Icelandia

ABSTRACT We propose a new, sunken continent beneath the North Atlantic Ocean that we name Icelandia. It may comprise blocks of full-thickness continental lithosphere or extended, magma-inflated continental layers that form hybrid continental-oceanic lithosphere. It underlies the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge and the Jan Mayen microplate complex, covering an area of ~600,000 km2. It is contiguous with the Faroe Plateau and known parts of the submarine continental rifted margin offshore Britain. If these are included in a “Greater Icelandia,” the entire area is ~1,000,000 km2 in size. The existence of Icelandia needs to be tested. Candidate approaches include magnetotelluric surveying in Iceland; ultralong, full-crust-penetrating reflection profiling along the length of the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge; dating zircons collected in Iceland; deep drilling; and reappraisal of the geology of Iceland. Some of these methods could be applied to other candidate sunken continents that are common in the oceans.

Foveal structure changes in infants treated with anti-VEGF therapy or laser therapy guided by optical coherence tomography angiography for retinopathy of prematurity

AIM: To evaluate foveal vessel density (VD) and foveal thickness using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) children treated with laser photocoagulation or anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injection. Additionally, we assessed the relationship between foveal microvascular anomalies and different therapies in ROP children. METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective study of patients with a diagnosis of type 1 ROP. Twenty-three eyes (14 patients) treated with anti-VEGF injection and twenty-nine eyes (17 patients) treated with laser coagulation were included in this study. The foveal VD, inner thickness and full thickness were measured at the central 0°, 2° to 8°, and 8° of the retina (centered on the fovea) using OCTA and cross-sectional OCT, respectively. RESULTS: Foveal VD, inner thickness and full thickness were significantly smaller within the central 8° of the retina in ROP children treated with anti-VEGF injection than in those treated with laser photocoagulation (P=0.013, 0.009, 0.036, respectively). The full thickness was also smaller in the anti-VEGF group than in the laser group at the central 0° of the retina (P=0.010). The grade of foveal hypoplasia is lower in the anti-VEGF group than in the laser group (P=0.045). Multivariable analysis did not find any risk factors associated with visual acuity in our study. CONCLUSION: In children with type 1 ROP, the better structural development of fovea in those who were treated with anti-VEGF injection compared with laser photocoagulation are identified. However, visual acuity outcomes are similar 70mo after the treatments.

Case Report: Sudden Fatal Hemorrhage in Ulcerative Fungal Laryngotracheitis—A Pediatric Case Report

In this report, we describe an autopsy case of a child affected by acute lymphoblastic leukemia and opportunistic pulmonary aspergillosis. The patient died because of a full-thickness tracheal wall ulceration with right inferior thyroid artery lesion and sudden hemorrhage, likely ascribable to undiagnosed invasive Aspergillus laryngotracheitis. Aspergillus infection, particularly in immunocompromised patients, should be considered an urgent risk factor to manage as it may lead to sudden fatal events in absence of evident critical symptoms.

Healing Effects of Iranian Dwarf Elder on Full-thickness Epidermal Thermal Injury in Wistar Rats

Background: Wound healing is a physiologic process that cells and tissues react when the skin is exposed to thermal injury. The inflammatory process has ‎essential effects on wound healing that includes coordination between immunological and biological responses. Chemical and herbal medicines are locally or systemically administrated to help wound healing. Herbal medicines have become more prevalent in recent years due to fewer side effects. Dwarf elder is used to treating inflammation and has been reported to possess antibacterial and antioxidant activities. This plant is also effective against burns, wounds, eczema, and infection. Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the topical application of dwarf elder on full-thickness epidermal thermal wounds in Wistar rats. Methods: Thirty adult male Wistar rats of about 300 g were used. The rats were randomly divided into three groups: Control group, vehicle group treated with an ointment base, and treatment group treated with elder ointment 10%. The animals were anesthetized and were created burn wounds with an area of 1 cm2 using the Meyer method. After 21 days, the wounds were photographed with a Canon camera. The wound area and healing degree were calculated. Slides were stained with H&E and examined by light microscopy and GraphPad Prism software. Data were analyzed by SPSS software using ANOVA and Tukey’s test. The significance level was considered at P < 0.05. Results: The wound area on the 21st day was significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control and vehicle groups. The epithelium thickness (μm) was significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control and vehicle groups. The blood vessels were significantly higher in the treatment group than in the other groups. Conclusions: The study showed that elder extract could be an effective remedy to repair and heal thermal injury and burn wounds.

Role of intraretinal cysts in the prediction of postoperative closure and photoreceptor damages of the idiopathic full-thickness macular hole

Background To determine whether it would be effective in predicting the results of the postoperative full-thickness macular hole (FTMH) closure when intraretinal cyst (IRC) is present. Methods Case-control study. Patients with idiopathic FTMH who underwent pars plana vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling were retrospectively reviewed. Preoperative spectral-domain optical coherence tomography was undertaken in all patients. The new parameter, macular hole closing factor (MHCF) was defined as the base diameter - (arm length + IRC height) by adding IRC to the existing parameter. After surgery, patients were classified and analyzed according to the type of hole closure and the damage of photoreceptor. Results Of the 35 patients, 28 (80.00%) had type 1 closure and seven (20.00%) had type 2 closure. There was a significant difference in postoperative BCVA (P < 0.01), base diameter (P = 0.037), arm length (P = 0.045), and IRC height (P = 0.011) between the two groups. In the type 1 closure, they were further divided into two subgroups according to photoreceptor damage, and it was confirmed that there were significant differences in postoperative BCVA (P = 0.045), hole height (P = 0.048), and IRC height (P = 0.046) in the two subgroups. As for the new parameters, a significant difference between the three groups was confirmed (P < 0.01). Conclusion IRC may help predict hole closure along with the known horizontal parameters. Therefore, the new parameter containing both two factors can help predict not only hole closure but also damage to photoreceptors that affects postoperative visual prognosis.