Toth, C. A. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2024

Optical Clearing with Tartrazine Enables Deep Transscleral Imaging with Optical Coherence Tomography

Suprachoroidal injections are a relatively new method of drug delivery to treat retinal disease. At present, it is difficult to visualize the distribution of injection-delivered product beneath the sclera into the suprachoroidal space. Imaging the suprachoroidal space with OCT is hindered by scattering of light from densely packed collagen fibers of the sclera, limiting depth penetration of the OCT light. In this Letter, we demonstrate the first use of tartrazine (Yellow 5) as an optical clearing agent for suprachoroidal research imaging with OCT in an ex vivo eye model. Our results show that this clearing agent dramatically improves visualization of the choroid and suprachoroidal space with transscleral OCT and allows for improved imaging of the location and extent of delivered suprachoroidal fluid. We believe these methods will enable use of optical techniques such as OCT to image through a variety of previously optically inaccessible, highly scattering tissue samples.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2022

Heritage of ancient cultures supports conservation: a continent-wide perspective from the Eurasian steppes

Civilisations including ancient ones, have shaped the global ecosystems in many ways through a co-evolution of landscapes and humans. However, the cultural legacies of ancient and lost civilisations are seldom considered in conservation. Here using a continental-scale dataset containing over 1,000 data records on the localities, land cover, protection status and cultural values related to ancient steppic burial mounds (so-called kurgans), we evaluated how these iconic and widespread landmarks can contribute to grassland conservation in the Eurasian steppes, which is one of the most endangered biomes on Earth. By using Bayesian logistic generalized regressions and proportional odds logistic regressions, we aimed to reveal the potential of mounds in preserving grasslands considering landscapes with different levels of land use transformation. We also compared the conservation potential of mounds situated inside and outside protected areas and assessed whether the presence of cultural, historical or spiritual values support the maintenance of grasslands on them. We revealed that kurgans have enormous importance in preserving grasslands in transformed landscapes outside protected areas, where they can act as habitat islands, and provide an additional pillar for conservation by contributing to habitat conservation and improvement of habitat connectivity. We found that besides their steep slopes hindering ploughing, the existence of cultural, historical or religious values could almost double the chance for grassland occurrence on kurgans due to the related extensive land use and the respect of local communities. As the estimated number of steppic mounds is about 600,000 and also similar historical features exist in all continents, our results can be upscaled to a global level. Our results also suggest that an integrative socio-ecological approach in conservation might support the positive synergistic effects of conservational, landscape and cultural values.

ecology↗