Effect of aflibercept combined with triamcinolone acetonide on aqueous humor growth factor and inflammatory mediators in diabetic macular edema

AIM:To investigate the efficacy of aflibercept combined with sub-tenon injection of triamcinolone acetonide(TA)in treating diabetic macular edema(DME)and to examine changes in growth factors and inflammatory mediator levels in aqueous humor after injection.METHODS:Totally 67 DME patients(67 eyes)and 30 cataract patients(32 eyes)were enrolled as the DME group and the control group,respectively.The DME group was divided into the aflibercept group(34 cases)and the aflibercept combined with TA group(combined group,33 cases).The aqueous humor of both groups was collected during the study period.The aqueous levels of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF),monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1),interleukin-6(IL-6),interleukin-8(IL-8),and interleukin-1β(IL-1β)were detected using a microsphere suspension array technology(Luminex 200TM).Aqueous cytokines,best-corrected visual acuity(BCVA),central macular thickness(CMT),and complications before and after treatment were compared between the aflibercept group and combined group.RESULTS:The concentrations of VEGF,MCP-1,IL-6,and IL-8 in the aqueous humor were significantly higher in the DME group than those of the control group(all P<0.01).After 1mo of surgery,the concentrations of VEGF,MCP-1,IL-6,and IL-8 in the aqueous humor were significantly lower in the combined group than those of the aflibercept group(all P<0.01).The BCVA and CMT values of the two groups were statistically different after 1 and 2mo of treatment(P<0.01).However,the difference was not statistically significant after 3mo of treatment(P>0.05).CONCLUSION:The cytokines VEGF,MCP-1,IL-6,and IL-8 in the aqueous humor of DME patients are significantly increased.Aflibercept and aflibercept combined with TA have good efficacy in DME patients,can effectively reduce CMT,improve the patient’s vision,and have high safety.Aflibercept combined with TA can quickly downregulate the aqueous humor cytokines and help to relieve macular edema rapidly.However,the long-term efficacy is comparable to that of aflibercept alone.

Research progress on the correlation between aqueous humor components and pathogenesis and postoperative complications in patients with different types of cataracts

Aqueous humor provides the necessary nutrition for the lens and transports the metabolites in the eye.It was a liquid that can directly reflect the microenvironment in the eye'and it can be easily obtained during the operation.This review intended to analyze the components of aqueous humor in patients with different types of cataracts'so as to reflect the pathogenesis and development of the disease'evaluate the incidence of postoperative complications and provide reference value for the surgical design of sequential cataract surgery.The aqueous humor components of different types of cataracts showed different degrees of inflammation'oxidative stress and extracellular matrix remodeling.The biomarker of early neuropathy in diabetic cataract was neural cell adhesion molecule-1(NCAM1).Transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β)was the evaluation factor of disease development in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome.The relationships between postoperative complications of different types of cataracts and aqueous humor components were as follows:Macular edema after diabetic cataract surgery was associated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha;capsular contraction after high myopic cataract surgery was related to monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1)and TGF-β2;Klotho and glutathione S-transferase P 1(GSTP1)were associated with high intraocular pressure after primary open-angle glaucoma complicated by cataract surgery;capsular contraction after retinitis pigmentosa complicated by cataract surgery was associated with matrix metalloproteinases;pro-inflammatory cytokines and fibroblast growth factor 4 in the aqueous humor of congenital cataracts were associated with posterior capsular opacification after surgery.Granulocyte colony stimulating factor 3 and MCP-1 were the main cytokines mediating the pain of the second eye in the binocular sequential cataract surgery short interval(1 wk)'while MCP-1 mediated pain in the long interval(6 wk).The second eye after binocular sequential cataract surgery had a higher level of proinflammatory factors.The components of aqueous humor in patients with different types of cataracts were related to the pathogenesis and postoperative complications of the disease.Monitoring the components of the aqueous humor could help better understand the intraocular microenvironment of different types of cataracts and provide a reference for predicting the development of the disease and implementing relevant targeted therapy.

