A Case Report of Acute Bilateral Mydriasis Induced by Herbal Medication.

Ma Huang (Ephedra), a traditional herbal remedy, which contains pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, has sympathomimetic characteristics. Despite being banned by the Federal Drug Administration in 2004, it is still used for weight loss and energy boosting in some countries. A previous healthy 42-year-old woman experienced sudden blurred vision in both eyes. Her pupils were dilated to 6 mm each, showing diminished light reflex responses, and were not responsive to both 0.1% and 1% pilocarpine. The day before the onset of her symptoms she had taken a herbal supplement. The woman's herbal medicine was believed to contain ephedrine, a component found in Ma Huang. The sympathomimetic effects of this substance could potentially induce mydriasis. After discontinuing the medication, her symptoms improved over 4 days, leading to a suspicion of drug-induced bilateral mydriasis. Herbal products prescribed for weight loss, which may contain potential elements such as Ma Huang, could lead to unforeseen side effects like bilateral mydriasis, and should be appropriately highlighted.

Quantifying insulin-mediated and noninsulin-mediated changes in glucose dynamics during resistance exercise in type 1 diabetes.

Exercise can cause dangerous fluctuations in blood glucose in people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Aerobic exercise, for example, can cause acute hypoglycemia secondary to increased insulin-mediated and noninsulin-mediated glucose utilization. Less is known about how resistance exercise (RE) impacts glucose dynamics. Twenty-five people with T1D underwent three sessions of either moderate or high-intensity RE at three insulin infusion rates during a glucose tracer clamp. We calculated time-varying rates of endogenous glucose production (EGP) and glucose disposal (Rd) across all sessions and used linear regression and extrapolation to estimate insulin- and noninsulin-mediated components of glucose utilization. Blood glucose did not change on average during exercise. The area under the curve (AUC) for EGP increased by 1.04 mM during RE (95% CI: 0.65-1.43, P < 0.001) and decreased proportionally to insulin infusion rate (0.003 mM per percent above basal rate, 95% CI: 0.001-0.006, P = 0.003). The AUC for Rd rose by 1.26 mM during RE (95% CI: 0.41-2.10, P = 0.004) and increased proportionally with insulin infusion rate (0.04 mM per percent above basal rate, CI: 0.03-0.04, P < 0.001). No differences were observed between the moderate and high resistance groups. Noninsulin-mediated glucose utilization rose significantly during exercise before returning to baseline roughly 30-min postexercise. Insulin-mediated glucose utilization remained unchanged during exercise sessions. Circulating catecholamines and lactate rose during exercise despite relatively small changes observed in Rd. Results provide an explanation of why RE may pose a lower overall risk for hypoglycemia.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Aerobic exercise is known to cause decreases in blood glucose secondary to increased glucose utilization in people living with type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, less is known about how resistance-type exercise impacts glucose dynamics. Twenty-five participants with T1D performed in-clinic weight-bearing exercises under a glucose clamp. Mathematical modeling of infused glucose tracer allowed for quantification of the rate of hepatic glucose production as well as rates of insulin-mediated and noninsulin-mediated glucose uptake experienced during resistance exercise.

Fruit-CoV: An efficient vision-based framework for speedy detection and diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infections through recorded cough sounds.

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This deadly virus has spread worldwide, leading to a global pandemic since March 2020. A recent variant of SARS-CoV-2 named Delta is intractably contagious and responsible for more than four million deaths globally. Therefore, developing an efficient self-testing service for SARS-CoV-2 at home is vital. In this study, a two-stage vision-based framework, namely Fruit-CoV, is introduced for detecting SARS-CoV-2 infections through recorded cough sounds. Specifically, audio signals are converted into Log-Mel spectrograms, and the EfficientNet-V2 network is used to extract their visual features in the first stage. In the second stage, 14 convolutional layers extracted from the large-scale Pretrained Audio Neural Networks for audio pattern recognition (PANNs) and the Wavegram-Log-Mel-CNN are employed to aggregate feature representations of the Log-Mel spectrograms and the waveform. Finally, the combined features are used to train a binary classifier. In this study, a dataset provided by the AICovidVN 115M Challenge is employed for evaluation. It includes 7,371 recorded cough sounds collected throughout Vietnam, India, and Switzerland. Experimental results indicate that the proposed model achieves an Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC) score of 92.8% and ranks first on the final leaderboard of the AICovidVN 115M Challenge. Our code is publicly available.

