Treatment chronic macular edema in Vogt-Koyanagi Harada syndrome with dexamethasone intravitreal implant: description of three case

Purpose: To report our experience with dexamethasone intravitreal implant (Ozurdex, DEX implant) in the chronic cystic macular edema (ME )with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) Syndrome. Method: A retrospective chart review of three patients with (VKH) treated with sustained-release dexamethasone 0.7 mg intravitreal implant was performed.Complete ophthalmic examination included: best corrected visual acuity; ocular tonometry, were also evaluated signs of inflammatory activity of the anterior segment with biomicroscopy slit-lamp, and posterior segment with fundus biomiocrosopy, fundus photography and fluorescein angiography; measurement of macular morphology and thickness, optical with coherence tomography; and tolerability of the implant. Mean follow-up time post-injection was 6 months. All three eyes received 1Ozurdex implants during the follow-up period. The duration of effect of the implant was 4 to 6 months. No serious ocular or systemic adverse events were noted during the follow-up period. Results: In all three eyes, were observed a remarkable decrease ME, in angiographic and OCT , following placement intravitreal DEX implant Conclusions: The DEX implant 0.7 mg may be an effective treatment option for reduction ME in VGT, met the primary efficacy endpoint for improvement in visual acuity (VA) and safety profile was also acceptabl

Neutrino oscillations in the interaction picture

We study the mixing of different kind of fields (scalar in 0+1D, scalar in 3+1D, fermion in 3+1D) treating the mixing term as an interaction. To this aim, we employ the usual perturbative series in the interaction picture. We find that expression for flavor changing probability exhibits corrections with respect to the usual quantum mechanical (e.g. neutrino) oscillation formula, in agreement with the result previously obtained in the non-perturbative flavor Fock space approach.Comment: Accepted for publication in EPJ

Anisakis spp. Larvae in Deboned, in-Oil Fillets Made of Anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus) and Sardines (Sardina pilchardus) Sold in EU Retailers

Sardina pilchardus and Engraulis encrasicolus are considered the principal target species for commercial fishing in Europe and are widely consumed as semipreserved products. Although they are considered shelf-stable products, if treatment is not correctly applied, their consumption may represent a public health risk in regard to anisakiasis and allergic reactions. Little is known about the prevalence of Anisakis spp. in ripened products. This study aimed to evaluate the presence of Anisakis spp. larvae in deboned, in-oil anchovy and sardine fillets marketed in the EU to assess the influence of processing techniques on the prevalence of larvae. Ninety semipreserved anchovy and sardine products deriving from the Mediterranean Sea or Atlantic Ocean were collected from different EU retailers and examined using chloropeptic digestion to evaluate the presence of larvae and identify them. Thirty nonviable Anisakid larvae—A. pegreffii (30%) and A. simplex (70%)—were found. The frequency of larvae was higher in anchovies (28.8%). The low frequency of parasites found proved that processing technologies can influence the presence of larvae in final products, but it is important that visual inspection is performed only by trained people. The sources of raw materials should be considered in the production flow chart

Deltamethrin Residues in Milk and Cheese of Lactating Goats (Capra hircus)

peer-reviewedThe distribution of pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin (DLM) in goat milk and cheese (caciotta) following pour-on administration at the sheep dosage (DLMS-10 mL/60 kg body weight) and double dosage (DLMD-20 mL/60 kg body weight) was studied. DLM concentrations were measured in milk collected from study animals (No.14) before treatment and at 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 30, 36, 48, 56, until 168 h (7 days) post treatment and in caciotta cheese at 12 and 24 h post treatment. At both dosages, the maximum level of DLM residues in goat milk and cheese was below the maximum residue limit (MRL) of 20 μg kg−1 established for bovine milk (EU No 37/2010) at all time points. However, in terms of public health, higher DLM residues in cheese show that further specific studies should be performed on double dosage efficacy and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics properties of ectoparasites in lactating goats

SHELF LIFE OF THAWED CRUSTACEANS TREATED WITH SULPHITES

The quality of fish and fish products is closely related to their freshness. Aim of this research was to evaluate the shelf life of thawed crustaceans (Aristeomorpha foliacea and Nefrops norvegicus) which had been treated with sulphites and frozen on board. Organoleptic characteristics and microbiological and chemical parameters were judged favourably up to day 6 and 7 for the shrimps and Norway lobsters, respectively

