub-epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK), and LASEK combined with corneal collagen cross-linking (LASEK-CXL) surgery in patients with less than 500 µm of central corneal thickness (CCT).

Methods: The retrospective medical records review was conducted on the patients with CCT less than 500 µm treated with SMILE, LASEK, and LASEK-CXL. There was a total of 172 eyes, 76 eyes were in the SMILE group, 53 eyes in the LASEK group, and 43 eyes in the LASEK-CXL group.