Separating insulin-mediated and non-insulin-mediated glucose uptake during and after aerobic exercise in type 1 diabetes.

Aerobic exercise in type 1 diabetes (T1D) causes rapid increase in glucose utilization due to muscle work during exercise, followed by increased insulin sensitivity after exercise. Better understanding of these changes is necessary for models of exercise in T1D. Twenty-six individuals with T1D underwent three sessions at three insulin rates (100%, 150%, 300% of basal). After 3-h run-in, participants performed 45 min aerobic exercise (moderate or intense). We determined area under the curve for endogenous glucose production (AUCEGP) and rate of glucose disappearance (AUCRd) over 45 min from exercise start. A novel application of linear regression of Rd across the three insulin sessions allowed separation of insulin-mediated from non-insulin-mediated glucose uptake before, during, and after exercise. AUCRd increased 12.45 mmol/L (CI = 10.33-14.58, P < 0.001) and 13.13 mmol/L (CI = 11.01-15.26, P < 0.001) whereas AUCEGP increased 1.66 mmol/L (CI = 1.01-2.31, P < 0.001) and 3.46 mmol/L (CI = 2.81-4.11, P < 0.001) above baseline during moderate and intense exercise, respectively. AUCEGP increased during intense exercise by 2.14 mmol/L (CI = 0.91-3.37, P < 0.001) compared with moderate exercise. There was significant effect of insulin infusion rate on AUCRd equal to 0.06 mmol/L per % above basal rate (CI = 0.05-0.07, P < 0.001). Insulin-mediated glucose uptake rose during exercise and persisted hours afterward, whereas non-insulin-mediated effect was limited to the exercise period. To our knowledge, this method of isolating dynamic insulin- and non-insulin-mediated uptake has not been previously employed during exercise. These results will be useful in informing glucoregulatory models of T1D. The study has been registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03090451.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Separating insulin and non-insulin glucose uptake dynamically during exercise in type 1 diabetes has not been done before. We use a multistep process, including a previously described linear regression method, over three insulin infusion sessions, to perform this separation and can graph these components before, during, and after exercise for the first time.

105° field of view non-contact handheld swept-source optical coherence tomography.

We demonstrate a handheld swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT) system with a 400 kHz vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) light source, a non-contact approach, and an unprecedented single shot 105° field of view (FOV). We also implemented a spiral scanning pattern allowing real-time visualization with improved scanning efficiency. To the best of our knowledge, this is the widest FOV achieved in a portable non-contact OCT retinal imaging system to date. Improvements to the FOV may aid the evaluation of retinal diseases such as retinopathy of prematurity, where important vitreoretinal changes often occur in the peripheral retina.

Effects of nutrient ratios and carbon dioxide bio-sequestration on biomass growth of Chlorella sp. in bubble column photobioreactor.

Photobioreactor technology, especially bubble column configuration, employing microalgae cultivation (e.g., Chlorella sp.), is an ideal man-made environment to achieve sufficient microalgae biomass through its strictly operational control. Nutrients, typically N and P, are necessary elements in the cultivation process, which determine biomass yield and productivity. Specifically, N:P ratios have certain effects on microalgae's biomass growth. It is also attractive that microalgae can sequester CO2 by using that carbon source for photosynthesis and, subsequently, reducing CO2 emission. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of N:P ratios on Chlorella sp.'s growth, and to study the dynamic of CO2 fixation in the bubble column photobioreactor. According to our results, N:P ratio of 15:1 could produce the highest biomass yield (3568 ±â€¯158 mg L-1). The maximum algae concentration was 105 × 106 cells mL-1, receiving after 92 h. Chlorella sp. was also able to sequester CO2 at 28 ±â€¯1.2%, while the specific growth rate and carbon fixation rate were observed at 0.064 h-1 and 68.9 ±â€¯1.91 mg L-1 h-1, respectively. The types of carbon sources (e.g., organic and inorganic carbon) possessed potential impact on microalgae's cultivation.

