Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women to investigate the relationship between vitamin D level and thyroid function. Methods. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, a total number of 66 patients during the three trimesters of pregnancy were investigated; 22 pregnant women were studied in each trimester of pregnancy. We evaluated thyroid function tests and thyroid autoantibodies (TPOAb and TGAb), as well as the serum level of 25OHD, to determine the relationship between vitamin D level and autoimmune or non-autoimmune thyroid disease in pregnancy. Results. Pearson’s correlation in all subjects showed that vitamin D levels did not have a significant relationship with maternal age. Only in the third trimester, there was a significant difference in maternal age based on their vitamin D status. There was no significant difference between the trimesters of pregnancy and vitamin D status (P>0.05). Also, there were no significant differences between serum levels of vitamin D within three trimesters. Examination of thyroid function tests during pregnancy in relation to vitamin D showed that there was no significant Spearman’s correlation between thyroid function status and serum vitamin D level (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the mean level of serum 25OH vitamin D in each subgroup of thyroid status (P>0.05). Regarding the pregnancy outcomes, two newborns were admitted to NICU, meconium aspiration was in one case, and IUFD in another case led to pregnancy termination. These four cases were related to the maternal history of hypothyroidism. Conclusion. There was no significant relationship between vitamin D and pregnancy trimester. The serum level of vitamin D had no particular effect on the outcome of pregnancy and the thyroid gland function.

Background/aimsTo apply retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) optical texture analysis (ROTA) to investigate (1) the patterns of RNFL bundle defects, and (2) the frequency of papillomacular and papillofoveal bundle involvement across early, moderate and advanced glaucoma.MethodsAll eyes underwent 24–2 visual field (VF) testing and optical coherence tomography (OCT) for ROTA. The borders of RNFL defects were delineated from ROTA, and the involvement of the arcuate, papillomacular and papillofoveal bundles was determined for each eye. 24–2 VF stimulus projections were mapped onto the corresponding topographic areas of ROTA images. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was applied to evaluate the structure-function association.ResultsPapillomacular bundle defects were highly prevalent in glaucoma, increasing from 87.7% in early to 95.35% in moderate and 100% in advanced glaucoma. Papillofoveal bundle defects were also common, increasing from 29.7% in early to 36.05% in moderate and 60.98% in advanced glaucoma. Central four 24–2 test locations that projected onto the trajectories of papillomacular or papillofoveal RNFL bundle defects demonstrated significantly increased likelihood of VF sensitivity abnormality (ORs of 22.42 at PDP<5% and 20.26 at TDP<5%, respectively, p<0.001 for both).ConclusionROTA uncovers a wide spectrum of RNFL bundle defects spanning the entire glaucoma continuum. It also provides visualisation of the preserved RNFL bundles in advanced glaucoma. Papillomacular and papillofoveal RNFL bundle defects are present in a considerable proportion of eyes with early, moderate and advanced glaucoma, and, when detected, they significantly increase the likelihood of abnormality in the corresponding central 24–2 test locations.

Background/aimsTo examine longitudinal optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) changes in macula and optic nerve head (ONH) in healthy, glaucoma suspect (GS) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) eyes.MethodsHealthy, GS and POAG eyes from Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study with ≥2 years follow-up and four visits of macular/ONH OCTA imaging were included. Rates of macular wiVD (whole-image vessel density) and ONH wiCD (whole-image capillary density) changes were calculated for each diagnosis group using join mixed-effect modelling. Differences in wiVD/wiCD change rates across diagnoses were examined through pairwise comparison. Relationships of baseline 24-2 visual field (VF) mean deviation (MD) with wiVD/wiCD change rates were evaluated for POAG eyes.ResultsThere were 36, 57 and 79 eyes (25, 38 and 50 subjects) in healthy, GS and POAG groups, respectively. Rates of wiVD (range:−0.72 to −0.92 %/year) and wiCD (range:−0.28 to −0.66 %/year) loss were different from zero in all groups (p<0.05). The rates of wiCD loss differed across all diagnosis groups (p<0.001), while wiVD change rates did not increase when comparing healthy to GS eyes (p=0.167). Baseline VF MD showed a significant but modest correlation with the rates of both wiVD and wiCD loss (p<0.05), and the correlation with wiCD change rate was slightly stronger (R2=0.27 vs 0.16).ConclusionsIn glaucoma, there is earlier microvasculature loss in the ONH than in the macula. Moreover, ONH VD loss shows a slightly stronger association with baseline VF than macular VD. Observing ONH VD loss with OCTA may help to monitor early glaucoma, which should be confirmed by future larger studies.

