Light Transmission and Preference of Eye Patches for Occlusion Treatment

Purpose

To investigate light transmission and preference for six eye patches for occlusion therapy.

Methods

Six patches were examined, including; Ortopad Fun Pack, Ortopad Flesh, Kawamoto A-1, Kawamoto A-2, 3M Opticlude, and Everade Eye Guard. The size and the presence of a light blocking pad of patches were investigated. The amount of light transmitted through the patches was evaluated, using a digital light meter and a model eye, in three different environments; indoors with fluorescent light, outdoors on a sunny day, and strong light from illuminator. After patching the normal eye, the flash visual evoked potential (VEP) was measured. Thirty patients with amblyopia or horizontal strabismus, who received occlusion therapy as initial treatment, were included. After using all six patches, patients completed a 7-item questionnaire regarding the patch preference for size, color and shape, adhesive power, pain with removal, skin irritation after removing patch, parent’s preference and overall opinion.

Results

All patches had a light-blocking pad, except the 3M Nexcare. Ortopad had the strongest light blocking power in the three environments, and the 3M Nexcare had the weakest power. In flash VEP, Ortopad and Kawamoto patches showed flat, but 3M Nexcare and Everade Eye Guard showed normal response. There were significant preferential differences among the patches in all the items of the questionnaire (P<0.05). In comparison between the patches respectively, 3M Nexcare received the lowest satisfaction in pain when removing a patch and skin irritation after removing a patch. Kawamoto A-2 received the lowest score in the overall satisfaction.

Conclusions

We found differences in the light-blocking power and in the preference of the various patches for the occlusion treatment. This is a pilot study regarding only characteristics and preferences of patches. Further clinical studies regarding the relationship between characteristics or preferences of patches and outcomes of occlusion treatment are needed.     

Knowledge Levels and Training Needs of Disaster Medicine among Health Professionals,Medical Students,and Local Residents in Shanghai,China

Background

Disaster is a serious public health issue. Health professionals and community residents are main players in disaster responses but their knowledge levels of disaster medicine are not readily available. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge levels and training needs of disaster medicine among potential disaster responders and presented a necessity to popularize disaster medicine education.

Methods

A self-reporting questionnaire survey on knowledge level and training needs of disaster medicine was conducted in Shanghai, China, in 2012. A total of randomly selected 547 health professionals, 456 medical students, and 1,526 local residents provided intact information. The total response rate was 93.7%.

Results

Overall, 1.3% of these participants have received systematic disaster medicine training. News media (87.1%) was the most common channel to acquire disaster medicine knowledge. Although health professionals were more knowledgeable than community residents, their knowledge structure of disaster medicine was not intact. Medical teachers were more knowledgeable than medical practitioners and health administrators (p = 0.002). Clinicians performed better than public health physicians (p<0.001), whereas public health students performed better than clinical medical students (p<0.001). In community residents, education background significantly affected the knowledge level on disaster medicine (p<0.001). Training needs of disaster medicine were generally high among the surveyed. ‘Lecture’ and ‘practical training’ were preferred teaching methods. The selected key and interested contents on disaster medicine training were similar between health professionals and medical students, while the priorities chosen by local residents were quite different from health professionals and medical students (p<0.001).

Conclusions

Traditional clinical-oriented medical education might lead to a huge gap between the knowledge level on disaster medicine and the current needs of disaster preparedness. Continuing medical education and public education plans on disaster medicine via media should be practice-oriented, and selectively applied to different populations and take the knowledge levels and training needs into consideration.     

Divergent Selection and Local Adaptation in Disjunct Populations of an Endangered Conifer,Keteleeria davidiana var. formosana (Pinaceae)

The present study investigated the genetic diversity, population structure, F _ST outliers, and extent and pattern of linkage disequilibrium in five populations of Keteleeria davidiana var. formosana, which is listed as a critically endangered species by the Council of Agriculture, Taiwan. Twelve amplified fragment length polymorphism primer pairs generated a total of 465 markers, of which 83.74% on average were polymorphic across populations, with a mean Nei’s genetic diversity of 0.233 and a low level of genetic differentiation (approximately 6%) based on the total dataset. Linkage disequilibrium and HICKORY analyses suggested recent population bottlenecks and inbreeding in K. davidiana var. formosana. Both STRUCTURE and BAPS observed extensive admixture of individual genotypes among populations based on the total dataset in various clustering scenarios, which probably resulted from incomplete lineage sorting of ancestral variation rather than a high rate of recent gene flow. Our results based on outlier analysis revealed generally high levels of genetic differentiation and suggest that divergent selection arising from environmental variation has been driven by differences in temperature, precipitation, and humidity. Identification of ecologically associated outliers among environmentally disparate populations further support divergent selection and potential local adaptation.     

