RPE disruption and hyper-transmission are early signs of secondary CNV with punctate inner choroidopathy in structure-OCT

Purpose To study whether retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) disruption and choroidal hyper-transmission on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) are signs of inflammatory neovascularization (CNV) in punctate inner choroidopathy (PIC). Methods This is a prospective cohort study. Seventeen patients (18 eyes) were diagnosed as PIC without CNV at baseline. Changes of morphological characteristics including choroidal hyper-transmission, hypo-transmission, RPE disruption, and ellipsoid zone (EZ) damage on SD-OCT were observed and recorded at baseline, 4, 8 and 12 weeks, respectively. The occurrence of CNV was detected by OCTA at each visit. Fisher’s exact test was used to compare the relationship with each morphological sign and evaluate the predictable capability of secondary CNV in PIC (PIC+CNV) based on the structure changes on OCT. Results Among the 18 eyes, a total of 5 eyes (27.8%) developed PIC+CNV subsequently within 4 weeks follow-up. At 4, 8 and 12 weeks of follow-up, RPE disruption and choroidal hyper-transmission were found in all 5 PIC+CNV eyes. The incidence of RPE disruption was significant higher in PIC+CNV eyes compared with PIC eyes (P=0.001). PIC eyes with hyper-transmission had a higher risk for developing CNV compared with those without hyper-transmission (P=1.17×10-3). 2 out of 5 PIC+CNV eyes had a choroidal hypo-transmission component adjacent to hyper-transmission zone at 4 weeks of follow-up, and hypo-transmission could be observed in all 5 PIC+CNV eyes at 8 weeks of follow-up. The incidence of choroidal hypo-transmission was significant higher in PIC+CNV eyes than PIC eyes after 8 weeks. EZ damage began to recover at 4 weeks of follow-up and had no significant difference in the PIC eyes and PIC+CNV eyes (P=0.150, 0.196, 0.353). Conclusion The presence of choroidal hyper-transmission and RPE disruption on SD-OCT is associated with the PIC+CNV. SD-OCT imaging facilitates the differentiation and track of the progression of inflammatory lesions and secondary CNV in PIC.

Severe acute respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2: Can it be detected in the retina?

Background/Objectives The systemic organ involvement of SARS-CoV-2 needs to be thoroughly investigated including the possibility of an ocular reservoir in humans. To examine retinal tissues and vitreous for histopathology and SARS-CoV-2 presence with regard to possible effects on the human retina and/ or vitreous. We performed histopathological analyses and quantitative (q)RT-PCR-testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA on retinal tissues and vitreous of COVID-19 postmortem donors. Subjects/Methods Included in this study were 10 eyes of 5 deceased COVID-19 patients. The diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed via pharyngeal swabs and broncho-alveolar fluids. The highest level of personal protective equipment (PPE) and measures was employed during fluid-tissue procurement and preparation. Histopathological examinations and qRT-PCR-testing were carried out for all retinal tissues and vitreous fluids. Results The histopathological examinations revealed no signs of morphologically identifiable retinal inflammation or vessel occlusions based on hematoxylin and eosin stains. By qRT-PCRs, we detected no significant level of viral RNA in human retina and vitreous. Conclusions In this study, no significant level of SARS-CoV-2-RNA was detected in the human retinal and vitreous fluid samples of deceased COVID-19 patients. Histopathological examinations confirmed no morphological sign of damage to retinal vasculature or tissues. Further studies are needed to confirm or refute the results.

Protuberances are organized distinct regions of long-term callus: histological and transcriptomic analyses in kiwifruit

Key message Macroscopic, ultrastructural, and molecular features—like a ball shape, the presence of starch granules, and the up-regulation of genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism and secondary metabolite biosynthesis—distinguish PT regions within a callus. Abstract The modification of the mass of pluripotent cells into de novo shoot bud regeneration is highly relevant to developmental biology and for agriculture and biotechnology. This study deals with protuberances (PT), structures that appear during the organogenic long-term culturing of callus (OC) in kiwifruit. These ball-shaped regions of callus might be considered the first morphological sign of the subsequent shoot bud development. Sections of PT show the regular arrangement of some cells, especially on the surface, in contrast to the regions of OC beyond the PT. The cells of OC possess chloroplasts; however, starch granules were observed only in PTs’ plastids. Transcriptomic data revealed unique gene expression for each kind of sample: OC, PT, and PT with visible shoot buds (PT–SH). Higher expression of the gene involved in lipid (glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase 5 [GPAT5]), carbohydrate (granule-bound starch synthase 1 [GBSS1]), and secondary metabolite (beta-glucosidase 45 [BGL45]) pathways were detected in PT and could be proposed as the markers of these structures. The up-regulation of the regulatory associated protein of TOR (RAPTOR1) was found in PT–SH. The highest expression of the actinidain gene in leaves from two-year-old regenerated plants suggests that the synthesis of this protein takes place in fully developed organs. The findings indicate that PT and PT–SH are specific structures within OC but have more features in common with callus tissue than with organs.

