The southwestern Iran is one of the regions that are most prone to dust events.The objective of this study is the analysis of the spatial and temporal distributions of dust deposition rate as a key factor for finding ...The southwestern Iran is one of the regions that are most prone to dust events.The objective of this study is the analysis of the spatial and temporal distributions of dust deposition rate as a key factor for finding the relative impact of the dust.First,the monthly mean aerosol optical thickness(AOT)from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS)was analyzed and compared with the dust amount variations from ground deposition rate(GDR),and the results were further used to investigate the spatial and temporal distributions of dust events in southwestern Iran for the period between 2014 and 2015.Moving air mass trajectories,using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory(HYSPLIT)model,were proven to be a discriminator of their local and regional origin.The results from GDR analysis produced a correlation coefficient between dust event history and deposition rates at dust magnitudes of>0.93 that is meaningful at the 95%confidence level.Furthermore,the deposition rates varied from 3 g/m2 per month in summer to 10 g/m2 per month in spring and gave insight into the transport direction of the dust.Within the same time series,AOT correspondences with MODIS on Terra in four aerosol thickness layers(clean,thin,thick,and strong thick)were shown in relation to each other.The deepest mixed layers were observed in spring and summer with a thickness of approximately 3500 m above ground level in the study area.Investigations of ground-based observations were correlated with the same variations for each aerosol thickness layer from MODIS images and they can be applied to discriminate layers of aeolian dust from layers of other aerosols.Together,dust distribution plots from AOT participated to enhance mass calculations and estimation deposition rates from the thick and strong thick aerosol thickness layers using the results from GDR.Despite all the advances of AOT,under certain circumstances,ground-based observations are better able to represent aerosol conditions over the study area,which were tested in southwestern Iran,even though the low number of observations is a commonly acknowledged drawback of GDR.展开更多
This paper presents a method for retrieving optical parameters from volcanic sulfate aerosols from the AHI radiometer on board the Himawari-8 satellite.The proposed method is based on optical models for various mixtur...This paper presents a method for retrieving optical parameters from volcanic sulfate aerosols from the AHI radiometer on board the Himawari-8 satellite.The proposed method is based on optical models for various mixtures of aerosol components from volcanic clouds,including ash particles,ice crystals,water drops,and sulfate aerosol droplets.The application of multi-component optical models of various aerosol compositions allows for the optical thickness and mass loading of sulfate aerosol to be estimated in the sulfuric cloud formed after the Karymsky volcano eruption on 3 November 2021.A comprehensive analysis of the brightness temperatures of the sulfuric cloud in the infrared bands was performed,which revealed that the cloud was composed of a mixture of sulfate aerosol and water droplets.Using models of various aerosol compositions allows for the satellite-based estimation of optical parameters not only for sulfate aerosol but also for the whole aerosol mixture.展开更多
We propose a new method to estimate surface-level particulate matter(PM)concentrations by using satellite-retrieved Aerosol Optical Thickness(AOT).This method considers the distribution and variation of Planetary Boun...We propose a new method to estimate surface-level particulate matter(PM)concentrations by using satellite-retrieved Aerosol Optical Thickness(AOT).This method considers the distribution and variation of Planetary Boundary Layer(PBL)height and relative humidity(RH)at the regional scale.The method estimates surface-level particulate matter concentrations using the data simulated by an atmospheric boundary layer model RAMS and satellite-retrieved AOT.By incorporation MODIS AOT,PBL height and RH simulated by RAMS,this method is applied to estimate the surface-level PM 2.5 concentrations in North China region.The result is evaluated by using 16 ground-based observations deployed in the research region,and the result shows a good agreement between estimated PM 2.5 concentrations and observations,and the coefficient of determination R2 is 0.61 between the estimated PM 2.5 concentrations and the observations.In addition,surface-level PM 2.5 concentrations are also estimated by using MODIS AOT,ground-based LIDAR observations and RH measurements.A comparison between the two estimated PM 2.5 concentrations shows that the new method proposed in this paper is better than the traditional method.The coefficient of determination R2 is improved from 0.32 to 0.62.展开更多
AIM： To evaluate choroidal thickness, medium choroidal vessel thickness（MCVT） and large choroidal vessel thickness（LCVT） in normal children and adult subjects.METHODS： Manual measurements of subfoveal choroidal ...AIM： To evaluate choroidal thickness, medium choroidal vessel thickness（MCVT） and large choroidal vessel thickness（LCVT） in normal children and adult subjects.METHODS： Manual measurements of subfoveal choroidal thickness（SFCT）, MCVT and LCVT at subfoveal and 750 μm nasal and temporal to fovea locations were completed on enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography（EDI-OCT） scans of normal children and adult subjects.RESULTS： Fifty adult and fifty-seven child subjects were included in the study（including 80 adult and 103 child eyes）. Mean（±SD） SFCT of adult and children eyes in the study was 309.3±95.7 μm and 279.3±50.4 μm respectively. SFCT and subfoveal MCVT in adult eyes were significantly more than children（P=0.01 and P≤0.0001 respectively）.CONCLUSION： There is choroidal thickening with associated thickening of medium choroidal vessels in adults, suggesting that there is alteration in choroidal vasculature with ageing.展开更多
Mathematical modeling of the interaction between solar radiation and the Earth's atmosphere is formalized by the radiative transfer equation(RTE), whose resolution calls for two-stream approximations among other m...Mathematical modeling of the interaction between solar radiation and the Earth's atmosphere is formalized by the radiative transfer equation(RTE), whose resolution calls for two-stream approximations among other methods. This paper proposes a new two-stream approximation of the RTE with the development of the phase function and the intensity into a third-order series of Legendre polynomials. This new approach, which adds one more term in the expression of the intensity and the phase function, allows in the conditions of a plane parallel atmosphere a new mathematical formulation of γparameters. It is then compared to the Eddington, Hemispheric Constant, Quadrature, Combined Delta Function and Modified Eddington, and second-order approximation methods with reference to the Discrete Ordinate(Disort) method(δ –128 streams), considered as the most precise. This work also determines the conversion function of the proposed New Method using the fundamental definition of two-stream approximation(F-TSA) developed in a previous