Microvascular alterations of the ocular surface and retina in connective tissue disease-related interstitial lung disease

AIM:To examine the disparities in macular retinal vascular density between individuals with connective tissue disease-related interstitial lung disease(CTD-ILD)and healthy controls(HCs)by optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA)and to investigate the changes in microvascular density in abnormal eyes.METHODS:For a retrospective case-control study,a total of 16 patients(32 eyes)diagnosed with CTD-ILD were selected as the ILD group.The 16 healthy volunteers with 32 eyes,matched in terms of age and sex with the patients,were recruited as control group.The macular retina’s superficial retinal layer(SRL)and deep retinal layer(DRL)were examined and scanned using OCTA in each individual eye.The densities of retinal microvascular(MIR),macrovascular(MAR),and total microvascular(TMI)were calculated and compared.Changes in retinal vascular density in the macular region were analyzed using three different segmentation methods:central annuli segmentation method(C1-C6),hemispheric segmentation method[uperior right(SR),superior left(SL),inferior left(IL),and inferior right(IR)],and Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study(ETDRS)methods[superior(S),inferior(I),left(L),and right(R)].The data were analyzed using Version 9.0 of GraphPad prism and Pearson analysis.RESULTS:The OCTA data demonstrated a statistically significant difference(P<0.05)in macular retinal microvessel density between the two groups.Specifically,in the SRL and DRL analyses,the ILD group exhibited significantly lower surface density of MIR and TMI compared to the HCs group(P<0.05).Furthermore,using the hemispheric segmentation method,the ILD group showed notable reductions in SL,SR,and IL in the superficial retina(P<0.05),as well as marked decreases in SL and IR in the deep retina(P<0.05).Similarly,when employing the ETDRS method,the ILD group displayed substantial drops in superficial retinal S and I(P<0.05),along with notable reductions in deep retinal L,I,and R(P<0.05).In the central annuli segmentation method,the ILD group exhibited a significant decrease in the superficial retinal C2-4 region(P<0.05),whereas the deep retina showed a notable reduction in the C3-5 region(P<0.05).Additionally,there was an observed higher positive likelihood ratio in the superficial SR region and deep MIR.Furthermore,there was a negative correlation between conjunctival vascular density and both deep and superficial retinal TMI(P<0.001).CONCLUSION:Patients with CTD-ILD exhibits a significantly higher conjunctival vascular density compared to the HCs group.Conversely,their fundus retinal microvascular density is significantly lower.Furthermore,CTD-ILD patients display notably lower superficial and deep retinal vascular density in comparison to the HCs group.The inverse correlation between conjunctival vascular density and both superficial and deep retinal TMI suggests that detecting subtle changes in ocular microcirculation could potentially serve as an early diagnostic indicator for connective tissue diseases,thereby enhancing disease management.

Are transactional political connections more valuable to firms than relational political connections?

Political connections are an increasingly important part of firms’strategies to develop relationships with the government and poli-ticians.This study examines the impact of transactional and rela-tional political connections on firm value.The results show that transactionally connected firms are more likely to exhibit greater firm value than their relationally connected and non-connected counterparts.This study further finds evidence of a long-term value-enhancing effect of the transactional approach to political connections.A variety of robustness tests with alternative model specifications continue to show that transactional political con-nections lead to higher firm value.The findings indicate that firms with transactional political connections are provided with better networks with the political regime in power compared with those with relational political connections.These transactionally con-nected firms may enjoy preferential treatment from the govern-ment,in the form of lower taxes,and the access to government loans,subsidies,bailouts,and/or procurement contracts.

Relation between connective tissue growth factor rs9399005 gene single nucleotide polymorphism and coronary heart disease

Objective To investigate the relationship between connective tissue growth factor(CTGF)rs9399005 gene polymorphism and serum CTGF level,coronary heart disease(CHD).Methods The serum CTGF levels were de-tected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in 214 cases of CHD and 64 cases of normal control group.CTGF gene rs9399005 single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)was analyzed by Sanger method.Baseline clinical data,serum CTGF and genotype distribution frequencies