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Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Background: Optic disc drusen (ODD) represent an important differential diagnosis of papilledema caused by intracranial hypertension, but their distinction may be difficult in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to train, validate, and test a dedicated deep learning system (DLS) for binary classification of ODD vs papilledema (including various subgroups within each category), on conventional mydriatic digital ocular fundus photographs collected in a large international multiethnic population. Methods: This retrospective study included 4,508 color fundus images in 2,180 patients from 30 neuro-ophthalmology centers (19 countries) participating in the Brain and Optic Nerve Study with Artificial Intelligence (BONSAI) Group. For training and internal validation, we used 857 ODD images and 3,230 papilledema images, in 1,959 patients. External testing was performed on an independent data set (221 patients), including 207 images with ODD (96 visible and 111 buried), provided by 3 centers of the Optic Disc Drusen Studies Consortium, and 214 images of papilledema (92 mild-to-moderate and 122 severe) from a previously validated study. Results: The DLS could accurately distinguish between all ODD and papilledema (all severities included): area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) 0.97 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96–0.98), accuracy 90.5% (95% CI, 88.0%–92.9%), sensitivity 86.0% (95% CI, 82.1%–90.1%), and specificity 94.9% (95% CI, 92.3%–97.6%). The performance of the DLS remained high for discrimination of buried ODD from mild-to-moderate papilledema: AUC 0.93 (95% CI, 0.90–0.96), accuracy 84.2% (95% CI, 80.2%–88.6%), sensitivity 78.4% (95% CI, 72.2%–84.7%), and specificity 91.3% (95% CI, 87.0%–96.4%). Conclusions: A dedicated DLS can accurately distinguish between ODD and papilledema caused by intracranial hypertension, even when considering buried ODD vs mild-to-moderate papilledema. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing interest in selective breeding of the honeybee, resulting in the emergence of new breeding projects, often with an emphasis on improving resilience traits, in particular toward brood diseases. Lately, feed autonomy is also gaining importance. Here, we use data from a small breeding nucleus in France to estimate genetic parameters for common bee breeding traits and a novel trait reflecting honey reserves in the brood chamber. Open-mated queens were produced each year from inseminated dams between 2019 and 2021, and ~330 colonies were phenotyped each following year at three periods during the entire beekeeping season. Genetic parameters were estimated using ReML with an animal model. Narrow-sense heritability estimates ranged from low (around 0.15) for calmness and total capped brood surface both measured in early summer, to moderate (0.30 to 0.40) for hygienic behavior in spring, honey yield, and phoretic V. destructor load in early summer. Honey reserves in the brood chamber showed an intermediate heritability throughout the season (around 0.25). Gentleness had a null heritability. Most correlations between phenotypes adjusted for environmental fixed effects were close to zero. Among exceptions, there were honey reserves in the brood chamber in early summer with honey yield (around −0.2) and with the total capped brood surface in early summer (around −0.3). These estimates, although uncertain due to the dataset size, suggest that selection for production and resilience will be effective, even though simultaneous selection for honey yield and feed reserves might be difficult due to a possible genetic antagonism between both traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a large vessel vasculitis associated with a risk of permanent ophthalmologic complications. Data about diplopia prognosis in GCA are scarce. This study was designed to better characterize diplopia in newly diagnosed GCA patients. Methods: All consecutive patients diagnosed with GCA from January 2015 to April 2021 in a French tertiary ophthalmologic center were retrospectively reviewed. GCA diagnosis relied on a positive temporal artery biopsy or high-definition MRI. Results: Among 111 patients diagnosed with GCA, 30 patients (27%) had diplopia. Characteristics of patients with diplopia were similar to other GCA patients. Diplopia resolved spontaneously in 6 patients (20%). Diplopia was attributed to cranial nerve palsy in 21/24 patients (88%), especially third (46%) and sixth cranial nerve (42%). Ocular ischemic lesions occurred in 11 of the 30 patients with diplopia (37%); 2 patients developed vision loss after initiation of corticosteroids. In the remaining 13 patients, diplopia resolved after treatment onset in 12 patients (92%) with a median delay of 10 days. Patients treated intravenously tended to have a quicker improvement than those treated orally, but with a similar resolution rate of diplopia at 1 month. Two patients had relapse of diplopia at 4 and 6 weeks after an initial treatment course of 24 and 18 months, respectively. Conclusions: Diplopia is a rare feature at GCA diagnosis, but should raise clinician suspicion for GCA when associated with cephalic symptoms and prompt the initiation of corticosteroids to prevent ocular ischemic complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a vasculitis often revealed by visual signs. Diagnosis is challenging and urgent. Retinal angiography (RA) and MRI allow effective diagnosis. We compared those and proposed an imaging-based approach to diagnose GCA in ophthalmological practice. