Subthreshold micropulse laser therapy for early postoperative macular thickening following surgical removal of epiretinal membrane.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the functional and anatomical outcomes of subthreshold micropulse laser (SMPL) therapy in eyes with early postoperative macular thickening after idiopathic epiretinal membrane (iERM) removal. METHODS: This was a prospective and interventional study. Forty-eight eyes from 48 patients with macular edema at 1 month after iERM removal were randomly divided into two groups. Patients in the SMPL group (n = 24) received SMPL therapy while no special intervention was used for the observation group (n = 24). Baseline demographic data and clinical findings before and at 1 and 3 months after SMPL treatment or observation, including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and the changes in central subfield thickness (CST) and average macular thickness (AMT), were analyzed. RESULTS: An improvement in BCVA with a decrease in CST and AMT from baseline to the 3-month follow-ups were observed in both SMPL and observation groups. No significant difference in BCVA was observed between the SMPL group and observation group either in the 1-month (0.26 [0.15, 0.52] vs. 0.26 [0.15, 0.39], P = 0.852) or the 3-month (0.15 [0.10, 0.30] vs. 0.23 [0.15, 0.30], P = 0.329) follow-up. There was a greater reduction in CST in the SMPL group versus observation group between baseline and the 3-month follow-up (-77.8 ± 72.3 µm vs. -45.0 ± 46.9 µm, P = 0.049). The alteration in AMT did not differ between the two groups in either 1-month (-16.5 ± 20.1 µm vs. -19.7 ± 16.3 µm, P = 0.547) or 3-month (-36.9 ± 26.9 µm vs. -34.0 ± 20.1 µm, P = 0.678) follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: SMPL therapy led to a significant decrease in CST at the 3-month follow-up while did not significantly improve the visual acuity in patients with postoperative macular thickening following iERM surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered on Aug 27, 2020 (Trial Registration Number: ChiCTR 2000037227).

Preliminary Efficacy of Mindfulness and Cognitive Restructuring Interventions to Reduce Nonconsensual Sex Intentions.

OBJECTIVE: Victims of sexual violence experience detrimental physical and mental health consequences. Therefore, developing programs to prevent sexual violence is of utmost importance. Our previous work provided preliminary support for the efficacy of brief mindfulness and cognitive restructuring (CR) interventions in reducing sexual violence intentions. Because alcohol use and alcohol expectancies (AE) have been identified as risk factors for sexual violence, this secondary data analysis aimed to examine whether alcohol use and men's expectations that alcohol may affect women's vulnerability of being sexually coerced moderate the usefulness of these two interventions on nonconsensual sex intentions. METHOD: Single, young, heterosexual, heavy episodic drinking men with sexual violence histories were randomly assigned to receive mindfulness or CR skills training, or attention control. Half of the participants in each intervention condition were then randomized to alcohol or sober conditions. All participants read a hypothetical sexual scenario and rated their intention to engage in nonconsensual sex with their hypothetical sexual partner. RESULTS: Mindfulness was effective in lowering nonconsensual sex intentions among sober men with high AE for women's vulnerability and intoxicated men with low AE for women's vulnerability to sexual coercion. CR was effective in lowering nonconsensual sex intentions among intoxicated men with low and moderate AE for women's vulnerability to sexual coercion. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide preliminary evidence for the efficacy of mindfulness and CR in lowering nonconsensual sex intentions under certain circumstances and highlight men's AE about women's vulnerability to sexual coercion as a critical factor that interacts with alcohol use to influence the efficacy of mindfulness and CR.

The effects of different doses of lanthanum-modified bentonite in combination with a submerged macrophyte (Vallisneria denseserrulata) on phosphorus inactivation and macrophyte growth: A mesocosm study.

