High-Definition Optical Coherence Tomography for the in vivo Detection of Demodex Mites

Background: Demodex mites are involved in different skin diseases and are commonly detected by skin scrape tests or superficial biopsies. A new high-definition optical coherence tomography (HD-OCT) with high lateral and axial resolution in a horizontal (en-face) and vertical (slice) imaging mode might offer the possibility of noninvasive and fast in vivo examination of demodex mites. Methods: Twenty patients with demodex-related skin diseases and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were examined by HD-OCT. Mites per follicle and follicles per field of view were counted and compared to skin scrape tests. Results: HD-OCT images depicted mites in the en-face mode as bright round dots in groups of 3-5 mites per hair follicle. In the patients with demodex-related disease, a mean number of 3.4 mites per follicle were detected with a mean number of 2.9 infested follicles per area of view compared to a mean of 0.6 mites in 0.4 infested follicles in the controls. The skin scrape tests were negative in 21% of the patients. Conclusion: The innovative HD-OCT enables fast and noninvasive in vivo recognition of demodex mites and might become a useful tool in the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of demodex-related skin diseases. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Visually Plausible Human-Object Interaction Capture from Wearable Sensors

In everyday lives, humans naturally modify the surrounding environmentthrough interactions, e.g., moving a chair to sit on it. To reproduce suchinteractions in virtual spaces (e.g., metaverse), we need to be able to captureand model them, including changes in the scene geometry, ideally fromego-centric input alone (head camera and body-worn inertial sensors). This isan extremely hard problem, especially since the object/scene might not bevisible from the head camera (e.g., a human not looking at a chair whilesitting down, or not looking at the door handle while opening a door). In thispaper, we present HOPS, the first method to capture interactions such asdragging objects and opening doors from ego-centric data alone. Central to ourmethod is reasoning about human-object interactions, allowing to track objectseven when they are not visible from the head camera. HOPS localizes andregisters both the human and the dynamic object in a pre-scanned static scene.HOPS is an important first step towards advanced AR/VR applications based onimmersive virtual universes, and can provide human-centric training data toteach machines to interact with their surroundings. The supplementary video,data, and code will be available on our project page athttp://virtualhumans.mpi-inf.mpg.de/hops/<br

Dislocation generation and propagation during flash lamp annealing

Dislocation generation and propagation during flash lamp annealing for 20 ms was investigated using wafers with sawed, ground, and etched surfaces. Due to the thermal stress resulting from the temperature profiles generated by the flash pre-existing dislocations propagate into the wafer from both surfaces during flash lamp annealing. A dislocation free zone was observed around 700 μm depth below the surface of a 900 μm thick sawed wafer. The dislocation propagation can be well described by a three-dimensional mechanical model. It was further demonstrated that in wafers being initially free of dislocations no dislocations are generated during flash lamp annealing

Editorial: Fibrosis and inflammation in tissue pathophysiology

In adult mammals, tissue damage activates a wound healing response with acute inflammation followed by either complete repair (for low-grade damage or in highly regenerative tissues, such as the liver) or replacement fibrosis (for extensive damage or in poorly regenerative tissues, such as the myocardium). Persistent damage and repeated insults sustain continuous activation of repair pathways leading to chronic inflammation, progressive tissue fibrosis and sclerosis. Despite the evolutionary advantage conferred by scarring as a rapid repair mechanism, chronic fibrosis leads to tissue adverse remodeling and impaired function. Persistent low-level inflammation and fibrosis are observed in many pathological conditions (e.g. hypertension, obesity, diabetes, genetic diseases), and lead to further complications including atherosclerosis and ischemic events, organ failure, autoimmune diseases, cancer, aging, and reduced resilience to infectious diseases. Pathological fibrosis plays a major role in a wide range of diseases, accounting for an increasingly large fraction of mortality cases worldwide. While recent advances have unveiled many environmental and genetic causes of fibrotic disorders, a better understanding of both ubiquitous and tissue-specific regulatory pathways and cellular dynamics could help to design new targeted therapies, and to identify the etiology of idiopathic diseases. Within this Research Topic, we invite submission of articles (reviews, original research, or methodology articles) on the pathophysiological role of fibrosis and inflammation in different tissues. Areas to be covered include, but are not limited to: - genetic and environmental causes of persistent low-level inflammation and fibrosis (e.g. autoimmunity, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, genetic diseases, latent infections); - comorbidities including systemic sclerosis, neurological disorders, organ failure (heart, skeletal muscle, kidney, liver, lungs), cancer, and reduced resilience to infectious diseases; - in vivo (animal models) and in vitro (organoids, tissue culture) modelling of fibrotic diseases for the discovery of novel therapeutic targets and potential tissue-specific treatments; - vascular responses to inflammation and inflammation of vascular tissues; - system biology approaches to identify molecular and cellular networks leading to chronic inflammation and fibrosis