work. Notably,New Method has generally better precision compared to the second-order approximation and Hemispheric Constant methods. Compared to the Quadrature and Eddington methods, New Method shows very good precision for wide domains of the zenith angle μ 0, but tends to deviate from the Disort method with the zenith angle, especially for high values of optical thickness. In spite of this divergence in reflectance for high values of optical thickness, very strong correlation with the Disort method(R ≈ 1) was obtained for most cases of optical thickness in this study. An analysis of the Legendre polynomial series for simple functions shows that the high precision is due to the fact that the approximated functions ameliorate the accuracy when the order of approximation increases, although it has been proven that there is a limit order depending on the function from which the precision is lost. This observation indicates that increasing the order of approximation of the phase function of the RTE leads to a better precision in flux calculations. However, this approach may be limited to a certain order that has not been studied in this paper.展开更多
Based on Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer （TOMS） monthly aerosol optical thickness （AOT） measurements in 1980–2001 a study is made of space/time patterns and difference between land and sea of AOT 0.50 μm thick ...Based on Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer （TOMS） monthly aerosol optical thickness （AOT） measurements in 1980–2001 a study is made of space/time patterns and difference between land and sea of AOT 0.50 μm thick over China,which are put into correlation analysis with synchronous extreme temperature indices （warm/cold day and night）.Results suggest that 1） the long-term mean AOT over China is characterized by typical geography,with pronounced land-sea contrast.And AOT has significant seasonality and its seasonal difference is diminished as a function of latitude.2） On the whole,the AOT displays an appreciably increasing trend,with the distinct increase in the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and SW China,North China,the mid-lower Changjiang （MiLY） valley as well as the South China Sea,but marginal decrease over western/northern Xinjiang and part of South China.3） The AOT over land and sea is marked by conspicuous intra-seasonal and -yearly oscillations,with remarkable periods at one-,two-yr and more （as interannual periods）.4） Land AOT change is well correlated with extremely temperature indexes.Generally,the correlations of AOT to the extreme temperature indices are more significant in Eastern China with 110 ° E as the division.Their high-correlation regions are along the Southern China coastline,the Loess Plateau and the Sichuan Basin,and even higher in North China Plain and the mid-lower Changjiang River reaches.5） Simulations of LMDZ-regional model indicate that aerosol effects may result in cooling all over China,particularly in Eastern China.The contribution of aerosol change may result in more decrease in the maximum temperature than the minimum,with decrease of 0.11/0.08 K for zonal average,respectively.展开更多
Seasonal variation of the Tianjin coastal atmospheric aerosol opticalproperties are important for improving the atmosphere correction precision of marinesatellite and learning the environment of the boundary between t...Seasonal variation of the Tianjin coastal atmospheric aerosol opticalproperties are important for improving the atmosphere correction precision of marinesatellite and learning the environment of the boundary between the Bohai Sea and theland. In this paper, the aerosol optical data of Tianjin coastal area from April 2010 toMay 2011 were observed by using the CE317 Solar Photometer, and the aerosol opticalproperties were analyzed. The results show that: Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT)spectra are basically in accord with Angstrom relationship; there are three basic typesof AOT daily variations, which are rising type, levelling type, and declining type; inTianjin Coastland, the mean value of AOT is highest in autumn, which is 0.686. Thevalue is lower in spring and summer, and hits the lowest point in winter. Angstromexponent α increases successively from spring, summer, autumn to winter. Due to thedusty, the angstrom exponent α in spring is lowest, the mean of which is 0.854.Compared with Qingdao Coastland, the atmospheric aerosol optical properties presentcharacteristics of regionality.展开更多
AIMTo determine peripapillary retinal fiber layer thickness (RNFL) measured with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in normal and glaucomatous eyes in a large sample of exclusively white population ...AIMTo determine peripapillary retinal fiber layer thickness (RNFL) measured with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in normal and glaucomatous eyes in a large sample of exclusively white population and compare results with other similarly constructed studies.展开更多
Ethambutol is a common cause of drug-related optic neuropathy.Prediction of the onset of ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy and consequent drug withdrawal may be an effective method to stop visual loss.Previous studi...Ethambutol is a common cause of drug-related optic neuropathy.Prediction of the onset of ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy and consequent drug withdrawal may be an effective method to stop visual loss.Previous studies have shown that structural injury to the optic nerve occurred earlier than the damage to visual function.Therefore,we decided to detect structural biomarkers marking visual field loss in early stage ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy.The thickness of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer,macular thickness and visual sensitivity loss would be observed in 11 ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy patients（22 eyes） using optical coherence tomography.Twenty-four healthy age-and sex-matched participants（48 eyes） were used as controls.Results demonstrated that the temporal peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and average macular thickness were thinner in patients with ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy compared with healthy controls.The average macular thickness was strongly positively correlated with central visual sensitivity loss（r2=0.878,P=0.000）.These findings suggest that optical coherence tomography can be used to efficiently screen patients.Macular thickness loss could be a potential factor for predicting the onset of ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy.展开更多
