Notes

Multiple-Drug Immune Nasopharyngeal Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolated throughout Italy: Serotypes, Antimicrobial Vulnerability, along with Molecular Depiction of the Emergent Serotype 13/ST2754 Lineage.
Careful pediatric retinal screening and early management are crucial to ensure a good visual prognosis in such an early feature of Coats disease as fovea sparing since this condition unfortunately tends to recall the physician's attention in more advanced stages.Due to the extremely poor number of articles regarding such a rare feature of Coats disease like fovea sparing, we report our experience.
Careful pediatric retinal screening and early management are crucial to ensure a good visual prognosis in such an early feature of Coats disease as fovea sparing since this condition unfortunately tends to recall the physician's attention in more advanced stages.Due to the extremely poor number of articles regarding such a rare feature of Coats disease like fovea sparing, we report our experience.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of loss of vision in the older age groups. In the absence of a known therapy, low vision rehabilitation aims at preserving residual functional vision at optimal levels. Long term functional outcomes from Low Vision Rehabilitation (LVR) in AMD cases were never scrutinized in the past. This study brings some clarification in this matter.

This is a retrospective case series study including data up to 2 years following the baseline visit. Low Vision Assessments included microperimetry testing and recommendations for low vision devices for distance vision. Outcomes measures selected for this study were best corrected distance visual acuity, fixation stability and preferred retinal locus (PRL) topography and LVR interventions.

Data on 17 patients with an average age of 89.2 ± 4.4 years was collected. In those with better vision than 20/400 loss of vision was about 1.4 letter per year as tested with ETDRS charts compared with losses of four letters per year in a population without LVR interventions. Fixation stability continued to deteriorate while PRL eccentricity seemed to remain the same. In about half of cases there was a change in the topographic location of the PRL to a different retinal quadrant.

Long term, as expected, changes were noticed in visual acuity, fixation stability and PRL topography. However, it seems that LVR interventions for distance vision help patients retain significantly better functional vision at the 2 years follow up interval when compared to others.
Long term, as expected, changes were noticed in visual acuity, fixation stability and PRL topography. However, it seems that LVR interventions for distance vision help patients retain significantly better functional vision at the 2 years follow up interval when compared to others.A 63-year-male had painless, progressive, yellowish-pink, immobile conjunctival mass with prominent feeder vessels in the right eye of 1-year duration. The rest of the ophthalmic examination was unremarkable. MRI showed no extension into orbit or extraocular muscles. An excision biopsy with the amniotic membrane patch was performed. Histopathology confirmed inflammatory myofibroblastic tumour (IMT) with SMA and calponin positivity on immunohistochemistry. Complete surgical excision, amniotic membrane, and oral steroids provided long-term relief from recurrence. The conjunctiva is a rare site for IMT, and IMT should be kept in the differentials for atypical cases of ocular surface neoplasia.Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is characterized by the progressive and irreversible death of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) which is caused by the insufficient blood supply to the optic nerve (ON) head. At present, hormone therapy is used to reduce optic edema, followed by nerve nutrition therapy to protect the ON. However, no surgical or medical therapy has proven to be beneficial consistently in treating NAION. Vincamine is an alkaloid extracted from the Apocynaceae Vinca plant. Vincamine and its derivatives acting as cerebral vasodilators can easily cross the blood-brain barrier, improve the metabolism of ischemic tissue and protect the neuron. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential neuroprotection of Vincamine in the photodynamic induced rat model of NAION (rAION), to evaluate its effects and possible mechanisms. We found that Vincamine can rescue RGC death and reduce the number of apoptotic cells. The protection of Vincamine might play through the PI3K/Akt/eNOS signaling pathway. Therefore, Vincamine can be an effective therapy method for NAION.
To report a case of bilateral choroidal effusion after laser capsulotomy.

A healthy 85 years old white woman was referred to our hospital with a diagnosis of posterior capsule opacification in the left eye. The patient was treated with laser capsulotomy and oral acetazolamide was administered after the procedure. The day after, the patient visited the emergency room complaining bilateral blurred vision. A myopic shift and peripheral choroidal detachment was noted in both eyes. Discontinuation of acetazolamide and treatment with topical steroid and cyclopentolate resulted in a significant improvement in visual acuity and the complete resolution of the choroidal detachment in 1 week.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of choroidal detachment and acute transient myopia following the administration of oral acetazolamide after laser capsulotomy.
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of choroidal detachment and acute transient myopia following the administration of oral acetazolamide after laser capsulotomy.
Diabetes mellitus (DM) patients are more likely to experience sleep disturbances than normal. Sleep disturbances may contribute to the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR) by higher inflammatory markers in circulation. We investigated the association between sleep quality and DR.

Institutional case control study with type 2 DM patients of <10 years duration and HbA1c ⩽8%; 70 cases with DR and 70 controls without DR (NODR) (power 0.8). Sleep quality was assessed by Pittsburg sleep quality index (PSQI) questionnaire and compared.

