This thesis studies the impact of shale gas on commodity and stock markets in the U.S. by employing wavelet approach and conducting a time-frequency analysis of dynamic correlations between natural gas and important representatives of commodity markets: crude oil, coal, corn, wheat, and several indices. It covers the period from 2006 to 2015 and is performed on daily data. Our thesis enlarges existing literature on comovement between natural gas with other energy commodities and stocks using wavelet coherence - a methodology which allows analyzing comovement among assets not only from a time series perspective but also over different frequencies. Financialization of natural gas and its involvement in investment portfolios under changing conditions on the U.S. gas market provide space for examination of gas proper correlation estimates in respect to other financial assets. Our results reveal natural gas comovement behaviour with examined commodities during the Financial Crisis. They show gradual decoupling between gas and crude oil prices in time. To the best of our knowledge we are the first to address natural gas using wavelet coherence in connection to agricultural commodities corn and wheat. These commodities together with natural gas are primary sources for bioethanol production being used in...

Long-term omni-directional ambient noise was collected at several sites in the Gulf of Mexico during 2004 and 2005. The Naval Oceanographic Office deployed bottom moored Environmental Acoustic Recording System (EARS) buoys approximately 159 nautical miles south of Panama City, Florida, in water depths of 3200 meters. The hydrophone of each buoy was 265 meters above the bottom. The data duration ranged from 10-14 months. The buoys were located near a major shipping lane, with an estimated 1.5 to 4.5 ships per day passing nearby. The data were sampled at 2500 Hz and have a bandwidth of 10-1000 Hz. Data are processed in eight 1/3-octave frequency bands, centered from 25 to 950 Hz, and monthly values of the following statistical quantities are computed from the resulting eight time series of noise spectral level: mean, median, standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis and coherence time. Four hurricanes were recorded during the summer of 2004 and they have a major impact on all of the noise statistics. Noise levels at higher frequencies (400-950 Hz) peak during extremely windy months (summer hurricanes and winter storms). Standard deviation is least in the region 100-200 Hz but increases at higher frequencies, especially during periods of high wind variability (summer hurricanes). Skewness is positive from 25-400 Hz and negative from 630-950 Hz. Skewness and kurtosis are greatest near 100 Hz. Coherence time is low in shipping bands and high in weather bands, and it peaks during hurricanes. The noise coherence is also analyzed. The 14-month time series in each 1/3- octave band is highly correlated with other 1/3-octave band time series ranging from 2 octaves below to 2 octaves above the band's center frequency. Spatial coherence between hydrophones is also analyzed for hydrophone separations of 2.29, 2.56 and 4.84 km over a 10-month period. The noise field is highly coherent out to the maximum distance studied, 4.84 km. Additionally, fluctuations of each time series are analyzed to determine time scales of greatest variability. The 14-month data show clearly that variability occurs primarily over three time scales: 7-22 hours (shipping-related), 56-282 hours (2-12 days, weather-related) and over an 8-12 month period.

A new technique to qualitatively measure distortion in dynamically controlled audio systems using non-stationary noise sequences is explored and compared to traditional methods based upon stationary test signals. This technique can easily be adapted to give a qualitative measure of distortion as a function of the perceived Sound Pressure Level (SPL).

