[Comparison of visometry by Sivtsev and ETDRS charts]. / Sravnenie vizometrii po tablitsam Sivtseva i ETDRS.

Most foreign authors currently recommend the protocol and charts developed for the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) as the gold standard for evaluation of visual acuity (VA) in clinical trials and studies. Not every medical facility has equipment required for performing visometry by that method, while Sivtsev tables are found universally. OBJECTIVE: To compare ETDRS and the more common Sivtsev visometry methods. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 100 volunteers - students of the Sechenov University. All participants were examined for VA in both eyes without correction using ETDRS "R" chart and Sivtsev table. Visometry with "R" ETDRS chart involved calculation of the number of named letters, then the number was translated into logarithmic notation by the conventional method. Sivtsev visometry findings were translated into logarithmic notation by two methods: first - standard, line-by-line, second - experimental, letter-by-letter. Subjects were divided into two groups: high VA (higher than 0.4 in decimal scale) and low VA - everyone else. RESULTS: The best agreement with ETDRS was found in letter-by-letter method of Sivtsev table interpretation, especially in the group with high VA with the lowest 95% limits of agreement (LoA) of ±0.157 logMAR, or 8 letters on ETDRS. Clinically significant were also LoA in comparison of ETDRS with line-by-line calculation method in the group with high VA and in letter-by-letter method without dividing groups by VA. CONCLUSION: The use of Sivtsev table in standardized multicenter studies is only reasonable when the ETDRS charts are unavailable.

Evaluation of the potential hazard of lanthanides to freshwater microcrustaceans.

The use of lanthanides in different sectors of industry has significantly increased during the last decades. Although the "anthropogenic" anomalies of lanthanides in the soils, surface and ground waters have already been registered, the ecotoxicological effects of these elements and their fate in the environment are still insufficiently investigated. In this study acute and long-term toxicity of selected lanthanides (La, Ce, Pr, Nd and Gd) nitrates to freshwater crustaceans Daphnia magna, Thamnocephalus platyurus and Heterocypris incongruens were studied and critically evaluated. The data obtained show that (i) due to the methodical nuances the acute toxicity data of lanthanides are not reliable and have doubtful scientific value even for preliminary toxicity screening and thus should not be used for risk assessment; (ii) toxicity of lanthanides in the 21-day D. magna reproduction test was high whereas the mortality of parent daphnids was more sensitive endpoint than reproduction; (iii) the long-term LC50 values for lanthanides varied from 0.3 to 0.5 mg Ln/L and the differences between individual Ln were not statistically significant. All in all, the results of this study allow us to conclude that the environmental risk assessment of lanthanides should be performed only using long-term toxicity tests. In the environmental risk assessment, lanthanides may be considered as a uniform group of elements with additive mode of action until future investigations will not reveal differences in the ecotoxicity mechanisms of these elements.

[Blepharoptosis: diagnostic tests]. / Blefaroptoz: diagnosticheskie testy.

The article discusses diagnostic algorithms for blepharoptosis in patients with Horner's syndrome, myasthenia, chronic progressive ophthalmoplegia, myotonic dystrophy, and acute neurovascular events. Basic methods for evaluating the upper eyelid position and ptosis severity as well as special pharmacologic stress tests to reveal the true etiology of the condition and make the best treatment choice are described.

Ecotoxicity of nanoparticles of CuO and ZnO in natural water.

The acute toxicity of CuO and ZnO nanoparticles in artificial freshwater (AFW) and in natural waters to crustaceans Daphnia magna and Thamnocephalus platyurus and protozoan Tetrahymena thermophila was compared. The L(E)C(50) values of nanoCuO for both crustaceans in natural water ranged from 90 to 224 mg Cu/l and were about 10-fold lower than L(E)C(50) values of bulk CuO. In all test media, the L(E)C(50) values for both bulk and nanoZnO (1.1-16 mg Zn/l) were considerably lower than those of nanoCuO. The natural waters remarkably (up to 140-fold) decreased the toxicity of nanoCuO (but not that of nanoZnO) to crustaceans depending mainly on the concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The toxicity of both nanoCuO and nanoZnO was mostly due to the solubilised ions as determined by specific metal-sensing bacteria.

[To the biometric evaluation in ophthalmoplasty].

The paper gives the preliminary results of an analysis of the metric characteristics of images in 40 patients with the anomalous outline of the lid slit of varying genesis, by applying an original computer program. The program is based on the principle of automatically finding the line of the true symmetry of the face, its paired fixed points, and the orientation of an image. Computer-aided estimation of the shape and width of the lid slit, the parameters of the lids along the conventional lines shows that the measurements are of high accuracy (0.1 mm for linear values and 0.1 for angular values). The paper analyzes the effect of modified resection of the superior tarsal muscle. In a patient with aponeurotic ptosis, the uplift of the upper lid was 4.1 mm (1.9 mm higher than that obtained by a pharmacological test). In the author's opinion, the proposed procedure makes it possible to solve the problems associated with the processing, storage, and transmission of images and with the assessment of relationships of the structures of the appendage of the eye.

[The clinical-and-morphological specificity of using xenopericardium in plasty of the eyelids and orbit]. / Kliniko-morfologicheskie osobennosti ispol'zovaniia ksenoperikarda pri plastike vek i orbity.