Data on aerosol optical thickness(AOT) and single scattering albedo(SSA) derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer(MODIS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument(OMI) measurements,respectively,are used jointly to ...Data on aerosol optical thickness(AOT) and single scattering albedo(SSA) derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer(MODIS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument(OMI) measurements,respectively,are used jointly to examine the seasonal variations of aerosols over East Asia.The seasonal signals of the total AOT are well defined and nearly similar over the land and over the ocean.These findings indicate a natural cycle of aerosols that originate primarily from natural emissions. In contrast,the small-sized aerosols represented by the fine-mode AOT,which are primarily generated over the land by human activities,do not have evident seasonalscale fluctuations.A persistent maximum of aerosol loadings centered over the Sichuan basin is associated with considerable amounts of fine-mode aerosols throughout the year.Most regions exhibit a general spring maximum. During the summer,however,the aerosol loadings are the most marked over north central China.This occurrence may result from anthropogenic fine particles,such as sulfate and nitrate.Four typical regions were selected to perform a covariation analysis of the monthly gridded AOT and SSA.Over southwestern and southeastern China,if the aerosol loadings are small to moderate they are composed primarily of the highly absorptive aerosols. However,more substantial aerosol loadings probably represent less-absorptive aerosols.The opposite covariation pattern occurring over the coastal-adjacent oceans suggests that the polluted oceanic atmosphere is closely correlated with the windward terrestrial aerosols.North central China is strongly affected by dust aerosols that show moderate absorption.This finding may explain the lower variability in the SSA that accompanies increasing aerosol loadings in this region.展开更多
A dust deflation module was developed and coupled with the air quality modeling system RAMS-CMAQ to simultaneously treat all the major tropospheric aerosols（i.e.,organic and black carbons,sulfate,nitrate, ammonia,soi...A dust deflation module was developed and coupled with the air quality modeling system RAMS-CMAQ to simultaneously treat all the major tropospheric aerosols（i.e.,organic and black carbons,sulfate,nitrate, ammonia,soil dust,and sea salt）.Then the coupled system was applied to East Asia to simulate Asian dust aerosol generation,transport and dry/wet removal processes during 14-25 March 2002 when two strong dust storms occurred consecutively.To evaluate model performance and to analyze the observed features of dust aerosols over the East Asian region,model results were compared to concentrations of suspended particulate matter of 10μm or less(PM;;1-h intervals) at four remote Japanese stations and daily air pollution index （API） values for PM;at four large Chinese cities.The modeled values were generally in good agreement with observed data,and the model reasonably reproduced two dust storm outbreaks and generally predicted the dust onset and cessation times at each observation site.In addition,hourly averaged values of aerosol optical thickness（AOT） were calculated and compared with observations at four Aerosol Robotic Network （AERONET） stations to assess the model’s capability of estimating dust aerosol column burden.Analysis shows that modeled and observed AOT values were generally comparable and that the contribution of dust aerosols to AOT was significant only with regard to their source regions and their transport paths.展开更多
Satellite and human visual observation are two of the most important observation approaches for cloud cover. In this study, the total cloud cover （TCC） observed by MODIS onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites was com...Satellite and human visual observation are two of the most important observation approaches for cloud cover. In this study, the total cloud cover （TCC） observed by MODIS onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites was compared with Synop meteorological station observations over the North China Plain and its surrounding regions for 11 years during daytime and 7 years during nighttime. The Synop data were recorded eight times a day at 3-h intervals. Linear interpolation was used to interpolate the Synop data to the MODIS overpass time in order to reduce the temporal deviation between the satellite and Synop observations. Results showed that MODIS-derived TCC had good consistency with the Synop observations; the correlation coefficients ranged from 0.56 in winter to 0.73 in summer for Terra MODIS, and from 0.55 in winter to 0.71 in summer for Aqua MODIS. However, they also had certain differences. On average, the MODIS-derived TCC was 15.16% higher than the Synop data, and this value was higher at nighttime （15.58%-16.64%） than daytime （12.74%-14.14%）. The deviation between the MODIS and Synop TCC had large seasonal variation, being largest in winter （29.53%-31.07%） and smallest in summer （4.46%-6.07%）. Analysis indicated that cloud with low cloud-top height and small cloud optical thickness was more likely to cause observation bias. Besides, an increase in the satellite view zenith angle, aerosol optical depth, or snow cover could lead to positively biased MODIS results, and this affect differed among different cloud types.展开更多
To acquire high-quality operational data products for Chinese in-orbit and scheduled ocean color sensors, the performances of two operational atmospheric correction(AC) algorithms(ESA MEGS 7.4.1 and NASA Sea DAS 6.1) ...To acquire high-quality operational data products for Chinese in-orbit and scheduled ocean color sensors, the performances of two operational atmospheric correction(AC) algorithms(ESA MEGS 7.4.1 and NASA Sea DAS 6.1) were evaluated over the East China Seas(ECS) using MERIS data. The spectral remote sensing reflectance R_(rs)(λ), aerosol optical thickness(AOT), and ?ngstr?m exponent(α) retrieved using the two algorithms were validated using in situ measurements obtained between May 2002 and October 2009. Match-ups of R_(rs), AOT, and α between the in situ and MERIS data were obtained through strict exclusion criteria. Statistical analysis of R_(rs)(λ) showed a mean percentage difference(MPD) of 9%–13% in the 490–560 nm spectral range, and significant overestimation was observed at 413 nm(MPD>72%). The AOTs were overestimated(MPD>32%), and although the ESA algorithm outperformed the NASA algorithm in the blue-green bands, the situation was reversed in the red-near-infrared bands. The value of α was obviously underestimated by the ESA algorithm(MPD=41%) but not by the NASA algorithm(MPD=35%). To clarify why the NASA algorithm performed better in the retrieval of α, scatter plots of the α single scattering albedo(SSA) density were prepared. These α-SSA density scatter plots showed that the applicability of the aerosol models used by the NASA algorithm over the ECS is better than that used by the ESA algorithm, although neither aerosol model is suitable for the ECS region. The results of this study provide a reference to both data users and data agencies regarding the use of operational data products and the investigation into the improvement of current AC schemes over the ECS.展开更多
Atmospheric radiative fluxes are evaluated for the line-by-line model of spectral lines in considering the atmosphere as a weakly nonuniform plane layer and altitude profiles of its parameters are taken from the model...Atmospheric radiative fluxes are evaluated for the line-by-line model of spectral lines in considering the atmosphere as a weakly nonuniform plane layer and altitude profiles of its parameters are taken from the model of standard atmosphere.Concepts of molecular spectroscopy are combined with the local thermodynamic equilibrium for greenhouse gases and with information from HITRAN data base for parameters of radiative transitions.In addition,the energetic balance of the Earth allows one to determine the radiative flux from clouds.As a result,the algorithm is worked out for evaluation of the atmospheric radiative flux toward the Earth depending on its composition.We below concentrate on the change of atmospheric radiative fluxes as a result of doubling of the concentration of CO2 molecules.It is shown that the change of the global temperature in this case according to the above algorithm in 5-6 times exceeds that followed from climatological models which are based on old spectral data,rather than those from HITRAN data base.These codes ignore overlapping of spectral lines of atmospheric radiators.展开更多
