Impact of (rs3397, rs1061624 and rs1061622) and (rs1800796, rs1800797 and rs1554606) Gene Polymorphisms on Inflammatory Response in Patients with End-Stage Kidney Disease Undergoing Dialysis.

We aimed to study the impact of polymorphisms in the genes encoding interleukin-6 (IL6) and tumor necrosis factor receptor-2 (TNFR2), reported to be mortality risk predictors, in patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) undergoing dialysis. (rs3397, rs1061624, and rs1061622) and (rs1800796, rs1800797, and rs1554606) polymorphisms were studied in patients with ESKD and controls; the genotype and allele frequencies and the associations with inflammatory and erythropoiesis markers were determined; deaths were recorded throughout the following two years. The genotype and allele frequencies for the rs3397 polymorphism were different in these patients compared to those in the controls and the global and European populations, and patients with the C allele were less common.

Microscale is key to model current and future Maritime Antarctic vegetation.

Despite being one of the most pristine regions in the world, Antarctica is currently also one of the most vulnerable to climate change. Antarctic vegetation comprises mostly lichens and bryophytes, complemented in some milder regions of Maritime Antarctica by two vascular plant species. Shifts in the spatial patterns of these three main vegetation groups have already been observed in response to climate change, highlighting the urgent need for the development of comprehensive large-scale ecological models of the effects of climate change.

The Visual Impairment of Inherited Retinal Diseases in Portugal as per the National Table of Disabilities.

Purpose: To evaluate the visual impairment of patients with inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), as per the national table of disabilities (TNI).

Design: Retrospective, single-center cohort study.

Participants: Patients with a clinical diagnosis of IRD were recruited at a referral center in Portugal.

Non-infectious uveitis referred for pediatric rheumatologic assessment and management: A Portuguese retrospective study.

Background: Pediatric uveitis poses challenges in diagnosis and treatment due to asymptomatic or oligosymptomatic presentations and high rates of intraocular complications.

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize clinical manifestations and treatment approaches of pediatric uveitis patients in a northern Portuguese tertiary hospital.

Methodology: A retrospective study was conducted involving 41 patients diagnosed with uveitis between 2006 and 2021.

The Association of Leptin with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in End-Stage Kidney Disease Patients on Dialysis.

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a common cardiovascular complication in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients. We aimed at studying the association of LVH with adiponectin and leptin levels, cardiovascular stress/injury biomarkers and nutritional status in these patients. We evaluated the LV mass (LVM) and calculated the LVM index (LVMI) in 196 ESKD patients on dialysis; the levels of hemoglobin, calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, albumin, adiponectin, leptin, N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and growth differentiation factor (GDF)-15 were analyzed.

Ocular Tuberculosis in Pediatrics: A Case Report.

A 17-year-old male was taken to the emergency department for decreased left visual acuity and floaters beginning that same day. There was a history of exposure to pulmonary tuberculosis five years before (mother as index case) followed by a four-month period of isoniazid prophylaxis. The ophthalmic examination showed posterior and intermediate uveitis in the left eye.

The 2021 Portuguese Society of Ophthalmology joint guidelines with Paediatric Rheumatology on the screening, monitoring and medical treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis.

Aim: To develop the first Ophthalmology joint guidelines with Paediatric Rheumatology with recommendations on the screening, monitoring and medical treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis (JIA-U), endorsed by the Portuguese Society of Ophthalmology (SPO).

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to include publications up to July 14th 2020, with no language restrictions, in order to include all the international position papers/guidelines concerning the medical management of JIA-U and randomised clinical trials assessing the efficacy and safety of medical treatment in this field. We searched through MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library.

The Impact of Early Photoscreening on Medium-term Visual Acuity: A Population-Based Study.

Purpose: To analyze the outcomes of an early ophthalmological intervention in children included in the pilot project of the "Rastreio de Saúde Visual Infantil" (RSVI) visual screening program in Portugal.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of the medical records of all children included in the RSVI from April 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016, and who were referred to an ophthalmology appointment. Data of refractive errors, anisometropia, amblyopia, instituted treatments, and visual acuity at the end of the ophthalmological intervention were collected.