As a part of international economic relations, development cooperation is a relatively new issue area of the Czech foreign policy. In spite of the strong Czechoslovak cooperation with the pro-socialist Third World countries during the Cold War, the country quickly abandoned delegitimized development activities only to restart them in the mid-1990s. This time, the policy was induced mostly externally by the international and EU commitments to provide aid to developing countries. Building on James Ferguson's concept of 'anti-politics machine' and the Bourdieusian concept of illusio, this dissertation argues that (i) the apparatus of the Czech development cooperation deals with development as a technical matter and leads to the depoliticization of the Czech relations with the South; and (ii) the low public awareness of the policy and the dependence of the civil society on government funding tones down their criticism and facilitates the use of the policy for the particular interests of the Czech implementers instead of contributing to poverty reduction in the South. The second chapter justifies the interdisciplinary approach adopted in the dissertation. It argues that in the same way as multidimensional poverty cannot be reduced to mere income, a holistic analysis of development cooperation must extend beyond the neoclassical economic approach and include social, cultural, political and environmental aspects of development. The third and fourth chapters analyze accordingly the discourses (historical and legal sources, political and social context, government strategies) and practices (content of bilateral cooperation, its effectiveness, actors and interrelations between them) of the Czech development cooperation. The following chapters extend from the narrow topic of development cooperation to gender as a cross-cutting issue and further to the problem of policy coherence. While gender has gained serious credit on the international development research and policy agenda, it is reflected in policy and operational documents only formally, making bilateral cooperation projects gender blind, and hence detrimental to women. Finally, the Czech discourses and practices of the formally institutionalized policy coherence for development are analyzed in cases studies on migration, trade and agriculture. The chapter argues that slight changes in other government policies may have greater impact on developing countries than any substantial reforms of development cooperation. Overall, the dissertation advocates for a repoliticization of the development agenda and its return to the public space. So far, it was mostly the European Union funding that incited the civil society to raise new policy issues and question the effectiveness of the Czech development cooperation in reducing global poverty, but it is crucial to involve political parties, civil society at large, media and academia in the process as well. An annex lists a range of detailed policy recommendations for development cooperation generally, in particular its gender dimension, and its coherence with the Czech migration, agriculture and trade policies.

L'interaction entre des champs électromagnétiques et des systèmes à plusieurs niveaux peut donner lieu à différents processus cohérents. La transparence électromagnétiquement induite (EIT) ou les oscillations cohérentes de populations (CPO) sont des phénomènes résonnants ayant pour conséquence d'annuler l'absorption du système pour un champ sonde. L'EIT se produit dans les systèmes à trois niveaux et met en jeu une cohérence entre niveaux non couplés optiquement, alors que les systèmes à deux niveaux suffisent pour faire apparaître le CPO qui ne met pas en jeu la dynamique des cohérences.Il est possible dans un milieu constitué d'atomes d'hélium métastable à température ambiante d'extraire un système à trois niveaux en Λ qui, lorsqu'il est excité par des polarisations circulaires, fait apparaître des fenêtres EIT de l'ordre de quelques dizaines de kHz de large. Lorsque ce système est excité par des polarisations linéaires et soumis à un champ magnétique de faible amplitude, c'est l'association des deux phénomènes de CPO et d'EIT qui détermine la réponse du système. Une fenêtre de transparence CPO de quelques dizaines de kHz de large a en particulier été observée.Ce type de phénomènes résonnants est associé à de grandes variations de l'indice de réfraction avec la fréquence du champ sonde, ayant pour conséquence de profondes modifications de la vitesse de groupe d'une impulsion se propageant dans le milieu. Notre système expérimental permet ainsi d'observer de la lumière lente, de la lumière rapide ainsi que des vitesses de groupe négatives. L'insertion de tels milieux dispersifs en cavité optique a été suggérée pour augmenter la précision de senseurs comme les gyroscopes lasers, mais leur bruit fondamental dépend de la durée de vie des photons dans la cavité. C’est pourquoi l’influence des milieux hautement dispersifs sur la durée de vie des photons dans une cavité est étudiée expérimentalement et théoriquement. / Many coherent processes can be observed when electromagnetic fields are applied to multi-level systems. Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) or coherent population oscillations (CPO) are resonant phenomena resulting in the cancellation of the absorption of the system for a probe field. EIT occurs in three-level systems and involves the coherence between two optically uncoupled levels, whereas two-level systems are sufficient to produce CPO which does not involve the dynamics of the coherences.A three-level Λ system can be isolated in a gas of metastable helium atoms at room temperature. When excited with circular polarizations, this system exhibits EIT resonances of a few tens of kHz. If this system is excited by linear polarizations and submitted to a weak magnetic field, the response of the system is given by the combination of these two phenomena, namely EIT and CPO. A narrow CPO transmission window of a few tens of kHz has then been observed.This kind of resonant phenomena is associated with very strong variations of the refractive index at the probe frequency, leading to major changes of the group velocity of a pulse propagating in the medium. Our experimental set-up allows us to observe slow light, fast light, and even negative group velocities. Insertion of such dispersive media inside an optical cavity has been suggested to increase the sensitivity of sensors such as laser gyroscopes, but their fundamental noise depends on the lifetime of photons inside the cavity. This is why the influence of highly dispersive media on the photon lifetime inside a cavity is studied experimentally and theoretically.