HEALTH CONCERNS ON FISHERY PRODUCTS: ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE AND PARASITE RISK ASSESSMENT IN FISH PRODUCTION VALUE CHAINS

Capture fisheries and aquaculture supplied the world with about 148 million tonnes of fish in 2010, of which about 128 million tonnes were utilized as food for people. The fishery market is becoming much more complex and stratified, with greater diversification among species and product forms and for this reason food safety remains a major concern facing the seafood industry. Along fish value chain there are a lot of concern regarding public health and for this reason the aim of this work was to propose an approach to antibiotic resistance and parasites risk assessment in fish production value chains. The main consequences of the use and the abuse of antibiotics is the development and diffusion of antibiotic resistance that become a serious global problem. The aim of this research was to evaluate the presence of antimicrobial residues and to assess the antimicrobial resistance in bacteria species isolated from different wild caught seawater fish and fishery products. Three antibiotic substances (Oxytetracicline, Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim) were detected (by screening and confirmatory methods) in Octopus vulgaris, Sepia officinalis and Thais haemastoma. All Vibrio strains isolated from fish were resistant to Vancomycin and Penicillin. In Vibrio alginolyticus, isolated in Octopus vulgaris, a resistance against 9 antibiotics was noted. Human fishery product-borne parasitic diseases include those caused by cestodes, trematodes and nematodes. These diseases are either caused by an infection following ingestion of viable parasites, or as an allergic (hypersensitivity) reaction against parasite antigens which occurs for nematodes of the family Anisakidae. Parasite risk assessment was evaluated in 3 different steps: • Different infection indexes in european hakes (Merluccius merluccius) belonging from Atlantic ocean (FAO zone 27 IXa) and from Tyrrhenian sea (FAO zone 37.1.2) were assessed identifying and charactering species and populations of parasites. A total of 2990 larval specimens of A. simplex (s. l.) from Merluccius merluccius captured in the two different fishing grounds were collected: 2836 anisakids in hakes from FAO 27 fishing ground and only 154 anisakids in hakes from 37.1.2 fishing ground. A. simplex (s. s.) and A. pegreffii co-infected the same individual fish host, in viscera and in the fillets (hypaxial and epaxial) fished from the FAO 27 fishing ground; only A. pegreffii in hakes from FAO area 37.1.2 in viscera and in hypaxial flesh was found. • The presence of nematodes in 33 fish species belonging from different FAO areas using artificial peptic digestion was evaluated and parasites identification using microscopical techniques and RT-PCR was performed. A total of 10897 anisakid larvae were found and collected in the flesh. The blue ling (Molva dypterygia), european conger (Conger conger) and Peter's fish (Zeus faber) were the most highly infected species respectively. A total of 27,27 % of the species analyzed were anisakid-free; a monitoring tool for the evaluation of parasite infection in fish lots with the aim to assess parasites impact on marketed fish, as EFSA states in a recent report, was applied; 29 % of the evaluated fish lots had a score between 0-3, refering to serious weaknesses in the fish lots. • The survival of Anisakis larvae, naturally present in fish, at different stages of ripening process in traditional salted anchovies was evaluated since a recent EFSA panel on risk assessment of parasites in fishery products stated that research on identification of alternative treatments for killing viable parasites in fishery products are needed. Viability was tested with different methods and the results showed that all larvae were not viable at the 15th ripening day. The dry salting process at mean salt concentration of 24% in all parts of the flesh at the end of the ripening period can be considered an effective method for devitalising anisakids larval forms present in the raw material and obtain a safe product for the consumer

Neutrino oscillations in the interaction picture

Abstract We study the mixing of different kind of fields (scalar in 0+1D, scalar in 3+1D, fermion in 3+1D) treating the mixing term as an interaction. To this aim, we employ the usual perturbative series in the interaction picture. We find that expression for flavor changing probability exhibits corrections with respect to the usual quantum mechanical (e.g. neutrino) oscillation formula, in agreement with the result previously obtained in the non-perturbative flavor Fock space approach