Suitability of UK biobank retinal images for automatic analysis of morphometric properties of the vasculature

To assess the suitability of retinal images held in the UK Biobank--the largest retinal data repository in a prospective population-based cohort--for computer assisted vascular morphometry, generating measures that are commonly investigated as candidate biomarkers of systemic disease.Non-mydriatic fundus images from both eyes of 2,690 participants--people with a self-reported history of myocardial infarction (n=1,345) and a matched control group (n=1,345)--were analysed using VAMPIRE software. These images were drawn from those of 68,554 UK Biobank participants who underwent retinal imaging at recruitment. Four operators were trained in the use of the software to measure retinal vascular tortuosity and bifurcation geometry.Total operator time was approximately 360 hours (4 minutes per image). 2,252 (84%) of participants had at least one image of sufficient quality for the software to process, i.e. there was sufficient detection of retinal vessels in the image by the software to attempt the measurement of the target parameters. 1,604 (60%) of participants had an image of at least one eye that was adequately analysed by the software, i.e. the measurement protocol was successfully completed. Increasing age was associated with a reduced proportion of images that could be processed (p=0.0004) and analysed (p<0.0001). Cases exhibited more acute arteriolar branching angles (p=0.02) as well as lower arteriolar and venular tortuosity (p<0.0001).A proportion of the retinal images in UK Biobank are of insufficient quality for automated analysis. However, the large size of the UK Biobank means that tens of thousands of images are available and suitable for computational analysis. Parametric information measured from the retinas of participants with suspected cardiovascular disease was significantly different to that measured from a matched control group

Removal and Fouling Influence of Microplastics in Fertilizer Driven Forward Osmosis for Wastewater Reclamation

Insufficient removal of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) may exert negative effects on the environment and human health during wastewater reclamation. The fertilizer-driven forward osmosis (FDFO) is an emerging potential technology to generate high-quality water for irrigation of hydroponic systems. In this study, the removal of MPs/NPs by the FDFO process together with their impact on FDFO membrane fouling was investigated, due to FDFO’s low molecular weight cut-off and energy requirement by using fertilizer as draw solution. Plastic particles with two different sizes (100 nm and 1 μm) and extracellular polymers released by real wastewater bacteria were utilized as model compounds for FDFO performance comparison. Results show that FDFO membrane system could generate high-quality irrigation water with only fertilizer, completely removing extracellular polymers, MPs and NPs from wastewater. It was found that the MPs and NPs themselves do not cause a significant membrane fouling. Moreover, it could help to reduce the membrane fouling caused by extracellular substances. That is probably because MPs and NPs helped to form a loose and porous fouling layer. Therefore, the FDFO process could be a long-term stable (low fouling) process for the reclamation of wastewater with high-quality requirements

Environmentally friendly room temperature synthesis and humidity sensing applications of nanostructured Bi2O2CO3

Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets with exposed {0 0 1} facets were obtained from the straightforward and economic room temperature conversion of commercial Bi2O3 with CO2 as atmospheric carbon source. The growth process of Bi2O2CO3 was investigated with a variety of analytical methods including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). (BiO)4CO3(OH)2 was identified as an intermediate during the transformation of bulk Bi2O3 into Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets. The humidity sensing tests indicated high sensitivities with impedance changes of 4 orders and capacitance changes of 3 orders of magnitude over a relative humidity (RH) range from 11 to 95%. Moreover, the humidity sensor based on Bi2O2CO3 nanosheets revealed a narrow humidity hysteresis, rapid response and recovery time with good reproducibility. These results demonstrated that Bi2O2CO3 is a promising humidity sensing material for environmental monitoring and humidity control

Proportions of participants with at least one image that was <i>processable</i> or <i>analysable</i> by gender, age group and case-control status.

<p>*p-values from chi-squared test (and, for age, chi-squared test for trend)</p><p>^† reference group</p><p>Adjusted ORs from multivariable logistic regression model adjusting simultaneously for sex, age and case/control status were almost identical to unadjusted ORs; p values derived from multivariable logistic regression analyses were similar</p><p>Proportions of participants with at least one image that was <i>processable</i> or <i>analysable</i> by gender, age group and case-control status.</p

Analysis of VAMPIRE measures regarding the inter-operator reliability.

<p>ICC: intraclass correlation coefficient; CI: confident interval;</p><p>*Two-Way Mixed, Consistency Agreement, Average Measure Model</p><p>Note: When both eyes had VAMPIRE measurement, the mean calculated from both eyes was used.</p><p>Analysis of VAMPIRE measures regarding the inter-operator reliability.</p

Participant characteristics.

<p>*based on the UK Biobank Data Showcase 11.</p><p>Participant characteristics.</p

Correlation of VAMPIRE measure between left and right eyes.

<p>SD: standard deviation;</p><p>*from Bland-Altman analysis</p><p>Correlation of VAMPIRE measure between left and right eyes.</p