Bisphenol A (BPA) is an estrogen‐like compound, and an environmental hormone, that is commonly used in daily life. Therefore, it may enter the human body through food or direct contact, causing BPA ...residues in blood and urine. Because most studies focused on the analysis of BPA in reproductive cells or tissues, regarding evidence the effect of BPA on human retinal pigment epithelium (ARPE‐19) cells unavailable. Accordingly, the present study explored the cytotoxicity of BPA on ARPE‐19 cells. After BPA treatment, the expression of Bcl‐XL an antiapoptotic protein, in the mitochondria decreased, and the expression of Bax, a proapoptotic protein increased. Then the mitochondrial membrane potential was affected. BPA changed in mitochondrial membrane potential led to the release of cytochrome C, which activated caspase‐9 to promote downstream caspase‐3 leading to cytotoxicity. The nuclear factor (erythroid‐derived 2)‐like 2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO‐1) pathway play a major role in age‐related macular degeneration. Our results showed that expression of HO‐1 and Nrf2 suppressed by BPA. Superoxide dismutase and catalase, which Nrf2 downstream antioxidants, were degraded by BPA. AMP‐activated kinase (AMPK), which can regulate the phosphorylation of Nrf2, and the phosphorylation of AMPK expression was reduced by BPA. Finally, BPA‐induced ROS generation and cytotoxicity were reduced by N‐acetyl‐l‐cysteine. Taken together, these results suggest that BPA induced ARPE‐19 cells via oxidative stress, which was associated with down regulated Nrf2/HO‐1 pathway, and the mitochondria dependent apoptotic signaling pathway.
Purpose
To evaluate the changes in visual function when progressive addition lenses (PAL) are added in children using topical atropine as a myopia control therapy. Daily visual complaints and the ...determination of their near correction were studied.
Methods
Forty children aged 7–12 years were recruited. Distance and near visual acuity, accommodative lag, heterophoria, near point of convergence and stereopsis were examined, and a questionnaire of daily visual complaints was administered.
Results
Significant differences in visual functions were found after the near correction was prescribed. Significant improvements in distance and near visual acuity, lag of accommodation and binocular visual function were observed, and fewer visual complaints were reported at the Harmon distance.
Conclusion
The use of PAL is helpful for children undergoing topical atropine treatment for myopia control, particularly those receiving medium to high doses. This combination therapy could also be applied to younger children who have a low tolerance to contact lenses, with less risk of ocular adverse effects.
Patients with NTG or POAG with more than one outpatient or discharge diagnosis from the ophthalmology department were included in the study. These data were merged with the PM2.5 data from the Air ...Quality Monitoring Network for analysis. This was a case−control study, with 1006 participants in the NTG group and 2533 in the POAG group. To investigate fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure levels in patients with normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), patient data were obtained from Taiwan’s Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 for the 2008 to 2013 period. We used a multivariate logic regression model to assess the risk for each participant. The PM2.5 exposure levels were divided into four groups: <25th percentile (Q1), <617 μg/mm3; 25th to 50th percentile (Q2), 617 to 1297 μg/mm3; 50th to 75th percentile (Q3), 1297 to 2113 μg/mm3; and >75th percentile (Q4), >2113 μg/mm3. The results are expressed in terms of odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI. A multiple logistic regression was used to compare the results of the NTG group with those of the POAG group. Compared with the PM2.5 Q1 level, the OR of the PM2.5 Q2 level was 1.009 (95% CI 0.812−1.254), the PM2.5 Q3 level was 1.241 (95% CI 1.241−1.537, p < 0.05), and the PM2.5 Q4 level was 1.246 (95% CI 1.008−1.539, p < 0.05). Our research reveals that compared with POAG, the risk of developing NTG is more closely related with PM2.5 exposure, and PM2.5 has a concentration−dose effect. It is hoped that in the future, in the clinical judgment of NTG and POAG, the level of PM2.5 in the environment can be taken as a risk factor.
Base on an 8-year field experiment, the effects of tillage practices coupled with or without straw return on the soil organic carbon (SOC) and water use efficiency (WUE) were investigated in ...Guanzhong Plain during the growing seasons from 2008 to 2009. The results showed that conservation tillage practices (sub-soiling, SS; rotary tillage, RT; no-till, NT) improved the SOC, WUE and crop yield compared with conventional tillage (CT), among which, SS coupled with straw return had the highest increment, with increase in SOC content of the 0-30 cm soil layer, WUE and crop yield by 19.5%, 16.9% and 20.5%, respectively. The NT practice effectively increased the SOC content of the 0-10 cm soil layer. Conclusively, under the current soil and climatic conditions in Guanzhong Plain, sub-soiling coupled with straw return is the most efficient tillage practice for promoting SOC accumulation, increasing water-use efficiency and yield.
Taiwan is commonly noted for its high prevalence of myopia, as well as a long history of more than 20 years of using atropine to control myopia. However, the clinical implications are rarely ...discussed. This is a cross-sectional study investigating the influence of topical atropine instillation on ocular physiology, visual function, and visual discomfort in children. Aged 7 to 12 years, 212 schoolchildren were recruited and divided into the atropine group and the non-atropine group. Physiological characteristics such as pupil size and intraocular pressure were measured, and a variety of visual functions was also evaluated. A questionnaire was used to investigate the side effects and visual complaints caused by atropine treatment. There was a significant difference in pupil size (OD: 5.40 ± 0.90 vs. 6.60 ± 1.01 mm; OS: 5.42 ± 0.87 vs. 6.64 ± 1.00 mm, p < 0.001) between the two groups. Reductions in near visual acuity, accommodation, convergence ability, and stereopsis were observed in the atropine group. The horizontal pupil diameter enlarged, and visual functions were greatly affected after administration of topical atropine. The changes in visual function during atropine therapy need to be carefully monitored by clinicians, while patient compliance is usually the key to success.
