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Since publication of the last consensus statement on leptospirosis in dogs, there has been revision of leptospiral taxonomy and advancements in typing methods, widespread use of new diagnostic tests and vaccines, and improved understanding of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of the disease. Leptospirosis continues to be prevalent in dogs, including in small breed dogs from urban areas, puppies as young as 11 weeks of age, geriatric dogs, dogs in rural areas, and dogs that have been inadequately vaccinated for leptospirosis (including dogs vaccinated with 2‐serovar Leptospira vaccines in some regions). In 2021, the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Board of Regents voted to approve the topic for a revised Consensus Statement. After identification of core panelists, a multidisciplinary group of 6 experts from the fields of veterinary medicine, human medicine, and public health was assembled to vote on the recommendations using the Delphi method. A draft was presented at the 2023 ACVIM Forum, and a written draft posted on the ACVIM website for comment by the membership before submission to the editors of the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. This revised document provides guidance for veterinary practitioners on disease in dogs as well as cats. The level of agreement among the 12 voting members (including core panelists) is provided in association with each recommendation. A denominator lower than 12 reflects abstention of ≥1 panelists either because they considered the recommendation to be outside their scope of expertise or because there was a perceived conflict of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of the study was to characterise the clinical management of feline chronic kidney disease (CKD) by veterinary practitioners in Portugal. Methods: A questionnaire-based study was designed to be completed by all veterinarians who had diagnosed and treated at least one case of feline CKD in the previous year. Results: A total of 409 veterinary practitioners responded to the questionnaire, with approximately half of them diagnosing 2–5 cases of feline CKD per month (n = 219, 53.5%). Although a high proportion of these reported using the guidelines published by the International Renal Interest Society (n = 379, 92.7%), only 19.1% (n = 78) systematically performed systolic blood pressure (SBP) measurements in all of their patients. A renal diet was advised by almost all respondents (n = 406, 99.3%), but 36.9% (n = 150) of them considered that it represented less than 75% of the daily food intake for most of their patients. This dietary intervention was often prescribed regardless of stage (n = 298, 73.4%) and without a proper gradual diet transition. Appetite stimulants were frequently prescribed (n = 366, 89.5%), as well as a calcium channel blocker (n = 171, 41.8%) and an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (n = 245, 59.9%) to control systemic hypertension and proteinuria, respectively. Prescription of a phosphate binder was also common (n = 311, 76.0%). Regarding monitoring, 70.9% (n = 290) recommended that stable patients be reassessed every 2–3 months or more frequently, but only 35.7% (n = 146) were able to comply with this periodicity due to owners' constraints. Conclusions and relevance: The findings showed that although most survey respondents are aware of international guidelines for the clinical management of cats with CKD, the SBP measurement still needs to be more systematic to allow proper substaging and detection of systemic hypertension. The monitoring frequency was lower than recommended. Furthermore, the introduction of a renal therapeutic diet should be refined to improve its acceptance rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate and summarize the developmental rules of the ocular anterior segment of neonates by means of wild-field digital imaging system. Methods: We used the wide-field digital imaging system to sequentially capture images of the neonates' eyes within 42 days after delivery, including the ocular surface, anterior segment, and fundus. At the same time, basic information at the time of birth and examination was collected. Results: Among 248 newborns, 51.21% were male. Abnormalities of the anterior segment such as visualization of anterior chamber angle vessels (79.03%) and iris vessels (51.21%), iris process (42.34%), persistent pupillary membranes (19.35%), albinism, congenital cataracts, corneal leucoma, and subconjunctival hemorrhage were observed in this study. There were significant differences in the appearance of iris vessels among different sex, gestational age and birth weight, postmenstrual age and weight at the time of examination and iris color groups. The iris vessels were more visualized in males relative to females (OR = 6.313, 95% CI 2.529–15.759). The greater the postmenstrual age at the time of examination, the lower the visualization of iris vessels (OR = 0.377, 95% CI 0.247–0.575). In addition, although visualization of anterior chamber angle vessels differed within the birth gestation age and weight at examination groups, there was no significant