Dicer is an RNaseIII-like enzyme that is required for generating short interfering RNAs and microRNAs. The latter have been implicated in regulating cell fate determination in invertebrates and vertebrates. To test the requirement for Dicer in cell-lineage decisions in a mammalian organism, we have generated a conditional allele of dicer-1 (dcr-1) in the mouse. Specific deletion of dcr-1 in the...

Distributed constraint reasoning (DCR) has recently generated much interest due to its ability to solve many real world problems without centralizing all of the information. Many DCR algorithms, however, are prone to failure if even a single agent fails, creating a situation with not only a central point of failure, but with n-points of failure! There are three main contributions of this work. ...

PURPOSE To investigate the efficacy of lacrimal silicone intubation for the management of epiphora in patients who have previously undergone anatomically successful dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). METHODS The authors recruited 13 patients (4 male, 9 female) who had persistent epiphora after an anatomically successful primary external DCR and conducted lacrimal silicone intubation through the dac...

This was an unusual case of lacrimal sac compression by an anterior ethmoidal mucocele presenting as a late complication of a dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) that was jointly managed by ophthalmic and ENT surgeons via an endoscopic approach. A 22-year-old lady presented with a 12-month history of a painless lump in her left medial canthus area and a 6-month history of left intermittent epiphora. Sh...

OBJECTIVES Many factors influence the outcome of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). One of the most important prognostic factors is the level of obstruction in the lacrimal drainage system. The main objective of this report is to evaluate both the frequency of obstruction by anatomical region of the lacrimal drainage system on dacryocystography (DCG) and the surgical outcome of endoscopic ...

OBJECTIVE To assess the long-term functional outcome of external dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) in terms of epiphora. STUDY DESIGN Single-group cohort study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Section of Ophthalmology, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from January 2000 to June 2010. METHODOLOGY This study included adults who underwent external DCR surgery at the AKUH during January 2000 t...

BACKGROUND/AIMS External dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is a reliable but difficult surgical technique for the treatment of any obstruction of the lacrimal drainage system lying distal to the internal opening of the common canaliculus. In this prospective study, a simplified external DCR procedure and the results obtained on a series of 45 consecutive patients, in which traditional external DCR wa...

AIMS Sudden death resulting from cardiac arrhythmias is the most common consequence of cardiac disease. Certain arrhythmias caused by abnormal impulse formation including catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) are associated with delayed afterdepolarizations resulting from diastolic Ca2+ release (DCR) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Despite high response of CPVT to a...

OBJECTIVE To determine the pattern of naso-lachrymal duct obstruction (NLDO) and outcome of dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) in children in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano, over a 5-year period. PATIENTS AND METHODS The clinic and theater registers were used to retrieve the records of all patients below the age of 15 years who presented with NLDO. The information obtained included age, sex, dura...

Coagulopathy observed in trauma patients was thought to be a resuscitation-associated phenomenon. The replacement of lost and consumed coagulation factors was the mainstay in the resuscitation of hemorrhagic shock for many decades. Twenty years ago, damage control surgery (DCS) was implemented to challenge the coagulopathy of trauma. It consists of three steps: abbreviated surgery to control th...