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AIM: To determine the role of heparanase-1 (HPSE-1) in orbital rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), and to investigate the feasibility of HPSE-1 targeted therapy for RMS. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was performed to analyze HPSE-1 expression in 51 cases of orbital RMS patients (including 28 cases of embryonal RMS and 23 cases of alveolar RMS), among whom there were 27 treated and 24 untreated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy. In vitro, studies were conducted to examine the effect of HPSE-1 silencing on RMS cell proliferation and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). RD cells (an RMS cell line) and HUVECs were infected with HPSE-1 shRNA lentivirus at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 10 and 30 separately. Real-time PCR and Western blot were applied to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of HPSE-1. Cell viability of treated or control RD cells was evaluated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Matrigel tube formation assay was used to evaluate the effect of HPSE-1 RNAi on the tube formation of HUVECs. RESULTS: Immunohistochemistry showed that the expression rate of HPSE-1 protein was 92.9% in orbital embryonal RMS and 91.3% in orbital alveolar RMS. Tissue from alveolar orbital RMS did not show relatively stronger staining than that from the embryonal orbital RMS. However, despite the types of RMS, comparing the cases treated chemoradiotherapy with those untreated, we have observed that chemoradiotherapy resulted in weaker staining in patients' tissues. The expression levels of HPSE-1 declined significantly in both the mRNA and protein levels in HPSE-1 shRNA transfected RD cells. The CCK-8 assay showed that lentivirus-mediated HPSE-1 silencing resulted in significantly reduced RD cells viability in vitro. Silencing HPSE-1 expression also inhibited VEGF-induced tube formation of HUVECs in Matrigel. CONCLUSION: HPSE-1 silencing may be a promising therapy for the inhibition of orbital RMS progression.

AIM:To determine the clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of the primary Sjögren syndrome (SS) related optic neuritis.METHODS:The clinical data of 8 patients (12 eyes) with primary SS related optic neuritis were analyzed retrospectively.RESULTS: Eight of 128 consecutive patients with optic neuritis resulted from varied causes fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for the primary SS. They presented initially with the signs and symptoms of non-specific optic neuritis, and 5 patients presenting without dryness showed a chronic inflammation of submandibular gland or parotid gland, and lymphocyte infiltration was demonstrated by labial gland biopsy in 2 patients. There were serum positive titers for anti-Sjögren syndrome A (SSA) in 7 patients and anti-Sjögren syndrome B (SSB) in 8 patients. Anti-aquaporin-4 (AQP4) antibody was negative in all the 8 patients. Both glucocorticoids and immunosuppressive agent were administered, and visual acuity elevated in 8 eyes (66.7%), 3 patients (37.5%) recurred in the follow-up.CONCLUSION:Primary SS related optic neuritis is less common and easily misdiagnosed. The conventional therapies for optic neuritis could not control the recurrence.

AIM:To investigate the role of heparanase-1 in laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV).METHODS:Experimental CNV was induced by krypton laser photocoagulation in 15 male Brown Norway rats. Fundus fluorescein angiography and histopathological examination were performed in observing the CNV development. The expression and distribution of heparanase-1 protein in the laser lesions were determined by immunohistochemistry and western blotting analysis.RESULTS:The success rate of laser induced CNV was approximately 75% on 3-4 weeks after laser photocoagulation. The protein levels of heparanase-1 increased significantly in the retina-choroidal complex of CNV models when compared to normal rat eyes (P

The Co3O4/graphene composite was prepared by a facile one-step method under hydrothermal conditions. During this hydrothermal synthesis process, graphene oxide was reduced to graphene with three-dimensional networks structure and ultra-fine Co3O4 nanoparticles were simultaneously deposited on graphene sheets. The average particle size of the ultra-fine near-spherical Co3O4 nanoparticles on the surface of graphene was in the range of 10-20 nm. The influence of as-prepared composite on the thermal decomposition of ammonium perchlorate show a strong catalytic effect. The decomposition temperature was decreased by 95.2° when adding 3% Co3O4/graphene composite and the low temperature decomposition meanwhile disappeared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictive functional control is applied to design a missile autopilot considering control constraints. The missile nonlinear dynamics are first transformed into a linear structure with state-dependent coefficient matrices. At each sampling instant, the internal state-space model for prediction is obtained through a normal discretization procedure. Based upon this model, a predictive functional controller for the nonlinear missile autopilot is proposed. Compared with the conventional predictive control algorithms, which usually involve an online quadratic programming in the practical implementation, the new controller demands less online computation resources. Simulation results validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to develop a method of combining molecular distillation and spray drying to concentrate and dry tea polyphenols extracts. Molecular distillation and spray drying of tea phenols extracts were performed using an orthogonal array design. The order of importance that influenced molecular distillation was distillation temperature > flux > rotational speed. The optimal conditions for concentration by molecular distillation were 70°C distillation temperature, 10 mL/min flux, and 1,200 n/min rotational speed. Inlet temperature was found to be the most important determinant of spray drying. The order of importance that influenced the spray drying was inlet temperature > feed flux > wind wind capacity > feed concentration. The optimal conditions for drying of tea polyphenols extracts by spray drying were determined as follows: 170°C distillation temperature, 3 mL/min feed flux, 30% feed concentration, and 30 m3 /h wind capacity. Results of this study indicated that the combination of molecular distillation and spray drying was very suitable for the concentration and drying of tea polyphenols extracts. Using this approach to process tea polyphenol extracts can not only maintain the quality of tea polyphenols but also save time and energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A community pharmacist-led allergic rhinitis management (C-PhARM) service involving structured patient assessment, individualised recommendations and follow-up was developed in Watson’s Personal Care Stores Pte Ltd (Singapore) to ensure optimal allergic rhinitis (AR) self-management and appropriate use of intranasal corticosteroids (INC) in Singapore. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the C-PhARM service processes and identify areas for improving the quality of service. Relevant data was extracted from archived clinical forms, customer satisfaction surveys and pharmacist quality improvement surveys to evaluate the “reach”, “recruitment”, “context” and “fidelity” of service implementation, as well as the “intervention delivered” and “received”. Over the nine months since the launch of the C-PhARM service in April 2016, 45 customers were enrolled, and 32 (71.1%) customers had received at least one follow-up. Recommendations provided at baseline included oral antihistamines (32, 71.1%), INC sprays (28, 62.2%) and counselling on non-pharmacological strategies (27, 60.0%). Among the 29 customers who exited the service, 20 (69%) responded to a satisfaction survey. Although customers deemed pharmacists to be professional and knowledgeable in providing clear and detailed information about AR, pharmacists reported a lack of protected time and interest from customers as service barriers. Sufficient protected time is required for pharmacists to effectively provide clinical service in a community pharmacy.