CHOROIDAL NEOVASCULARIZATION AS A LATE COMPLICATION OF SYPHILITIC CHORIORETINITIS MANAGED WITH INTRAVITREAL AFLIBERCEPT.

Purpose: To report a rare case of choroidal neovascular membrane (CNV) developed three years after acquired syphilitic chorioretinitis successfully treated with intravitreal aflibercept.

Methods: Case report.

Results: A 44-year-old woman with bilateral decreased vision and a history of syphilitic chorioretinitis 3 years prior to presentation.

Sex-biasing influence of autism-associated gene overdosage at connectomic, behavioral, and transcriptomic levels.

Genomic mechanisms enhancing risk in males may contribute to sex bias in autism. The ubiquitin protein ligase E3A gene () affects cellular homeostasis via control of protein turnover and by acting as transcriptional coactivator with steroid hormone receptors. Overdosage of via duplication or triplication of chromosomal region 15q11-13 causes 1 to 2% of autistic cases.

Alterations of Perineuronal Net Expression and Abnormal Social Behavior and Whisker-dependent Texture Discrimination in Mice Lacking the Autism Candidate Gene Engrailed 2.

GABAergic interneurons and perineuronal nets (PNNs) are important regulators of plasticity throughout life and their dysfunction has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several neuropsychiatric conditions, including autism spectrum disorders (ASD). PNNs are condensed portions of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that are crucial for neural development and proper formation of synaptic connections. We previously showed a reduced expression of GABAergic interneuron markers in the hippocampus and somatosensory cortex of adult mice lacking the Engrailed2 gene (En2-/- mice), a mouse model of ASD.

The management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease-associated spondyloarthritis: Italian Group for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IG-IBD) and Italian Society of Rheumatology (SIR) recommendations based on a pseudo-Delphi consensus.

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is the most frequent extraintestinal manifestation in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). When IBD and spondyloarthritis coexist, musculoskeletal and intestinal disease features should be considered when planning a therapeutic strategy. Treatment options for IBD and SpA have expanded enormously over the last few years, but randomized controlled trials with specific endpoints focused on SpA are not available in the IBD setting.

Effectiveness and safety of filgotinib in rheumatoid arthritis: a real-life multicentre experience.

Objectives: We investigated the effectiveness and safety of filgotinib in a real-life multicentre cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.

Methods: RA patients were evaluated at baseline and after 12 and 24 weeks and were stratified based on previous treatments as biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (bDMARD)-naive and bDMARD-insufficient responders (IR). Concomitant usage of methotrexate (MTX) and oral glucocorticoids (GC) was recorded.

New Views of the DNA Repair Protein Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated in Central Neurons: Contribution in Synaptic Dysfunctions of Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Ataxia-Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) is a serine/threonine protein kinase principally known to orchestrate DNA repair processes upon DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Mutations in the gene lead to Ataxia-Telangiectasia (AT), a recessive disorder characterized by ataxic movements consequent to cerebellar atrophy or dysfunction, along with immune alterations, genomic instability, and predisposition to cancer. AT patients show variable phenotypes ranging from neurologic abnormalities and cognitive impairments to more recently described neuropsychiatric features pointing to symptoms hardly ascribable to the canonical functions of ATM in DNA damage response (DDR).

Estimating crop coefficients and actual evapotranspiration in citrus orchards with sporadic cover weeds based on ground and remote sensing data.

Accurate estimations of actual crop evapotranspiration are of utmost importance to evaluate crop water requirements and to optimize water use efficiency. At this aim, coupling simple agro-hydrological models, such as the well-known FAO-56 model, with remote observations of the land surface could represent an easy-to-use tool to identify biophysical parameters of vegetation, such as the crop coefficient K under the actual field conditions and to estimate actual crop evapotranspiration. This paper intends, therefore, to propose an operational procedure to evaluate the spatio-temporal variability of K in a citrus orchard characterized by the sporadic presence of ground weeds, based on micro-meteorological measurements collected on-ground and vegetation indices (VIs) retrieved by the Sentinel-2 sensors.

Categorization of Adverse Events Reported to the FDA Pertaining to Tibia Intramedullary Nailing.

OpenFDA is an open access database maintained by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that we queried for adverse events (AEs) related to product devices used during tibia intramedullary nailing (IMN) procedures. There was a total of 1,799 reports pertaining to tibial intramedullary nailing from 1996 to 2020. Causes included infection (451), nonunion (380), intraoperative issue (343), painful hardware (234), implant fracture (195), other (68), loosening (35), surgeon error (24), packing problem (24), patient injury (12), expiration (12), contamination (11) and allergic reaction (10).