Photoscreening for amblyopia risk factors assessment in young children: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

Purpose: Amblyopia is a leading cause of preventable and treatable vision loss in the pediatric population. Instrument-based screening of amblyopia-risk factors is being widely adopted but the audit of its results is still lacking. We sought to review the existing evidence regarding the outcomes of photoscreening applied to children under the age of three years.

Evaluation of Functional Vision and Eye-Related Quality of Life in Children with Strabismus.

Background: Understanding how strabismus impacts a child's quality of life, as well as their families, should be an important key to guide treatment, not only from the ophthalmological point of view but also regarding psychological and social aspects, which are fundamental for a healthy and harmonious development.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate the functional vision and eye-related quality of life (ER-QOL) in a population of children with strabismus submitted or not to corrective surgery, using the recently developed Pediatric Eye Questionnaire (PedEyeQ) and to compare with age and gender-matched visually normal children. The PedEyeQ was applied to non-operated children with strabismus (n = 18), operated children with strabismus (n = 24), and visually normal children (n = 21).

Refractive Surgery for Older Children and Adults with Accommodative Esotropia: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Accommodative esotropia (AET) is characterized by an esodeviation of the eyes due to uncorrected hyperopia, deficient fusional divergence, or high accommodative convergence. Decreasing hyperopia would reduce accommodative convergence and strabismus. We sought to review the existing evidence regarding the outcomes of refractive surgery in patients with AET.

"Together We Stand": A Pilot Study Exploring the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Effects of a Family-Based Psychoeducational Intervention for Patients on Hemodialysis and Their Family Caregivers.

This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a family-based psychoeducational intervention for patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) and their family members. This was a single-group (six dyads), six-week, pre-post pilot study, delivered in a multifamily group format. Feasibility was based on screening, eligibility, content, retention, completion, and intervention adherence rates.

Interleukin 6 (rs1800795) and pentraxin 3 (rs2305619) polymorphisms-association with inflammation and all-cause mortality in end-stage-renal disease patients on dialysis.

Chronic inflammation plays an important role in the progression and outcome of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The circulating levels of the inflammatory biomarkers interleukin 6 (IL6) and pentraxin 3 (PTX3) are enhanced in CKD patients, and are associated with the progression of the disease and with higher risk for cardiovascular events, the major cause of death in CKD patients. Our aim was to study how specific polymorphisms of IL6 and PTX3 encoding genes affect the inflammatory response and outcome of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on dialysis.

Cell-free DNA as a marker for the outcome of end-stage renal disease patients on haemodialysis.

Background: DNA damage and inflammation are common in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Our aim was to evaluate the levels of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and the relationship with inflammation, anaemia, oxidative stress and haemostatic disturbances in ESRD patients on dialysis. By performing a 1-year follow-up study, we also aimed to evaluate the predictive value of cfDNA for the outcome of ESRD patients.

Caring for patients with end-stage renal disease during COVID-19 lockdown: What (additional) challenges to family caregivers?

Introduction: Caring for a patient with end-stage renal disease undergoing in-centre haemodialysis can be a stressful experience, likely to involve significant burden. Within the context of the new coronavirus pandemic, these patients are highly vulnerable to infection by COVID-19, which might increase the care demands and burden of family caregivers.

Aim: This study aimed to explore the subjective experiences of family caregivers of non-COVID-19 patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing in-centre haemodialysis during the COVID-19 lockdown.

RETINAL EMBOLIZATION AFTER CAROTID ECHO DOPPLER: A CASE REPORT.

Purpose: To report a case of symptomatic multiple retinal emboli during a carotid Doppler ultrasonography (CDU) procedure.

Methods: Case report documented with clinical records, fundus photography, optical coherence tomography angiography of the retina, and computed tomography angiography of the supraaortic vessels.

Results: A 60-year-old male patient presented to the emergency department with sudden vision loss in the left eye and pain in the left upper eyelid noticed during a CDU procedure.

