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Retinoblastoma (RB) is a primary intraocular malignancy in childhood, and may develop relapse and metastatic disease. This study was to identify the stem-cell properties of primary retinoblastoma cells critical to tumorigenesis and metastasis. Primary cells were isolated from fresh human RB tissues after enucleation, and cultured in serum-free or serum-enriched conditions, with two RB cell-lines Weri-RB1 and Y79 for comparison. Proliferation of primary RB cells were well-maintained in serum-free condition of DMEM/F12 medium, and formed stem-cell like spheroids. The immaturity of cultured primary RB cells was demonstrated by tendency of highly expressed stem-cell markers (CD133, Nestin and OCT4) and suppressed mature retinal-cell markers (GFAP, MAP2 and Recoverin). CD133, a neural stem-cell marker being exclusively studied in RB, was found positive in small patches of cells in archival human RB by immunohistochemistry. Meanwhile, at initial isolation, insignificant CD133 + cells were detected by flow-cytometry, and substantial increase of positivity was observed after several days cultivated in serum-free condition. Cultured primary RB cells were engrafted in subretinal region of BALB/c nude mice for assessment of tumorigenicity. Strong tumorigenic activity and extensive progression of the xenograft retinoblastoma was induced by primary cells as compared with the two cell-lines. Again, immunohistochemistry confirmed that the stem-cell markers were emphasized in the xenograft tumor in mice. Our findings demonstrated that in comparison to the well-established RB cell-lines, cultured primary RB cells possess stem-cell like properties with highly expressed stem-cell markers, self-regenerative growth in culture, and strong in vivo oncogenic potentiality., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Although the technology of coal mine underground reservoirs has been widely applied in the Western China, little is known about the variation of water quality induced by the removal transformation of nitrogen and dissolved organic matter (DOM) rich in mine water during its storage and transport in a coal mine underground reservoir. Column experiments were carried out at 30 °C and at Darcy fluxes ranging from 0.32 cm/h to 0.64 cm/h to investigate the transport parameters and dynamic changes of nitrogen and DOM in a simulated underground reservoir filled with coal gangue, which was composed of sandstone and mudstone. Results showed that chloride transport could be described by the convection-dispersion equation (CDE) well at a Darcy flux of 0.32 cm/h, wherein the dispersion role was obvious. Despite the high level of nitrite in the influent, the effluent concentrations of nitrite and nitrate fluctuated around the background values through complete denitrification. And the removal of total nitrogen (TN) with efficiencies between 55.1% and 76% were highly correlated with nitrite denitrification. Ammonification of organic nitrogen got weakened over time and the content of ammonium ion tended to be stable at the level of that in the input mine water. The delayed breakthrough curves of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at a Darcy flux of 0.32 cm/h could be attributed to their adsorption onto the coal gangue during their transport through the simulated underground reservoir. Due to the variations of microbial and compositions of the input mine water, the removal efficiencies of COD and DOC increased slightly from 62% to 68%, 56% to 63%, respectively, when the Darcy flux increased from 0.32 cm/h to 0.62 cm/h. The findings would be helpful in evaluating the effectiveness of post-treatment of mine water during its storage in an underground reservoir in coal mine areas of Western China., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Wide occurrence of mercury species, including the highly toxic and readily bioaccumulative methylmercury (MeHg), in municipal sewage (MS) and sewage sludge (SS) has been evidenced in recent studies. Considering that vast amounts of MS and SS are produced globally each year and the majority of MS is discharged into aqueous environments, i.e., the main sites for MeHg bioaccumulation, special attention should be paid on the source and environmental behaviors of sewage-borne and sludge-borne mercury species. This review aims to summarize the findings on the occurrence of mercury species in MS and SS, their transport and transformation in MS treatment plants, as well as their fate and environmental implications.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of multi-detector row CT (MDCT) findings in the diagnosis of fibrous dysplasia (FD) in orbital bone., Methods: The MDCT manifestations of 18 cases of FD in orbital bone (6 cases from the 458th hospital of PLA, 12 cases from the Zhongshan ophthalmic center of Sun Yat-Sen university) collected from April 2002 to August 2009 were reviewed. Six cases were confirmed by biopsy, 5 cases were confirmed by operation and postoperative pathology, the remaining 6 cases were confirmed based on typical CT findings., Results: FD in orbital bone could be originated from monostotic single lesion (5 cases), monostotic multiple lesions (1 cases) or polyostotic multiple lesions (12 cases). Twelve lesions were originated in the frontal bone, 5 lesions in the sphenoid, 2 lesions in the ethmoid, 7 lesions in the temporal bone., Conclusions: MDCT is very important in the diagnosis and treatment strategy of FD in orbital bone correctly. It help identify the location and extension of the lesions based on the axial plane, coronal plane and sagittal plane view.