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study based on the data collected from patients suspected to have GCA on ophthalmological findings. Fluorescein (FA) and indocyanine green (ICG) RAs and MRI were performed and compared with final diagnosis. Results: Among the 41 patients included, 25 were diagnosed with GCA. Sensitivities and specificities of FA and ICG were not different. MRI showed a higher sensitivity and specificity. The approach consisting in performing RA followed by MRI provided a better accuracy. Conclusion: Our study shows that RA can be supplemented by MRI in a specialized center to provide the most accurate diagnosis in GCA revealed by visual signs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Rare simultaneous video-intracranial EEG and transcranial electrical stimulation. • tDCS decreases amplitude spectrum and epileptogenicity index of seizure. • tDCS decreases seizure's duration and disabling clinical symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In honeybees, the mechanism of sex determination depends on genetic variation at the complementary sex determiner (CSD) locus, which has a large allelic diversity. In this study, we examined the population genetic structure and genetic diversity within the highly variable region (HVR) of CSD in five Apis mellifera subspecies, in addition to Buckfast and unknown mixed ancestry bees. We sequenced CSD in 329 drones, 146 from Algeria (A. m. intermissa and A. m. sahariensis subspecies) and 183 from Europe (A. m. ligustica, A. m. carnica, A. m. mellifera subspecies, Buckfast samples, and individuals of unknown mixed ancestry). A total of 119 nucleotide haplotypes were detected. These corresponded to 119 protein haplotypes, of which 81 were new. The analysis of these haplotypes showed that HVR diversity levels were comparable with those in other populations of honeybee worldwide. Paradoxically, this high level of diversity at the locus did not allow for a separation of the samples according to their subspecies origin, which suggested either an evolutionary convergence or a conservation of alleles across subspecies, and an absence of genetic drift. Our results can be used to provide more information about the CSD diversity to include in breeding programs of honeybee populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This report presents a cross-sectional analysis of the baseline characteristics of subjects with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy enrolled in the gene therapy trials RESCUE and REVERSE, to illustrate the evolution of visual parameters over the first year after vision loss. Methods: RESCUE and REVERSE were 2 phase III clinical trials designed to assess the efficacy of rAAV2/2-ND4 gene therapy in ND4-LHON subjects. At enrollment, subjects had vision loss for ≤6 months in RESCUE, and between 6 and 12 months in REVERSE. Functional visual parameters (best-corrected visual acuity [BCVA], contrast sensitivity [CS], and Humphrey Visual Field [HVF]) and structural parameters assessed by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography were analyzed in both cohorts before treatment. The cross-sectional analysis of functional and anatomic parameters included the baseline values collected in all eyes at 2 different visits (Screening and Inclusion). Results: Seventy-six subjects were included in total, 39 in RESCUE and 37 in REVERSE. Mean BCVA was significantly worse in RESCUE subjects compared with REVERSE subjects (1.29 and 1.61 LogMAR respectively, P = 0.0029). Similarly, mean CS and HVF were significantly more impaired in REVERSE vs RESCUE subjects (P < 0.005). The cross-sectional analysis showed that the monthly decrease in BCVA, ganglion cell layer macular volume, and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was much more pronounced in the first 6 months after onset (+0.24 LogMAR, -0.06 mm³, and -6.00 mm respectively) than between 6 and 12 months after onset (+0.02 LogMAR, -0.01 mm³, and -0.43 µm respectively). Conclusion: LHON progresses rapidly in the first months following onset during the subacute phase, followed by relative stabilization during the dynamic phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: RESCUE and REVERSE were 2 Phase 3 clinical trials that assessed the efficacy and safety of intravitreal gene therapy with lenadogene nolparvovec (rAAV2/2-ND4) for the treatment of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). RESTORE is the long-term follow-up study of sub-jects treated in the RESCUE and REVERSE trials. Methods: In RESCUE and REVERSE, 76 subjects with LHON because of the m.11778 G>A mutation in the mitochondrial gene ND4 received a single unilateral intravitreal injection of lenadogene nolparvovec. After 96 weeks, 61 subjects were enrolled in the long-term follow-up study RESTORE. The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was assessed over a period of up to 52 months after onset of vision loss. A locally estimated scatterplot smoothing regression model was used to analyze changes in BCVA over time. Vision-related quality of life was reported using the visual