Detecting Glaucoma Worsening Using Optical Coherence Tomography Derived Visual Field Estimates.

Objective: Multiple studies have attempted to generate visual field (VF) mean deviation (MD) estimates using cross-sectional optical coherence tomography (OCT) data. However, whether such models offer any value in detecting longitudinal VF progression is unclear. We address this by developing a machine learning (ML) model to convert OCT data to MD and assessing its ability to detect longitudinal worsening.

A single-centre, retrospective study of incisional hernia repair outcomes post kidney transplantation.

Purpose: Incisional hernias (IH) after kidney transplantation (KTx) can cause significant morbidity in kidney transplant recipients (KTR). We aimed to report the outcomes of surgical repair of IH in KTR from our centre.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed all the IH repairs in KTR from May 2018 to May 2023.

Detecting Visual Field Worsening From Optic Nerve Head and Macular Optical Coherence Tomography Thickness Measurements.

Purpose: Compare the use of optic disc and macular optical coherence tomography measurements to predict glaucomatous visual field (VF) worsening.

Methods: Machine learning and statistical models were trained on 924 eyes (924 patients) with circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (cp-RNFL) or ganglion cell inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) thickness measurements. The probability of 24-2 VF worsening was predicted using both trend-based and event-based progression definitions of VF worsening.

The Impact of Social Vulnerability on Structural and Functional Glaucoma Severity, Worsening, and Variability.

Purpose: To determine the associations between social vulnerability index (SVI) and baseline severity, worsening, and variability of glaucoma, as assessed by visual field (VF) and OCT.

Design: Retrospective longitudinal cohort study.

Participants: Adults with glaucoma or glaucoma suspect status in 1 or both eyes.

Spectroscopic approaches for studies of site-specific DNA base and backbone 'breathing' using exciton-coupled dimer-labeled DNA.

DNA regulation and repair processes require direct interactions between proteins and DNA at specific sites. Local fluctuations of the sugar-phosphate backbones and bases of DNA (a form of DNA 'breathing') play a central role in such processes. Here we review the development and application of novel spectroscopic methods and analyses - both at the ensemble and single-molecule levels - to study structural and dynamic properties of exciton-coupled cyanine and fluorescent nucleobase analogue dimer-labeled DNA constructs at key positions involved in protein-DNA complex assembly and function.

Opportunities for Improving Glaucoma Clinical Trials via Deep Learning-Based Identification of Patients with Low Visual Field Variability.

Purpose: Develop and evaluate the performance of a deep learning model (DLM) that forecasts eyes with low future visual field (VF) variability, and study the impact of using this DLM on sample size requirements for neuroprotective trials.

Design: Retrospective cohort and simulation study.

Methods: We included 1 eye per patient with baseline reliable VFs, OCT, clinical measures (demographics, intraocular pressure, and visual acuity), and 5 subsequent reliable VFs to forecast VF variability using DLMs and perform sample size estimates.

Assessment of linear regression of peripapillary optical coherence tomography retinal nerve fiber layer measurements to forecast glacuoma trajectory.

Linear regression of optical coherence tomography measurements of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness is often used to detect glaucoma progression and forecast future disease course. However, current measurement frequencies suggest that clinicians often apply linear regression to a relatively small number of measurements (e.g.

Studies of DNA 'Breathing' by Polarization-Sweep Single-Molecule Fluorescence Microscopy of Exciton-Coupled (iCy3) Dimer-Labeled DNA Fork Constructs.

Local fluctuations of the sugar-phosphate backbones and bases of DNA (often called DNA 'breathing') play a variety of critical roles in controlling the functional interactions of the DNA genome with the protein complexes that regulate it. Here, we present a single-molecule fluorescence method that we have used to measure and characterize such conformational fluctuations at and near biologically important positions in model DNA replication fork constructs labeled with exciton-coupled cyanine [(iCy3)] dimer probes. Previous work has shown that the constructs that we tested here exhibit a broad range of spectral properties at the ensemble level, and these differences can be structurally and dynamically interpreted using our present methodology at the single-molecule level.

The Impact of Achieving Target Intraocular Pressure on Glaucomatous Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thinning in a Treated Clinical Population.

Purpose: To estimate the effect of being below and above the clinician-set target intraocular pressure (IOP) on rates of glaucomatous retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thinning in a treated real-world clinical population.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: A total of 3256 eyes (1923 patients) with ≥5 reliable optical coherence tomography scans and 1 baseline visual field test were included.

Co-producing principles to guide health research: an illustrative case study from an eating disorder research clinic.

