Abstract: Cornea serves as the partial front barrier and major light reflection organ of the eye. The integrity of corneal surface is essential for ocular function. Injuries or congenital diseases could significantly destruct the homeostasis of the ocular surface, especially the microenvironment of limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs), and will eventually cause dysfunction of corneal regeneration and diminish of LESCs. The loss of LESCs by different reasons are named limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD), which is one of the leading cause of vision loss worldwide. To restore the corneal surface, LESC transplantation in the form of tissue or cell cultures is currently a viable and promising method to treat LSCD. In this review, we aim to introduce the characters and niche of LESCs, and discuss different aspects of its application in cornea surface reconstruction.
Background: To explore the application effect of psychological nursing intervention in patients with traumatic endophthalmitis.
Methods: A total of 90 patients with traumatic endophthalmitis admitted to our hospital from August 2018 to April 2019 were selected as study objects and randomly divided into observation group and control group, with 45 cases in each group. The control group received routine nursing care, and the observation group performed psychological nursing intervention on the basis of the control group. The scores of self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) and nursing satisfaction degree were compared before and after nursing treatment in two groups.
Results: The scores of SAS and SDS of the observation group were better than those of the control group. The score of the nursing satisfaction degree of the observation group was higher than that of the control group, showing statistically significant difference (P<0.05).
Conclusions: Psychological nursing intervention can improve the physical and mental condition of patients with traumatic endophthalmitis, reduce their negative emotions such as anxiety and depression, and improve the satisfaction of nursing. It is worthy of clinical promotion.
Abstract: Presentations using PowerPoint or similar software are probably the most commonly used format that doctors use for teaching in medical school, during residency, at medical meetings and other continuous medical education (CME) activities. However, their effectiveness has been questioned by many. This article intends to provide, in a synthetized way, several recommendations that can help make presentation more effective.
Abstract: The teaching of professionalism, a key aspect of medical competence that regulates physician’s behavior towards patients, colleagues, society, and self, should be included in the curriculum of every training program. Studies suggest a variety of formats to teach and evaluate professionalism in residents, being role modeling, reflection, case discussions, and 360-degree assessments the most commonly used. However, little is published about the need to train faculty for teaching and evaluating professionalism, or how to improve institutional culture, so that principles that are indicated to teach in theory are also fulfilled in practice.
Background: To investigate the effect of sirolimus (SRL) eye drops on acute alkali-burn-induced corneal neovascularization (CNV) and explore its possible mechanism.
Methods: A total of 57 male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 160–180 g were randomly divided into four groups including a normal control group (NC group, n=12), an untreated alkali-burned model control group (MC group, n=15), a blank eye drop treatment group (BT group, n=15), and an SRL eye drop treatment group (ST group, n=15). Corneal inflammation and CNV were observed and scored under a slit-lamp microscope 3, 7, and 14 days after alkali exposure. Three rats were randomly sacrificed in each group before modeling and 3, 7, 14 days after modeling, and the corneas of right eyes were harvested for Western blotting to compare the expression levels of VEGFR2 and caspase-3.
Results: Corneal inflammation scoring showed that the corneal edema and conjunctival congestion were severe in the MC, BT, and ST groups 1 day after alkali exposure but were alleviated at day 3. The corneal transparency was significantly higher in the ST group than in the MC and BT groups at days 7 (F=9.77, P<0.05) and 14 (F=5.81, P<0.05). At day 1, the corneal limbal vascular network was markedly filled. SNV was obvious at days 3, 7, and 14. The new blood vessels were shorter and sparser in the ST group than in the MC and BT groups, and the CNV scores showed significant differences among these groups (day 3: F=8.60, P<0.05; day 7: F=11.40, P<0.05; and day 14: F=41.59, P<0.01). Western blotting showed that the expressions of VEGFR2 and caspase-3 were low before modeling and showed no significant difference among the different groups (F=0.52, P>0.05; F=0.98, P>0.05). The corneal expression of VEGFR2 became significantly higher in the MC and BT groups than in the ST group 3, 7, and 14 days after alkali exposure, and there were significant differences in relative gray-scale values among these groups (day 3: F=32.16, P<0.01; day 7: F=85.96, P<0.01; day 14: F=57.68, P<0.01). The increase in the corneal expression of caspase-3 was significantly larger in the ST group than in the MC and BT groups at days 3, 7, and 14, and there were significant differences in relative gray-scale values among groups (day 3: F=32.16, P<0.01; day 7: F=53.02, P<0.01; day 14: F=38.67, P<0.01).
Conclusions: SRL eye drops can alleviate acute alkali-burn-induced corneal inflammation and inhibit alkali-burn-induced CNV in rat models. It can reduce VEGFR2 expression and increase caspase-3 expression in the corneal tissue, which may contribute to the inhibition of alkali-burn-induced CNV.
Abstract: Advances in intraocular lens (IOL) design have rendered cataract surgery a refractive procedure. Newer IOL types include bifocal, trifocal and extended depth of focus (EDOF) IOLs. Their basic difference nestles in the number of focal points that each lens provides, which in turn leads to different visual outcomes. Familiarity of surgeons with the various characteristics of each lens is of utmost importance for accurate IOL selection to match each patient’s needs. In this review, we aim to compare the clinical outcomes after implantation of multifocal and EDOF IOLs in terms of distance, intermediate and near vision, contrast sensitivity, and reading performance. Finally, we discuss the defocus curve and the optical and photic phenomena associated with each type of IOL.
