Risk assessment model used to predict discharge care after total hip and total knee arthroplasty: A population-based study.

Background: Transfer to a post-acute care facility or hospital readmission after total joint arthroplasty represent additional costs and increased surgical and health care resource utilization. Accurate prediction of post-acute care factors could help providers to plan the patient's discharge destination and have a positive impact on postoperative outcomes and readmission rates.

Objective: To develop a risk assessment model to predict discharge care after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

[Rarer, safer, shorter urinary catheterization: interprofessional objective].

The indwelling urinary catheter is a frequent procedure which has a significant nosocomial impact with a risk of infectious and non-infectious complications. Studies show a reduction in the risk of these complications thanks to better monitoring of recommendations as part of programs within healthcare establishments aimed at improving professional practices (indication, monitoring, etc.).

Exploring self-reported visual function and vision-related anxiety in patients with RPGR-associated retinal degeneration.

Variants in the retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator (RPGR) gene are responsible for the majority of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa cases, which not only affects male patients but also some heterozygous females. Vision-related disability and anxiety of patients with RPGR-associated retinal degeneration have never been explored before. This study aimed to evaluate self-reported visual function and vision-related anxiety in a Portuguese cohort of male and female patients with RPGR-associated retinal degeneration using two validated patient-reported outcome measures.

Refractive index sensors based on cascaded multimode interference hetero-core optical fibers.

In this work, we demonstrate refractive index (RI) sensors based on the cascade of hetero-core structures using multimode and no-core optical fibers in sequence. The sensor device is engineered to have resonances at different wavelengths using different sensing region lengths. The device fabrication involves simple fiber cleaving and fusion splicing.

Self-reported visual function and psychosocial impact of visual loss in -associated retinal degeneration in a Portuguese population.

Purpose: To evaluate self-reported visual function and the psychosocial impact of visual loss EYS-associated retinal degeneration (EYS-RD) using two patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures: Michigan Retinal Degeneration Questionnaire (MRDQ) and Michigan Vision-related Anxiety Questionnaire (MVAQ).

Methods: Cross-sectional, single-center study conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Portugal. Patients with biallelic EYS variants were invited to participate.

Eyes Shut Homolog-Associated Retinal Degeneration: Natural History, Genetic Landscape, and Phenotypic Spectrum.

Purpose: To describe the natural history, genetic landscape, and phenotypic spectrum of Eyes shut homolog (EYS)-associated retinal degeneration (EYS-RD).

Design: Retrospective, single-center cohort study complemented by a cross-sectional examination.

Subjects: Patients with biallelic EYS variants were recruited at an inherited RD referral center in Portugal.

Identification and selection of a new Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain isolated from Brazilian ethanol fermentation process for application in beer production.

The fermented beverage industry is always pursuing alternatives to make products that delight consumers with special or unique characteristics. The identification and improvement of new yeast strains emerge as an opportunity; however, wild strains usually have a limitation in maltose fermentation and/or off-flavors production. Here we report the production of a Blond-style ale beer using a bioethanol isolated strain (LBGA-287) with flavor complexity approved in sensorial panels.

In Situ Evaluation of Filter Media Modified by Biocidal Nanomaterials to Control Bioaerosols in Internal Environments.

Controlling the bioaerosol present in indoor environments has been evidenced to be extremely necessary. An alternative is to develop filter media for air conditioners that have biocidal properties. This study aimed to verify the biocidal effect of a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter medium modified with the deposition of nanoparticles on its surface.

Defining Phenotype, Tropism, and Retinal Gene Therapy Using Adeno-Associated Viral Vectors (AAVs) in New-Born Brown Norway Rats with a Spontaneous Mutation in .

Mutations in the Crumbs homologue 1 () gene cause inherited retinal dystrophies, such as early-onset retinitis pigmentosa and Leber congenital amaurosis. A Brown Norway rat strain was reported with a spontaneous insertion-deletion (indel) mutation in exon 6 of . It has been reported that these mutant rats show vascular abnormalities associated with retinal telangiectasia and possess an early-onset retinal degenerative phenotype with outer limiting membrane breaks and focal loss of retinal lamination at 2 months of age.

