RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY BIOMARKERS AND NUMBER OF INTRAVITREAL RANIBIZUMAB INJECTIONS IN EYES WITH NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION IN THE HARBOR STUDY.

Purpose: To correlate baseline spectral-domain optical coherence tomography characteristics with the number of as-needed intravitreal injections of ranibizumab over a 24-month follow-up period in eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Methods: Two hundred thirty-six eyes of 236 subjects with neovascular age-related macular degeneration treated with ranibizumab 0.5 mg pro re nata in the HARBOR study were enrolled.

Multiscale Structural Engineering Boosts Piezoelectricity in NaBiNbO-Based High-Temperature Piezoceramics.

High-temperature piezoelectric materials, which enable the accurate and reliable sensing of physical parameters to guarantee the functional operation of various systems under harsh conditions, are highly demanded. To this end, both large piezoelectricity and high Curie temperature are pivotal figures of merit (FOMs) for high-temperature piezoceramics. Unfortunately, despite intensive pursuits, it remains a formidable challenge to unravel the inverse correlation between these FOMs.

The LPS-inactivating enzyme acyloxyacyl hydrolase protects the brain from experimental stroke.

Blood-brain-barrier (BBB) disruption is a pathological hallmark of ischemic stroke, and inflammation occurring at the BBB contributes to the pathogenesis of ischemic brain injury. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a cell wall component of Gram-negative bacteria, is elevated in patients with acute stroke. The activity of LPS is controlled by acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH), a host enzyme that deacylates LPS to inactivated forms.

Inhibition of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase Protects From Ischemic Stroke.

Background: Ischemic stroke is often accompanied by oxidative stress and inflammatory response, both of which work synergistically to exacerbate the disruption of the blood-brain barrier and ischemic brain injury. ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase), a cancer-associated receptor tyrosine kinase, was found to play a role in oxidative stress and inflammation. In this study, we investigated the role of ALK inhibition in a murine model of ischemic stroke.

RETINAL VASCULAR BED AREA IN EYES WITH RETINAL VEIN OCCLUSION ON ULTRA-WIDEFIELD FLUORESCEIN ANGIOGRAPHY: WAVE Study.

Purpose: To compute retinal vascular bed area (RVBA) in square millimeters on distortion corrected ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography images in eyes with retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

Methods: Prospective observational study. The peripheral distortion of baseline ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography (Optos 200Tx) images of 30 patients with RVO from the WAVE study (NCT01710839) and 13 control eyes of normal subjects was corrected using the stereographic projection method to compute RVBA in square millimeters.

New insights into the distribution and interaction mechanism of microplastics with humic acid in river sediments.

Information on the distribution and interaction of microplastics (MPs) and humic acids (HAs) in river sediment has not been fully explored. This study assessed the distribution and interaction of MPs with HAs at different depths in river sediments. The results delineated that the average abundance of MPs in the 0-10 cm layer (190 ± 20 items/kg) was significantly lower than that in the 11-20 cm and 21-30 cm layers (211 ± 10 items/kg and 238 ± 18 items/kg, respectively).

Relationship between retinal fluid characteristics and vision in neovascular age-related macular degeneration: HARBOR post hoc analysis.

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between retinal fluid location, amount/severity, and vision with ranibizumab-treated neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD).

Methods: In the phase 3 HARBOR trial (NCT00891735), treatment-naive patients with nAMD received ranibizumab 0.5 or 2.

Baseline retinal vascular bed area on ultra-wide field fluorescein angiography correlates with the anatomical outcome of diabetic macular oedema to ranibizumab therapy: two-year analysis of the DAVE Study.

Purpose: To determine the relationship between baseline retinal non-perfusion area (NPA) and retinal vascular bed area (RVBA) on ultra-wide field fluorescein angiography (UWF FA) and long-term response to intravitreal ranibizumab therapy in diabetic macular oedema (DMO).

Methods: A post-hoc, 2-year observational case series. Baseline UWF FA images (Optos 200Tx) of 40 eyes from 29 patients with diabetes mellitus and treatment naïve DMO in the DAVE (NCT01552408) study were montaged and stereographically projected at the Doheny Image Reading Center to adjust for peripheral distortion.

Final Outcomes from the Randomized RECOVERY Trial of Aflibercept for Retinal Nonperfusion in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy.

Purpose: Retinal nonperfusion (RNP) is an important biomarker for diabetic retinopathy (DR). Data suggest that consistent anti-VEGF pharmacotherapy can slow RNP development. The RECOVERY trial evaluated the impact of aflibercept (Eylea, Regeneron) on RNP among eyes with proliferative DR (PDR).

The NEDD8-activating enzyme inhibitor MLN4924 reduces ischemic brain injury in mice.

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown and inflammation occurring at the BBB have a key, mainly a deleterious role in the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke. Neddylation is a ubiquitylation-like pathway that is critical in various cellular functions by conjugating neuronal precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated protein 8 (NEDD8) to target proteins. However, the roles of neddylation pathway in ischemic stroke remain elusive.

