The role of retinal imaging in the management of abusive head trauma cases

Background: As retinal hemorrhage (RH) is the most frequent and reliable finding of abusive head trauma (AHT), an ophthalmology consultation should be systematically required in suspected cases. Full retinal examination through pharmacologically dilated pupil can detect the type and pattern of RHs, helping to distinguish abusive from non-abusive head trauma. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of a case series of 6 infants (aged 0.6-10 months) with AHT who were admitted to the Emergency Department of Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS in Rome with severe intracranial hemorrhages. Children underwent full multidisciplinary assessment including dilated fundus examination, optical coherence tomography (OCT) and digital wide-field fundus photography (DWFFP – in our case RetCam). In our paper we report the clinical presentation, the ocular findings and outcome at discharge. Results: The mean age at the hospital admission was 6.28 months. In all infants, intracranial hemorrhages were found. Preretinal and intraretinal hemorrhages were detected, collecting good-quality retinal images. Conclusions: Imaging of retinal hemorrhages represents a fundamental moment of AHT diagnosis and documentation. Although RetCam is the gold standard for the acquisition of retinal images in suspected cases, OCT is extremely valuable in forensic evaluation since it can detect even small macular hemorrhages. Therefore, the combination of RetCam and OCT imaging can give relevant hints for the diagnosis of AHT, allowing to evaluate the extent, spread and morphology of RHs

Experimental data collection and modelling of dry deposition velocities for urban surfaces

Dry deposition process is recognized as an important pathway among the removal processes of radioactive pollutants in atmosphere. There is not a unique and accepted theoretical description of involved dry deposition phenomena due to the complexity of the fluid-dynamic processes that influence the deposition flux, but also because there is a lack of experimental data covering all scenarios of interest. In this paper, that is the result of a National Research Program a research activity conducted by DEIM Department of the University of Palermo and ENEA and funded by the Italian Minister of Economic Development, a new schema for parameterization of particle dry deposition velocity on urban area is proposed. The work required comparisons with some experimental data reported in literature for different particle deposition scenarios. The results show that the proposed approach can catch some aspects of phenomena involved in dry deposition processes for the examined environmental conditions with good agreements

"I’m just trying to make my city a better place” Social issues, superpowers, and New York City in Netflix’s 2015-2017 marvel series franchise

Comunicación presentada en el Congreso Internacional Interdisciplinar "La ciudad: imágenes e imaginarios" celebrado en la Facultad de Humanidades, Comunicación y Documentación, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid del 12 al 15 marzo de 2018.Una señal luminosa de angustia que recorre el cielo suplica por un superhéroe capaz de derrotar al mal que invade Crime Laley. Seguramente, la parte más aterradora de Gotham City también es la cuna de su héroe: fue allí donde, como niño, Bruce Wayne presenció el asesinato de sus padres, un evento que lo marcó profundamente y fue la base para el nacimiento de Batman. A menudo, los superhéroes existen en universos ficticios propios y navegan por lugares y espacios que se desenredan de manera fluida, - pero no necesariamente armoniosa - y generalmente en consonancia con una razón de ser particular. Como Gotham City, estas ciudades ficticias a veces ganan tanta complejidad que evolucionan de telones de fondo a personajes, lo que influye profundamente en varias facetas de las trayectorias de otros personajes. Pero, ¿qué cambia cuando estas influencias, como las inclinaciones que las alimentan y los desafíos que enfrentan, están intrínsecamente conectadas con lugares reales? ¿Qué sucede cuando los superhéroes y nosotros coexistimos en la misma ciudad? Este artículo analiza las interpretaciones recientes de Netflix de Marvel's Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones y The Defenders para comprender cómo el arco dramático de cada serie se nutre, se entremezcla y se basa en elementos específicos de la geografía y la historia de Nueva York y sus texturas sociológicas. Proponemos un argumento doble: en primer lugar, que estos superhéroes se enreden en la trama de la ciudad de Nueva York como encarnaciones míticas de algunos de sus problemas sociales más apremiantes, cuyas narraciones constituyen vías para audiencias diversas para interactuar críticamente con la ciudad, sus luchas, y sus múltiples modos de vida. En segundo lugar, que estas narraciones explotan roles claramente definidos de “héroe” y “villano” y emplean superpoderes como abstracciones diseñadas para apelar a una noción amplia, mal definida, de “justicia”, mientras exponen dilemas reales de moralidad y luchas de diseño y aplicación de políticas apuntalando ambientes urbanos particulares. En última instancia, argumentamos que las historias de superhéroes son artefactos culturales importantes porque tienen el potencial de reunir a las audiencias, y establecer el tono de las disputas sociales e ideológicas relacionadas con espacios urbanos específicos, e instar a que su interacción con los paisajes simbólicos de las ciudades sea más sistemáticamente estudiada según perspectivas interdisciplinarias. Este problema recicla la experiencia urbana como una inmersión a través de imaginarios, paisajes y territorios realistas.A luminous distress sign raging across the sky begs for a superhero capable of defeating the evil that infests Crime Alley. Undoubtedly the scariest part of Gotham City, it is also the cradle of its hero: it was there that, as a child, Bruce Wayne witnessed the murder of his parents - an event that deeply marked him and laid the foundation for the birth of Batman. More often than not, superheroes exist in fictional universes of their own and navigate places and spaces that unravel fluidly - but not necessarily harmoniously - and generally in alignment with a particular raison-d’être. Like Gotham City, these fictional cities sometimes gain so much complexity that they evolve from backdrops into characters, thus deeply influencing various facets of other characters trajectories. But what changes when these influences - such as the inclinations that fuel them and the challenges they face - are intrinsically connected to real places? What happens when superheroes and us coexist in the same city? This paper analyses Netflix’s recent renditions of Marvel’s Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and The Defenders to understand how each series dramatic arc is informed by, intermingle with, and build upon specific elements of New York City’s geographic, historic, and sociologic textures. We propose a twofold argument: firstly, that these superheroes become entangled in the fabric of the New York City as mythical embodiments of some of its most pressing social issues, whose narratives constitute avenues for diverse audiences to critically engage with the city, its struggles, and its multiple modes of living. Secondly, that these narratives exploit clearly defined roles of “hero” and “villain” and employ superpowers as abstractions designed to appeal to a broad, ill-defined notion of “justice” while exposing real dilemmas of morality and struggles of policy design and enforcement underpinning particular urban environments. Ultimately, we argue that superhero stories are important cultural artifacts in that they are vested with the potential of rallying audiences around, and setting the tone of social and ideological disputes related to specific urban spaces, and urge that their interplay with the symbolic landscapes of cities be more systematically studied in cross-disciplinary perspectives. This issues recycles the urban experience as an immersion through imaginaries and realistic landscape and territories

