Association of leucocyte telomere length with incident age-related macular degeneration: a prospective UK Biobank Study.

Purpose: There have been conflicting findings on the role of leucocyte telomere length (LTL) in the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In this study, we evaluated the associations between LTL and the risk of incident AMD and explored whether age, sex and/or genetic predisposition to AMD can modify these associations.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal cohort study involving 332 123 AMD-free participants with complete baseline covariates and LTL data from the UK Biobank.

Root Meristem Maintenance Mechanisms are Key to Plant Defense Against Nanoplastics.

The pervasive prevalence of nanoplastics in environment poses a challenge that threatens ecosystem and agricultural production. Despite their ubiquity, the determinants of nanoplastics phytotoxicity and the mechanisms through which plants defend against this phytotoxicity remain poorly understand. In this study, it is demonstrated that the phytotoxicity of nanoplastics is inversely correlated with particle size.

Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids as a protective factor of myopia: the Hong Kong Children Eye Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the associations between omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) and other dietary factors with myopia.

Methods: A total of 1005 Chinese children, aged from 6 to 8 years, from a population-based Hong Kong Children Eye Study, were included in the analysis. Diet was assessed using a validated food-frequency questionnaire.

Association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D with cataract: a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of the UK Biobank.

Background: The association between vitamin D deficiency and cataract is debated, with limited longitudinal data on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels in cataract development. This study aimed to examine both cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and cataract risk.

Methods: The cross-sectional analyses included 442 255 UK Biobank participants with available serum 25(OH)D data.

Association of secondhand smoke exposure with child astigmatism in the Hong Kong children eye study.

Backgrounds/aims: Any association of secondhand smoke (SHS) with refractive astigmatism (RA) and corneal astigmatism (CA) remains unknown. This study aims to investigate the associations of SHS exposure with RA and CA in schoolchildren.

Methods: We conducted a population-based, cross-sectional study involving 11 545 children aged 6-8 years from the Hong Kong Children Eye Study.

Sleep, physical activity, sedentary behavior, and risk of cataract: a cross-sectional and prospective study from UK Biobank.

Background: Cataract is a leading cause of visual impairment globally. Although daily behaviors such as sleep, physical activity (PA), and sedentary behavior (SB) have been associated with cataract risk, the evidence remains controversial and uncertain. This study aimed to examine the independent and combined effects of sleep, PA, and SB on cataract risk using data from the UK Biobank.

Association of Optic Nerve Head Metrics and Parapapillary Gamma Zone With Myopia Onset and Progression in Children: The Hong Kong Children Eye Study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations of optic nerve head (ONH) metrics and parapapillary gamma zone with myopia onset and progression in school children aged 6 to 8 years over a 3-year period.

Methods: The ONH was imaged by spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) using an adopted scan protocol comprising 24 equally spaced radial B-scans.

Results: The study included 765 children (mean age = 7.

Identification of antagonistic activity against , and liquid fermentation of biocontrol isolated from wolfberry () rhizosphere soil.

Introduction: is a kind of plant pathogenic fungus that is widely present in the soil. It can trigger a variety of plant diseases, such as wilt and root rot, which pose a serious threat to agricultural production.

Methods: In this study, a strain of was identified by morphology, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology and was named LK-1.

Association of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder With Myopia Among School Children.

Purpose: To determine the relationship of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with myopia among school children.

Methods: Children aged six to eight years in Hong Kong were recruited through a stratified, clustered randomized sampling frame and subsequently invited to undergo cycloplegic autorefraction and axial length measurements between 2016 and 2021. ADHD diagnoses were made by qualified physicians according to ICD-10 criteria.

Association of shared gene polymorphisms for refraction and axial length with corneal biomechanical properties in children.

Purpose: To investigate the associations of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for axial length (AL) and spherical equivalent (SE) with corneal biomechanical parameters in children.

Methods: A cohort of 2535 Chinese children, 4-12 years old, underwent measurements of corneal biomechanical properties, including corneal hysteresis (CH), corneal resistance factor (CRF), deformation amplitude (DA), peak distance (PD), highest concavity radius, as well as first and second applanation lengths and velocities (V1 and V2). Fifteen candidate SNPs for AL and SE were genotyped for association analyses.

Longitudinal evaluation of Bruch's membrane opening-minimum rim width in Chinese children: The Hong Kong Children Eye Study.

Purpose: To evaluate longitudinal changes in Bruch's membrane opening-minimum rim width (BMO-MRW) and its associated factors in school children aged 6-8 years, over 3 years, based on the Hong Kong Children Eye Study.

Methods: In this longitudinal study, 740 children received comprehensive ophthalmologic examinations at baseline and at 3-year follow-up visits. Based on their refractive status, they were divided into groups of persistent non-myopia, newly-developed myopia, and persistent myopia.

Factor H-related 1 and heparan sulfate architecture contribute to complement dysregulation in C3 glomerulopathy.

Introduction: Dysregulation of the alternative pathway of complement underlies the pathogenesis of C3 glomerulopathy (C3G). Because Factor H (FH) prevents excessive alternative pathway activity while Factor H-related protein 1 (FHR-1) is believed to enhance this response, we investigated the balance between FH and FHR-1 in C3G.

Methods: To assess the role of FHR-1 in C3G pathogenicity, we used a multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification to detect copy number variants in and enzyme linked immunosorbent assays to measure circulating protein levels in C3G patients compared to controls.

deepTFBS: Improving within- and Cross-Species Prediction of Transcription Factor Binding Using Deep Multi-Task and Transfer Learning.

