This cross-sectional study develops deep-learning algorithms to estimate retinal sensitivity from optical coherence tomographic scans in patients with macular telangiectasia type 2.

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Summary A vast array of herbivorous arthropods live with symbiotic microorganisms. However, little is known about the nature and functional mechanism of bacterial effects on plant defense responses towards herbivores. We explored the role of microbes present in extracts of oral secretion (OS) isolated from larvae of Spodoptera litura, a generalist herbivore, in phytohormone signaling‐dependent defense responses in Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis). In response to mechanical damage (MD) with application of bacteria‐free OS (OS–) prepared by sterilization or filtration of OS, Arabidopsis leaves exhibited enhanced de novo synthesis of oxylipins, and induction of transcript abundance of the responsible genes, in comparison to those in leaves with MD + nonsterilized OS (OS+), indicating that OS bacteria serve as suppressors of these genes. By contrast, de novo synthesis/signaling of salicylic acid and signaling of abscisic acid were enhanced by OS bacteria. These signaling networks were cross‐regulated by each other. Meta‐analysis of OS bacteria identified 70 bacterial strains. Among them was Staphylococcus epidermidis, an anaerobic staphylococcus that was shown to contribute to the suppression/manipulation of phytohormone‐dependent plant defense signaling. The presence of OS bacteria was consequently beneficial for S. litura larvae hosted by Brassicaceae.

Purpose To examine whether sociodemographic, and ocular factors relate to optical coherence tomography (OCT)–derived foveal curvature (FC) in healthy individuals. Methods We developed a deep learning model to quantify OCT-derived FC from 63,939 participants (age range, 39–70 years). Associations of FC with sociodemographic, and ocular factors were obtained using multilevel regression analysis (to allow for right and left eyes) adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, height (model 1), visual acuity, spherical equivalent, corneal astigmatism, center point retinal thickness (CPRT), intraocular pressure (model 2), deprivation (Townsend index), higher education, annual income, and birth order (model 3). Fovea curvature was modeled as a z-score. Results Males had on average steeper FC (0.077; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.077–0.078) than females (0.068; 95% CI 0.068–0.069). Compared with whites, non-white individuals showed flatter FC, particularly those of black ethnicity. In black males, −0.80 standard deviation (SD) change when compared with whites (95% CI −0.89, −0.71; P 5.2e10 −68 ). In black females, −0.70 SD change when compared with whites (95% CI −0.77, −0.63; p 2.3e10 −93 ). Ocular factors (visual acuity, refractive status, and CPRT) showed a graded inverse association with FC that persisted after adjustment. Macular curvature showed a positive association with FC. Income showed a linear trend increase in males ( P for linear trend = 0.005). Conclusions We demonstrate marked differences in FC with ethnicity on the largest cohort studied for this purpose to date. Ocular factors showed a graded association with FC. Implementation of FC quantification in research and on the clinical setting can enhance the understanding of clinical macular phenotypes in health and disease.