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Purpose: To evaluate the visual field after anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy and laser treatment for retinopathy of prematurity., Method: Retrospective cohort study. Infants with retinopathy of prematurity treated by anti-VEGF therapy or laser treatment were included in the study. Degrees of visual field in eight directions examined by Goldmann perimeter (intensity, 1000 apostilb; size, V4e = 64 mm 2 ) were compared between the anti-VEGF therapy and laser treatment groups. The visual acuity (VA) and spherical equivalent refraction were also compared between the two groups., Results: Nine eyes with anti-VEGF therapy and 12 eyes with laser treatment were enrolled in the analysis. The total, upper, nasal upper, nasal, nasal lower, temporal lower, and temporal upper visual fields were significantly wider in the eyes with anti-VEGF therapy than in those with laser treatment (496 vs 416, P = .002; 53 vs 45, P = .008; 56 vs 43, P = .003; 58 vs 39, P < .001; 55 vs 44, P = .01; 72 vs 65, P = .01; and 62 vs 56, P = .03, respectively). The logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution VA tended to be better in the eyes with anti-VEGF therapy than in those with laser treatment (0.01 vs 0.15, P = .06). Eyes with anti-VEGF therapy had significantly lower myopia than those with laser treatment (spherical equivalent refraction: -0.72 vs -5.7, P = .001)., Conclusion: Anti-VEGF therapy may provide a wider visual field, better VA, and less myopia compared with laser treatment., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: To investigate the blood neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a risk factor for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) development or treatment., Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Infants who underwent ROP screening at Shiga University of Medical Science Hospital and Omihachiman Community Medical Center between April 2010 and December 2021 were included in this study. Screening criteria were gestational age (GA) < 32 weeks or birth weight (BW) < 1500 g. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to investigate whether the NLR constituted an independent risk factor for ROP development or treatment. The objective variable was ROP development or treatment, and the explanatory variables were GA, BW, NLR, maternal infection or clinical chorioamnionitis and corticosteroid use by the mother. Maternal infection or clinical chorioamnionitis and corticosteroid use by the mother was included in the explanatory variables to adjust for factors affecting the NLR., Results: In total, 220 infants met the inclusion criteria, of whom 125 developed ROP, whereas 95 infants did not display ROP. GA was significantly associated with ROP development (odds ratio (OR): 0.41, p < 0.001); however, the NLR was not significantly associated with ROP development (OR: 1.0, p = 0.74). Thirty-eight infants received treatment for ROP, whereas 182 infants had no such treatment. BW and the NLR were significantly associated with ROP treatment (OR: 1.6 and 0.66, p < 0.001 and 0.003, respectively)., Conclusion: The NLR was not a risk factor for ROP development but was a risk factor for ROP treatment., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: To create a model for prediction of postoperative visual acuity (VA) after vitrectomy for macular hole (MH) treatment using preoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) images, using deep learning (DL)-based artificial intelligence., Methods: This was a retrospective single-center study. We evaluated 259 eyes that underwent vitrectomy for MHs. We divided the eyes into four groups, based on their 6-month postoperative Snellen VA values: (A) ≥ 20/20; (B) 20/25-20/32; (C) 20/32-20/63; and (D) ≤ 20/100. Training data were randomly selected, comprising 20 eyes in each group. Test data were also randomly selected, comprising 52 total eyes in the same proportions as those of each group in the total database. Preoperative OCT images with corresponding postoperative VA values were used to train the original DL network. The final prediction of postoperative VA was subjected to regression analysis based on inferences made with DL network output. We created a model for predicting postoperative VA from preoperative VA, MH size, and age using multivariate linear regression. Precision values were determined, and correlation coefficients between predicted and actual postoperative VA values were calculated in two models., Results: The DL and multivariate models had precision values of 46% and 40%, respectively. The predicted postoperative VA values on the basis of DL and on preoperative VA and MH size were correlated with actual postoperative VA at 6 months postoperatively (P < .0001 and P < .0001, r = .62 and r = .55, respectively)., Conclusion: Postoperative VA after MH treatment could be predicted via DL using preoperative OCT images with greater accuracy than multivariate linear regression using preoperative VA, MH size, and age., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The effect of the extracellular matrix substrates on the formation of epithelial cell sheets was studied using MDCK cells in which the α-catenin gene was disrupted. Although the mutant cells did not