PURPOSE: To assess the refractive outcomes in photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) of two eximer lasers: Broad beam and Flying spot laser. METHODS: We compared the refractive outcomes of 74 eyes (group I) treated with a VISX 20/20(excimer laser (VISX Inc. USA) using broad beam laser with those of 96 eyes (group II) treated with a Technolas 217 C-Lasik(TM) (Bausch and Lomb, USA) using flying spot laser. Each patients had been followed up for more than 6 months after surgery. RESULTS: Corneal astigmatism at preoperation were 1.25 +/- 0.62D in group I and 1.03 +/- 0.51D in group II and at postoperative 6 months, decreased to 1.12 +/- 0.53D in group I and 0.60 +/- 0.83D in group II. Manifest refraction were outside +/- 1D of spherical lens or 0.5 D of cylinder lens in 23.6 % in group I and 13.5% in group II. CONCLUSIONS: We suggests that PRK using flying spot laser effectively more reduces corneal astigmatism and provided more satisfactory predictability in refractive results than that of broad beam laser.
Astigmatism ; Diptera* ; Humans ; Lasers, Excimer* ; Photorefractive Keratectomy*

PURPOSE: The dose of drug and the size of instrument are determined based on children's weight. We aimed to validate the finger counting method (FCM) for weight estimation in Korean children using the Monte Carlo simulation. METHODS: We estimated the weight of Korean children aged 1 to 9 years by the FCM. These measurements were compared with the weight extracted by the Monte Carlo simulation applied to the “2007 Korean Children and Adolescents Growth Standard”. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were measured to assess the correlation between the weight extracted by the simulation and that estimated by FCM. Bland-Altman analyses were performed to assess the agreement between the weight extracted by the simulation and that estimated by FCM and 2 other well-known pediatric weight estimation formulas (the Advanced Pediatric Life Support and Luscombe formulas). RESULTS: Data regarding 9,000 children's weight selected by age and gender was randomly extracted using the simulation. We found a positive correlation between the weight estimated by the FCM and the weight extracted (in boys, r = 0.896, P < 0.001; in girls, r = 0.899, P < 0.001). The FCM tended to underestimate weight in the children aged 7 years or old. CONCLUSION: This article suggests the usefulness of FCM in weight estimation, particularly in children younger than 7 years. With appreciation of the limitation in older children, the FCM could be applied to emergency practice.
Adolescent ; Body Weight ; Child ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Fingers* ; Humans ; Methods* ; Monte Carlo Method ; Resuscitation

Huntington disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and cognitive dysfunction caused by expansion of polyglutamine (polyQ) repeat in exon 1 of huntingtin (HTT). In patients, the number of glutamine residues in polyQ tracts are over 35, and it is correlated with age of onset, severity, and disease progression. Expansion of polyQ increases the propensity for HTT protein aggregation, process known to be implicated in neurodegeneration. These pathological aggregates can be transmitted from neuron to another neuron, and this process may explain the pathological spreading of polyQ aggregates. Here, we developed an in vivo model for studying transmission of polyQ aggregates in a highly quantitative manner in real time. HTT exon 1 with expanded polyQ was fused with either N-terminal or C-terminal fragments of Venus fluorescence protein and expressed in pharyngeal muscles and associated neurons, respectively, of C. elegans. Transmission of polyQ proteins was detected using bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC). Mutant polyQ (Q97) was transmitted much more efficiently than wild type polyQ (Q25) and forms numerous inclusion bodies as well. The transmission of Q97 was gradually increased with aging of animal. The animals with polyQ transmission exhibited degenerative phenotypes, such as nerve degeneration, impaired pharyngeal pumping behavior, and reduced life span. The C. elegans model presented here would be a useful in vivo model system for the study of polyQ aggregate propagation and might be applied to the screening of genetic and chemical modifiers of the propagation.
Age of Onset ; Aging ; Animals ; Complement System Proteins ; Disease Progression ; Exons ; Fluorescence ; Glutamine ; Humans ; Huntington Disease ; Inclusion Bodies ; Mass Screening ; Nerve Degeneration ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neurons ; Pharyngeal Muscles ; Phenotype ; Venus

Alveolar Bone Loss ; Alveolar Process ; Alveolar Ridge Augmentation ; Bone Regeneration ; Dentistry ; Female ; Humans ; Inlays ; Mandible ; Osteoblasts ; Osteogenesis ; Osteogenesis, Distraction ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Titanium ; Transplants