Intravitreal triamcinolone, bevacizumab and pegaptanib for occult choroidal neovascularization.

PURPOSE: To evaluate best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and foveal thickness (FT) changes in occult subfoveal choroidal neovascularization (CNV) from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) after intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB, 1.25 mg/0.05 ml), pegaptanib (IVP, 0.3 mg/0.09 ml) and triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA, 4 mg/0.1 ml) injected on an as needed basis. METHODS:   Retrospective, interventional, comparative study. BCVA (Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study LogMAR) and FT by optical coherence tomography (OCT) were evaluated during 12 months from first treatment. Patients were retreated if signs of neovascular activity were still present on angiography or OCT. RESULTS: Forty-eight eyes received IVB, 43 eyes received IVP, 52 eyes received IVTA. BCVA and FT at baseline were 1.22 ± 0.49 LogMAR and 410.2 ± 41.83 μm in the IVB group, 1.25 ± 0.43 LogMAR and 452.3 ± 44.83 μm in the IVP group and 1.31 ± 0.4 LogMAR and 456.6 ± 48.27 μm in the IVTA group. BCVA and FT improved in the three groups during follow-up. A significantly greater improvement of BCVA was present at month-3, month-6 and at month-12 in the IVB and IVP groups (p = 0.01). Improvement of FT was greater in the IVTA group at month-3 (p = 0.02), while it was greater in the anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) groups at month-6 and month-12 (p = 0.01). A postoperative increase of intraocular pressure was detected in 9/52 (17.3%) eyes treated with IVTA, and in two cases it was resistant to topical therapy. CONCLUSION:   Intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF drugs administered on an as needed basis for AMD-related occult CNVs provided functional and anatomic improvement during 12 months of follow-up

Twenty-Year Follow-Up of Excimer Laser Photorefractive Keratectomy: A Retrospective Observational Study

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Prototype of a Dsp-Based Instrument for In-Service Wireless Transmitter Power Measurement

Abstract A prototype of a DSP-based instrument for in-service transmitter power measurements is presented. The instrument implements a signal-selective algorithm for power measurements that is suitable for use in wireless environments, where possible uncontrolled interfering sources are present in the radio channel and are overlapped to the signal emitted by the transmitter under test, possibly in both time and frequency domain. The measurement method exploits the principles of cyclic spectral analysis, which are briefly recalled in the paper. Potentialities, as well as limitations of the prototype use are discussed, and the results of experiments with both modulated and unmodulated interfering sources are presented

Phenotypic and genetic characterization of a family carrying two Xq21.1-21.3 interstitial deletions associated with syndromic hearing loss

Sensorineural hearing impairment is a common pathological manifestation in patients affected by X-linked intellectual disability. A few cases of interstitial deletions at Xq21 with several different phenotypic characteristics have been described, but to date, a complete molecular characterization of the deletions harboring disease-causing genes is still missing. Thus, the aim of this study is to realize a detailed clinical and molecular analysis of a family affected by syndromic X-linked hearing loss with intellectual disability

Contribution to the floristic knowledge of eastern Irpinia and Vulture-Melfese area (Campania and Basilicata, southern Italy)

In order to improve the floristic knowledge of the Italian territory, we report the inventory of the taxa collected during the annual field trip of the working group for Floristics, Systematics and Evolution of the Italian Botanical Society held in 2015 in eastern Irpinia and Vulture-Melfese area (South Italy). The investigated territories are located in southern Apennines, along the border between the Campania and Basilicata administrative regions. These areas are scarcely known in terms of vascular flora. The floristic samplings were performed in 19 sites selected as representative of the local environmental diversity as regards to climate, litho-morphology and land-use. The research led to the identification of 4,137 specimens of vascular plants, belonging to 815 species and subspecies, 399 genera, and 85 families. Among these taxa, 42 were endemic to Italy, 38 were included in the IUCN Red List of the Italian Flora, 28 were alien and 5 were cryptogenic in Campania and/ or Basilicata administrative regions. Two taxa, Aquilegia coerulea (casual alien, native to North America) and Lolium ×boucheanum (native), were found to be new for Italy. On the basis of the available floristic literature the first one is also to be considered new for the European flora. At regional scale, we have found 18 taxa new for the Campania and 15 new for the Basilicata region. Finally, 10 taxa were confirmed for Campania. Data obtained during this study, confirmed the important role of a collaborative approach among botanists and the great relevance of these territories for plant diversity

Multilinguisme et variétés linguistiques en Europe à l’aune de l’intelligence artificielle Multilinguismo e variazioni linguistiche in Europa nell’era dell’intelligenza artificiale Multilingualism and Language Varieties in Europe in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Il presente volume è il frutto di una riflessione interdisciplinare e multilingue maturata attorno a diversi eventi organizzati nell’ambito del panel concernente i diritti e le variazioni linguistiche in Europa nell’era dell’intelligenza artificiale all’interno del progetto Artificial Intelligence for European Integration, promosso dal Centro studi sull’Europa TO-EU dell’Università di Torino e cofinanziato dalla Commissione europea. L’interrogativo iniziale che abbiamo voluto sollevare è se l’IA potesse avere un impatto negativo sulle varietà linguistiche e sul multilinguismo, valore “aggiunto” dell’UE, o se potesse, e in che modo, divenire utile per la promozione di essi. Il volume, interamente inedito, può dirsi tra i primi ad affrontare, almeno in Europa, questo tipo di tematiche.This book is the outcome of an interdisciplinary multilingual reflection carried out on research into linguistic rights, multilingualism and language varieties in Europe in the age of artificial intelligence. It is part of the Artificial Intelligence for European Integration project, promoted by the Centre of European Studies To-EU of the University of Turin and co-financed by the European Commission. Our aim was to investigate more generally the negative and/or positive outcomes of AI on language varieties and multilingualism, the latter a key value for the EU. The result is a volume of original unpublished research being made generally available for the first time, at least in Europe.Ce livre a été élaboré à partir d’une réflexion interdisciplinaire et multilingue qui a été menée dans le cadre d’une recherche sur les droits, le multilinguisme et les variétés linguistiques en Europe à l’aune de l’intelligence artificielle à l’intérieur du projet Artificial Intelligence for European Integration promu par le Centre d’études européennes To-EU de l’Université de Turin et cofinancé par la Commission de l’Union européenne. Notre propos était de réfléchir plus généralement sur les conséquences négatives et/ou positives de l’IA sur les variétés linguistiques et le multilinguisme, ce dernier étant une valeur de l’UE. Ce que nous proposons par ce numéro est un livre inédit qui peut se vanter d’être parmi les premiers à s’occuper de ce type de thématique, du moins en Europe