Blood pressure change during phacoemulsification and femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery.

AIM: To evaluate blood pressure (BP) changes during phacoemulsification (PC) and femtosecond laser (FSL)-assisted cataract surgery. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed for all patients who received traditional phacoemulsification surgery (PC group) and FSL-assisted cataract surgery (FS group) from July 2013 to December 2014. Totally 206 eyes from 133 patients receiving the two types of procedures were included. Patient characteristics (age, gender, and hypertension history), pre- and post-operative BPs were collected. RESULTS: The pro-operative systolic and diastolic BPs (mm Hg) were 124.89±20.48 vs 126.98±16.85, and 71.88±9.81 vs 73.56±10.03, in PC and FS groups, respectively. While the post-operative systolic and diastolic BPs (mm Hg) were 130.13±22.59 vs 134.77±17.52, and 73.41±11.62 vs 78.89±12.2, in PC and FS groups, respectively. Paired-sample t-tests showed obvious systolic and diastolic BP elevations in FS group after surgery (P=0.001 and 0.007) and no reliability in PC group (P=0.094 and 0.359). A linear regression model revealed systolic and diastolic BP elevations, which were related to longer surgical times for FS group (P=0.008 and 0.021). Age, gender, and hypertension history were not correlated with blood pressure elevation in either group. CONCLUSION: BP increases but at a limited level after FSL-assisted cataract surgery compared to traditional phacoemulsification.

Neuroanatomical differences between men and women in help-seeking coping strategy.

Help seeking (HS) is a core coping strategy that is directed towards obtaining support, advice, or assistance as means of managing stress. Women have been found to use more HS than men. Neural correlates of sex differences have also been reported in prefrontal-limbic system (PLS) regions that are linked to stress and coping, yet structural differences between men and women relating to HS in the PLS are still unknown. Thus, the association between gray matter volume (GMV) and HS was investigated using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in a large healthy sample (126 men and 156 women). Results indicated women reported more HS than men did. VBM results showed that the relation between HS scores and GMV differed between men and women in regions of the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex extending to the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex(OFC/sgACC). Among women, higher HS scores were associated with smaller GMV in these areas while a positive correlation between GMV and HS scores was observed among men. These results remained significant after controlling for general intelligence, stress, anxiety and depression. Thus, this study suggested that structural differences between men and women are correlated to characteristic brain regions known to be involved in the PLS which is considered critical in stress regulation.

[Grassland net primary productivity and its spatiotemporal distribution in northern Tibet: a study with CASA model].

Based on the remote sensing data, meteorological data and other related data from 1981 to 2004, the grassland net primary productivity (NPP) and its spatiotemporal distribution in Northern Tibet were analyzed by CASA (Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach) model. The results indicated that in the study area, the spatial distribution of grassland NPP was affected by the local water and heat conditions, and represented a horizontal zonality. From southeast to northwest, the grassland NPP reduced from 230 g C x m(-2) x a(-1) to near 0 g C x m(-2) x a(-1). The overall level of grassland NPP in Northern Tibet was rather low, with the multi-years average value of total NPP being 21.3 x 10(12) g C x a(-1) and the mean value of NPP being 48.1 g C x m(-2) x a(-1), which were obviously lower than those in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and other grassland areas of China. The mean values of NPP on flat land (slope gradient <1 degree) and south slope were relatively lower. On the main alpine grasslands in Northern Tibet, the NPP from July to September occupied 64.0%-70.0% of the whole year. From 1981 to 2004, the grassland NPP within the whole Northern Tibet had a greater annual fluctuation, and tended to further reduce.