AIM：To evaluate the retinal vessel diameters in patients with migraine by optical coherence tomography（OCT）.METHODS：In this cross-sectional study,124 eyes of 62 patients with a diagnosis of unilateral migraine dur...AIM：To evaluate the retinal vessel diameters in patients with migraine by optical coherence tomography（OCT）.METHODS：In this cross-sectional study,124 eyes of 62 patients with a diagnosis of unilateral migraine during attack-free period and 42 age-and sex-matched control subjects were included. Migraine patients were divided into the ≤2 migraine attacks per month group and the ≥5 migraine attacks per month group. All subjects underwent complete ophthalmological and neurological examinations before measurements. Retinal vessel diameters and choroidal thickness were examined with the Spectralis OCT.RESULTS：The mean diameters of the arteries in the eyes on the headache side of control group,≥5 migraine attacks per month and ≤2 migraine attacks per month group at 480 μm from the optic disk（Raster 3）were 119.54±46.69,136.68±25.93 and 119.34±31.75 μm respectively with a steady decline to 105.57±32.15,118.18±31.87 and 108.05±38.77 μm at 1440 μm（Raster 7）,the last measurement point,respectively. The retinal artery diameter measurements were significantly increased in ≥5 migraine attacks per month patients at four out of five measured points compared to control group（P〈0.05）. There were no statistical differences at any of the points of vein measurements. The choroidal thickness measurements were significantly decreased in ≥5 migraine attacks per month patients at all measured points compared to control group（P〈0.05）.CONCLUSION：The retinal artery diameter is found to increase significantly and the choroidal thickness is found to decrease in the eyes on the headache side in ≥5 migraine attacks per month patients compared to control group.展开更多
AIM： To determine the thickness of the retinal ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer（GCIPL） and the retinal nerve fiber layer（RNFL） in patients with neuromyelitis optica（NMO）.METHODS： We conducted a cross-sectio...AIM： To determine the thickness of the retinal ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer（GCIPL） and the retinal nerve fiber layer（RNFL） in patients with neuromyelitis optica（NMO）.METHODS： We conducted a cross-sectional study that included 30 NMO patients with a total of 60 eyes. Based on the presence or absence of optic neuritis（ON）, subjects were divided into either the NMO-ON group（30 eyes） or the NMO-ON contra group（10 eyes）. A detailed ophthalmologic examination was performed for each group; subsequently, the GCIPL and the RNFL were measured using highdefinition optical coherence tomography（OCT）. RESULTS： In the NMO-ON group, the mean GCIPL thickness was 69.28±21.12 μm, the minimum GCIPL thickness was 66.02±10.02 μm, and the RNFL thickness were 109.33±11.23, 110.47±3.10, 64.92±12.71 and 71.21±50.22 μm in the superior, inferior, temporal and nasal quadrants, respectively. In the NMO-ON contra group, the mean GCIPL thickness was 85.12±17.09 μm, the minimum GCIPL thickness was 25.39±25.1 μm, and the RNFL thicknesses were 148.33±23.22, 126.36±23.45, 82.21±22.30 and 83.36±31.28 μm in the superior, inferior, temporal and nasal quadrants, respectively. In the control group, the mean GCIPL thickness was 86.98±22.37 μm, the minimum GCIPL thickness was 85.28±10.75 μm, and the RNFL thicknesses were 150.22±22.73, 154.79±60.23, 82.33±7.01 and 85.62±13.81 μm in the superior, inferior, temporal and nasal quadrants, respectively. The GCIPL and RNFL were thinner in the NMO-ON contra group than in the control group（P〈0.05）; additionally, the RNFL was thinner in the inferior quadrant in the NMO-ON group than in the control group（P〈0.05）. Significant correlations were observed between the GCIPL and RNFL thickness measurements as well as between thickness measurements and the two visual field parameters of mean deviation（MD） and corrected pattern standard deviation（PSD） in the NMO-ON group（P〈0.05）. CONCLUSION： The thickness of the GCIPL and RNFL, as measured using OCT, may indicate optic nerve damage in patients with NMO.展开更多
This paper investigates the radial refractive index and optical and physical thicknesses of porous silicon （PS） layers prepared by pulse etching by means of reflectance spectroscopy,photoluminescence spectroscopy an...This paper investigates the radial refractive index and optical and physical thicknesses of porous silicon （PS） layers prepared by pulse etching by means of reflectance spectroscopy,photoluminescence spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.The relationship between the radial refractive index and optical thickness of the PS sample and the position away from the etched centre along the radial direction has been analyzed in detail. With the position farther away from the etched centre,the SEM image shows that the physical thickness of the PS sample decreases slowly,whereas intensely decreases from 2.48 to 1.72μm near the edge at a distance of 58μm.Moreover,the radial refractive index increases,indicating that the porosity becomes smaller.Meanwhile,the reflectance spectra exhibit the less intense interference oscillations,which mean that the uniformity and interface smoothness of the PS layers become worse,and the envelope curves of photoluminescence spectra exhibit a trend of blue-shift,indicating a reduction in nanocrystal dimensions.The PS micro-cavity is prepared to study the radial optical properties of the PS layer,and the results verify that the uniformity and smoothness of the PS layer in the centre are better than those at the edge.展开更多
The optical properties of porous silicon（PS） samples fabricated by pulse etching in a temperature range from-40 to 50-C have been investigated using reflectance spectroscopy,photoluminescence spectroscopy,and scanni...The optical properties of porous silicon（PS） samples fabricated by pulse etching in a temperature range from-40 to 50-C have been investigated using reflectance spectroscopy,photoluminescence spectroscopy,and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.The dependence of the optical parameters,such as the refractive index n and the optical thickness（nd） of PS samples,on the etching temperature has been analyzed in detail.As the etching temperature decreases,n decreases,indicating a higher porosity,and the physical thickness of PS samples also decreases.Meanwhile,the reflectance spectra exhibit a more intense interference band and the interfaces are smoother.In addition,the intensity of the PL emission spectra is dramatically increased.展开更多
