Treatment of acute acquired concomitant esotropia.

BACKGROUND: The treatment efficacy of botulinum toxin bilateral medial rectus injections for acute acquired concomitant esotropia (AACE) in adult is not clear. We characterize the effects of botulinum toxin injection in the treatment of AACE, especially in patients over 14 years old, and compared it with surgical treatment. METHODS: In this prospective, nonrandomized, controlled clinical study, patients with AACE in our hospital from March 2017 to March 2020 elected to receive bilateral medial rectus injections of botulinum toxin or to undergo extraocular muscle surgery. Ocular position and stereopsis were evaluated before and after treatment. RESULTS: A total of 60 patients were treated: 40 patients in the botulinum toxin group, and 20 patients in the surgery group. The botulinum toxin group included 31 cases ≥ 14 years of age and 9 cases < 14 years of age. After 1-3 botulinum injections, the cumulative initial success rate was 95% (38/40), and the recurrence rate was 22.5% (9/40). Nine children < 14 years of age were treated successfully, without recurrence. In the surgery group, the initial success rate after surgery was 75% (17/20), and the recurrence rate was 20% (4/20). There was no significant difference between groups in the rate of success rate or the rate of recurrence (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The injection of botulinum toxin has a good effect on AACE in adults and children. The outcomes achieved with injected botulinum toxin are similar to those achieved with surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR, ChiCTR2000032544 . Registered May 2, 2020, Retrospectively registered.

Local use of dexamethasone in the treatment of ocular myasthenia gravis.

BACKGROUND: At present, patients with ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) are typically treated with systemic drugs. We investigated the use of dexamethasone injected in the peribulbar region or extraocular muscle to treat patients with OMG. METHODS: Patients with OMG were given dexamethasone via peribulbar injection or direct injection into the main paralyzed extraocular muscles, once a week, for 4-6 weeks. The severity of diplopia, blepharoptosis, eye position, and eye movement were evaluated before and after treatment. The duration of follow-up time was ≥6 months. RESULTS: Among the 14 patients with OMG who received this treatment, mean age was 38.7 ± 29.7 years. After treatment, symptoms were relieved in 12 patients (85.7%), 1 patient (7.1%) had partial response to treatment, and 1 patient (7.1%) had no response. Two patients (14.2%) experienced symptom recurrence during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Dexamethasone peribulbar or extraocular muscle injection is effective in the treatment of patients with OMG and may replace systemic drug therapy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000038863 , October 7, 2020.Retrospectively registered.

Regulation of coastal methane sinks by a structured gradient of microbial methane oxidizers.

Coastal wetlands are widely recognized as atmospheric methane sources. However, recent field studies suggest that some coastal wetlands could also act as methane sinks, but the mechanism is not yet clear. Here, we investigated methane oxidation with different electron acceptors (i.e., oxygen, nitrate/nitrite, sulfate, Fe(III) and Mn(IV)) in four coastal wetlands in China using a combination of molecular biology methods and isotopic tracing technologies. The geochemical profiles and in situ Gibbs free energies suggest that there was significant nitrite-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane (nitrite-AOM) in the sub-surface sediments; this was subsequently experimentally verified by both the microbial abundance and activity. Remarkably, the methanotrophic communities seemed to exist in the sediments as layered structures, and the surface aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria were able to take up atmospheric methane at a rate of 0.10-0.18 nmol CH4 day-1 cm-2, while most, if not all, sedimentary methane was being completely consumed by anaerobic methanotrophs (23-58% by methane oxidizers in phylum NC10). These results suggest that coastal methane sinks might be governed by diverse microbial communities where NC10 methane oxidizers contributed significantly. This finding helps to better understand and predict the coastal methane cycle and reduce uncertainties in the estimations of the global methane flux.

Bacterial community radial-spatial distribution in biofilms along pipe wall in chlorinated drinking water distribution system of East China.

Biofilms in the pipe wall may lead to water quality deterioration and biological instability in drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs). In this study, bacterial community radial-spatial distribution in biofilms along the pipe wall in a chlorinated DWDS of East China was investigated. Three pipes of large diameter (300, 600, and 600 mm) were sampled in this DWDS, including a ductile cast iron pipe (DCIP) with pipe age of 11 years and two gray cast iron pipes (GCIP) with pipe ages of 17 and 19 years, and biofilms in the upper, middle, and lower parts of each pipe wall were collected. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and culture-based method were used to quantify bacteria. 454 pyrosequencing was used for bacterial community analysis. The results showed that the biofilm density and total solid (TS) and volatile solid (VS) contents increased gradually from the top to the bottom along the pipe wall. Microorganisms were concentrated in the upper and lower parts of the pipe wall, together accounting for more than 80 % of the total biomass in the biofilms. The bacterial communities in biofilms were significantly different in different areas of the pipe wall and had no strong interaction. Compared with the upper and lower parts of the pipe wall, the bacterial community in the middle of the pipe wall was distributed evenly and had the highest diversity. The 16S rRNA genes of various possible pathogens, including Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella enterica, were detected in the biofilms, and the abundances of these possible pathogens were highest in the middle of the pipe wall among three areas. The detachment of the biofilms is the main reason for the deterioration of the water quality in DWDSs. The results of this study suggest that the biofilms in the middle of the pipe wall have highly potential risk for drinking water safety, which provides new ideas for the study of the microbial ecology in DWDS.