Long-term effects of rotational wetland mowing on breeding birds: evidence from a 30-year experiment

Wetlands are amongst the richest, yet most threatened types of habitats on Earth. One major threat is the modification of water regime for human activities, which disrupts normal ecosystem equilibrium. In lacustrine wetlands, reduced flooding allows shrubs to take over, ultimately leading to a shift towards woody communities. To counter this, wetland managers have initiated a variety of measures, including mowing, burning, and pasturing. Because of the short time frames of previous studies on the subject, little is known on their potential negative side effects on the ecosystem. Here, we evaluate the long-term effect of mowing on breeding populations of the five most abundant species in our central European study area (the reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus, the common reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus, Savi’s warbler Locustella luscinioides, the water rail Rallus aquaticus, and the bearded reedling Panurus biarmicus). This study, of an unprecedented time scale (30 years), shows that rotational mowing has no long-term detrimental effects on birds. However, optimal mowing regime for the birds might often be less frequent than what is usually applied. We recommend that mowing be spaced every 3 years at least, and ideally every 6 years or more. We discuss additional measures that could be implemented to complement mowing. Because of the widespread distribution of the target habitat and species, our study provides readily applicable information for wetland managers in Europe and worldwide

Salsalate treatment improves glycemia without altering adipose tissue in nondiabetic obese hispanics.

ObjectiveSalsalate treatment has well-known effects on improving glycemia, and the objective of this study was to examine whether the mechanism of this effect was related to changes in adipose tissue.MethodsA randomized double-blind and placebo-controlled trial in obese Hispanics (18-35 years) was conducted. The intervention consisted of 4 g day(-1) of salsalate (n = 11) versus placebo (n = 13) for 4 weeks. Outcome measures included glycemia, adiposity, ectopic fat, and adipose tissue gene expression and inflammation.ResultsIn those receiving salsalate, plasma fasting glucose decreased by 3.4% (P &lt; 0.01), free fatty acids decreased by 42.5% (P = 0.06), and adiponectin increased by 27.7% (P &lt; 0.01). Salsalate increased insulin AUC by 38% (P = 0.01) and HOMA-B by 47.2% (P &lt; 0.01) while estimates of insulin sensitivity/resistance were unaffected. These metabolic improvements occurred without changes in total, abdominal, visceral, or liver fat. Plasma markers of inflammation/immune activation were unchanged following salsalate. Salsalate had no effects on adipose tissue including adipocyte size, presence of crown-like structures, or gene expression of adipokines, immune cell markers, or cytokines downstream of NF-κB with the exception of downregulation of IL-1β (P &lt; 0.01).ConclusionsFindings suggest that metabolic improvements in response to salsalate occurred without alterations in adiposity, ectopic fat, or adipose tissue gene expression and inflammation

Immunomodulatory interventions in myocardial infarction and heart failure: a systematic review of clinical trials and meta-analysis of IL-1 inhibition

Following a myocardial infarction (MI), the immune system helps to repair ischaemic damage and restore tissue integrity, but excessive inflammation has been implicated in adverse cardiac remodelling and development towards heart failure (HF). Pre-clinical studies suggest that timely resolution of inflammation may help prevent HF development and progression. Therapeutic attempts to prevent excessive post-MI inflammation in patients have included pharmacological interventions ranging from broad immunosuppression to immunomodulatory approaches targeting specific cell types or factors with the aim to maintain beneficial aspects of the early post-MI immune response. These include the blockade of early initiators of inflammation including reactive oxygen species and complement, inhibition of mast cell degranulation and leucocyte infiltration, blockade of inflammatory cytokines, and inhibition of adaptive B and T-lymphocytes. Herein, we provide a systematic review on post-MI immunomodulation trials and a meta-analysis of studies targeting the inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-1. Despite an enormous effort into a significant number of clinical trials on a variety of targets, a striking heterogeneity in study population, timing and type of treatment, and highly variable endpoints limits the possibility for meaningful meta-analyses. To conclude, we highlight critical considerations for future studies including (i) the therapeutic window of opportunity, (ii) immunological effects of routine post-MI medication, (iii) stratification of the highly diverse post-MI patient population, (iv) the potential benefits of combining immunomodulatory with regenerative therapies, and at last (v) the potential side effects of immunotherapies