Purpose. To compare the patterns of relative peripheral refractions of myopic children who were currently on atropine treatment for myopia control and myopic children who did not use atropine. ...Methods. Chinese children (n = 209) aged 7 to 12 years participated in the study, 106 used atropine and 103 did not. Participants were also classified into three groups: emmetropes (SE: +0.50 to −0.50 D), low myopes (SE: −0.50 to −3.00 D), and moderate myopes (SE: −3.00 to −6.00 D). The central and peripheral refractions along the horizontal meridians (for both nasal and temporal fields) were measured in 10-degree steps to 30 degrees. Results. There were no statistically significant differences in spherical equivalent and astigmatism of the three refractive groups in either the nasal or temporal retina. The atropine group showed a significant relative myopia in the temporal 30° field in spherical equivalent compared to the emmetropic group (t49 = 3.36, P=0.02). In eyes with low myopia, the atropine group had significant relative myopia in the nasal 30° and temporal 30° fields (t118 = 2.59, P=0.01; t118 = 2.06, P=0.04), and it is also observed at 20° and 30° of the nasal field for the moderate myopic group (t36 = 2.37, P=0.02; t2.84 = 2.84, P=0.01). Conclusion. Significant differences in relative peripheral refraction were found between the atropine group and its controls. The findings suggested that the eyes that received atropine may have a less prolate shape and thus explain why using atropine is effective in controlling myopia progression.
The objective was to investigate different comorbidities developed in normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients. This was a case-control study, with 1489 people in ...the NTG group and 5120 people in the POAG group. Patient data were obtained from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2010 (LHID2010) of Taiwan for the 2008–2013 period. The chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables, such as gender, income and urbanisation level, between NTG and POAG patients, and the two-tailed t test was used to compare continuity between the two groups. We use a multivariate logic regression model to assess the risk of each participant. The results are expressed in terms of odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Patients with NTG had significantly higher proportions of hypotension (adjusted OR, 1.984; 95% CI, 1.128–3.490), sleep disturbances (adjusted OR, 1.323; 95% CI, 1.146–1.528), peptic ulcers (adjusted OR, 1.383; 95% CI, 1.188–1.609) and allergic rhinitis (adjusted OR, 1.484; 95% CI, 1.290–1.707) than those with POAG. Conversely, arterial hypertension (adjusted OR, 0.767; 95% CI, 0.660–0.893), diabetes (adjusted OR, 0.850; 95% CI, 0.728–0.993) and atopic dermatitis (adjusted OR, 0.869; 95% CI, 0.763–0.990) had a lower risk in the NTG group than in the POAG group. We found that comorbidities such a hypotension, sleep disturbances and peptic ulcer and allergic rhinitis are more highly associated to NTG than POAG.
The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between relative peripheral refraction and retinal shape by 2-D magnetic resonance imaging in high myopes. Thirty-five young adults aged 20 to ...30 years participated in this study with 16 high myopes (spherical equivalent < −6.00 D) and 19 emmetropes (+0.50 to −0.50 D). An open field autorefractor was used to measure refractions from the center out to 60° in the horizontal meridian and out to around 20° in the vertical meridian, with a step of 3 degrees. Axial length was measured by using A-scan ultrasonography. In addition, images of axial, sagittal, and tangential sections were obtained using 2-D magnetic resonance imaging. The highly myopic group had a significantly relative peripheral hyperopic refraction and showed a prolate ocular shape compared to the emmetropic group. The highly myopic group had relative peripheral hyperopic refraction and showed a prolate ocular form. Significant differences in the ratios of height/axial (1.01 ± 0.02 vs. 0.94 ± 0.03) and width/axial (0.99 ± 0.17 vs. 0.93 ± 0.04) were found from the MRI images between the emmetropic and the highly myopic eyes (p < 0.001). There was a negative correlation between the retina’s curvature and relative peripheral refraction for both temporal (Pearson r = −0.459; p < 0.01) and nasal (Pearson r = −0.277; p = 0.011) retina. For the highly myopic eyes, the amount of peripheral hyperopic defocus is correlated to its ocular shape deformation. This could be the first study investigating the relationship between peripheral refraction and ocular dimension in high myopes, and it is hoped to provide useful knowledge of how the development of myopia changes human eye shape.
Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common type of glaucoma. However, little is known about POAG in adults and exposure to air pollution. The current study aims to investigate whether ...exposure to particulate matter with a mass median aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) is associated with POAG diagnosis. Patient data were obtained from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2010 (LHID2010) of Taiwan for the 2008–2013 period. PM2.5 concentration data, collected from the Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network established by the Environmental Protection Administration of Taiwan, were categorized into four groups according to World Health Organization (WHO) exposure standards for PM2.5. We estimated the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for risk factors for POAG with logistic regression. The OR of per WHO standard level increase was 1.193 (95% CI 1.050–1.356). Compared with the normal level, the OR of WHO 2.0 level was 1.668 (95% CI 1.045–2.663, P < 0.05). After excluding confounding risk factors for POAG in this study, we determined that increased PM2.5 exposure is related to POAG risk (ORs > 1, P < 0.05). In this study, PM2.5 was an independent factor associated with open-angle glaucoma. Further research is required to better understand the mechanisms connecting PM2.5 and open-angle glaucoma.
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