Association of Nailfold Capillary Abnormalities With Primary Open-angle Glaucoma and Glaucomatous Visual Field Loss.

PRECIS: Nailfold capillary abnormalities are associated with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and increased severity of global and central glaucomatous visual field (VF) loss. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether nailfold capillary abnormalities are associated with POAG and the severity of glaucomatous VF loss. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 83 POAG cases and 40 controls was conducted. Nailfold capillaroscopy images were assessed by masked graders for dilated capillaries >50 µm, crossed capillaries, tortuous capillaries, hemorrhages, avascular zones >100 µm, capillary density, and capillary distribution. VF loss in glaucoma cases was quantified using mean deviation and mean central pattern standard deviation (PSD) from the worst-affected eye. RESULTS: Logistic regression analyses of cases and controls showed that avascular zones [odds ratio (OR)=1.24; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 1.47; P=0.005], capillary density (OR=0.63; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.83; P<0.001), and capillary distribution (OR=7.88; 95% 95% CI: 2.53, 28.40; P=0.001) were associated with POAG. Simple linear regression analysis of cases only showed that nailfold hemorrhages were associated with mean deviation (ß=-5.10; 95% CI: -9.20, -1.01; P=0.015) and mean central PSD (ß=-4.37; 95% CI: -8.18, -0.57; P=0.025), and this remained significant in the multiple linear regressions. After controlling for demographic and clinical factors, avascular zones were associated with both mean deviation (ß=-0.76; 95% CI: -1.48, -0.04; P=0.040) and mean central PSD (ß=-0.78; 95% CI: -1.45, -0.10; P=0.024), whereas capillary distribution was only associated with mean deviation (ß=-4.67; 95% CI: -7.92, -1.43; P=0.017). CONCLUSION: Nailfold capillary abnormalities are associated with POAG as well as increased global and central vision loss.

Monitoring Criminal Activity through Invisible Fluorescent "Peptide Coding" Taggants.

Complementing the demand for effective crime reduction measures are the increasing availability of commercial forensic "taggants", which may be used to physically mark an object in order to make it uniquely identifiable. This study explores the use of a novel "peptide coding" reagents to establish evidence of contact transfer during criminal activity. The reagent, containing a fluorophore dispersed within an oil-based medium, also includes a unique synthetic peptide sequence that acts as a traceable "code" to identify the origin of the taggant. The reagent is detectable through its fluorescent properties, which then allows the peptide to be recovered by swabbing and extracted for electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) analysis via a simple liquid-liquid extraction procedure. The performance of the reagent in variable conditions that mimic the limits of a real world use are investigated.