Being on hemodialysis during the COVID-19 outbreak: A mixed-methods' study exploring the impacts on dialysis adequacy, analytical data, and patients' experiences.

For individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), the novel coronavirus can present several additional challenges in disease self-management. This study aimed to explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in non-COVID-19 patients with ESRD undergoing in-center hemodialysis (HD). A mixed-methods study was conducted with a purposive sample recruited from one dialysis unit in Portugal.

OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY AND OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY ANGIOGRAPHY PARAMETERS IN PATIENTS WITH PHACOMATOSIS.

Purpose: To compare the retinal vasculature characteristics between eyes of patients with and without phacomatosis.

Methods: Case-control observational study with retinal vasculature evaluation by optical coherence tomography and optical coherence tomography angiography of the macula and disk.

Results: The study included 80 eyes.

Correction to: Proposal for a definition for response to treatment, inactive disease and damage for JIA associated uveitis based on the validation of a uveitis related JIA outcome measures from the Multinational Interdisciplinary Working Group for Uveitis in Childhood (MIWGUC).

Following publication of the original article [1], we have been notified that the author Joan Calzada should not have been included to the team of authors. The authors' team, thus, should be as follows.

Monitoring recent changes of vegetation in Fildes Peninsula (King George Island, Antarctica) through satellite imagery guided by UAV surveys.

Mapping accurately vegetation surfaces in space and time in the ice-free areas of Antarctica can provide important information to quantitatively describe the evolution of their ecosystems. Spaceborne remote sensing is the adequate way to map and evaluate multitemporal changes on the Antarctic vegetation at large but its nature of occurrence, in relatively small and sparse patches, makes the identification very challenging. The inclusion of an intermediate scale of observation between ground and satellite scales, provided by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) imagery, is of great help not only for their effective classification, but also for discriminating their main communities (lichens and mosses).

Proposal for a definition for response to treatment, inactive disease and damage for JIA associated uveitis based on the validation of a uveitis related JIA outcome measures from the Multinational Interdisciplinary Working Group for Uveitis in Childhood (MIWGUC).

Background: JIA-associated uveitis (JIAU) is a serious, sight-threatening disease with significant long-term complications and risk of blindness, even with improved contemporary treatments. The MIWGUC was set up in order to propose specific JIAU activity and response items and to validate their applicability for clinical outcome studies.

Methods: The group consists of 8 paediatric rheumatologists and 7 ophthalmologists.

A Microfluidic Deformability Assessment of Pathological Red Blood Cells Flowing in a Hyperbolic Converging Microchannel.

The loss of the red blood cells (RBCs) deformability is related with many human diseases, such as malaria, hereditary spherocytosis, sickle cell disease, or renal diseases. Hence, during the last years, a variety of technologies have been proposed to gain insights into the factors affecting the RBCs deformability and their possible direct association with several blood pathologies. In this work, we present a simple microfluidic tool that provides the assessment of motions and deformations of RBCs of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients, under a well-controlled microenvironment.

Long Pentraxin 3 as a Broader Biomarker for Multiple Risk Factors in End-Stage Renal Disease: Association with All-Cause Mortality.

Persistent inflammation in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients is known to underlie the progression of chronic kidney disease and to be associated with multiple risk factors including malnutrition, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The acute-phase protein pentraxin 3 (PTX3) has a proven potential as a local inflammatory biomarker, but its clinical utility in ESRD remains unclear. Circulating levels of PTX3 and classical inflammatory mediators, including the clinical prototypical C-reactive protein (CRP), were assessed in 246 ESRD patients on dialysis and analysed in relation to the lipid profile, adipokine levels, and nutritional, cardiac, and renal fibrosis markers.

Social support and treatment adherence in patients with end-stage renal disease: A systematic review.

Successful dialysis in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) largely depends on the patients' ability to adhere to several clinical requirements and life-style changes. Social support has been consistently linked to better health outcomes in a number of chronic diseases. The current study presents a systematic review of the literature on the relationship between social support and treatment adherence in ESRD.