Ultrabiomicroscopy anterior segment evaluation of ocular contusive trauma caused by pressurized bottled drink caps. a case report

We report the case of a patient presented to the emergency department because of a contu-sive trauma from a pressurized bottled drink cap. During the visit, the patient indicated that he had been hit in his left eye by a cork while he was opening a sparkling wine bottle. He underwent a total ophthalmology examination. He had an important reduction of visual acuity, corneal swelling, Descemet’s folds, and hyphema. Therefore, we decided to perform ultrabio-microscopy (UBM) of the anterior segment to study the endothelial damage and Descemet’s membrane. UBM images confirmed the direct biomicroscopy, highlighting the damaged loca-tion

Ocriplasmin in the treatment of vitreomacular traction in a patient with central retinal vein occlusion. a case report

Aim: To investigate the efficacy of intravitreal injection of ocriplasmin (JETREA®) in the treat-ment of vitreomacular traction (VMT). Materials and Methods: An 81-year-old man with VMT associated with central retinal vein occlusion in his left eye, was treated with a single intravitreal injection of ocriplasmin (25 μg). Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), ocular fundus, and optical coherence tomography were examined before and after treatment. Results: Complete release of VMT produced a reduction of central macular thickness, ranging from 459 to 141 μm. BCVA remained stable. Discussion and Conclusions: The use of ocriplasmin was effective in the treatment of VMT. Ocriplasmin represents a valid alternative to conventional pars plana vitrec-tomy

Novel Technique of Transepithelial Corneal Cross-Linking Using Iontophoresis in Progressive Keratoconus

In this work, the authors presented the techniques and the preliminary results at 6 months of a randomized controlled trial (NCT02117999) comparing a novel transepithelial corneal cross-linking protocol using iontophoresis with the Dresden protocol for the treatment of progressive keratoconus. At 6months, there was a significant average improvement with an average flattening of themaximum simulated keratometry reading of 0.72\ub11.20D(P = 0.01); in addition, corrected distance visual acuity improved significantly (P = 0.08) and spherical equivalent refraction was significantly lessmyopic (P = 0.02) 6months a\u17fter transepithelial corneal cross-linkingwith iontophoresis. The novel protocol using iontophoresis showed comparable resultswith standard corneal cross-linking to halt progression of keratoconus during 6-month follow-up. Investigation of the long-term RCT outcomes are ongoing to verify the efficacy of this transepithelial corneal cross-linking protocol and to determine if it may be comparable with standard corneal cross-linking in themanagement of progressive keratoconus

QFIELD, PYARCHINIT AND BRADYPUS, INTERCHANGE OF PROTOCOLS AND WORKFLOWS FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCH

In the past, documenting archaeological research was based mainly on subjective experience due to the lack of digital platforms that would standardise documenting a context. Although it is in the last two decades that practise has been digitally standardardised. Some user-friendly systems help collect and organise data. Sometimes, the seem non-interoperable. Then it is to study a uniwue method capable of making different software comminicate with each other. The aim of this study is the integration of state-of-the-art software to aid in developing a criterion for the creation of an archaeological data interchange protocol. FLOSS was chosen as it offers the highest level of interoperability. One premise, it is assumed that you already have pyArchInit 2.6.2 on your computer, a server with Bradypus 4.0 installend and a postgreSQL database

Using Ontologies for Semantic Data Integration

While big data analytics is considered as one of the most important paths to competitive advantage of today’s enterprises, data scientists spend a comparatively large amount of time in the data preparation and data integration phase of a big data project. This shows that data integration is still a major challenge in IT applications. Over the past two decades, the idea of using semantics for data integration has become increasingly crucial, and has received much attention in the AI, database, web, and data mining communities. Here, we focus on a specific paradigm for semantic data integration, called Ontology-Based Data Access (OBDA). The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of OBDA, pointing out both the techniques that are at the basis of the paradigm, and the main challenges that remain to be addressed

Assessing Rural Resilience for Endogenous, Sustainable Development: An Emblematic Case

Rural communities are suffering increasing pressure due to several local and global, socio-economic, environmental and institutional changes. Despite the challenges, however, the focus on rural resilience for sustainable, endogenous development is increasing drastically. We aim to understand the factors which enable rural resilience by assessing an emblematic case of two bordering, rural areas, the capacity of which for resilience is remarkably diverse. We approached the study using a qualitative methodology, based on data collection taken from interviews and focus group with an indicator framework to assess their capacity for resilience. Factors of resilience clearly emerged from the results, and consistent qualitative evidence demonstrated the relevance of rural identity

