To evaluate the characteristics of the posterior segments of eyes with high myopia and normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) and identify which ocular factors are most associated with scleral thickness and posterior staphyloma height.
Methods
The study included 45 patients with highly myopic NTG and 38 controls with highly myopic eyes (≤−6D or axial length ≥26.0 mm). The subfoveal retinal, choroidal, scleral thickness and the posterior staphyloma heights were examined from enhanced depth imaging spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and compared between two groups.
Results
Highly myopic NTG eyes had thinner subfoveal scleral thickness (473.03±43.75 vs 579.46±75.87 µm, p<0.001) and higher posterior staphyloma (97.80±70.10 vs 62.83±32.01 µm, p=0.027) than highly myopic, non-glaucomatous eyes. Subfoveal scleral thickness was significantly correlated with age, axial length, corneal hysteresis and the posterior staphyloma height of the superior quadrant, the nasal quadrant and the arithmetic mean of four quadrants in highly myopic NTG eyes. Corneal hysteresis (β=2.694, p=0.015), corneal resistance factor (β=−2.916, p=0.010) and the posterior staphyloma height of the nasal quadrant (β=−0.463, p=0.017) were significantly associated with the subfoveal scleral thickness in highly myopic NTG eyes.
Conclusion
Subfoveal scleral thinning and non-uniform posterior staphyloma were closely related in highly myopic NTG eyes. Corneal hysteresis, corneal resistance factor and the nasal posterior staphyloma height were associated with the scleral thickness.
Although losses in plasmonic films can be detrimental for optoelectronics, they can be exploited to create novel thermal emitters. Surface plasmon polaritons that are thermally excited on a heated metal surface can be converted to photons with useful properties. We demonstrate highly tailored thermal emission from tungsten and molybdenum films patterned with a series of circular concentric grooves (i.e., a bull's eye). At 900 °C our structures emit an infrared beam normal to the film that is spectrally narrow (tens of nanometers) and highly directional (∼2° angular divergence). The peak wavelength (3.5 μm) can be tuned with groove periodicity. To enhance the thermal stability of the structures, we add a thin layer of HfO2. Such devices, with their simple design and low thermal mass, provide interesting incandescent light sources for various applications.
Hierarchical capacitance extraction algorithms have been shown an efficient and accurate capacitance extraction algorithm. An improved algorithm is also proposed to remove its runtime dependency on the number of conductors by a combination of hierarchical and multipole expansion algorithm. In this paper, we show that with the introduction of hierarchical merging operation and super-node representation, we can achieve linear runtime and accuracy without involving multipole expansion. Experimental results show over 10/spl times/ runtime improvement and 20/spl times/ memory saving over the multipole approaches with comparable accuracy and better numerical stability.
Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have the potential to differentiate into various cell types, and the three germ layers in vivo and in vitro. They are therefore useful in transplantation and tissue engineering. Here, we describe the expression patterns of selected steroid receptor mRNAs - estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-alpha), ER-beta, glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and progesterone receptor (PR) - in undifferentiated hESCs and embryoid bodies (EBs) cultured for 2, 4, and 6 d, as assessed by real-time PCR, in order to define the possible influence of steroid hormones on the differentiation of hESCs. These receptor mRNAs were expressed in undifferentiated hESCs and EBs. The expression of PR mRNA only decreased during the differentiation of EBs but not of hESCs. Immunohistochemical analysis gave strong staining of ER-alpha, ER-beta, and GR proteins in the nuclei of hESCs and EBs, whereas PR was not detected. We also examined the potential of these steroid hormones to direct the differentiation of hESCs in vitro. The expression of 11 cell-specific markers representing 3 germ layers and 5 tissue types was used to assess the differentiation of hESCs. We found that certain endodermal marker genes were either only expressed in the estrogen-treated group or their expression was stimulated in that group, suggesting that steroid hormones can control the differentiation of hESCs into various cell types.
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