Povidone-Iodine (PI) may be diluted when used as an antiseptic prior to an intravitreal injection in an attempt to decrease patient discomfort. This study aims to investigate the effect of diluting ...povidone-iodine (PI) on bacterial growth from bacterial droplet dispersal associated with speech.
Participants read a standardised script for 5 min over a blood agar plate positioned at 20 cm in a simulated position of an intravitreal injection procedure. The blood agar plates were subject to a randomised pre-application of 1% PI; 2.5% PI; 5% PI and no pre-application (control). The plates were incubated at 37 °C for 72 h and the number of Colony Forming Units (CFUs) was determined. CFUs were summarised as median and interquartile range (IQR). Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to assess pairwise comparisons of the various PI concentrations to the control group. Any trend across PI concentration was assessed using Kendall's tau rank correlation.
Twenty-one subjects participated. Control plates had a median growth of 25 CFUs (interquartile range IQR:15-40), 1% PI plates had a median growth of 30 CFUs (IQR:15-82), 2.5% PI had a median growth of 18 CFUs (IQR:10-32) and 5% PI had a median growth of 2 CFUs (IQR:0-5). There was significantly less bacterial growth with 5% PI compared to control (P < 0.001). Bacterial growth at 2.5% PI and 1% PI did not differ significantly from control. There was a statistically significant trend for decreasing colony count as PI concentration increased (P < 0.001).
PI concentrations less than 5% are not effective at reducing bacterial growth from bacterial droplet dispersal associated with speech. When using PI for pre-injection antisepsis, concentrations below 5% should be avoided.
To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a treat-and-extend protocol of aflibercept for cystoid macular oedema (CMO) secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).
Twenty patients with CMO ...secondary to CRVO were included in this prospective cohort study. After 3 loading 4-weekly injections, treatment intervals were increased by 2 weeks if there was no clinical activity, to a maximum of 12 weeks. If clinical activity recurred or persisted, the interval between injections was shortened by 2 weeks, to a minimum of 4 weeks. Main outcome measures were change in visual acuity and the proportion of patients gaining 15 or more Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letters from baseline at 6, 12 and 18 months.
Mean BCVA gain from baseline was 19.7 ± 13.8, 22.2 ± 13.9 and 21.9 ± 15.8 ETDRS letters at 6, 12 and 18 months, respectively. Sixty-five percent of patients gained 15 or more ETDRS letters at 6 months, increasing to 70.6% at 12 and 18 months. Patients received 5.0 4.0 to 6.0, 8.5 8.0 to 10.3 and 11.0 9.0 to 12.5 injections by 6, 12 and 18 months, respectively.
The visual outcomes achieved with a treat-and-extend protocol in this study were similar to the pivotal trials of aflibercept for CMO secondary to CRVO, which used monthly and then as-needed protocols.
Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, registration number ACTRN12615000417583, 01/05/2015.
CCL5 (or RANTES (regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted)) recruits T lymphocytes and monocytes. The source and regulation of CCL5 in pulmonary tuberculosis are unclear. ...Infection of the human alveolar epithelial cell line (A549) by Mycobacterium tuberculosis caused no CCL5 secretion and little monocyte secretion. Conditioned medium from tuberculosis-infected human monocytes (CoMTB) stimulated significant CCL5 secretion from A549 cells and from primary alveolar, but not upper airway, epithelial cells. Differential responsiveness of small airway and normal human bronchial epithelial cells to CoMTB but not to conditioned medium from unstimulated human monocytes was specific to CCL5 and not to CXCL8. CoMTB induced CCL5 mRNA accumulation in A549 cells and induced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor κB (NFκB) subunits p50, p65, and c-rel at 1 h; nuclear binding of activator protein (AP)-1 (c-Fos, FosB, and c-Jun) at 4–8 h; and binding of NF-interleukin (IL)-6 at 24 h. CCL5 promoter-reporter analysis using deletion and site-specific mutagenesis constructs demonstrated a key role for AP-1, NF-IL-6, and NFκB in driving CoMTB-induced promoter activity. The IL-1 receptor antagonist inhibited A549 and small airway epithelial cell CCL5 secretion, gene expression, and promoter activity. CoMTB contained IL-1β, and recombinant IL-1β reproduced CoMTB effects. Monocyte alveolar, but not upper airway, epithelial cell networks in pulmonary tuberculosis cause AP-1-, NF-IL-6-, and NFκB-dependent CCL5 secretion. IL-1β is the critical regulator of tuberculosis-stimulated CCL5 secretion in the lung.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Macular edema Tranos, Paris G.; Wickremasinghe, Sanjeewa S.; Stangos, Nikos T. ...
