Pharmacological and Behavioral Strategies to Improve Vision in Acquired Pendular Nystagmus.

BACKGROUND Acquired pendular nystagmus (APN) is a back and forth, oscillatory eye movement in which the 2 oppositely directed slow phases have similar waveforms. APN occurs commonly in multiple sclerosis and causes a disabling oscillopsia that impairs vision. Previous studies have proven that symptomatic therapy with gabapentin or memantine can reduce the nystagmus amplitude or frequency. However, the effect of these medications on visual acuity (VA) is less known and to our knowledge the impact of non-pharmacological strategies such as blinking on VA has not been reported. This is a single observational study without controls (Class IV) and is meant to suggest a future strategy for study of vision in patients with disabling nystagmus and impaired vision. CASE REPORT A 49-year-old woman with primary progressive multiple sclerosis with spastic paraparesis and a history of optic atrophy presented with asymmetrical binocular APN and bothersome oscillopsia. We found that in the eye with greater APN her visual acuity improved by 1 line (from 0.063 to 0.08 decimals) immediately after blinking. During treatment with memantine, her VA without blinking increased by 2 lines, from 0.063 to 0.12, but improved even more (from 0.12 to 0.16) after blinking. In the contralateral eye with a barely visible nystagmus, VA was reduced by 1 line briefly (~500 ms) after blinking. CONCLUSIONS In a patient with APN, blinking transiently improved vision. The combination of pharmacological treatment with memantine and the blinking strategy may induce better VA and less oscillopsia than either alone

Fibrome nasopharyngien

Le fibrome nasopharyngien (FNP) est une tumeur bénigne rare, richement vascularisée, touchant presque exclusivement l’adolescent de sexe masculin. Sa gravité est liée à son potentiel hémorragique et à son agressivité locale.objectif : Rappeler cette entité rare et revoir ses indications thérapeutiques.observation : Nous rapportons une observation d’un FNP avec extension au niveau de la fosse infratemporale (stade iiC de la classification de Radkowski) traité par chirurgie après embolisation ce qui a permis de diminuer le saignement peropératoire, permettant une exérèse totale de la tumeur. Les suites opératoires étaient simples. Les contrôles cliniqueet scannographique à un mois postopératoire n’ont pas montré de récidive.Conclusion : La prise en charge des FNP est essentiellement chirurgicale. elle a largement bénéficié du développement de la chirurgie endonasale et de l’artériographie interventionnelle. d’autres moyens thérapeutiques: radiothérapie, chimiothérapie, sclérothérapie et hormonothérapie ont leurs indications et leurs adeptes.Mots clés : Fibrome nasopharyngien, Chirurgie, embolisation , Chimiothérapie, Radiothérapie

The broadening of Fe II lines by neutral hydrogen collisions

Data for the broadening of 24188 Fe II lines by collisions with neutral hydrogen atoms have been computed using the theory of Anstee & O'Mara as extended to singly ionised species and higher orbital angular momentum states by Barklem & O'Mara. Data have been computed for all Fe II lines between observed energy levels in the line lists of Kurucz with log gf > -5 for which the theory is applicable. The variable energy debt parameter Ep used in computing the second order perturbation theory potential is chosen to be consistent with the long range dispersion interaction constant C6 computed using the f-values from Kurucz.Comment: Accepted for A&A. 5 pages, 5 figures, 2 electronic tables. Tables will be available via CDS; presently also at http://www.astro.uu.se/~barklem/papers/fe2_data.tar.g

Collisional depolarization and transfer rates of spectral lines by atomic hydrogen. IV: application to ionised atoms

The semi-classical theory of collisional depolarization of spectral lines of neutral atoms by atomic hydrogen (Derouich et al. 2003a; Derouich et al. 2003b; Derouich et al. 2004 and references therein) is extended to spectral lines of singly ionised atoms. In this paper we apply our general method to the particular cases of the 3d $^2D$ and $4p$ $^2P$ states of the CaII ion and to the $5p$ $^2P$ state of the SrII ion. Analytical expressions of all rates as a function of local temperature are given. Our results for the CaII ion are compared to recent quantum chemistry calculations. A discussion of our results is presented.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysic

Collisional depolarization and transfer rates of spectral lines by atomic hydrogen. II: application to d states of neutral atoms

The theory of collisional depolarization of spectral lines by atomic hydrogen (Derouich et al. \cite{derouich1}) is extended to $d$ $(l$=2) atomic levels. Depolarization rates, polarization and population transfer rates are calculated and results are given as a function of the temperature. Cross sections as a function of the effective quantum number for a relative velocity of 10 $\textrm{km s}^{-1}$ are also given together with velocity exponents $\lambda$, if \textbf{they exist}, on the assumption that the cross section varies with velocity as $v^{-\lambda}$. A discussion of our results is presented.Comment: 11 pages including 3 figures and 2 tables, accepted in A&

Ranked Reward: Enabling Self-Play Reinforcement Learning for Combinatorial Optimization