function questionnaire-25 (VFQ-25). Results: The population of MT-ND4 subjects enrolled in RESTORE was representative of the combined cohorts of RESCUE and REVERSE for mean age (35.1 years) and gender distribution (79% males). There was a progressive and sustained improvement of BCVA up to 52 months after the onset of vision loss. The final mean BCVA was 1.26 logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution 48 months after the onset of vision loss. The mean VFQ-25 composite score increased by 7 points compared with baseline. Conclusion: The treatment effect of lenadogene nolparvovec on BCVA and vision-related quality of life observed 96 weeks (2 years) after treatment in RESCUE and REVERSE was sustained at 3 years in RESTORE, with a maximum follow-up of 52 months (4.3 years) after the onset of vision loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Fear of having a seizure called anticipatory anxiety of epileptic seizure (AAS), constitutes a daily life burden but has been rarely studied. Our aim was to assess the prevalence and the determining factors of AAS in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, a dimension that has not been thoroughly investigated before.Methods: We conducted an observational, prospective study enrolling patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy. The psychiatric assessment aimed to evaluate psychiatric comorbidities, trauma history, and quality of life using hetero-evaluation and self-assessment tools. Dimensions of anxiety specifically related to epilepsy (peri-and-inter-ictal) were explored as exhaustively as possible.Results: AAS was found in 53 % of the 87 patients. We compared the two groups of patients: with or without AAS. Patients with AAS had a significantly shorter duration of epilepsy (p = 0.04). There was no difference between groups with respect to psychiatric disorders, except for cannabis dependence, more frequent in patients with AAS (p = 0.02). Compared to patients without AAS, those with AAS presented more subjective ictal anxiety (p = 0.0003) and postictal anxiety (p = 0.02), were more likely to avoid outdoor social situations due to seizure fear (p = 0.001), and had a poorer quality of life (QOLIE emotional well-being; p = 0.03). Additionally, they had experienced more traumatic events in their lifetime (p = 0.005) and reported more frequently a feeling of being unsafe during their seizures (p = 0.00002).Significance: AAS is a specific dimension of anxiety, possibly linked to trauma history. AAS is strongly linked to subjective ictal anxiety but not to the objective severity of seizures or frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accumulating evidence shows widespread contamination of water sources and food with microplastics. Although the liver is one of the main sites of bioaccumulation within the human body, it is still unclear whether microplastics produce damaging effects. In particular, the hepatic consequences of ingesting polyethylene (PE) microplastics in mammals are unknown. In this study, female mice were fed with food contaminated with 36 and 116 µm diameter PE microbeads at a dosage of 100 µg/g of food for 6 and 9 weeks. Mice were exposed to each type of microbead, or co-exposed to the 2 types of microbeads. Mouse liver showed altered levels of genes involved in uptake, synthesis, and β-oxidation of fatty acids. Ingestion of PE microbeads disturbed the detoxification response, promoted oxidative imbalance, increased inflammatory foci and cytokine expression, and enhanced proliferation in liver. Since relative expression of the hepatic stellate cell marker Pdgfa and collagen deposition were increased following PE exposure, we assessed the effect of PE ingestion in a mouse model of CCl 4 -induced fibrosis and showed that PE dietary exposure exacerbated liver fibrogenesis. These findings provide the first demonstration of the adverse hepatic effects of PE ingestion in mammals and highlight the need for further health risk assessment in humans. [Display omitted] ● Subchronic oral exposure to polyethylene microplastics in mice. ● Induced dysregulations of liver lipid metabolism, detoxification, and oxidative defense. ● Enhanced hepatic inflammatory foci and increased liver proliferation. ● Aggravated repeated CCl4-induced liver fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to characterize brain and orbital MRI features of patients with Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), with particular attention to the optic nerves and chiasm. Method: We studied a patient cohort with genetically confirmed LHON followed at 2 ophthalmologic hospitals in France between 2013 and 2015. High-resolution brain and orbital MRI studies were analyzed for each patient during the first 12 months after the onset of visual loss was analyzed. Results: Our study included 20 men and 8 women with a mean age of 38.3 years at diagnosis, and all had genetic mutations for LHON. Nineteen patients (67.9%) had T2 hyperintensity in the posterior portion of both optic nerves and in the optic chiasm, and enlargement of the chiasm was found in 16 patients (59.3%). No enhancement of the optic nerves or chiasm was detected. The T2 hyperintensity lesions were not associated with the time between symptom onset and obtaining MRI, the mutation type, or sex of the patient. Nonspecific T2 white matter lesions were found in MRI of 6 patients, but