Mean structure and fluctuations of the Kuroshio east of Taiwan from in situ and remote observations

Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 28, no. 4 (2015): 74–83, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2015.83.The Kuroshio is important to climate, weather prediction, and fishery management along the northeast coast of Asia because it transports tremendous heat, salt, and energy from east of the Philippines to waters southeast of Japan. In the middle of its journey northward, the Kuroshio’s velocity mean and its variability east of Taiwan crucially affect its downstream variability. To improve understanding of the Kuroshio there, multiple platforms were used to collect intensive observations off Taiwan during the three-year Observations of the Kuroshio Transports and their Variability (OKTV) program (2012–2015). Mean Kuroshio velocity transects show two velocity maxima southeast of Taiwan, with the primary velocity core on the onshore side of the Kuroshio exhibiting a mean maximum velocity of ~1.2 m s–1. The two cores then merge and move at a single velocity maximum of ~1 m s–1 east of Taiwan. Standard deviations of both the directly measured poleward (v) and zonal (u) velocities are ~0.4 m s–1 in the Kuroshio main stream. Water mass exchange in the Kuroshio east of Taiwan was found to be complicated, as it includes water of Kuroshio origin, South China Sea Water, and West Philippine Sea Water, and it vitally affects heat, salt, and nutrient inputs to the East China Sea. Impinging eddies and typhoons are two of the principal causes of variability in the Kuroshio. This study’s models are more consistent with the observed Kuroshio than with high-frequency radar measurements.This study was sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of the ROC (Taiwan) under grants NSC 101-2611-M-002-018-MY3, NSC 101-2611- M-019-002, NSC 102-2611-M-002-017, NSC 102-2611- M-019-012, MOST 103-2611-M-002-014, and MOST 103-2611-M-002-018. MA was sponsored by the US Office of Naval Research under grant N00014- 12-1-0445. YHT was supported by NSF Earth System Model (EaSM) Grant 1419292

Rescue effects of intravitreal aflibercept in the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration

AbstractWe report the rescue results of intravitreal aflibercept in patients with treatment-resistant neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). We retrospectively analyzed eyes with neovascular AMD resistant to posterior subtenon triamcinolone, intravitreal ranibizumab, and/or bevacizumab treatment in a tertiary medical center in middle Taiwan between December 2013 and October 2014. We then switched treatment to 2.0 mg aflibercept. The main outcome included changes in best-corrected visual acuity and central foveal thickness measured by optical coherence tomography during monthly follow-up. There were 204 patients with neovascular AMD, and the percentage of refractory cases was 1.96% (4 of 204 cases). Our study included five eyes of four patients that were resistant to multiple treatments and subsequently switched to aflibercept. The mean age was 71.25 ± 11.09 years (range 57–83 years). Treatments were on average 6.6 times previously. Upon switching to aflibercept treatment, the average central foveal thickness on optical coherence tomography was 505.6 ± 270.86 μm (range 150–815 μm). After aflibercept treatment, the average central foveal thickness was 192 ± 51.76 μm (range 149–274 μm). All patients showed anatomic improvement, and 80% of the eyes (4 of 5 eyes) had improved best-corrected visual acuity and 20% of the eyes (1 of 5 eyes) had stable visual acuity. Patients tolerated the treatment well without serious adverse events. This short-term study showed that intravitreal aflibercept was effective and safe in treatment-resistant neovascular AMD cases. However, analysis of more cases and long-term follow-ups are mandatory

Prevalence of uveitis in syphilis patients in Taiwan

ABSTRACTFew population-based studies have looked at the risk of uveitis among syphilis patients. Our study addresses the knowledge gap by reporting on uveitis risk in syphilis patients through a retrospective cohort study. The Taiwan National Health Insurance database was used for this study, covering the period from January 1st, 2009, to December 31st, 2020. We created a 1:4 propensity score matched cohort between the syphilis patients and controls, which accounted for gender, age, and comorbidities. The primary endpoint was the incidence of newly recorded uveitis. The assessment of uveitis risk in syphilis patients included the use of the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox proportional hazard model. A total of 31,597 syphilis patients and 126,379 matched comparisons were recruited. The uveitis incidence rate from our syphilis patients was 1.25 per 1000 person-years. The uveitis incidence rate from our non-syphilis group was 0.8 per 1000 person-years. After matching, the syphilis group was found to have a higher risk of developing uveitis (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) [95% CI]: 1.57 [1.36–1.81], P < .001). Among males and individuals aged 20–34 years, subgroup analysis showed an increased risk of uveitis in the presence of syphilis infection. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed a significant difference in uveitis incidence between syphilis and non-syphilis groups (log-rank test P < .001). In summary, our study revealed that Taiwanese syphilis patients were at a higher risk of developing uveitis. These results highlight the need for regular ocular monitoring and screening in individuals with syphilis

Ultra-widefield angiography in the diagnosis and management of uveitis

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical use of ultra-widefield angiography (UWFA) in uveitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We showed the UWFA and traditional 55° fluorescein angiography (FA) of four cases with Eales' disease, idiopathic retinal vasculitis, aneurysms, and neuroretinitis syndrome, Behçet's disease, and idiopathic panuveitis in a tertiary medical center. Comparison of UWFA with traditional 55°FA in the diagnosis and management of uveitis and review of the literature is also presented. RESULTS: Ultra-widefield FA revealed far-peripheral vascular imaging. This information would not have been easily obtained from traditional FA. With more information of the peripheral retina, it may facilitate appropriate diagnosis and monitoring, and the management may be revised. CONCLUSION: University of Western Australia played an important role to confirm the diagnosis of uveitis and to determine the corresponding treatment