Adversarial self-play in two-player games has delivered impressive results when used with reinforcement learning algorithms that combine deep neural networks and tree search. Algorithms like AlphaZero and Expert Iteration learn tabula-rasa, producing highly informative training data on the fly. However, the self-play training strategy is not directly applicable to single-player games. Recently, several practically important combinatorial optimisation problems, such as the travelling salesman problem and the bin packing problem, have been reformulated as reinforcement learning problems, increasing the importance of enabling the benefits of self-play beyond two-player games. We present the Ranked Reward (R2) algorithm which accomplishes this by ranking the rewards obtained by a single agent over multiple games to create a relative performance metric. Results from applying the R2 algorithm to instances of a two-dimensional and three-dimensional bin packing problems show that it outperforms generic Monte Carlo tree search, heuristic algorithms and integer programming solvers. We also present an analysis of the ranked reward mechanism, in particular, the effects of problem instances with varying difficulty and different ranking thresholds

Decreased glutathione levels and impaired antioxidant enzyme activities in drug-naive first-episode schizophrenic patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to determine glutathione levels and antioxidant enzyme activities in the drug-naive first-episode patients with schizophrenia in comparison with healthy control subjects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>It was a case-controlled study carried on twenty-three patients (20 men and 3 women, mean age = 29.3 ± 7.5 years) recruited in their first-episode of schizophrenia and 40 healthy control subjects (36 men and 9 women, mean age = 29.6 ± 6.2 years). In patients, the blood samples were obtained prior to the initiation of neuroleptic treatments. Glutathione levels: total glutathione (GSHt), reduced glutathione (GSHr) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and antioxidant enzyme activities: superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) were determined by spectrophotometry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>GSHt and reduced GSHr were significantly lower in patients than in controls, whereas GSSG was significantly higher in patients. GPx activity was significantly higher in patients compared to control subjects. CAT activity was significantly lower in patients, whereas the SOD activity was comparable to that of controls.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is a report of decreased plasma levels of GSHt and GSHr, and impaired antioxidant enzyme activities in drug-naive first-episode patients with schizophrenia. The GSH deficit seems to be implicated in psychosis, and may be an important indirect biomarker of oxidative stress in schizophrenia early in the course of illness. Finally, our results provide support for further studies of the possible role of antioxidants as neuroprotective therapeutic strategies for schizophrenia from early stages.</p

Association of homocysteine and methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR C677T) gene polymorphism with coronary artery disease (CAD) in the population of North India

The implications of the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene and the level of homocysteine in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD) have been extensively studied in various ethnic groups. Our aim was to discover the association of MTHFR (C677T) polymorphism and homocysteine level with CAD in north Indian subjects. The study group consisted of 329 angiographically proven CAD patients, and 331 age and sex matched healthy individuals as controls. MTHFR (C677T) gene polymorphism was detected based on the polymerase chain reaction and restriction digestion with HinfI. Total homocysteine plasma concentration was measured using immunoassay. T allele frequency was found to be significantly higher in patients than in the control group. We found significantly elevated levels of mean homocysteine in the patient group when compared to the control group (p = 0.00). Traditional risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, smoking habits, a positive family history and lipid profiles (triglyceride, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol), were found significantly associated through univariate analysis. Furthermore, multivariable logistics regression analysis revealed that CAD is significantly and variably associated with diabetes, hypertension, smoking, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol. Our findings showed that MTHFR C677T polymorphism and homocysteine levels were associated with coronary artery disease in the selected population

Impact of seminal trace element and glutathione levels on semen quality of Tunisian infertile men

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Growing evidence indicates that oxidative stress can be a primary cause of male infertility. Non-enzymatic antioxidants play an important protective role against oxidative damages and lipid peroxidation. Human seminal plasma is a natural reservoir of antioxidants. The aim of this study was to determine glutathione (GSH) concentrations, trace element levels (zinc and selenium) and the lipid peroxidation end product, malondialdehyde (MDA), in the seminal plasma of men with different fertility potentials.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Semen samples from 60 fertile men (normozoospermics) and 190 infertile patients (74 asthenozoospermics, 56 oligozoospermics, and 60 teratozoospermics) were analyzed for physical and biochemical parameters. Zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) levels were estimated by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Total GSH (GSHt), oxidized GSH (GSSG), reduced GSH (GSHr) and MDA concentrations were measured spectrophotometrically.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Zn and Se concentrations in seminal plasma of normozoospermics were more elevated than the three abnormal groups. Nevertheless, only the Zn showed significant differences. On the other hand, Zn showed positive and significant correlations with sperm motility (P = 0.03, r = 0.29) and count (P < 0.01, r = 0.49); however Se was significantly correlated only with sperm motility (P < 0.01, r = 0.36). GSHt, GSSG and GSHr were significantly higher in normozoospermics than in abnormal groups. We noted a significant association between seminal GSHt and sperm motility (P = 0.03). GSSG was highly correlated to sperm motility (P < 0.001) and negatively associated to abnormal morphology (P < 0.001). GSHr was significantly associated to total sperm motility (P < 0.001) and sperm count (P = 0.01). MDA levels were significantly higher in the three abnormal groups than in normozoospermics. Rates of seminal MDA were negatively associated to sperm motility (P < 0.01; r = -0.24) and sperm concentration (P = 0.003; r = -0.35) Meanwhile, there is a positive correlation between seminal lipid peroxidation and the percentage of abnormal morphology (P = 0.008).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This report revealed that decreased seminal GSH and trace element deficiencies are implicated in low sperm quality and may be an important indirect biomarker of idiopathic male infertility. Our results sustain that the evaluation of seminal antioxidant status in infertile men is necessary and can be helpful in fertility assessment from early stages.</p