Development of a scanning electron mirror microscope

Scanning electron mirrors microscope design and developmen

Genetic Variants on Chromosome 1q41 Influence Ocular Axial Length and High Myopia

As one of the leading causes of visual impairment and blindness, myopia poses a significant public health burden in Asia. The primary determinant of myopia is an elongated ocular axial length (AL). Here we report a meta-analysis of three genome-wide association studies on AL conducted in 1,860 Chinese adults, 929 Chinese children, and 2,155 Malay adults. We identified a genetic locus on chromosome 1q41 harboring the zinc-finger 11B pseudogene ZC3H11B showing genome-wide significant association with AL variation (rs4373767, β = −0.16 mm per minor allele, Pmeta = 2.69×10−10). The minor C allele of rs4373767 was also observed to significantly associate with decreased susceptibility to high myopia (per-allele odds ratio (OR) = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.68–0.84, Pmeta = 4.38×10−7) in 1,118 highly myopic cases and 5,433 controls. ZC3H11B and two neighboring genes SLC30A10 and LYPLAL1 were expressed in the human neural retina, retinal pigment epithelium, and sclera. In an experimental myopia mouse model, we observed significant alterations to gene and protein expression in the retina and sclera of the unilateral induced myopic eyes for the murine genes ZC3H11A, SLC30A10, and LYPLAL1. This supports the likely role of genetic variants at chromosome 1q41 in influencing AL variation and high myopia

Identification of myopia-associated WNT7B polymorphisms provides insights into the mechanism underlying the development of myopia

10.1038/ncomms7689Nature Communications

Exposure assessment for a population-based case-control study combining a job-exposure matrix with interview data

Objectives A system that combines the ease of use of a job-exposure matrix while taking into account job- specific data is needed. This study aimed to produce a detailed method for combining interview data with expert assessments for a large population-based case-control study of Parkinson's disease. Method An interview-administered core questionnaire with a series of questions that triggers substance-specific questionnaires to gather information on key parameters is administered. Using a job-exposure matrix to generate base estimates, assessors can modify this estimate of exposure intensity using worker-specific data such as the use of control measures, reports of substance-specific acute symptoms, and the quantity of material being processed. Detailed guidance for making adjustments to exposure estimates for these modifiers is presented. Results The method has been partially validated through the use of a comparison of estimates for a separate cohort with previously validated exposure reconstructions. Agreement was high, with a Spearman's rho of 0.89 (P<0.01). The results from a quality assurance system employed as part of the methodology show a high degree of repeatability in generated exposure values both over time (Spearman's rho 0.98, P<0.01) and between different assessors (Spearman's rho 0.88, P<0.01). Conclusions The method provides detailed quantitative exposure indices for occupational epidemiology. It has particular strengths both in terms of ease and speed of use. It is hoped that it will provide a useful structure for future epidemiologic wor