Management of corneal ulceration with a moisture chamber due to temporary lagophthalmos in a brain injury patient:A case report

BACKGROUND This study describes the use of a moisture chamber to treat corneal ulceration due to temporary lagophthalmos in a critically ill patient.CASE SUMMARY A 46-year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit after a car accident.She suffered multiple injuries that included brain injury and presented with moderately decreased consciousness and lagophthalmos in her right eye.Within 6 d,her consciousness improved considerably;at which time,exposure keratopathy occurred and worsened to corneal ulceration.Lubricating gel,antibiotic ointment,and bandage contact lens were all ineffective in preventing or treating the exposure keratopathy.Instead of tarsorrhaphy,a moisture chamber was applied which successfully controlled the corneal ulceration.The moisture chamber was discontinued when complete eyelid closure recovered a week later.CONCLUSION A moisture chamber may be an effective,noninvasive alternative to tarsorrhaphy for treating severe exposure keratopathy due to temporary lagophthalmos.

Enhanced anti-cancer effect of gambogic acid by gold nanorod-based delivery

OBJECTIVE Nanotechnology provides a novel strategy for the delivery of anticancer drugs.In this study,titanium dioxide coated gold nanorod(GNR/TiO_2) nanostructures were used as the drug carrier for gambogic acid in order to improve its anticancer effect.METHODS Biocompatibility and cellular uptake of GNR/TiO_2 nanostructures were studied in human glioblastoma U-87 MG cells.Cell viability was evaluated by ATP assay and calcein AM staining.Lyso Sensor Green DND-189 and Hoechst 33342 were used to analyze the intracellular location of GNR/TiO_2 nanostructures.The in vitro anti-cancer effect of gambogic acid loaded nanoparticles was compared with free drug.RESULTS The results showed that GNR/TiO_2 nanostructures are biocompatible,and they are localized at the intracellular acidic compartments of endosomes and lysosomes.The intracellular drug content delivered via GNR/TiO_2 nanostructures was 6 fold higher than the free form,thus dramatically enhancing the anticancer effect of gambogic acid.Furthermore,mild photothermal therapy also showed synergistic effect with the drug.CONCLUSION Our study suggested that GNR/TiO_2 nanostructures can be considered as a promising anticancer drug carrier.

Effects of keto acid supplements on Chinese patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis:a prospective,randomized,controlled,single-center clinical study

Background:The effects of keto acid(KA)supplements on Chinese patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis(MHD)are unclear.This study aimed to evaluate the effects of KA supplementation on nutritional status,inflammatory markers,and bioelectric impedance analysis(BIA)parameters in a cohort of Chinese patients with MHD without malnutrition.Methods:This was a prospective,randomized,controlled,single-center clinical study conducted in 2011 till 2014.Twenty-nine patients with MHD were randomly assigned to a control(n=14)or a KA(n=15)group.The control group maintained a dietary protein intake of 0.9 g/kg/day.The KA group received additional KA supplement(0.1 g/kg/day).BIA was used to determine the lean tissue mass,adipose tissue mass,and body cell mass.The patients,nutritional status,dialysis adequacy,and biochemical parameters were assessed at the ends of the third and sixth months with t test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test.Results:The daily total energy intake for both groups was about 28 kcal/kg/day.After 6 months,the Kt/V(where K is the dialyzer clearance of urea,t is the dialysis time,and V is the volume of the distribution of urea)was 1.33±0.25 in KA group,and 1.34±0.25 in the control group.The median triceps skin-fold thickness in KA group was 12.00 and 9.00 mm in the control group.In addition,the median hand-grip strength in KA group was 21.10 and 25.65 kg in the control group.There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to the anthropometry parameters,dialysis adequacy,serum calcium and phosphorus levels,inflammatory markers,and amino-acid profiles,or in relation to the parameters determined by BIA.Both groups achieved dialysis adequacy and maintained nutritional status during the study.Conclusions:In this cohort of Chinese patients with MHD,the patients in the control group whose dietary protein intake was 0.9 g/kg/day and total energy intake was 28 kcal/kg/day,maintained well nutritional status during study period.The KA supplement(0.1 g/kg/day)did not improve the essential amino acid/non-essential amino acid ratio,nor did it change the patients5 mineral metabolism,inflammatory parameters,or body compositions.

Synthesis of a novel naphthyl-based self-catalyzed phthalonitrile polymer

A novel naphthyl-based self-catalyzed phthalonitrile monomer was prepared via nucleophilic displacement reaction. The structure was characterized by Fourier infrared spectrum （FT-IR） and nuclear magnetic resonance （^1H NMR）. The polymerization mechanism was explored. Thermal properties were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry （DSC） and thermogravimetric analysis （TGA）, which demonstrated self-promoted behavior and excellent heat resistance.