CONCLUSIONS: NSAP persistence may be associated with a decreased quality of life. Emphasis should be put on providing early counselling and support, with the aim of minimising the long term

detrimental side effects of NSAP.”
“Safe and efficient exposure of Descemet membrane is the key to success in deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty. Although widely used, the big-bubble technique has the drawback of difficulty in maintaining appropriate needle insertion depth in the corneal stroma, resulting in injected air sometimes escaping to the peripheral cornea without separation of Descemet membrane. We describe a variation of the big-bubble technique in which air is STI571 chemical structure injected into the anterior chamber before it is injected into the stroma. By observing the reflection selleckchem created on the surface of the air, a needle can be inserted deep into the stroma without puncturing Descemet membrane.

This allows safe and efficient separation of Descemet membrane. Moreover, air in the anterior chamber can be used as an indicator of successful Descemet membrane separation as air is shifted to the periphery with creation of the big bubble.”
“Irradiation effect in C-60 films induced by 170 keV B ion was investigated by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopies. The damage cross section sigma and the effective damage radius R are deduced from the experimental data of all four IR active modes and evident four Raman active modes of C-60 molecule. The differences on irradiation sensitivity

and structural stability of the different active modes of C-60 molecule are compared. The results indicate that T-1u (4) of infrared active mode and A(g) (1) of Raman active mode are most sensitive for B ion irradiation. On the other hand T-1u (2) of infrared active mode and H-g (3) of Raman active mode are comparatively stable under B ion irradiation. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3512968]“
“QUESTION UNDER STUDY: To investigate the aetiology and long-term clinical outcomes of patients diagnosed with digital ischemia.

METHOD: Data of 36 consecutive patients presenting with digital ischemia were collected in July 2000 to June MEK162 MAPK inhibitor 2001 from a vascular referral centre. Demographic data, aetiology, medication and treatment were abstracted from the medical records. Clinical outcomes were assessed at 5 year follow-up including ulcer healing, digital amputation and mortality.

RESULTS: Of the 36 patients, 69.4% were male and the mean age was 55 +/- 14 years. In 15 patients (41.7%) a systemic disease was present and of those 53.3% was due to connective tissue disease. Twelve patients (33.3%) had hypothenar hammer syndrome and in 8 patients (22.2%) no apparent cause was found. Whereas 13 patients (36.1%) presented with rest pain or trophic lesions at baseline, no patients presented with these symptoms at follow-up. At follow-up, 18 (62.