An analysis of the factors involved in IOL decentration after phacoemulsification using CASIA 2 anterior segment optical coherence tomography.

Purpose: To evaluate the magnitude of IOL transversal shift (ITS) after phacoemulsification and to analyse the factors contributing to IOL decentration and ITS.

Methods: 94 consecutive patients who underwent cataract surgery and IOL implantation was enrolled. Each patient underwent anterior segment optical coherence tomography with CASIA 2 (Tomey, Nagoya, Japan) to assess crystalline lens decentration, thickness and diameter seven days preoperatively and at one and sixty days postoperatively.

Towards the Definition of Radiomic Features and Clinical Indices to Enhance the Diagnosis of Clinically Significant Cancers in PI-RADS 4 and 5 Lesions.

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among adult men, and its incidence is increasing worldwide [...

Passive CAP-VAC: a simple and safe technique to clean the posterior capsule.

Purpose: To describe a new and less risky technique for the cleaning of posterior capsule during phacoemulsification called passive cap vac.

Method: Passive cap vac consisted in the removal of residual posterior capsule opacities using a disconnected 0.3 mm aspiration cannula.

Tau Isoforms: Gaining Insight into Alternative Splicing.

Tau microtubule-associated proteins, encoded by the gene, are mainly expressed in neurons participating in axonal transport and synaptic plasticity. Six major isoforms differentially expressed during cell development and differentiation are translated by alternative splicing of transcripts. Alterations in the expression of human Tau isoforms and their aggregation have been linked to several neurodegenerative diseases called tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, Pick's disease, and frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17.

Radiomics in PI-RADS 3 Multiparametric MRI for Prostate Cancer Identification: Literature Models Re-Implementation and Proposal of a Clinical-Radiological Model.

PI-RADS 3 prostate lesions clinical management is still debated, with high variability among different centers. Identifying clinically significant tumors among PI-RADS 3 is crucial. Radiomics applied to multiparametric MR (mpMR) seems promising.

Structural and Functional Pulmonary Assessment in Severe COVID-19 Survivors at 12 Months after Discharge.

Long-term pulmonary sequelae in COVID-19 patients are currently under investigation worldwide. Potential relationships between blood sampling and functional and radiological findings are crucial to guide the follow-up. In this study, we collected and evaluated clinical status, namely symptoms and patients’ reported outcome, pulmonary function tests (PFT), laboratory tests, and radiological findings at 3- and 12-months post-discharge in patients admitted between 25 February and 2 May 2020, and who survived severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

A Panel of Eight miRNAs Is Deregulated in HTLV-2 Infected PBMCs and BJABGu Cell Line.

Despite human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and HTLV-2 being retroviruses closely related at a genomic level, HTLV-2 differs from HTLV-1 in terms of pathogenicity in both single infection and coinfection contexts. Moreover, the HTLV-2 association with clinical outcomes is still debated and several mechanisms underlying HTLV-2 infection remain unexplored as well. Cellular miRNAs are key factors in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression and they are known to be potential targets for several pathogens to control the host microenvironment and, in particular, escape immune responses.

Environmental Enrichment Induces Meningeal Niche Remodeling through TrkB-Mediated Signaling.

Neural precursors (NPs) present in the hippocampus can be modulated by several neurogenic stimuli, including environmental enrichment (EE) acting through BDNF-TrkB signaling. We have recently identified NPs in meninges; however, the meningeal niche response to pro-neurogenic stimuli has never been investigated. To this aim, we analyzed the effects of EE exposure on NP distribution in mouse brain meninges.

Post-discharge chest CT findings and pulmonary function tests in severe COVID-19 patients.

Purpose: To evaluate chest computed tomography (CT) and pulmonary function test (PFT) findings in severe COVID-19 patients after discharge and correlate CT pulmonary involvement with PFT results.

Methods: COVID-19 patients admitted to our hospital between February 25 and May 2, 2020, were retrospectively included according to the following criteria: (a) COVID-19 defined as severe based on the WHO interim guidance (i.e.

Chest X-ray for predicting mortality and the need for ventilatory support in COVID-19 patients presenting to the emergency department.

Objectives: To evaluate the inter-rater agreement of chest X-ray (CXR) findings in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to determine the value of initial CXR along with demographic, clinical, and laboratory data at emergency department (ED) presentation for predicting mortality and the need for ventilatory support.

Methods: A total of 340 COVID-19 patients who underwent CXR in the ED setting (March 1-13, 2020) were retrospectively included. Two reviewers independently assessed CXR abnormalities, including ground-glass opacities (GGOs) and consolidation.

