Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane: Microvasculature Analysis with Optical Coherence Tomography and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Background: The present study examined the relationships among macular microvasculature, retinal structure, and epiretinal membrane (ERM) and explored the utility of optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography (OCTA) in idiopathic ERM assessment. Methods: The study sample comprised 276 eyes of 276 patients. A total of 154 eyes with ERM and 122 normal (control) eyes were analyzed. Only one eye of each participant was randomly selected for posterior segment imaging. Each patient underwent OCT and OCTA. Images were analyzed with AngioTool 0.6. Results: Foveal avascular zone was significantly smaller in the ERM group (p = 0.044). Average retinal thickness and foveal thickness were significantly higher in the ERM group (both p = 0.001). Moreover, 64 (41.5%) patients exhibited no metamorphopsia, while 46 (29.8%) and 44 (28.7%) patients exhibited moderate and extensive metamorphopsias, respectively. Meanwhile, FAZ was negatively correlated with central retinal thickness in the ERM group. The vessel area (p = 0.0017) and vessel percentage area (p = 0.044) were significantly greater in the ERM group. Conclusions: Changes observed in the superficial plexus in OCTA are related to the severity of metamorphopsia and can be further evaluated to support decision making regarding the surgical management of idiopathic ERM.

Histopathology, matrix metalloproteinase-2 and alpha smooth muscle actin expression in Tenon's capsule of eyes with congenital glaucoma

Purpose To evaluate the ultrastructural features of collagen fibrils, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression in the Tenon's capsule of buphthalmic eyes. Methods A prospective comparative case series study was conducted on 35 buphthalmic eyes vs 25 control eyes. Children with congenital glaucoma (CG) who underwent a combined trabeculectomy-trabeculotomy procedure with mitomycin C (CTTM); the Tenon's capsule was obtained during the surgical procedure. The control group included children with strabismus, the Tenon's capsule was obtained in the course of strabismus surgery. Both H&E and Masson's trichrome staining were done. The Metalloprotenease-2 (MMP-2), alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) immunohistochemical staining was performed. Results Mean collagen percentage area by Masson trichrome stain in Tenons capsule was significantly higher in buphthalmic eyes (54.76% ± 0.32 vs 33.71% ± 1.4; P < 0.001). The percentage area of αSMA expression in Tenons capsule was significantly higher in buphthalmic eyes (4.93% ± 0.7 vs 2.00% ± 0.5; P < 0.001). However, MMP2 expression in Tenons capsule of the buphthalmic group was significantly lower than that of the control group (12.88% ± 2.95 vs 27.91% ± 0.2 respectively) P = 0.02. Conclusions Tenon capsule of buphthalmic eyes have their own histopathological features and properties making them more liable for fibrosis with high rate of failure following antiglaucoma surgeries. Such detailed information has not been published before which may aid in the identification of new antifibrotic therapies in management of glaucoma.

N-Butyl Cyanoacrylate Embolization in Management of Iatrogenic Renal Hemorrhages—Single-Center Study Evaluating Safety and Efficacy

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of endovascular N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA)/glue embolization alone in the management of iatrogenic renal injuries and its effect on renal function. Methods: Thirty-one patients who presented with significant iatrogenic renal injuries over a time period ranging from June 2013 to June 2018 were evaluated. The clinical features, lab parameters, and imaging findings were recorded. The embolizing agent used was exclusively NBCA. The success rate was calculated along with the effect of glue embolization on kidney in the form of postembolization ischemia and change in the serum creatinine levels in immediate pre- and postembolization period. The time between the iatrogenic injury and angioembolization as well as the time from angioembolization to discharge was also calculated. Recurrence was evaluated at 1 and 6 months follow-up. Results: NBCA embolization showed 100% technical and clinical success in our study and no recurrence was noted at follow-up. Glue was also able to achieve complete embolization in patients with coagulopathy (n = 14, 45.1%). Percentage area deficit of normal renal blush in the postembolization check angiogram varied from 4 to 15.7% with a mean deficit of 7.65%. No significant difference in the serum creatinine was noted in immediate postembolization period. Conclusions: We conclude that glue is an effective embolizing agent for management of iatrogenic renal injuries even in coagulopathy patients with minimal area of parenchymal loss, no significant effect on renal functions, and no recurrence on 6 months follow-up.

