Noncontact retinal blood flow measurements are performed with a Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) system using a circumpapillary double circular scan (CDCS) that scans around the optic nerve head at 3.40 mm and 3.75 mm diameters. The double concentric circles are performed 6 times consecutively over 2 sec. The CDCS scan is saved with Doppler shift information from which flow can be calculated. The standard clinical protocol calls for 3 CDCS scans made with the OCT beam passing through the superonasal edge of the pupil and 3 CDCS scan through the inferonal pupil. This double-angle protocol ensures that acceptable Doppler angle is obtained on each retinal branch vessel in at least 1 scan. The CDCS scan data, a 3-dimensional volumetric OCT scan of the optic disc scan, and a color photograph of the optic disc are used together to obtain retinal blood flow measurement on an eye. We have developed a blood flow measurement software called "Doppler optical coherence tomography of retinal circulation" (DOCTORC). This semi-automated software is used to measure total retinal blood flow, vessel cross section area, and average blood velocity. The flow of each vessel is calculated from the Doppler shift in the vessel cross-sectional area and the Doppler angle between the vessel and the OCT beam. Total retinal blood flow measurement is summed from the veins around the optic disc. The results obtained at our Doppler OCT reading center showed good reproducibility between graders and methods (<10%). Total retinal blood flow could be useful in the management of glaucoma, other retinal diseases, and retinal diseases. In glaucoma patients, OCT retinal blood flow measurement was highly correlated with visual field loss (R2>0.57 with visual field pattern deviation). Doppler OCT is a new method to perform rapid, noncontact, and repeatable measurement of total retinal blood flow using widely available Fourier-domain OCT instrumentation. This new technology may improve the practicality of making these measurements in clinical studies and routine clinical practice.
Both lung cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are prevalent diseases that contribute to global mortality rates. Although individuals with CVD may face an elevated risk of cancer based on the presence of shared risk factors (such as tobacco smoking and excessive body weight), the roles of somatic mutations and heavy metal distributions remain unknown. The present study aimed to explore the differences in somatic mutations and heavy metal distributions between hypertensive patients and non-hypertensive patients in a cohort of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Tumor tissue samples from 64 patients were analyzed using a next-generation sequencing panel consisting of 82 tumor-related genes through hybrid capture. Serum samples were also analyzed to determine the levels of 18 heavy metals using inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Among the 16 hypertensive patients, all patients (16/16; 100.00%) harbored 47 somatic mutations in 14 mutant genes, whereas 45 patients without hypertension (45/48; 93.75%) harbored 113 somatic mutations across 26 mutant genes (no mutations were detected in the remaining 3 patients). Among the 32 identified mutant genes in these two groups, FBXW7, CBR3, CDKN2A, HRAS, SMO and UGT1A1 were exclusively observed in patients with hypertension, while 18 mutant genes were only observed in patients without hypertension. No significant mutually exclusive interactions were found in hypertensive patients, but mutually exclusive interactions were observed between EGFR and STK11 (P=0.0240) and between STK11 and KRAS (P=0.0169) in non-hypertensive patients. 'Non-small cell lung cancer' was the top Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway in hypertensive patients, whereas 'central carbon metabolism in cancer' was the top pathway in patients without hypertension. Moreover, the proportions of altered key signaling pathways and biological function categories shared between these two groups were 54.37% (56/103) and 21.62% (8/37), respectively. Furthermore, the levels of chromium (Cr) in the serum of hypertensive patients were notably elevated compared with those in patients without hypertension. In addition, significant negative correlations were observed between Cr and CEA, between CYFRA21-1 and Zn, and between NSE and As in hypertensive patients but not in non-hypertensive patients, indicating differing interactive profiles among the traditional serum biomarkers and heavy metals between these two patient groups. In summary, there were differences in genomic alterations, somatic interactions and the serum levels of Cr between patients with NSCLC with hypertension and patients with NSCLC without hypertension. Furthermore, patients with hypertension exhibited significant negative correlations between Cr and CEA, between CYFRA21-1 and Zn, and between NSE and As, suggesting that heavy metals may contribute to the occurrence of NSCLC with different hypertensive status.
We studied the effects of age and intraocular pressure (IOP) on retinal nerve fiber layer (NFL) and macular ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness in normal eyes.Data from subjects from the multicenter Advanced Imaging for Glaucoma Study (AIGS) were analyzed. The data included yearly visits from the normal subjects in the AIGS study. Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) was used to measure retinal NFL and macular GCC on each visit. Mixed effect models were used to evaluate the longitudinal effect of age and IOP on the NFL and GCC thickness. The measurements at baseline were used to examine the cross-sectional effects.The analysis included 192 eyes (92 participants) from AIGS between 2009 and 2013. The longitudinal analyses showed overall GCC thickness decreased 0.25 ± 0.05 μm per year (P < 0.001) while the overall NFL thickness decreased 0.14 ± 0.07 μm per year (P = 0.04). The cross-sectional analyses showed the GCC thickness was 0.17 ± 0.05 μm thinner per year of baseline age (P < 0.001), while the NFL was 0.21 ± 0.06 μm thinner (P < 0.001). There was no significant IOP effect on either GCC or NFL from either the longitudinal or cross-sectional analysis.Longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses provided consistent rates of approximately 0.2% per year of age-related thinning in NFL and GCC thicknesses. This is relevant in establishing criteria to detect glaucoma-related thinning (disease progression) in excess of normal aging. IOP does not seem to be a significant confounder for progression analysis.This study demonstrated the relevance of advanced imaging technology in diagnosing and monitoring glaucoma disease.
Organic tailored materials using various aromatic carbonyl derivative polyimides are synthesized by tuning the alteration of the conjugated backbone. These materials are used as the cathodes for high-power, long-cycle, and sustainable sodium-organic batteries.
A highly conductive 3D current collector that is dendritic, lightweight, and robust is synthesized for binder-free electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. It has excellent chemical/electrochemical stability in a wide voltage window (0–5 V) and robust mechanical behavior even after 600 cycles of compression. When active materials are grown in situ on the as-obtained current collector, the resulting cycling stability and rate capability far exceed those of conventional electrodes and other 3D current collectors. As a service to our authors and readers, this journal provides supporting information supplied by the authors. Such materials are peer reviewed and may be re-organized for online delivery, but are not copy-edited or typeset. Technical support issues arising from supporting information (other than missing files) should be addressed to the authors. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
Load diagnosis test to fault converter transformer is an important method of fault diagnosis, which can effectively judge whether exits internal electric current-heated failure. This paper summarizes and analyzes load diagnosis test device, method, calculation, and on-site implementation of a fault converter transformer in the Gui-Guang HVDC Gaopo converter station. The load diagnosis test under total loss current was carried out for the first time, studied, and adopted a new method of taking filtering capacitor as a compensation capacitor tower, gave the total loss equivalent current load test methods and processes, and eventually found the cause of fault, and the test is successfully completed.
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