Sensors (Basel)
October 2024
Digital image compression is applied to reduce camera bandwidth and storage requirements, but real-time lossless compression on a high-speed high-resolution camera is a challenging task. The article presents hardware implementation of a Bayer colour filter array lossless image compression algorithm on an FPGA-based camera. The compression algorithm reduces colour and spatial redundancy and employs Golomb-Rice entropy coding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe choroid embedded in between retina and sclera is essential for retinal photoreceptor nourishment, but is also a source of growth factors in the process of emmetropization that converts retinal visual signals into scleral growth signals. Still, the exact control mechanisms behind those functions are enigmatic while circadian rhythms are involved. These rhythms are attributed to daylight influences that are melanopsin (OPN4) driven.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To investigate the surgical success and efficacy of XEN45 implantation (XEN45 μm, AbbVie Inc., USA) with and without combined cataract surgery up to the first 5 years.
Methods: In a prospective observational monocentric trial, 192 eyes of 157 patients with open-angle glaucoma received either XEN45 implants only (solo surgery group) or combined surgery/cataract surgeries (combined surgery group).
The endosomal-lysosomal system (ELS), which carries out cellular processes such as cellular waste degradation via autophagy, is essential for cell homeostasis. ELS inefficiency leads to augmented levels of damaged organelles and intracellular deposits. Consequently, the modulation of autophagic flux has been recognized as target to remove damaging cell waste.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExoskeletons are becoming the reference technology for assistance and augmentation of human motor functions in a wide range of application domains. Unfortunately, the exponential growth of this sector has not been accompanied by a rigorous risk assessment (RA) process, which is necessary to identify the major aspects concerning the safety and impact of this new technology on humans. This situation may seriously hamper the market uptake of new products.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs) have important functions in the regulation of inflammation and cellular stress. Blocking the CysLT receptors (CysLTRs) with specific antagonists is beneficial against progression of retinopathies (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPericytes (PCs) are specialized cells located abluminal of endothelial cells on capillaries, fulfilling numerous important functions. Their potential involvement in wound healing and scar formation is achieving increasing attention since years. Thus, many studies investigated the participation of PCs following brain and spinal cord (SC) injury, however, lacking in-depth analysis of lesioned optic nerve (ON) tissue.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe endosomal-lysosomal system is central for cell homeostasis and comprises the functions and dynamics of particular organelles including endosomes, lysosomes and autophagosomes. In previous studies, we found that the cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (CysLTR1) regulates autophagy in the retinal pigment epithelial cell line ARPE-19 under basal cellular conditions. However, the underlying mechanism by which CysLTR1 regulates autophagy is unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are two common types of α-synucleinopathies and represent a high unmet medical need. Despite diverging clinical manifestations, both neurodegenerative diseases share several facets of their complex pathophysiology. Apart from α-synuclein aggregation, an impairment of mitochondrial functions, defective protein clearance systems and excessive inflammatory responses are consistently observed in the brains of PD as well as DLB patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Choroidal vascular regulation is mediated by the autonomic nervous system in order to gain proper blood flow control. While the mechanisms behind this control are unknown, neuroregulatory peptides are involved in this process. To better understand choroidal function, we investigate the presence of urocortin-1 (UCN), a neuroregulatory peptide with vascular effects, in the human choroid and its possible intrinsic and extrinsic origin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The choroid is densely innervated by all parts of the autonomic nervous system and further harbours a network of local nerve cells, the intrinsic choroidal neurons (ICN). Their function in ocular control is currently unknown. While morphological data assume a role in intraocular pressure regulation, we here test if increased pressure on isolated choroids may activate ICN.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutophagy is an important cellular mechanism for maintaining cellular homeostasis, and its impairment correlates highly with age and age-related diseases. Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells of the eye represent a crucial model for studying autophagy, as RPE functions and integrity are highly dependent on an efficient autophagic process. Cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 (CysLTR1) acts in immunoregulation and cellular stress responses and is a potential regulator of basal and adaptive autophagy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Pericytes (PCs), located abluminal of endothelial cells on capillaries, are essential for vascular development and stability. They display a heterogeneous morphology depending on organ localization, differentiation state, and function. Consequently, PCs show a diverse gene expression profile, impeding the usage of a unique PC marker and therefore the distinct identification of PCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) hold great promise for intracellular delivery of therapeutic proteins. However, endosomal entrapment of transduced cargo is a major bottleneck hampering their successful application. While developing a transducible zinc finger protein-based artificial transcription factor targeting the expression of endothelin receptor A, we identified interaction between the CPP and the endosomal membrane or endosomal entanglement as a main culprit for endosomal entrapment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), which is among the tissues in the body that are exposed to the highest levels of phagocytosis and oxidative stress, is dependent on autophagy function. Impaired autophagy and continuous cellular stress are associated with various disorders, such as dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease for which effective therapies are lacking. Cysteinyl leukotriene receptor (CysLTR) 1 is a potential modulator of autophagy; thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the role of CysLTR1 in autophagy regulation in the RPE cell line ARPE-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Episcleral venous pressure (EVP) greatly influences steady-state IOP and recent evidence suggests a neuronal influence on EVP. Yet little is known about the innervation of the episcleral circulation and, more specifically, the neurotransmitters involved. We identify possible neurotransmitter candidates in the episcleral circulation of rats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPericytes (PCs) are specialized cells located abluminal of endothelial cells (ECs) on capillaries, embedded within the same basement membrane. They are essential regulators of vascular development, remodeling, and blood-retina-barrier (BRB) tightness and are therefore important components to maintain tissue homeostasis. The perivascular localization and expression of contractile proteins suggest that PCs participate in capillary blood flow regulation and neurovascular coupling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB) patients suffer from chronic and repeatedly infected wounds predisposing them to the development of aggressive and life-threatening skin cancer in these areas. Vitamin D3 is an often neglected but critical factor for wound healing. Intact skin possesses the entire enzymatic machinery required to produce active 1-alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol), underscoring its significance to proper skin function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Purpose/aim of the study: In the retina, defects in pericytes (PCs) function/loss are associated with various complications; however, the exact pathological mechanisms are still not fully elucidated. Following the behavior of retina-resident PCs during health and disease will reveal new insights for both the understanding of pathological mechanisms and the development of new regenerative therapies for the treatment of retinopathies. The main goal of this study is to determine whether the NG2-reporter mouse (NG2CreER-eGFP) is a suitable model to study the fate of retina-resident PCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTissues of the central nervous system (CNS), including the optic nerve (ON), are considered a-lymphatic. However, lymphatic structures have been described in the dura mater of human ON sheaths. Since it is known that lymphatic markers are also expressed by single non-lymphatic cells, these results need confirmation according to the consensus statement for the use of lymphatic markers in ophthalmologic research.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe neuropeptide galanin is distributed in the central and peripheral nervous systems and in non-neuronal peripheral organs, including the skin. Galanin acts via three G protein-coupled receptors which, except galanin receptor 1, are expressed in various skin structures. The galanin system has been associated with inflammatory processes of the skin and of several other organs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe role of the neurovascular niche in CNS myelin regeneration is incompletely understood. Here, we show that, upon demyelination, CNS-resident pericytes (PCs) proliferate, and parenchymal non-vessel-associated PC-like cells (PLCs) rapidly develop. During remyelination, mature oligodendrocytes were found in close proximity to PCs.
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