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Konstantina Gorgoli,1 Konstantinos Benekos,1 Andreas Katsanos2 1Iris & Retina Private Practice, Ioannina, Greece; 2Ophthalmology Department, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, GreeceCorrespondence: Andreas KatsanosOphthalmology Department, University of Ioannina, Stavros Niarchos Avenue, Ioannina 45500, GreeceTel +302651099705Email katsanos@uoi.gr The use of properly worn face masks by patients during slit-lamp examinations has become imperative during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, vapor escaping from the top of a patient’s mask can form condensation on the cool surface of handheld examination lenses. This can make critical ophthalmic examinations such as funduscopy or gonioscopy very challenging. Pressing the patient’s top of the maskagainst the dorsum of the nose or the cheekbones ensures that vapor exhaled by the patient is directed away from the lens, thus avoiding lens fogging. However, touching the patient’s mask carries the risk of contamination. In this article, we offer alternatives to tackle the problem of hand-held examination lens fogging due to face masks, while avoiding the risk of SARS-CoV-2 contamination. View the original paper by Pérez González and colleagues

Prcis: There is evidence that cataract surgery can reduce intraocular pressure in patients with primary open angle, normal tension, or exfoliative glaucoma. The complete effect of phacoemulsification is masked by topical intraocular pressure-lowering medications., Purpose: To assess the impact of phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation on intraocular pressure (IOP) level in individuals with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), exfoliative glaucoma (XFG), exfoliation syndrome (XFS), normal tension glaucoma (NTG), ocular hypertension (OH), or healthy controls 12 months after the surgery., Methods: In July 2023, a comprehensive literature review was conducted across six databases. The analysis focused on the phacoemulsification arms of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The primary outcome of interest was the mean IOP change observed 12 months after phacoemulsification., Results: This meta-analysis included 9 arms from 9 RCTs, comprising a total of 502 participants. Overall, the average IOP was reduced by 3.77 mm Hg (95% CI: -5.55 to -1.99, I2 =67.9%) 12 months after surgery. The subgroup analysis, focused on whether a washout period was used before measuring IOP, revealed that studies with a washout period exhibited a more pronounced IOP reduction of 5.25 mm Hg (95% CI: -7.35 to -3.15, I2 =0%), while studies without a washout period exhibited a reduction of 3.13 mm Hg (95% CI: -5.46 to -0.81, I2 =75.8%). The sensitivity analysis for the latter group, excluding an outlier study, showed a reduction of 1.81 mm Hg (95% CI: -2.95 to -0.67, I2 =0%)., Conclusions: The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that cataract surgery meaningfully lowers IOP in POAG, XFG/XFS, or OH 12 months after surgery. However, the use of topical medications masks the precise impact of phacoemulsification upon postoperative IOP. Further research using appropriate washout periods is warranted., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Menopause-related changes may affect regional but also morphological characteristics of adipose tissue. We sought to assess the clinical value of echogenicity of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and preperitoneal adipose tissue (pPAT) in postmenopausal women without cardiovascular disease., Methods: In 244 consecutively recruited postmenopausal women, subclinical atherosclerosis was assessed in the femoral and carotid arteries by intima-media thickness (IMT) and atheromatous plaques using high-resolution ultrasonography. In 41 women with a second visit (median follow-up 41.5 months), carotid atherosclerosis was re-evaluated. Images of SAT and pPAT were ultrasonographically acquired, and their echogenicity was evaluated by grayscale mean (GSMn) using a dedicated software. A control group of 20 healthy premenopausal women was used for comparisons in fat echogenicity., Results: SAT GSMn but not pPAT was higher in postmenopausal as compared with healthy premenopausal women and was independently associated with metabolic markers of adiposity including body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). SAT GSMn was associated with carotid IMT and the presence and number of atheromatous plaques [adjusted OR 2.44 and 2.32 per 1-SD increase in GSMn (95% CIs 1.55 to 3.93 and 1.55 to 3.45), respectively]. SAT GSMn conferred incremental value over traditional risk factors, insulin resistance, BMI, and WC for the detection of subclinical atherosclerosis. Increased baseline SAT GSMn was associated with increased rate of progression in carotid IMT., Conclusions: SAT echogenicity may serve as a qualitative marker of adiposity, conferring incremental clinical value over BMI and WC in postmenopausal women. Further investigation is warranted to assess the utility of ultrasonography-derived fat echogenicity as a screening method for morbid obesity.

Plant glutathione transferases (GSTs) superfamily consists of multifunctional enzymes and forms a major part of the plants herbicide detoxification enzyme network. The tau class GST isoenzyme GmGSTU4 from soybean, exhibits catalytic activity towards the diphenyl ether herbicide fluorodifen and is active as glutathione-dependent peroxidase (GPOX). Transgenic tobacco plants of Basmas cultivar were generated via Agrobacterium transformation. The aim was to evaluate in planta, GmGSTU4's role in detoxifying the diphenyl ether herbicides fluorodifen and oxyfluorfen and the chloroacetanilides alachlor and metolachlor. Transgenic tobacco plants were verified by PCR and Southern blot hybridization and expression of GmGSTU4 was determined by RT-PCR. Leaf extracts from transgenic plants showed moderate increase in GST activity towards CDNB and a significant increase towards fluorodifen and alachlor, and at the same time an increased GPOX activity towards cumene hydroperoxide. GmGSTU4 overexpressing plants when treated with 200 μM fluorodifen or oxyfluorfen exhibited reduced relative electrolyte leakage compared to wild type plants. Moreover all GmGSTU4 overexpressing lines exhibited significantly increased tolerance towards alachlor when grown in vitro at 7.5 mg/L alachlor compared to wild type plants. No significant increased tolerance was observed to metolachlor. These results confirm the contribution of this particular GmGSTU4 isoenzyme from soybean in the detoxification of fluorodifen and alachlor, and provide the basis towards the development of transgenic plants with improved phytoremediation capabilities for future use in environmental cleanup of herbicides., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The performance of a new calibrator for pulse oximeters is tested with five pulse oximeters from different manufacturers. The calibrator is based on time resolved transmission spectra of human fingers. Finger spectra with different arterial oxygen saturation can be selected to simulate real patients. The results obtained with this calibration device are compared with the results of conventional calibration procedures with volunteers. Beside accuracy tests the suitability for artifact simulation with the new device is discussed. The response of the five tested pulse oximeters is in good agreement with the response of the pulse oximeters connected to real patients. A test procedure for pulse oximeters similar to the conventional desaturation practice is possible; some of the typical artifacts pulse oximetry has to cope with can be simulated easily.