METHODS: Eighteen male healthy subjects volunteered to participate in the experiment. Walking gait analysis was conducted with eight different levels of insole to simulate the LLD, starting from 0 cm until 4.0 cm with 0.5 cm increment. Qualisys Track Manager System and C-motion Visual 3D biomechanical tools were used to analyse the results. Four joints (ankle, knee, hip, and pelvis) of lower limb of two legs were investigated. The increment of insoles was placed on the right leg to represent the long leg.
RESULTS: The results suggest that the mean contact forces for all joints in the short leg were increased as the increment level increased. On the contrary, the mean contact forces in the long leg decreased when the LLD level increased. Among these four joints, JCF in hip shows a positive increment based on the ASI value. Means that hip shows the most affected joint as the LLD level increase.
CONCLUSIONS: The result obtained in this study might help clinicians treat patients with a structural LLD for treatment plan including surgical intervention.
METHODS: Cycloplegic (1% cyclopentolate) autorefraction was performed on 38, 811 children aged 5 and 15 in population-based samples at eight sites in the Refractive Error Study in Children (RESC). Refractions (right eye) were categorized as myopic (≤-0.5 D), emmetropic (>-0.5 to ≤+0.5 D), mildly hyperopic (>+0.5 to ≤+2.0 D and hyperopic (>+2.0 D).
RESULTS: At five sites (Jhapa - rural Nepal, New Delhi - urban India, Mahabubnagar - rural India, Durban - semi-urban South Africa and La Florida - urban Chile), there was <20% myopia by age 15. Mild hyperopia was the most prevalent category at all ages, except for Mahabubnagar where emmetropia became the marginally most prevalent category at ages 14 and 15. At the other sites (Gombak - semi-urban Malaysia, Shunyi - semi-rural China and Guangzhou - urban China), there was substantial (>35%) myopia by age 15. At these sites, mild hyperopia was the most prevalent category during early childhood, and myopia became the predominant category later. In Gombak district and Guangzhou, emmetropia was a minor category at all ages, with myopia increasing as mild hyperopia decreased. In Shunyi district, emmetropia was the most prevalent category over the ages 11-14.
CONCLUSION: Emmetropia was not the predominant outcome for refractive development in children. Instead, populations were predominantly mildly hyperopic or substantial amounts of myopia appeared in them. This suggests that mild hyperopia is the natural state of refractive development in children and that emmetropia during childhood carries the risk of subsequent progression to myopia.
METHODS: Thirty-five cases of highly myopic eyes with MHRD in 35 patients who underwent an initially successful vitrectomy with macular plug and were followed up for at least 3 years were reviewed. The anatomical outcomes were evaluated by fundus examination, fundus photographs and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Myopic features after the surgery were differentiated according to recommendations of the Meta-analysis of Pathologic Myopia (META-PM) Study Group. The best-corrected visual acuities (BCVAs) before and after surgery were analysed as the functional outcome. Main outcome measures time-course changes in BCVA and complications.
RESULTS: The mean patient age was 61.0 ± 11.4 years. The follow-up was 45.2 ± 8.6 months (ranged from 36 to 71 months). The mean axial length was 29.3 ± 1.2 mm. All eyes demonstrated attached retina, but 2 eyes (5.7%) developed reopened macular holes until the last follow-up. Complications of postoperative rhegmatogenous retinal detachment were detected in 2 eyes (5.7%) within 1 year and retina reattached after the secondary vitrectomy. Three cases (8.6%) of prolonged subretinal fluid lasting more than 1 year were detected but finally absorbed completely. Comparing 1-3 years postoperatively, myopic features showed significant progression of myopic maculopathy category (p = 0.035). Functionally, significantly improved BCVA could be maintained postoperatively between 6 months and 3 years. However, vision of 14 eyes (40.0%) worsened within 1-3 years postoperatively, and visual deterioration was associated with progression of myopic maculopathy (p = 0.004) and pre-existing disease of glaucoma (p = 0.006).
CONCLUSIONS: A vitrectomy combined with macular plug provided favourable outcomes in the long term, over the ≥3-year follow-up period.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of type of visual image and gender on subjective visual horizontal (SVH) perception among healthy adults.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this comparative study, 50 healthy young adults were enrolled. While in an upright body position, they were required to report their perception of horizontality for two types of visual images (solid line and arrow pattern) using a computerized SVH device.
RESULTS: The arrow pattern produced significantly bigger SVH angles than the solid line (p < .001). In contrast, no significant influence of gender was found on SVH results (p = .743), Based on the statistical outcomes, the preliminary normative data for SVH were established.
CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The arrow pattern (a more complex visual image) produced bigger SVH deviations than the simple solid line image. In contrast, the horizontality perception does not appear to be affected by gender. The preliminary normative SVH data gathered from the present study can be beneficial for clinical and future research applications.
OBJECTIVE: Reconstructive surgery for the repair of microtia still remains the greatest challenge among the surgeons. Its repair is associated with donor-site morbidity and the degree of infection is inevitable when using alloplastic prosthesis with uncertain long-term durability. Thus, human adipose derived stem cells (HADSCs) can be an alternative cell source for cartilage regeneration. This study aims to evaluate the chondrogenic potential of HADSCs cultured with transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) and interaction of auricular chondrocytes with HADSCs for new cartilage generation.
METHODS: Multi-lineages differentiation features of HADSCs were monitored by Alcian Blue, Alizarin Red, and Oil Red O staining for chondrogenic, adipogenic, and osteogenic differentiation capacity, respectively. Further, HADSCs alone were culture in medium added with TGF-β3; and human auricular chondrocytes were interacted indirectly in the culture with and without TGF-βs for up to 21 days, respectively. Cell morphology and chondrogenesis were monitored by inverted microscope. For cell viability, Alamar Blue assay was used to measure the cell viability and the changes in gene expression of auricular chondrocyte markers were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. For the induction of chondrogenic differentiation, HADSCs showed a feature of aggregation and formed a dense matrix of proteoglycans. Staining results from Alizirin Red and Oil Red O indicated the HADSCs also successfully differentiated into adipogenic and osteogenic lineages after 21 days.
RESULTS: According to a previous study, HADSCs were strongly positive for the mesenchymal markers CD90, CD73, CD44, CD9, and histocompatibility antigen. The results showed HADSCs test groups (cultured with TGF-β3) displayed chondrocytes-like cells morphology with typical lacunae structure compared to the control group without TGF-β3 after 2 weeks. Additionally, the HADSCs test groups increased in cell viability; an increase in expression of chondrocytes-specific genes (collagen type II, aggrecan core protein, SOX 9 and elastin) compared to the control. This study found that human auricular chondrocytes cells and growth factor had a positive influence in inducing HADSCs chondrogenic effects, in terms of chondrogenic differentiate of feature, increase of cell viability, and up-regulated expression of chondrogenic genes.
CONCLUSION: Exposing preterm infants to either 12 h cyglical lighting or continuously dim environment did not have any significant effect on their weight gain during the neonatal period.