Real world outcomes of photodynamic therapy for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy.

OBJECTIVES: We describe the real-world outcomes of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) in a single centre over nine years. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective analysis of patients with chronic CSCR who received half dose PDT in a single centre between 2011 and 2019. Visual acuity (VA) and retinal thickness (RT) was recorded between baseline visit and first recorded review visit. RESULTS: We included 125 eyes of 113 patients in this study. Mean age at treatment was 55.0 ± 12.1 years, with a higher male predominance (83 men, 30 women). Mean baseline VA was 0.40 ± 0.31 logMAR with a mean visual outcome gain post-PDT of 0.05 logMAR (p = 0.005). Mean baseline RT was 390 ± 82 microns with a mean reduction of RT post-PDT of 66 microns (p < 0.001). 17.6% of eyes were treated for recurrent CSCR. CONCLUSION: We found overall a mean improvement in VA and structural outcomes after PDT. In the absence of randomised clinical trials this study supports the use of half dose PDT for treatment of chronic CSCR.

Extraction of curcumin from turmeric residue (Curcuma longa L.) using deep eutectic solvents and surfactant solvents.

Using waste materials to extract biologically active ingredients with green solvents is a new trend for sustainable development. Herein, different types of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and surfactant solvents (SSs) were used to extract curcumin from turmeric residues (TRs), among which choline chloride-propylene glycol (ChCl-Pro) showed the highest yield. The optimized extraction conditions included a ChCl : Pro ratio of 1 : 2, water content in the DESs of 20%, solid : liquid ratio of 1 : 40 maintained for 60 min at 50 °C, and a TR particle size of 0.18 mm. The extraction yield was 54.2 mg g-1, which was 1.31 times higher than when methanol was used as a solvent. Distilled water was used to recover curcumin from the DES extract with a recovery yield of 99.7%. Furthermore, the antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activities of the recovered curcumin were evaluated, with IC50 values of 25.58 ± 0.51 and 19.12 ± 0.83 µg mL-1, respectively. This study highlights the promising potential of using green solvents to extract bioactive compounds from waste materials.

Estimation of the probability content in a specified interval using fiducial approach.

Statistical methods for constructing confidence intervals for the probability content in a specified interval are proposed. Exact and approximate solutions based on the fiducial approach are described when the measurements on the variable of interest can be modelled by a location-scale (or log-location-scale) distribution. Methods are described for the normal, Weibull, two-parameter exponential and two-parameter Rayleigh distributions. For each case, the solutions are evaluated for their merits. Three examples, where it is desired to estimate the percentages of engineering products meet the specification limits, are provided to illustrate the methods.

Confidence interval, prediction interval and tolerance limits for a two-parameter Rayleigh distribution.

The problems of interval estimating the parameters and the mean of a two-parameter Rayleigh distribution are considered. We propose pivotal-based methods for constructing confidence intervals for the mean, quantiles, survival probability and for constructing prediction intervals for the mean of a future sample. Pivotal quantities based on the maximum likelihood estimates (MLEs), moment estimates (MEs) and the L-moments estimates (L-MEs) are proposed. Interval estimates based on them are compared via Monte Carlo simulation. Comparison studies indicate that the results based on the MEs and the L-MEs are very similar. The results based on the MLEs are slightly better than those based on the MEs and the L-MEs for small to moderate sample sizes. The methods are illustrated using an example involving lifetime data.