High Friction Surface Treatment Deterioration Analysis and Characteristics Study

High friction surface treatment (HFST) is used to improve friction on curved roadways, especially on curves that have a history of wet pavement crashes. Observations on the long-term performance monitoring of HFST sections at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) Test Track showed friction (skid number, SN) dropped significantly at the end of service life of HFST, creating unsafe driving conditions. There is no clear, observed friction deterioration trend to predict the friction drop when using friction performance measures like SN. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore and develop supplementary HFST safety performance measures (such as aggregate loss) that can correlate to friction deterioration and provide predictable, cost-effective, and easily measurable results. The objectives of this paper are to (i) analyze the correlation between HFST aggregate loss percentage area and friction value using a dynamic friction tester (DFT), and (ii) study the characteristics of HFST deterioration associated with aggregate loss, at the NCAT Test Track and at selected HFST curve sites in Georgia (using 2D imaging and high-resolution 3D laser scanning). Results show a strong correlation between HFST aggregate loss percentage area and DFT friction coefficient. Where friction measurement is used as the primary safety performance measure, it is recommended that HFST aggregate loss be used as a supplementary performance measure for monitoring the HFST safety performance deterioration. Aggregate loss can be easily identified by characteristics such as color and texture change. Preliminary texture analyses of 3D HFST surface profiles show lower mean profile depth (MPD) and ridge-to-valley depth (RVD) texture indicators can also identify loss of aggregate spots on HFST surface.

Development of multivariate integrated drought monitoring index (MIDMI) for Warangal region of Telangana, India

Agricultural drought is one of the most frequent natural disasters in India's southern part. Remote sensing-based drought indices give advantages in terms of continuous monitoring of land surface. The crop production in the Warangal region in India's southern part is adversely affected due to insufficient rainfall and poor irrigation management. This study aims to develop a multivariate remote sensing-based composite drought index (CDI) to monitor the agricultural drought. Landsat-8 satellite data for all the 11 subregions of Warangal urban and 15 subregions of the rural district of Telangana from 2013 to 2020 for the month of May is used to obtain drought indices. The drought indices are used in this study to develop MIDMI and are compared according to the percentage area of the Warangal region under five different drought categories. In this study, the MIDMI is computed by a weighted average of five vegetation drought indices for the Warangal region as per the method developed by Iyengar and Sudarshan for the multivariate data. MIDMI for all the 26 subregions of the Warangal rural and Warangal Urban Districts is between 0.4 and 0.6, which makes the Warangal region moderately vulnerable to agricultural drought.

Efficacy of Various Facial Protective Equipment for Infection Control in a Healthcare Setting

Introduction: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has reinforced the importance of facial protection against droplet transmission of diseases. Healthcare workers wear personal protection equipment (PPE), including face shields and masks. Plastic face shields may have advantages over regular medical masks. Although many designs of face shields exist, there is a paucity of evidence regarding the efficacy of shield designs against droplet transmissions. There is even less published evidence comparing various face shields. Due to the urgency of the pandemic and the health and safety of healthcare workers, we aimed to study the efficacy of various face shields against droplet transmission. Methods: We simulated droplet transmission via coughing using a heavy-duty chemical spray bottle filled with fluorescein. A standard-adult sized mannequin head was used. The mannequin head wore various face shields and was positioned to face the spray bottle at either a 0°, 45°, or 90° angle. The spray bottle was positioned at and sprayed from 30 centimeters (cm), 60 cm, or 90 cm away from the head. These steps were repeated for all face shields used. Control was a mannequin that wore no PPE. A basic mask was also tested. We collected data for particle count, total area of particle distribution, average particle size, and percentage area covered by particles. We analyzed percent covered by particles using a repeated measures mixed-model regression with Tukey-Kramer pairwise comparison. Results: We used least square means to estimate the percentage area covered by particles. Wearing PPE regardless of the design reduced particle transmission to the mannequin compared to the control. The LCG mask had the lowest square means of 0.06 of all face-shield designs analyzed. Tukey-Kramer pairwise comparison showed that all PPEs had a decrease in particle contamination compared to the control. LCG shield was found to have the least contamination compared to all other masks (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Results suggest the importance of wearing a protective covering against droplet transmission. The LCG shield was found to decrease facial contamination by droplets the most of any tested protective equipment.

