Visualizing kinetics of diffusional penetration in tissues using OCT-based strain imaging.

We report a new application of the recently developed technique, Optical Coherence Elastography (OCE) to quantitatively visualize kinetics of osmotic strains due to diffusive penetration of various osmotically active solutions into biological tissues. The magnitude of osmotic strains may range from fractions of one per cent to tens per cent. The visualized spatio-tempotal dynamics of the strains reflect the rates of osmotic dehydration and diffusional penetration of the active solute, which can be controlled by concentration of the solution components.

[Comparative assessment of the state of the cornea after YAG-laser interventions on anterior segment structures].

Unlabelled: YAG-laser interventions are associated with the risk of complications, including in the cornea.

Purpose: This study evaluates the condition of the cornea after laser discission (LD) of secondary cataracts (SC) and laser iridectomy (LI) using corneal confocal microscopy (CCM).

Material And Methods: Group 1 included patients with the diagnosis "Pseudophakia, secondary cataract", they underwent LD of SC.

[Comparative evaluation of transscleral laser exposure in anatomical experiment].

Purpose: This study comparatively analyzed the morphology of eye tissues after laser exposure using the latest generation of transscleral laser techniques - micropulse transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (MP-TSCPC) and laser activation of scleral hydropermeability (LASH) - in an anatomical experiment.

Material And Methods: The study used pulsed-periodic radiation of an Er-glass fiber laser (λ=1.56 μm) and radiation of a diode laser (λ=0.

Deep learning-based classification of the capillary ultrastructure in human skeletal muscles.

Background: Capillary ultrastructure in human skeletal muscles is dynamic and prone to alterations in response to many stimuli, e.g., systemic pathologies such as diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension.

Expression of neuronal NO synthase α- and β-isoforms in skeletal muscle of mice.

Knowledge of the primary structure of neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) in skeletal muscle is still conflicting and needs further clarification. To elucidate the expression patterns of nNOS isoforms at both mRNA and protein level, systematic reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and epitope mapping by qualitative immunoblot analysis on skeletal muscle of C57/BL6 mice were performed. The ability of the nNOS isoforms to form aggregates was characterized by native low-temperature polyacrylamide electrophoresis (LT-PAGE).

[Clinical outcomes of laser activation of hydraulic permeability of the sclera in the treatment of advanced glaucoma].

Purpose: This study evaluates the hypotensive effect and the outcomes of intravital morphological changes in the intervention site after laser activation of scleral hydro-permeability (LASH) by pulsed-periodic radiation from an Er-glass fiber laser (=1.56 m) in patients with advanced glaucoma.

Material And Methods: LASH surgery was performed in 19 patients (19 eyes) aged 48 to 73 years with uncompensated advanced stage (IIIb-c) glaucoma.

[Morphological evaluation of the results of laser activation of scleral hydropermeability in the treatment of glaucoma].

Purpose: The study attempted to experimentally substantiate the possibility of using the laser activation of scleral hydropermeability (LASH) technique in glaucoma treatment by morphological evaluation of treatment outcomes.

Material And Methods: The pulsed-periodic radiation from an Er-glass fiber laser (λ=1.56 μm) was used.

nNOS Increases Fiber Type-Specific Angiogenesis in Skeletal Muscle of Mice in Response to Endurance Exercise.

We studied the relationship between neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) expression and capillarity in the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of mice subjected to treadmill training. The mRNA (+131%) and protein (+63%) levels of nNOS were higher ( ≤ 0.05) in the TA muscle of C57BL/6 mice undergoing treadmill training for 28 days than in those of littermates remaining sedentary, indicating an up-regulation of nNOS by endurance exercise.

[On studying the mechanisms and assessing the safety of Nd:YAG laser irradiation of the posterior lens capsule (experimental and clinical study)].

Unlabelled: YAG laser interventions are associated with the risk of complications, including corneal.

Purpose: To study the mechanisms of laser destruction in exposing the posterior lens capsule (PLC) tissue to Nd:YAG laser irradiation, and to evaluate its side effects on the cornea.

