Hydromassage of macular hole edges for large and persistent full-thickness macular holes

●AIM:To introduce the macular hole(MH)hydromassage technique as a potentially beneficial approach for the treatment of large or persistent MH.●METHODS:This retrospective observational case series comprised 16 consecutive patients(17 eyes)diagnosed with MH.Inclusion criteria involved a hole aperture diameter larger than 600μm or the presence of an unclosed MH larger than 600μm following the previous vitrectomy.Standard MH repair procedures were administered in all cases,involving the manipulation and aspiration of the hole margin through the application of water flow with a soft-tip flute needle.A comprehensive assessment was conducted for each case before and after surgery,and optical coherence tomography(OCT)images were captured at every follow-up point.●RESULTS:The mean preoperative aperture diameter was 747±156μm(range 611-1180μm),with a mean base diameter of 1390±435μm(range 578-2220μm).Following surgery,all cases achieved complete anatomical closure of MH,with 13 cases(76.5%)exhibiting type 1 closure and 4 cases(23.5%)demonstrating type 2 closure.No significant differences were observed in the preoperative OCT variables between the two closure types.Eyes with type 1 closure showed a significantly improved visual acuity(0.70±0.10,range 0.50-0.80)compared to those with type 2 closure(0.90±0.12,range 0.80-1.00,P=0.014).●CONCLUSION:The MH hydromassage technique demonstrates promising results,achieving acceptable closure rates in cases of large or persistent MH.This technique may serve as an effective adjunctive maneuver during challenging MH surgery.

Multi-Axis Attention With Convolution Parallel Block for Organoid Segmentation

Dear Editor,This letter presents an organoid segmentation model based on multi-axis attention with convolution parallel block.MACPNet adeptly captures dynamic dependencies within bright-field microscopy images,improving global modeling beyond conventional UNet.

Synergistic effects between Suilllus luteus and Trichoderma virens on growth of Korean spruce seedlings and drought resistance of Scotch pine seedlings

Korean spruce （Picea koraiensis Sieb. E1 Zucc.） is one of the main afforestation species in northern China. Seedling quality is a critical factor at planting time. To test whether the synergistic growth enhancement of Scotch pine （P. sylvestris var. mongolica） seedlings brought by the plant beneficial fungus Trichoderma virens （J.H. Mill., Giddens and A.A. Foster） Arx and ectomycorrhizal fungus （Suillus luteus （L.） Roussel.） can also benefit Korean spruce seed- lings, we examined the effects of S. luteus and T. virens on the growth of P. koraiensis seedlings and drought resistance of P. sylvestris var. mongolica in peat soils. The two fungi were added to sterilized peat soil in pots, and the plants were grown for 4 months. Seedling growth and physiological variables, including mycorrhizal colonization rate of roots, biomass, and chlorophyll content, were examined. The colonization rate of the mycorrhizal fungus on P. koraiensis exceeded 65 %, and the synergism between S. luteus and T. virens enhanced most of the variables for P. koraiensis seedlings after inoculation with S. luteus then 30 days later with T. virens as in our published results for seedlings of P. sylvestris var. mongolica. When seedlings of P. sylvestris var. mongolica were inoculated with this sequence, they became more drought tolerant. T. virens also induced S. luteus to produce -l,3-glucanase and chitinase. This inocu- lation sequence at planting can thus improve the quality of P. sylvestris var. mongolica and P. koraiensis seedlings and substantiates our previous results.

Ectomycorrhizal fungus enhances drought tolerance of Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica seedlings and improves soil condition

Mongolian pine is an important afforestation species widely used for ecological management in northeast China. The environment in this region is very unstable and the flora are regularly subjected to drought stress.This paper reports on the influence of inoculation with the Suillus luteus on seedlings under different water conditions.Both inoculated and non-inoculated ectomycorrhizal fungi(ECMF)-S. luteus seedlings were maintained under wellwatered or water-stress conditions for 3 months. The S.luteus colonization rate under water stress was higher than that in well-watered conditions. Under water stress, inoculated seedlings had greater growth than non-inoculated seedlings. In addition, under water stress, S. luteus-inoculated seedlings had greater superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activity, higher soluble protein content, lower proline content, and lower malondialdehyde content than non-inoculated seedlings. S. luteus colonization increased the rhizosphere soil-enzyme activity and the rhizosphere soil nutrition content under both well-watered and water-stress conditions. Given the positive impact on seedling growth and physiology, S. luteus shows potential for use in the arid and semi-arid regions of northeast China for afforestation.

