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Possibilities of monitoring intraocular pressure using a transpalpebral scleral tonometry in cases of corneal and ocular surface pathology
No full textCornea and ocular surface specialists need a form of tonometry for those cases where it is not possible to use Goldmann applanation tonometry (GAT) on the cornea. There are many situations in which the condition of the cornea prevents adequate monitoring of the intraocular pressure (IOP) with applanation tonometry, such as the existence of neurotrophic ulcers, corneal infections, or abscesses, corneal injuries or corneal de-epithelization. In addition, certain ocular postoperative situations, require a digital estimation of high or low pressure as the only option for IOP monitoring.</p
Vision in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Role of orthoptics
No full textEhlers-Danlos disease, usually called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, is an inherited connective tissue disorder that spares the central nervous system except in its connective component. It is manifested by a set of symptoms and clinical signs which are the expression of the connective tissue’s frailty. Visual manifestations are explained by tissue’s fragility and proprioception disturbance increased by muscle dysfunctions: cornea’s fragility, photophobia, diplopia, blepharospasms, eyelids’ retractions, myopia, and astigmatism. The orthoptist’s role is to help in the prescription of prism correction rather than rehabilitation, which is ineffective. In combination, global effect treatments, in particular for dystonia, and dysautonomia… is essential in this frequent disease, poorly described and therefore very seldom diagnosed. It is transmitted to all the children of an affected person. The objective of this work is to contribute to the diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos disease more often and more frequently in affected families. The orthoptist's role is very important because the correction of diplopia has functional consequences. Pine-hole glasses may give some relief by filtering out the light that dazzles these patients significantly.</p
Minimal-invasive explantation of sulcus-fixated toric-multifocal additional intraocular lenses despite excellent visual measurements: A case report
No full textA 40-year-old male patient was referred to our hospital for cataract surgery in both eyes with the explicit wish to get simultaneously rid of his eyeglasses. To allow for postoperative flexibility, we performed a bilateral implantation of a monofocal intraocular ‘standard’ lens in combination with an additional toric-multifocal lens. During the postoperative examinations the patient complained about pronounced halos in twilight and darkness.Visual acuity was excellent for distance, intermediate and near distances. Both IOLs were well centered and showed no tilt or other morphological discrepancies. Despite our extensive treatment efforts, including supportive training for neural adaptation, the patient perceived no signs of improvement. Finally, we had to explant both additional IOLs.The primary corneal incisions were bluntly reopened and the additional IOLs were removed in a minimal traumatic procedure. With the retained IOL in the capsular bag and subsequently ordained progressive eyeglasses the patient obtained full vision at all distances.Our preoperative planning to compensate for presbyopia with a separate IOL, proved to be a good decision. Otherwise, the explantation of a multifocal IOL, ingrown in the capsular bag, could have entailed a number of complications. In such delicate cases, additional IOL may offer a very save and simple alternative.</p
Ethical problems in pediatric cardiology
No full textThe authors discuss new ethical problems associated with the use of modern diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in pediatric cardiology. They underline the role of pediatric cardiologists in the process of approaching specific ethical problems. In the assessment of specific medical problems, authors pay greater attention to ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence, which continue to be problematic areas in pediatric cardiology.</p
Does “biological quantum entanglement” exists?
No full textIn literature and clinical reports connections between a heart condition (blood properties) and emotional and mental states are documented [1,2]. It is well known that psychosocial risk factors may lead to the activation of mechanisms responsible for somatic dysfunction of the cardiovascular system.</p
The impact of stock market capitalisation, international investment, clean energy on CO2 emissions: New insight from listed domestic companies in Belgium
Get PDFThe paper fundamentally explores the impact of Belgium’s stock market capitalization, international investment, clean energy on CO2 emissions from 1990-to 2018. More pertinently, our study analogizes the diverse impact of Belgium’s stock market capitalization, international investment, clean energy, and environmental quality. Through cointegration analysis, stock market capitalization, international investment, clean energy, and environmental quality have long-run links. Granger causality test indicates that International investment has a unidirectional relationship with environmental quality; clean energy has a bi-directional relationship with environmental quality. Via the static and dynamic regression, we found that stock market development has the most significant impact on carbon dioxide emissions in static and dynamic regression. Renewable energy has a positive impact on the carbon dioxide emissions per static, and dynamic regression and economic growth harm environmental quality in Belgium. The impulse response function results show that the Stock market and international investment positively respond to environmental quality. Our empirical findings provide policies to advocate improving environmental quality in Belgium.</p
Antimicrobial and synergistic potential of Ocimum gratissimum leaves and Petiveria alliacea bark against some selected microorganisms