To compare the hazard of postoperative cystoid macular oedema (CME) between trabeculectomy and tube shunt implantation, focusing exclusively on non-diabetic patients to minimise confounding factors. This is a retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX United States Collaborative Network. Patients with glaucoma who underwent trabeculectomy or tube shunt surgery were identified via International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision and Current Procedural Terminology codes. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance baseline characteristics. The primary outcome was the hazard of CME at 1 and 3 months postoperatively. Adjusted HRs (aHRs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models. After 1:1 PSM, 2928 patients were included in each cohort. At 1 month, CME was significantly less frequent in the trabeculectomy group (1.15%) compared with the tube shunt group (1.85%) (p=0.02). This difference widened at 3 months, with CME rates of 2.19% in the trabeculectomy group vs 4.20% in the tube group (p<0.0001). Trabeculectomy was associated with a 35% reduction in CME hazard at 1 month (aHR: 0.64; 95% CI 0.44 to 0.94; p=0.023) and a 45% reduction at 3 months (aHR: 0.55; 95% CI 0.42 to 0.72; p<0.0001) compared with tube shunt surgery. Male sex (aHR: 1.32), topical alpha agonist use (aHR: 1.61) and macular puckering (aHR: 2.75) were independently associated with increased CME risk. Trabeculectomy is associated with a significantly lower hazard of postoperative CME compared with tube shunt surgery in non-diabetic glaucoma patients.

Background To determine the effect of memantine on axonal loss and visual function during the course of optic neuritis (ON). Methods Sixty ON patients in a single-center, institutional setting were randomly assigned to the memantine or placebo groups. Patients with first attack of acute unilateral optic neuritis, with visual symptoms of 8 days’ duration or less were enrolled in this trial. No patient had known multiple sclerosis, and none had taken immunomodulatory agent prior to or at the time of presentation. For all patients, the following characteristics were recorded and compared at initial presentation and 3 months afterward: visual acuity, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, visual field parameters (mean deviation and pattern standard deviation), visual evoked potential, and contrast sensitivity. Results Fifty-four patients completed the 3-month follow up. There were no significant differences between the placebo and memantine groups for any of the characteristics at initial presentation. After 3 months, the only statistically significant difference between the two groups was in RNFL thickness. Memantine group subjects had higher thickness in nasal ( P  = 0.01), superior ( P  = 0.006), inferior ( P  = 0.01) quadrants and average ( P  = 0.01). However, temporal quadrant thickness was not different between two groups ( P  = 0.35). Conclusion Memantine was effective in reduction of RNFL thinning, although this structural difference was not associated with improved visual function.

Biological delignification by laccase offers cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, and environmental benefits. In this context, extremophiles and extremozymes enhance biomass pretreatment and lignin depolymerization, showing superior performance under harsh conditions. This study focused on isolating and characterizing a polyextremophilic bacterial isolate, identified Halomonas elongata , demonstrating laccase production under extreme circumstances. The enzyme production was enhanced to 719 U L −1 under the optimized conditions (pH 8.9, 1.5 M NaCl, 3.5 mM copper sulfate, and 1.58% w/v yeast extract). The extremozyme (183.4 U L −1 ), in combination with a 9.7 mM 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT; as laccase mediator), effectively depolymerized lignin in pumpkin seed shells (30 mg mL −1 ) at 54.5 °C, obtaining a delignification efficiency of 95.1%. The enzymatic treatment significantly reduced lignin content (29.5 to 20.7%) while increasing cellulose accessibility (48.9 to 53.3%) in the biomass shells. Surface characterization using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) confirmed structural alterations in the biowaste, indicating successful lignin degradation. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of the byproducts revealed the formation of some valuable substances such as guaiacol, o -cresol, and ethyl 2-hydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)acetate, providing insights into the bio-delignification pathway. This research demonstrates the promising potential of polyextremophilic laccases and enzymatic delignification for efficient and environmentally friendly depolymerization of lignocellulosic biomass.