Elastin Variants in Two Angiographic PCV Subtypes

Objective To compare the association of elastin (ELN) gene variants between two different angiographic phenotypes of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). Methods We included 411 treatment-naïve PCV patients and 350 controls in the present study. PCV was classified into two phenotypes (152 Type 1 and 259 Type 2) according to the presence or absence of feeding vessels found in indocyanine-green angiography. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ELN region including rs868005, rs884843, rs2301995, rs13239907 and rs2856728 were genotyped using TaqMan Genotyping Assays. Results In the allelic association analyses, rs868005 showed the strongest association with Type 2 PCV (allelic odds ratio 1.56; p = 7.4x10-6), while no SNP was significantly associated with Type 1 PCV. Genotype association analyses revealed the significant association of rs868005 with Type 2 PCV in log additive model and predominant model (odds ratio 1.75; p = 1.5x10-6 and odds ratio 1.60; p = 0.0044, respectively), but not with Type 1 PCV. These findings were further corroborated by another control group in the literature. Conclusions There may be significantly different associations in genetic variants of elastin between two angiographic phenotypes of PCV

A Case of Bilateral Macular Holes Showing Onset and Spontaneous Closure over Very Short Intervals

www.karger.com/co

Early Responses to Intravitreal Ranibizumab in Typical Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy

Purpose. To evaluate the early response to intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) in two different phenotypes of age-related macular degenerations (AMD): typical neovascular AMD (tAMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV). Methods. Sixty eyes from 60 patients (tAMD 28, PCV 32 eyes) were recruited. Three consecutive IVR treatments (0.5 mg) were performed every month. Change in the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and central retinal thickness (CRT) was then compared between the tAMD and PCV groups. Results. The mean BCVA logMAR was significantly improved at month 1 and month 3 after the initial IVR in the tAMD group, but there was no change in the PCV group. Both phenotypes showed significant improvements in the CRT during the 3 months after the initial IVR. There were no significant differences in the improvements of the CRT in the tAMD versus the PCV group. In the stepwise analysis, a worse pretreatment BCVA and tAMD lesions were significantly beneficial for a greater improvement of BCVA at 3 months after the initial IVR. Conclusions. The phenotype of tAMD showed a significantly better early response to IVR than PCV in terms of BCVA improvement

横断的・総合的な幼稚園教育教員養成プログラムの構築研究

本研究では，別冊『－平成30年度広島大学大学院教育学研究科共同研究プロジェクト－横断的・総合的な幼稚園教育教員養成プログラムの構築研究論文集』を作成し，紙幅の都合で本報告書に掲載できなかった調査・研究の成果を掲載した

A Common Complement C3 Variant Is Associated with Protection against Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration in a Japanese Population

博士（医学）神戸大

Factors associated with the development of ocular candidiasis and ocular prognosis with echinocandin therapy for candidemia

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the factors associated with the development of ocular candidiasis (OC) and ocular prognosis with echinocandin therapy for candidemia. Methods The medical records of 56 consecutive patients with a positive blood culture for Candida species between November 2016 and October 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Information on patient characteristics, isolated Candida species, treatment details for candidemia, and ocular findings were extracted to identify factors associated with OC development. Results The leading pathogen of candidemia was Candida albicans (C.albicans) (41.1%). Of 56 patients, 18 (32.1%) were diagnosed with chorioretinitis, categorized as either probable (8 patients) or possible OC (10 patients). There was no case of endophthalmitis with vitritis. The incidence of probable OC was not significantly different between the groups treated with echinocandins and other antifungal drugs (15.2% vs. 11.1%, p = 1.00). In all probable OC cases, systemic antifungal therapy was switched from echinocandins to azoles, and no case progressed to endophthalmitis. A multivariate logistic analysis revealed that female sex (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 8.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09–72.9) and C. albicans (aOR, 23.6; 95% CI, 1.8–281) were independent factors associated with the development of probable OC. Conclusion One-seventh of patients with candidemia developed probable OC. Given the evidence of female and C. albicans as the factors associated with OC development, careful ophthalmologic management is required with these factors, especially in candidemia. Although echinocandins had no correlation with OC development and did not lead to the deterioration of ocular prognosis, further investigation is required

Efficacy and visual prognostic factors of intravitreal bevacizumab as needed for macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion

textabstractAbstract This paper analyzes the verdicts of various film organizations that annually present awards to motion pictures and investigates whether they award/nominate the same movies in a given year. This research disputes previous findings which reported a high level of agreement between those juries, by the means of reliability analysis and the Cronbach's Alpha composite. Arguments were raised for why these earlier findings were flawed and why the use of Cronbach's Alpha is problematic. Different aspects of consensus are discussed after which a new measure (߀) is introduced. This is followed by a detailed comparison between particular juries with regard to the percentage share of their decisions that award the most successful (chosen by multiple other juries as well) and the least successful (uniquely awarded) films. This measure shows how often a singular jury decides in line with the others and how much does it stray from the consensus. The paper also broadens the theoretical discussions about the reasons for (not) expecting a consensus to arise between various expert juries. It argues that by adopting a cultural economic perspective we become aware of various reasons, most importantly competition between the award events and the juries tend towards a lower level of consensus