Material And Methods: The experiment involved 6 autopsy samples of human posterior lens capsule with different optical and mechanical properties, which were exposed to laser irradiation.

A New Method for Plastic Closure of an Extensive Laryngotracheal Defect.

Introduction: Elimination of extensive defects of the larynx and trachea by using musculoskeletal plastics without the use of supporting materials is not always sufficient. Laser modeling of cartilage tissue is a promising technique in modern medicine.

Case Report: This article presents a new method for plastic closure of an extensive defect in the larynx and trachea with the help of costal auto-cartilage modeled by an erbium fiber laser with wavelength of 1.

[Methods of studying deformation properties of ocular structures].

Studying ocular biomechanics presents apparent interest because of certain clinical situations when evaluation of mechanical properties can help with both diagnosis and treatment. This literature review considers the approaches to studying deformation properties of various ocular structures: dynamometric methods, elastotonometry, ophthalmic mechanography, photoelasticity method, ultrasound methods, analysis of pneumatic applanation of the cornea, atomic force microscopy, holographic interferometry, optical coherence elastography. Knowledge of the particularities of tissue deformation during examination with various methods can expand our understanding of the mechanisms of pathological changes in different structures of the organ of vision, which can help develop new methods of diagnosis and treatment.

Optical Coherence Elastography as a Tool for Studying Deformations in Biomaterials: Spatially-Resolved Osmotic Strain Dynamics in Cartilaginous Samples.

This paper presents a recently developed variant of phase-resolved Optical Coherence Elastography (OCE) enabling non-contact visualization of transient local strains of various origins in biological tissues and other materials. In this work, we demonstrate the possibilities of this new technique for studying dynamics of osmotically-induced strains in cartilaginous tissue impregnated with optical clearing agents (OCA). For poroelastic water-containing biological tissues, application of non-isotonic OCAs, various contrast additives, as well as drug solutions administration, may excite transient spatially-inhomogeneous strain fields of high magnitude in the tissue bulk, initiating mechanical and structural alterations.

Promyelocytic leukemia protein promotes the phenotypic switch of smooth muscle cells in atherosclerotic plaques of human coronary arteries.

Promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML) is a constitutive component of PML nuclear bodies (PML-NBs), which function as stress-regulated SUMOylation factories. Since PML can also act as a regulator of the inflammatory and fibroproliferative responses characteristic of atherosclerosis, we investigated whether PML is implicated in this disease. Immunoblotting, ELISA and immunohistochemistry showed a stronger expression of PML in segments of human atherosclerotic coronary arteries and sections compared with non-atherosclerotic ones.

[Transscleral laser therapy in the treatment of glaucoma].

Nowadays glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness worldwide. The main goal in preservation of vision in glaucoma patients is reducing intraocular pressure (IOP), which is considered the main controlled risk factor for progression of glaucomatous optic neuropathy. The article discusses the effectiveness and safety of various transscleral laser technologies in the treatment of glaucoma.

Infrared Laser Effect on Healthy and Ossified Costal Cartilage: The Development of Stable Load-Bearing Autoimplants.

Background And Objective: The laser-induced stress relaxation provides new prospects to obtain stable long fragments of costal cartilage for autoimplantation avoiding the risk of spontaneous deformation and poor engraftment. However, the age-related alterations of cartilage may sufficiently influence its interaction with infrared (IR) laser radiation and disrupt the effectiveness and safety of the technique. The aim of the work is to study the influence of the structural quality of costal cartilage on its interaction with IR laser and efficiency of obtaining of curved implants for trachea surgery.

Basement Membrane Remodeling Controls Endothelial Function in Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) increasingly emerges as an active driver in several diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). The basement membrane (BM) is a specialized class of ECM proteins. In pulmonary arteries, the BM is in close contact and direct proximity to vascular cells, including endothelial cells.

Structural Microangiopathies in Skeletal Muscle Related to Systemic Vascular Pathologies in Humans.

