Oxygen isotopes of East Asian dinosaurs reveal exceptionally cold Early Cretaceous climates.

Early Cretaceous vertebrate assemblages from East Asia and particularly the Jehol Biota of northeastern China flourished during a period of highly debated climatic history. While the unique characters of these continental faunas have been the subject of various speculations about their biogeographic history, little attention has been paid to their possible climatic causes. Here we address this question using the oxygen isotope composition of apatite phosphate (δ ) from various reptile remains recovered from China, Thailand, and Japan. δ values indicate that cold terrestrial climates prevailed at least in this part of Asia during the Barremian-early Albian interval. Estimated mean air temperatures of about 10 ± 4 °C at midlatitudes (∼ 42 °N) correspond to present day cool temperate climatic conditions. Such low temperatures are in agreement with previous reports of cold marine temperatures during this part of the Early Cretaceous, as well as with the widespread occurrence of the temperate fossil wood genus Xenoxylon and the absence of thermophilic reptiles such as crocodilians in northeastern China. The unique character of the Jehol Biota is thus not only the result of its evolutionary and biogeographical history but is also due to rather cold local climatic conditions linked to the paleolatitudinal position of northeastern China and global icehouse climates that prevailed during this part of the Early Cretaceous.

Successful repair of atrial fibrillation by surgical ablation in a patient with persistent left superior vena cava and mitral stenosis.

We recently cared for a woman who had mitral stenosis, atrial fibrillation, absent right superior vena cava, and persistent left superior vena cava. She underwent mitral valve replacement and surgical ablation of the pulmonary vein, and conjunction of the coronary sinus and left superior vena cava. Her atrial fibrillation was cured and successfully restored to sinus rhythm postoperatively.

Surgical therapies for Acanthamoeba keratitis by phototherapeutic keratectomy and deep lamellar keratoplasty.

PURPOSE: To report the efficacy of phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) and deep lamellar keratoplasty (DLKP) in the treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis. METHODS: Two patients with delayed diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis failed to respond to multiple systemic and topic antiamoebic agents supplemented by twice-weekly corneal scraping. Three weeks into such therapy, one developed a ring-shaped subepithelial infiltration and PTK was performed. The other was treated with DLKP for progressive keratitis that had invaded the midstromal layer after 50 days of medical therapy. RESULTS: Improvements were observed immediately after the operations and medical therapy was gradually discontinued. Best-corrected visual acuity improved to 20/20 for both patients. CONCLUSIONS: PTK and DLKP were found to be effective surgical procedures, especially for advanced Acanthamoeba keratitis that fails to respond to medical therapy and corneal debridement.

Clinical evaluation of blue-light blocker foldable acrylic IOL (HMY).

Efficacy and safety of blue-light-filtering acrylic IOL (HMY) were assessed and proven from 3 months to 1 year of postoperative follow-up in a clinical study performed on 80 eyes of 45 patients. Postoperative corrected visual acuity of all the eyes was 6/12 or better and 78.8% of them achieved higher than 6/6. The rate of mean corneal endothelial cell density decrease stood at 5.0%. Mild complications were observed, but none were serious.

Antioxidative effects of benidipine hydrochloride in patients with hypertension independent of antihypertensive effects. Relationship between blood pressure and oxidative stress.

This study investigated the significance of measuring plasma level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) in patients with hypertension and compared the clinical effects of benidipine hydrochloride (CAS 91599-74-5, Coniel) and amlodipine besylate (CAS 111470-99-6) on plasma TBARS. At first, blood pressure and plasma TBARS were measured in 85 untreated patients (48 males and 37 females, 68 years old on average) with at least one risk factor of cardiovascular disease to investigate factors which had influence on plasma TBARS. As the result, plasma TBARS was significantly higher in those with hypertension, which was also true when adjusted for other factors (r = 0.359, p< 0.01). Among these patients, benidipine hydrochloride at the dose of 4 mg/day was administered to 49 patients with hypertension or angina pectoris. All patients stratified for each factor showed significantly decreased plasma TBARS after benidipine hydrochloride treatment. Second, 40 untreated patients with essential hypertension were randomly assigned to the amlodipine group (5-7.5 mg/day) or benidipine group (4-8 mg/day) to compare the plasma TBARS levels. Plasma TBARS levels were significantly decreased in both groups. The amlodipine group showed a positive correlation between the decrease in plasma TBARS level and those in both diastolic and systolic blood pressures after treatment. On the other hand, benidipine hydrochloride decreased plasma TBARS to a greater degree than both diastolic and systolic blood pressures. These findings suggest that patients with hypertension have high plasma TBARS, and benidipine hydrochloride decreases not only blood pressure but also oxidative stress in the clinical practice.

Implantation of a keratoprosthesis of novel design in rabbits.

PURPOSE: To evaluate a keratoprosthesis, implanted by penetrating keratoplasty, in rabbits. METHODS: We implanted our keratoprosthesis (optics and flange portions of polymethylmethacrylate and a polyurethane skirt with micropores) into 14 eyes of 14 rabbits. In four eyes, we evaluated histologically the junction between the keratoprosthesis and host cornea. Long-term keratoprosthesis survival was evaluated in ten eyes by slit-lamp biomicroscopy. RESULTS: The histological study showed good approximation of the keratoprosthesis to the host cornea in the junction area, with overlying superficial corneal stroma on the skirt, keratocyte and collagen fiber ingrowth into the micropores, and partial migration of epithelial cells onto the skirt. However, in the long-term survival study, eight out of ten eyes developed acute suture-related inflammation, considered to be from bacterial infection, requiring enucleation 30 +/- 18 weeks after implantation. The remaining two eyes have survived for 70 and 76 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Our keratoprosthesis was well tolerated in the short term. However, further modifications are necessary to avoid corneal infection.