OBJETIVO: Investigar a correlação entre as espessuras da mácula e da camada de fibras nervosas da retina (CFNR), medidas pelas tomografias de coerência óptica de domínio Fourier (FD - OCT) e de domínio do tempo (TD - OCT) e a perda de sensibilidade no campo visual (CV) em pacientes com atrofia em banda do nervo óptico. Comparar a habilidade diagnóstica dos dois instrumentos. MÉTODOS: 36 olhos de 36 pacientes com perda de CV permanente por compressão do quiasma óptico e 36 controles normais foram submetidos ao exame de CV pela perimetria automatizada padrão (Humphrey Field Analyzer TM; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA), ao FD - OCT (3 D OCT-1000TM Topcon Corp., Tokyo, Japan) e ao TD - OCT (StratusTM ;Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc, Dublin, California, USA). Foram comparados os protocolos análogos de ambos os equipamentos para avaliação da espessura macular.Foi realizado a divisão macular em quatro quadrantes e em metades, sendo calculado a média da espessura macular global, a média da espessura dos quadrantes e a média da espessura das metades maculares. A média global e setorial da medida da espessura da CFNR peripapilar também foi analisada. A perda de sensibilidade no CV foi inicialmente avaliada pelo defeito temporal médio. O CV foi ainda dividido em 6 setores de acordo com a distribuição da CFNR e em 16 pontos centrais para a realização da correlação estrutura-função entre os parâmetros medidos pelo FD - OCT e a perda de sensibilidade no CV em decibéis e 1/Lambert. Foi calculado o coeficiente de correlação de Sperman e a análise de regressão linear. As áreas sobre a curva ROC e valores fixos de sensibilidade e especificidade foram calculados para cada parâmetro estudado. RESULTADOS: As medidas da espessura macular e da CFNR pelo FD - OCT e TD - OCT foram capazes de discriminar olhos com atrofia em banda do nervo óptico dos controles normais. A espessura global e setorial dos parâmetros maculares e da CFNR mostraram diferenças significativas (p<0,001) entre os doentes e os controles e os dois aparelhos tiveram desempenho semelhante na discriminação entre pacientes e controles. Em ambos existiram correlações significativas entre a perda de sensibilidade do CV e as medidas da espessura macular e da CFNR. As medidas de espessura nos quadrantes e nas metades nasais da macula, avaliadas pelo FD - OCT tiveram os melhores desempenhos nas correlações com os defeitos de CV, sendo o parâmetro com a melhor correlação, a medida do quadrante infero-nasal da mácula e a perda de sensibilidade do CV central do quadrante temporal superior central (r = 0.78, R2 = 61%, p<0,001). CONCLUSÕES: A espessura macular e a espessura da CFNR medidas pelo FD - OCT e pelo TD - OCT se correlacionaram topograficamente com a perda de sensibilidade no CV de pacientes com hemianopsia temporal por compressäo quiasmática. A correlação entre os quadrantes maculares e a perda de sensibilidade no CV, foram melhores do que aquelas entre o CV e as medidas da CFNR, principalmente nas medidas realizadas pelo FD - OCT. Este estudo demonstrou a importância clínica das medidas maculares na correlação estrutura-função e na quantificaçäo do dano neural em pacientes com compressão quiasmática, podendo ser útil na monitorização destes pacientes / PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD - OCT) measured macular and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFL) and visual field sensitivity loss on standard automated perimetry in eyes with permanent temporal hemianopia from chiasmal compression and compare the ability of FD - OCT and time-domain optical coherence tomography (TD - OCT) to detect axonal loss in eyes with band atrophy of the optic nerve. METHODS: One eye of each of 36 patients with permanent temporal visual field defects and 36 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Subjects underwent standard automated perimetry and macular and RNFL thickness measurements with FD - OCT (3 D OCT-1000® Topcon Corp., Tokyo, Japan) and TD - OCT (Stratus; Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc, Dublin, California, USA). Macular thickness measurements as a global average, divided in four quadrants and in two halves as well as average and sectoral RNFL thickness around the optic disc were calculated. Visual field sensitivity loss was evaluated by the temporal mean defect; as deviations from normal in six sectors of the visual field and in 16 central visual field test points. Relationship between visual field sensitivity loss in decibel and 1/Lambert units and optical coherence tomography measurements were evaluated using Spearman correlation coefficients and by linear regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic curves and sensitivities at fixed specificities were calculated for each parameter. RESULTS: Global and sectoral macular and RNFL thickness parameters showed a significant difference in eyes with band atrophy compared with controls. The strongest correlations were seen between visual field sensitivity loss and quadrantic or hemianopic nasal macular thickness measurements than with sectoral retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measurements. The highest correlation was observed between the inferonasal quadrant macular thickness and the visual field sensitivity loss in the superior temporal central visual field quadrant (r = 0.78, R2 = 61%, p <0.001). CONCLUSION: Both RNFL thickness and macular thickness FD - OCT and TD - OCT measurements were related topographically with visual field sensitivity loss in patients with temporal hemianopia from chiasmal compression and there is a stronger relationship in quadrantic macular compared to RNFL thickness measurements with FD - OCT. Macular thickness measurements could potentially be used to quantify neuronal loss in patients with chiasmal compression and could prove clinically useful for detection of damage and for monitoring these patients

Fundamentos: A caracterização precisa da interação da placa aterosclerótica no momento do implante do stent é crucial para o entendimento da complacência e da cicatrização vasculares. Objetivamos investigar se a composição da placa avaliada pela tomografia de coerência óptica (OCT), influencia as alterações agudas no procedimento índice do implante do stent e na cicatrização vascular no seguimento tardio. Métodos: Os pacientes tratados com um único tipo de stent eluidor de fármaco (cromo cobalto, eluidor de sirolimus e polímero bioabsorvível) foram incluídos prospectivamente, seguindo um protocolo com etapas de dilatações progressivas do vaso. As imagens de OCT sequenciais foram realizadas no procedimento índice (basal e a cada etapa do protocolo) e no seguimento tardio, co-registradas e analisadas a cada 0,6mm. A avaliação semiquantitativa da placa foi realizada dividindo-se secções transversas em 4 quadrantes, com cada quadrante rotulado de acordo com o seu componente mais prevalente (fibrótico, calcificado, lipídico, normal). A interação stent-vaso avaliada pela OCT foi utilizada como indicador substituto para lesão e cicatrização vasculares após o implante do stent. Resultados: Um total de 22 lesões (1stent/lesão) de 20 pacientes e 2298 seções transversas de OCT foram analisadas no procedimento índice. O reestudo com OCT foi realizado em 17 pacientes e 19 lesões (86%). O componente de placa predominante foi fibrótico (fibrótico = 46.84 ± 16%; lipídico = 17.63 ± 10.72%; calcificado = 4.63 ± 5.9%; normal = 29.16 ± 12.24; não analizável=1.74 ± 5.35%). Houve um aumento nas áreas da luz (10atm = 5.5 (4.5 - 7.4) mm2, 14-16atm = 6.0 (4.7 - 7.70) mm2, 20atm = 6.7 (5.5 - 8.2) mm2; P < 0.001) e do stent (10atm = 5.2 (4.3 - 7.0) mm2, 14-16atm = 5.7 (4.5 - 7.5) mm2, 20atm = 6.5 (5.3 - 7.9) mm2; P < 0.001), com um aumento na área do prolapso tecidual (10atm =0.09 (0.06 - 0.12) mm2, 14-16atm =0.10 (0.06 - 0.15) mm2, 20atm =0.15 (0.08 - 0.20) mm2; P < 0.01). Segmentos com muito tecido fibrocalcificado tiveram áreas luminais menores ao longo das etapas da intervenção. Por outro