Humoral Response and Tolerance of Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 in Adults Senegalese Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis: A Multicenter Prospective Study

Introduction: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination has been proposed in several countries as the main preventive measure despite very limited data, particularly in dialysis patients. We conducted this study to assess the immunological response to vaccination in Senegalese hemodialysis patients. Patients and Methods: We conducted a prospective study, in two dialysis centers in Dakar from March 30th to August 30th, 2021 including patients on hemodialysis for >6 months, vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 according to the vaccination schedule recommended by WHO. A vaccine response was considered positive when seroconversion was observed after one dose of vaccine. The clinical efficacy of immunization was defined as the absence of new COVID-19 infection in patients who received a complete vaccination. Results: Among the 81 patients included in the study, 7.4% had anti-Spike IgM antibodies before their first vaccination. Seroprevalence of IgM antibodies was 38.3% one month after the first vaccine dose (at M1) and 8.6% one month after the second dose (at M4). Anti-Spike IgG antibodies were present in 40.3% of patients before vaccination, in 90.1% at M1, and in 59.7% at M4. Among patients previously infected with SARS-CoV-2, 10.2% had IgM antibodies at M0, 31.6% at M1, and 10.5% at M4 post-vaccination. Similarly, seroprevalences of IgG antibodies in this subgroup were 31.5%, 61.3%, and 50.0% respectively at M0, M1, and M4 post-vaccination. A comparison of seroconversion rates between M0 and M4 showed significant differences only for IgG in COVID-19 naive patients. Mean duration in dialysis and the existence of previous COVID-19 infection were associated with patients’ vaccinal response after the two doses. Age, gender and the use of immunosuppressive treatment did not influence post-vaccinal antibody production. Conclusion: Vaccination against COVID-19 in Senegalese hemodialysis patients induced a low seroconversion rate but it was well tolerated. Moreover, the induced protection was neither strong nor durable, particularly in patients with longer duration in dialysis.

James Thurber＇s Humor Represents Typical American Humor

Humor is needed universally. The ability to make jokes or to appreciate humor is both necessary for living a happy or smooth life. Different nations have different humors. The paper is to analyze the definition of humor, the difference between British and American humor, and take James Thurber＇s stories to show the typical American humor. The English appear to be deeply serious people. English humor is more conserved, subtle, and silent. The British are known for their sense of humor. However, it is often difficult for foreigners to understand their jokes. The key to understanding British humor is to know that the British often use ＂understatement＂. American humor tends to be more ＂obvious＂ and less oblique, and can sometimes be considered by other English speaking cultures to be over the top and ridiculous.

Sprightly Humor but Penetrating Introspection:on the Satiric Art of Mark Twain's Is He living or Is He dead?

Mark Twain's humorous writing style and thought-provoking satire has great influence on world literature.This paper attempts to explore the satirical art of his short story Is He living or Is He dead?,aiming at showing the immortal artistic charm of Mark Twain's works.

A Comedy of Absurdity and Chaos-A Brief Study on Joseph Heller's Catch-22 and His Black Humor

Catch-22,which is written by Joseph Heller,can be recognized as the "Modern Classic" of American literature,and this fiction uses a distinctive non-chronological third-person omniscient narration,describing the stories from different figures' visual angles.The novel features tragic content with comic form,anti-hero and illogical narrative structure.Catch-22,which no one can get out of,is not a simple rule;in other words,it's really a snare and this no-win situation exists in every corner of people's daily time.

“Anti-hero”Feature of Black Humor in Postmodernism Literary Fiction:with“Yossarian”in Catch-22 as an Example

Yossarian is the hero in Catch-22 written by Joseph Heller in 1961,bearing the typical"anti-hero"feature of Black Humor in postmodernism literary fiction.This paper aims at giving some of the examples to make readers clearer of the Black Humor and more familiar with the"anti-hero"feature of Black Humor in postmodernism literary fiction.

Relevant theoretic account of humor in sketches

Based on the relevant theory, this paper makes an analysis of humor in Chinese popular art form --sketch. It is believed that the maximal relevance and the optimal relevance of utterances, explicature and implicature of utterances, and the efforts made by hearers in dealing with utterances are three important aspects in showing humorous effects in sketches, among which sketch actors＇ violating the mutual cognitive environment so as to create an unexpected effect on hearers is the core in creating humor in sketches. Through analyzing some excerpts from the sketch Yesterday.Today.Tomorrow, the author tries to explore the relevance nature of language in sketch and creation of humor in it.