Herpes simplex virus genome quantification in two patients who developed herpetic epithelial keratitis during treatment with antiglaucoma medications.

PURPOSE: We quantitated herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA in tear film obtained from 2 patients who developed herpetic epithelial keratitis (HEK) during treatment with latanoprost and a beta-blocker. METHODS: The patient in case 1 is a 77-year-old woman with bilateral open-angle glaucoma who had been treated with latanoprost and timolol for 11 months. She developed HEK in the right eye followed by HEK in the left eye 1 month later. Both eyes healed with administration of acyclovir. Ten months later, HEK recurred in the right eye. The patient in case 2 is a 45-year-old man with bilateral normal tension glaucoma who had been treated with latanoprost for 2 years. After concurrent treatment with nipradilol for 5 months, typical dendritic keratitis developed in the left eye. In both cases, a real-time PCR assay was used to quantify HSV-DNA in the tear film. RESULTS: In the patient in case 1, 71 copies of the HSV genome were detected in the tear film obtained from the right eye at the time of presentation with HEK. After 1 week of treatment with topical acyclovir ointment, the corneal epithelial defects healed and the number of HSV genome copies present in the tear film fell below the sensitivity limit of the assay. In the patient in case 2, 7.0 x 10 copies of the HSV genome were detected in the tear film from the left eye. After 3 days of topical acyclovir ointment, it healed and the HSV genome in the tear film became undetectable. CONCLUSIONS: Herpetic keratitis may occur during treatment with latanoprost and beta-blockers. The amount of HSV DNA detected in the tear film paralleled with the activity of the corneal lesion.

The cytokine regulation of SPARC production by rabbit corneal epithelial cells and fibroblasts in vitro.

OBJECTIVE: SPARC (osteonectin/BM40) is detected in the corneal stroma during the wound-healing process. To understand the metabolism of SPARC in the cornea, we investigated the effects of cytokines and growth factors on SPARC synthesis by rabbit corneal epithelial cells and fibroblasts. METHODS: Rabbit corneal epithelial cells or fibroblasts were cultured for 3 days with serum-containing minimal essential medium (MEM), then subcultured for 3 days on serum-free MEM with epidermal growth factor (EGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), or interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta). SPARC concentration in the medium was measured by the ELISA method using anti-SPARC monoclonal antibody. RESULTS: The concentration of SPARC in the conditioned medium of the epithelial cells depended on either cell numbers or cultivation periods. When EGF was added to the medium, the amount of SPARC in the medium decreased. The addition of IL-1beta, PDGF, or TGF-beta did not affect SPARC synthesis by the epithelial cells. The production of SPARC by rabbit corneal fibroblasts was low compared with that by epithelial cells. However, the synthesis of SPARC by corneal fibroblasts was significantly enhanced by the addition of TGF-beta. The addition of IL-1beta, PDGF, or EGF slightly increased SPARC synthesis by corneal fibroblasts. CONCLUSIONS: Cytokines and growth factors modulate SPARC synthesis by rabbit corneal epithelial cells and fibroblasts. These results suggest that cytokines and growth factors modulate cell-matrix interaction in corneal wound healing, possibly by regulating SPARC synthesis.

Quantitative analysis of herpes simplex virus genome in tears from patients with herpetic keratitis.

PURPOSE: Herpetic keratitis is manifested in various corneal disorders, for example, dendritic keratitis, persistent epithelial defect, disciform keratitis, and endotheliitis. In this paper, we report on the quantity of herpes simplex virus (HSV) genome in tears from patients with various types of herpetic keratitis in an attempt to understand the role of HSV in these conditions. METHODS: We collected tear samples from both eyes of 56 consecutive patients with herpetic keratitis who visited Kinki University Hospital between June 2000 and May 2002. All patients had unilateral herpetic keratitis: epithelial keratitis in 27 eyes; persistent epithelial defect in 6; active disciform stromal keratitis in 14; silent stromal keratitis in 6; and endotheliitis in 3. We measured levels of HSV genome in these tear samples using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. RESULTS: In epithelial keratitis, HSV DNA was detected in all 27 samples from affected eyes (6.4 +/- 4.4 x 10(5) copies/sample). In persistent epithelial defect, HSV DNA was detected in all 6 samples from affected eyes (8.5 +/- 3.3 x 10(4) copies/sample). In active disciform stromal keratitis, HSV DNA was detected in 8 of the 14 affected eyes (1.4 +/- 1.1 x 10(5) copies/sample including zero values in negative samples). HSV DNA was not detected in samples from unaffected eyes or eyes affected by silent stromal keratitis or endotheliitis. CONCLUSION: Real-time PCR is a useful method for quantifying HSV DNA in tear samples from patients with herpetic keratitis. Using this method, we demonstrate that HSV reproduction occurs in persistent epithelial defect and disciform stromal keratitis.