OCT Analysis of Retinal Pigment Epithelium in Myopic Choroidal Neovascularization: Correlation Analysis with Different Treatments

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the status of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) by means of the spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) overlying the myopic neovascular lesions in the involutive phase, looking for any correlations between the status of the RPE and the size of the lesions and the type and duration of the treatment. Methods: SD-OCT examinations of 83 consecutive patients with myopic choroidal neovascularization (CNV) were reviewed and divided into two groups: group A, patients with CNV characterized by uniformity of the overlying RPE, and group B, patients with CNV characterized by non-uniformity of the overlying RPE. Results: The median lesion area, major diameter, and minimum diameter were, respectively, 0.42 mm2 (0.30–1.01 mm2), 0.76 mm2 (0.54–1.28 mm2), and 0.47 mm2 (0.63–0.77 mm2) in group A, and 1.60 mm2 (0.72–2.67 mm2), 1.76 mm2 (1.13–2.23 mm2), and 0.98 mm2 (0.65–1.33 mm2) in group B. These values were lower in group A than in group B (p < 0.001). The number of treatments with a period free of disease recurrence for at least 6 months was greater (p < 0.010) in group B (6.54 ± 2.82) than in group A (3.67 ± 2.08), and treatments include intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injection, photodynamic therapy, or both. Conclusions: Our results showed that the size of myopic neovascular lesion influences the development of a uniform RPE above the lesion and therefore the disease prognosis. The presence of uniform RPE was found to be extremely important in the follow-up of patients with myopic CNV, as it influences the duration of the disease and the number of treatments required

Social media in democratic transitions and consolidations: what can we learn from the case of Tunisia?

© 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. The aim of this paper is to analyse the use of social media in the stages of uprising, democratic transition and democratic consolidation using the case study of Tunisia. While the impact of social media in uprisings has been widely documented in past research about the MENA region, Tunisia provides new evidence to the use of Internet in the processes of democratisation. Consequently, this research focuses in detail on the benefits but also the pitfalls of social media in transitions and consolidations. Data collection was based on interviews with Tunisian social media activists. The analysis is valuable to social media practitioners and researchers alike

Mating system of a population of Apodemus flavicollis inferred by spatial organization and nest sharing

Apodemus flavicollis is the most abundant rodent species in the beech woodlands of eastern Italian Alps. We analyzed two-years of radio-tracking data collected from adult individuals during the breeding season to investigate the sexual differences in the use of space and nesting behaviour, thus deriving information on the mating system. The field trial was based on CMR and radio-tracking (homing-in) techniques. We fitted collars to 64 adult resident mice. From July to October of both 2005 and 2006, we completed 4 radio-tracking sessions of 3 weeks. Fixes were recorded from dusk to dawn; additional daylight fixes allowed to localise burrows. We calculated home ranges as MCP 100% and Kernel utilisation distributions (UD), from which we derived 95% and 50% probability polygons. We performed the home range analysis only on animals which showed an asymptotic curve of number of fixes versus home range size; this was the case for 14 males and 7 females in 2005 and for 11 males and 10 females in 2006. We quantified static overlap between individuals by a range of indexes, including UD overlap and distance between centres of maximum activity. We assessed the effect of sex on the behavioural parameters listed above by GLM or GLMM. We observed that the home ranges of the two sexes extensively overlapped; individual home ranges of males often overlapped with those of several females and individual home ranges of females overlapped with those of several males. In turn, female spatial ranges never overlapped one to each other. Furthermore, male home ranges were larger than female ones. Every mouse used many burrows sequentially or simultaneously; the strict spatial association between sexes was also confirmed by the frequent male-female pairs observed when communal nesting was recorded. We never detected nest sharing among females, whilst we found that individual males could share their burrows with more than one female and viceversa. All these observations, supported the hypothesis that male spatial behaviour in the breeding season was aimed at maximizing the number of potential matings, suggesting a promiscuous mating system, that would be the response to the high costs of monopolizing territorial, asynchronous female

Sex-biased ranging behaviour of the yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis at high population density

The yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis is the most abundant rodent species in woodland of eastern Italian Alps and a relevant reservoir of zoonotic pathogens. We analyzed radio-tracking data collected from adult individuals during the breeding season in a year of high population density and low seed production to determine sexual differences on use of space, nesting behaviour and dispersal. The field trial was based on CMR and radio-tracking (homing-in) techniques. We fitted collars to 20 male and 12 female adult resident individuals. From July to October 2005, we completed 4 radio-tracking sessions of 3 weeks. Fixes were recorded from dusk to dawn; additional daylight fixes allowed to localise burrows. The mean number of nocturnal fixes/ animal/session was 65.7 ± 2.2 and 12.4 ± 0.8 for diurnal fixes. We calculated home ranges as MCP 100% and Kernel utilisation distributions (UD), from which we derived 95% and 50% probability polygons. We could estimate home ranges for 13 males and 7 females. We quantified static overlap between individuals by a range of indexes, including UD overlap and distance between centres of maximum activity. We calculated successive distances at 24 hours interval to assess ranging movements and dispersion. We assessed the effect of sex on the behavioural parameters listed above by GLM or GLMM. All statistical analysis were carried out by R and spatial analyses by ArcGis 9.0. Male home ranges and core areas were larger than those of females, as well as daily ranging movements. Spatial range of individual males overlapped both with that of males and females. In turn, female spatial ranges never overlapped one to each other. Similarly, we never detected more than one female in the same nest. From the end of September to early October, 9 individuals, of both sexes, dispersed to new sites (from 1 km to 2.5 km apart), suddenly and quickly. Our results indicated that spatial behaviour of A.flavicollis is affected by sex. During mating season, males may maximize their probability of meeting sexually active females by covering large areas, while females may compete for food, thus defending core areas from conspecific of the same sex. The food scarcity, exasperated by the high population density, seemed to drive individual dispersal towards habitat spot of better quality. Sex biased ranging behaviour may exert a central role in disease transmission, leading to greater exposure of males to pathogens, thus cumulating to hormonal effects