Functional Evaluation of Eating Difficulties Scale to predict oral motor skills in infants with neurodevelopmental disorders: a longitudinal study

Aim: To assess the predictive validity of the Functional Evaluation of Eating Difficulties Scale (FEEDS) on long-term eating developmental outcomes in infants with neurodevelopmental disorders. Method: In total, 144 infants (69 females, 75 males) aged 0 to 12 months (mean [SD] 5.34mo [3.42]) with neurodevelopmental disorders and requiring enteral nutrition support, hospitalized between January 2004 and December 2017, were included. The FEEDS was administered at the onset of hospitalization. Follow-up evaluations of feeding modalities occurred at discharge and at 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months after discharge. FEEDS score was tested as a predictor of infants’ feeding modality (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, nasogastric tube, mixed, oral feeding) and time to autonomous oral feeding. Percentages of false-positive and negative cases were checked. Results: Lower FEEDS scores significantly predicted infants’ feeding modality (0.40≤R2≤0.61). A 1-point increase in FEEDS score was associated with increased risk (6%–14%; p<0.05) of being non-autonomous feeders at the different follow-up points in infants who had a FEEDS score above the clinical cut-off. Interpretation: The FEEDS appears to be a clinically valid assessment to predict the presence of eating difficulties in infants with neurodevelopmental disabilities. What this paper adds: Functional Evaluation of Eating Difficulties Scale (FEEDS) significantly predicted eating difficulties in infants with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Lower FEEDS score is significantly associated with autonomous feeding at the 24-month follow-up. FEEDS cut-off identified infants at low-risk and high-risk for eating disorder

Optic Disk Pit Maculopathy Treatment Using a Human Amniotic Membrane Patch: One-Year Results

Purpose: To report the 1-year results of human amniotic membrane patch implantation for optic disc pit maculopathy. Design: A prospective, consecutive, interventional study. Methods: Eleven eyes of 11 patients affected by optic disc pit maculopathy associated with subretinal/intraretinal fluid were included in this single-institution study. A 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy was performed in all cases, with an implant of a human amniotic membrane patch into the optic disc pit and air was injected as endotamponade. The primary study outcome was the subretinal and intraretinal fluid reabsorption. Secondary outcomes were visual acuity improvement and postoperative complications. Results: Mean central retinal thickness gradually diminished from 512 ± 137 µm to 243 ± 19 µm, at the 12-month follow-up. The mean visual acuity improved from 20/80 at baseline to 20/32 at the 12-month follow-up. Complete fluid resorption occurred in 9 of 11 (81.8%) eyes and there was partial resorption in 2 eyes (18%). No subretinal fluid recurrence was observed during the 12-month follow-up. No intraoperative or postoperative complications were reported during the follow-ups. The amniotic membrane patch remained detectable inside the pit for the entire follow-up time. Conclusion: An amniotic membrane plug may be effective for improving optic disc pit maculopathy. All cases had an anatomical improvement and encouraging visual acuity recovery

Functional Evaluation of Eating Difficulties Scale to predict oral motor skills in infants with neurodevelopmental disorders: a longitudinal study

AIM: To assess the predictive validity of the Functional Evaluation of Eating Difficulties Scale (FEEDS) on long-term eating developmental outcomes in infants with neurodevelopmental disorders. METHOD: In total, 144 infants (69 females, 75 males) aged 0 to 12 months (mean [SD] 5.34mo [3.42]) with neurodevelopmental disorders and requiring enteral nutrition support, hospitalized between January 2004 and December 2017, were included. The FEEDS was administered at the onset of hospitalization. Follow-up evaluations of feeding modalities occurred at discharge and at 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months after discharge. FEEDS score was tested as a predictor of infants' feeding modality (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, nasogastric tube, mixed, oral feeding) and time to autonomous oral feeding. Percentages of false-positive and negative cases were checked. RESULTS: Lower FEEDS scores significantly predicted infants' feeding modality (0.40 64R2 640.61). A 1-point increase in FEEDS score was associated with increased risk (6%-14%; p&lt;0.05) of being non-autonomous feeders at the different follow-up points in infants who had a FEEDS score above the clinical cut-off. INTERPRETATION: The FEEDS appears to be a clinically valid assessment to predict the presence of eating difficulties in infants with neurodevelopmental disabilities