Three classes of walking patterns, normal, caution and danger, were simulated by tying elastic bands to joints of lower body. In order to distinguish one class from another, four local motions suggested by doctors were investigated stepwise, and differences between levels were evaluated using t-tests. The human adaptability in the tests was also evaluated. We improved average classification accuracy to 84.50% using multiclass support vector machine classifier and concluded that human adaptability is a factor that can cause obvious bias in contiguous data collections.

Purpose: To explore factors which lead to recurrence of idiopathic orbital inflammatory pseudotumor (IOIP)., Methods: Idiopathic orbital inflammatory pseudotumor in 209 cases between Jan 1, 1978 and Dec 31, 1999 in our hospital was evaluated retrospectively. The comparison of clinical and pathological parameters between patients with at least one episode of recurrence and those with no recurrence at all was performed and analyzed using logistic regression method., Results: Follow-up results (with a mean follow-up time of 3.4 years, ranging from 0.5 year to 21.0 years) showed that the recurrence rate of IOIP was 41%. Sex and proptosis were associated with the recurrence of IOIP. Male gender was more likely to relapse than female counterparts, with the male being 52% and female being 25%. The severer the proptosis is, the higher the rate of recurrence. Among the clinical subtypes of IOIP, the rate of recurrence (17%) in cases with dacryoadenitis was the lowest, followed by anterior local orbital mass (44%), posterior orbital mass (54%), myositis (75%) and diffuse subtype (100%). However, the clinical subtypes did not show significant relationship with the recurrence of IOIP., Conclusions: Male gender and severe proptosis are associated with a higher recurrent rate in patients with IOIP.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of subconjunctival injections of Etoposide for retinoblastoma(RB) mice., Method: Twenty-five RB mice were divided into 5 groups for the study(GO-G4). GO for control group received 0.9% sodium chloride injection subconjunctival. G1: 5 RB mice for systemic delivery received 6 systemic administration of Etoposide 150 microg and Cyclosporin A (CSA ) 1.0mg at 3 days intervals, respectively. G2-G4: 5 RB mice in each group received 6 subconjunctival delivery of Etoposide in 50, 75, 150 microg at 3 days intervals, respectively.To observe the changes of the volume of RB in anterior chamber and the part of conjunctiva for injections of chemotherapeutic drugs. All eyes and conjunctiva and scleras of the part for drugs injections were obtained at 6 weeks after experiment for histopathologic examination. The findings under the light microscope were analysed with software to measure the areas of RB in anterior chambers and the tumor inhibition rate., Results: The volume of RB in anterior chambers for G1 and G2 increase quickly and none of the mice exhibited tumor control. The RB volume increase slowly in G3 and exhibit tumor control in G4. The areas of tumors in GO-G4 are 0.710,0.659,0.634, 0.515,0.235 mm(2), respectively. The rate for tumor inhibition in GO-G4 are 0.0%, 7.18%, 10.70%, 27.43% , 66.90%, respectively. There are statistical significant difference between the G1 and G4 for the volumes of tumors and the rate of tumor inhibition. The pathologic examination of subconjunctiva and sclera for the injective sites showed no pathologic changes., Conclusions: There are significant effects for the method of subconjunctival delivery of Etoposide in RB control, demonstrating a positive dose-related relationship. Subconjunctival injection of Etoposide reached better efficacy in controlling and inhibiting RB cells than systemic delivery of Etoposide for the same dose. The pathologic results showed the subconjunctival delivery of etoposide were safety for conjunctiva and sclera. It would be one of effective and safety method of chemotherapy for RB.

Purpose: To determine and compare the concentrations of etoposide achieved in the aqueous and vitreous humors after intravenous and subconjunctival administration., Methods: Eight New Zealand rabbits were treated with etoposide (5mg/kg) intravenous and etoposide (2.5 mg/ml, 0.5 ml) subconjunctival respectively. The samples of the aqueous and vitreous humors of rabbits were drawed at 1, 2, 3 hours after the end of infusion. The concentrations of the etoposide were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. A Diamonsil TM C18 column ( 6 x 40 mm, 3 microm ) with a mobile phase of 400 ml of methanol and 600 ml of 100 mmol x L(-1) sodium dihydrogen phosphate with 0.02 mmol x L(-1) dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate and 0.5% triethylanine (pH value was adjusted to 6 by phosphoric acid) was used. The detective wavelength was at 235 nm and the flow rate was 1.0 ml x min(-1)., Results: The concentrations of etoposide in aqueous and vitreous humors after administrated in intravenous for 1, 2, 3 hours were 38.5, 52.2, 44.1(ng/ml) and 12.0, 25.1, 18.0 (ng/ml) respectively. The concentrations of etoposide in aqueous and vitreous humors after infused in subconjunctival for 1, 2, 3 hours were 98.0, 113.0, 99.0 (ng/ml) and 43.7, 66.7, 32.4 (ng/ml) respectively. The concentrations in the aqueous and vitreous humor after local administrated were 2 to 4 times higher than those obtained after intravenous administration. There are statistical significance between the concentrations of etoposide of aqueous and vitreous humor after intravenous and subconjunctival administration., Conclusions: The delivery of subconjunctival of etoposide results in higher concentrations in aqueous and vitreous humors than intravenous administration. These results suggest that local administration of chemotherapeutic agents should be more effective for retinoblastoma chemotherapy than systemic administration.

