Dense and cellular zirconia produced by gel casting with agar: preparation and high temperature characterization

A modified gel-casting process was developed to produce both dense and highly porous (40% volume) yttria tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) using agar, a natural polysaccharide, as gelling agent. A fugitive phase, made of commercial polyethylene spheres, was added to the ceramic suspension before gelling to produce cellular ceramic structures. The characterization of the microstructural features of both dense and cellular ceramics was carried out by FEG SEM analysis of cross-sections produced by focused ion beam. The mechanical properties of the components were characterized at room temperature by nanoindentation tests in continuous stiffness measurement mode, by investigating the direct effect of the presence of residual microporosity. The presence of a diffuse residual microporosity from incomplete gel deaeration resulted in a decay of the bending strength and of the elastic modulus. The mechanical behavior of both dense and cellular zirconia (in terms of elastic modulus, flexural strength, and deformation at rupture) was investigated by performing four-point bending tests at the temperature of 1500°C

Genetic prescreening of a candidate for laser refractive surgery identifies risk for inadequate tissue response: a case report

BACKGROUND: Inadequate response to corneal laser refractive surgery, e.g., ectatic corneal diseases, may not be identified by conventional examinations, hence creating therapeutic uncertainty. Herein we demonstrate the application of genetic prescreening to augment preassessment for corneal laser refractive surgery and highlight the ability to prevent the possibility of enrolling a subject at risk for developing ectatic corneal diseases. CASE PRESENTATION: Preoperative tests were performed alongside deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing of 75 genes specific to the structure and health of the eye of a 44-year-old Caucasian male candidate for corneal laser refractive surgery. The patient had no medical, family, or psychosocial history, nor symptoms that could lead to suspect any corneal abnormalities, and conventional preoperative tests confirmed that no corneal abnormalities were present. The sequencing results uncovered rare DNA variants within the ADGRV1, PTK2, ZNF469, and KRT15 genes. These variants were considered potential risk factors for inadequate response in the patient post corneal laser refractive surgery. Subsequent reevaluation with three different last-generation corneal tomographers identified in the left eye a “warning” for a deformity of the posterior profile of the cornea. CONCLUSIONS: Genetic prescreening identifies potential risk of inadequate response to corneal laser refractive surgery where current technologies in use may lead to a hazardous predictive diagnostic uncertainty

Long-Term Structural and Functional Assessment of Doyne Honeycomb Retinal Dystrophy following Nanosecond 2RT Laser Treatment: A Case Series

Introduction: Doyne honeycomb retinal dystrophy (DHRD), or autosomal dominant radial drusen, is a genetic disease caused by pathogenic variants of the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-containing fibulin-like extracellular matrix protein 1 EFEMP1 gene and is characterized by the formation of subretinal drusenoid deposits. In a previous study, we reported the short-term beneficial effects of nanosecond laser treatment (2RT) on retinal function in DHRD. The aim of the present report was to describe the findings of a long-term follow-up of retinal structure/function in a small case series of patients with DHRD who underwent 2RT treatment. Case Presentation: Three DHRD patients (case 1, male and cases 2 and 3, two sister females, age range 41–46) with EFEMP1 pathogenic variant (c.1033C>T; p.R345W) and drusenoid deposits at the posterior pole were examined at baseline and after 2RT treatment, at regular intervals (every 2–4 months) up to 30 months. All 3 patients underwent one or two treatment sessions in one or both eyes during the follow-up period. Case 3 was treated with only the left eye (LE). Each patient underwent a full ophthalmologic examination, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), central perimetry with frequency doubling technology, and mesopic and photopic Ganzfeld electroretinograms. Compared to baseline findings, during follow-up, visual acuity improved in both eyes in case 1 and LE in case 2, while it decreased in the right eye in case 2 and LE in case 3; perimetric sensitivity was stable in case 1 and improved in both eyes in cases 2 and 3; and electroretinogram amplitude improved in cases 1 and 2 and was stable in case 3 (both eyes). OCT central macular thickness and retinal structure were stable in all cases. None of the patients had treatment-related side effects. Conclusion: This is the first report showing that in a long-term follow-up, 2RT treatment in DHRD may improve or stabilize some retinal function parameters without significant structural changes

How future surgery will benefit from SARS-COV-2-related measures: a SPIGC survey conveying the perspective of Italian surgeons

COVID-19 negatively affected surgical activity, but the potential benefits resulting from adopted measures remain unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change in surgical activity and potential benefit from COVID-19 measures in perspective of Italian surgeons on behalf of SPIGC. A nationwide online survey on surgical practice before, during, and after COVID-19 pandemic was conducted in March-April 2022 (NCT:05323851). Effects of COVID-19 hospital-related measures on surgical patients' management and personal professional development across surgical specialties were explored. Data on demographics, pre-operative/peri-operative/post-operative management, and professional development were collected. Outcomes were matched with the corresponding volume. Four hundred and seventy-three respondents were included in final analysis across 14 surgical specialties. Since SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, application of telematic consultations (4.1% vs. 21.6%; p < 0.0001) and diagnostic evaluations (16.4% vs. 42.2%; p < 0.0001) increased. Elective surgical activities significantly reduced and surgeons opted more frequently for conservative management with a possible indication for elective (26.3% vs. 35.7%; p < 0.0001) or urgent (20.4% vs. 38.5%; p < 0.0001) surgery. All new COVID-related measures are perceived to be maintained in the future. Surgeons' personal education online increased from 12.6% (pre-COVID) to 86.6% (post-COVID; p < 0.0001). Online educational activities are considered a beneficial effect from COVID pandemic (56.4%). COVID-19 had a great impact on surgical specialties, with significant reduction of operation volume. However, some forced changes turned out to be benefits. Isolation measures pushed the use of telemedicine and telemetric devices for outpatient practice and favored communication for educational purposes and surgeon-patient/family communication. From the Italian surgeons' perspective, COVID-related measures will continue to influence future surgical clinical practice

