·AIM:To determine the effect of anterior-posterior joint surgery on choroidal thickness in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). · METHODS: A retrospective, case - control study enrolled 60 eyes of 60 patients with PDR diagnosed at Qingdao Municipal Hospital. The patients, who had conditions that warranted anterior - posterior joint surgery,were divided into a clinically significant macular edema group (PDR/CSME+;31 patients,31 eyes) and a non-CSME group (PDR/CSME-;29 patients,29 eyes). Twenty-seven eyes of 27 normal patients were included in the control group. All affected eyes underwent anterior - posterior joint surgery. After surgery, the subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), and the nasal choroidal thickness (NCT) and temporal choroidal thickness (TCT), which were obtained at a distance of 1500μ m from the fovea in the nasal and temporal directions, respectively, were measured in the control and PDR groups by enhanced depth imaging spectral domain optical coherence tomography (EDI-SDOCT) at 1wk,1,3, and 6mo after surgery. Changes in choroidal thickness after anterior - posterior joint surgery were compared between the groups. ·RESULTS:The SFCT,NCT,and TCT were significantly thicker at 1mo than at 1wk, 3, and 6mo after surgery in the PDR/CSME+ and PDR/CSME- groups(P<0.05). The SFCT, NCT, and TCT were significantly thinner at 6mo than at 1wk,1,and 3mo after surgery in the PDR/CSME+and PDR/CSME- groups(P<0.05). The SFCT,NCT,and TCT in the PDR/CSME+ and PDR/CSME- groups at 1wk, 1, and 3mo after surgery were significantly thicker than those in the control group (all P<0.05), but the SFCT, NCT, and TCT at 6mo after surgery showed no significant difference compared with the control group (all P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the SFCT,NCT, or TCT at 1wk, 1, 3, or 6mo between the PDR/CSME+ and PDR/CSME- groups (P>0.05). ·CONCLUSION:The choroidal thickness of PDR patients increases within 1mo after surgery, and decreased after 1mo,but is not significantly different between the control group and the PDR groups at 6mo after surgery. Whether PDR is associated with CSME has no effect on the choroidal thickness after surgery.

OBJECTIVEIn order to explore the existence of SARS coronavirus (Co-V) and/or its RNA in sewage of hospitals administered SARS patients.

METHODSA novel electropositive filter was used to concentrate the SARS-CoV from the sewage of two hospitals administered SARS patients in Beijing, including twelve 2,500 ml sewage samples from the hospitals before disinfection, and ten 25,000 ml samples after disinfection; as well as cell culture, RT-PCR and sequencing of gene to detect and identify the viruses from sewage.

RESULTSThere was no live SARS-CoV detected in the sewage in this study. The nucleic acid of SARS-CoV had been found in the 12 sewage samples before disinfection from both hospitals by semi-nested PCR. After disinfection, SARS-CoV RNA could only be detected from the samples from the 309th Hospital, and the others were negative.

CONCLUSIONIt provides evidence that there is no live SARS-Cov in the sewage from hospitals with SARS patients though SARS-CoV RNA can be detected.

Hospitals ; Humans ; Nucleocapsid ; analysis ; RNA, Viral ; analysis ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; SARS Virus ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; virology ; Sewage ; virology

The present study was conducted to clarify the psychophysiological relaxation effects of viewing bamboo on university students. Forty healthy Chinese participants enrolled in this study to clarify the psychophysiological relaxation effects of viewing bamboo. The effects of visual stimulation using a pot both with and without a bamboo were recorded by measuring the student's blood pressure, EEG and STAI. We observed that viewing bamboo plants resulted in significantly lower systolic (female, P < 0.001; male, P < 0.001; P < 0.05) and diastolic (female, P < 0.001; male, P < 0.001; P < 0.05) blood pressures, but no changes in the pulse rate (female, P = 0.09; male, P = 0.07; P > 0.05) were observed. The results of the EEG analysis indicated brainwave variation (all P < 0.05) and lower anxiety scores (P < 0.01) after 3 min of viewing bamboo compared with the control. These findings indicate that visual stimulation with bamboo plants induced psychophysiological relaxation effects on adults.
Adult ; Bambusa ; Blood Pressure ; physiology ; Female ; Heart Rate ; physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Relaxation