γ-Cyclodextrin hydrogel for the sustained release of josamycin for potential ocular application.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. However, its surgical treatment, in particular via trabeculectomy, can be complicated by fibrosis. In current clinical practice, application of the drug, Mitomycin C, prevents or delays fibrosis, but can lead to additional side effects, such as bleb leakage and hypotony.

Global patterns of tree wood density.

Wood density is a fundamental property related to tree biomechanics and hydraulic function while playing a crucial role in assessing vegetation carbon stocks by linking volumetric retrieval and a mass estimate. This study provides a high-resolution map of the global distribution of tree wood density at the 0.01° (~1 km) spatial resolution, derived from four decision trees machine learning models using a global database of 28,822 tree-level wood density measurements.

Integrated global assessment of the natural forest carbon potential.

Forests are a substantial terrestrial carbon sink, but anthropogenic changes in land use and climate have considerably reduced the scale of this system. Remote-sensing estimates to quantify carbon losses from global forests are characterized by considerable uncertainty and we lack a comprehensive ground-sourced evaluation to benchmark these estimates. Here we combine several ground-sourced and satellite-derived approaches to evaluate the scale of the global forest carbon potential outside agricultural and urban lands.

The global biogeography of tree leaf form and habit.

Understanding what controls global leaf type variation in trees is crucial for comprehending their role in terrestrial ecosystems, including carbon, water and nutrient dynamics. Yet our understanding of the factors influencing forest leaf types remains incomplete, leaving us uncertain about the global proportions of needle-leaved, broadleaved, evergreen and deciduous trees. To address these gaps, we conducted a global, ground-sourced assessment of forest leaf-type variation by integrating forest inventory data with comprehensive leaf form (broadleaf vs needle-leaf) and habit (evergreen vs deciduous) records.

An assessment of the habitat preferences of European bison with airborne laser scanning data in forest ecosystem.

Research on habitat preferences is an important part of contemporary ecology. For the European bison, the classic approach to distinguishing habitat features is still being followed, but the limitations of this approach cannot provide the standard features of optimal habitats for this species. The study consisted in comparing analyses of the habitat preferences of European bison that were based on either classic forest typology (habitat types) or airborne laser scanning data.

Native diversity buffers against severity of non-native tree invasions.

Determining the drivers of non-native plant invasions is critical for managing native ecosystems and limiting the spread of invasive species. Tree invasions in particular have been relatively overlooked, even though they have the potential to transform ecosystems and economies. Here, leveraging global tree databases, we explore how the phylogenetic and functional diversity of native tree communities, human pressure and the environment influence the establishment of non-native tree species and the subsequent invasion severity.

Taxane-Induced Neuropathy and Its Ocular Effects-A Longitudinal Follow-up Study in Breast Cancer Patients.

A common severe neurotoxic side effect of breast cancer (BC) therapy is chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and intervention is highly needed for the detection, prevention, and treatment of CIPN at an early stage. As the eye is susceptible to neurotoxic stimuli, the present study aims to determine whether CIPN signs in paclitaxel-treated BC patients correlate with ocular changes by applying advanced non-invasive biophotonic in vivo imaging. Patients (n = 14, 10 controls) underwent monitoring sessions after diagnosis, during, and after therapy (T0-T3).

The Antibiotic Kitasamycin-A Potential Agent for Specific Fibrosis Preventing Therapy after Fistulating Glaucoma Surgery?

One major complication after fistulating glaucoma surgeries are fibroblast-mediated scarring processes and their specific prevention is key in the development of novel pharmaceutical concepts. Within this study a possible antifibrotic potential of kitasamycin (KM) in a transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1-mediated fibroblast model was evaluated . Primary ocular fibroblasts were isolated, cultivated and a dose-response test including determination of the half maximal effective concentration (EC50) for KM was conducted.

Assessment of dynamic corneal nerve changes using static landmarks by large-area confocal microscopy-a longitudinal proof-of-concept study.

Background: The purpose of the present proof-of-concept study was to use large-area confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) mosaics to determine the migration rates of nerve branching points in the human corneal subbasal nerve plexus (SNP).

Methods: Three healthy individuals were examined roughly weekly over a total period of six weeks by large-area confocal microscopy of the central cornea. An in-house developed prototype system for guided eye movement with an acquisition time of 40 s was used to image and generate large-area mosaics of the SNP.

In Vivo Monitoring of Corneal Dendritic Cells in the Subbasal Nerve Plexus during Trastuzumab and Paclitaxel Breast Cancer Therapy-A One-Year Follow-Up.

Paclitaxel and trastuzumab have been associated with adverse effects including chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) or ocular complications. In vivo confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) of the cornea could be suitable for assessing side effects since the cornea is susceptible to, i.e.

The number of tree species on Earth.