Get PDFBackground: This study was carried out to investigate the antimicrobial and synergistic potential of the leaves of Ocimum gratissimum and bark of Petiveria alliacea against some tested bacterial and fungal isolates. Fresh and matured leaves of Ocimum gratissimum and bark of Petiveria alliacea were collected from the Institute of Agriculture, Research and Training, Ibadan, Nigeria. The specimens were identified at the Herbarium unit of the Department of Botany, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The pathogenic organisms used include bacteria namely, Providencia stuartii, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium Pyogenes, Streptococcus faecalis, Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescence, Serratia rubidae, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella pullorum; and fungi namely, Trychophyton tonsurans, Candidia albicans, Trychophyton rubrum, Penicillium expansium, Alternaria sp, Fusarium sp, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, and Penicillium camenberti. Methods: Pure isolates of the tested microorganisms were obtained from the department of microbiology, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. The bacterial isolates were maintained on nutrient agar slant and the fungal isolates were on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA). Antimicrobial sensitivity test (AST) followed by Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute. Minimal bactericidal and fungicidal concentrations were determined following established protocols. Results: Fungal isolates of Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium expansiumm, Trychophyton rubrum, and bacterial isolates Klebsiella oxytoca, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, and Salmonella pullorum were all resistant to the plant extract. Findings from this study opined that ethanolic extract of Ocimum gratissimum leaves is more potent than the methanolic and aqueous extracts of Petiveria alliacea. Conclusion: The plant extracts showed greater antimicrobial activity against bacterial- with respect to fungal isolates suggesting a broader spectrum of activity with ethanolic extract on the gram-positive and the gram-negative bacteria. </p
Exome sequencing reveals a homozygous frameshift variant in CAPN3 in a Tunisian patient with a neuromuscular disorder
Get PDFMuscular dystrophy (MD) is a heterogeneous group of diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass. Specific signs and symptoms begin at different ages and in different muscle groups, depending on the type of muscular dystrophy. We report here a case of a Tunisian patient suffering from a neuromuscular disorder, highly suspicious of a Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD). Exome Sequencing revealed a one-base deletion variant in exon 4 of the CAPN3 gene. CAPN3 is associated with a recessive form of LGMD, also known as Muscular Dystrophy, Limb-Girdle, Type 2a (LGMD2A). The variant was shown to segregate with the disease in the family. The identification of the molecular defect in this family provided a rapid genotyping for the sister and an accurate diagnosis for the patient, allowing appropriate clinical management at an early stage of the disease.</p
Pandemic panic and the culture of complacency
Get PDFThe many legacies bequeathed to us by the COVID-19 pandemic have embraced novel approaches to vaccine development, a greater awareness of the principles of hygiene among the general public, the need for governments to take a proactive stance when faced with unfamiliar pathologies, and the role of specialist medical and scientific advisers. However, many of the claimed protocols are medieval in nature and have little scientific evidence to support their introduction. Similarly, we have failed to grasp the importance of the anti-vaccination campaigns, which are always founded on ignorance or willfulness, but on previous examples of duplicitous behavior by those in authority, coupled with our poor understanding of the way virus variants function, have engendered a sense that many of the precautions taken may have been unnecessary (Ford, 2020a). In consequence, I fear that future threats from hemolytic viruses of high transmissibility may be met with complacency. Improved public education, and greater academic transparency concerning the nature of risk, will be necessary if a future pandemic is to be effectively controlled.</p
Modeling the groundwater level for an arid aquifer under different groundwater management scenarios
Get PDFGroundwater is considered the only source of water in arid climate regions. Additionally, population growth is stressing the groundwater resources in the study area, especially in these regions leading to excess groundwater exploitation to meet the demands (domestic, and agricultural). Thus, the groundwater level may decline in the future causing a water scarcity problem. In order to overcome this problem, it is worth necessary to perform mitigation measures prior to raising the groundwater level by augmenting the groundwater in the hydrogeological system. Mitigation measures might be reducing the abstraction rate and installing new artificial recharge sites. To assess the potential of these measures, numerical modeling can be applied. Gaza strip aquifer was chosen as a case study due to the following reasons: arid aquifer, significantly stressed due to over-exploitation of groundwater. Different researchers have already proposed different management scenarios considering these mitigation measures, but most of them considered unreliable management scenarios to predict future groundwater. Some of them reduced the abstraction rate which will lead to the loss of agricultural lands. Whereas, the others increased the artificial recharge rate which is unfeasible to implement in the study area for the next 20 years. Hence, we applied numerical modeling in this article to predict the future groundwater level based on these mitigation measures taking into account reliable management scenarios according to the study area’s current situation . The results indicate that combining both reducing the abstraction rate and increasing the artificial recharge is so promising and they were compared with the latter obtained by the previous researchers. </p