Swept-Source OCT Angiography Features in Patients after Macular Hole Surgery

This study aimed to compare findings of optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography (OCTA) between eyes with nearly recovered and partially recovered outer retina after full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) surgery and to identify OCTA findings associated with visual acuity. We retrospectively reviewed 30 patients who underwent surgery for idiopathic FTMH. Swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) and OCTA were performed preoperatively and at three and six months postoperatively. Subgroups were divided according to the integrity of the external limiting membranes and ellipsoid zones postoperatively. Correlations of best-corrected visual acuity six months postoperatively with SS-OCT and OCTA measurements were analyzed. There was no difference in preoperative retinal or choroidal vascular index on OCTA between the nearly and partially recovered groups. Six months postoperatively, the choriocapillaris flow-void area was significantly higher in the partially recovered group than in the fellow eye. The nearly recovered group showed better choroidal vascular flow, and vision at six months postoperatively correlated with the ratio of the operated eye’s choriocapillaris flow-void area to the fellow eye. Sufficient choriocapillaris flow on OCTA is associated with better outer retinal recovery and visual outcomes after macular hole surgery

Nanomechanics of Poly(catecholamine) Coatings in Aqueous Solutions

Mussel-inspired self-polymerized catecholamine coatings have been widely utilized as a versatile coating strategy that can be applied to a variety of substrates. For the first time, nanomechanical measurements and an evaluation of the contribution of primary amine groups to poly(catecholamine) coatings have been conducted using a surface-forces apparatus. The adhesive strength between the poly(catecholamine) layers is 30-times higher than that of a poly(catechol) coating. The origin of the strong attraction between the poly(catecholamine) layers is probably due to surface salt displacement by the primary amine, - stacking (the quadrupole-quadrupole interaction of indolic crosslinks), and cation- interactions (the monopole-quadrupole interaction between positively charged amine groups and the indolic crosslinks). The contribution of the primary amine group to the catecholamine coating is vital for the design and development of mussel-inspired catechol-based coating materials.115134Nsciescopu

Highly Sensitive Tactile Shear Sensor Using Spatially Digitized Contact Electrodes

In this article, we report on a highly sensitive tactile shear sensor that was able to detect minute levels of shear and surface slip. The sensor consists of a suspended elastomer diaphragm with a top ridge structure, a graphene layer underneath, and a bottom substrate with multiple spatially digitized contact electrodes. When shear is applied to the top ridge structure, it creates torque and deflects the elastomer downwards. Then, the graphene electrode makes contact with the bottom spatially digitized electrodes completing a circuit producing output currents depending on the number of electrodes making contact. The tactile shear sensor was able to detect shear forces as small as 6 μN, detect shear direction, and also distinguish surface friction and roughness differences of shearing objects. We also succeeded in detecting the contact slip motion of a single thread demonstrating possible applications in future robotic fingers and remote surgical tools

Pharmacokinetic characteristics of vactosertib, a new activin receptor-like kinase 5 inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumors in a first-in-human phase 1 study

Purposes Vactosertib is a new investigational inhibitor of activin receptor-like kinase 5. The objective of this study was to characterize vactosertib pharmacokinetics that are to be applied for subsequent clinical studies. Methods Vactosertib plasma concentration-time data were obtained from a multicenter, dose-escalation, first-in-human phase 1 study conducted in patients with advanced solid tumors. Each patient orally received a fixed dose of vactosertib with the range of 30 mg to 340 mg once daily under fasted condition. Pharmacokinetic analysis was performed using a non-compartmental method. Results Pharmacokinetic data were evaluable in 29 patients. Vactosertib was rapidly absorbed after the first dose with a median time to maximum concentration (t(max)) of 1.2 h (interquartile range, 0.8-1.8 h) and quickly eliminated with a median terminal half-life (t(1/2)) of 3.2 h (2.2-4.2 h) over the dose range studied. Such trend was also observed after repeated doses for five days (median t(max), 1.5 h; median t(1/2), 3.0 h). The area under the concentration-time curve within a dosing interval increased in proportion to dose. The median values of apparent clearance and volume of distribution were 29 L/h (21-44 L/h) and 133 L (77-222 L), respectively. The median accumulation ratio after repeated once-daily doses for five days was 0.87 (0.69-1.07). Conclusions Vactosertib pharmacokinetics were dose-proportional within tested dose range with negligible accumulation when administered once daily for five days. Considering the short half-life, it seems necessary to administer vactosertib twice- or thrice-daily to maintain its concentrations above minimum effective level over a dosing interval.N

3D Face Modeling Using the Multi-Deformable Method

In this paper, we focus on the problem of the accuracy performance of 3D face modeling techniques using corresponding features in multiple views, which is quite sensitive to feature extraction errors. To solve the problem, we adopt a statistical model-based 3D face modeling approach in a mirror system consisting of two mirrors and a camera. The overall procedure of our 3D facial modeling method has two primary steps: 3D facial shape estimation using a multiple 3D face deformable model and texture mapping using seamless cloning that is a type of gradient-domain blending. To evaluate our method’s performance, we generate 3D faces of 30 individuals and then carry out two tests: accuracy test and robustness test. Our method shows not only highly accurate 3D face shape results when compared with the ground truth, but also robustness to feature extraction errors. Moreover, 3D face rendering results intuitively show that our method is more robust to feature extraction errors than other 3D face modeling methods. An additional contribution of our method is that a wide range of face textures can be acquired by the mirror system. By using this texture map, we generate realistic 3D face for individuals at the end of the paper

Highly Luminescent InP/GaP/ZnS Nanocrystals and Their Application to White Light-Emitting Diodes

Highly stable and luminescent InP/GaP/ZnS QDs with a maximum quantum yield of 85% were synthesized by in situ method. The GaP shell rendered passivation of the surface and removed the traps. TCSPC data showed an evidence for the GaP shell. InP/GaP/ZnS QDs show better stability than InP/ZnS. We studied the optical properties of white QD-LEDs corresponding to various QD concentrations. Among various concentrations, the white QD-LEDs with 0.5 mL of QDs exhibited a luminous efficiency of 54.71 lm/W, Ra of 80.56, and CCT of 7864 Kclose737