Pathways from school to work in the developing world

This paper uses novel micro data from the ILO-STWT surveys to provide evidence on the duration, endpoint, and determinants of the transition from school to work in a sample of 23 low- and middle-income countries around the world. The paper analyzes both transition to the first job and to the first stable job. It also illustrates the effects of several correlates, including age of school leaving, gender, work while attending school, and others on the probability of transition and on its duration. The negative effects of low levels of human capital and high levels of population growth on job finding rates are offset by widespread poverty and lack of unemployment insurance, which lead overall to faster transitions in low-income compared to middle-income economies. By lowering reservation wages and speeding transitions, however, these forces lead to worse matches, as measured by the probability of attaining stable employment in the long run, highlighting the trade-off that policy makers face in developing countrie

Generation of induced pluripotent stem cell line, CSSi004-A (2962), from a patient diagnosed with Huntington's disease at the presymptomatic stage

Huntington's disease (HD) is an incurable, autosomal dominant, hereditary neurodegenerative disorder that typically manifests itself in midlife. This pathology is linked to the deregulation of multiple, as yet unknown, cellular processes starting before HD onset. A human iPS cell line was generated from skin fibroblasts of a subject at the presymptomatic life stage, carrying a polyglutamine expansion in HTT gene codifying Huntingtin protein. The iPSC line contained the expected CAG expansion, expressed the expected pluripotency markers, displayed in vivo differentiation potential to the three germ layers and had a normal karyotype

Coproduced urban water services: When technical and governance hybridisation go hand in hand

This study questions the processes of technical and governance hybridisation in the coproduction of water services in cities of the Global South. The existing literature addresses the compensatory role that water services coproduction plays in urban and peri-urban areas, where access to centralised and reliable water resources is often lacking. However, less research focuses on the evolution of coproduced practices in relation to wider transitions of urban spaces, water resources, centralised infrastructure, and service delivery strategies. Still, the resulting technical and governance configurations stemming from these situations are largely unexplored. This study considers four cities, namely, Hanoi (Vietnam), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Cochabamba (Bolivia), and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). All our case studies are somewhat characterised by rapid land-use changes, juxtaposition of rural and urban activities, varying urban typologies, and increasing poverty, sociospatial inequality, and exclusionary service provision. We draw on data collected from field surveys and participatory workshops with inhabitants and institutional actors between 2017 and 2020 as part of a recent research project. We explore the evolution of water coproduction from technological and governance perspectives. The cases analysed in the research highlight that the time and social development of water coproduction do not follow a linear path. It is rather characterised by cycles of emergence, maturation, and decline. It may build upon pre-existing forms of community-based water management that were established in rural areas (for irrigation or water harvesting, for instance). The results show that water coproduction may have different evolutions, entailing different hybridisation processes. Water coproduction can be characterised by either complementary or concurrent service configurations, by blurring actor categories, and by different drivers in the hybridisation process. Ultimately, evolution in urban coproduced practices appears as a process of technical and governance hybridisation, rather than as final and fixed hybrid systems

Serological Evidence of Q Fever among Dairy Cattle and Buffalo Populations in the Campania Region, Italy

Due to its economic impact on livestock and its zoonotic effect, Q fever is a public and animal health problem. Information on this infection in Italy is presently supported by reports of reproductive problems in livestock farms and is, therefore, insufficient to properly understand the impact of the disease. This study aimed to describe for the first time the seroprevalence of Q fever in dairy cows and water buffalos in the Campania region (Southern Italy). A total of 424 dairy cattle and 214 water buffalo were tested using a commercial indirect ELISA kit. An overall seroprevalence of 11.7% confirmed the wide distribution of C. burnetii in this region. Several factors were positively associated with higher seroprevalence, such as species (higher in cattle than in water buffalo), age, and coexistence with other ruminant species. The final model of logistic regression included only age (older) and species (cattle), which were positively associated with the presence of Q fever antibodies. Our findings support the widespread presence of Coxiella burnettii in Campania and show a seroprevalence similar to that observed in previous studies in other Italian regions and European countries. Since human cases are typically linked to contact with infected ruminants, there is a need to improve surveillance for this infection