Histopathology of the Plasmodiophora brassicae-Chinese Cabbage Interaction in Hosts Carrying Different Sources of Resistance

Clubroot is a serious soil-borne disease of crucifers caused by the obligate parasite Plasmodiophora brassicae. The genetic basis and histopathology of clubroot resistance in two Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis) inbred lines Bap055 and Bap246, challenged with pathotype 4 of P. brassicae, was evaluated. The Chinese cabbage cultivar “Juxin” served as a susceptible check. The resistance in Bap055 was found to be controlled by the CRa gene, while resistance in Bap246 fit a model of control by unknown recessive gene. Infection of the roots by P. brassicae was examined by inverted microscopy. Despite their resistance, primary and secondary infection were observed to occur in Bap055 and Bap246. Primary infection was detected at 2 days post-inoculation (DPI) in “Juxin,” at 4 DPI in Bap055, and at 6 DPI in Bap246. Infection occurred most quickly on “Juxin,” with 60% of the root hairs infected at 10 DPI, followed by Bap055 (31% of the root hairs infected at 12 DPI) and Bap246 (20% of the root hairs infected at 14 DPI). Secondary infection of “Juxin” was first observed at 8 DPI, while in Bap055 and Bap246, secondary infection was first observed at 10 DPI. At 14 DPI, the percentage of cortical infection in “Juxin,” Bap055 and Bap246 was 93.3, 20.0, and 11.1%, respectively. Although cortical infection was more widespread in Bap055 than in Bap246, secondary infection in both of these hosts was restricted relative to the susceptible check, and the vascular system remained intact. A large number of binucleate secondary plasmodia were observed in “Juxin” and the vascular system was disrupted at 16 DPI; in Bap055 and Bap246, only a few secondary plasmodia were visible, with no binucleate secondary plasmodia. The defense mechanisms and expression of resistance appears to differ between Chinese cabbage cultivars carrying different sources of resistance.

From the Heart to the Brain: Building Bridges to a Better Future

This Presidential Address was delivered at the International Stroke Conference in March 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Elkind, the President of the American Heart Association (AHA) at the time, is a vascular neurologist with a research focus on stroke epidemiology. This address interweaves personal reflections on a career in clinical neurology, stroke research, and public health with a discussion of the role of the AHA in improving cardiovascular health at multiple levels. Throughout its history, the AHA has had leaders representing many different areas of cardiovascular science and medicine, including stroke. More recently, its focus has expanded from a traditional emphasis on cardiovascular events illness and events, like heart disease and stroke, to an appreciation of the role of the vascular system in brain health, healthy aging, cognitive decline, and dementia. During the pandemic, as the bidirectional effects of the coronavirus on cardiovascular disease has been elucidated, the benefits of a broad and multidisciplinary approach to cardiovascular disease and public health have become more apparent than ever. In addition, with growing awareness of the disproportionate effects of the pandemic on communities of color in the United States and globally, the AHA has redoubled its focus on addressing the social determinants of health, including structural racism. Central to these efforts is the construction of bridges between the generation of scientific knowledge and action for the public good. Our success will depend on the combination of basic, translational, clinical and population research with programs of public and professional education, advocacy, and social action.

Efficacy of conservative physiotherapeutic approaches in hormonal-related headaches: a scoping review protocol.

ABSTRACT Introduction. Headache is one of the most common and disabling conditions worldwide, as described by the World Health Organization report. The risk of suffering from headache has been described to increase from twofold to threefold in adult women compared to men, depending on the studies. These gender differences have been linked to environmental, genetic, epigenetic, and hormonal aspects. Sex hormones can enhance headaches mainly through sensitization of the trigemino-vascular system and modulation of the blood vessel factors, with significant clinical consequences. International guidelines suggest several pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments in the management of headache disorders as acute or preventive therapies. Few studies have been conducted on the efficacy and effectiveness of therapies in managing hormonal-related headaches to date. Therefore, this scoping review (ScR) aims to summarize the evidence regarding the efficacy of conservative physiotherapeutic approaches on this topic in the domain of gender medicine, which studies sex influences on pathophysiology, clinical signs, prevention, and therapy of diseases. Methods and analysis. The ScR will be performed following the 6-stage methodology suggested by Arksey and O Malley and the extensions to the original framework recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute. MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, Scopus, CINHAL, Embase and PEDro databases will be searched. Additional records will be identified through searching in grey literature and the reference lists of all relevant studies. No study design, publication type, language nor date restrictions will be applied. Two reviewers will independently screen all abstracts and full-text studies for inclusion. The research team will develop a data collection form to extract the studies characteristics. A tabular and accompanying narrative summary of the information will be provided. This protocol received input from all authors who have expertise in research methodology and specific knowledge in the field. Ethics and dissemination. This study does not require ethical approval as we will not collect personal data. It will summarize information from publicly available studies in line with the nature of the study s methodology. Regarding dissemination activities, the results of this review will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, presented at relevant conferences in the field and disseminated through working groups, webinars and partners. KEYWORDS Headache, menstruation, hormones, physical therapy, exercise therapy.

