A Deep Learning Method for Automatic Identification of Drusen and Macular Hole from Optical Coherence Tomography

Deep Learning methods have become dominant in various fields of medical imaging, including ophthalmology. In this preliminary study, we investigated a method based on Convolutional Neural Network for the identification of drusen and macular hole from Optical Coherence Tomography scans with the aim to assist ophthalmologists in diagnosing and assessing retinal diseases

Views of Mental Health Professionals on Positive Changes in Service Practices and Staff-User Relationships After One Year of Covid-19 Pandemic in Italy

Abstract This study explored views of mental health services (MHS) professionals regarding positive changes in service practices and organizations, and staff-user relationships after one year of COVID19 in Italy. Professionals from a community-oriented MHS completed online the Questionnaire on MHS Transformations during the COVID-19 pandemic, a 30-item tool developed by a participatory approach and validated. Of the 184 participants, 91.8% felt it was ‘‘true/definitely true’’ that during the pandemic they had informed users on procedures to reduce contagion risks, and 82.1% stated that they had increased telephone contact with users. Sixty-nine percent of professionals reported that staff revised treatment plans according to new needs of care and 78.6% stated that they had been able to mediate between user needs and safe working procedures. Moreover, 79.4% of respondents stated that they had rediscovered the importance of gestures and habits, and 65% that they had gained strength among colleagues to face fear. Fifty-four percent of participants admitted that they had discovered unexpected personal resources in users. Overall, 59.6% of participants stated that they found some positives in the COVID-19 experience. Perceived positive changes was greater among professionals from community facilities vs. those from hospital and residential facilities. In community-oriented MHS, the pandemic offered an opportunity to change practices and rethink the meaning of relationships between people. This data may be useful in generating a more balanced understanding of COVID-19’s impact on MHS and for MHS planning in the pandemic era

The PRIMA fringe sensor unit

The Fringe Sensor Unit (FSU) is the central element of the Phase Referenced Imaging and Micro-arcsecond Astrometry (PRIMA) dual-feed facility and provides fringe sensing for all observation modes, comprising off-axis fringe tracking, phase referenced imaging, and high-accuracy narrow-angle astrometry. It is installed at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) and successfully servoed the fringe tracking loop during the initial commissioning phase. Unique among interferometric beam combiners, the FSU uses spatial phase modulation in bulk optics to retrieve real-time estimates of fringe phase after spatial filtering. A R=20 spectrometer across the K-band makes the retrieval of the group delay signal possible. The FSU was integrated and aligned at the VLTI in summer 2008. It yields phase and group delay measurements at sampling rates up to 2 kHz, which are used to drive the fringe tracking control loop. During the first commissioning runs, the FSU was used to track the fringes of stars with K-band magnitudes as faint as m_K=9.0, using two VLTI Auxiliary Telescopes (AT) and baselines of up to 96 m. Fringe tracking using two Very Large Telescope (VLT) Unit Telescopes (UT) was demonstrated. During initial commissioning and combining stellar light with two ATs, the FSU showed its ability to improve the VLTI sensitivity in K-band by more than one magnitude towards fainter objects, which is of fundamental importance to achieve the scientific objectives of PRIMA.Comment: 19 pages, 23 figures. minor changes and language editing. this version equals the published articl

Interleukin-36α axis is modulated in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of the interleukin (IL)-36 axis in patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). Blood and minor labial salivary glands (MSG) biopsies were obtained from 35 pSS and 20 non-Sjögren's syndrome patients (nSS) patients. Serum IL-36α was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). IL-36α, IL-36R, IL-36RA, IL-38, IL-22, IL-17, IL-23p19 and expression in MSGs was assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and tissue IL-36α and IL-38 expression was also investigated by immunohistochemistry (IHC). αβ and γδ T cells and CD68(+) cells isolated from MSGs were also studied by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy analysis. IL-36α was over-expressed significantly in the serum and in the salivary glands of pSS. Salivary gland IL-36α expression was correlated with the expression levels of IL-17, IL-22 and IL-23p19. IL-38, that acts as inhibitor of IL-36α, was also up-regulated in pSS. αβ(+) CD3(+) T cells and CD68(+) cells were the major source of IL-36α in minor salivary glands of pSS. γδ T cells were not significantly expanded in the salivary glands of pSS but produced more IL-17, as their percentage correlated with the focus score. Higher expression of IL-36α and IL-36R was also demonstrated in γδ T cells isolated from pSS compared to controls. In this study we demonstrate that a significant increase in circulating and tissue levels of IL-36α occurs in pSS patients