Investigation of antibiotics in health care wastewater in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Hospital wastewater contains huge amounts of hazardous pollutants which are being discharged daily to environment with or without treatment. Antibiotics were among the important group of pharmaceuticals considered as a potential source of health risk for human and other living creatures. Although the investigations about the existence of antibiotics in hospital wastewater have gained concern for researchers in many countries, there is only one research conducted in Hanoi-Vietnam. Hence, in this study, investigations have been done to fulfill the requirement of real situation in Vietnam by accomplishing survey for 39 health care facilities in Ho Chi Minh City. As results, seven popular antibiotics were detected to exist in all samples such as sulfamethoxazole (2.5 ± 1.9 µg/L), norfloxacin (9.6 ± 9.8 µg/L), ciprofloxacin (5.3 ± 4.8 µg/L), ofloxacin (10.9 ± 8.1 µg/L), erythromycin (1.2 ± 1.2 µg/L), tetracycline (0.1 ± 0.0 µg/L), and trimethoprim (1.0 ± 0.9 µg/L). On the other hand, survey also showed that only 64% of health care facilities using conventional activate sludge (AS) processes in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). As a consequence, basic environmental factors (BOD5, COD, TSS, NH4+-N, or total coliforms) were not effectively removed from the hospital wastewater due to problems relating to initial design or operational conditions. Therefore, 18% effluent samples of the surveyed WWTPs have exceeded the national standard limits (QCVN 28:2010, level B).

Quantification of saccadic fatigability and diagnostic efficacy for myasthenia gravis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The diagnostic challenge of myasthenia gravis (MG) is exacerbated by the variable efficacy of current testing methodologies, necessitating innovative approaches to accurately identify the condition. This study aimed to assess ocular muscle fatigue in patients with MG using video-oculography (VOG) by examining repetitive saccadic eye movements and comparing these metrics to those of healthy control participants. METHODS: This prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care center and involved 62 patients diagnosed with MG (48 with ocular MG and 14 with generalized MG) and a control group of 31 healthy individuals, matched for age and sex. The assessment involved recording saccadic eye movements within a ± 15° range, both horizontally and vertically, at a rate of 15 saccades per minute over a 5-min period, resulting in 75 cycles. Participants were afforded a 3-min rest interval between each set to mitigate cumulative fatigue. The primary outcome was the detection of oculomotor fatigue, assessed through changes in saccadic waveforms, range, peak velocity, latency, and the duration from onset to target, with a focus on comparing the second saccade against the average of the last five saccades. RESULTS: In the evaluation of repetitive saccadic movements, patients with MG exhibited a reduced saccadic range and a prolonged duration to reach the target, compared to healthy subjects. Furthermore, a significant elevation in the frequency of multistep saccades was observed among MG patients, with a marked rise observed over consecutive trials. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed the discriminative performance of multistep saccade frequency, in conjunction with variations in saccadic range and duration from onset to target achievement between the second saccade and the mean of the final five saccades, as effective in distinguishing MG patients from healthy subjects. Although alterations in peak saccadic velocity and latency were less pronounced, they were nevertheless detectable. DISCUSSION: The utilization of VOG for repetitive saccadic testing in the diagnosis of MG has demonstrated considerable diagnostic precision. This methodology affords significant accuracy in evaluating ocular muscle fatigue in MG patients, providing class III evidence supportive of its clinical application.

Clinical characteristics and otolith dysfunction in presbyvestibulopathy: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis.

