Long-term follow-up for bimanual microincision cataract surgery: Comparison of results obtained by surgeons in training and experienced surgeons

Purpose: To determine the efficacy of bimanual microincision cataract surgery (B-MICS) performed by surgeons in training, evaluating clinical results, posterior capsule opacification (PCO) incidence, and clear corneal incision (CCI) architecture in a long-term follow-up and comparing results with those obtained by experienced surgeons. Patients and methods: Eighty eyes of 62 patients operated on by three surgeons in training who used B-MICS technique for the first time were included in the study (Group A). Eighty eyes of 59 patients who underwent B-MICS by three experienced surgeons were included as a control group (Group B). Best corrected visual acuity, astigmatism, corneal pachymetry, and endothelial cell count were evaluated before surgery and at 1 month and 18 months after surgery. Anterior segment optical coherence tomography images were obtained to study the morphology of CCIs. PCO incidence was evaluated using EPCO2000 software. Results: Out of 160 surgeries included in the study, mean best-corrected visual acuity improvement at 18 months was 0.343\ub10.246 logMAR for Group A, and 0.388\ub10.175 logMAR for Group B, respectively. We found no statistically significant induced astigmatism nor corneal pachymetry changes in either group, while we noticed a statistically significant endothelial cell loss postoperatively in both groups (P < 0.05). In Group A, mean PCO score was 0.163\ub10.196, while for Group B, it was 0.057\ub10.132 (P=0.0025). Mean length and inclination of the CCIs for Group A and Group B were, respectively, 1,358\ub1175 \ub5m and 1,437\ub1256 \ub5m and 141.8\ub0\ub16.4\ub0 and 148.7\ub0\ub15.1\ub0. As regards corneal architecture in the 320 CCIs considered, we found posterior wound retractions and endothelial gaps, respectively, 9.8% and 11.6% for Group A and 7.8% and 10.8% for Group B. Conclusion: B-MICS performed by surgeons in training is an effective surgical technique even when assessed after a long-term follow-up. PCO incidence resulted in being higher for less experienced surgeons. Corneal incisions were shorter and less angled in surgeons in training in comparison with results obtained by expert surgeons

The GAPS Project: First Results

The GAPS programme is an Italian project aiming to search and characterize extra-solar planetary systems around stars with different characteristics (mass, metallicity, environment). GAPS was born in 2012, when single research groups joined in order to propose a long-term multi-purpose observing program for the exploitation of the extraordinary performances of the HARPS-N spectrograph, mounted at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo. Now this group is a concerted community in which wide range of expertise and capabilities are shared in order to reach a more important role in the wider international context. We present the results achieved up to now from the GAPS radial velocity survey: they were obtained in both the two main objectives of the project, the planet detection and the characterization of already known exoplanetary systems. With GAPS we detected, for instance, the first confirmed binary system in which both components host planets (Desidera et al. 2014), the first planetary system around a star in an open cluster (Malavolta et al. 2016), a system of Super-Earths orbiting an M-dwarf star (Affer et al. 2016)

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Code to compute spectral line profile indicators (Lanza+, 2018)

A computer code (procedure) written in Interactive Data Language (IDL) to compute the spectral line profile indicators used in the above research article starting from the fits files provided by the data reduction software (DRS) of HARPS or HARPS-N. The procedure takes the cross-correlation function (CCF) files provided by the DRS as an input. An example for the input files and the corresponding output file is provided with the sole purpose of allowing to test the proper compilation and running of the procedure. Details on an auxiliary source file (mpfit.pro) required for compilation are provided in the header of the procedure file and in Appendix A of the above mentioned article. Interested users are warmly recommended to read them before compiling and running the procedure. (Notes: 4 data files)

The GAPS Programme with HARPS-N at TNG . XIV. Investigating giant planet migration history via improved eccentricity and mass determination for 231 transiting planets

