Intimate partner violence as a mechanism of traumatic ocular injury in women

ObjectiveDetermine the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) as a mechanism of traumatic ocular injury in women, typical injury patterns, and the clinical course of affected patients. Encourage IPV screening and safety assessment in patients presenting with characteristic ocular trauma.MethodsMedical records of 211 female patients with traumatic ocular injuries evaluated at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics between January 1995 and January 2015 were reviewed to determine the rate of IPV as a mechanism of ocular trauma. Twenty-one patients were excluded due to no documented trauma.ResultsLeading causes of traumatic ocular injuries in the 190 female patients included were accidental trauma with an inanimate object (n = 70/190, 36.8%), falls (n = 52/190, 27.4%), motor vehicle collisions (n = 21/190, 11.1%), and assault (n = 16/190, 8.4%). In 2.1% of cases (n = 4/190), no mechanism of traumatic injury was documented. Assault was the fourth leading mechanism of injury accounting for 8.4% of cases (n = 16/190), with IPV accounting for more than one third of cases with a documented perpetrator (n = 5/13). No perpetrator was documented in 18.8% (n = 3/16). All 5 patients with IPV-related injuries sustained scleral laceration or rupture; 4 out of 5 patients had no light perception vision and ultimately required enucleation.ConclusionIPV is an important mechanism of traumatic ocular injury. IPV-associated injuries tend to be severe in nature, as demonstrated by the high rate of globe laceration or rupture and subsequent enucleation in the study population. By appropriate screening and referral, ophthalmologists have an opportunity to redirect a potentially devastating course.     

A rapid and sensitive method for measuring monooxygenase activities in hepatocytes cultured in 96-well plates

Summary Measurement of biotransformation activities in cells is of great importance for drug metabolism and toxicologic studies. It is currently done by measuring the enzymatic activities in partially purified microsomes. In the present work we report on a rapid, easy, sensitive, and reproducible fluorimetric assay for quantifying cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase activities (P450IA1, P450IIB1) in hepatocytes cultured in 96-well plates. The procedure involves the direct determination of enzymatic activities in intact hepatocytes while avoiding cell homogenization, thereby permitting use of a the reduced number of cells and allowing cultured cells to be used in later experiments. Substrates (7-ethoxyresorufin, 7-pentoxyresorufin) are added to culture medium and metabolized by hepatocytes. After enzymatic deconjugation, the fluorescent resorufin present in culture medium is quantified by means of a microplate fluorimetric reader. Major advantages of this technique, as compared to other available methods, are: a) no cell disruption is required; b) activity can be measured with a very small number of cells; c) rapid processing time; and d) possibility of performing repeated assays with the same cell monolayer.     

免疫吸附治疗在肾移植致敏受者中的应用

目的：探讨蛋白A免疫吸附（immunoads Orption，IA）治疗对清除肾移植致敏受者体内特异性抗HLA抗体的疗效和安全性。方法：10例肾移植致敏（PRA〉50％）受者用彤新蛋白A免疫吸附柱行IA治疗，测定治疗前后血免疫球蛋白及PRA水平。结果：10例患者IA治疗次数为4～15次（中位数9）。所有患者IA治疗后血清总IgG水平都明显下降（P〈0．001），IgA和IgM也较治疗前显著降低（P〈0．01）。PRA8例转阴，1例〈30％，1例仍为100％。结论：对于肾移植致敏受者，IA是一种特异性高、安全有效的治疗措施。     

Comparative Efficacy of Intra-Articular Steroid Injection and Distension in Patients With Frozen Shoulder: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

Objective

To compare the efficacy of intra-articular (IA) steroid injection and distension in patients with frozen shoulder.

Balance Control and Energetics of Powered Exoskeleton-Assisted Sit-to-Stand Movement in Individuals With Paraplegic Spinal Cord Injury

Objective

To quantify the effects of initial hip angle and angular hip velocity settings of a lower-limb wearable robotic exoskeleton (WRE) on the balance control and mechanical energy requirements in patients with paraplegic spinal cord injuries (SCIs) during WRE-assisted sit-to-stand (STS).

Safety of reassessment-and-release practice for mental health patients boarded in the emergency department

Objectives

Among emergency department (ED) mental health and substance abuse (MHSA) patients, we sought to compare mortality and healthcare utilization by ED discharge disposition and inpatient bed request status.