Comparison of anatomical and visual outcomes following different anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatments in subretinal neovascular membrane secondary to type 2 proliferative macular telangiectasia

Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology - To evaluate central macular thickness (CMT), subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), and visual outcomes following different...     

Preparation of ABCBA-type block copolymers by use of macro-initiators containing peroxy and azo groups

Some new macroinitiators ( 5 ) containing azo and peroxy groups were synthesized by transformation of esters of poly(ethylene glycol) ( 1 ) (PEG) of different molecular weight with hydroxyl end groups and an azo group in the middle into the corresponding polymers with tert-butylperoxycarbonyl end groups by reaction with terephthaloyl chloride and subsequently with tert-butyl hydroporoxide. Decomposition in the presence of styrene at 60°C or with 3,6,9-triazaun-decane-1,11-diamine in presence of methyl methacrylate gave the corresponding ABA block copolymer 6 and the ABBA block copolymer 7 , respectively. Both block copolymers were used as polymeric initiators. The ABCBA block copolymer 8 was synthesized from 6 and methyl methacrylate or from 7 and styrene by thermally induced polymerization at 80°C. The resulting block copolymers were separated from the homopolymers by selective solvent extraction and characterized by spectroscopic and fractional precipitation methods.     

Diagnosis of gastric carcinoma by classification on feature projections

A new classification algorithm, called benefit maximizing classifier on feature projections (BCFP), is developed and applied to the problem of diagnosis of gastric carcinoma. The domain contains records of patients with known diagnosis through gastroscopy results. Given a training set of such records, the BCFP classifier learns how to differentiate a new case in the domain. BCFP represents a concept in the form of feature projections on each feature dimension separately. Classification in the BCFP algorithm is based on a voting among the individual predictions made on each feature. In the gastric carcinoma domain, a lesion can be an indicator of one of nine different levels of gastric carcinoma, from early to late stages. The benefit of correct classification of early levels is much more than that of late cases. Also, the costs of wrong classifications are not symmetric. In the training phase, the BCFP algorithm learns classification rules that maximize the benefit of classification. In the querying phase, using these rules, the BCFP algorithm tries to make a prediction maximizing the benefit. A genetic algorithm is applied to select the relevant features. The performance of the BCFP algorithm is evaluated in terms of accuracy and running time. The rules induced are verified by experts of the domain.     

Growth hormone deficiency,aortic dilation,and neurocognitive issues in Feingold syndrome 2

We report three patients with Feingold 2 syndrome with the novel features of growth hormone deficiency associated with adenohypophyseal compression, aortic dilation, phalangeal joint contractures, memory, and sleep problems in addition to the typical features of microcephaly, brachymesophalangy, toe syndactyly, short stature, and cardiac anomalies. Microdeletions of chromosome 13q that include the MIR17HG gene were found in all three. One of the patients was treated successfully with growth hormone. In addition to expanding the phenotype of Feingold 2 syndrome, we suggest management of patients with Feingold 2 syndrome include echocardiography at the time of diagnosis in all patients and consideration of evaluation for growth hormone deficiency in patients with short stature.     

Heparinoids: structure, biological activities and therapeutic applications.

Heparin is an important polyanionic drug having a wide variety of different biological activities. Substantial research effort has focused on the preparation of improved heparins and heparin analogues that might exhibit higher specificity and decreased side effects. These heparin analogues or heparinoids include sulfated polysaccharides from plant and animal origin, synthetic derivatives of polysaccharides, and acidic oligosaccharides and their small synthetic analogues. The structure, biological activities and therapeutic potential of these heparinoids are discussed.     

Successful repair of a large aortic abscess causing apical displacement of the anterior mitral valve

Anatomic continuity between the anterior mitral leaflet and the aortic root may predispose those patients with aortic root pathology to functional changes of the mitral valve without any involvement of this valve. A 34-year-old man presented with aortic valve endocarditis. Transthoracic echocardiograpy showed severe aortic regurgitation with a large aortic root abscess. The anterior leaflet of the mitral valve was displaced towards the apex of the heart causing moderate mitral regurgitation. The patient underwent aortic valve replacement with reconstruction of the aortic annulus and ventriculoaortic continuity. This procedure alone restored the mitral valve structure and function without any need for intervention on the mitral valve. Aortic abscess is a serious complication of aortic valve endocarditis and may alter the function of other structures of the heart, especially the mitral valve. Restoration of aortic wall integrity and left ventricular – aortic continuity usually restores the mitral valve structure and function if the valve is unaffected by the infection. A decision on the mitral valve should be made following correction of the aortic pathology.     

Adenosine deaminase, 5′-nucleotidase,xanthine oxidase,superoxide dismutase,and catalase activities in gastric juices from patients with gastric cancer,ulcer, and atrophic gastritis

Adenosine deaminase (ADA), 5-Nucleotidase (5NT), Xanthine oxidase (XO), Cu-Zn Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Catalase (CAT) activities were determined in gastric juices from patients with gastric cancer, ulcer, gastritis and from healthy subjects. Enzyme activities were given as units per ml gastric juice and units per mg protein in gastric juice. ADA, 5NT and XO activities were found lower and protein concentrations were found higher in the cancer group than controls. There was however no significant difference between Cu-Zn SOD activities of the cancer and control groups. In all groups including control one, we could not find catalase activities in most of the samples. On the other hand, ADA, 5NT activities and protein concentrations in the gastric juice were lower in the gastritis group than control group. In the ulcer group, we found higher Cu-Zn SOD and XO activities and lower 5NT activity and protein concentrations compared with control values. In an attempt to establish statistical correlations between mean enzyme activities, pH and protein concentrations in the gastric juices of the groups, we found noticeable intra and inter-correlations, which indicated possible relations between DNA and free radical metabolizing enzymes.     

QT interval dispersion in the patients with central serous chorioretinopathy

AIM: To evaluate QT dispersion (QTD) in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). METHODS: This clinical, comperative, case-control study included 30 patients with CSC at acute phase (Group 1) and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects (Group 2, the control group). From all subjects, a 12-lead surface electrocardiography was obtained. The heart rate (HR), QT maximum (QTmax), QT minimum (QTmin), QT corrected (QTc), QTD and Tmean were manually measured and analyzed. Student’s t-test and Pearson’s method of correlation were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The patient and control groups were matched for age, smoking status (rate and duration) and gender. There were no significant differences with regard to these among the groups (P>0.05). The participants included 19 men (63.3%) and 11 women (36.7%) in Group 1, 20 men (66.7%) and 10 women (33.3%) in Group 2. QTmax, QTD and QTc were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (P<0.001 for QTmax, P=0.01 for QTD and P=0.001 for QTc). QTmin, Tmean and HR did not differ significantly between the study groups (P=0.28 for QTmin, P=0.56 for Tmean and P>0.05 for HR). No significant correlation was found between duration of the disorder and QTD values (r=0.13, P>0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that CSC may be associated with an increase in QTD and that the patients might be at risk for ventricular arrhythmia.