Objective: The Bárány Society recently established diagnostic criteria for presbyvestibulopathy, an age-related bilateral vestibular impairments in older individuals. Drawing upon a cross-sectional database, this study delves into the demographic and clinical features of presbyvestibulopathy patients and investigates the implications of otolith dysfunction. Methods: The study retrospectively analyzed 1218 patients aged 60 years or older who visited the tertiary dizziness clinic in 2020, due to symptoms of dizziness or instability. By reviewing medical records, we gathered clinical information and laboratory vestibular test results, such as cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, and subjective visual vertical. Results: Out of 1218 patients aged 60 and above who reported dizziness or unsteadiness, 33 patients (2.7 %, with an average age of 74.2 ± 9.2 years) were diagnosed with presbyvestibulopathy. Deficiencies in horizontal angular vestibulo-ocular reflex were found in caloric tests (75 %), video head impulse tests (51.7 %), and rotatory chair tests (47.8 %), respectively. Otolith dysfunction was also observed, as shown by abnormal ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in 62.96 % and 51.85 % of patients, and abnormal subjective visual vertical in 45.8 % of the cases. Conclusions: Among elderly patients experiencing consistent dizziness or instability, the incidence of presbyvestibulopathy was approximately 2.7 % over one year. Alongside the abnormalities detected in the horizontal angular vestibulo-ocular reflex, significant changes were also noted in the ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, as well as in the subjective visual vertical tests. As a result, it's vital to underscore the significance of both otolithic function and vestibulo-ocular reflex in the fundamental mechanisms of presbyvestibulopathy.

Clinical characteristics of persistent postural-perceptual dizziness and its visual subtype in Korean patients: A multicenter cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a chronic functional vestibular disorder for which the Bárány Society has established diagnostic criteria. This nationwide multicenter study aims to investigate the clinical features of individuals with definite PPPD and clinical variant PPPD who do not fully meet the diagnostic criteria, with a particular focus on visual exaggeration. METHODS: Between September 2020 and September 2021, a total of 76 individuals with definite PPPD and 109 individuals with clinical variant PPPD who did not meet all three exacerbating factors outlined in Criterion B were recruited from 18 medical centers in South Korea. The study gathered information on demographic factors, clinical manifestations, balance scales, and personality assessments. RESULTS: Comparative analysis between groups with definite PPPD and clinical variant with visual exacerbation revealed no significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics, clinical course, dizziness impact, and specific precipitants. Only disease duration was significantly longer in definite PPPD compared with variant with visual exacerbation. However, the variant without visual exacerbation displayed significantly reduced rates of panic disorder, diminished space-motion discomfort, lesser impact of dizziness, and decreased prevalence of depression when compared with the definitive PPPD. CONCLUSION: This is the first comprehensive nationwide study examining clinical features of both definite PPPD patients and its clinical variants, considering visual exacerbating factors. Differences in dizziness and personality traits emerged between definite PPPD and its potential variant without visual issues. Our results highlight the possibility of a distinct clinical variant of PPPD influenced by visual dependency.

Optimal Design of Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation for Patients with Vestibulopathy and Cerebellar Disorders.

OBJECTIVES: Galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) has shown positive outcomes in various neurological and psychiatric disorders, such as enhancing postural balance and cognitive functions. In order to expedite the practical application of GVS in clinical settings, our objective was to determine the best GVS parameters for patients with vestibulopathy and cerebellar disorders using optimal design calculation. METHODS: A total of 31 patients (26 males, mean age 57.03 ± 14.75 years, age range 22-82 years) with either unilateral or bilateral vestibulopathy (n = 18) or cerebellar ataxia (n = 13) were enrolled in the study. The GVS intervention included three parameters, waveform (sinusoidal, direct current [DC], and noisy), amplitude (0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 mA), and duration of stimulation (5 and 30 min), resulting in a total of 18 GVS intervention modes as input variables. To evaluate the effectiveness of GVS, clinical vertigo and gait assessments were conducted using the Dizziness Visual Analogue Scale (D-VAS), Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), and Scale for Assessment and Rating of Ataxia (SARA) as output variables. Optimal design and local sensitivity analysis were employed to determine the most optimal GVS modes. RESULTS: Patients with unilateral vestibulopathy experienced the most favorable results with either noisy or sinusoidal GVS at 0.4 mA amplitude for 30 min, followed by DC GVS at 0.8 mA amplitude for 5 min. Noisy GVS at 0.8 or 0.4 mA amplitude for 30 min demonstrated the most beneficial effects in patients with bilateral vestibulopathy. For patients with cerebellar ataxia, the optimal choices were noisy GVS with 0.8 or 0.4 mA amplitude for 5 or 30 min. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to utilize design optimization methods to identify the GVS stimulation parameters that are tailored to individual-specific characteristics of dizziness and imbalance. A sensitivity analysis was carried out along with the optimal design to offset the constraints of a limited sample size, resulting in the identification of the most efficient GVS modes for patients suffering from vestibular and cerebellar disorders.

