Optical Quality and Visual Performance With Different Toric Contact Lens Designs.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the optical quality of different toric contact lens (CL) designs and compare their on-eye visual correction performance. METHODS: Twenty soft CL wearers aged 20 to 39 years were enrolled. Two daily disposable silicone-hydrogel toric CLs were tested: the "Eyelid Stabilized Design" (ESD-CL) and prism-ballast design (PB-CL); a spherical daily disposable silicone hydrogel CL (spherical CL) was used as a control. On-eye performance was compared for corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), astigmatism, and ocular higher-order aberrations (HOAs); astigmatism and ocular HOAs were measured with a wavefront sensor. The subjective quality of vision, rated for "blurred vision" and "double vision," lens rotation, and fitting were also compared. RESULTS: The ESD-CLs, PB-CL, and no-CL provided better CDVA than spherical CL ( P <0.05). Compared with spherical CL and no CL, PB-CL and ESD-CLs caused significantly lesser astigmatism ( P <0.05). Coma was significantly lesser with ESD-CLs than that with PB-CL ( P <0.05); total HOAs did not differ among the four conditions. The subjective ratings for blurred and double vision were significantly lower with ESD-CLs than those with spherical CL ( P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Toric CLs provide a better CDVA than spherical CLs. However, differences in coma and subjective symptoms may occur because of the design of toric CLs.

Diffusion-weighted imaging thermometry in multiple sclerosis.

PURPOSE: To prospectively investigate brain temperature using MR diffusion-weighted imaging thermometry in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and age-matched healthy controls, to examine comparisons of brain temperature between MS patients and healthy volunteers, and to examine correlations between brain temperature and disease duration and between brain temperature and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) in MS patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen MS patients and 13 age-matched healthy controls were examined using a 3.0 Tesla MR unit from January 2011 to February 2013. Brain temperature in each participant was measured using diffusion-weighted imaging-based MR thermometry of the lateral ventricles. Group comparisons of brain temperature between MS patients and healthy controls were performed using the Student's t-test. The determination of correlation between brain temperature in MS patients and disease duration, and between brain temperature and EDSS were performed using a Pearson's correlation coefficient test. For statistical analyses, values of P < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Median brain temperature was 35.81°C (range, 35.06-37.03°C) in MS patients, and 36.29°C (range, 35.51-37.89°C) in healthy controls representing a significant difference (P = 0.020). No significant correlation of both between brain temperature and disease duration and between brain temperature and EDSS were identified (r/P = -0.382/0.198, -0.026/0.933). CONCLUSION: Brain temperature was significantly lower in MS patients than in healthy controls, probably representing decreased brain metabolism in MS patients.

Changes in flower coloration and sepal anthocyanins of Cyanic delphinium cultivars during flowering.

The changes in flower color related to sepal pigmentation of cyanic Delphinium cultivars were investigated during anthesis. The sepal hues of the purple and blue flowered varieties observed on the initial day of unfurling had changed with a decrease in hue angle three days after anthesis. In both the purple and blue cultivars, violdelphin (3) was the major component on day one of anthesis, and the chromaticity improved with increasing sepal concentrations of violdelphin (3) and cyanodelphin (4) after three days of unfurling. The flower hue was dominated by the constitution of acylated anthocyanins, and the chromaticity was ordered by the sepal concentration. The biosynthesis of cyanodelphin (4) from violdelphin (3) was postulated since an increase in the sepal concentration of cyanodelphin (4) was accompanied by a decrease in violdelphin (3). Acylation of the anthocyanins was initiated by an increase in the respective possible precursors, tulipanin (2) and violdelphin (3), to subsequently synthesize violdelphin (3) and cyanodelphin (4) during flowering.

Changes in Electrophoretic Patterns of Oocyte Proteins during Oocyte Maturation in Oryzias latipes.

Changes in the two-dimensional SDS-electrophoretic patterns of extracts of maturing denuded oocytes of the medaka (Oryzias latipes) were surveyed. In oocytes without follicular constituents several proteins became detectable in the area between the acidic and slightly basic proteins on the two-dimensional electrophoretograms, while a few of the protein spots disappeared during the process of oocyte maturation. The former proteins were detected also in oocytes that were induced to mature in vivo without breakdown of the germinal vesicle. Several proteins newly observed in extracts of post-vitellogenic oocytes during maturation after breakdown of the germinal vesicle were also identified by two-dimensional electrophoresis. Of several proteins that exhibited noticeable changes in maturing oocytes, only one spot incorporated 14 C-labeled amino acid during maturation, suggesting that post-translational modification of many proteins occurred during oocyte maturation.