Cronbach's alpha was 0.777 with high internal homogeneity. Global PSQI score in DR (7.44 ± 3.99; 95%CI 6.88, 9.42) was more than in NODR (4.30 ± 3.26; 95%CI 3.87, 6.45) (
 < 0.001). All sleep disturbance scores were more in DR except sleep duration. Tetramisole Poor sleep (PSQI score>5) was more prevalent in DR (
 = 0.000) and associated with increasing DR severity (
 = 0.026). Normal sleep latency was recorded in 78.57% and 42.85% patients in NODR and DR respectively (
 < 0.001). Severe difficulty in subjective sleep quality (
 = 0.024), sleep latency (
 = 0.002) and daytime dysfunction (
 < 0.001) was seen more in DR. Elevated daytime dysfunction was observed with increasing DR severity (
 = 0.008). The optimal cut-off for global PSQI score and sleep latency for DR was 5.5 (OR 5.97; 95%CI 2.86, 12.47) and 25 min(OR 4.89; 95%CI 2.32, 10.26) respectively.

Sleep disturbance is positively associated with DR. Our study identifies cut off value for DR of a modifiable parameter like sleep latency. It emphasizes the need of sleep quality assessment for risk assessment of DR.
Sleep disturbance is positively associated with DR. Our study identifies cut off value for DR of a modifiable parameter like sleep latency. It emphasizes the need of sleep quality assessment for risk assessment of DR.Pigs provide a valuable large animal model for several diseases due to their similarity with humans in anatomy, physiology, genetics and drug metabolism. We recently generated a porcine model for TP53R167H and KRASG12D driven hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by autologous liver implantation. Here we describe a streamlined approach for developing genetically tailored porcine HCC cells by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and isolation of homogenous genetically validated cell clones. The combination of CRISPR/Cas9 editing of HCC cells described herein with the orthotopic HCC model enables development of various porcine HCC models, each with a specific mutational profile. This allows modeling the effect of different driver mutation combinations on tumor progression and in vivo testing of novel targeted therapeutic approaches in a clinically relevant large animal model.
Older women report lower mental health compared to men, yet little is known about the nature of this sex difference. Therefore, this study investigates time trends and possible risk groups.

Data from the Doetinchem Cohort Study (DCS) and the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) were used. General mental health was assessed every 5years, from 1995 to 1998 onwards (DCS,

=
1412, 20-year follow-up, baseline age 55-64years). Depressive and anxiety symptoms were assessed for two birth cohorts, from 1992/1993 onwards (LASA cohort 1,
 = 967, 24-year follow-up, age 55-65 years,) and 2002/2003 onwards (LASA cohort 2,
 = 1002, 12-year follow-up, age 55-65years) with follow-up measurements every 3-4years.

Mixed model analyses showed that older women had a worse general mental health (-6.95; -8.36 to 5.53; range 0-100, ∼10% lower), more depressive symptoms (2.09; 1.53-2.63; range 0-60, ∼30% more) and more anxiety symptoms (0.86; 0.54-1.18; range 0-11, ∼30% more) compared to men. These sex differences remained stable until the age of 75years, where after they decreased due to an accelerated decline in mental health for men compared to women. Sex differences and their course by age were consistent over successive birth cohorts, educational levels and ethnic groups (Caucasian vs. Turkish/Moroccan).

There is a consistent female disadvantage in mental health across different sociodemographic groups and over decennia (1992 vs. 2002) with no specific risk groups.
There is a consistent female disadvantage in mental health across different sociodemographic groups and over decennia (1992 vs. 2002) with no specific risk groups.The recent pandemic has posed perhaps the biggest challenge for PCR to date. Is PCR likely to be replaced or will it continue to stand the test of time? [Formula see text].A real-time dPCR system was developed to improve the sensitivity, specificity and quantification accuracy of end point dPCR. We compared three technologies - real-time qPCR, end point dPCR and real-time dPCR - in the context of SARS-CoV-2. Some improvement in limit of detection was obtained with end point dPCR compared with real-time qPCR, and the limit of detection was further improved with the newly developed real-time dPCR technology through removal of false-positive signals. Real-time dPCR showed increased linear dynamic range compared with end point dPCR based on quantitation from amplification curves. Real-time dPCR can improve the performance of TaqMan assays beyond real-time qPCR and end point dPCR with better sensitivity and specificity, absolute quantification and a wider linear range of detection.Phytoextraction potential of a co-planting system was evaluated using a shrub and an herbaceous species and compared with monocultures. A greenhouse experiment with Salix interior and Trifolium pratense grown in combination or alone was conducted for 120 days in soil either uncontaminated or contaminated with wood preservatives containing mixed chromated copper arsenate and pentachlorophenol (PCP). The results showed that the plant species produced similar amounts of dry biomass per pot in monoculture and co-planting, whether growing in contaminated or uncontaminated soil. Arsenic (As), chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu) concentrations in root tissue of S. interior increased 8.6%, 65.9% and 4.5%, respectively, in co-planting compared to its monoculture. T. pratense had superior concentration of As (14% higher) in root tissue when co-planted. However, the higher trace elements concentrations in the plant tissues did not translate into measurable differences in total trace element removal per pot, except for As. The bioconcentration factor for Cu and As was high in the belowground portions of the plants in co-planting.
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