form an epithelial cell sheet in conventional cell culture, the cells formed an epithelial cell sheet when they were cultured on or in a collagen gel; the same results were not observed when cells were cultured on collagen-coated cover glasses or culture dishes. Moreover, the cells cultured on the cell culture inserts coated with fibronectin, Matrigel, or vitronectin formed epithelial cell sheets, whereas the cells cultured on cover glasses coated with these proteins did not form the structure, implying that the physical and chemical features of the substrates exert a profound effect on the formation of epithelial cell sheets. MDCK cells lacking the expression of E- and K-cadherins displayed similar properties. When the mutant MDCK cells were cultured in the presence of blebbistatin, they formed epithelial cell sheets, suggesting that myosin II was involved in the formation of these sheets. These cell sheets showed intimate cell-cell adhesion, and electron microscopy confirmed the formation of cell junctions. We propose that specific ECM substrates organize the formation of basic epithelial cell sheets, whereas classical cadherins stabilize cell-cell contacts and promote the formation of structures., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: To compare the ability of wide-angle optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) with that of ultra-wide field fluorescein angiography (UWFFA) to detect non-perfusion areas (NPAs) or retinal neovascularization (NV) in eyes with diabetic retinopathy (DR)., Methods: Patients with DR underwent UWFFA using the Optos® panoramic 200Tx imaging system and wide-angle OCTA with 12 × 12 mm fields of five visual fixations using the PLEX Elite 9000®. We compared the abilities of UWFFA and OCTA to detect NPAs and NV., Results: Fifty-eight eyes of 33 patients (mean age, 60.0 years old; female/male, 16/17) with DR were evaluated. NPAs were detected in 47 out of 58 eyes using UWFFA and in 48 eyes using OCTA. NVs were detected in 25 out of the 58 eyes using UWFFA and in 26 eyes using OCTA. The sensitivity for detection of NPA using OCTA was 0.98, and the specificity was 0.82. The sensitivity for detection of NV was 1.0, and the specificity was 0.97., Conclusion: The wide-angle OCTA seems to be clinically useful for the detection of NPAs or NV.

Force generated between the left mandible of violinists and the chinrest of the violin was examined using a force-sensing chinrest developed in this study. A strain-gauge force sensor was built, and it was fixed between the violin's top plate and a chin cup. Fifteen professional/amateur violinists held the violin statically, played musical scales with different sound properties and sounding techniques, as well as an excerpt from a Max Bruch concerto. Peak and mean forces were evaluated for each task. In a separate experiment, lateral movement of the lower teeth due to different levels of voluntary chin force exertion was measured. Static holding forces observed were 15 and 22 N with and without the help of the left hand, respectively. Peak force increased from 16 N at soft dynamics to 20 N at strong dynamics during scales. The force further increased to 29 N with the use of vibrato technique and 35 N during shifts. Tempo and hand position did not affect the force. Playing a Bruch concerto induced a mean peak force of 52 N, ranging from 31 to 82 N among the violinists. The developed force-sensing chinrest could accurately record the generated chin force. Typical chin force to stabilize the violin during ordinary musical performance was less than 30 N, but it could momentarily exceed 50 N when technically demanding musical pieces were performed. The lateral shift of the mandible was fairly small (<0.4 mm) even with high chin-force exertion, possibly due to clenching of the molars.

Disc formation of rod photoreceptor cells in developing BALB/c mice retinas was studied by rapid freeze, freeze-substitution, freeze-etching, immunocytochemistry, and myosin S-1 decoration methods. Freeze-substituted photoreceptor cells contained variously shaped vesicles in the apical swelling of the connecting cilium or the base of the outer segment during postnatal development. Rapid freezing successfully arrested pinocytosis; the fusion of small vesicles to give large ones, and the compression of certain vesicles (0.3-0.6 micron) appears to lead gradually to the formation of the so-called discs. We therefore propose that membranous discs are formed by the fusion of small pinocytotic vesicles and their subsequent compression. Discs formed in this way were partially stacked, but were ordered at random during the early developmental stages. During development, a partial stack of discs was progressively rearranged to a regular form as seen in mature outer segments. Cytoskeletal actin was expected to be involved in the disc formation; it was demonstrated in the distal axoneme of the connecting cilium during development and showed no change in its distribution. However, the polarity of the actin filaments, as revealed by myosin S-1 decoration in early developmental stages, was much more variable than in the adult. Barbed ends of actin filaments were associated with the plasma membrane or the membrane of vesicles. We also found actin filaments coiled up helically on ciliary microtubules.