Comparable improvements of retinal thickness were observed in the STTA and eye drop groups. Instillation of difluprednate ophthalmic emulsion 0.05% is a safe and effective treatment that does not require surgical intervention and does not produce severe side-effects.

A helical surface relief can be created in an azo-polymer film simply by illuminating circularly polarized light with spin angular momentum and without any orbital angular momentum. The helicity of the surface relief is determined by the sign of the spin angular momentum. The illumination of circularly polarized light induces orbital motion of the azo-polymer to shape the helical surface relief as an intermediate form; a subsequent transformation to a non-helical bump-shaped relief with a central peak creates a final form with additional exposure time. The mechanism for the formation of such a helical surface relief was also theoretically analyzed using the formula for the optical radiation force in a homogeneous and isotropic material.

Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) is an acquired pigmentary disorder that results from a preceding inflammatory skin disorder, injury, or similar cause (Callender, St Surin-Lord, Davis, & Maclin, 2011). PIH is more common in darker-skinned individuals of Fitzpatrick skin phototypes III-VI than in individuals with lighter skin (Davis & Callender, 2010) and frequently occurs in east Asians. The causes of PIH are various, including inflammatory conditions, such as atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, and psoriasis, infections, treatments such as laser irradiation and chemical peeling, sunburn, injury, and other forms of skin damage (Silpa-Archa, Kohli, Chaowattanapanit, Lim, & Hamzavi, 2017). Among those causes, PIH after atopic dermatitis often covers wide areas of skin and can be a significant concern for many patients. PIH also causes cosmetic issues that markedly diminish the quality of life (QOL) and restrict social activities (Seghers et al., 2014). However, the pathophysiology of PIH remains poorly understood, one reason being that an appropriate animal model for research has not been established.

ΔE*ab has been frequently used in aesthetic dentistry; however, current study is the first to use it in the measurement of skin color. ΔE*ab seems to be a useful parameter to evaluate the color contrast between vitiligo/leukoderma and surrounding normally pigmented skin and can be used to evaluate disease severity and patient's quality of life.

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BackgroundIntravascular fluid shifts, mechanical ventilation and inhalational anesthetic drugs may contribute to intraoperative lung injury. This prospective observational study measured the changes in respiratory impedance resulting from inhalational anesthesia and mechanical ventilation in adults undergoing transurethral resection of bladder tumors. The components of respiratory impedance (resistance and reactance) were measured using the forced oscillation technique (FOT).MethodsRespiratory resistance at 5 Hz (R5) and 20 Hz (R20), respiratory reactance at 5 Hz (X5), resonant frequency (Fres) and area of low reactance (ALX) were measured before and immediately after surgery in 30 adults. In addition, preoperative vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1.0) were evaluated using spirometry. All patients were intubated with an endotracheal tube and were mechanically ventilated, with anesthesia maintained with sevoflurane. Pre- and postoperative FOT measurements were compared using Wilcoxon paired rank tests, and the relationships between FOT measurements and preoperative spirometry findings were determined by Spearman’s rank correlation analysis.ResultsTwenty-six patients were included in the final analysis: postoperative FOT could not be performed in four because of postoperative restlessness or nausea. The mean duration of surgery was 47 min. All components of respiratory resistance deteriorated significantly over the course of surgery, with median increases in R5, R20, and R5–R20 of 1.67 cmH2O/L/s (p < 0.0001), 1.28 cmH2O/L/s (p < 0.0001) and 0.46 cmH2O/L/s (p = 0.0004), respectively. The components of respiratory reactance also deteriorated significantly, with X5 decreasing 1.7 cmH2O/L/s (p < 0.0001), Fres increasing 5.57 Hz (p < 0.0001) and ALX increasing 10.51 cmH2O/L/s (p < 0.0001). There were statistically significant and directly proportional relationships between pre- and postoperative X5 and %VC, %FEV1.0 and %FVC, with inverse relationships between pre- and postoperative Fres and ALX.ConclusionsAll components measured by FOT deteriorated significantly after a relatively short period of general anesthesia and mechanical ventilation. All components of resistance increased. Of the reactance components, X5 decreased and Fres and ALX increased. Pre- and postoperative respiratory reactance correlated with parameters measured by spirometry.Trial registration JMA-IIA00136.

ABSTRACT. W e describe a new method to measure human serum antibody against streptococcal erythrogenic toxins that uses inhibition of lymphocyte mitogenicity of the toxins a s the indicator. Sera from 53% of 53 Kawasaki disease patients contained specific inhibitory activity against A toxin, whereas only 15% had serum inhibitory activity against B toxin. The specific anti-A toxin serum inhibitor was found in 10% of 118 age-matched control patients suffering from various infections and allergic diseases (p = 0.001, compared to Kawasaki disease patients).

BackgroundAs most studies investigating patient satisfaction with anesthesia have some bias, previous results may underrepresent the true level of dissatisfaction with anesthesia.ObjectivesThis study aimed to identify factors associated with patient satisfaction with anesthesia.MethodsData from patients aged ≥ 20 years who had previous surgery and were scheduled for additional surgery were obtained retrospectively through preoperative interviews conducted. Informed consent for anesthesia was obtained by an anesthesiologist prior to the additional surgery. The patients were assigned to one of four anesthesia satisfaction levels, then were categorized into two groups; a high satisfaction group and a low satisfaction group. After comparing parameters between the two groups, logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors that were negatively associated with satisfaction with anesthesia.ResultsOf 478 patients interviewed subjects, 469 patients were analyzed. Five individuals were excluded because they were unable to provide informed consent, and four subjects were excluded because they were aged < 10 years at the time of their previous surgery. Age < 65 years, previous surgery for malignancy, female sex, estimated operation duration < 3 hours, and American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status score 1 or 2 were included in a logistic regression analysis. Age < 65 years, previous surgery for malignancy, and female sex were predictive of poor patient satisfaction with anesthesia. Reasons for poor satisfaction with anesthesia included postoperative shivering and chills, fear of surgery, ineffective spinal anesthesia, and postoperative surgery-related pain. Of the patients awaiting surgery for malignancy, 57.3% had previous surgery for malignancy.ConclusionsAge < 65 years, previous surgery for malignancy, and female sex were negatively associated with patient satisfaction with anesthesia. These factors should be considered when preparing patients for future procedures to improve postoperative patient satisfaction.