Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery after implantation of a transparent near vision corneal inlay.

PURPOSE: To describe two cases of successful femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery in patients with a transparent hydrogel corneal inlay (Raindrop Near Vision Inlay; ReVision Optics, Inc., Lake Forest, CA). METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: In both cases, femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery was performed with the inlay in place. The femtosecond laser pulses were delivered without difficulties, and the Raindrop inlay did not interfere with the visualization of intraocular structures during surgery. Following implantation of a monofocal intraocular lens targeted for plano, both patients experienced improvements in their uncorrected distance visual acuity and regained near vision. CONCLUSIONS: These two cases suggest that the presence of the Raindrop inlay left in situ does not preclude successful femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery.

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry method for quantification of five phospholipid classes in various matrices.

Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC), coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, can be used to separate and determine various polar lipid classes. The development of an HILIC chromatographic separation of several molecular species among five phospholipid classes (PC, PE, PG, PI and PS) is reported here. In this method, a gradient with acetonitrile and 40 mM ammonium acetate buffer was employed. The initial composition was 95% of acetonitrile, then this proportion was decreased to 70% in order to elute all the compounds of interest for a total running time of 11 mins. Furthermore, mobile phase pH can affect the ionizable character of the compounds, according to their pKa values, and also the stationary phase charge state. The influence of such a parameter on both retention times and resolution was evaluated. Besides, the response of different kinds of internal standards (post-extraction standard addition) was evaluated in four different biological matrices, two microalgae extracts and two marine fish extracts. This study found that the recovery rates were between 70 and 140% of the expected value, with relative standard deviations between 10 and 35%, and then limited matrix effects.•HILIC approach can be used to separate phospholipid according to their polar head-group, and electrospray ionization in negative mode as well as MS/MS allows further identification of the molecular species within each phospholipid class.•Matrix effects are low and compensated with appropriate internal standards.•The limits of quantifications were ranging from 0.05 to 0.14 µg.mL-1, depending on the analyte.

Considerations for the design of future clinical trials in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) remains incurable in most cases, and there is a need to improve outcomes through clinical research, which will include development of novel molecularly targeted or immunotherapeutic agents. There are also many remaining questions regarding the optimization of currently available regimens, including the utility of dose escalation, the benefit of combination therapy, and the optimal sequences of therapies. Addressing these clinical questions will require careful planning and the inclusion of novel elements in trial designs. Future trials should include molecular phenotyping and selection of patients most likely to benefit from targeted therapies. In this article, we consider lessons learned from previous trials in mRCC and discuss how these lessons might be implemented in the design of future trials that focus on clinically useful questions and provide results that can be readily interpreted. The ultimate aim of the next generation of mRCC trials will be rapid cost-effective identification, testing, and approval of agents that can improve prognosis in this challenging disease.