AAV- protects against vision loss in an inducible retinitis pigmentosa mouse model.

Loss of Crumbs homolog 1 (CRB1) or CRB2 proteins in Müller cells or photoreceptors in the mouse retina results in a CRB dose-dependent retinal phenotype. In this study, we present a novel Müller cell-specific retinitis pigmentosa mouse model (complete loss of CRB1 and reduced levels of CRB2 specifically in Müller cells). The double mutant mice showed deficits in electroretinography, optokinetic head tracking, and retinal morphology.

Deep COVID DeteCT: an international experience on COVID-19 lung detection and prognosis using chest CT.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presents open questions in how we clinically diagnose and assess disease course. Recently, chest computed tomography (CT) has shown utility for COVID-19 diagnosis. In this study, we developed Deep COVID DeteCT (DCD), a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) that uses the entire chest CT volume to automatically predict COVID-19 (COVID+) from non-COVID-19 (COVID-) pneumonia and normal controls.

PINK1/PARKIN signalling in neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation.

Mutations in the PTEN-induced kinase 1 (PINK1) and Parkin RBR E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase (PARKIN) genes are associated with familial forms of Parkinson's disease (PD). PINK1, a protein kinase, and PARKIN, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, control the specific elimination of dysfunctional or superfluous mitochondria, thus fine-tuning mitochondrial network and preserving energy metabolism. PINK1 regulates PARKIN translocation in impaired mitochondria and drives their removal via selective autophagy, a process known as mitophagy.

Properties, Extraction Methods, and Delivery Systems for Curcumin as a Natural Source of Beneficial Health Effects.

This review discusses the impact of curcumin-an aromatic phytoextract from the turmeric () rhizome-as an effective therapeutic agent. Despite all of the beneficial health properties ensured by curcumin application, its pharmacological efficacy is compromised in vivo due to poor aqueous solubility, high metabolism, and rapid excretion that may result in poor systemic bioavailability. To overcome these problems, novel nanosystems have been proposed to enhance its bioavailability and bioactivity by reducing the particle size, the modification of surfaces, and the encapsulation efficiency of curcumin with different nanocarriers.

Microglia Contribution to the Regulation of the Retinal and Choroidal Vasculature in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

The retina is a highly metabolically active tissue with high-level consumption of nutrients and oxygen. This high metabolic demand requires a properly developed and maintained vascular system. The retina is nourished by two systems: the central retinal artery that supplies the inner retina and the choriocapillaris that supplies the outer retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE).

Crumbs2 mediates ventricular layer remodelling to form the spinal cord central canal.

In the spinal cord, the central canal forms through a poorly understood process termed dorsal collapse that involves attrition and remodelling of pseudostratified ventricular layer (VL) cells. Here, we use mouse and chick models to show that dorsal ventricular layer (dVL) cells adjacent to dorsal midline Nestin(+) radial glia (dmNes+RG) down-regulate apical polarity proteins, including Crumbs2 (CRB2) and delaminate in a stepwise manner; live imaging shows that as one cell delaminates, the next cell ratchets up, the dmNes+RG endfoot ratchets down, and the process repeats. We show that dmNes+RG secrete a factor that promotes loss of cell polarity and delamination.

Microglial Cell Dysfunction in CRB1-Associated Retinopathies.

Inherited retinal diseases encompass a large group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous diseases estimated to affect two million people worldwide. Among these people, approximately 80,000 are or will become blind in their first decades of life due to mutations in both alleles of the Crumbs homologue-1 (CRB1) gene. Microglia are the resident immune surveyor cells in the retina, and their roles have been heavily studied in several retinal diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa (RP), age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy.

CD4 CCR6 T cells, but not γδ T cells, are important for the IL-23R-dependent progression of antigen-induced inflammatory arthritis in mice.