The combination of chemical phosphorus (P) inactivation and submerged macrophyte transplantation has been widely used in lake restoration as it yields stronger effects than when applying either method alone. However, the dose effect of chemical materials on P inactivation when used in combination with submerged macrophytes and the influences of the chemicals used on the submerged macrophytes growth remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated P inactivation in both the water column and the sediment, and the responses of submerged macrophytes to Lanthanum modified bentonite (LMB) in an outdoor mesocosm experiment where Vallisneria denseserrulata were transplanted into all mesocosms and LMB was added at four dosage levels, respectively: control (LMB-free), low dosage (570 g m-2), middle dosage (1140 g m-2), and high dosage (2280 g m-2). The results showed that the combination of LMB dosage and V. denseserrulata reduced TP in the water column by 32%-38% compared to V. denseserrulata alone, while no significant difference was observed among the three LMB treatments. Porewater soluble reactive P, two-dimensional diffusive gradient in thin films (DGT)-labile P concentrations, and P transformation in the 0-1 cm sediment layer exhibited similar trends along the LMB dosage gradient. Besides, LMB inhibited plant growth and reduced the uptake of mineral elements (i.e., calcium, manganese, iron, and magnesium) in a dosage-dependent manner with LMB. LMB may reduce plant growth by creating a P deficiency risk for new ramets and by interfering with the uptake of mineral elements. Considering both the dose effect of LMB on P inactivation and negative effect on macrophyte growth, we suggest a "small dosage, frequent application" method for LMB application to be used in lake restoration aiming to recover submerged macrophytes and clear water conditions.

Brain Functional Connectivity in Middle-Aged Hong Chuan Tai Chi Players in Resting State.

Tai Chi is an effective strategy for slowing cognitive decline, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We designed a cross-sectional study to examine brain functional connectivity in middle-aged Hong Chuan Tai Chi practitioners. Eighteen middle-aged Hong Chuan Tai Chi practitioners and 22 age-matched Tai Chi-naïve controls completed functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) tests to evaluate oxyhemoglobin changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), motor cortex (MC), and occipital cortex (OC) in five frequency intervals (I, 0.6-2 Hz; II, 0.145-0.6 Hz; III, 0.052-0.145 Hz; IV, 0.021-0.052 Hz; V, 0.0095-0.021 Hz). Wavelet phase coherence was used to analyze the match between the instantaneous phases of the two signals to accurately measure brain functional connectivity. Global cognition was measured using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale. Compared with the control group, Hong Chuan Tai Chi practitioners had better global cognition (p < 0.01) and showed higher functional connectivity of the PFC, MC, and OC in intervals I, III, VI, and V in the resting state within the same brain hemispheres or between the left and right hemispheres. Our findings revealed that middle-aged Hong Chuan Tai Chi practitioners had higher functional connectivity of the PFC, MC, and OC across both brain hemispheres in cardiac activity, myogenic activity, sympathetic nervous system, and endothelial cell metabolic activities which may contribute to higher global cognition.

The synergy of Fe(III) and NO2- drives the anaerobic oxidation of methane.

The anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) driven by NO2- or Fe(III) alone was limited by slow electron delivery and ineffective enrichment of microbes. The flexible coupling between Fe(III) and NO2- potentially cooperated to accelerate AOM. One negative control was fed CH4 and NO2-, and four treatment reactors were supplemented with CH4, NO2- and ferric citrate (FC)/ferric chloride (FCH)/ chelate iron (FCI)/ferric hydroxide (FH) and were anaerobically operated for 1200 days to verify the synergy and promicrobial roles of Fe(III) and NO2- in improving AOM. The changes in gas and ion profiles were observed in the reactors, and microbial development was studied using 16S rRNA gene sequencing with the Illumina platform. The results indicated that the combined Fe(III) and NO2- treatment improved AOM, and their synergy followed the order of FC > FCI > FCH > FH. The biochemical reaction of Fe3+ with NO2- and its secondary process accelerated electron transfer to microbial cells and subsequently enhanced AOM in the reactors. The total organic carbon (TOC) content, NH4+ content, NO3- content, and pH value altered the dominant bacteria the most in the FC reactor, FCI, FCH, and FH groups, respectively. Several dominant bacterial species were enriched, whereas only two archaea were highly concentrated in the FC and FCI groups. Only bacteria were detected in the FCH group, and archaea contributed substantially to the FH group. These findings contribute to an improved understanding of the interactions among nitrogen, iron and CH4 that are paramount to accelerating the process of AOM for engineering applications.

Mitigation effects of exogenous melatonin-selenium nanoparticles on arsenic-induced stress in Brassica napus.