Freezing of gait and dementia in parkinsonism: A retrospective case-control study.

Objectives: To support the cognitive model of Freezing of Gait (FoG) we investigated FoG in a cohort of patients with Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB).

Materials And Methods: We assessed FoG frequency in 19 DLB patients compared to 19 control PD patients within 2 years from symptom onset and with at least 5 years follow-up. The two groups were matched by age and motor presentation at onset, severity of parkinsonism and disease duration.

Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion in Italy: third national survey.

Background: Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) is increasing worldwide, mostly because of improved technology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current status of CSII in Italy.

Materials And Methods: Physicians from 272 diabetes centers received a questionnaire investigating clinical features, pump technology, and management of patients on CSII.

The tarsal belt procedure for the correction of ectropion: description and outcome in 42 cases.

Background/aims: Ectropion correction is a challenge in plastic surgery. Correction of the lower lid area, including restoration of the shape and position of lid margin, is the surgical goal. In this study, we describe a new surgical technique, the tarsal belt, for the correction of ectropion and evaluation of the effective outcome and complications of this procedure.

The Tuscany experimental registry for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias: how many demented people does it capture?

Background And Aims: A Regional Registry for Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias is being tested in Tuscany (Italy) to provide a basis for epidemiological studies. Current results are presented and critically evaluated.

Methods: The Registry extracts data on cases of dementia from Hospital Discharge Records, Outpatient Service Records, Regional Mortality Registry and Disease-Specific Co-payment Exemption Records, based on ICD-9 codes of dementias, and from Prescription Records based on registered anti-dementia drug codes.

Percolation of particles on recursive lattices using a nanoscale approach. III. Percolation of polydisperse particles in the presence of a polymer matrix.

We use a recently developed lattice model of polymers to study the percolation of particles of different sizes and shapes in the presence of a polymer matrix. The polymer is modeled as an infinitely long chain to simplify the calculation but we make it more realistic by considering it semiflexible. We study the effects of the stiffness of the polymer, the size disparity of the filler particles, their aspect ratio, and the interactions between fillers and polymer on the percolation properties of the system.

Percolation of particles on recursive lattices using a nanoscale approach. II. The effect of size and shape disparities.

The preparation of many composites requires the intermixing of several macromolecular fluids along with the addition of rigid filler particles. These fillers are usually polydisperse and there is extensive experimental evidence that their size and shape profoundly affect the properties of the resulting material. In particular, it is generally found that the percolation threshold decreases as the size disparity between the different particles present in a system increases, and that the threshold decreases with increasing aspect ratio of the particles.

Percolation of particles on recursive lattices using a nanoscale approach. I. Theoretical foundation at the atomic level.

Powdered materials of sizes ranging from nanometers to micrometers are widely used in materials science and are carefully selected to enhance the performance of a matrix. Fillers have been used in order to improve properties, such as mechanical, rheological, electrical, magnetic, thermal, etc., of the host material.

Localization of a multiblock copolymer at a selective interface: scaling predictions and Monte Carlo verification.

We investigate the localization of a hydrophobic-polar regular copolymer at a selective solvent-solvent interface with emphasis on the impact of block length M on the copolymer behavior. The considerations are based on simple scaling arguments and use the mapping of the problem onto a homopolymer adsorption problem. The resulting scaling relations treat the gyration radius of the copolymer chain perpendicular and parallel to the interface in terms of chain length N and block size M, as well as the selectivity parameter chi.

Entropy crisis, ideal glass transition, and polymer melting: exact solution on a Husimi cactus.

We investigate an extension of the lattice model of melting of semiflexible polymers originally proposed by Flory. Along with a bending penalty epsilon, present in the original model and involving three sites of the lattice, we introduce an interaction energy epsilon (p), corresponding to the presence of a pair of parallel bonds and an interaction energy epsilon (h), associated with a hairpin turn. Both these new terms represent four-site interactions.

Significance of the free volume for metastability, spinodals, and the glassy state: an exact calculation in polymers.

A lattice model of semiflexible linear chains (with equilibrium polydispersity) containing free volume is solved exactly on a Husimi cactus. A metastable liquid (ML) is discovered to exist only at low temperatures and is distinct (and may be disjoint) from the supercooled liquid (SCL) that exists only at high temperatures. The free volume plays a significant role in that the spinodals of the ML and SCL merge and then disappear as the free volume is reduced.