Survey of ophthalmology,
09/2004, Volume:
49, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Macular edema is the final common pathway of many intraocular and systemic insults. It may develop in a diffuse pattern where the macula appears generally thickened or it may acquire the ...characteristic petaloid appearance referred to as cystoid macular edema. Although macular edema may be associated with protean underlying conditions, it is most commonly seen following intraocular surgery, venous occlusive disease, diabetic retinopathy, and posterior segment inflammatory disease. As well as clinical suspicion, a wide range of investigations may lead to the diagnosis of macular edema. Fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography provide enhanced visualization of the geometry and distribution of macular edema. A variety of approaches to the treatment of macular edema have been attempted, with a variable degree of success. These options have included topical and systemic steroids, topical and oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and laser photocoagulation treatment. More recently other therapeutic modalities, including immunomodulators, intravitreal injection of triamcinolone, and pars plana vitrectomy have also been employed. Clinical trials are currently looking into the use of a steroid slow-release intravitreal device for the management of macular edema secondary to uveitis and diabetes. This article reviews the clinical entity of macular edema focusing on the current therapeutic strategies for its management.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence estimates of macular telangiectasia type 2 in an Australian population based on nonmydriatic digital fundus photography.
Participants of the ...Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, initiated to investigate risk factors for common aging diseases, had nonmydriatic digital macular images taken from both eyes and graded for any macular abnormalities. Prevalence of the features suggestive of macular telangiectasia type 2 was assessed.
Macular images from the 22,062 subjects with a mean age of 64.96 years (range, 47-85 years) were assessed. Of these images, 43,234 images were gradable (21,708 images of the right eye and 21,526 images of the left eye). Using only the grading features of the macular images taken by the nonmydriatic digital fundus photography, 5 subjects with signs consistent with bilateral macular telangiectasia type 2 in this population were found by the authors. Based on the Gass-Blodi staging of this disease, all (5) were determined to be in stages 2 and 3.
In an Australian population, the prevalence estimates of macular telangiectasia type 2 were found to be 1 of 22,062 to 5 of 22,062 or 5 to 23 cases per 100,000 people in which disease was at least at stages 2 and 3.
Polymyxins (polymyxin B and colistin) are lipopeptide antibiotics used as a last-line treatment for life-threatening multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacterial infections. Unfortunately, their ...clinical use has been affected by dose-limiting toxicity and increasing resistance. Structure–activity (SAR) and structure–toxicity (STR) relationships are paramount for the development of safer polymyxins, albeit very little is known about the role of the conserved position 10 threonine (Thr) residue in the polymyxin core scaffold. Here, we synthesized 30 novel analogues of polymyxin B1 modified explicitly at position 10 and examined the antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative bacteria and in vivo toxicity and performed molecular dynamics simulations with bacterial outer membranes. For the first time, this study revealed the stereochemical requirements and role of the β-hydroxy side chain in promoting the correctly folded conformation of the polymyxin that drives outer membrane penetration and antibacterial activity. These findings provide essential information for developing safer and more efficacious new-generation polymyxin antibiotics.
A Mostly-Online CAS Teaching Experience Wijenayake, C.; Wickremasinghe, K.; Abarajithan, G. ...
2022 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS),
2022-May-28
Conference Proceeding
Mostly-online teaching experiences in circuits and systems (CAS) during 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic are presented. Three case studies are shared summarizing course details, tools and platforms, best ...practices and limitations across three universities representing different continents. The presented approaches attempt to address several limitations of passive online delivery of CAS courses via interactive simulations, formative assessments via interactive web content and slide-embedded polls, at-home labs with student acquired hardware and instructor-lead and student-centered activity based learning.
Despite their widespread and longstanding use for the public good, organophosphate (OP) pesticides have led to many adverse effects on human health. Environmental exposure to OPs and adverse ...reproductive outcomes in men and women working on or living near farms are increasingly reported worldwide. The aim of the current review is to determine whether exposure to OPs, at levels lower than that which results in clinical manifestations of acute OP poisoning, leads to an adverse impact on fertility, growth and development, and to highlight possible effects for further investigation. There is evidence of impaired fertility due to a reduction in semen quality and possibly lower testosterone levels in exposed males. There is also evidence of impairment of fetal growth and development brought about by prenatal exposure to OPs. Paraoxonase gene (
PON1) activity in the fetus and during early childhood makes the fetus and child more vulnerable to OP poisoning, suggesting that OP exposure has a greater impact on fetal and infant growth and development than on adults when exposed to the same concentrations of pesticides. This review raises concerns that exposure to OP pesticides at levels currently regarded as safe adversely affect human reproductive function and survival.
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GEOZS, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPUK
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