鸭源鸡杆菌ompW、gtxA双基因缺失株的构建及其相关特性分析

鸭源鸡杆菌(Gallibacterium anatis,G.anatis)是家禽中常见的条件性致病菌,主要引起蛋鸡生殖道疾病,造成产蛋量下降。【目的】为探究RTX样毒素GtxA及外膜蛋白(OmpW)对鸭源鸡杆菌生物学特性和致病力的影响。【方法】本研究采用自然转化法对突变株RZ△ompW进一步缺失gtxA构建突变株RZ△ompW△gtxA,通过分析其生长特性、黏附能力、引起细胞凋亡程度及对小鼠致病性等,探究其与生物学特性及致病性可能的关系。【结果】结果显示,RZ△ompW△gtxA能稳定遗传gtxA的缺失;单双基因突变株溶血活性均消失、与RZ株相比菌落形态及生长速率并未出现显著改变;相比RZ、RZ△ompW和RZ△gtxA,双基因缺失株RZ△ompW△gtxA在不同时段对鸡原代输卵管上皮细胞的黏附能力显著降低(P0.05),诱导鸡输卵管上皮原代细胞发生凋亡的能力明显减弱,对小鼠的致病力显著降低。【结论】GtxA毒素和外膜蛋白OmpW在鸭源鸡杆菌毒力、黏附宿主细胞及诱导其细胞凋亡中起重要作用,且可能存在明显的协同关系。本研究为鸭源鸡杆菌感染机制的阐明奠定基础。     

田菁根际促生菌的筛选及其促生耐盐效果

【目的】为探究盐生植物田菁及其根际功能微生物改良盐碱地的效果,本研究从黄河三角洲盐碱区田菁根际土壤中分离促生菌,并明确其耐盐促生效果。【方法】采用选择培养方法从田菁根际土壤中分离固氮菌、解磷菌以及解钾菌,并进行16S rRNA分子生物学鉴定。之后对菌株的耐盐及促生特性进行测定,筛选性状优良菌株进行玉米促生作用研究。【结果】共分离得到105株根际促生菌,其中N102兼具多种促生特性且耐盐性达15%。田菁种子发芽试验表明,N102可显著提高田菁发芽率(47%,P0.05)、芽长(48.5%,P0.05)和根长(60%,P0.05);玉米盆栽试验结果表明,N102对盐胁迫下玉米的株高、根长、叶绿素含量、地上部干重以及根干重具有显著的促进作用。经系统发育分析,N102与Enterobacter soli ATCC BAA-2102 (NR117547)序列相似度为99.30%,鉴定属于Enterobacter属。【结论】菌株N102具有多种植物促生耐盐特性,具有开发成有效促进盐碱地作物生长的微生物肥的良好前景。     

SESN2/sestrin2 suppresses sepsis by inducing mitophagy and inhibiting NLRP3 activation in macrophages

Proper regulation of mitophagy for mitochondrial homeostasis is important in various inflammatory diseases. However, the precise mechanisms by which mitophagy is activated to regulate inflammatory responses remain largely unknown. The NLRP3 (NLR family, pyrin domain containing 3) inflammasome serves as a platform that triggers the activation of CASP1 (caspase 1) and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. Here, we demonstrate that SESN2 (sestrin 2), known as stress-inducible protein, suppresses prolonged NLRP3 inflammasome activation by clearance of damaged mitochondria through inducing mitophagy in macrophages. SESN2 plays a dual role in inducing mitophagy in response to inflammasome activation. First, SESN2 induces “mitochondrial priming” by marking mitochondria for recognition by the autophagic machinery. For mitochondrial preparing, SESN2 facilitates the perinuclear-clustering of mitochondria by mediating aggregation of SQSTM1 (sequestosome 1) and its binding to lysine 63 (Lys63)-linked ubiquitins on the mitochondrial surface. Second, SESN2 activates the specific autophagic machinery for degradation of primed mitochondria via an increase of ULK1 (unc-51 like kinase 1) protein levels. Moreover, increased SESN2 expression by extended LPS (lipopolysaccharide) stimulation is mediated by NOS2 (nitric oxide synthase 2, inducible)-mediated NO (nitric oxide) in macrophages. Thus, Sesn2-deficient mice displayed defective mitophagy, which resulted in hyperactivation of inflammasomes and increased mortality in 2 different sepsis models. Our findings define a unique regulatory mechanism of mitophagy activation for immunological homeostasis that protects the host from sepsis.     