Previous studies have indicated regional abnormalities of both gray and white matter in amblyopia. However, alterations of cortical thickness associated with changes in white matter integrity have rarely been reported...Previous studies have indicated regional abnormalities of both gray and white matter in amblyopia. However, alterations of cortical thickness associated with changes in white matter integrity have rarely been reported. In this study, structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） data were obtained from 15 children with anisometropic amblyopia and 15 age- and gender-matched children with normal sight. Combining DTI and surface-based morphometry, we examined a potential linkage between disrupted white matter integrity and altered cortical thickness. The fractional anisotropy （FA） values in the optic radiations （ORs） of children with anisometropic amblyopia were lower than in controls （P 〈 0.05）. The cortical thickness in amblyopic children was lower than controls in the following subregions： lin- gual cortex, lateral occipitotemporal gyrus, cuneus, occip- ital lobe, inferior parietal lobe, and temporal lobe （P 〈 0.05, corrected）, but was higher in the calcarine gyrus （P 〈 0.05, corrected）. Node-by-node correlation analysis of changes in cortical thickness revealed a significant association between a lower FA value in the OR and diminished cortical thickness in the following subregions： medial lingual cortex, lateral occipitotemporal gyrus, lat- eral, superior, and medial occipital cortex, and lunate cortex. We also found a relationship between changes of cortical thickness and white matter OR integrity in amblyopia. These findings indicate that developmental changes occur simultaneously in the OR and visual cortex in amblyopia, and provide key information on complex damage of brain networks in anisometropic amblyopia. Our results also support the hypothesis that the pathogenesis of anisometropic amblyopia is neurodevelopmental.展开更多
文摘The southwestern Iran is one of the regions that are most prone to dust events.The objective of this study is the analysis of the spatial and temporal distributions of dust deposition rate as a key factor for finding the relative impact of the dust.First,the monthly mean aerosol optical thickness(AOT)from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS)was analyzed and compared with the dust amount variations from ground deposition rate(GDR),and the results were further used to investigate the spatial and temporal distributions of dust events in southwestern Iran for the period between 2014 and 2015.Moving air mass trajectories,using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory(HYSPLIT)model,were proven to be a discriminator of their local and regional origin.The results from GDR analysis produced a correlation coefficient between dust event history and deposition rates at dust magnitudes of>0.93 that is meaningful at the 95%confidence level.Furthermore,the deposition rates varied from 3 g/m2 per month in summer to 10 g/m2 per month in spring and gave insight into the transport direction of the dust.Within the same time series,AOT correspondences with MODIS on Terra in four aerosol thickness layers(clean,thin,thick,and strong thick)were shown in relation to each other.The deepest mixed layers were observed in spring and summer with a thickness of approximately 3500 m above ground level in the study area.Investigations of ground-based observations were correlated with the same variations for each aerosol thickness layer from MODIS images and they can be applied to discriminate layers of aeolian dust from layers of other aerosols.Together,dust distribution plots from AOT participated to enhance mass calculations and estimation deposition rates from the thick and strong thick aerosol thickness layers using the results from GDR.Despite all the advances of AOT,under certain circumstances,ground-based observations are better able to represent aerosol conditions over the study area,which were tested in southwestern Iran,even though the low number of observations is a commonly acknowledged drawback of GDR.
基金The studies were carried out using the resources of the Center for Shared Use of Scientific Equipment“Center for Processing and Storage of Scientific Data of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences”(Sorokin et al.,2017)(Project No.075-15-2021-663).
文摘This paper presents a method for retrieving optical parameters from volcanic sulfate aerosols from the AHI radiometer on board the Himawari-8 satellite.The proposed method is based on optical models for various mixtures of aerosol components from volcanic clouds,including ash particles,ice crystals,water drops,and sulfate aerosol droplets.The application of multi-component optical models of various aerosol compositions allows for the optical thickness and mass loading of sulfate aerosol to be estimated in the sulfuric cloud formed after the Karymsky volcano eruption on 3 November 2021.A comprehensive analysis of the brightness temperatures of the sulfuric cloud in the infrared bands was performed,which revealed that the cloud was composed of a mixture of sulfate aerosol and water droplets.Using models of various aerosol compositions allows for the satellite-based estimation of optical parameters not only for sulfate aerosol but also for the whole aerosol mixture.
基金supported by National Department Public Benefit Research Foundation (Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China) (Grant No. 201009001)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41101327)
文摘We propose a new method to estimate surface-level particulate matter(PM)concentrations by using satellite-retrieved Aerosol Optical Thickness(AOT).This method considers the distribution and variation of Planetary Boundary Layer(PBL)height and relative humidity(RH)at the regional scale.The method estimates surface-level particulate matter concentrations using the data simulated by an atmospheric boundary layer model RAMS and satellite-retrieved AOT.By incorporation MODIS AOT,PBL height and RH simulated by RAMS,this method is applied to estimate the surface-level PM 2.5 concentrations in North China region.The result is evaluated by using 16 ground-based observations deployed in the research region,and the result shows a good agreement between estimated PM 2.5 concentrations and observations,and the coefficient of determination R2 is 0.61 between the estimated PM 2.5 concentrations and the observations.In addition,surface-level PM 2.5 concentrations are also estimated by using MODIS AOT,ground-based LIDAR observations and RH measurements.A comparison between the two estimated PM 2.5 concentrations shows that the new method proposed in this paper is better than the traditional method.The coefficient of determination R2 is improved from 0.32 to 0.62.
文摘AIM： To evaluate choroidal thickness, medium choroidal vessel thickness（MCVT） and large choroidal vessel thickness（LCVT） in normal children and adult subjects.METHODS： Manual measurements of subfoveal choroidal thickness（SFCT）, MCVT and LCVT at subfoveal and 750 μm nasal and temporal to fovea locations were completed on enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography（EDI-OCT） scans of normal children and adult subjects.RESULTS： Fifty adult and fifty-seven child subjects were included in the study（including 80 adult and 103 child eyes）. Mean（±SD） SFCT of adult and children eyes in the study was 309.3±95.7 μm and 279.3±50.4 μm respectively. SFCT and subfoveal MCVT in adult eyes were significantly more than children（P=0.01 and P≤0.0001 respectively）.CONCLUSION： There is choroidal thickening with associated thickening of medium choroidal vessels in adults, suggesting that there is alteration in choroidal vasculature with ageing.