Identification of Soil Erosion Prone Areas of Madhya Pradesh using USLE/ RUSLE

Soil erosion is caused due to the dynamic action of erosive agents, mainly water, and is a major threat to the environment. Primary aim of the present study was to study the soil loss dynamics, and identify the environmental hotspots in Madhya Pradesh to aid decision-makers to plan and prioritize appropriate conservation measures. Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) models were applied for erosion rate estimation by generating thematic maps of R (Rainfall erosivity factor), K (Soil erodibility factor), LS (Topographic factor), C (Cover and management factor), and P (Support practice factor) factors by using several input parameters in QGIS software. Subsequently, the different classes of soil erosion and percentage area under these classes were identified. The average annual soil erosion for the entire state as obtained from the USLE and RUSLE model were 5.80 t.ha-1.yr-1 and 6.64 t.ha-1.yr-1, respectively. The areas under severe risk were 1.09 % and 1.80 %, and very severe risk areas were 1.57 % and 1.83 % as estimated by USLE and RUSLE model, respectively. As compared to RUSLE model, USLE model underestimated rate of soil erosion for most river basins of the state as well as for the entire state

Evaluation of the sealer/gutta-percha ratio on sets of root section surfaces of some extracted teeth sealed using the cold lateral condensation technique

Canal filling must be well adapted to the walls of the root canal to prevent bacterial infiltration. Endodontic seals play an essential role in ensuring tightness, without which the canal filling would suffer infiltrations. This study aimed to evaluate the areas occupied by the two components of the canal filling, as well as the sealer/gutta-percha ratio in the root canals of the maxillary central incisors after their filling using the cold lateral condensation technique with gutta-percha. Thirty extracted upper central incisors were rotatably prepared with ProTaper Universal up to F3 and sealed using the cold lateral condensation technique with gutta-percha. After setting the sealer, the roots of the teeth were sectioned perpendicularly to 1 (L1), 3 (L3), 6 (L6), and 8 (L8) mm from the apex. The surface of the sections was analyzed with a Leica EZ4D stereomicroscope and photographed at two magnification orders: 10x and 25x. The areas corresponding to the gutta-percha, sealer, gaps, and root canal were expressed in pixels using the ImageJ software, version 1.50i. The difference in the representation of sealer areas, gutta-percha and voids was statistically significantly different for all four sections analyzed. The best adaptation of the canal obturation was observed in L1 and L3. The gutta-percha area was statistically significantly higher than that of the sealer for the L1, L3, and L6 levels, while the sealer/gutta-percha ratio recorded the lowest value at the L3 level (0, 30) and the highest at its L8 (0.70) level, without registering statistically significant differences regarding the area at the four analyzed levels. The voids were mostly absent or recorded a minimal percentage area (<1%). Cold lateral condensation of gutta-percha has led to a good adaptation of gutta-percha to the root canal wall, with a small amount of sealer, especially to the sections made at 3 mm from the apex. Given the limitations of this study, we noted that the voids were few – observed in the 6 and 8 mm sections – and were negligible in many cases.

Ameliorative Effects of Boswellic Acid on Fipronil-Induced Toxicity: Antioxidant State, Apoptotic Markers, and Testicular Steroidogenic Expression in Male Rats

The study investigated the ability of boswellic acid (BA) to alleviate the testicular and oxidative injury FPN insecticide intoxication in the male rat model. Rats were randomly assigned to six equivalent groups (six rats each) as the following: control rats orally administered with 2 mL physiological saline/kg of body weight (bwt); boswellic acid (BA1) rats orally administered 250 mg BA/kg bwt; boswellic acid (BA2) rats orally administered 500 mg BA/kg bwt; fipronil (FPN) rats orally administered 20 mg FPN/kg bwt; (FPN + BA1) rats orally administered 20 mg FPN/kg bwt plus 250 mg BA/kg bwt, and (FPN + BA2) rats orally administered 20 mg FPN/kg bwt plus 500 mg BA/kg bwt. After 60 days, semen viability percentage and live spermatozoa percentage were decreased, and a considerably increased abnormality of the sperm cells in FPN-administered rats improved substantially with the co-administration of BA. BA had refinement of the histological architecture of testes and sexual glands. Quantitative analysis recorded a noticeable decline in the nuclear cell-proliferating antigen (PCNA) percentage area. FPN triggered cell damage, which was suggested by elevated malondialdehyde and interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factors alpha, and decreased glutathione level. Proapoptotic factor overexpression is mediated by FPN administration, while it decreased the antiapoptotic protein expression. Similarly, BA has shown significant upregulation in steroidogenic and fertility-related gene expression concerning the FPN group. Pathophysiological damages induced by FPN could be alleviated by BA’s antioxidant ability and antiapoptotic factor alongside the upregulation of steroidogenic and fertility-related genes and regimented the detrimental effects of FPN on antioxidant and pro-inflammatory biomarkers.