Objective:To explore the relationship between contact lens (CL) related dry eye and morphological changes of meibomian glands.Methods:A cross-sectional study was performed.A total of 157 consecutive subjects (314 eyes) to underwent refractive surgery from May 2014 to June 2015 in Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital were included.The subjects wearing soft CL for a long time were divided into CL group (182 eyes of 91 subjects), while the subjects who never wore CL were divided into the control group (132 eyes of 66 subjects). The ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire, tear meniscus height (TMH), first non-invasive tear film breakup time (fNIBUT), average non-invasive tear film breakup time (avNIBUT) and corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) score of all subjects were collected and analyzed.Morphological evaluation of meibomian glands were performed.The meibomian glands dropout ratio of upper eyelid, lower eyelid and total meibomian gland area as well as meibomian glands distortion number of the two groups were compared.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital (No.2014KY[L]-09). Written informed consent was obtained from each patients prior to any examination.Results:The OSDI score, CFS score, TMH, fNIBUT and avNIBUT were 16.67(10.00, 25.00), 13.88(7.50, 18.26), 0.20(0.17, 0.23) mm, 5.64(3.95, 7.92)s and 8.56(6.56, 12.12)s in CL group, respectively, while 13.88(7.50, 18.26), 1.00(0.00, 2.00), 0.22(0.17, 0.29) mm, 7.33(4.54, 13.21)s and 11.49(7.46, 17.83)s in the control group, respectively.Compared with the control group, the CL group had the higher OSDI score, higher CFS score, lower TMH, lower fNIBUT, lower avNIBUT, and the differences were significant (all at P<0.01). The MG dropout ratio and meibomian gland distortion number were (29.42±12.24)% and 4(3, 6) in CL group, respectively, while (20.37±10.83)% and 3(1, 4) in the control group, respectively.In comparison with the control group, the CL group had the higher MG dropout ratio and greater meibomian gland distortion number ( t=6.76, P<0.01; U=7 656.00, P<0.01). A positive correlation was found between the total meibomian gland area dropout ratio and duration of CL wearing ( rS=0.404, P<0.01), OSDI scores ( rS=0.275, P<0.01), CFS scores ( rS=0.319, P<0.01). Conclusions:Long-term wearing of CL can lead to severe ocular discomfort, dry eye syndrome and morphological alterations in meibomian gland, suggesting that morphological abnormality of meibomian gland is presumably associated with the occurrence of ocular discomfort and dry eye syndromes in CL wearers.

Objective To investigate the risk of atopic disease in infants with a atopic mothers. Methods The level of CCL22 and total IgE in the cord blood were measured using ELISA for 33 newborns with atopic mothers and for 44 newborns with non-atopic mothers. Correlation between the two factors was examined. Periodic follow-ups were conducted on the newborns to observe the risk of atopic diseases. Results The atopic group showed a higher level of CCL22 than that in non-atopic group, and the difference was statistically significant (Z=5.20, P=0.000). When 0.9 kU/L was taken as the threshold of an elevated IgE level in cord blood, the positive rates of the atopic group (11/33) was much higher than that of the non-atopic group (4/44) (χ2=7.07, P=0.008). Furthermore, the level of CCL22 and the level of IgE were significantly positively correlated (r=0.808, P=0.000; r=0.348, P=0.021) in the atopic group and the non-atopic group, respectively. During the 12 months of follow-up, the number of atopic diseases occurred in the infants in the atopic group (24/33) was much higher than that in the non-atopic group (10/44) (χ2=19.12, P<0.001).Significant correlation exists between levels CCL22 and total IgE in cord blood and infant atopic diseases (Z=5.36, P=0.000; Z=4.44, P=0.000). Conclusions At birth, the infants with an atopic mother are already in a sensitization state and have a tendency to develop potential atopic diseases. There is a correlation between the history of atopic diseases in the mothers and the elevated level of CCL22 in the cord blood of the newborns, and the probability of developing atopic diseases for the newborns is significantly higher when the level of CCL22 is elevated. The combined detection of CCL22 and IgE levels impact significantly on the prediction of the risk of atopic diseases clinically.

Purpose: This study aims to elucidate the longitudinal alterations in frailty and health-related quality of life experienced by elderly patients undergoing surgical treatment for esophageal cancer. Additionally, it seeks to ascertain the impact of preoperative frailty on postoperative health-related quality of life over time. Methods: 131 patients were included in the prospective study. Patients' frailty and health-related quality-of-life were assessed utilizing the Tilburg and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 at preoperative, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months, postoperatively. Statistical analyses were performed using generalized estimating equations, repeated-measures analysis of variance, and linear mixed models (LMMs). Results: Out of 131 patients, 28.2% had frailty before surgery, and the prevalence of frailty consistently higher after surgery compared with baseline (67.9%, 51.9%, and 39.7%). There was no significant change in frailty scores in preoperative frail patients within 3 months following surgery (p = .496, p < .999, p < .999); whereas in preoperative non-frail patients, the frailty scores increased at 1 week (p < .001) and then decreased at 1 month (p = .014), followed by no change at 3 months. In addition, preoperative frail patients had significantly worse global quality-of-life (β = −4.24 (−8.31; −.18), p = .041), physical functioning (β = −9.87 (−14.59; −5.16), p < .001), role functioning (β = −10.04 (−15.76; −4.33), p = .001), and social functioning (β = −8.58 (−15.49; −1.68), p = .015), compared with non-frail patients. Conclusions A significant proportion of participants exhibited a high prevalence of preoperative frailty. These patients, who were preoperatively frail, exhibited a marked reduction in health-related quality-of-life, a more gradual recovery across various functional domains, and an increased symptom burden during the follow-up period. Therefore, it is crucial to meticulously identify and closely monitor patients with preoperative frailty for any changes in their postoperative physiology, role, and social functioning.

ObjectiveTo compare the differences in resistance and structure of skin between acupoints and non-acupoints， and to study the difference in skin permeability characteristics of Corydalis Rhizoma total alkaloid patches （CTTP） after administration at Shenque acupoint and non-acupoint， so as to provide experimental support for its clinical acupoint application to prevent and treat chronic pain. MethodTaking corydaline （CD）， tetrahydropalmatine （THP） and corydalis L （CDL） as evaluation indexes， and the quantitative analysis was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）. The mobile phase was methanol-0.04 mol·L^-1 phosphoric acid aqueous solution （70∶30， pH 6.0 adjusted with triethylamine）， the detection wavelength was 281 nm. In vitro transdermal test in Franz diffusion cell and in vivo transdermal test were used to study the skin permeability characteristics of CTTP through Shenque acupoint and non-acupoint administration. At the same time， the skin resistance between Shenque acupoint and non-acupoint was measured before and after the administration， and the distribution of the drug in each layer of the skin was compared by freezing sectioning， and visual verification was performed with fluorescence inverted microscope. ResultAfter 24 h of administration， the results of in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that the cumulative permeation and retention of CD， THP and CDL at Shenque acupoint skin were higher than those at non-acupoint skin （P<0.05， P<0.01）， the skin resistance of Shenque acupoint was lower than that of non-acupoint at all time points. The fluorescence microscopic observation results showed that the drug content of each layer of the skin was all Shenque acupoint>non-acupoint， indicating that the skin of Shenque acupoint had better effect on drug penetration and storage than non-acupoint. ConclusionThe 24 h cumulative permeation and retention of CTTP in Shenque acupoint skin are higher than those in non-acupoint skin， and the mechanism may be related to the thin skin， low electrical resistance and large number of hair follicle bodies at Shenque acupoint.