文摘Mathematical modeling of the interaction between solar radiation and the Earth's atmosphere is formalized by the radiative transfer equation(RTE), whose resolution calls for two-stream approximations among other methods. This paper proposes a new two-stream approximation of the RTE with the development of the phase function and the intensity into a third-order series of Legendre polynomials. This new approach, which adds one more term in the expression of the intensity and the phase function, allows in the conditions of a plane parallel atmosphere a new mathematical formulation of γparameters. It is then compared to the Eddington, Hemispheric Constant, Quadrature, Combined Delta Function and Modified Eddington, and second-order approximation methods with reference to the Discrete Ordinate(Disort) method(δ –128 streams), considered as the most precise. This work also determines the conversion function of the proposed New Method using the fundamental definition of two-stream approximation(F-TSA) developed in a previous work. Notably,New Method has generally better precision compared to the second-order approximation and Hemispheric Constant methods. Compared to the Quadrature and Eddington methods, New Method shows very good precision for wide domains of the zenith angle μ 0, but tends to deviate from the Disort method with the zenith angle, especially for high values of optical thickness. In spite of this divergence in reflectance for high values of optical thickness, very strong correlation with the Disort method(R ≈ 1) was obtained for most cases of optical thickness in this study. An analysis of the Legendre polynomial series for simple functions shows that the high precision is due to the fact that the approximated functions ameliorate the accuracy when the order of approximation increases, although it has been proven that there is a limit order depending on the function from which the precision is lost. This observation indicates that increasing the order of approximation of the phase function of the RTE leads to a better precision in flux calculations. However, this approach may be limited to a certain order that has not been studied in this paper.
基金Foundation of Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster under contract No. KLME05001
文摘Based on Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer （TOMS） monthly aerosol optical thickness （AOT） measurements in 1980–2001 a study is made of space/time patterns and difference between land and sea of AOT 0.50 μm thick over China,which are put into correlation analysis with synchronous extreme temperature indices （warm/cold day and night）.Results suggest that 1） the long-term mean AOT over China is characterized by typical geography,with pronounced land-sea contrast.And AOT has significant seasonality and its seasonal difference is diminished as a function of latitude.2） On the whole,the AOT displays an appreciably increasing trend,with the distinct increase in the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and SW China,North China,the mid-lower Changjiang （MiLY） valley as well as the South China Sea,but marginal decrease over western/northern Xinjiang and part of South China.3） The AOT over land and sea is marked by conspicuous intra-seasonal and -yearly oscillations,with remarkable periods at one-,two-yr and more （as interannual periods）.4） Land AOT change is well correlated with extremely temperature indexes.Generally,the correlations of AOT to the extreme temperature indices are more significant in Eastern China with 110 ° E as the division.Their high-correlation regions are along the Southern China coastline,the Loess Plateau and the Sichuan Basin,and even higher in North China Plain and the mid-lower Changjiang River reaches.5） Simulations of LMDZ-regional model indicate that aerosol effects may result in cooling all over China,particularly in Eastern China.The contribution of aerosol change may result in more decrease in the maximum temperature than the minimum,with decrease of 0.11/0.08 K for zonal average,respectively.
基金supported by Science Foundation for The Excellent Youth Scholars of Tianjin
文摘Seasonal variation of the Tianjin coastal atmospheric aerosol opticalproperties are important for improving the atmosphere correction precision of marinesatellite and learning the environment of the boundary between the Bohai Sea and theland. In this paper, the aerosol optical data of Tianjin coastal area from April 2010 toMay 2011 were observed by using the CE317 Solar Photometer, and the aerosol opticalproperties were analyzed. The results show that: Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT)spectra are basically in accord with Angstrom relationship; there are three basic typesof AOT daily variations, which are rising type, levelling type, and declining type; inTianjin Coastland, the mean value of AOT is highest in autumn, which is 0.686. Thevalue is lower in spring and summer, and hits the lowest point in winter. Angstromexponent α increases successively from spring, summer, autumn to winter. Due to thedusty, the angstrom exponent α in spring is lowest, the mean of which is 0.854.Compared with Qingdao Coastland, the atmospheric aerosol optical properties presentcharacteristics of regionality.
文摘AIMTo determine peripapillary retinal fiber layer thickness (RNFL) measured with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in normal and glaucomatous eyes in a large sample of exclusively white population and compare results with other similarly constructed studies.
基金supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China(863 Program),No.2015AA020511
文摘Ethambutol is a common cause of drug-related optic neuropathy.Prediction of the onset of ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy and consequent drug withdrawal may be an effective method to stop visual loss.Previous studies have shown that structural injury to the optic nerve occurred earlier than the damage to visual function.Therefore,we decided to detect structural biomarkers marking visual field loss in early stage ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy.The thickness of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer,macular thickness and visual sensitivity loss would be observed in 11 ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy patients（22 eyes） using optical coherence tomography.Twenty-four healthy age-and sex-matched participants（48 eyes） were used as controls.Results demonstrated that the temporal peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and average macular thickness were thinner in patients with ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy compared with healthy controls.The average macular thickness was strongly positively correlated with central visual sensitivity loss（r2=0.878,P=0.000）.These findings suggest that optical coherence tomography can be used to efficiently screen patients.Macular thickness loss could be a potential factor for predicting the onset of ethambutol-induced optic neuropathy.
基金supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.KZCX2-YW-Q11-03)
文摘Data on aerosol optical thickness(AOT) and single scattering albedo(SSA) derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer(MODIS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument(OMI) measurements,respectively,are used jointly to examine the seasonal variations of aerosols over East Asia.The seasonal signals of the total AOT are well defined and nearly similar over the land and over the ocean.These findings indicate a natural cycle of aerosols that originate primarily from natural emissions. In contrast,the small-sized aerosols represented by the fine-mode AOT,which are primarily generated over the land by human activities,do not have evident seasonalscale fluctuations.A persistent maximum of aerosol loadings centered over the Sichuan basin is associated with considerable amounts of fine-mode aerosols throughout the year.Most regions exhibit a general spring maximum. During the summer,however,the aerosol loadings are the most marked over north central China.This occurrence may result from anthropogenic fine particles,such as sulfate and nitrate.Four typical regions were selected to perform a covariation analysis of the monthly gridded AOT and SSA.Over southwestern and southeastern China,if the aerosol loadings are small to moderate they are composed primarily of the highly absorptive aerosols. However,more substantial aerosol loadings probably represent less-absorptive aerosols.The opposite covariation pattern occurring over the coastal-adjacent oceans suggests that the polluted oceanic atmosphere is closely correlated with the windward terrestrial aerosols.North central China is strongly affected by dust aerosols that show moderate absorption.This finding may explain the lower variability in the SSA that accompanies increasing aerosol loadings in this region.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2007CB407303)the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q11-04)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41005064).