“Mercedes-Benz Sign” on CSF Cytology

Cryptococcus meningitis is a potentially lethal disease, and cerebrospinal fluid cytology is crucial in establishing diagnosis. We report a novel and interesting morphological sign of Cryptococcus neoformansin CSF cytology resembling the logo of Mercedes-Benz. The sign is highly suggestive of Cryptococcus infection and is a strong indicator for more specific tests and timely treatment.

دلالة المصدر الصرفية في النصوص القرآنية Significance of the Morphological Source in the Qur’anic Texts

لا شكّ أن القرآن الكريم حجّةٌ في اللغة العربية، كما هو حجة في الشريعة الإسلامية. والنصُّ القرآني هو النص الصحيحُ المُجمَعُ على الاحتجاج به في اللغة والصرف والنحو. وهذا البحث يهدف إلى تأصيل دلالة المصدر الصرفية من خلال أفصح الأساليب على الإطلاق (الأسلوب القرآني)، والكشف عن تلون مظاهر هذه الدلالة في تقديم هذا الأسلوب، والكشف عن أهمية دراسة الصرف في ظل الأسلوب القرآني، كما أن فيها حسمًا لبعض قضايا الاختلاف حول دلالة المصدر الصرفية. ويتخذ البحث المنهج الوصفي الاستقرائي التحليلي، ويتم ذلك من خلال النصوص القرآنية المتعلقة بدلالة المصدر الصرفية، وتحليلها مع ذكر أقوال اللغويين واختلافاتهم.الكلمات الرئيسية: القرآن، اللغة العربية، دلالة المصدر الصرفية، الأسلوب القرآني.*************************** The Holy Qur’an is an authority on the Arabic language as it is an authority in Islamic SharÊ‘ah. The text of the Qur’an is the authentic text and authority on Arabic language, morphology and grammar. This research aims to consolidate the morphological significance of the Qur’an through the study of its most eloquent literary style of all times, to explore the colorful manifestations of this significance in furnishing this style, and to highlight the importance of studying morphology in light of the Qur’anic style, which resolves some of the controversial issues concerning the morphological significance of the source. The research adopts inductive-descriptive and analytical methods.Key words: the Holy Qur’an, Arabic language, morphological sign of the source, Qur’anic style.

Distal angiogenesis: a new concept for lung vascular morphogenesis

Although several molecular players have been described that play a role during the early phases of lung development, it is still unknown how the vasculature develops in relation to the airways. Two opposing models describe development of lung vasculature: one suggests that both vasculogenesis and angiogenesis are involved, whereas the second describes vasculogenesis as the primary mechanism. Therefore, we examined the development of the murine pulmonary vasculature through a morphological analysis from the onset of lung development [9.5 days postcoital (dpc)] until the pseudoglandular stage (13.5 dpc). We analyzed fetal lungs of Tie2-LacZ transgenic mice as well as serial sections of wild-type lungs stained with endothelial-specific antibodies (Flk-1, Fli-1, and PECAM-1). Embryos were processed with intact blood circulation to maintain the integrity of the vasculature; hence individual vessels could be identified with accuracy through serial section analysis. Furthermore, circulating primitive erythrocytes, formed exclusively by the blood islands in the yolk sac, are trapped in vessels during fixation, which proves the connection with the embryonic circulation. We report that from the first morphological sign of lung development, a clear vascular network exists that is in contact with the embryonic circulation. We propose distal angiogenesis as a new concept for early pulmonary vascular morphogenesis. In this model, capillary networks surround the terminal buds and expand by formation of new capillaries from preexisting vessels as the lung bud grows. The fact that at an early embryonic stage a complete vascular network exists may be important for the general understanding of embryonic development.

HyBra1, a Brachyury homologue, acts during head formation in Hydra

A homologue of the T-box gene, Brachyury, has been isolated from hydra. The gene, termed HyBra1, is expressed in the endoderm and is associated with the formation of the hypostome, the apical part of the head in four different developmental situations. In adults, which are continuously undergoing patterning, HyBra1 is continuously expressed in the hypostome. During budding, hydra's asexual form of reproduction, the gene is expressed in a small area that will eventually form the hypostome of the developing bud before any morphological sign of budding is apparent. The gene is also expressed very early during head regeneration and is confined to the region that will form the hypostome. During embryogenesis, HyBra1 is expressed shortly before hatching in the region that will form the apical end of the animal, the hypostome. The absence of expression at the apical end of decapitated animals of reg-16, a head formation-deficient mutant, provides additional evidence for a role of HyBra1 during head formation. Further, treatments that alter the head activation gradient have no effect on HyBra1 expression indicating the role of the gene is confined to head formation. Transplantation experiments indicate that the expression occurs before head determination has occurred, but expression does not irreversibly commit tissue to forming a head. A comparison of the function of the Brachyury homologues suggests an evolutionary conservation of a molecular mechanism that has been co-opted for a number of developmental processes throughout evolution.