lado, placas com muito conteúdo lipídico ou vaso normal tiveram maiores ganhos nas medidas das áreas luminais mínimas ao longo das dilatações sequenciais. Além disso, placas com muito tecido fibrocalcificado no momento basal apresentaram menor crescimento neointimal no seguimento tardio, enquanto que o grau de conteúdo lipídico e de vaso normal não tiveram impacto sobre a formação do tecido neointimal. Os indicadores substitutos de lesão vascular após o implante do stent correlacionaram-se significativamente com o crescimento neointimal no seguimento tardio. Conclusões: A composição tecidual das placas subjacentes influencia significativamente o comportamento mecânico agudo e a longo prazo dos vasos coronarianos submetidos ao implante de stent. Além disso, a lesão vascular após o implante do stent está potencialmente ligada ao futuro crescimento neointimal no seguimento tardio / Background Accurate characterization of atherosclerotic plaque interaction during stent deployment is crucial to understand vascular compliance and healing. We sought to determine whether plaque composition assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT), influences acute changes at index procedure and vascular healing at follow up. Methods Patients treated with a single drug-eluting stent type (cobalt chromium with bioabsorbable polymer eluting sirolimus stent) were prospectively included, following a pre-defined step-by-step progressive vessel dilatation. Sequential OCT imaging were performed at the index procedure (baseline and at each time point of the protocol) and at follow up, co-registered and analyzed every 0.6mm for quantitative measurements. Semi-quantitative plaque assessment was performed at baseline by dividing cross-sections into 4 quadrants, with each quadrant labeled according to its most prevalent component (fibrotic, calcific, lipid). OCT assessments of stent-vessel interactions were used as a surrogate for vessel injury and healing after stent implantation. Results A total of 22 lesions (1stent/lesion) of 20 patients and 2298 OCT crosssections were analyzed at the index procedure. For an average of 19.7 months (591.88 ± 60.52 days), 17 of the patients and 19 lesions (86%) underwent OCT imaging at follow up. The predominant percentage plaque component was fibrotic (fibrotic = 46.84 ± 16%; lipid = 17.63 ± 10.72%; calcific = 4.63 ± 5.9%; normal = 29.16 ± 12.24; non-analyzable = 1.74 ± 5.35%). There was an increase in lumen (10atm = 5.5 (4.5 - 7.4) mm2, 14-16atm = 6.0 (4.7 - 7.70) mm2, 20atm = 6.7 (5.5 - 8.2) mm2; P < 0.001) and stent (10atm = 5.2 (4.3 - 7.0) mm2, 14-16atm = 5.7 (4.5 - 7.5) mm2, 20atm = 6.5 (5.3 - 7.9) mm2; P < 0.001) areas, with an increase in tissue prolapse area (10atm =0.09 (0.06 - 0.12) mm2, 14-16atm =0.10 (0.06 - 0.15) mm2, 20atm =0.15 (0.08 - 0.20) mm2; P < 0.01). Segments with high fibrocalcific content tended to have decreased minimal luminal areas along the intervention time-points. Conversely, plaques with high lipid content had increased minimal luminal areas during sequential dilatations. Moreover, plaques with high fibrocalcific tissue at baseline had significantly smaller neointimal growth at follow-up, whereas the degree of lipid content or normal tri-layered vessel had no impact on neointimal formation. OCT surrogates of vessel injury after coronary stenting significantly correlated with neointimal growth at follow-up. Conclusions: Tissue composition of underlying plaques significantly influences the acute mechanical and the long-term behavior of coronary vessels undergoing stent implantation. In addition, vessel injury after coronary stenting is potentially linked to future neointimal growth at follow-up