Oculomotor fatigability with decrements of saccade and smooth pursuit for diagnosis of myasthenia gravis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: As the efficacy of current diagnostic methods for myasthenia gravis (MG) remains suboptimal, there is ongoing interest in developing more effective diagnostic models. As oculomotor fatigability is one of the most common and diagnostic symptoms in MG, we aimed to investigate whether quantitative saccadic and smooth-pursuit fatigability analyses with video-oculography (VOG) are useful for diagnosis of MG. METHODS: A convenience cohort of 46 MG patients was recruited prospectively, including 35 with ocular and 11 with generalized MG (mean age, 50.9 ± 14.5 years; 17 females); 24 healthy controls (HCs) (mean age, 50.6 ± 16.3 years; 13 females) also were enrolled. Seventy-five repetitive saccades and smooth pursuits were recorded in ranges of 20° (horizontal plane) and 15° (vertical plane) using a three-dimensional VOG system. Based on the oculomotor range of the second saccade and smooth pursuit and the mean ranges of the last five of each, the estimated decrements (%) reflecting oculomotor fatigability were calculated. RESULTS: The baseline oculomotor ranges did not show significant difference between the MG and HCs groups. However, following repetitive saccades and pursuits, the oculomotor ranges were decreased substantially during the last five cycles compared to baseline in the MG group. No such decrements were observed in the HC group (p < 0.01, Mann-Whitney U test). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that repetitive vertical saccades yielded the best differentiation between the MG and HC groups, with a sensitivity of 78.3% and specificity of 95.8% when using a decrement with an amplitude of 6.4% as the cutoff. CONCLUSION: This study presents an objective and reproducible method for measuring decrements of oculomotor ranges after repetitive saccadic and pursuit movements. Quantification of oculomotor fatigability using VOG could be a sensitive and specific diagnostic tool for MG and allows easy, cost-effective, accurate, and non-invasive measurements. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides class III evidence that VOG-based quantification of saccadic and pursuit fatigability accurately identifies patients with MG.

Visuospatial cognition in acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy.

Background: This study aims to investigate the presence of spatial cognitive impairments in patients with acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy (vestibular neuritis, AUPV) during both the acute phase and the recovery phase. Methods: A total of 72 AUPV patients (37 with right-sided AUPV and 35 with left-sided AUPV; aged 34-80 years, median 60.5; 39 males, 54.2%) and 35 healthy controls (HCs; aged 43-75 years, median 59; 20 males, 57.1%) participated in the study. Patients underwent comprehensive neurotological assessments, including video-oculography, video head impulse and caloric tests, ocular and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials, and pure-tone audiometry. Additionally, the Visual Object and Space Perception (VOSP) battery was used to evaluate visuospatial perception, while the Block design test and Corsi block-tapping test assessed visuospatial memory within the first 2 days (acute phase) and 4 weeks after symptom onset (recovery phase). Results: Although AUPV patients were able to successfully perform visuospatial perception tasks within normal parameters, they demonstrated statistically worse performance on the visuospatial memory tests compared to HCs during the acute phase. When comparing right versus left AUPV groups, significant decreased scores in visuospatial perception and memory were observed in the right AUPV group relative to the left AUPV group. In the recovery phase, patients showed substantial improvements even in these previously diminished visuospatial cognitive performances. Conclusion: AUPV patients showed different spatial cognition responses, like spatial memory, depending on the affected ear, improving with vestibular compensation over time. We advocate both objective and subjective visuospatial assessments and the development of tests to detect potential cognitive deficits after unilateral vestibular impairments.

Effect of biomass retention time on performance and fouling of a stirred membrane photobioreactor.

