Introduction To quantify optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) signal changes at the level of the choriocapillaris (CC) in patients with different stages of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) and to explore any correlation between subretinal fluid (SRF) and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) alterations and the OCTA CC signal. Methods One hundred one CSC eyes and 42 healthy control eyes were included in this retrospective study. CSC patients were allocated into four groups: acute, non-resolving, chronic atrophic and inactive CSC. CC OCTA images (AngioPlex ® , Zeiss) were automatically quantified using an image-processing algorithm. Spatial correlation analysis of OCTA signals was performed by overlapping macular edema heatmaps and fundus autofluorescence images with corresponding OCTA images. Results Active CSC subgroups demonstrated significantly more increased and decreased flow pixels in the CC compared with controls ( p < 0.0001). No significant OCTA changes were seen within the active CSC groups or between the inactive and healthy subgroup. Spatial correlation analysis revealed a decreased OCTA signal in the SRF area and an increased signal outside the SRF area in acute CSC. Areas of RPE atrophy co-localized with areas of increased choriocapillaris OCTA signal, while areas with RPE alterations exhibited a normal signal compared with unaffected RPE. Conclusion The decreased OCTA signal in the area of SRF in acute CSC could be evidence of localized CC hypoperfusion or due to shadowing artifacts. The missing CC OCTA changes in altered RPE adjacent to atrophy argues against CC injury. Studies with higher resolution and optimized image acquisition are warranted to further validate our findings. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s40123-018-0159-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Allogenic transplants of the cornea are prone to rejection, especially in repetitive transplantation and in scarred or highly vascularized recipient sites. Patients with these ailments would particularly benefit from the possibility to use non-immunogenic decellularized tissue scaffolds for transplantation, which may be repopulated by host cells in situ or in vitro. So, the aim of this study was to develop a fast and efficient decellularization method for creating a human corneal extracellular matrix scaffold suitable for repopulation with human cells from the corneal limbus. To decellularize human donor corneas, sodium deoxycholate, deoxyribonuclease I, and dextran were assessed to remove cells and nuclei and to control tissue swelling, respectively. We evaluated the decellularization effects on the ultrastructure, optical, mechanical, and biological properties of the human cornea. Scaffold recellularization was studied using primary human limbal epithelial cells, stromal cells, and melanocytes in vitro and a lamellar transplantation approach ex vivo. Our data strongly suggest that this approach allowed the effective removal of cellular and nuclear material in a very short period of time while preserving extracellular matrix proteins, glycosaminoglycans, tissue structure, and optical transmission properties. In vitro recellularization demonstrated good biocompatibility of the decellularized human cornea and ex vivo transplantation revealed complete epithelialization and stromal repopulation from the host tissue. Thus, the generated decellularized human corneal scaffold could be a promising biological material for anterior corneal reconstruction in the treatment of corneal defects.

Leveraging linguistic relativity theory which suggests that language systems structure thought and action, we investigate the relationship between gendered linguistic structures and the persistent gender gap in early–stage entrepreneurial activity. We use country–level data from 105 countries in 2001–2015 with 55 different languages, and incorporate 32 controls covering a broad range of factors previously associated with entrepreneurial activity. We find that in countries where the dominant language's structure incorporates sex–based systems and gender–differentiated pronouns, there is a greater gender gap in entrepreneurial activity. Our results suggest that gendered linguistic structures reinforce gender stereotypes and discourage women's entry into entrepreneurship.