Report from Working Group 3: Beyond the standard model physics at the HL-LHC and HE-LHC

This is the third out of five chapters of the final report [1] of the Workshop on Physics at HL-LHC, and perspectives on HE-LHC [2]. It is devoted to the study of the potential, in the search for Beyond the Standard Model (BSM) physics, of the High Luminosity (HL) phase of the LHC, defined as $3$ ab$^{-1}$ of data taken at a centre-of-mass energy of 14 TeV, and of a possible future upgrade, the High Energy (HE) LHC, defined as $15$ ab$^{-1}$ of data at a centre-of-mass energy of 27 TeV. We consider a large variety of new physics models, both in a simplified model fashion and in a more model-dependent one. A long list of contributions from the theory and experimental (ATLAS, CMS, LHCb) communities have been collected and merged together to give a complete, wide, and consistent view of future prospects for BSM physics at the considered colliders. On top of the usual standard candles, such as supersymmetric simplified models and resonances, considered for the evaluation of future collider potentials, this report contains results on dark matter and dark sectors, long lived particles, leptoquarks, sterile neutrinos, axion-like particles, heavy scalars, vector-like quarks, and more. Particular attention is placed, especially in the study of the HL-LHC prospects, to the detector upgrades, the assessment of the future systematic uncertainties, and new experimental techniques. The general conclusion is that the HL-LHC, on top of allowing to extend the present LHC mass and coupling reach by $20-50\%$ on most new physics scenarios, will also be able to constrain, and potentially discover, new physics that is presently unconstrained. Moreover, compared to the HL-LHC, the reach in most observables will, generally more than double at the HE-LHC, which may represent a good candidate future facility for a final test of TeV-scale new physics

Doyne honeycomb retinal dystrophy – functional improvement following subthreshold nanopulse laser treatment: a case report

Abstract Background Based on phenotypic similarities between age-related macular degeneration and the autosomal disorder Doyne honeycomb retinal dystrophy, we report on a single nanolaser treatment of a patient with genotype Doyne honeycomb retinal dystrophy confirmation and evidence of disease progression over 12 months. The case study is the first report of short-term results of subthreshold nanolaser treatment in a patient with Doyne honeycomb retinal dystrophy. Case presentation A 43-year-old Caucasian man with moderate loss of visual acuity in his left eye (20/40) and normal visual acuity in his right eye (20/20), with clinical Doyne honeycomb retinal dystrophy diagnosis and genetic confirmation of the common heterozygous mutation (EFEMP1) by genetic testing, underwent nanopulse subthreshold laser treatment in his left eye. A safety examination, carried out 7 days after treatment, and clinical follow-up, conducted 60 days following laser treatment, showed improvement of visual acuity from baseline by two letters and a subjective improvement of blurring. While no apparent morphological changes were found on fundoscopy, increased autofluorescence in the treated eye was observed on imaging. In addition, 2 months after nanopulse subthreshold laser treatment, rod-mediated and cone-mediated full-field electroretinography b-wave amplitudes showed an increase from baseline in both the treated eye (300%) and untreated eye (50%). At 2 months after nanopulse subthreshold laser treatment, multifocal electroretinograms showed improvement. Acuity and full-field electroretinography improvement persisted at 6-month follow-up. Conclusions Sustained improvements in retinal function on electroretinography persisted in both eyes 6 months after treatment, suggesting an enhancement of phototransduction and retinoid recycling induced by nanopulse subthreshold laser treatment. The functional improvement observed in the untreated eye is hypothesized to arise from an increased expression and release of metalloproteinases that circulate systemically

Dense and Porous Zirconia Prepared by Gelatine and Agar Gel-Casting: Microstructural and Mechanical Characterization

Dense and cellular yttria-tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (Y-TZP) bodies were produced by using a natural gelatine and two different agars as gelling agents, while commercial polyethylene (PE) spheres were added (125 to 300 m diameter) as a volatile pore forming agent to create 50-65 vol.% spherical macro-pores, uniformly distributed in a micro-porous matrix. The microstructure of all dense and cellular ceramics was characterized by FEG-SEM and Focused Ion Beam (FIB) techniques. The mechanical properties of both dense and porous samples were investigated at the microscale by nanoindentation testing, while the in uence of microporosity was obtained by the analysis of hardness and modulus depth pro les, coupled with FIB-SEM section observations of selected indentation marks. Mechanical characterization at the macroscale consisted of uniaxial compression tests and four point bending tests