We carried out a Bayesian homogeneous determination of the orbital parameters of 231 transiting giant planets (TGPs) that are alone or have distant companions; we employed differential evolution Markov chain Monte Carlo methods to analyse radial-velocity (RV) data from the literature and 782 new high-accuracy RVs obtained with the HARPS-N spectrograph for 45 systems over 3 years. Our work yields the largest sample of systems with a transiting giant exoplanet and coherently determined orbital, planetary, and stellar parameters. We found that the orbital parameters of TGPs in non-compact planetary systems are clearly shaped by tides raised by their host stars. Indeed, the most eccentric planets have relatively large orbital separations and/or high mass ratios, as expected from the equilibrium tide theory. This feature would be the outcome of planetary migration from highly eccentric orbits excited by planet-planet scattering, Kozai-Lidov perturbations, or secular chaos. The distribution of α = a/aR, where a and aR are the semi-major axis and the Roche limit, for well-determined circular orbits peaks at 2.5; this agrees with expectations from the high-eccentricity migration (HEM), although it might not be limited to this migration scenario. The few planets of our sample with circular orbits and α> 5 values may have migrated through disc-planet interactions instead of HEM. By comparing circularisation times with stellar ages, we found that hot Jupiters with a5 ≲ Q'p ≲ 109, and that stellar Q's ≳ 106 - 107 are required to explain the presence of eccentric planets at the same orbital distance. As aby-product of our analysis, we detected a non-zero eccentricity e = 0.104-0.018+0.021 for HAT-P-29; we determined that five planets that were previously regarded to be eccentric or to have hints of non-zero eccentricity, namely CoRoT-2b, CoRoT-23b, TrES-3b, HAT-P-23b, and WASP-54b, have circular orbits or undetermined eccentricities; we unveiled curvatures caused by distant companions in the RV time series of HAT-P-2, HAT-P-22, and HAT-P-29; we significantly improved the orbital parameters of the long-period planet HAT-P-17c; and we revised the planetary parameters of CoRoT-1b, which turned out to be considerably more inflated than previously found. Full Tables 1, 2, 5-9 are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/602/A10

The GAPS Programme with HARPS-N at TNG. XII. Characterization of the planetary system around HD 108874

In order to understand the observed physical and orbital diversity of extrasolar planetary systems, a full investigation of these objects and of their host stars is necessary. Within this field, one of the main purposes of the GAPS observing project with HARPS-N at TNG is to provide a more detailed characterization of already known systems. In this framework we monitored the star, hosting two giant planets, HD 108874, with HARPS-N for three years in order to refine the orbits, to improve the dynamical study and to search for additional low-mass planets in close orbits. We subtracted the radial velocity (RV) signal due to the known outer planets, finding a clear modulation of 40.2 d period. We analysed the correlation between RV residuals and the activity indicators and modelled the magnetic activity with a dedicated code. Our analysis suggests that the 40.2 d periodicity is a signature of the rotation period of the star. A refined orbital solution is provided, revealing that the system is close to a mean motion resonance of about 9:2, in a stable configuration over 1 Gyr. Stable orbits for low-mass planets are limited to regions very close to the star or far from it. Our data exclude super-Earths with Msini ≳ 5M⊕ within 0.4 AU and objects with Msini ≳ 2M⊕ with orbital periods of a few days. Finally we put constraints on the habitable zone of the system, assuming the presence of an exomoon orbiting the inner giant planet. Based on observations made with the Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) operated on the island of La Palma by the Fundación Galileo Galilei of the INAF at the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos of the IAC in the frame of the programme Global Architecture of Planetary Systems (GAPS).Table A.1 is also available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/599/A90</A

The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG. XVI. Measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect of transiting planetary systems HAT-P-3, HAT-P-12, HAT-P-22, WASP-39, and WASP-60