ATM rules neurodevelopment and glutamatergic transmission in the hippocampus but not in the cortex.

Interest in the function of ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated protein (ATM) is extensively growing as evidenced by preclinical studies that continuously link ATM with new intracellular pathways. Here, we exploited Atm and Atm mice and demonstrate that cognitive defects are rescued by the delivery of the antidepressant Fluoxetine (Fluox). Fluox increases levels of the chloride intruder NKCC1 exclusively at hippocampal level suggesting an ATM context-specificity.

Factors That Influence Time to Operating Room for Geriatric Hip Fractures: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

Background: For geriatric hip fractures, the current American College of Surgeons guideline recommends surgery within 48 hours. We sought to identify which factors delayed a patient's progression to definitive surgery at 2 associated level II trauma centers using chart abstraction.

Methods: We reviewed all geriatric patients who underwent a surgical procedure for a hip fracture.

Attachment and Growth of Fibroblasts and Tenocytes Within a Porous Titanium Scaffold: A Bioreactor Approach.

Background: Direct attachment of tendons to metallic implants is important in orthopedics. Tissue integration depends on scaffold microstructure and composition. This study evaluated the effect of pore size of titanium on the viability and function of fibroblasts and tenocytes in a dynamic bioreactor.

Somatosensory cortex hyperconnectivity and impaired whisker-dependent responses in Cntnap2 mice.

Sensory abnormalities are a common feature in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Tactile responsiveness is altered in autistic individuals, with hypo-responsiveness being associated with the severity of ASD core symptoms. Similarly, sensory abnormalities have been described in mice lacking ASD-associated genes.

Mark Coventry Award: Efficacy of Saline Wash Plus Antibiotics Doped Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Composite (PVA-VAN/TOB-P) in a Mouse Pouch Infection Model.

Background: The efficacy of saline irrigation for treatment of periprosthetic infection (PJI) is limited by the presence of contaminated medical devices. This study evaluated treatment efficacy of locally placed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/bioceramic composite doped with vancomycin (PVA-VAN-P) or vancomycin and tobramycin (PVA-VAN/TOB-P) after saline irrigation in a mouse pouch infection model.

Methods: Sutures were implanted into air pouches of BALB/cJ mice, then inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus.

Detecting crop water requirement indicators in irrigated agroecosystems from soil water content profiles: An application for a citrus orchard.

Most perennial crops sensitive to water scarcity, such as citrus, can benefit from efficient water management, which allows for reduced water consumption while increasing crop production on a long-term basis. However, when implementing water-saving strategies, it is necessary to monitor soil and/or plant water status in order to determine crop water demand. A plethora of devices providing indirect measurements of volumetric soil water content, such as the "drill and drop" multi-sensors probes (Sentek, Inc.

Abnormal Whisker-Dependent Behaviors and Altered Cortico-Hippocampal Connectivity in Shank3b-/- Mice.

Abnormal tactile response is an integral feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), and hypo-responsiveness to tactile stimuli is often associated with the severity of ASDs core symptoms. Patients with Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMS), caused by mutations in the SHANK3 gene, show ASD-like symptoms associated with aberrant tactile responses. The neural underpinnings of these abnormalities are still poorly understood.

Brain mapping across 16 autism mouse models reveals a spectrum of functional connectivity subtypes.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by substantial, yet highly heterogeneous abnormalities in functional brain connectivity. However, the origin and significance of this phenomenon remain unclear. To unravel ASD connectopathy and relate it to underlying etiological heterogeneity, we carried out a bi-center cross-etiological investigation of fMRI-based connectivity in the mouse, in which specific ASD-relevant mutations can be isolated and modeled minimizing environmental contributions.

Cilioretinal Artery Obstruction as a Complication of Retinitis Caused by Virus.

Purpose: The purpose of this case report is to describe the obstruction of cilioretinal artery in a patient with acute focal retinitis occurring due to virus (CHIKV) fever.

Case Report: A 45-year-old female presented with sudden and unilateral visual impairment from 2 days, which was preceded by a flu-like syndrome 2 weeks before. Multimodal imaging revealed focal retinitis in both eyes, which was complicated by cilioretinal artery obstruction in the left eye.

Foxg1 Upregulation Enhances Neocortical Activity.

Foxg1 is an ancient transcription factor gene orchestrating a number of neurodevelopmental processes taking place in the rostral brain. In this study, we investigated its impact on neocortical activity. We found that mice overexpressing Foxg1 in neocortical pyramidal cells displayed an electroencephalography (EEG) with increased spike frequency and were more prone to kainic acid (KA)-induced seizures.