Melatonin (MT) and selenium (Se) application known to decrease heavy metal uptake and toxicity in plants. By mixing the Se in MT medium a new complex MT-Se nanoparticles (MT-Se NPs) was synthesized and we investigated the role of MT-Se NPs on B. napus growth and tolerance against As stress. The MT-Se particles significantly enhanced the plant growth and other associated physiological attributes under As stress. The As treatment at 80 µM was more phytotoxic, however MT-Se NPs application resulted in a substantial increase in leaf chlorophyll fluorescence, biomass accumulation, and decreased ROS relative to As stressed plants. The use of MT-Se NPs to As stressed plants reduced photosynthetic inhibition and oxidative stress and attenuated the increase in MDA and H2O2 contents. The application of MT-Se NPs also boosted the antioxidant enzymes activities such as SOD, POD and CAT as well as the APX, GR and GSH activates under As stress. The results also showed MT-Se NPs treatments alleviated the growth inhibition induced by As and reduced the accumulation of As in leaves and roots of B. napus seedlings. Moreover, treatment with MT-Se NPs improved the plant growth more successfully than treatment of MT and Se alone. This study explored the mechanism of melatonin and selenium efficiency in the composition can be jointly encouraged to exert synergistic effects and boost plant enzymatic activities.

Surgical outcomes of macular hole and epimacular membrane treatment in patients with intraoperative amaurosis under sub-Tenon's anesthesia.

OBJECTIVE: Some patients have been found to develop intraoperative amaurosis under sub-Tenon's anesthesia. We explored whether these patients have poor surgical outcomes during mid- to long-term postoperative follow-up. METHODS: In this case series, 74 of 85 patients with macular diseases who underwent phacoemulsification combined with vitrectomy under sub-Tenon's anesthesia developed intraoperative amaurosis. The surgical outcomes at the 2- and 4-month follow-ups in these patients were investigated and compared with the outcomes in patients without amaurosis using best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and pattern visual evoked potential (PVEP). RESULTS: Both BCVA and the OCT-based macular structure in patients with intraoperative amaurosis showed significant postoperative improvement comparable with that of patients without amaurosis. The presence of intraoperative amaurosis was not associated with either macular hole closure or macular edema regression. PVEP revealed no significant changes in the wave latency or amplitude before and after surgery. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative amaurosis following sub-Tenon's block is commonly seen but does not predict a poor surgical prognosis. When a patient develops amaurosis during surgery, the surgeon should increase patient comfort through verbal communication rather than perform an additional intervention to help relieve the patient's anxiety.

Correlation between sub-Tenon's anesthesia and transient amaurosis during ophthalmic surgery.

PURPOSE: To verify the correlation between sub-Tenon's anesthesia and intraoperative visual loss in ophthalmic surgery. METHODS: Sixty-four patients underwent phacoemulsification combined pars plana vitrectomy under sub-Tenon's anesthesia. Participants were investigated about their light perception at several time points: before anesthesia, immediately after anesthesia, 10 min after anesthesia without any surgical intervention or microscope illumination, and after the whole surgery. Intraoperative amaurosis was determined as that a patient could not see any light from their operative eye. The incidence rate of amaurosis at different time points and among different anesthetists was analyzed. RESULTS: The rate of intraoperative amaurosis was 0%, 1.56%, 48.44%, and 95.31% at several time points, respectively: before anesthesia, immediately after anesthesia, 10 min after anesthesia without any surgical intervention or microscope light exposure during the interval, and immediately after the whole surgery, presenting a significantly time-dependent increase (P < 0.01). There was no correlation between the amaurosis and different diseases and anesthesiologists. The amaurosis was transient, and all operative eyes could perceive light on the first postoperative day. CONCLUSIONS: Sub-Tenon's anesthesia contributes to the intraoperative amaurosis during operation. Temporary interruption of optic nerve conduction by the anesthetic could be a credible explanation. The amaurosis is transient and reversible, requires no additional treatment, and should not be considered as a surgical complication.

Incidence and impact factors of intraoperative loss of light perception under sub-Tenon's anesthesia in patients with macular diseases.

PURPOSE: To investigate the incidence and impact factors of intraoperative loss of light perception (LP) under sub-Tenon's anesthesia in patients with macular diseases. METHODS: Eighty-five consecutive patients received standard phacoemulsification combined pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) under sub-Tenon's anesthesia. At several checkpoints during the surgery (the end of phacoemulsification, the end of vitrectomy, and the end of surgery), participants were interviewed about whether they had LP or not after removing the influence of contralateral eye and the photo-bleaching effect. In patients treated with retinal photocoagulation, visual experience on laser flashes was evaluated. RESULTS: Under routine draping, no patients reported loss of LP at all the checkpoints. When the contralateral eye was tightly covered, the rates of LP loss were 84.7%, 97.6%, and 87.1% at the end of phacoemulsification, the end of vitrectomy, and the end of surgery, respectively. When the photo-bleaching effect was also removed, the rates of LP loss were 61.2%, 82.4%, and 56.5% at each checkpoint, respectively, and there were 87.1% (74/85) of patients reporting visual loss in at least one checkpoint. In addition, 76.9% (50/65) of patients could not feel laser flashes during retinal photocoagulation. CONCLUSION: Intraoperative loss of LP under sub-Tenon's anesthesia was a relatively common and reversible event. The conduction block of optic nerve by anesthetic mainly contributed to the visual loss during surgery. Photo-bleaching effect also has some effect on the LP evaluation. Surgeons need to inform and counsel the patients about the intraoperative loss of LP, to prevent any sudden panic attacks in them.

