Research progress on prediction of postoperative intraocular lens position.

With the progress in refractive cataract surgery, more intraocular lens (IOL) power formulas have been introduced with the aim of reducing the postoperative refractive error. The postoperative IOL position is critical to IOL power calculations. Therefore, the improvements in postoperative IOL position prediction will enable better selection of IOL power and postoperative refraction. In the past, the postoperative IOL position was mainly predicted by preoperative anterior segment parameters such as preoperative axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and corneal curvature. In recent years, some novel methods including the intraoperative ACD, crystalline lens geometry, and artificial intelligence (AI) of prediction of postoperative IOL position have been reported. This article attempts to give a review about the research progress on prediction of the postoperative IOL position.

Three New Species of Lactifluus (Basidiomycota, Russulaceae) from Guizhou Province, Southwest China.

Lactifluus is a distinct genus of milkcaps, well known as ectomycorrhizal fungi. The characteristics of the genus Lactifluus include grayish-yellow, orange to orange-brown, or reddish-brown pileus, white latex from the damaged lamellae, discoloring to a brownish color, reticulate spore ornamentation, lampropalisade-type pileipellis, and the presence of lamprocystidia. Guizhou Province is rich in wild mushroom resources due to its special geographical location and natural environment. In this study, three novel Lactifluus species were identified through the screening of extensive fungal resources in Suiyang County, Guizhou Province, China, sampled from host species of mostly Castanopsis spp. and Pinus spp. Based on critical morphology coupled with nuclear sequences of genes encoding large subunit rRNA, internal transcribed spacer, and RNA polymerase II, these new species, Lactifluus taibaiensis, Lactifluus qinggangtangensis, and Lactifluus jianbaensis, were found to belong to Lactifluus section Lactifluus. A comparison with closely related species, Lactifluus taibaiensis was distinguished by its lighter-colored pileus, different colors of lamellae, and more subglobose basidiospores; Lactifluus jianbaensis was identified by the height of the spore ornamentation and its subglobose basidiospores; and Lactifluus qinggangtangensis was characterized by having smaller basidiospores, ridges, and pleurolamprocystid.

Combination of mild therapeutic hypothermia and adipose-derived stem cells for ischemic brain injury.

Mild therapeutic hypothermia has been shown to mitigate cerebral ischemia, reduce cerebral edema, and improve the prognosis of patients with cerebral ischemia. Adipose-derived stem cell-based therapy can decrease neuronal death and infiltration of inflammatory cells, exerting a neuroprotective effect. We hypothesized that the combination of mild therapeutic hypothermia and adipose-derived stem cells would be neuroprotective for treatment of stroke. A rat model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion was established using the nylon monofilament method. Mild therapeutic hypothermia (33°C) was induced after 2 hours of ischemia. Adipose-derived stem cells were administered through the femoral vein during reperfusion. The severity of neurological dysfunction was measured by a modified Neurological Severity Score Scaling System. The area of the infarct lesion was determined by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Apoptotic neurons were detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining. The regeneration of microvessels and changes in the glial scar were detected by immunofluorescence staining. The inflammatory responses after ischemic brain injury were evaluated by in situ staining using markers of inflammatory cells. The expression of inflammatory cytokines was measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Compared with mild therapeutic hypothermia or adipose-derived stem cell treatment alone, their combination substantially improved neurological deficits and decreased infarct size. They synergistically reduced the number of TUNEL-positive cells and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression, increased vascular endothelial growth factor levels, effectively reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and down-regulated the mRNA expression of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1ß, tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6. Our findings indicate that combined treatment is a better approach for treating stroke compared with mild therapeutic hypothermia or adipose-derived stem cells alone.

[Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Different Doses of Dexamethasone Combined with Bortezomib and Thalidomide for Treating Patients with Multiple Myeloma].