Foveal structure changes in infants treated with anti-VEGF therapy or laser therapy guided by optical coherence tomography angiography for retinopathy of prematurity

AIM: To evaluate foveal vessel density(VD) and foveal thickness using optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA) in retinopathy of prematurity(ROP) children treated with laser photocoagulation or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) injection. Additionally, we assessed the relationship between foveal microvascular anomalies and different therapies in ROP children.METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective study of patients with a diagnosis of type 1 ROP. Twenty-three eyes(14 patients) treated with anti-VEGF injection and twentynine eyes(17 patients) treated with laser coagulation were included in this study. The foveal VD, inner thickness and full thickness were measured at the central 0°, 2° to 8°, and 8° of the retina(centered on the fovea) using OCTA and cross-sectional OCT, respectively.RESULTS: Foveal VD, inner thickness and full thickness were significantly smaller within the central 8° of the retina in ROP children treated with anti-VEGF injection than in those treated with laser photocoagulation(P=0.013, 0.009, 0.036, respectively). The full thickness was also smaller in the anti-VEGF group than in the laser group at the central 0° of the retina(P=0.010). The grade of foveal hypoplasia is lower in the anti-VEGF group than in the laser group(P=0.045). Multivariable analysis did not find any risk factors associated with visual acuity in our study.CONCLUSION: In children with type 1 ROP, the better structural development of fovea in those who were treated with anti-VEGF injection compared with laser photocoagulation are identified. However, visual acuity outcomes are similar 70 mo after the treatments.

Effects of an ectomycorrhizal fungus on the growth and physiology of Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings subjected to saline-alkali stress

This research investigates the mechanism of increased salinity tolerance of ectomycorrhizal fungiinoculated P. sylvestris var. mongolica to provide a theoretical basis for the application of the fungus in saline soils.Growth effects due to inoculation of seedlings with Suillus luteus(a symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungus), were determined in four kinds of saline–alkali soils. Growth and physiological indicators, including photosynthetic characteristics, plant height, biomass, photosynthetic pigments,catalase(CAT) and superoxide dismutase(SOD) enzyme levels, and malondialdehyde(MDA), an organic marker for oxidative stress, and soluble protein levels were determined. Mycorrhizal colonization rate decreased with increasing saline–alkalinity and growth of inoculated seedlings was significantly enhanced. Biomass and chlorophyll contents also increased significantly. SOD and CAT activities were higher than in non-inoculated seedlings. However, MDA content decreased in inoculatedseedlings. Soluble protein content did not increase significantly. Inoculation with a symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungus could enhance the saline–alkali tolerance of P. sylvestris var. mongolica. Growth and physiological performance of inoculated seedlings were significantly better than that of uninoculated seedlings. The results indicate that inoculated P. sylvestris var. mongolica seedlings may be useful in the improvement of saline–alkali lands.

Promoting the Growth of Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica Seedlings and Improving Rhizosphere Fungal Community Structure through Interaction between Trichoderma and Ectomycorrhizal Fungi

In this study,pot experiments were conducted on the seedlings of Pinus sylvestris var.mongolica to study the influence of Trichoderma(Trichoderma harzianum E15)and Ectomycorrhizal fungi(Suillus luteus N94)on the growth of these seedlings.In particular,the effects of these fungi on the fungal community structure in the rhizosphere soil of the seedlings were investigated.Inoculation with Trichoderma harzianum E15 and Suillus luteus N94 significantly(P<0.05)promoted the growth of the Pinus sylvestris seedlings.The non-metric multidimensional scaling(NMDS)results indicated a significant difference(P<0.05)between the fungal community structures in the rhizosphere soil of the annual and biennial seedlings.In the rhizosphere soil of annual seedlings,the main fungi were Ascomycota,Basidiomycota,Zygomycota.Ascomycota,Basidiomycota,Mortierellomycota,and p-unclassified-k-Fungi were the main fungi in the rhizosphere soil of biennial seedlings.The dominant genus in the rhizosphere soil and a key factor promoting the growth of the annual and the biennial seedlings was Trichoderma,Suillus,respectively.Both of them were negatively correlated with the relative abundance of microbial flora in the symbiotic environment.Trichoderma had a significant promoting effect on the conversion of total phosphorus,total nitrogen,ammonium nitrogen,nitrate nitrogen,and the organic matter in the rhizosphere soil of the seedlings,while Suillus significantly promoted the conversion of organic matter and total phosphorus.