Silk granular hydrogels selfreinforced along with regenerated cotton fibroin fibres

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of dry eye disease (DED)-related signs and symptoms with two tear function tests.
This was a clinic-based, cross-sectional study with recruitment of consecutive participants. Schirmer test (ST), tear strip meniscometry (SM), and fluorescein tear breakup time were measured and corneal staining score was examined in outpatients at three clinics. Seven subjective symptoms were assessed by interview, including dryness, irritation, pain, lacrimation, fatigue, blurring, and photophobia. Statistical analyses included regression analysis and comparison tests.
The mean age of the 210 participants was 61.2 ± 15.2 years (range, 12-91 years), with 135 women (64.3%) in the cohort. The mean ST value was 12.9 ± 9.3 (0-35) mm, and SM was 2.5 ± 1.6 (0-10) mm, with no difference between women and men. SM values were lower in the presence of irritation (
= 0.046) and photophobia (
= 0.011). Regression analysis revealed ST and SM values were strongly correlated (β = 0.255,
< 0.001). SM was significantly correlated with breakup time (β = 0.149,
= 0.032), whereas there was no correlation between ST and DED-related signs and symptoms.
SM was correlated with DED-related symptoms and breakup time, whereas ST was not. A low SM value could be an alternative clinical parameter to determine tear film-oriented therapy.
Tear strip meniscometry could be a useful tear function examination on a routine clinical basis since it is a 5-second noninvasive procedure and associated with subjective symptoms and the value of the conventional Schirmer test.
Tear strip meniscometry could be a useful tear function examination on a routine clinical basis since it is a 5-second noninvasive procedure and associated with subjective symptoms and the value of the conventional Schirmer test.
Eccentric fixation in amblyopia is often estimated grossly without precision. Although the usefulness of optical coherence tomography (OCT) fixation shift in the quantification of eccentric fixation in a small cohort of amblyopic children was recently reported, there is a lack of understanding of characteristics of OCT fixation shift. In a retrospective cohort study, we evaluated eccentric fixation with OCT in a large cohort of children with residual amblyopia.
Children, age 4 to 17 years, with residual amblyopia (amblyopic,
= 56) and without amblyopia (control,
= 75) were enrolled. Amblyopia was associated with anisometropia alone (anisometropia subtype,
= 28) and strabismus without or with anisometropia (strabismic subtype,
= 28). Spectral domain OCT was used to estimate fixation. The OCT fixation shift, defined as the distance between the fovea and the fixation point, was measured and adjusted with calculated axial length and converted into visual degrees. Fixation shift in amblyopic eyes, xation in children with strabismic amblyopia.
OCT fixation shift offers a convenient clinical approach in quantitative evaluation of eccentric fixation in children with strabismic amblyopia.
The purpose of this study was to analyze the concentration-dependent effects of biguanides (polyhexamethylene biguanide [PHMB], chlorhexidine [CH]); diamidines (hexamidine-diisethionate [HD], propamidine-isethionate [PD], dibromopropamidine-diisethionate [DD]); natamycin (NM); miltefosine (MF); povidone iodine (PVPI), and chlorin e6 PDT on
trophozoites and cysts, in vitro.
Strain 1BU was cultured in peptone-yeast extract-glucose medium. Trophozoites or cysts were cultured in PYG medium containing each agent at 100%, 50%, and 25% of maximum concentration for 2 hours. The percentage of dead trophozoites was determined using a non-radioactive cytotoxicity assay and trypan blue staining. Treated cysts were also maintained on non-nutrient agar
(
) plates and observed for 3 weeks.
All tested drugs displayed significant cytotoxic effects on 1BU cells based on the biochemical and staining-based viability assays tested. On non-nutrient agar
plates, neither trophozoites nor freshly formed cysts were observed after PHMB, PD, NM, and PVPI treatment, respectively, within 3 weeks. However, CH-, HD-, DD-, and MF-treated cysts could excyst, multiply, and encyst again.
The off-label drugs PHMB, PD, NM, and PVPI are under in vitro conditions more effective against strain 1BU than CH, HD, DD, and MF. Our findings also suggest that the non-nutrient agar
plate assay should be considered as method of choice for the in vitro analysis of the treatment efficacy of anti-amoebic agents.
Ophthalmologists may optimize the treatment regime against
keratitis by pre-testing the in vitro susceptibilities of the
strain against drugs of interest with the non-nutrient
agar plate assay.
Ophthalmologists may optimize the treatment regime against Acanthamoeba keratitis by pre-testing the in vitro susceptibilities of the Acanthamoeba strain against drugs of interest with the non-nutrient E.coli agar plate assay.To realize the goals of an experiential curriculum, medical educators need support to enact a different kind of teaching ambitious teaching. Ambitious teaching promotes curricular aims and fosters responsive, interactive environments to elicit student thinking and facilitate student-to-student discussion of clinical concepts and reasoning. The purpose of this article is to provide a framework for ambitious teaching that can be used to meet the complex challenges of experiential learning. Specifically, we describe the ways in which medical education curriculum and faculty developers can support ambitious teaching and, ultimately, enhance curricular outcomes.Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has become an increasingly common diagnostic tool in the clinical environment. As a result, it is being used earlier for medical students in Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) as a learning tool for the basic sciences including gross anatomy. There is little literature, however, to support its utility for basic science education in students currently seeking a bachelor's degree. selleck chemical This study consisted of fourteen currently enrolled bachelor students with previous instruction in human anatomy and physiology. Students participated in an ultrasound didactic and an interactive ultrasound experience with volunteers. Before and after this session, students were asked to complete an assessment measuring their spatial understanding of the human anatomy and their ability to locate structures using ultrasound. Wilcoxon's signed-rank tests comparing assessment scores showed significant improvement on both portions of the assessment. Based on this improvement, we suggest that ultrasound is a valid educational tool which can be used at the bachelor-level to effectively enhance students' learning of anatomy and provide hands on experience with modern technology.