OBJECTIVE: To study the clinical efficacy and safety of dexamethasone of different doses combined with bortezomib and thalidomide for treatment of primary multiple myeloma. METHODS: Ninety-six patients with multiple myeloma from January 2013 to January 2014 were randomly divided into group A (high-dose dexamethasone + bortezomib + thalidomide, 32 cases), group B (low-dose dexamethasone + bortezomib + thalidomide, 32 cases) and group C (placebo + bortezomib + thalidomide, 32 cases). The clinical efficacy and safety of patients was compared among 3 groups. RESULTS: The overall remission rate (ORR) in group A and B was significantly higher than that in group C (P<0.05), but the ORR was not significant difference between group A and group B (P>0.05). After treatment, the KPS and RNS score in 3 groups were significantly higher and lower than those before treatment, respectively; the KPS score in group A and B was significantly higher than that in group C (P<0.05), the RNS score in group A and B was significantly lower C (P<0.05). After treatment, the positive expression rates of CD38, CD56 and CD138 as well as small residual lesion (SRL) positive rate in 3 grops were significantly lower than those before treatment, but the positive expression rate of CD19 was significantly higher that before treatment; the positive expression rates of CD38, CD56 and CD138 as well as SRL positive rate in group A and B were significantly lower thant those in group C, while the positive expression rate of CD19 was significantly higher that in group C (P<0.05), but the positive expression rates of CD19, CD38, CD56 and CD138 as well as SRL positive rate were not significantly different between group A and B (P>0.05). The incidence of fatigue, rash, peripheral neuropathy, anlmia, granulocyte deficiance and so on in group B and C was significantly lower than that in group A(P<0.05), but the difference in group B and C was not significant (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The therapeutic efficacy of different doses of dexamethasone combined with bortezomib and thalidomide for patients with multiple myeloma is similar, can obviously enhance remission rate, prolong the survival time, promote life quality, but the incidence of adverse reactions in low dose dexamethason rigemen is significantly reduced, and the safety is better.

Effect of solid lipid's structure on nanostructured lipid carriers encapsulated with sun filter: characterisation, photo-stability and in vitro release.

Three series of solid lipid are formulated in nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) system, which encapsulated with sun filter to evaluate the effect on the physicochemical properties of the nanocarriers. Production is performed by ultrasonication-homogenisation, analysis by particle size, zeta potential (ZP), transmission electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD). Moreover, the encapsulation efficiency, ultraviolet performance and in vitro release are also investigated. The particle sizes of NLCs are between 185 and 225 nm and the polydispersity index is lower than 0.4, ZP from -56.4 to -78.6 mV, and the particles are spherical and in homogenous shading. All prepared NCLs encapsulated the sun filter and the EE are higher than 73%. DSC analysis revealed α- to ß-polymorphic modification existed in the system of fatty alcohol and fatty acid. However, α, ß and ß'-polymorphic modifications are exist in the system of cetyl palmitate (PC). Compared with conventional emulsion, all NLCs displayed perfect photo-protective property, especially for the alcohol system. The photo-stability studies showed that the all NLCs have the ability to improve the photo-stability of sunscreens. The in vitro release study suggested all three NLCs displayed sustained release profile and they were fit well with Higuchi equation.

Impact of salicylic acid on the antioxidant enzyme system and hydrogen peroxide production in Cucumis sativus under chilling stress.

Salicylic acid (SA) is a naturally produced compound and has been implicated to play important roles in defense of plants against diverse biotic and abiotic stresses. To understand how SA functions in the tolerance of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) to chilling stress, endogenous SA levels in two different cultivars with opposite chilling responsiveness were quantified. Membrane integrity, including malondialdehyde (MDA) content and leakage of electrolyte, was also examined in SA-pretreated cucumber plants under chilling conditions. In addition, activities of the two antioxidant enzymes peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) were quantified, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production was investigated histochemically in SA-treated leaves under chilling temperature. Chilling stress resulted in greater induction of SA levels in the chilling-tolerant cultivar Changchun mici in both leaves and seeds compared to the chilling-sensitive one Beijing jietou, while the former one contained higher levels of SA than the latter one in the seeds under normal conditions. Pretreatment with SA diminished the increased electrolyte leakage and MDA content caused by chilling in the leaves of both cultivars, while much less MDA and electrolyte leakage were produced in Changchun mici compared to Beijing jietou. Moreover, exogenous application of SA increased significantly the POD and CAT activities and soluble protein content. Most importantly, exogenous SA treatment could eliminate the accumulation of H202 in leaves and cotyledons of both cultivars caused by chilling stress. The data clearly demonstrated that the chilling-tolerant cultivar displays a higher SA level than the chilling-sensitive one, and that exogenous SA can enhance the chilling tolerance ability, which might be achieved through modulating the antioxidant system in cucumber.