Co-culture of microalgae-activated sludge has the potential to purify wastewater while reduce energy demand from aeration. In this work, a mechanically stirred membrane photobioreactor (stirred-MPBR) was used to evaluate the impact of the biomass retention time (BRT) on the treatment performance and membrane fouling. Results showed that stirred-MPBR was affected by BRT during treating domestic wastewater at a flux of 16.5 L m-2 h-1. The highest productivity was attained at BRT 7d (102 mg L-1 d-1), followed by BRT 10d (86 mg L-1 d-1), BRT 5d (85 mg L-1 d-1), and BRT 3d (83 mg L-1 d-1). Statistical analysis results showed that BRT 7d had a higher COD removal rate than BRT 10d, however, there is no difference in total nitrogen removal rate. The highest TP removal occurred when the biomass operated at BRT as short as 3d. Reduced BRTs caused a change in the microalgae-activated sludge biomass fraction that encouraged nitrification activity while simultaneously contributing to a higher fouling rate. The bound protein concentrations dropped from 31.35 mg L-1 (BRT 10d) to 10.67 mg L-1 (BRT 3d), while soluble polysaccharides increased from 0.99 to 1.82 mg L-1, respectively. The concentrations of extracellular polymeric substance fractions were significantly altered, which decreased the mean floc size and contributed to the escalating fouling propensity. At the optimum BRT of 7d, the stirred-MPBR showed sufficient access to light and nutrients exchange for mutualistic interactions between the microalgae and activated sludge.

Panretinal Optical Coherence Tomography.

We introduce a new concept of panoramic retinal (panretinal) optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging system with a 140° field of view (FOV). To achieve this unprecedented FOV, a contact imaging approach was used which enabled faster, more efficient, and quantitative retinal imaging with measurement of axial eye length. The utilization of the handheld panretinal OCT imaging system could allow earlier recognition of peripheral retinal disease and prevent permanent vision loss. In addition, adequate visualization of the peripheral retina has a great potential for better understanding disease mechanisms regarding the periphery. To the best of our knowledge, the panretinal OCT imaging system presented in this manuscript has the widest FOV among all the retina OCT imaging systems and offers significant values in both clinical ophthalmology and basic vision science.

Thresholds for vestibular and cutaneous perception and oculomotor response induced by galvanic vestibular stimulation.

Objectives: In this study, the specific threshold intensities and response characteristics of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) on vestibular (conscious) and cutaneous (detrimental) perception as well as oculomotor nystagmus (reflex) were determined. Methods: The threshold intensities for vestibular and cutaneous perception and oculomotor response induced by GVS were determined in 25 right-handed healthy subjects (32.6 ± 7.2 years of age; 56% female). The subjects were seated upright, and eye movements were recorded while a direct GVS current was applied with paradigms of cathode on the right and anode on the left (CRAL) and also cathode on the left and anode on the right (CLAR). Results: Subjects experienced dizziness, sense of spinning, or fall tendency, which was more frequently directed to the cathode (76%) than the anode (24%, p < 0.001, chi-square one-variable test) at mean current greater than 0.98 ± 0.29 mA (mean vestibular threshold). The current also triggered a more frequent mild tingling sensation at the cathode (56%) than the anode (30%) or on both sides (14%; p = 0.001, chi-square one-variable test) when above the mean cutaneous threshold of 0.9 ± 0.29 mA. Above the mean oculomotor threshold of 1.61 ± 0.35 mA, combined horizontal and torsional nystagmus was more frequent toward the cathode (86%) than toward the anode (p < 0.001, chi-square one-variable test). The mean oculomotor threshold was significantly higher than both the vestibular (p < 0.001, Mann-Whitney U-test) and cutaneous (p < 0.001, Mann-Whitney U-test) thresholds, which were comparable (p = 0.317, Mann-Whitney U-test). There was no significant disparity in these specific thresholds between the two GVS paradigms. The vestibular threshold was significantly higher in males than in females [1 (0.5-1.25) mA vs. 0.75 (0.625-1.125) mA, Z = -2.241, p = 0.025, Mann-Whitney U-test]. However, the thresholds of cutaneous perception and oculomotor response did not differ by sex. Conclusion: The findings indicate that thresholds for vestibular and somatosensory perception are lower than the oculomotor threshold. Therefore, a strategy to reduce GVS current intensity to the level of vestibular or somatosensory perception threshold could elicit beneficial vestibular effects while avoiding undesirable effects such as oculomotor consequences.