Background: There is significant value in co-produced health research, however power-imbalances within research teams can pose a barrier to people with lived experience of an illness determining the direction of research in that area. This is especially true in eating disorder research, where the inclusion of co-production approaches lags other research areas. Appealing to principles or values can serve to ground collaborative working.

Forecasting Risk of Future Rapid Glaucoma Worsening Using Early Visual Field, OCT, and Clinical Data.

Purpose: To assess whether we can forecast future rapid visual field (VF) worsening using deep learning models (DLMs) trained on early VF, OCT, and clinical data.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Subjects: In total, 4536 eyes from 2962 patients.

PROTOCOL: Digital interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness in older adults: An evidence and gap map.

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The objectives are as follows: the aim is to map available evidence on the effects of digital interventions to mitigate social isolation and/or loneliness in older adults in all settings except hospital settings.

Body mass index affects kidney transplant outcomes: A cohort study over 5 years using a steroid sparing protocol.

Background: There is controversy regarding the suitability of high body mass index (BMI) candidates accessing the transplant waitlist.

Patients And Methods: Observational study on consecutive kidney transplant recipients undergoing surgery between January 2014 and March 2016 at our center. Patients were stratified according to BMI.

Studies of Local DNA Backbone Conformation and Conformational Disorder Using Site-Specific Exciton-Coupled Dimer Probe Spectroscopy.

The processes of genome expression, regulation, and repair require direct interactions between proteins and DNA at specific sites located at and near single-stranded-double-stranded DNA (ssDNA-dsDNA) junctions. Here, we review the application of recently developed spectroscopic methods and analyses that combine linear absorbance and circular dichroism spectroscopy with nonlinear 2D fluorescence spectroscopy to study the local conformations and conformational disorder of the sugar-phosphate backbones of ssDNA-dsDNA fork constructs that have been internally labeled with exciton-coupled cyanine (iCy3) dimer probes. With the application of these methods, the (iCy3) dimer can serve as a reliable probe of the mean local conformations and conformational distributions of the sugar-phosphate backbones of dsDNA at various critical positions.

A deep learning model incorporating spatial and temporal information successfully detects visual field worsening using a consensus based approach.

Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness, and its worsening is most often monitored with visual field (VF) testing. Deep learning models (DLM) may help identify VF worsening consistently and reproducibly. In this study, we developed and investigated the performance of a DLM on a large population of glaucoma patients.

Habitual exercise influences carotid artery strain and strain rate, but not cognitive function in healthy middle-aged females.

Purpose: Aging females are at risk of declining vascular and cognitive function. Exercise can augment both factors independently; however, the influence of exercise on their interdependence is less clearly understood. Ultrasound speckle tracking is a sensitive novel measure of arterial aging but has not previously been used in middle-aged females.

Evidence-Based Guidelines for the Number of Peripapillary OCT Scans Needed to Detect Glaucoma Worsening.

Purpose: To estimate the number of OCT scans necessary to detect moderate and rapid rates of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness worsening at different levels of accuracy using a large sample of glaucoma and glaucoma-suspect eyes.

Design: Descriptive and simulation study.

Participants: Twelve thousand one hundred fifty eyes from 7392 adult patients with glaucoma or glaucoma-suspect status followed up at the Wilmer Eye Institute from 2013 through 2021.

Pancreas Transplantation in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Patients-Single Centre Experience in the UK.

Ethnic disparities in the outcomes after simultaneous pancreas kidney (SPK) transplantation still exist. The influence of ethnicity on the outcomes of pancreas transplantation in the UK has not been reported and hence we aimed to investigate our cohort. A retrospective analysis of all pancreas transplant recipients ( = 171; Caucasians = 118/Black Asian Ethnic Minorities, BAME = 53) from 2006 to 2020 was done.

Promoting exercise in older people to support healthy ageing.

As people in the UK continue to live longer, the concept of healthy ageing has become increasingly important. Regular exercise that is appropriate for the ability of each individual can have several benefits for older people, such as slowing the loss of muscle mass, increasing aerobic capacity, maintaining cognitive function and improving health-related quality of life. This article explores the benefits of various forms of exercise and physical activity in older people, and offers practical advice that can assist nurses in supporting a person-centred approach to this aspect of care.

Short-Term and Lifelong Exercise Training Lowers Inflammatory Mediators in Older Men.

Increased basal low-grade inflammation is observed with advancing age, which is augmented by physical inactivity. However, data regarding the influence of lifelong exercise training and particularly high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on inflammatory mediators in older men are scarce. Therefore, we examined effects of 6weeks of aerobic preconditioning followed by 6weeks of HIIT on inflammatory mediators [interleukin (IL)-6, homocysteine, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP)] in previously sedentary older men (SED) and masters athletes (LEX).