Change in flash visual evoked potentials in New Zealand albino rabbits after sub-tenon's anesthesia.

CONTEXT: The occurrence of amaurosis during ophthalmic anesthesia is well known. The reason for this manifestation has not been studied. PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of sub-tenon's anesthesia on visual conduction in rabbit eyes. METHODS: Fifteen right eyes of 15 New Zealand albino rabbits were included. 2% lidocaine hydrochloride and 0.75% bupivacaine hydrochloride (1 ml, 1:1 mixture) was injected in the sub-tenon's space of 8 eyes while the control group (n = 7) was injected with 1 ml physiological saline. Flash visual evoked potentials (FVEP) were performed with Roland reti-scan system before and, 5 min, 15 min, and 5 days after injection. The natural pupillary diameter and minimal pupillary diameter with light reflex were recorded. RESULTS: In the anesthesia group, N1 latency, P1 latency, and P1 amplitude were 17.13 ± 1.13 ms, 28.25 ± 1.83 ms, 13.45 ± 4.36 µv respectively before injection; 21.75 ± 3.06 ms, 29.63 ± 2.67 ms, 7.24 ± 4.64 µv at 5 min after injection; 22.25 ± 1.39 ms, 29.50 ± 2.51 ms, 7.54 ± 4.47 µv at 15 min after injection, and, 17.75 ± 0.71 ms, 28.13 ± 2.42 ms, 13.17 ± 4.08 µv 5 days after injection. When compared with baseline, N1 latency at 5 min and 15 min after injection showed prolongation (p = 0.019 and p = 0.001, respectively). Likewise, P1 amplitude decreased at 5 min and 15 min after injection (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, respectively). Both N1 latency and P1 amplitude recovered 5 days after the injection. Pupillary light reflex (PLR) constriction amplitude was 35.42% and 0.00% before and at 5 min after injection (p = 0.012). After 5 days it recovered to 33.33%. The FVEP and PLR constriction amplitude did not change significantly after injection in the control group. DISCUSSION: Sub-tenon's anesthesia was associated with changes in the FVEP and pupullary light reflex in rabbit eyes in our study. CONCLUSIONS: The data from this study suggested that sub-tenon's anesthesia could reversibly block visual conduction in rabbit's eyes.

Simultaneous determination of 24 or more acidic and alkaline phytohormones in femtomole quantities of plant tissues by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry.

Phytohormones act at relatively low concentrations as major regulatory factors of plant growth and development, and cross talk of phytohormones is currently of great interest throughout the plant science community. To meet this demand, a method that is capable of simultaneously analyzing diverse plant hormones is essential. This paper introduces a high-performance liquid chromatographic separation technique coupled with sensitive and selective ion trap mass spectrometry to simultaneously determine 24 or more acidic and alkaline phytohormones, including auxin, cis- and trans-abscisic acid, 11 cytokinins, and 10 gibberellins, in a single injection of sample. A binary solid-phase extraction using Oasis MCX cartridges for cations and Oasis MAX cartridges for anions was used to prepurify more than 24 acidic and alkaline phytohormones from a single plant extract. The method showed good linearity for all 24 phytohormones with R(2) values ranging from 0.9903 to 0.9997. Limits of detection for most of the phytohormones were in the femtomole range with some extending into the sub-femtomole range. This method was applied to hundreds of plant samples comprising different tissues from various plants, including herbaceous, woody climbing, and woody plants to demonstrate feasibility and to validate the methodology.

Triterpene saponins from Lysimachia christinae.

Seven triterpene saponins were isolated from Lysimachia christinae and identified as lysichriside A (1), lysichriside B (2), primulanin (3), lysikokianoside 1 (4), anagallisin C (5), ardisiacrispin A (6), and ardisicrenoside B (7). Compounds 1 and 2 are new triterpene saponins, compounds 3, 5, and 7 were isolated from this genus, and compounds 4 and 6 were isolated from this species for the first time. Their structures were elucidated by means of 1D and 2D NMR experiments.