The Effect of Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation on Visuospatial Cognition in an Incomplete Bilateral Vestibular Deafferentation Mouse Model.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) for recovering from the locomotor and spatial memory deficits of a murine bilateral vestibular deafferentation (BVD) model. Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice (n = 36) were assigned to three groups: bilateral labyrinthectomy with (BVD_GVS group) and without (BVD_non-GVS group) the GVS intervention, and a control group with the sham operation. We used the open field and Y maze, and Morris water maze (MWM) tests to assess locomotor and visuospatial cognitive performance before (baseline) and 3, 7, and 14 days after surgical bilateral labyrinthectomy. For the GVS group, a sinusoidal current at the frequency at 1 Hz and amplitude 0.1 mA was delivered for 30 min daily from the postoperative day (POD) 0 to 4 via electrodes inserted subcutaneously close to both the bony labyrinths. Results: Short-term spatial memory was significantly impaired in bilaterally labyrinthectomized mice (BVD_non-GVS group), as reflected by decreased spontaneous alternation performance in the place recognition test and time spent in the novel arm and increased same arm return in the Y-maze test, compared with the control. Long-term spatial memory was also impaired, as indicated by a longer escape latency in the hidden platform trial and a lower percentage of time spent in the target quadrant in the probe trial of the MWM. GVS application significantly accelerated the recovery of locomotion and short-term and long-term spatial memory deficits in the BVD mice. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that locomotion, short-term, and long-term (at least 2 weeks) spatial memory were impaired in BVD mice. The early administration of sinusoidal GVS accelerated the recovery of those locomotion and spatial memory deficiencies. GVS could be applied to patients with BVD to improve their locomotion and vestibular cognitive functioning.

Open Pore Ultrafiltration Hollow Fiber Membrane Fabrication Method via Dual Pore Former with Dual Dope Solution Phase.

Hollow-fiber membranes are widely used in various fields of membrane processes because of their numerous properties, e.g., large surface area, high packing density, mass production with uniform quality, obvious end-of-life indicators, and so on. However, it is difficult to control the pores and internal properties of hollow-fiber membranes due to their inherent structure: a hollow inside surrounded by a wall membrane. Herein, we aimed to control pores and the internal structure of hollow-fiber membranes by fabricating a dual layer using a dual nozzle. Two different pore formers, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), were separately prepared in the dope solutions and used for spinning the dual layer. Our results show that nanoscale pores could be formed on the lumen side (26.8-33.2 nm), and the open pores continuously increased in size toward the shell side. Due to robust pore structure, our fabricated membrane exhibited a remarkable water permeability of 296.2 ± 5.7 L/m2·h·bar and an extremely low BSA loss rate of 0.06 ± 0.02%, i.e., a high BSA retention of 99.94%. In consideration of these properties, the studied membranes are well-suited for use in either water treatment or hemodialysis. Overall, our membranes could be considered for the latter application with a high urea clearance of 257.6 mL/min, which is comparable with commercial membranes.

Peripheral OCT Assisted by Scleral Depression in Retinopathy of Prematurity.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether handheld widefield optical coherence tomography (OCT) can be used to document retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) stage while using scleral depression to improve peripheral views. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. PARTICIPANTS: Consecutive neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in a single academic medical center who also met criteria for ROP screening and consented for research imaging. METHODS: Scleral depression was combined with widefield OCT using an investigational 400-kHz, 55-degree field of view handheld OCT during routine ROP screening from October 28, 2020 to March 03, 2021. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Acquisition of en face and B-scan imaging of the peripheral retina to objectively assess early vitreoretinal pathology, including the demarcation between vascularized and anterior avascular retina, the presence of early ridge formation, and small neovascular tufts. RESULTS: Various stages of ROP were detected using a rapid acquisition OCT system. In one neonate, serial OCT imaging over a five-week period demonstrated accumulation of neovascular tufts with progression to stage 3 ROP with extraretinal fibrovascular proliferation along the ridge. Videography of this technique is included in this report for instructional purposes. CONCLUSIONS: Serial examinations using widefield OCT and scleral depression is feasible and may improve detection and documentation of ROP disease progression. Earlier detection of ROP-related proliferation may prevent vitreoretinal traction, retinal detachment, and blindness.