As afecções que acometem a via óptica anterior podem acarretar perda de fibras das células ganglionares retinianas, gerando alterações na camada de fibras nervosas da retina (CFNR). O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de comparar a capacidade da tomografia de coerência óptica (OCT-1), do OCT 3 (Stratus OCT) e do polarímetro de varredura a laser (GDx) em diferenciar olhos normais de olhos com atrofia em banda do nervo óptico e hemianopsia temporal, assim como, comparar o desempenho de tais tecnologias entre si. Foram estudados 37 indivíduos num total de 46 olhos divididos igualmente em dois grupos. O Stratus OCT, o OCT 1 e o GDx se mostraram capazes de identificar corretamente a redução global (average) da espessura da CFNR dos indivíduos com AB comparados com uma população normal. Observamos uma melhora progressiva das sensibilidades/especificidades e das AROC, com o desempenho melhor do OCT1 sobre o GDx e do Stratus OCT sobre o OCT 1 / Most diseases that affect the optic pathways present clinically with loss of one or more visual functions.When optic pathway injuries involve the anterior visual pathways they may cause loss of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and "band atrophy" (BA). The purpose of this study was therefore to compare the ability of the optical coherence tomography (OCT) 1, the OCT 3 (Stratus OCT) and the scanning laser polarimetry (GDx) to differentiate normal eyes from eyes with BA of the optic nerve and temporal hemianopsia. Thirty-seven individuals in a total of 46 eyes divided equally in two groups were studied. Each one of the parameters, except the values from the nasal quadrant measured by the GDx, showed statistically significant difference when we compare normal patients with the BA group. The study also showed a gradual improvement of the sensibilities/specificities and of the AROC, with a better performance of the OCT1 compared to GDx and of the Stratus OCT compared to the OCT 1

Pacientes com compressão quiasmática apresentam perda das fibras nervosas da retina nasal que decussam no quiasma óptico. Por conseguinte, ocorre perda das fibras nervosas, predominantemente, no setor nasal e temporal do disco óptico, que se manifesta por atrofia em banda do nervo óptico ao exame oftalmoscópico e hemianopsia temporal ao exame de campo visual. Trabalhos anteriores mostraram que o tomógrafo de coerência óptica é capaz de diferenciar pacientes com atrofia em banda do nervo óptico associada à hemianopsia temporal completa de indivíduos normais através da análise da camada de fibras nervosas peripapilar. Estudos em glaucoma têm sugerido que a avaliação da espessura macular poderia ser útil na quantificação da perda neural como um método alternativo ou complementar ao estudo da camada de fibras nervosas da retina. No presente estudo, a espessura macular e da camada de fibras nervosas foram avaliadas pelo tomógrafo de coerência óptica em pacientes com atrofia em banda do nervo óptico e graus variados de hemianopsia temporal. O desempenho dos parâmetros maculares para detecção da atrofia em banda do nervo óptico foi avaliado pela área sob a curva ROC (AROC) e sensibilidades para especificidades fixas e os resultados foram comparados aos parâmetros da camada de fibras nervosas peripapilar. Para identificar os parâmetros do Stratus OCT que apresentaram melhor desempenho para diferenciar pacientes com AB do nervo óptico de indivíduos normais, modelos de regressão logística foram utilizados. A correlação estrutura-função foi realizada entre o grau do defeito temporal e os valores de espessura macular e da camada de fibras peripapilar através do coeficiente de correlação de Spearman. A categorização diagnóstica dos parâmetros da camada de fibras nervosas através do banco de dados normativos foi avaliada pelos valores de sensibilidade e especificidade calculados pelo teste exato de Fisher. Quarenta e quatro olhos com atrofia em banda e 47 olhos normais foram avaliados no estudo. Entre os parâmetros maculares, os parâmetros da retina nasal apresentaram melhor desempenho para detectar atrofia em banda do nervo óptico comparados aos parâmetros da retina temporal. Não houve diferença significante (p=0,32) entre as áreas sob a curva ROC do melhor parâmetro macular (AROC=0,97) e do melhor parâmetro da camada de fibras nervosas retiniana (AROC=0,99). Na avaliação