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This was a pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of digital polymerase chain reaction detection of Demodex in eyelid margin swabs for the diagnosis of Demodex blepharitis. This study aims to explore the possibility of digital polymerase chain reaction detection to improve the diagnostic accuracy of Demodex blepharitis detection. Volunteers were prospectively recruited and classified by experienced doctors into suspected Demodex blepharitis or healthy controls using slit-lamp evaluation of the eyelid margin and an inquiry about symptoms. Three eyelashes from each eyelid were epilated from participants in each group for microscopic observation and mite counting. Then, swabs from the eyelid margins of each eye were collected after the eyelashes were epilated and stored at –80 °C for future DNA extraction and digital polymerase chain reaction detection. The positive or negative results of both methods were compared for diagnostic accuracy, and the Kappa value was also calculated to evaluate their consistency. The accuracy of the digital polymerase chain reaction detection was 71.6% and that of the mite counting method was 75%. Their combined accuracy was improved to 77.3%. The Kappa value of the two methods was 0.505, indicating moderate consistency. Digital polymerase chain reaction detection of Demodex from ocular surface swabs was painless and noninvasive and is a potentially accurate quantitative method available for diagnosing Demodex blepharitis. This method is also complementary to the conventional mite counting method, particularly when a sufficient number of eyelashes cannot be effectively epilated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiments were designed to evaluate the biocompatibility of a plastically compressed collagen scaffold (PCCS). The ultrastructure of the PCCS was observed via scanning electron microscopy. Twenty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into experimental and control groups that received corneal pocket transplantation with PCCS and an amniotic membrane, respectively. And the contralateral eye of the implanted rabbit served as the normal group. On the 1st, 7th, 14th, 21st, 30th, 60th, 90th, and 120th postoperative day, the eyes were observed via a slit lamp. On the 120th postoperative day, the rabbit eyes were enucleated to examine the tissue compatibility of the implanted stroma. The PCCS was white and translucent. The scanning electron microscopy results showed that fibers within the PCCS were densely packed and evenly arranged. No edema, inflammation, or neovascularization was observed on ocular surface under a slit lamp and few lymphocytes were observed in the stroma of rabbit cornea after histological study. In conclusion, the PCCS has extremely high biocompatibility and is a promising corneal scaffold for an artificial cornea. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 102A: 1782-1787, 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Calcium and lipid peroxidation play important roles in oxidative stress-induced cellular injury and apoptosis, which ultimately cause cell death. In this study we examined whether protopine had a neuroprotection against H2O2-induced injury in PC12 cells. Pretreatment of PC12 cells with protopine improved the cell viability, enhanced activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase, and decreased malondialdehyde level in the H2O2 injured cells. Protopine also reversed the increased intracellular Ca2+ concentration and the reduced mitochondrial membrane potential caused by H2O2 in the cells. Furthermore, protopine was able to inhibit caspase-3 expression and cell apoptosis induced by H2O2. In summary, this study demonstrates that protopine is able to relieve H2O2-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in PC12 cells, at least in part, by Ca2+ antagonism and antioxidant mechanisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The suppression of spiral waves and spatiotemporal chaos in cardiac tissue was studied based on cardiac model. We proposed two strategies of suppressing spiral wave and spatiotemporal chaos. One was to elevate the extracellular potassium ion concentration suddenly. This method can effectively suppress spiral waves and spatiotemporal chaos when the elevated extracellular potassium ion concentration reaches a critical value, especially when the spiral wave pinned to defects also can be suppressed. The other was to let the extracellular potassium ion concentration varies periodically while the amplitude of concentration was limited. We found that the method could effectively suppress spiral waves and spatiotemporal chaos when the related parameters were properly chosen. But it can not suppress the pinned spiral waves. And the control mechanism is discussed in this paper.