Study of the retina and optic nerve microvascular bed using optical coherence tomography-angiography in post-COVID-19 patients

Introduction. Signs of angioretinopathy are revealed in 7–27.7 % of post-COVID-19 patients. Optical coherence tomographyangiography (OCT-A) allows performing life-time evaluation of structural and microvascular retinal changes in patients after the new coronavirus infection. Aim. To investigate and to compare main microcirculatory parameters of capillary retinal and optic nerve plexuses using OCT-A in patients after COVID-19 of different severity degree. Materials and methods. The main group consisted of 54 people (108 eyes), who recovered from COVID-19 during 3 preceding months. According to the COVID-19 course severity degree, patients were divided into 3 sub-groups. 22 healthy volunteers (44 eyes) were included in the control group. All patients underwent OCT-A. In the angiography regimen, entire vascular density (VD) and that of every sector in the limits of superficial (SCP) and deep (DCP) capillary plexuses, radial peripapillary capillaries (RPC), and in the foveal avascular zone (FAZ). Results. All over parameters investigated no significant differences between control group patients and those of the sub-group with mild COVID-19 course. In patients with moderately severe infectious process course a significant decrease in VD SCP (P<0.01), as well as decrease in VD RPC (P<0.01). In patients with severe and critically severe disease course there was an decrease of VD DCP in the foveal area (P=0.016) and VD FAZ (P<0.01). VD indices correlations with thickness of retinal layers, in which these vascular plexuses are located. In any of the groups, there was no statistically significant enlargement of the FAZ area and no structural optic disc changes. Conclusion. In post-COVID-19 patients, there are signs of capillary blood flow reduction in retinal SCP and RPC, which is proportional to the prior infection severity degree. Associated to COVID-19 microangiopathy is a significant ophthalmologic sign of the new coronavirus infection. Microvascular changes of the retina could play a role of of a new biomarker reflecting the severity degree of the entire vascular system impairment in COVID-19.

Vascular 3D Printing with a Novel Biological Tissue Mimicking Resin for Patient-Specific Procedure Simulations in Interventional Radiology: a Feasibility Study

Three-dimensional (3D) printing of vascular structures is of special interest for procedure simulations in Interventional Radiology, but remains due to the complexity of the vascular system and the lack of biological tissue mimicking 3D printing materials a technical challenge. In this study, the technical feasibility, accuracy, and usability of a recently introduced silicone-like resin were evaluated for endovascular procedure simulations and technically compared to a commonly used standard clear resin. Fifty-four vascular models based on twenty-seven consecutive embolization cases were fabricated from preinterventional CT scans and each model was checked for printing success and accuracy by CT-scanning and digital comparison to its original CT data. Median deltas (Δ) of luminal diameters were 0.35 mm for clear and 0.32 mm for flexible resin (216 measurements in total) with no significant differences (p > 0.05). Printing success was 85.2% for standard clear and 81.5% for the novel flexible resin. In conclusion, vascular 3D printing with silicone-like flexible resin was technically feasible and highly accurate. This is the first and largest consecutive case series of 3D-printed embolizations with a novel biological tissue mimicking material and is a promising next step in patient-specific procedure simulations in Interventional Radiology.

Discovery of Therapeutic Candidates for Diabetic Retinopathy Based on Molecular Switch Analysis: Application of a Systematic Process

The pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy (DR) is complicated, and there is no effective drug. Oxidative stress-induced human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs) injury is one of the pathogenic factors for DR. Molecular switches are considered high-risk targets in disease progression. Identification of molecular switch is crucial to interpret the pathogenesis of disease and screen effective ingredients. In this study, a systematic process was executed to discover therapeutic candidates for DR based on HRMECs injury. First of all, the molecular mechanism of HRMECs oxidative stress injury was revealed by transcriptomics and network pharmacology. We found that oxidative stress was one of the pivotal pathogenic factors, which interfered with vascular system development, inflammation, cell adhesion, and cytoskeleton damaged HRMECs through crosstalk. Then, network topology analysis was used to recognize molecular switches. The results indicated that the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway was the molecular switch in HRMECs oxidative stress injury. On this basis, the HEK293-ARE overexpression cell line was applied to obtain 18 active traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) ingredients. Furthermore, andrographolide, one of the 18 candidates, was applied in the HRMECs oxidative stress model to evaluate the accuracy of the systematic process. The efficacy evaluation results showed that andrographolide could regulate oxidative stress, vascular system development, inflammation, adhesion, and skeleton tissue to inhibit HRMECs injury cooperatively. And its mechanism was related to the Nrf2 signaling pathway. Overall, our data suggest that the Nrf2 signaling pathway is the molecular switch in the HRMECs oxidative stress injury. 18 potential Nrf2 agonists are likely to be promising DR candidates.

The bright future of nanotechnology in lymphatic system imaging and imaging-guided surgery

Lymphatic system is identified the second vascular system after the blood circulation in mammalian species, however the research on lymphatic system has long been hampered by the lack of comprehensive imaging modality. Nanomaterials have shown the potential to enhance the quality of lymphatic imaging due to the unparalleled advantages such as the specific passive targeting and efficient co-delivery of cocktail to peripheral lymphatic system, ease molecular engineering for precise active targeting and prolonged retention in the lymphatic system of interest. Multimodal lymphatic imaging based on nanotechnology provides a complementary means to understand the kinetics of lymphoid tissues and quantify its function. In this review, we introduce the established approaches of lymphatic imaging used in clinic and summarize their strengths and weaknesses, and list the critical influence factors on lymphatic imaging. Meanwhile, the recent developments in the field of pre-clinical lymphatic imaging are discussed to shed new lights on the design of new imaging agents, the improvement of delivery methods and imaging-guided surgery strategies. Graphical Abstract

Digital fundus image quality assessment

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a disease caused by complications of diabetes. It starts asymptomatically and can end in blindness. To detect it, doctors use special fundus cameras that allow them to register images of the retina in the visible range of the spectrum. On these images one can see features, which determine the presence of DR and its grade. Researchers around the world are developing systems for the automated analysis of fundus images. At present, the level of accuracy of classification of diseases caused by DR by systems based on machine learning is comparable to the level of qualified medical doctors.The article shows variants for representation of the retina in digital images by different cameras. We define the task to develop a universal approach for the image quality assessment of a retinal image obtained by an arbitrary fundus camera. It is solved in the first block of any automated retinal image analysis system. The quality assessment procedure is carried out in several stages. At the first stage, it is necessary to perform binarization of the original image and build a retinal mask. Such a mask is individual for each image, even among the images recorded by one camera. For this, a new universal retinal image binarization algorithm is proposed. By analyzing result of the binarization, it is possible to identify and remove imagesoutliers, which show not the retina, but other objects. Further, the problem of no-reference image quality assessment is solved and images are classified into two classes: satisfactory and unsatisfactory for analysis. Contrast, sharpness and possibility of segmentation of the vascular system on the retinal image are evaluated step by step. It is shown that the problem of no-reference image quality assessment of an arbitrary fundus image can be solved.Experiments were performed on a variety of images from the available retinal image databases.

Developing Virtual Reality Head Mounted Display (HMD) Set-Up for Thoracoscopic Surgery of Complex Congenital Lung MalFormations in Children

Video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) has been adopted in pediatric age for the treatment of congenital lung malformations (CLM). The success of VATS in pediatrics largely depends on the surgeon’s skill ability to understand the airways, vascular system and lung parenchyma anatomy in CLM. In the last years, virtual reality (VR) and 3-dimensional (3D) printing of organ models and VR head mounted display (HMD) technologies have been introduced for completion of preoperative planning in adult patients. To date no reports about the use of VR HMD technologies in a pediatric setting are available. The aim of this report is to introduce a VR HMD model in VATS procedure to improve the quality of care in children with CLM. VR HMD set-up for planning thoracoscopic surgery was performed in a series of pediatric patients with diagnosis of CLM. The preoperative VR HMD evaluation allowed a navigation into the malformation with the aim to explore, interact, and make the surgeon more confident and skilled to answer to the traps. A development of surgical simulations models and teaching program dedicated to education and training in pediatric VATS is suitable among the pediatric surgery community. Further studies should demonstrate all the benefits of such technology in pediatric patients submitted to VATS procedure.