da correlação estrutura-função, os parâmetros da retina nasal apresentaram maior correlação com o defeito campimétrico comparados aos parâmetros da camada de fibras nervosas da retinal. Entre os parâmetros maculares, a espessura nasal média apresentou a maior correlação (rs=0,618). Entre os parâmetros da camada de fibras nervosas da retina, a espessura média apresentou a maior correlação (rs=0,479). Os parâmetros espessura média, espessura nasal e espessura temporal da camada de fibras nervosas da retina apresentaram melhor desempenho diagnóstico baseado na categorização diagnóstica do banco de dados normativos. Os resultados obtidos no estudo mostraram que os parâmetros maculares discriminam olhos com atrofia em banda do nervo óptico em pacientes com graus variados de defeito temporal. Além disso, os parâmetros da retina nasal podem colaborar com o exame perimétrico e os parâmetros da camada de fibras nervosas para o seguimento dos pacientes com compressão quiasmática. / Patients with chiasmal compression present damage of crossed fibers of nasal retina. Therefore, retinal nerve fiber layer loss occurs predominantly on the nasal and temporal sides of the optic disc, a pattern that can be identified on ophthalmoscopy as band atrophy of the optic nerve and on visual field as temporal hemianopia. Previous studies have been demonstrated that optical coherence tomography is able to detect retinal nerve fiber layer loss in patients with lesions of the optic chiasm and complete temporal hemianopia. Studies in glaucoma have been suggested that macular thickness measurements could be useful in quantification of optical nerve axonal loss as alternative or complement method to evaluate the retinal nerve fiber layer. The purpose of the present study was to compare macular thickness and retinal nerve fiber thickness measurements in patients with band atrophy of the optic nerve and different severities of visual field defect using optical coherence tomography. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AROC) and sensitivities at fixed specificities were performed for evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of macular and retinal nerve fiber layer parameters. To identify the best optical coherence tomography measurements to differentiate band atrophy of the optic nerve patients from normal individuals, logistic regression models were performed. Association between optical coherence tomography parameters and temporal field defect were examined by Spearman coefficient of correlation. Fisher\'s exact test was performed to evaluate diagnostic ability of retinal nerve fiber parameters by optical coherence tomography in eyes with band atrophy using comparison with its internal normative database. A total of 44 eyes with band atrophy of the optic nerve and 47 normal eyes were studied. Among macular parameters, nasal retina measurements showed diagnostic accuracy better than temporal retina measurements. No statistically significant difference (p=0.32) was found between areas under ROC curve for the best macular parameter (AROC=0.97) and the best retinal nerve fiber layer parameter (AROC=0.99). Nasal retina parameters correlations were higher than retinal nerve fiber parameters. The highest correlation was observed for the mean nasal thickness (rs=0.618) for macular parameters. In retinal nerve fiber parameters, the highest correlation was observed for the average thickness (rs=0.479). In evaluation of diagnostic ability of normative database, the average thickness parameter demonstrated the highest sensitivity for detection of abnormalities in eyes with band atrophy, followed by the parameters related to the nasal and temporal quadrants. These results suggest that macular thickness measurements discriminate eyes with band atrophy of the optic nerve with different severities of temporal field defect. Results also suggest that nasal retina thickness measurements could potentially be used to evaluate retinal ganglion cell loss in patients with chiasmal compression.