Anaerobic methane oxidation coupled to nitrite reduction can be a potential methane sink in coastal environments.

In the current study, we investigated nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (N-DAMO) as a potential methane sink in the Hangzhou Bay and the adjacent Zhoushan sea area. The potential activity of the N-DAMO process was primarily observed in Hangzhou Bay by means of (13)C-labeling experiments, whereas very low or no potential N-DAMO activity could be detected in the Zhoushan sea area. The measured potential N-DAMO rates ranged from 0.2 to 1.3 nmol (13)CO2 g(-1) (dry sediment) day(-1), and the N-DAMO potentially contributed 2.0-9.4 % to the total microbial methane oxidation in the examined sediments. This indicated that the N-DAMO process may be an alternative pathway in the coastal methane cycle. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the presence of Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera-like bacteria in all the examined sediments, while the group A members (the dominant bacteria responsible for N-DAMO) were found mainly in Hangzhou Bay. Quantitative PCR showed that the 16S rRNA gene abundance of Candidatus M. oxyfera-like bacteria varied from 5.4 × 10(6) to 5.0 × 10(7) copies g(-1) (dry sediment), with a higher abundance observed in Hangzhou Bay. In addition, the overlying water NO3 (-) concentration and salinity were identified as the most important factors influencing the abundance and potential activity of Candidatus M. oxyfera-like bacteria in the examined sediments. This study showed the evidence of N-DAMO in coastal environments and indicated the importance of N-DAMO as a potential methane sink in coastal environments.

Pyrosequencing analysis of bacterial communities in biofilms from different pipe materials in a city drinking water distribution system of East China.

Biofilms in drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) could cause several types of problems, such as the deterioration of water quality, corrosion of pipe walls, and potential proliferation of opportunistic pathogens. In this study, ten biofilm samples from different pipe materials, including ductile cast iron pipe (DCIP), gray cast iron pipe (GCIP), galvanized steel pipe (GSP), stainless steel clad pipe (SSCP), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), were collected from an actual DWDS to investigate the effect of pipe material on bacterial community. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and culture-based method were used to quantify bacteria. 454 pyrosequencing was used for bacterial community analysis. The results showed that the numbers of total bacteria and culturable heterotrophic bacteria from iron pipes were higher than that in PVC, while the numbers of Shigella and vibrios were low in biofilms from iron pipes. Bacterial community analysis showed that Hyphomicrobium or Desulfovibrio were the predominant microorganism in iron pipes, whereas Sphingomonas or Pseudomonas were dominant in other types of pipe. This study revealed differences in bacterial communities in biofilms among different pipe materials, and the results were useful for pipeline material selection in DWDSs.

pH levels drive bacterial community structure in sediments of the Qiantang River as determined by 454 pyrosequencing.

The Qiantang River is a typical freshwater ecosystem that acts as an irreplaceable water source in Zhejiang Province in southeastern China. However, the effects of environmental factors on the bacterial community of this freshwater ecosystem have not been determined. In this study, seven sediment samples were collected along the river. Their bacterial communities were identified using 454 high-throughput sequencing, and the primary environmental factors responsible for shaping the community structure were analyzed. The number of bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) ranged from 2637 to 3933. Using a linear-regression analysis, the OTU numbers were significantly positively correlated with pH (r = 0.832, p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with nitrate concentration (r = -0.805, p < 0.05). A redundancy analysis (RDA) was also performed to test the relationship between the environmental factors and bacterial community composition. The results indicated that pH (p < 0.05) and nitrate concentration (p < 0.05) were the most significant factors that determined the community distribution of sediment bacteria.

[Analysis of volatile components of flowers of Fritillaria thunbergii by GC-TOF-MS].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the structures and contents of the volatile components of flowers of Fritillaria thunbergii, and investigate the effects of operation modes on its volatile components. METHOD: The volatile oils were first obtained by the hydrodistillation assay and then submitted to gas chromatography-time-of flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) analysis. RESULT: More than 60 peaks were resolved, and 39 of which were identified quantitatively and qualitatively based on high-resolution spectra and compounds library screening. Among these identified components, the octadecatrienoic acid methyl esters were major components in the unprocessed flowers, while some aromatic aldehydes and ketones, such as benzeneacetaldehyde and 1-(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)-ethanone, were prominent components in the flowers both dried in the fluidized bed and in shadow. In addition, the flowers dried in the fluidized bed were more fragrant than other flowers. CONCLUSION: The component and contents closely related to their processing mode, and the fluided bed drying may be a best choice to process the flowers of F. thunbergii.