Mark Twain's Humor and Irony in The Stolen White Elephant

Mark Twain is a realistic writer in America.His humor,irony and together with colloquial speech have been remembered by readers,for which he became one of America's most beloved humorists and storytellers.This paper focuses on one of Twain's short stories The Stolen White Elephant.Through the analysis of Twain's humor and irony shown from the two main characters in this specific story,this paper is to show the social reality reflected in The Stolen White Elephant.

On Translating Strategies of Humorous Language

This paper makes a systematical study on the translating strategies of humorous language,with linguistic and cultural factors taken into consideration in the discussion.It should be pointed out that whatever strategy is chosen in translation,it is workable so long as it can reach the best humorous effect.

A Linguistic Analysis of Humorous Discourses between the English and Mandarin Language

The paper is divided into Five Chapters,aiming to explain the humorous effect in our daily discourse in the perspective of linguistic analysis.It is another new discovery.Two languages have their own distinct features.When translating,we will find a lot of humorous effect created by these language differences.The analysis of the topic is undergoing through term definition and case study.The paper might be of some help to further the humorous research in literature,art,academic circles or daily conversations.More methods of analysis,at the same time,are appreciated.

A Study of Linguistic Humor Translation of British Sitcoms

The translatability of humor is gradually accepted and linguistic humor based on specific features in the phonology,morphology or syntax of particular languages is considered to be the most difficult to translate. This paper is to study the linguistic humor translation of British sitcoms in the light of Skopos theory and explore practical ways of E-C translation of linguistic humor.

An Analysis of the Verbal Humor in the Movies If You Are The One Ⅰ&Ⅱ from the Perspective of Pragmatics

This study analyzes the the verbal humor in the movie series If You Are The One from the perspective of some pragmatic theories.The findings of the study provide explanations towards generative mechanism of humor,such as the violation of Cooperative Principle,avoiding face-threatening acts,and particularly,creatively reveal that special use of Politeness Principle can produce a humourous effect,too.

An Appreciation of Black Humor in Animal Farm

Animal Farm,which is written by the British writer George Orwell,is famous for its incisive satiric writing style and has been considered as an actual political allegory.This paper intends to re-read it from a different point of view—to appreciate its black-humorous characteristics from the following five aspects—language games,detached narrative,circular structure,open ending and comic incongruity in characterization.

Factors Affecting the Humorous Language Style of Mark Twin

As we all know,Mark Twain is an expert in handling humor.The formation of his language style has close connection with three aspects.Local literature influences Mark Twain very much.Western humor is another influential element.And his personal experience is also contributed to his humorous language style.

An Art Analysis of Black Humor in Catch-22

Joseph Heller is regarded as one of best American writers and his Catch-22 as one of the most significant works whichcontains a lot of elements of black humor in it. This paper aims to explore and analyse the art of black humor in Catch-22 reflectedin the title, the context, the plot, the way of narration, the use of language and the character's creation and reveals the practical sig-nificance in the present time.

Non-linguistic Factors and Strategies on the English-Chinese Translation of Humor

The text have an in-depth discussion of the non-linguistic factors on the English-Chinese Translation of humor,and according to different types of humor,summarized the corresponding translation strategies,including the naturalization,replacement and explanation.

Semantic Perspective:Verbal Humor in Chinese Cross Talk

This paper aims to study the verbal humor in Guo Degang's cross talk from semantic perspective.The focus is to illustrate the generating process and the mechanism of verbal humor.Three aspects of semantics which produce humorous effect,morpheme absorption,ambiguity,and script opposition will be discussed.Finally,it is found out that script opposition can take place of morpheme absorption,ambiguity to explain how humor is caused fundamentally.

Laughter Promotes Harmonization,Humor Enriches Life——Ji’nan International Humor Art Week 2006 Got a Complete Success

Ji’nan International Humor Art Week 2006 (JIHAW2006) was held in Ji’nan, Shandong Province from December 8th to December 14th, 2006. It was hosted by China Federation of Literary and Art