Objetivos: avaliar as alterações morfofuncionais da retina de pacientes com esclerose múltipla (EM) e espectro da neuromielite óptica (ENMO), com ou sem histórico de neurite óptica (NO), por meio de eletrorretinografia de campo total e multifocal (ERGct / ERGmf) e a tomomografia de coerência óptica (TCO). Avaliar as correlações de tais achados entre si e com o potencial evocado visual (PEV), o campo visual (CV) e a sensibilidade ao contraste (SC). Métodos: Pacientes com EM (n = 30), ENMO (n = 30) e controles (n = 29) foram submetidos a avaliação oftalmológica completa incluindo CV, TCO, ERGct, ERGmf, PEV e medida da SC. Os olhos foram distribuídos em 5 grupos: EM com ou sem história de NO (EM + NO e EM - NO), ENMO com ou sem NO (ENMO + NO e ENMO - NO) e controles. Com a TCO foram medidas as espessuras das camadas de fibras nervosas da retina na região macular (CFNRm), camada de células ganglionares (CCG), camada plexiforme interna (CPI), camada nuclear interna (CNI), camada plexiforme externa (CPE), camada nuclear externa (CNE), complexo camada de fotorreceptores + epitélio pigmentário da retina(CFR+EPR) e da camada de fibras nervosas peripapilar (CFNRp). Dados das ondas a, b e potenciais oscilatórios (POs) do ERGct, medidas de amplitude e latência de N1 e P1 do ERGmf, ondas do PEV e medidas do desvio da normalidade do CV foram analisados. Os grupos foram comparados usando equações estimadas generalizadas. Correlações entre as medidas foram avaliadas. Resultados: Redução da sensibilidade do desvioda normalidade do CV, da SC e aumento da latência das ondas do PEV foram identificadas para ambos os grupos. Nos pacientes ENMO+NO apresentaram redução de amplitude ao PEV em relação aos controles, diferentemente aos demais grupos. As medidas de espessura da CCG e da CPI foram significativamente menores nos grupos de olhos dos pacientes em relação aos controles. A RNFLm foi menor em todos os grupos de olhos de pacientes, exceto o grupo ENMO-NO. Não foi observada diferença significativa entre os grupos de olhos estudados nas comparações referenetes às demais camadas da retina. Comparado aos controles, as amplitudes do POs foram maiores nos olhos de pacientes com ENMO, enquanto as latências de N1 e P1 do ERGmf foram menor nos olhos de pacientes com EM. Essas anormalidades foram fortemente correlacionadas com a espessura da camada retiniana intermediária e externa. Os achados do PEV, assim como do CV e SC, se correlacionaram fortemente com as camadas retinianas. Conclusões: as camadas retinianas internas se mostraram reduzidas à TCO tanto nos olhos de pacientes com EM quanto no naqueles com ENMO, mas os achados POs e ERGmf sugerem também envolvimento das outras camadas retinianas nessas afecções. O PEV apresentou alterações distintas para cada doença. O uso combinado da TCO, do ERG e PEV podem ajudar a entender como as duas condições diferem em relação aos danos retinianos / Objectives: To evaluate the morphofunctional alterations of the retina of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and spectrum of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), with or without a history of optic neuritis (ON), using full field electroretinogram (ERG) and multifocal electroretinography (mf- ERG) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). To evaluate the correlations of such findings among themselves and with visual evoked potential (VEP), visual field (VF) and contrast sensitivity (CS). Methods: Patients with MS (n = 30), NMOSD (n = 30) and healthy controls (n = 29) were submitted to a complete ophthalmologic evaluation including VF, OCT, ERG, mf-ERG, VEP and SC measurement. The eyes were distributed in 5 groups: MS with or without history of ON (MS + ON and MS - ON), NMOSD with or without ON (NMOSD + ON and NMOSD - ON) and controls. With the OCT were measured the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layers in the macular region (mRNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL), inner plexiform layer (IPL), inner nuclear layer (INL), outer plexiform layer (OPL), outer nuclear layer (ONL), photoreceptor layer (PHOT) and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL). The data of the a- and b-waves and oscillatory potentials (OPs) of the ERG, amplitude and peak time of N1 and P1 of mf-ERG, waves of the VEP and VF deviation were analyzed. The groups were compared using generalized estimating equations. Correlations between measurements were evaluated. Results: Reduction of the oVF deviation, CS and increased VEP wave\'s peak times were identified for both groups. In the NMOSD + ON patients, an amplitude redeuction was found in the VEP in relation to the controls, unlike the other groups. The thickness of GCL and IPL was significantly lower in patients\' eyes than controls. mRNFL was lower in all patients, but NMOSD-ON. No significant difference was observed for the remaining layers. Compared to controls, the amplitudes of the POs were higher in the NMOSD group, whereas the mf-ERG\'s N1 and P1 peak time was lower in the MS patients. These abnormalities were strongly correlated with the thickness of the intermediate and outer retinal layers. The findings of the VEP, as well as the VF and SC, correlated strongly with the retinal layers. Conclusions: the inner retinal layers were reduced in both the MS and the NMOSD, but the findings OPs and mf-ERG suggest involvement of the other retinal layers. The VEP presented different alterations for each disease. The combination of OCT, ERG and VEP may help to understand how the two conditions differ in relation to retinal damage