The corneal afferent nerves and trigeminal ganglion cell bodies showed a robust eGFP signal in Nav1.8-cre;ArchT/eGFP mice. After LGE, Nav1.8-cre;ArchT/eGFP mice demonstrated a preference for the ArchT activating light paired chamber. Preference was prevented with pre-application to the cornea of a local anesthetic. Nav1.8-cre;ArchT/eGFP mice with sham surgery and LGE wild-type control mice did not develop preference.

Results indicate LGE-induced persistent, ongoing pain, driven by Nav1.8 expressing corneal afferents. Inhibition of these neurons represents a potential strategy for treating ongoing dry eye-induced pain.

Results indicate LGE-induced persistent, ongoing pain, driven by Nav1.8 expressing corneal afferents. Inhibition of these neurons represents a potential strategy for treating ongoing dry eye-induced pain.

This work explores the abnormal expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in diabetic corneal epithelial cells (CECs) and constructs an associated competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. Moreover, we revealed that Rik may exert advantageous effects on diabetic corneal epithelial wound closure by sponging miR-181a-5p.

We obtained the profiles of differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs) of CECs of type 1 diabetic versus control corneas by microarray and summarized the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) data by published literature. Subsequently, the ceRNA network was constructed using bioinformatics analyses. The levels of lncRNA ENSMUST00000153610/3632454L22Rik (Rik) and miR-181a-5p were verified. The localization of Rik was identified with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and dual-luciferase assays proved the targeted relationship between Rik and miR-181a-5p. Furthermore, we validated the functionpotential therapeutic target of diabetic keratopathy (DK).High myopia is among the most common causes of vision impairment, and it is mainly characterized by abnormal elongation of the axial length, leading to pathologic changes in the ocular structures. Owing to the close relationship between high myopia and glaucoma, the association between intraocular pressure (IOP) and high myopia progression has garnered attention. However, whether lowering IOP can retard the progression of high myopia is unclear. On reviewing previous studies, we suggest that lowering IOP plays a role in progressive axial length elongation in high myopia, particularly in pathologic myopia, wherein the sclera is more remodeled. Based on the responses of the ocular layers, we further proposed the potential mechanisms. For the sclera, lowering the IOP could inhibit the activation of scleral fibroblasts and then reduce scleral remodeling, and a decrease in the scleral distending force would retard the ocular expansion like a balloon. For the choroid, lowering IOP results in an increase in choroidal blood perfusion, thereby reducing scleral hypoxia and slowing down scleral remodeling. The final effect of these pathways is slowing axial elongation and the development of scleral staphyloma. Further animal and clinical studies regarding high myopia with varied degree of IOP and the changes of choroid and sclera during IOP fluctuation in high myopia are needed to verify the role of IOP in the pathogenesis and progression of high myopia. It is hoped that this may lead to the development of a prospective treatment option to prevent and control high myopia progression.

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell proliferation is precisely regulated to maintain retinal homoeostasis. Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), a critical transcription factor in RPE cells, has two alternatively spliced isoforms (+)MITF and (-)MITF. Previous work has shown that (-)MITF but not (+)MITF inhibits RPE cell proliferation. This study aims to investigate the role of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) nuclear-enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) in regulating MITF splicing and hence proliferation of RPE cells.

Mouse RPE, primary cultured mouse RPE cells, and different proliferative human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-RPE cells were used to evaluate the expression of (+)MITF, (-)MITF, and NEAT1 by reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) or quantitative RT-PCR. NEAT1 was knocked down using specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Splicing factor proline- and glutamine-rich (SFPQ) was overexpressed with the use of lentivirus infection. Cell proliferation was analyzed by cell number countingve splicing of MITF and RPE cell proliferation.

The effectiveness of robotic therapy in stroke rehabilitation has been established by many studies, and occupational therapists should consider using robotics in their clinical practice. However, little is known about occupational therapy practitioners’ experience using robotics.

To explore occupational therapists’ perceptions of the mechanisms and outcomes of occupational therapy using robotics with chronic stroke patients.

Qualitative study with semistructured focus group interviews. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Hospitals and institutions in Japan in which occupational therapists used robotics in their clinical practice.

Twenty-seven occupational therapists with experience in using robotics with chronic stroke patients as a self-training method that involved repetitive movements of a paralyzed upper extremity. Participants were interviewed in nine focus groups.

Five themes-(1) body function, (2) values, (3) performance skills, (4) occupational performance, and (5) participation-and 12 subthemes were identified on the basis of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework Domain and Process (3rd ed.). Participants indicated that robotics improved patients’ body function and promoted a desire for independence, which resulted in improved occupational performance and participation in their desired occupations.