The Use of Artificial Intelligence Approaches for Performance Improvement of Low-Cost Integrated Navigation Systems

In this paper, the authors investigate the possibility of applying artificial intelligence algorithms to the outputs of a low-cost Kalman filter-based navigation solution in order to achieve performance similar to that of high-end MEMS inertial sensors. To further improve the results of the prototype and simultaneously lighten filter requirements, different AI models are compared in this paper to determine their performance in terms of complexity and accuracy. By overcoming some known limitations (e.g., sensitivity on the dimension of input data from inertial sensors) and starting from Kalman filter applications (whose raw noise parameter estimates were obtained from a simple analysis of sensor specifications), such a solution presents an intermediate behavior compared to the current state of the art. It allows the exploitation of the power of AI models. Different Neural Network models have been taken into account and compared in terms of measurement accuracy and a number of model parameters; in particular, Dense, 1-Dimension Convolutional, and Long Short Term Memory Neural networks. As can be excepted, the higher the NN complexity, the higher the measurement accuracy; the models’ performance has been assessed by means of the root-mean-square error (RMSE) between the target and predicted values of all the navigation parameters

Hyperfunctioning Parathyroid Giant Adenoma

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to report the management and treatment of a 47-year-old patient admitted with multiple problems including asthenia, nausea and bradycardia, and was diagnosed with a giant parathyroid adenoma. Case report: A 47-year-old man was admitted to the Department of General Surgery for acute and worsening asthenia, nausea and bradycardia. Blood tests showed hypercalcemia, hypophosporemia, very high serum parathormone level, so that he was diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism. Cervical ultrasonography and scintigraphy with technetium 99 mTc Methoxyisobutylisonitrile (99 mTc-MIBI) showed the presence of positive nodule at the isthmus of the thyroid gland. The patient underwent neck exploration. Intra-operative iPTH essay was measured. A giant parathyroid adenoma was identified and excised, with no macroscopic signs of malignancy. Discussion and conclusion: Hyper functioning parathyroid giant adenoma can present with typical symptoms of hypercalcemic crisis: ECG alterations, kidney failure, emotional lability, confusion, delirium, psychosis, asthenia, epilepsy. Elective treatment is the excission. The surgical technique contemplates neck exploration and to ensure the finding of the adenoma, previously identified with imaging tests. It is necessary to measure intra-operative iPTH assay

Bombesin peptide antagonist for target-selective delivery of liposomal doxorubicin on cancer cells

Purpose: This study addresses novel peptide modified liposomal doxorubicin to specifically target tissues overexpressing bombesin (BN) receptors. Methods: DOTA-(AEEA)2-peptides containing the [7–14]bombesin and the new BN-AA1 sequence have been synthesized to compare their binding properties and in serum stabilities. The amphiphilic peptide derivative (MonYBN- AA1) containing BN-AA1, a hydrophobic moiety, polyethylenglycole (PEG), and diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA), has been synthesized. Liposomes have been obtained by mixing of MonY-BN-AA1 with 1,2-distearoylsn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC). Results: Both 111In labeled peptide derivatives present nanomolar Kd to PC-3 cells. 177Lu labeled peptide DOTA- (AEEA)2-BN-AA1 is very stable (half-life 414.1 h), while DOTA-(AEEA)2-BN, shows a half-life of 15.5 h. In vivo studies on the therapeutic efficacy of DSPC/MonY-BN-AA1/Dox in comparison to DSPC/MonY-BN/Dox, were performed in PC-3 xenograft bearing mice. Both formulations showed similar tumor growth inhibition (TGI) compared to control animals treated with non-targeted DSPC/Dox liposomes or saline solution. For DSPC/MonY-BN-AA1/Dox the maximum effect was observed 19 days after treatment. Conclusions: DSPC/MonY-BN-AA1/Dox nanovectors confirm the ability to selectively target and provide therapeutic efficacy in mice. The lack of receptor activation and possible acute biological side effects provided by using the AA1 antagonist bombesin sequence should provide safe working conditions for further development of this class of drug delivery vehicles

Blocking TNF in vitro with infliximab determines the inhibition of expansion and interferon gamma production of Vγ9/Vδ2 T lymphocytes from patients with active rheumatoid arthritis. A role in the susceptibility to tuberculosis?

Biological therapeutic agents neutralising tumour necrosis factor (TNF) are highly active in treating chronic inflammatory diseases, such as Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, uveitis, and psoriasis (1-3). From the beginning, side effects of TNF neutralisation - mostly infectious complications - were recognized, the most important being, however, pulmonary tuberculosis infections (4)