Ultrasound pupillometry for the detection of a relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD): Systematic evaluation in patients with optic neuritis and comparison with infrared video pupillometry.

Purpose: A relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD) is a characteristic clinical sign of optic neuritis (ON). Here, we systematically evaluated ultrasound pupillometry (UP) for the detection of an RAPD in patients with ON, including a comparison with infrared video pupillometry (IVP), the gold standard for objective pupillometry.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 40 patients with acute (n = 9) or past (n = 31) ON (ON+), 31 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) without prior ON, and 50 healthy controls (HC) in a cross-sectional observational study.

Body Composition in Cholangiocarcinoma Affects Immune Cell Populations in the Tumor and Normal Liver Parenchyma.

Background: Due to malnutrition and tumor cachexia, body composition (BC) is frequently altered and known to adversely affect short- and long-term results in patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Here, we explored immune cell populations in the tumor and liver of CCA patients with respect to BC.

Methods: A cohort of 96 patients who underwent surgery for CCA was investigated by multiplexed immunofluorescence (MIF) techniques with computer-based analysis on whole-tissue slide scans to quantify and characterize immune cells in normal liver and tumor regions.

Bee Habitat, but Not Bee Community Structure, Varies Across Grassland Management in Four National Parks in the Mid-Atlantic, USA.

National Park Service units in the United States play a large role in providing habitat for native pollinators. In parks that are established to preserve cultural landscapes, park managers recognize an opportunity to improve pollinator habitat while maintaining historically accurate conditions. In this study, we document floral resources and native bees within managed park grasslands, with the goal of providing information to managers to help them maximize pollinator habitat while meeting other management objectives.

Integumentary and musculoskeletal indications for surgery predominate in a 15-year study of search-and-rescue dogs.

Objective: Analyze data from a 15-year longitudinal study of search-and-rescue (SAR) dogs to determine the indications for surgery and evaluate whether the risk varied by breed, sex, neutering, or deployment status during 9/11.

Methods: 150 SAR dogs: 95 dogs deployed to sites from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and 55 SAR dogs not deployed to these sites. Search-and-rescue dog handlers completed an annual health survey until the dog's death, or the handler withdrew from the study.

Glial cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) induces mucosal healing via intestinal stem cell niche activation.

Mucosal healing is critical to maintain and restore intestinal homeostasis in inflammation. Previous data provide evidence that glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) restores epithelial integrity by largely undefined mechanisms. Here, we assessed the role of GDNF for mucosal healing.