The authors analyzed the clinical results of transplantation of the xenopericardium in 60 patients made at the Research institute of eye diseases of the Russian academy of medical sciences from 1999 to 2003. Xenomaterial was used in reconstruction of the lower eyelids after trauma (coloboma, defects of ligaments), in ectropions of the lower eyelids, in paralytic lagophthalmos and in traumas of the orbit. The postoperative follow-up of patients ranged from 2 to 54 months (an average of 28 months). Xenopericardia removed from patients (4 cases) were histologically examined in 6 months and more after surgery. The examination was made by the method of serial sagittal paraffin sections tinted with hematoxylin or eosin or according to I. van Gieson. A moderately pronounced tissue response and good remote clinical results confirmed the possibility of using it in reconstructive surgery, in particular, in plasty of the orbit especially when made through a small incision. The peculiarities of using clinically the xenopericardium denote that it can be used in ophthalmoplasty; however, it should be fixed immediately under the skin of the eyelids very carefully in order to avoid the formation of uneven surface.

[The anatomic and functional specificity of the superior tarsal Mueller's muscle]. / Anatomo-funktsional'nye osobennosti verkhnei tarzal'noi myshtsy Mueller.

The anatomic-and-functional specific features of the structure, topography and of spacious architectonics of the superior tarsal muscle were detected and morphologically confirmed within a case study performed on 16 cadaverous fragments of the superior eyelids. The research of functional biomechanics of the superior eyelids made in 220 healthy subjects made it possible to expand the criteria used in evaluating the results of adrenergic stimulation of unstriped muscles, which must be considered as prognostic criteria in surgical treatment; an appropriate morphometric substantiation is suggested.

Ecotoxicological study of Lithuanian and Estonian wastewaters: selection of the biotests, and correspondence between toxicity and chemical-based indices.

The toxicity of industrial and urban wastewater (WW) samples collected in Lithuania and Estonia was evaluated by using a suite of biological tests comprising the Algaltoxkit F with Selenastrum capricornutum, the Charatox with Nitellopsis obtusa, Daphtoxkit F with Daphnia magna, Thamnotoxkit F with Thamnocephalus platyurus, Protoxkit F with Tetrahymena thermophila and the Microtox with Vibrio fischeri. The Charatox and Thamnotoxkit F tests showed highest relative sensitivity, responding to 80-90% of samples, respectively, and both expressed good discrimination capacity between samples. Principal Component and pairwise correlation analysis allowed to select test-battery consisting of Charatox, Thamnotoxkit and Microtox. The WW toxicity was evaluated by means of cumulative indices such as average toxicity (AvTx) and two indices derived from the PEEP-index (Environ. Toxicol. Water Qual. 8 (1993) 115). In addition to these integrated evaluations of test-battery response, WW toxicity was evaluated according to the most sensitive test (MST) in the battery. The linear regression analysis between cumulative toxicity indices and chemical-based indices (derived from comparison of WW chemical concentrations and their respective maximum allowable concentration) revealed positive linear relationships (r(2)=0.7-0.8), while toxicity evaluation based on the MST was less positively related with chemical analysis data (r(2)=0.5-0.6). Although better coincidence between the toxicity and chemical-based assessments was achieved when information from all tests in the battery was assembled, the prediction of toxicity from chemical data was still limited. In search of suitable test-battery for the screening of certain type of WWs, a preliminary study comprising excessive suite of tests might be useful.

[Prospects for using the Mullerectomy for correcting ptosis of the upper eyelid]. / Vozmozhnosti operatsii miulleréktomii pri korrektsii ptoza verkhnego veka.

New anatomic topographic and clinical validation of mullerectomy is presented and more comprehensive evaluation of preoperative adrenergic drug test is suggested. Morphological substantiation of an isolated resection of the superior tarsal muscle (Müller muscle) and orbital conjunctiva of the upper eyelid with subsequent fixation of the proximal part of Müller muscle to the tarsal plate is presented. The results of surgical treatment of 51 patients evidence high reliability, functional and cosmetic efficiency of mullerectomy which does not involve a skin incision, and a low incidence of complications (mean period of observation 35 months).

[The nitrosophenol system of iron metabolism regulation in actinomycetes]. / Nitrozofenol'naia sistema reguliatsii obmena zheleza u aktinomitsetov.

Iron-containing o-nitrosophenol compounds have been isolated from 64 strains of microorganisms of 18 species. The analysis of author's and published data allowed to divide iron-containing microbial compounds into two physiological groups: ferri-ionophores, i. e. compounds participating in active iron transfer, and those immobilizing iron at increase in its content in medium up to 10(-4)-10(-2) M. O-nitrosophenol pigments were found to belong to the latter group. A scheme of participation of o-nitrosophenol compounds in regulation of iron metabolism in actinomycetes has been proposed.

[Regulators of differentiation in Streptomyces cyaneofuscatus]. / Reguliatory differentsiatsii Streptomyces cyaneofuscatus.

Streptomyces cyaneofuscatus PRL 1642 producing valinomycin was shown to synthesize bioregulators of differentiation similar to A factor. The regulators stimulate spore formation and streptomycin synthesis in a Streptomyces griseus 1439 mutant deficient in A factor. Some S. cyaneofuscatus mutants respond to A factor addition into the medium by an increase in valinomycin synthesis and a change in morphological properties. The regulators from S. cyaneofuscatus are more effective toward mutants of this species than toward S. griseus mutants.