文摘A dust deflation module was developed and coupled with the air quality modeling system RAMS-CMAQ to simultaneously treat all the major tropospheric aerosols（i.e.,organic and black carbons,sulfate,nitrate, ammonia,soil dust,and sea salt）.Then the coupled system was applied to East Asia to simulate Asian dust aerosol generation,transport and dry/wet removal processes during 14-25 March 2002 when two strong dust storms occurred consecutively.To evaluate model performance and to analyze the observed features of dust aerosols over the East Asian region,model results were compared to concentrations of suspended particulate matter of 10μm or less(PM;;1-h intervals) at four remote Japanese stations and daily air pollution index （API） values for PM;at four large Chinese cities.The modeled values were generally in good agreement with observed data,and the model reasonably reproduced two dust storm outbreaks and generally predicted the dust onset and cessation times at each observation site.In addition,hourly averaged values of aerosol optical thickness（AOT） were calculated and compared with observations at four Aerosol Robotic Network （AERONET） stations to assess the model’s capability of estimating dust aerosol column burden.Analysis shows that modeled and observed AOT values were generally comparable and that the contribution of dust aerosols to AOT was significant only with regard to their source regions and their transport paths.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41590874 and 41590875)the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2014CB953703)
文摘Satellite and human visual observation are two of the most important observation approaches for cloud cover. In this study, the total cloud cover （TCC） observed by MODIS onboard the Terra and Aqua satellites was compared with Synop meteorological station observations over the North China Plain and its surrounding regions for 11 years during daytime and 7 years during nighttime. The Synop data were recorded eight times a day at 3-h intervals. Linear interpolation was used to interpolate the Synop data to the MODIS overpass time in order to reduce the temporal deviation between the satellite and Synop observations. Results showed that MODIS-derived TCC had good consistency with the Synop observations; the correlation coefficients ranged from 0.56 in winter to 0.73 in summer for Terra MODIS, and from 0.55 in winter to 0.71 in summer for Aqua MODIS. However, they also had certain differences. On average, the MODIS-derived TCC was 15.16% higher than the Synop data, and this value was higher at nighttime （15.58%-16.64%） than daytime （12.74%-14.14%）. The deviation between the MODIS and Synop TCC had large seasonal variation, being largest in winter （29.53%-31.07%） and smallest in summer （4.46%-6.07%）. Analysis indicated that cloud with low cloud-top height and small cloud optical thickness was more likely to cause observation bias. Besides, an increase in the satellite view zenith angle, aerosol optical depth, or snow cover could lead to positively biased MODIS results, and this affect differed among different cloud types.
基金Supported by the State Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.60638020)the State Scholarship Fund of the China Scholarship Council(CSC)+1 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.41321004,41276028,41206006,41306192,41306035)the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province(No.LY15D060001)
文摘To acquire high-quality operational data products for Chinese in-orbit and scheduled ocean color sensors, the performances of two operational atmospheric correction(AC) algorithms(ESA MEGS 7.4.1 and NASA Sea DAS 6.1) were evaluated over the East China Seas(ECS) using MERIS data. The spectral remote sensing reflectance R_(rs)(λ), aerosol optical thickness(AOT), and ?ngstr?m exponent(α) retrieved using the two algorithms were validated using in situ measurements obtained between May 2002 and October 2009. Match-ups of R_(rs), AOT, and α between the in situ and MERIS data were obtained through strict exclusion criteria. Statistical analysis of R_(rs)(λ) showed a mean percentage difference(MPD) of 9%–13% in the 490–560 nm spectral range, and significant overestimation was observed at 413 nm(MPD>72%). The AOTs were overestimated(MPD>32%), and although the ESA algorithm outperformed the NASA algorithm in the blue-green bands, the situation was reversed in the red-near-infrared bands. The value of α was obviously underestimated by the ESA algorithm(MPD=41%) but not by the NASA algorithm(MPD=35%). To clarify why the NASA algorithm performed better in the retrieval of α, scatter plots of the α single scattering albedo(SSA) density were prepared. These α-SSA density scatter plots showed that the applicability of the aerosol models used by the NASA algorithm over the ECS is better than that used by the ESA algorithm, although neither aerosol model is suitable for the ECS region. The results of this study provide a reference to both data users and data agencies regarding the use of operational data products and the investigation into the improvement of current AC schemes over the ECS.
文摘Atmospheric radiative fluxes are evaluated for the line-by-line model of spectral lines in considering the atmosphere as a weakly nonuniform plane layer and altitude profiles of its parameters are taken from the model of standard atmosphere.Concepts of molecular spectroscopy are combined with the local thermodynamic equilibrium for greenhouse gases and with information from HITRAN data base for parameters of radiative transitions.In addition,the energetic balance of the Earth allows one to determine the radiative flux from clouds.As a result,the algorithm is worked out for evaluation of the atmospheric radiative flux toward the Earth depending on its composition.We below concentrate on the change of atmospheric radiative fluxes as a result of doubling of the concentration of CO2 molecules.It is shown that the change of the global temperature in this case according to the above algorithm in 5-6 times exceeds that followed from climatological models which are based on old spectral data,rather than those from HITRAN data base.These codes ignore overlapping of spectral lines of atmospheric radiators.
文摘AIM：To evaluate the retinal vessel diameters in patients with migraine by optical coherence tomography（OCT）.METHODS：In this cross-sectional study,124 eyes of 62 patients with a diagnosis of unilateral migraine during attack-free period and 42 age-and sex-matched control subjects were included. Migraine patients were divided into the ≤2 migraine attacks per month group and the ≥5 migraine attacks per month group. All subjects underwent complete ophthalmological and neurological examinations before measurements. Retinal vessel diameters and choroidal thickness were examined with the Spectralis OCT.RESULTS：The mean diameters of the arteries in the eyes on the headache side of control group,≥5 migraine attacks per month and ≤2 migraine attacks per month group at 480 μm from the optic disk（Raster 3）were 119.54±46.69,136.68±25.93 and 119.34±31.75 μm respectively with a steady decline to 105.57±32.15,118.18±31.87 and 108.05±38.77 μm at 1440 μm（Raster 7）,the last measurement point,respectively. The retinal artery diameter measurements were significantly increased in ≥5 migraine attacks per month patients at four out of five measured points compared to control group（P〈0.05）. There were no statistical differences at any of the points of vein measurements. The choroidal thickness measurements were significantly decreased in ≥5 migraine attacks per month patients at all measured points compared to control group（P〈0.05）.CONCLUSION：The retinal artery diameter is found to increase significantly and the choroidal thickness is found to decrease in the eyes on the headache side in ≥5 migraine attacks per month patients compared to control group.
