Purpose. This study aims to explore the safety and efficacy of a novel treatment-intense pulsed light (IPL) in MGD eyes. Methods. This study is a prospective and open label study. Forty eyes of 40 MGD patients were recruited in the study and received 4 consecutive IPL treatments on day 1, day 15, day 45, and day 75. Ten ocular surface symptoms were evaluated with a subjective face score at every visit. Best spectacle corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure (IOP), conjunctival injection, upper and lower tear meniscus height (TMH), tear break-up time (TBUT), corneal staining, lid margin and meibomian gland assessments, and meibography were also recorded at every visit, as well as the adverse effects on the eye and ocular surface. Results. Significant improvements were observed in single and total ocular surface symptom scores, TBUT, and conjunctival injection at all the visits after the initial IPL treatment (P < 0.05). Compared to baseline, the signs of eyelid margin, meibomian gland secretion quality, and expressibility were significantly improved at every visit after treatments. There was no regional and systemic threat observed in any patient. Conclusion. Intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy is a safe and efficient treatment in relieving symptoms and signs of MGD eyes.

ObjectiveTo explore the risk factors of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and sight-threatening diabetic retinopathy (STDR) among Chinese patients with diabetes.Design, setting and participantsA cross-sectional investigation was performed in eight screening clinics in six provinces across mainland China. Information about the risk factors was recorded in screening clinics. Some risk factors (sex, age, diagnosis age, diabetes duration, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c)) were recorded in all eight clinics, while others were collected only in a subset of the clinics. The relationships between the risk factors and DR and between the risk factors and STDR were explored for the eight factors mentioned above and for all factors studied.Main outcomes and measuresRisk factors of DR and STDR were assessed, and a nomogram of the results was produced.ResultsYounger age, longer diabetes duration, higher SBP, higher FBG and higher HbA1c were found to be independent risk factors for both DR and STDR in the eight-factor analyses. In the all-factor analysis, younger age, longer diabetes duration, higher SBP, oral medicine use and insulin use were independent risk factors for both DR and STDR; higher postprandial blood glucose (PBG), HbA1c, triglyceride andlow-density lipoprotein were independent risk factors for DR only, and higher FBG was a risk factor for STDR only.ConclusionsIn this cross-sectional investigation, several risk factors were found for DR and STDR. Notably, FBG, PBG and HbA1c were all risk factors for DR or STDR, suggesting that stricter blood glucose control in clinical practice is required.

Malondialdehyde interstrand cross-links in DNA show strong preference for 5'-d(CpG) sequences. The cross-links are unstable and a trimethylene cross-link has been used as a surrogate for structural studies. A previous structural study of the 5'-d(CpG) cross-link in the sequence 5'-d(AGGCGCCT), where G is the modified nucleotide, by NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics using a simulated annealing protocol showed the guanine residues and the tether lay approximately in a plane such that the trimethylene tether and probably the malondialdehyde tether, as well, could be accommodated without major disruptions of duplex structure [Dooley et al. J. Am Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 1730-1739]. The trimethylene cross-link has now been studied in a GpC motif using the reverse sequence. The structure lacks the planarity seen with the 5'-d(CpG) sequence and is skewed about the trimethylene cross-link. Melting studies indicate that the trimethylene cross-link is thermodynamically less stable in the GpC motif than in the 5-d(CpG). Furthermore, lack of planarity of the GpC cross-link precludes making an isosteric replacement of the trimethylene tether by malondialdehyde. A similar argument can be used to explain the 5'-d(CpG) preference for interchain cross-linking by acrolein.

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A multianalyte lateral-flow immunochromatographic technique using colloidal gold-labeled polyclonal antibodies was developed for the rapid simultaneous detection of clenbuterol and ractopamine. The assay procedure could be accomplished within 5 min, and the results of this qualitative one-step assay were evaluated visually according to whether test lines appeared or not. When applied to the swine urines, the detection limit and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of the test strip under an optical density scanner were calculated to be 0.1 +/- 0.01 ng mL(-1) and 0.1 +/- 0.01 ng mL(-1), 0.56 +/- 0.08 ng mL(-1), and 0.71 +/- 0.06 ng mL(-1), respectively, the cut-off levels with the naked eye of 1 ng mL(-1) and 1 ng mL(-1) for clenbuterol and ractopamine were observed. Parallel analysis of swine urine samples with clenbuterol and ractopamine showed comparable results obtained from the multianalyte lateral-flow test strip and GC-MS. Therefore, the described multianalyte lateral-flow test strip can be used as a reliable, rapid, and cost-effective on-site screening technique for the simultaneous determination of clenbuterol and ractopamine residues in swine urine.