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Aims: This study reports the results of the application of a new agar-gauze biogel system activated with viable bacterial cells to altered wall paintings., Methods and Results: Biocleaning using agar biogel and agar-gauze biogel systems was performed onsite by direct application to altered wall painting surfaces (25-1000 cm 2 ). The treatments were performed for the restoration of two original Italian sites: (i) at the Vatican Museums, Cristo che salva Pietro dalle acque-La Navicella, a wall painting by Giovanni Lanfranco (1627-1628) and (ii) at Pisa Cathedral Cupola, Incarnato, a wall painting by Orazio Riminaldi (1593-1630) and his brother Girolamo Riminaldi. The novelty of this study is the use of viable Pseudomonas stutzeri A29 cells in an advanced agar-gauze biogel system and the short bio-application contact times of between 3 and 12 h. The historical artworks were altered by lipid and protein residues from past restoration, as confirmed by Py-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and FT-IR data. The effectiveness of the biological treatment was assessed, and general considerations were discussed., Conclusions: The short bio-application contact time of advanced agar-gauze gel activated with viable P. stutzeri cells makes this biotechnology promising as an alternative method to the traditional onsite cleaning techniques currently in use for altered historical wall paintings., Significance and Impact of the Study: In this study, we report for the first time the biocleaning of altered materials located in vertical and vaulted areas using agar-gauze biogel with short application times. These findings are of great significance for future restoration activities and are crucial for determining the best preservation strategies in this field., (© 2019 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Aims: In this work, the 'hi-tech' complex biocleaning and restoration of the 14th-century fresco Triumph of Death (5·6 × 15·0 m) at the Camposanto Monumental Cemetery (Pisa, Italy) is reported. Since 2000, the restoration based on the biological cleaning of noble medieval frescoes, has been successfully utilized in this site., Methods and Results: The novelty of this study is the two-steps biocleaning process using Pseudomonas stutzeri A29 viable cells, previously applied for recovering other valuable frescoes. In this case, after the fresco detachment from the asbestos-cement support (eternity), both the animal glue and the residues of calcium caseinate were biologically removed respectively from the front and from the back of the fresco in 3 h as indicated by GC-MS and PY/GC-MS analyses. The data obtained during the monitoring of the biorestoration process confirmed that the adopted procedure does not leave residual cells on the fresco surfaces as showed by plate count method, ATP determination and also SEM observation. In addition, to avoid the risk of condensation phenomena after the relocation of the restored fresco sections onto the original walls, the use of a new support has been set up together with the design of a control system that allows a continuous monitoring of environmental parameters for prevention and conservation purposes., Conclusions: This large-scale biorestoration work clearly shows and confirms that this biotechnology is highly efficient, safe, noninvasive, risk-free and very competitive compared to the traditional cleaning methods, offering an unusual 'resurrection' of the degraded artworks also in very complicated and delicate conditions such as the Triumph of Death fresco, defined for its dimension and artistic importance the 'Pisa's Sistina frescoes'., Significance and Impact of the Study: These findings can be of significant importance for other future new restoration activities and they are crucial for determining preservation strategies in this field., (© 2018 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

Objective. To report the visual and anatomic outcomes of pneumatic displacement with perfluoropropane (C3F8) gas and intravitreal tissue plasminogen activator (IVTPA) for subretinal subfoveal hemorrhage after focal laser photocoagulation in central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). Method. Interventional, retrospective case report of one eye (one patient). Outcome measures included visual acuity (VA), central macular thickness (CMT), and size of the lesion at two weeks of followup. Fluorescein angiography (FA) and optical coherent tomography (OCT) were used to measure anatomic outcomes. Results. A 35-year-old man with history of chronic CSCR received focal laser photocoagulation in the right eye two days before presentation. At initial examination, VA was 20/200 (ETDRS chart), CMT was 398 μ, and a subretinal subfoveal hemorrhage was seen. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) at a dose of 25 µg/0.1 mL was injected intravitreally before intravitreal C3F8 injection, and prone positioning was indicated postoperatively. At 24 hours, the hemorrhage had been displaced inferiorly and VA improved to 20/100. Two weeks later, VA improved to 20/80, CMT decreased to 225 μ, and the hemorrhage decreased without foveal involvement. Conclusions. The technique seems safe and effective in treating visually significant subretinal subfoveal hemorrhage.