基金Supported by Science and Technology Bureau Project Fund of Wenzhou, China (No.Y20160460)
文摘AIM： To determine the thickness of the retinal ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer（GCIPL） and the retinal nerve fiber layer（RNFL） in patients with neuromyelitis optica（NMO）.METHODS： We conducted a cross-sectional study that included 30 NMO patients with a total of 60 eyes. Based on the presence or absence of optic neuritis（ON）, subjects were divided into either the NMO-ON group（30 eyes） or the NMO-ON contra group（10 eyes）. A detailed ophthalmologic examination was performed for each group; subsequently, the GCIPL and the RNFL were measured using highdefinition optical coherence tomography（OCT）. RESULTS： In the NMO-ON group, the mean GCIPL thickness was 69.28±21.12 μm, the minimum GCIPL thickness was 66.02±10.02 μm, and the RNFL thickness were 109.33±11.23, 110.47±3.10, 64.92±12.71 and 71.21±50.22 μm in the superior, inferior, temporal and nasal quadrants, respectively. In the NMO-ON contra group, the mean GCIPL thickness was 85.12±17.09 μm, the minimum GCIPL thickness was 25.39±25.1 μm, and the RNFL thicknesses were 148.33±23.22, 126.36±23.45, 82.21±22.30 and 83.36±31.28 μm in the superior, inferior, temporal and nasal quadrants, respectively. In the control group, the mean GCIPL thickness was 86.98±22.37 μm, the minimum GCIPL thickness was 85.28±10.75 μm, and the RNFL thicknesses were 150.22±22.73, 154.79±60.23, 82.33±7.01 and 85.62±13.81 μm in the superior, inferior, temporal and nasal quadrants, respectively. The GCIPL and RNFL were thinner in the NMO-ON contra group than in the control group（P〈0.05）; additionally, the RNFL was thinner in the inferior quadrant in the NMO-ON group than in the control group（P〈0.05）. Significant correlations were observed between the GCIPL and RNFL thickness measurements as well as between thickness measurements and the two visual field parameters of mean deviation（MD） and corrected pattern standard deviation（PSD） in the NMO-ON group（P〈0.05）. CONCLUSION： The thickness of the GCIPL and RNFL, as measured using OCT, may indicate optic nerve damage in patients with NMO.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of Chinathe Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Chinathe Fund of the 12th Five-Year Plan for Key Construction Academic Subject(Optics) of Hunan Province,China
文摘This paper investigates the radial refractive index and optical and physical thicknesses of porous silicon （PS） layers prepared by pulse etching by means of reflectance spectroscopy,photoluminescence spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.The relationship between the radial refractive index and optical thickness of the PS sample and the position away from the etched centre along the radial direction has been analyzed in detail. With the position farther away from the etched centre,the SEM image shows that the physical thickness of the PS sample decreases slowly,whereas intensely decreases from 2.48 to 1.72μm near the edge at a distance of 58μm.Moreover,the radial refractive index increases,indicating that the porosity becomes smaller.Meanwhile,the reflectance spectra exhibit the less intense interference oscillations,which mean that the uniformity and interface smoothness of the PS layers become worse,and the envelope curves of photoluminescence spectra exhibit a trend of blue-shift,indicating a reduction in nanocrystal dimensions.The PS micro-cavity is prepared to study the radial optical properties of the PS layer,and the results verify that the uniformity and smoothness of the PS layer in the centre are better than those at the edge.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(No. 04JJ40031)
文摘The optical properties of porous silicon（PS） samples fabricated by pulse etching in a temperature range from-40 to 50-C have been investigated using reflectance spectroscopy,photoluminescence spectroscopy,and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.The dependence of the optical parameters,such as the refractive index n and the optical thickness（nd） of PS samples,on the etching temperature has been analyzed in detail.As the etching temperature decreases,n decreases,indicating a higher porosity,and the physical thickness of PS samples also decreases.Meanwhile,the reflectance spectra exhibit a more intense interference band and the interfaces are smoother.In addition,the intensity of the PL emission spectra is dramatically increased.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(30872717)
文摘Previous studies have indicated regional abnormalities of both gray and white matter in amblyopia. However, alterations of cortical thickness associated with changes in white matter integrity have rarely been reported. In this study, structural magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） data were obtained from 15 children with anisometropic amblyopia and 15 age- and gender-matched children with normal sight. Combining DTI and surface-based morphometry, we examined a potential linkage between disrupted white matter integrity and altered cortical thickness. The fractional anisotropy （FA） values in the optic radiations （ORs） of children with anisometropic amblyopia were lower than in controls （P 〈 0.05）. The cortical thickness in amblyopic children was lower than controls in the following subregions： lin- gual cortex, lateral occipitotemporal gyrus, cuneus, occip- ital lobe, inferior parietal lobe, and temporal lobe （P 〈 0.05, corrected）, but was higher in the calcarine gyrus （P 〈 0.05, corrected）. Node-by-node correlation analysis of changes in cortical thickness revealed a significant association between a lower FA value in the OR and diminished cortical thickness in the following subregions： medial lingual cortex, lateral occipitotemporal gyrus, lat- eral, superior, and medial occipital cortex, and lunate cortex. We also found a relationship between changes of cortical thickness and white matter OR integrity in amblyopia. These findings indicate that developmental changes occur simultaneously in the OR and visual cortex in amblyopia, and provide key information on complex damage of brain networks in anisometropic amblyopia. Our results also support the hypothesis that the pathogenesis of anisometropic amblyopia is neurodevelopmental.