One of the most fundamental questions in ecology is how many species inhabit the Earth. However, due to massive logistical and financial challenges and taxonomic difficulties connected to the species concept definition, the global numbers of species, including those of important and well-studied life forms such as trees, still remain largely unknown. Here, based on global ground-sourced data, we estimate the total tree species richness at global, continental, and biome levels.

The 2018 European heatwave led to stem dehydration but not to consistent growth reductions in forests.

Heatwaves exert disproportionately strong and sometimes irreversible impacts on forest ecosystems. These impacts remain poorly understood at the tree and species level and across large spatial scales. Here, we investigate the effects of the record-breaking 2018 European heatwave on tree growth and tree water status using a collection of high-temporal resolution dendrometer data from 21 species across 53 sites.

Burst of Corneal Dendritic Cells during Trastuzumab and Paclitaxel Treatment.

During breast cancer therapy, paclitaxel and trastuzumab are both associated with adverse effects such as chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and other systemic side effects including ocular complications. Corneal nerves are considered part of the peripheral nervous system and can be imaged non-invasively by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) on the cellular level. Thus, CLSM imaging of structures of the corneal subbasal nerve plexus (SNP) such as sensory nerves or dendritic cells (DCs) can be a powerful tool for the assessment of corneal complications during cancer treatment.

Integration of remote sensing in spatial ecology: assessing the interspecific interactions of two plant species in a semi-arid woodland using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetric data.

The spatial structure of plant communities in semi-arid regions is mostly derived by plant-plant interactions and environmental heterogeneity. In this study, we investigated the intra- and interspecific interactions and their contribution to growth inhibition in the patches of Pistacia trees and Amygdalus shrubs in semi-arid woodland communities through the implementation of photogrammetric data provided by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). This study was conducted in a part of Wild Pistachio Natural Reserve covered by Pistacia-Amygdalus stands in Zagros Mountains, western Iran.

Morphological characterization of the human corneal epithelium by confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Background: Regarding the growing interest and importance of understanding the cellular changes of the cornea in diseases, a quantitative cellular characterization of the epithelium is becoming increasingly important. Towards this, the latest research offers considerable improvements in imaging of the cornea by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). This study presents a pipeline to generate normative morphological data of epithelial cell layers of healthy human corneas.

Atypical Cellular Elements of Unknown Origin in the Subbasal Nerve Plexus of a Diabetic Cornea Diagnosed by Large-Area Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy.

In vivo large-area confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) of the human eye using EyeGuidance technology allows a large-scale morphometric assessment of the corneal subbasal nerve plexus (SNP). Here, the SNP of a patient suffering from diabetes and associated late complications was analyzed. The SNP contained multiple clusters of large hyperintense, stellate-shaped, cellular-like structures.

Suppression of the TGF-β pathway by a macrolide antibiotic decreases fibrotic responses by ocular fibroblasts .

To elucidate and to inhibit post-surgical fibrotic processes after trabeculectomy in glaucoma therapy, we measured gene expression in a fibrotic cell culture model, based on transforming growth factor TGF-β induction in primary human tenon fibroblasts (hTFs), and used Connectivity Map (CMap) data for drug repositioning. We found that specific molecular mechanisms behind fibrosis are the upregulation of actins, the downregulation of CD34, and the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines such as IL6, IL11 and BMP6 The macrolide antibiotic Josamycin (JM) reverses these molecular mechanisms according to data from the CMap, and we thus tested JM as an inhibitor of fibrosis. JM was first tested for its toxic effects on hTFs, where it showed no influence on cell viability, but inhibited hTF proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner.

Non-invasive detection of corneal sub-basal nerve plexus changes in multiple myeloma patients by confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Purpose: Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is a non-invasive technique for cellular in vivo imaging of the human cornea. CLSM screening was evaluated for early detection of corneal nerve morphology changes and neuropathogenic events in different stage multiple myeloma (MM) patients. As MM patients show disease as well as therapy-related neuropathological symptoms, CLSM potentially provides a tool for non-invasive early detection of neuropathogenic events.

The Forest Observation System, building a global reference dataset for remote sensing of forest biomass.

Forest biomass is an essential indicator for monitoring the Earth's ecosystems and climate. It is a critical input to greenhouse gas accounting, estimation of carbon losses and forest degradation, assessment of renewable energy potential, and for developing climate change mitigation policies such as REDD+, among others. Wall-to-wall mapping of aboveground biomass (AGB) is now possible with satellite remote sensing (RS).

Factors influencing the accuracy of ground-based tree-height measurements for major European tree species.

Tree height is one of the most important forest characteristics and is one of the crucial measurements taken for either practical or scientific reasons. However, the accuracy of a tree-height measurement may vary in relation to many factors. The work described here thus sought to evaluate the accuracy of ground-based tree-height measurements for major forest-forming tree species of the temperate and boreal zones.