The precise prediction of transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) is crucial in understanding gene regulation. In this study, deepTFBS, a comprehensive deep learning (DL) framework that builds a robust DNA language model of TF binding grammar for accurately predicting TFBSs within and across plant species is presented. Taking advantages of multi-task DL and transfer learning, deepTFBS is capable of leveraging the knowledge learned from large-scale TF binding profiles to enhance the prediction of TFBSs under small-sample training and cross-species prediction tasks.

Genome-wide association study identified novel loci and gene-environment interaction for refractive error in children.

To identify novel genetic loci for children refractive error, we performed a meta-analysis of two genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of spherical equivalent (SE) in 1,237 children from the population-based Hong Kong Children Eye Study (HKCES) and the Low Concentration Atropine for Myopia Progression (LAMP) study. Replication was conducted in 4,093 Chinese children and 1,814 Chinese adults. Four lead-SNPs (MIR4275 rs292034, TENM3 rs17074027, LOC101928911 rs6925312 and FAM135B rs4609227) showed genome-wide significant association (P ≤ 5.

Association of residential air pollution with visual impairment in adults: The UK Biobank study.

Purpose: To investigate the association of joint exposure to residential air pollutants with different severities of visual impairment (VI) in adults.

Methods: Exposure to particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen were evaluated in 95,246 adults aged 40-70 years. Joint exposure to the pollutants was calculated using principal component analysis to create an air pollution score.

Genetic association of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder with thirteen ocular disorders.

Purpose: Although attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is linked to elevated risk of various ocular disorders, their genetic association and causality remain unclear.

Methods: This study performed linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) and pleiotropic analysis under composite null hypothesis (PLACO) to explore genetic associations, and bidirectional mendelian randomization (MR) to assess the causality between ADHD and thirteen ocular disorders.

Results: LDSC showed ADHD genetically correlated with corneal ulcer, keratitis, blepharochalasis, lacrimal system disorders, senile cataract, retinal vascular occlusion, and age-related macular degeneration.

Foraging for water by MIZ1-mediated antagonism between root gravitropism and hydrotropism.

Root system integrates multiple environmental cues, chiefly gravity and soil humidity, to anchor plants in soil and forage for water. While the mechanism of auxin-mediated root gravitropism is comparably well-understood, the root's capability to grow toward moist soil for water uptake and drought avoidance, termed root hydrotropism, remains largely mysterious. Here, we provide key insights into the mechanism of hydrotropic growth and assign a role to the master regulator of hydrotropism, MIZU-KUSSEI 1 (MIZ1).

Pregnancy outcomes in C3 glomerulopathy: a retrospective review.

Background: C3 Glomerulopathy (C3G) is an ultra-rare glomerular disease driven by dysregulation of the alternative pathway of complement. 30-50% of adult patients progress to end stage kidney disease (ESKD) within 10 years of diagnosis. Little is known of the impact of pregnancy on the natural history of C3G or whether a coincident diagnosis of C3G affects maternal-fetal outcomes.

Association between leukocyte telomere length and incident glaucoma: A prospective UK biobank study.

Background: Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) has been associated with various diseases, including age-related eye diseases such as cataract and age-related macular degeneration. However, the role of LTL in the longitudinal development of glaucoma is still unknown. Here we prospectively evaluate the association of LTL with glaucoma incidence and related traits, in the UK Biobank cohort.

Global burden of blindness and vision loss among children and adolescents: A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2021.

Aim: This study investigates the global burden of vision impairment caused by refraction disorders, near vision loss, and other vision loss among children and adolescents from 1990 to 2021. The analysis is categorized globally by sex, age, and socio-demographic index (SDI), with a focus on predicting trends to 2035.

Methods: Data weas obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

Associations of Cardiovascular Health and New-Onset Age-Related Macular Diseases From UK Biobank.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the correlation between cardiovascular health (CVH), evaluated through the Life's Essential 8 (LE8) score, and the risk of new-onset age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Methods: This longitudinal analysis included 271,274 participants who were free of both cardiovascular diseases and AMD at baseline. The LE8 score was classified into three categories: low (<50 points), moderate (50 to <80 points), and high (≥80 points), with higher scores indicating better CVH.

Association of Retinal Microvasculature With Myopia Progression in Children: The Hong Kong Children Eye Study.

Purpose: To investigate the associations between optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) metrics and myopia progression in children.

Methods: This prospective, longitudinal cohort study recruited children ages 6 to 8 years for 2- to 6-year follow-ups. OCT-A captured macular images from the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP).

Prevalence and Severity of Astigmatism in Children After COVID-19.

Importance: Astigmatism can cause blurred vision at near and distance. It is common among schoolchildren and associated with ametropia. Although the COVID-19 pandemic generated a surge in myopia prevalence in children, the association with child astigmatism remains unknown.

Associations of long-term joint exposure to multiple ambient air pollutants with the incidence of age-related eye diseases.

Objectives: The associations between long-term joint exposure to low levels of multiple air pollutants and the incidence of common age-related eye diseases (AREDs), including cataract, glaucoma, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), remain underexplored.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study using UK Biobank data from 441,567 participants without cataract, glaucoma, or AMD at baseline. An air pollution score was constructed to assess the combined effect of multiple air pollutants, including PM, PM, PM, NO and NO.