Occupational therapists regarded robotics as an adjunct to other therapy, which improved patients’ body function and promoted their desire for independence. What This Article Adds Findings from this research provide insights into using robotics to enhance occupational therapy practice.

Occupational therapists regarded robotics as an adjunct to other therapy, which improved patients’ body function and promoted their desire for independence. What This Article Adds Findings from this research provide insights into using robotics to enhance occupational therapy practice.With the continued evolution of health care reform and payment models, it is imperative that the occupational therapy profession consistently and clearly articulate its distinct value. As payment models shift from paying for the volume of services provided to paying for the value of services, the field of occupational therapy must be sure to implement high-quality care by translating evidence into practice and facilitating improvements in client outcomes. Yet the process of translating evidence-based interventions and programs to real-world settings can be quite complex, and successful implementation often requires active collaboration across occupational therapy stakeholders. In this Health Policy Perspectives article, we provide occupational therapy educators, practitioners, and researchers with key recommendations for how the profession can translate evidence into practice, ultimately leading to the improvement of client outcomes and the provision of value-based care.

Despite the benefits of high-technology therapeutics, inequitable access to these technologies may generate disparities in care.

To examine the association between zip code-level racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic composition and rates of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) among Medicare patients living within large metropolitan areas with TAVR programs.

This multicenter, nationwide cross-sectional analysis of Medicare claims data between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2018, included beneficiaries of fee-for-service Medicare who were 66 years or older living in the 25 largest metropolitan core-based statistical areas.

Receipt of TAVR.

The association between zip code-level racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic composition and rates of TAVR per 100 000 Medicare beneficiaries.

Within the studied metropolitan areas, there were 7590 individual zip codes. The mean (SD) age of Medicare beneficiaries within these areas was 71.4 (2.0) years, a mean (SD) of 47.6% (5.8%) of beneficiaries were men, litan areas in the US with TAVR programs, zip codes with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic patients and those with greater socioeconomic disadvantages had lower rates of TAVR, adjusting for age and clinical comorbidities. Whether this reflects a different burden of symptomatic aortic stenosis by race and socioeconomic status or disparities in use of TAVR requires further study.

Within major metropolitan areas in the US with TAVR programs, zip codes with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic patients and those with greater socioeconomic disadvantages had lower rates of TAVR, adjusting for age and clinical comorbidities. Whether this reflects a different burden of symptomatic aortic stenosis by race and socioeconomic status or disparities in use of TAVR requires further study.For well over 150 years, factors of safety (also known as safety factors) have been a fundamental engineering concept that expresses how much stronger a system is compared with the intended load. The pioneering work of Robert McNeill Alexander in the early 1980s applied this engineering concept to biomechanics. Over the next decade, evidence from comparative biomechanics supported the idea that safety factors are a fundamental principle of animal form and function. In terms of physiology, Jared Diamond related the maximal capacity of a physiological process to normal functional demands and incorporated evolutionary thinking into the concept of safety factors. It was proposed that evolutionary reasoning is required to understand the magnitudes of biological reserve capacities, an idea called 'quantitative evolutionary design’. However, the general idea of safety factors as related to organismal form and function is much older. In 1906, Samuel James Meltzer, a physiologist and physician, presented the 5th Harvey Lecture to the New York Academy of Medicine; a lecture entitled 'The Factors of Safety in Animal Structure and Animal Economy’, which was later published in Science in 1907. The 1907 paper is rarely cited and has never been cited within comparative biomechanics or comparative physiology. The purpose of this Commentary is to highlight Meltzer’s historical contribution to the concept of safety factors as a general principle of organismal 'design’.Non-chemotherapeutic tumour treatment has received extensive attention due to its having fewer side effects as compared to chemotherapy. However, nanomaterials-based non-chemotherapy still faces limitations such as poor targeting and low retention. Therefore, a Schiff base cross-linked hydrogel was designed and prepared using aldehyde-modified polyethylene glycol (PEG) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC). This hydrogel has good injectable and self-healing properties and can carry graphene oxide (GO) as a photothermal agent and needle-like nano-hydroxyapatite (HAP) as a tumour inhibitor. Combined with tumour proliferation inhibition therapy and photothermal therapy, the nanocomposite hydrogel system can avoid the side effects of chemotherapy and improve the accuracy of tumour treatment. The PEG-CMC/HAP/GO nanocomposite hydrogel system has a porous structure, good injectability and self-healing properties to meet the mechanical requirements. In vitro cell characterization showed that GO is phototoxic to tumour cells, HAP can inhibit the proliferation of tumour cells, the nanocomposite hydrogel remained in the tumour site, and the encapsulated GO and HAP did not transfer to the normal site and cause cell damage.