Purpose: To investigate and compare the concentrations of carboplatins achieved in the aqueous and vitreous humors after intravenous or subconjunctivaly injection and to investigate whether local administration of carboplatin might result in higher concentrations in the aqueous and vitreous humor., Methods: Four New Zealand rabbits were treated with carboplatin (18.7 mg/kg) in intravenous. The other 4 rabbits were injected with carboplatin (10 mg/ml 0.5 ml) in right eyes subconjunctivaly. The Samples of the aqueous and vitreous humors of rabbits were drawed at 1, 2, 3 hours after the end of infusion and measured the concentration of carboplatin with atomic absorption spectroscopy. The agent dose of systemic infusion were 8 fold for that in subconjunctival delivery., Results: The concentrations of carboplatin in aqueous and vitreous humors treated with intravenous after 1, 2, 3 hours were 140, 330, 180 ng/ml and 20, 40, 17 ng/ml. The concentration of carboplatin in aqueous and vitreous humors treated with subconjunctively after 1, 2, 3 hours were 2,650, 4,390, 2,780 microg/ml and 160, 250, 110 ng/ml. There is statistical significance between the concentrations of carboplatin of aqueous and vitreous humor after intravenous and subconjunctival (P < 0.01)., Conclusions: The delivery of subconjunctival of carboplatin result in higher concentrations in aqueous and vitreous humors than intravenous administation. The result suggest that local delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs should elevate the intraocular drugs concentration and be effective for retinoblastoma treatment.

Purpose: To summarize the clinical manifestation of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), and to analyze the contributing factors., Methods: One hundred and six cases (188 eyes) of ocular hypertension in 339 cases (597 eyes) with TAO were collected from 1994 to 2001 and their clinic manifestations were summarized and analyzed., Results: It was demonstrated that the incidence of ocular hypertension in TAO was 31.3%, and was more frequently found in the male than in the female. The elevated IOP in TAO was found to be partially related to compression of the eyeball by enlarged extraocular muscles, the elevated intraorbital pressure as result of the proliferation of intraorbital connective tissue and the enlargement as well as swelling of extraocular muscles. It was also related to the severity of TAO other than the course of TAO. The ocular hypertension in most cases can be controlled with reduction of IOP by methylprednisolone or orbital decompression., Conclusion: Specific clinical features were found in TAO patients with ocular hypertension. It should be differentiated with primary glaucoma. The IOP in most cases can be controlled by prompt and effective treatment of TAO.

Purpose: To evaluate the possibility of amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT) for the treatment of conjunctival tumor., Methods: Preserved AMT was performed in 26 patients (26 eyes) with conjunctival tumor, including 9 eyes (34.62%) with malignant tumor (conjunctival malignant melanoma, corneal and conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma, conjunctival lymphoma), 17 eyes (65.38%) with benign tumor (conjunctival papilloma, conjunctival dermoid tumor, conjunctival nevus, hemangioma etc.)., Result: All the patients are followed up for 1-53 months. No acute rejection was observed after preserved AMT. Ideal healing was found in conjunctiva wound., Conclusion: Preserved AMT is a very effective method to repair wound after giant conjunctival tumor operation. Complete removal of tumor and perfect fixation are the key of ocular surface reconstruction.

Objective: To evaluate the therapeutic results of orbital decompression for severe thyroid orbitopathy., Methods: The records of 27 patients (30 eyes) having undergone orbital decompression of one wall, two walls and three walls for severe thyroid orbitopathy were analyzed for changes in visual acuity, visual field or pattern visual evoked potential, movement and reduction in proptosis. The indications were corneal exposure, severe proptosis and optic neuropathy., Results: After surgery, the patients were followed up for a mean of 13.7 months. The visual acuity improved obviously in 19 eyes (63.3%), visual acuity was improved slightly in 4 eyes (13.3%), visual acuity kept in 0.2 - 0.8 (no change) in 4 cases (13.3%), visual acuity deteriorated obviously and not recovered in 3 eyes (10.0%). Proptosis was decreased by a mean of 3.6 mm (range 1 - 7 mm), the decrease >/= 2.0 mm being in 93.3% eyes., Conclusion: Orbital decompression is effective in improving vision in most patients with severe thyroid associated ophthalmopathy, and the proptosis can be effectively improved.