without the characteristics of those found in patients with multiple sclerosis. Conclusions: Involvement of the posterior portions of the optic nerves has been described previously in case reports of patients with LHON. Our results support this observation with neuroimaging performed within 1 year of onset of visual loss. Enlargement of the optic chiasm also may occur in patients with LHON. The pathophysiology of the MRI changes is not yet understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Machining has a particular impact on the surface integrity and on corrosion resistance of components. In fact, material removal induces geometrical, mechanical and micro-structural modifications in the machined surface and sub-surface that alter the electrochemical behavior of the material, and so the aging process. In this study, oxygen free high conductivity copper (OFHC) has machined under orthogonal cutting conditions using uncoated cemented carbide tools. Then, the corrosion resistance in 0.1 M NaCl salt fog atmosphere of the machined samples is analyzed. Finally, the optimal cutting conditions, including the tool geometry, for an improved corrosion resistance are identified. Their influence on the surface integrity, and then their consequences on the surface aging response is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Welding of copper to stainless steel is challenging because of sharp difference in thermophysical properties of materials and the presence of miscibility gap in Fe-Cu system. The parametric study of continuous Yb:YAG laser welding between copper and austenitic stainless steel 316L has been performed. The influence of laser power, welding speed and beam offset from joint line on weld composition, microstructure and tensile properties was studied. The corrosion behaviour of the welds was evaluated in 0.1M NaCl with the potentiostatic pulse testing method, salt fog and immersion tests. In function of copper dilution in the melted zone, different types of microstructure were observed: homogenous solid solution (≥2 at.% Cu), copper-rich net between austenite cells (2-5 at.% Cu) and formation of Cu-rich droplets (> 20 at.% Cu). Selective corrosion of Cu-rich microstructures took place in the melted zone. Tensile properties of the welds were determined by the formation of heat-affected zone in solid copper, where ductile fracture took place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon the example of Syria in the 2010s, this article seeks to understand the ways in which the economy has been transformed in wartime. In contrast to studies devoted to economies of war, it explores what day-to-day economic conditions - those involved in producing, consuming and living - become in wartime, including contexts characterized by the chaos of destruction, the collapse of collective frameworks and partisan, military and militia dynamics. In order to understand day-to-day economic reproduction in wartime, I identify both innovations in and continuities with the economic practices (predation and self-organization) underway in the context of the prewar authoritarian state. From there, I examine the contracting scales of the Syrian economy by focusing on the case of industrial activity. I then consider the spread of a "passage economy" - that is, a system for producing values established by multiple actors that exploits the fragmentation of space and mobility. Finally, I explore the population's everyday economic life, which is organized at local but also international scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Epileptic patients sometimes report experiential phenomena related to a previous dream they had during seizures or electrical brain stimulation (EBS). This has been alluded to in the literature as “déjà-rêvé” (“already dreamed”). However, there is no neuroscientific evidence to support its existence and this concept is commonly mixed up with déjà-vu. We hypothesized that déjà-rêvé would be a specific entity, i.e., different from other experiential phenomena reported in epileptic patients, induced by EBS of specific brain areas. Methods We collected all experiential phenomena related to dreams induced by electrical brain stimulations (EBS) in our epileptic patients (2003–2015) and in a review of the literature. The content of these déjà-rêvé and the location of EBS were analyzed. Results We collected 7 déjà-rêvé in our database and 35 from the literature, which corresponds to an estimated prevalence of 0.3‰ of all EBS-inducing déjà-rêvé. Déjà-rêvé is a generic term for three distinct entities: it can be the recollection of a specific dream (“episodic-like”), reminiscence of a vague dream (“familiarity-like”) or experiences in which the subject feels like they are dreaming (literally “a dreamy state”). EBS-inducing “episodic-like” and “familiarity-like” déjà-rêvé were mostly located in the medial temporal lobes. “Dreamy states” were induced by less specific EBS areas although still related to the temporal lobes. Conclusions This study demonstrates that déjà-rêvé is a heterogeneous entity that is different from déjà-vu, the historical “dreamy state” definition and other experiential phenomena. This may be relevant for clinical practice as it points to temporal lobe dysfunction and could be valuable for studying the neural substrates of dreams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]