It is unclear how microangiopathic changes in skeletal muscle vary among systemic vascular pathologies. We therefore analyzed the capillary fine structure in skeletal muscle from patients with arterial hypertension (HYPT), diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) or intermittent claudication - peripheral arterial disease (IC/PAD). Tablet-based image analysis (TBIA) was carried out to largely re-evaluate 5,000 transmission electron micrographs of capillaries from 126 vastus lateralis biopsies of 75 individuals (HYPT, T2DM or IC/PAD patients as well as healthy individuals before and after endurance exercise training) used in previous morphometric studies, but assessed using stereological counting grids of different sizes.

Capillary facilitation of skeletal muscle function in health and disease.

Skeletal muscle is highly vascularized, with perfusion being tightly regulated to meet wide-ranging metabolic demands. For decades, the capillary supply has been explored mainly in terms of evaluating the capillary numbers and their function in the supply of oxygen and substrates and the removal of metabolic byproducts. This review will focus on recent discoveries concerning the role played by capillaries in facilitating other aspects of cell regulation and maintenance, in health and disease, as well as alterations during the aging process.

Interplay of temperature, thermal-stresses and strains in laser-assisted modification of collagenous tissues: Speckle-contrast and OCT-based studies.

Moderate heating of collagenous tissues such as cartilage and cornea by infrared laser irradiation can produce biologically nondestructive structural rearrangements and relaxation of internal stresses resulting in the tissue reshaping. The reshaping results and eventual changes in optical and biological properties of the tissue strongly depend on the laser-irradiation regime. Here, a speckle-contrast technique based on monochromatic illumination of the tissue in combination with strain mapping by means of optical coherence elastography (OCE) is applied to reveal the interplay between the temperature and thermal stress fields producing tissue modifications.

[New biophotonics methods for improving efficiency and safety of laser modification of the fibrous tunic of the eye].

The article describes a newly developed and tested diffractive optical element (DOE) that converts non-uniform radiation of the laser output into a homogeneous ring. The Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm is shown to be well suited for achieving annular intensity distribution. Testing this ring transducer on threshold-plasticity cornea demonstrated the reversibility of axisymmetric changes in the cornea.

The effect of two exercise modalities on skeletal muscle capillary ultrastructure in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is associated with microvascular dysfunction, but little is known about how capillary ultrastructure is affected by exercise training. To investigate the effect of two types of exercise training on skeletal muscle capillary ultrastructure and capillarization in individuals with type 2 diabetes, 21 individuals with type 2 diabetes were allocated (randomized controlled trial) to 11 weeks of aerobic exercise training consisting of either moderate-intensity endurance training (END; n = 10) or low-volume high-intensity interval training (HIIT; n = 11). Skeletal muscle biopsies (m vastus lateralis) were obtained before and after the training intervention.

Revealing structural modifications in thermomechanical reshaping of collagenous tissues using optical coherence elastography.

Moderate heating of such collagenous tissues as cornea and cartilages by infra-red laser (IR laser) irradiation is an emerging technology for nondestructive modification of the tissue shape and microstructure for a variety of applications in ophthalmology, otolaryngology and so on. Postirradiation high-resolution microscopic examination indicates the appearance of microscopic either spheroidal or crack-like narrow pores depending on the tissue type and irradiation regime. Such examinations usually require special tissue preparation (eg, staining, drying that affect microstructure themselves) and are mostly suitable for studying individual pores, whereas evaluation of their averaged parameters, especially in situ, is challenging.

Increased capillary tortuosity and pericapillary basement membrane thinning in skeletal muscle of mice undergoing running wheel training.

To work out which microvascular remodeling processes occur in murine skeletal muscle during endurance exercise, we subjected C57BL/6 mice to voluntary running wheel training for 1 week (1 wk-t) or 6 weeks (6 wks-t). By means of morphometry, the capillarity as well as the compartmental and sub-compartmental structure of the capillaries were quantitatively described at the light microscopy level and at the electron microscopy level, respectively, in the plantaris (PLNT) muscle of the exercising mice in comparison to untrained littermates. In the early phase of the training (1 wk-t), angiogenesis [32% higher capillary/fiber (C/F) ratio; <0.