No abstract

Alexandrite laser treatment of the upper eyelid region may penetrate the eyelid, causing anterior uveitis and irreversible damage to the iris. We recommended appropriate eye protection during this therapeutic procedure.

We conclude that the zebrafish expresses different extracellular matrix proteins and has a distinctive ultrastructure in the TM. Therefore, zebrafish should be used with caution for glaucoma studies.

Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as a significant nosocomial pathogen worldwide. The increasing trend of carbapenem and fluoroquinolone resistance in A. baumannii severely limits the usage of therapeutic antimicrobial agents. Here we report the genome sequence of a multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strain, TCDC-AB0715, harboring both bla OXA-23 and bla OXA-66 .Among the 135 isolates collected from Acinetobacter baumannii complex bacteremia patients during January 2007 and July 2009, the clinical A. baumannii (genospecies 2) strain TCDC-AB0715 was one of the isolates exhibiting high resistance to carbapenems (e.g., imipenem and meropenem MICs of Ͼ16 mg/liter), fluoroquinolones (e.g., ciprofloxacin, Ͼ4 mg/ liter, and levofloxacin, Ͼ8 mg/liter), and cephalosporins (ceftriaxone, Ͼ64 mg/liter, and cefepime, 32 mg/liter) (2, 7, 8). Additionally, this strain had two carbapenemase genes, bla OXA-23 and bla , which was a difference from other clinical isolates. TCDC-AB0715 belonged to multilocus sequence type (MLST) ST2, a molecular type previously reported in Europe (5).The genome of TCDC-AB0715 was sequenced using the Illumina/Solexa sequencing platform (720ϫ coverage rate), and the automated DNA sequencing chromatograms were analyzed by the CLC bio software package. In particular, the order of 141 contigs was predicted by comparison with the chromosome sequences of A. baumannii ACICU (GenBank accession number CP000863) (5) and AB0057 (accession no. CP001182) (1) and then confirmed by optical mapping (10) and PCR. The length of the draft sequence of the TCDC-AB0715 circular chromosome is 4,130,792 bp more than 80 kb larger than those of seven other completely sequenced A. baumannii isolates, AB0057 (4

Dilute ethanol (EtOH) is a widely used agent to remove the corneal epithelium during the modern refractive surgery. The application of EtOH may cause the underlying corneal fibroblasts to undergo apoptosis. This study was designed to investigate the protective effect and potential mechanism of the respiratory chain coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an electron transporter of the mitochondrial respiratory chain and a ubiquitous free radical scavenger, against EtOH-induced apoptosis of corneal fibroblasts. Corneal fibroblasts were pretreated with CoQ10 (10 µM) for 2 h, followed by exposure to different concentrations of EtOH (0.4, 2, 4, and 20%) for 20 s. After indicated incubation period (2–12 h), MTT assay was used to examine cell viability. Treated cells were further assessed by flow cytometry to identify apoptosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the change in mitochondrial membrane potential were assessed using dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate/2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein (DCFH-DA/DCF) assays and flow-cytometric analysis of JC-1 staining, respectively. The activity and expression of caspases 2, 3, 8, and 9 were evaluated with a colorimetric assay and western blot analysis. We found that EtOH treatment significantly decreased the viability of corneal fibroblasts characterized by a higher percentage of apoptotic cells. CoQ10 could antagonize the apoptosis inducing effect of EtOH. The inhibition of cell apoptosis by CoQ10 was significant at 8 and 12 h after EtOH exposure. In EtOH-exposed corneal fibroblasts, CoQ10 pretreatment significantly reduced mitochondrial depolarization and ROS production at 30, 60, 90, and 120 min and inhibited the activation and expression of caspases 2 and 3 at 2 h after EtOH exposure. In summary, pretreatment with CoQ10 can inhibit mitochondrial depolarization, caspase activation, and cell apoptosis. These findings support the proposition that CoQ10 plays an antiapoptotic role in corneal fibroblasts after ethanol exposure.

Surgically-induced miosis commonly occurs during cataract extraction surgery, complicating removal of lens cortex and placement of a posterior chamber intraocular lens. To maintain intraoperative mydriasis, one bolus of epinephrine injection was used in our study. The pupillary response to various doses of intracameral epinephrine (0.1 ml of 1:25,000, 1:50,000, 1:100,000, 1:200,000, 1:400,000) was assessed in 60 consecutive patients. The pupil size was measured just prior to the incision, one min after epinephrine injection, after phacoemulsification and after irrigation/aspiration. There was no significant difference among the mean mydriatic responses to the epinephrine concentrations we tested. The 1:400,000 concentration appeared to be as effective as 1:25,000, but two cases of the 1:400,000 group failed to maintain the pupil diameter after irrigation/aspiration. In addition, we found that blood pressure did not elevate after injection of any concentration of epinephrine. We concluded that one bolus of an extremely dilute concentration of epinephrine (i.e., 1:400,000) injection might be effective in maintaining mydriasis during cataract surgery without systemic side effects.

This is the first report of a cluster of ST1407-related strains in Taiwan. ST4378 is a genotype that may develop to cause third-generation cephalosporin treatment failures. Our results showed that ST4378 strains primarily transmitted in a high-risk MSM/bisexual network. The potential of these strains to become untreatable and spread to other low-risk sexual networks should be closely monitored.

The amino acid, either a glutamine (Q) or an arginine (R), at the Q/R site of the pore-lining segment (M2) of a vertebrate AMPA receptor subunit critically influences the properties of the receptor. The R codon of the mammalian AMPA receptor subunit 2 (GRIA2) transcript is not coded by the chromosomal sequence, but is created by posttranscriptional RNA editing activities. On the other hand, the R codons of some teleost GRIA2 homologs are coded by chromosomal sequences. To elucidate the evolution of the utilization of Q/R RNA editing in modifying vertebrate GRIA2 transcripts, the GRIA2 genes of five fish species and an amphibian were studied. The putative hagfish GRIA2 homolog (hfGRIA2) encodes an R codon, whereas shark and bullfrog GRIA2 genes specify a Q codon at the genomic Q/R site. All gnathostoma GRIA2 genes possess an intron splitting the coding regions of M2 and the third hydrophobic region (M3). The intronic components required for Q/R RNA editing are preserved in all the Q-coding vertebrate GRIA2 genes but are absent from the R-coding GRIA2 genes. Interestingly, the hfGRIA2 is intronless, suggesting that hfGRIA2 is unlikely evolved from a Q/R editing-competent gene. Results of this study suggest that modification of GRIA2 transcripts by Q/R editing is most likely acquired after the separation of the Agnatha and Gnathostome. ß