NEW BIOMARKER QUANTIFYING THE EFFECT OF ANTI-VEGF THERAPY IN EYES WITH PROLIFERATIVE DIABETIC RETINOPATHY ON ULTRAWIDE FIELD FLUORESCEIN ANGIOGRAPHY: RECOVERY Study.

Purpose: To quantify changes of the retinal vascular bed area (RVBA) in mm2 on stereographically projected ultrawide field fluorescein angiography images in eyes with proliferative diabetic retinopathy after antivascular endothelial growth factor injection.

Methods: This is a prospective, observational study. The early-phase ultrawide field fluorescein angiography images (Optos 200Tx) of 40 eyes with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and significant nonperfusion obtained at baseline and after six months (NCT02863354) were stereographically projected by correcting peripheral distortion.

Neutrophil extracellular traps promote tPA-induced brain hemorrhage via cGAS in mice with stroke.

Intracerebral hemorrhage associated with thrombolytic therapy with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) in acute ischemic stroke continues to present a major clinical problem. Here, we report that infusion of tPA resulted in a significant increase in markers of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in the ischemic cortex and plasma of mice subjected to photothrombotic middle cerebral artery occlusion. Peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4), a critical enzyme for NET formation, is also significantly upregulated in the ischemic brains of tPA-treated mice.

Retinal vascular bed area on ultra-wide field fluorescein angiography indicates the severity of diabetic retinopathy.

Aims: To quantify retinal vascular bed area (RVBA) in square millimetres on stereographically projected ultra-wide field (UWF) fluorescein angiography (FA) in eyes with diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods: A prospective, observational study. Baseline Optos 200Tx UWF FA images of 80 eyes with DR from the DAVE (NCT01552408) and RECOVERY (NCT02863354) studies were stereographically projected at the Doheny Image Reading Center to adjust for peripheral distortion.

Estimating the risks from phthalate esters and metal(loid)s in cultivated edible fungi from Jingmen, Central China.

Cultivated mushrooms inevitably absorb phthalate esters (PAEs) and potentially toxic metal(loid)s from plastic grow bags and substrate. The associated harm to consumers should be further clarified. This study measured six priority PAEs and nine metal(loid)s in eight mushroom varieties from greenhouses near Jingmen, Hubei, central China.

Comparison of fovea-sparing and non-internal limiting membrane peeling for retinoschisis with foveal detachment in highly myopic eyes.

Purpose: To compare the visual and anatomical outcomes of two different treatment strategies (non-internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling and fovea-sparing ILM peeling) for retinoschisis with foveal detachment (FD) in highly myopic eyes.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Ninety-five eyes from 92 highly myopic patients with retinoschisis with FD were divided into two groups, including 44 eyes from 43 patients who received 23-gauge, 3-port vitrectomy without ILM peeling (group A) and 51 eyes from 49 patients who received vitrectomy with fovea-sparing ILM peeling (group B).

Efficacy and Safety of Bushenjiangya-Optimized Granule for Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction in Hypertensive Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Bushenjiangya-optimized (BSJYO) granule on left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in hypertensive (HTN) patients.

Methods: 120 patients diagnosed with HTN plus LVDD were randomly assigned to the BSJYO granule group and placebo group, and all patients received basal western medicine (WM) treatment. After eight weeks of treatment, we evaluated echocardiography, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure, liver and kidney functions, and adverse events.

Association of candidate gene polymorphisms with diabetic retinopathy in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Aim: To investigate the association between a set of six candidate genes and the risk of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in an urban community cohort of Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study. The diabetic subjects were recruited from an urban community in Beijing and categorized into groups of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), or diabetic without any retinopathy (DWR) based on the fundus photography and duration of diabetes.

Spiral stir bar sorptive extraction with polyaniline-polydimethylsiloxane sol-gel packings for the analysis of trace estrogens in environmental water and animal-derived food samples.

A spiral stir bar was proposed by using stainless steel spring as the extraction phase carrier to avoid the extraction phase friction and increase the amount of extraction phase for improving extraction efficiency. The extraction phase is filled in the cavity of the spring, resulting in a larger amount of the extraction phase than that conventionally coated on glass stir bar or stainless steel wire. Polyaniline-polydimethylsiloxane sol-gel packed spiral stir bar was prepared and evaluated for the extraction of five estrogens.

Intravitreal Aflibercept for Retinal Nonperfusion in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy: Outcomes from the Randomized RECOVERY Trial.

Purpose: Evaluate the impact of intravitreal aflibercept (Eylea; Regeneron, Tarrytown, NY) on retinal nonperfusion (RNP) in eyes with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

Design: Prospective, randomized clinical trial.

Participants: Eyes with treatment-naïve PDR and extensive RNP without diabetic macular edema.

Relationship Between Retinal Fractal Dimension and Nonperfusion in Diabetic Retinopathy on Ultrawide-Field Fluorescein Angiography.

Purpose: To correlate fractal dimension (FD) of the retinal vasculature with the extent of retinal nonperfusion area in diabetic retinopathy (DR) on ultrawide-field fluorescein angiography (FA).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: Baseline Optos 200Tx ultrawide-field FA images of 80 eyes with DR from the DAVE (NCT01552408) and RECOVERY (NCT02863354) studies were stereographically projected at the Doheny Image Reading Center.