IL-23 plays an important role in the development of arthritis and the IL-23 receptor (IL-23R) is expressed on different types of T cells. However, it is not fully clear which IL-23R T cells are critical in driving T cell-mediated synovitis. We demonstrate, using knock-in IL-23R-GFP reporter (IL-23R ) mice, that CD4 CCR6 T cells and γδ T cells, but not CD8 T cells, express the IL-23R(GFP).

CRB2 Loss in Rod Photoreceptors Is Associated with Progressive Loss of Retinal Contrast Sensitivity.

Variations in the Crumbs homolog-1 () gene are associated with a wide variety of autosomal recessive retinal dystrophies, including early onset retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA). CRB1 belongs to the Crumbs family, which in mammals includes CRB2 and CRB3. Here, we studied the specific roles of CRB2 in rod photoreceptor cells and whether ablation of CRB2 in rods exacerbates the -disease.

The profiles of angiology and vascular surgery academic leagues and their effectiveness in specialty education.

Background: Academic leagues are extracurricular student organizations that are supervised by professors on the faculty of a higher education institution and are dedicated to improving knowledge in certain areas. There has recently been a marked growth in the number of new leagues, giving undergraduate students access to additional information, lectures, internships, and conferences. Angiology and vascular surgery is one of the specialties that have such organizations.

Human iPSC-Derived Retinas Recapitulate the Fetal CRB1 CRB2 Complex Formation and Demonstrate that Photoreceptors and Müller Glia Are Targets of AAV5.

Human retinal organoids from induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) can be used to confirm the localization of proteins in retinal cell types and to test transduction and expression patterns of gene therapy vectors. Here, we compared the onset of CRB protein expression in human fetal retina with human iPSC-derived retinal organoids. We show that CRB2 protein precedes the expression of CRB1 in the developing human retina.

Loss of CRB2 in Müller glial cells modifies a CRB1-associated retinitis pigmentosa phenotype into a Leber congenital amaurosis phenotype.

Variations in the human Crumbs homolog-1 (CRB1) gene lead to an array of retinal dystrophies including early onset of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) in children. To investigate the physiological roles of CRB1 and CRB2 in retinal Müller glial cells (MGCs), we analysed mouse retinas lacking both proteins in MGC. The peripheral retina showed a faster progression of dystrophy than the central retina.

CRB2 in immature photoreceptors determines the superior-inferior symmetry of the developing retina to maintain retinal structure and function.

The mammalian apical-basal determinant Crumbs homolog-1 (CRB1) plays a crucial role in retinal structure and function by the maintenance of adherens junctions between photoreceptors and Müller glial cells. Patients with mutations in the CRB1 gene develop retinal dystrophies, including early-onset retinitis pigmentosa and Leber congenital amaurosis. Previously, we showed that Crb1 knockout mice developed a slow-progressing retinal phenotype at foci in the inferior retina, although specific ablation of Crb2 in immature photoreceptors leads to an early-onset phenotype throughout the retina.

AAV Gene Augmentation Therapy for CRB1-Associated Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Mutations in the CRB1 gene account for around 10,000 persons with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and 70,000 persons with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) worldwide. Therefore, the CRB1 gene is a key target in the fight against blindness. A proof-of-concept for an adeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated CRB2 gene augmentation therapy for CRB1-RP was recently described.

Crumbs 2 prevents cortical abnormalities in mouse dorsal telencephalon.

The formation of a functionally integrated nervous system is dependent on a highly organized sequence of events that includes timely division and differentiation of progenitors. Several apical polarity proteins have been shown to play crucial roles during neurogenesis, however, the role of Crumbs 2 (CRB2) in cortical development has not previously been reported. Here, we show that conditional ablation of Crb2 in the murine dorsal telencephalon leads to defects in the maintenance of the apical complex.

Animal Models of Bone Loss in Inflammatory Arthritis: from Cytokines in the Bench to Novel Treatments for Bone Loss in the Bedside-a Comprehensive Review.

Throughout life, bone is continuously remodelled. Bone is formed by osteoblasts, from mesenchymal origin, while osteoclasts induce bone resorption. This process is tightly regulated.