The diagnosis of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) and the outcome of lumboperitoneal shunt treatment remains to be systematically explored. Here, we aim to evaluate whether the severity of dopaminergic degeneration and white matter small vessel disease could be predictors of outcome for iNPH patients subjected to lumboperitoneal shunt treatment. This is a single center retrospective study with 39 patients with probable iNPH undergoing programmable surgical lumboperitoneal shunt from June 2016 to March 2018 at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital. In all patients, dopaminergic degeneration was determined with 99mTc- TRODAT-1 SPECT scan, while white matter small vessel disease (Fazekas scale) was assessed with Brain MRI. The iNPH grading scale (iNPHGS) score and Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS) pre- and post-operation (6-month follow-up) were available for all patients. Linear regression was used to correlate the severities of dopaminergic degeneration and small vessel disease with lumboperitoneal shunt treatment outcomes. Their iNPHGS score improved significantly after surgery (pre-operatively, 7.8 ± 2.6; post-operatively, 5.7 ± 2.6 (26.9% improvement) (p less then 0.05)). Moreover, the KPS was also improved significantly after surgery, by a mean of 24.6% from the baseline score (p less then 0.05). A significant correlation was observed between the severity of dopaminergic degeneration and a poorer improvement of iNPHGS score (p = 0.03). However, improvement of the iNPHGS score was not correlated with white matter small vessel disease. Dopaminergic degeneration comorbidity neutralized the degree of improvement after surgery. Although white matter small vessel disease was correlated with iNPH incidence, it may not be a prognostic factor for shunt operation. These findings have implications for the use of dopaminergic imaging, as they might help predict the surgical outcome of patients with iNPH, while vascular mechanisms seem to be involved in iNPH pathophysiology.Compromised pumping function of the corneal endothelium, due to loss of endothelial cells, results in corneal edema and subsequent visual problems. Clinically and experimentally, oxidative stress may cause corneal endothelial decompensation after phacoemulsification. Additionally, in vitro and animal studies have demonstrated the protective effects of intraoperative infusion of ascorbic acid (AA). Here, we established a paraquat-induced cell damage model, in which paraquat induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and apoptosis in the B4G12 and ARPE-19 cell lines. We demonstrate that oxidative stress triggered autophagic flux blockage in corneal endothelial cells and that addition of AA ameliorated such oxidative damage. We also demonstrate the downregulation of Akt phosphorylation in response to oxidative stress. Pretreatment with ascorbic acid reduced the downregulation of Akt phosphorylation, while inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway attenuated the protective effects of AA. Further, we establish an in vivo rabbit model of corneal endothelial damage, in which an intracameral infusion of paraquat caused corneal opacity. Administration of AA via topical application increased its concentration in the corneal stroma and reduced oxidative stress in the corneal endothelium, thereby promoting corneal clarity. Our findings indicate a perioperative strategy of topical AA administration to prevent oxidative stress-induced damage, particularly for those with vulnerable corneal endothelia.We investigated the suitability of a newly developed biocide susceptibility test system based on microtiter plates containing vacuum dried biocides as a fast and reliable screening method. The evaluated substances included the cationic biocides benzalkonium chloride (BAC), chlorhexidine dihydrochloride (CHX), cetylpyridinium chloride, didecyldimethylammonium chloride, and octenidine dihydrochloride. Testing a selection of Escherichia coli and enterococci, the biocide microtiter plates provided results comparable to those obtained from broth microdilution according to ISO 20776-1. Broad MIC ranges allowed for testing gram-positive and gram-negative species with the same plate design. In the second part of our study, we applied the established method to analyze the susceptibility of 90 clinical Enterococcus faecium isolates from a German university hospital, as previous studies have indicated a link between reduced susceptibility to substances such as CHX and BAC and vancomycin resistance. We therefore determined MIC and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC) for 48 non-clonal vancomycin susceptible and 42 non-clonal vancomycin resistant isolates, but MIC95 and MBC95 were quite similar in both groups. Our easy to handle and ready to use test system enables the routine surveillance of bacterial tolerance towards disinfectants in hospitals. As a result, hygiene measures can be adapted and nosocomial infections controlled despite increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.This paper investigates the use of the Wii remote IR (infrared) camera for outdoor target positioning. The Wii remote IR camera is widely used in various applications because of its capability of detection of up to four IR light sources with a fast frame rate (100 Hz) and a relatively low price. However, previous applications are limited to indoor uses due to the obvious reason of sunlight interference for outdoor applications. In this paper, a signal modulation technique is introduced, which enables the IR camera to look for a particular pattern encoded in an IR beacon. In this way, the IR camera can distinguish the IR beacon from the sunlight interference. The irradiance of the sunlight reflection is also analyzed to guarantee that the IR camera can detect the IR beacon even under extremely sunny weather conditions. As the Wii remote IR camera sensor is overloaded under an extremely bright condition that blocks the camera to see any light sources, we propose the use of a filter to dim the camera. SF1670 concentration Experimental results for outdoor tests are provided to validate the proposed methods.The therapeutic effects of glucocorticoids on colitis and colitis-associated cancer are unclear. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic roles of glucocorticoids in acute experimental ulcerative colitis and colitis-associated cancer in mice and their immunoregulatory mechanisms. Murine acute ulcerative colitis was induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and treated with dexamethasone (Dex) at different doses. Dex significantly exacerbated the onset and severity of DSS-induced colitis and potentiated mucosal inflammatory macrophage and neutrophil infiltration, as well as cytokine production. Furthermore, under inflammatory conditions, the expression of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) did not change significantly, while mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling was higher in colonic epithelial cells than in colonic immune cells. The deletion of mTOR in intestinal epithelial cells, but not that in myeloid immune cells, in mice significantly ameliorated the severe course of colitis caused by Dex, including weight loss, clinical score, colon length, pathological damage, inflammatory cell infiltration and pro-inflammatory cytokine production.