Context. The measurement of the orbital obliquity of hot Jupiters with different physical characteristics can provide clues to the mechanisms of migration and orbital evolution of this particular class of giant exoplanets. Aims: We aim to derive the degree of alignment between planetary orbit and stellar spin angular momentum vectors and look for possible links with other orbital and fundamental physical parameters of the star-planet system. We focus on the characterisation of five transiting planetary systems (HAT-P-3, HAT-P-12, HAT-P-22, WASP-39, and WASP-60) and the determination of their sky-projected planet orbital obliquity through the measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect. Methods: We used HARPS-N high-precision radial velocity measurements, gathered during transit events, to measure the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect in the target systems and determine the sky-projected angle between the planetary orbital plane and stellar equator. The characterisation of stellar atmospheric parameters was performed by exploiting the HARPS-N spectra, using line equivalent width ratios and spectral synthesis methods. Photometric parameters of the five transiting exoplanets were re-analysed through 17 new light curves, obtained with an array of medium-class telescopes, and other light curves from the literature. Survey-time-series photometric data were analysed for determining the rotation periods of the five stars and their spin inclination. Results: From the analysis of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect we derived a sky-projected obliquity of λ = 21.2° ± 8.7°, λ = -54°-13°+41°, λ = -2.1° ± 3.0°, λ = 0° ± 11°, and λ = -129° ± 17° for HAT-P-3 b, HAT-P-12 b, HAT-P-22 b, WASP-39 b, and WASP-60 b, respectively. The latter value indicates that WASP-60 b is moving on a retrograde orbit. These values represent the first measurements of λ for the five exoplanetary systems under study. The stellar activity of HAT-P-22 indicates a rotation period of 28.7 ± 0.4 days, which allowed us to estimate the true misalignment angle of HAT-P-22 b, ψ = 24° ± 18°. The revision of the physical parameters of the five exoplanetary systems returned values that are fully compatible with those existing in the literature. The exception to this is the WASP-60 system, for which, based on higher quality spectroscopic and photometric data, we found a more massive and younger star and a larger and hotter planet. Tables of the light curve and radial velocity data are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/613/A4

The Botanical Record of Archaeobotany Italian Network - BRAIN: a cooperative network, database and website

Con autorización de la revista para autores CSIC[EN] The BRAIN (Botanical Records of Archaeobotany Italian Network) database and network was developed by the cooperation of archaeobotanists working on Italian archaeological sites. Examples of recent research including pollen or other plant remains in analytical and synthetic papers are reported as an exemplar reference list. This paper retraces the main steps of the creation of BRAIN, from the scientific need for the first research cooperation to the website which has a free online access since 2015.Peer reviewe

Successful treatment of Fusarium keratitis after photo refractive keratectomy.

A 39-year-old woman presented to our hospital with a history of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), performed two weeks prior; slit-lamp examination revealed diffuse conjunctival congestion, corneal ulcer and stromal infiltration. After 5 days of antifungal and antibacteric treatment, the infiltrate progressively increased so that a therapeutic penetrating keratoplasty was necessary. The microbiological analyses revealed the presence of fungal filaments. Twenty days after surgery the patient had recurrent fungal infiltrate in the donor cornea with wound dehiscence. We performed a second penetrating keratoplasty. With the matrix-assisted-laser-desorption-ionization-time-of-flight analysis (MALDI-TOF) we identified a Fusarium solani. Intravenous amphothericine B, a combination of intracameral and intrastromal voriconazole and intracameral amphotericine B were administered. After 6 months from the last surgery the infection was eradicated. The management of fungal keratitis after PRK depends on many factors: In our experience, a prompt keratoplasty and the use of intracameral antifungal medication proved to be very effective

Emergency physician's perception of cultural and linguistic barriers in immigrant care: results of a multiple-choice questionnaire in a large Italian urban emergency department

A poor communication with immigrants can lead to inappropriate use of healthcare services, greater risk of misdiagnosis, and lower compliance with treatment. As precise information about communication between emergency physicians (EPs) and immigrants is lacking, we analyzed difficulties in communicating with immigrants in the emergency department (ED) and their possible associations with demographic data, geographical origin and clinical characteristics