Autophagy induced by AXL receptor tyrosine kinase alleviates acute liver injury via inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in mice

Severe hepatic inflammation is a common cause of acute or chronic liver disease. Macrophages are one of the key mediators which regulate the progress of hepatic inflammation. Increasing evidence shows that the TAM (TYRO3, AXL and MERTK) family of RTKs (receptor tyrosine kinases), which is expressed in macrophages, alleviates inflammatory responses through a negative feedback loop. However, the functional contribution of each TAM family member to the progression of hepatic inflammation remains elusive. In this study, we explore the role of individual TAM family proteins during autophagy induction and evaluate their contribution to hepatic inflammation. Among the TAM family of RTKs, AXL (AXL receptor tyrosine kinase) only induces autophagy in macrophages after interaction with its ligand, GAS6 (growth arrest specific 6). Based on our results, autophosphorylation of 2 tyrosine residues (Tyr815 and Tyr860) in the cytoplasmic domain of AXL in mice is required for autophagy induction and AXL-mediated autophagy induction is dependent on MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase)14 activity. Furthermore, induction of AXL-mediated autophagy prevents CASP1 (caspase 1)-dependent IL1B (interleukin 1, β) and IL18 (interleukin 18) maturation by inhibiting NLRP3 (NLR family, pyrin domain containing 3) inflammasome activation. In agreement with these observations, axl^?/? mice show more severe symptoms than do wild-type (Axl^+/+) mice following acute hepatic injury induced by administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄). Hence, GAS6-AXL signaling-mediated autophagy induction in murine macrophages ameliorates hepatic inflammatory responses by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation.     

Dihydroxynaphthalene‐based mimicry of fungal melanogenesis for multifunctional coatings

Material‐independent adhesive action derived from polycatechol structures has been intensively studied due to its high applicability in surface engineering. Here, we for the first time demonstrate that a dihydroxynaphthalene‐based fungal melanin mimetic, which exhibit a catechol‐free structure, can act as a coating agent for material‐independent surface modifications on the nanoscale. This mimetic was made by using laccase to catalyse the oxidative polymerization of specifically 2,7‐dihydroxynaphthalene. Analyses of the product of this reaction, using Fourier transform infrared‐attenuated total reflectance and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, bactericidal action, charge‐dependent sorption behaviour, phenol content, Zeta potential measurements and free radical scavenging activity, yielded results consistent with it containing hydroxyphenyl groups. Moreover, nuclear magnetic resonance analyses of the product revealed that C‐O coupling and C‐C coupling were the main mechanisms for its synthesis, thus clearly excluding a catechol structure in the polymerization. This product, termed poly(2,7‐DHN), was successfully deposited onto a wide variety of solid surfaces, including metals, polymeric materials, ceramics, biosurfaces and mineral complexes. The melanin‐like polymerization could be used to co‐immobilize other organic molecules, forming functional surfaces. In addition, the hydroxyphenyl group contained in the coated poly(2,7‐DHN) induced secondary metal chelation/reduction and adhesion with proteins, suggesting the potential of this poly(2,7‐DHN) layer to serve as a platform material for a variety of surface engineering applications. Moreover, the novel physicochemical properties of the poly(2,7‐DHN) illuminate its potential applications as bactericidal, radical‐scavenging and pollutant‐sorbing agents.     

Developing a Referral Protocol for Community-Based Occupational Therapy Services in Taiwan: A Logistic Regression Analysis

Because resources for long-term care services are limited, timely and appropriate referral for rehabilitation services is critical for optimizing clients’ functions and successfully integrating them into the community. We investigated which client characteristics are most relevant in predicting Taiwan’s community-based occupational therapy (OT) service referral based on experts’ beliefs. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews using the Multidimensional Assessment Instrument (MDAI). Community-dwelling participants (n = 221) ≥ 18 years old who reported disabilities in the previous National Survey of Long-term Care Needs in Taiwan were enrolled. The standard for referral was the judgment and agreement of two experienced occupational therapists who reviewed the results of the MDAI. Logistic regressions and Generalized Additive Models were used for analysis. Two predictive models were proposed, one using basic activities of daily living (BADLs) and one using instrumental ADLs (IADLs). Dementia, psychiatric disorders, cognitive impairment, joint range-of-motion limitations, fear of falling, behavioral or emotional problems, expressive deficits (in the BADL-based model), and limitations in IADLs or BADLs were significantly correlated with the need for referral. Both models showed high area under the curve (AUC) values on receiver operating curve testing (AUC = 0.977 and 0.972, respectively). The probability of being referred for community OT services was calculated using the referral algorithm. The referral protocol facilitated communication between healthcare professionals to make appropriate decisions for OT referrals. The methods and findings should be useful for developing referral protocols for other long-term care services.