correlation by regression analysis. Conclusions: The anterior segment of perinatal neonates can be visualized by the wide-field digital imaging system. The neonatal iris and anterior chamber angle are immature, and the visible vessels at the anterior chamber angle that vanish later than the surface of the iris are characteristic structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a revolutionary in vivo imaging technology that presents real-time information on ocular structures. Angiography based on OCT, known as optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), is a noninvasive and time-saving technique originally utilized for visualizing retinal vasculature. As devices and built-in systems have evolved, high-resolution images with depth-resolved analysis have assisted ophthalmologists in accurately localizing pathology and monitoring disease progression. With the aforementioned advantages, application of OCTA has extended from the posterior to anterior segment. This nascent adaptation showed good delineation of the vasculature in the cornea, conjunctiva, sclera, and iris. Thus, neovascularization of the avascular cornea and hyperemia or ischemic changes involving the conjunctiva, sclera, and iris has become prospective applications for AS-OCTA. Although traditional dye-based angiography is regarded as the gold standard in demonstrating vasculature in the anterior segment, AS-OCTA is expected to be a comparable but more patient-friendly alternative. In its initial stage, AS-OCTA has exhibited great potential in pathology diagnosis, therapeutic evaluation, presurgical planning, and prognosis assessments in anterior segment disorders. In this review of AS-OCTA, we aim to summarize scanning protocols, relevant parameters, and clinical applications as well as limitations and future directions. We are sanguine about its wide application in the future with the development of technology and refinement in built-in systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trusted user authentication is becoming an increasingly important function in a web-enabled world. The effect of an unsecure authentication system in a corporate or enterprise environment can be prosperous and can include dropping of confidential information, rejection of service, and compromise of data integrity. The value of trusted user authentication is not limited to computer or network access. Many other applications in daily life also require user authentication, such as banking, e-commerce, and can benefit from physical access control and enhanced security to computer resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate visual acuity (VA) and injection intervals in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) after 12 months of brolucizumab therapy in clinical practice. Retrospective cohort study. Adults in the United States-based IRIS® Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight) with nAMD who received brolucizumab exclusively for 12 months (2308 eyes of 2079 patients). Observational study of eyes with a first injection of brolucizumab (index), followed by 2 or more brolucizumab injections over the following 12 months without switching to another anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agent. Primary outcomes were change in best recorded VA and, for eyes receiving prior anti-VEGF therapy (treatment-experienced eyes), the difference between the brolucizumab injection interval at 12 months and the anti-VEGF injection interval before switching. The interval before switching was defined as the time between the prior anti-VEGF and index brolucizumab injections; brolucizumab interval was the time between the closest injection to day 365 and the preceding injection. Secondary outcomes included incident adverse events. Overall VA at index was 61.6 ± 18.4 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters; 83.7% of treatment-naive eyes (184/220) and 86.1% of treatment-experienced eyes (1797/2088) showed stable (< 10 letters gained or lost) or improved (≥ 10 letters gained) VA at 12 months. Among treatment-experienced eyes receiving a prior anti-VEGF injection within 365 days before index, 29.5% (594/2015) showed an interval before switching of 8 weeks or more (mean, 7.6 ± 5.5 weeks), whereas 83.1% (1734/2015) showed a brolucizumab injection interval at 12 months of 8 weeks or more (mean, 10.3 ± 4.0 weeks). In all, 77.1% of treatment-experienced eyes (1554/2015) showed an interval extension of 1 week or more; of these, 55.4% (861/1554) showed an extension of 4 weeks or more. In this community-based study, at 12 months, brolucizumab treatment prolonged the interval between anti-VEGF injections for most treatment-experienced eyes, particularly those with shorter intervals before switching, while maintaining or improving VA. With careful balancing of the benefits and risks, switching to brolucizumab treatment may offer the advantage of extending the treatment interval for patients with a high anti-VEGF therapy burden. Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, bulb extracts of Tigridia vanhouttei were obtained by maceration with solvents of increasing polarity. The extracts were evaluated against a panel of pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains using the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay. The cytotoxicity of the extracts was tested against two cell lines (THP-1 and A549) using the MTT assay. The anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts was evaluated in THP-1 cells by measuring the secretion of pro-inflammatory (IL-6 and TNF-α) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines by ELISA. The chemical composition of the extracts was recorded by FTIR spectroscopy, and their chemical profiles were evaluated using GC-MS. The results revealed that only hexane extract inhibited the growth of the clinical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 200 μg/mL. Against THP-1 cells, hexane and chloroform extracts were moderately cytotoxic, as they exhibited LC50 values of 90.16, and 46.42 μg/mL, respectively. Treatment with methanol extract was weakly cytotoxic at LC50 443.12 μg/mL against the same cell line. Against the A549 cell line, hexane, chloroform, and methanol extracts were weakly cytotoxic because of their LC50 values: 294.77, 1472.37, and 843.12 μg/mL. The FTIR analysis suggested the presence of natural products were confirmed by carboxylic acids, ketones, hydroxyl groups, or esters. The GC-MS profile of extracts revealed the presence of phytosterols, tetracyclic triterpenes, multiple fatty acids, and sugars. This report confirms the antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and anti-inflammatory activities of T. vanhouttei. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundImmunomodulatory therapy (IMT) is often considered for systemic treatment of non-infectious uveitis (NIU). During the evolving coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, given the concerns related to IMT and the increased risk of infections, an urgent need for guidance on the management of IMT in patients with uveitis has emerged.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of international uveitis experts was conducted. An expert steering committee identified clinical questions on the use of IMT in patients with NIU during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using an interactive online questionnaire, guided by background experience and knowledge, 139 global uveitis experts generated consensus statements for IMT. In total, 216 statements were developed around when to initiate, continue, decrease and stop systemic and local corticosteroids, conventional immunosuppressive agents and biologics in patients with NIU. Thirty-one additional questions were added, related to general recommendations, including the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and hydroxychloroquine.ResultsHighest consensus was achieved for not initiating IMT in patients who have suspected or confirmed COVID-19, and for using local over systemic corticosteroid therapy in patients who are at high-risk and very high-risk for severe or fatal COVID-19. While there was a consensus in starting or initiating NSAIDs for the treatment of scleritis in healthy patients, there was no consensus in starting hydroxychloroquine in any risk groups.ConclusionConsensus guidelines were proposed based on global expert opinion and practical experience to bridge the gap between clinical needs and the absence of medical evidence, to guide the treatment of patients with NIU during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract Background Whipple’s disease is a chronic infection due to Tropheryma whipplei, commonly reported in the Caucasian but not in the Chinese population. Case presentation A 52-year-old female with good past health, was diagnosed with Whipple’s disease, presenting with constipation, unintentional weight gain, and fleeting polyarthralgia. Investigations prior to admission showed raised CA125 and computed tomography of the abdomen showed multiple retroperitoneal mesenteric lymphadenopathies. Extensive investigations performed on secondary causes of weight gain were unrevealing. Subsequent PET-CT scan revealed generalized lymphadenopathy involving the left deep cervical, supraclavicular, and retroperitoneal mesenteric area. Excisional biopsy of the left supraclavicular lymph node was performed, with histology showing infiltrations of Periodic acid-Schiff positive foamy macrophages. T. whipplei DNA was detected in her serum, saliva, stool, and lymph node by PCR targeting the 16S ribosomal RNA gene. She was started on intravenous ceftriaxone, and then stepped down to oral antibiotics for a total of 44 months. The recurrence of fever after 12 days of ceftriaxone raised the suspicion of Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS). Serial imaging showed a gradual reduction in the size of retroperitoneal lymphadenopathies. Literature review on Whipple’s disease in the Chinese population identified 13 reports of detectable T. whipplei DNA in clinical specimens. The majority of the cases were pneumonia, followed by culture-negative endocarditis, encephalitis, and skin and soft tissue infection. However, most patients with pneumonia were diagnosed based on next generation sequencing alone, with the resolution of pulmonary infiltrates without adequate duration of antibiotics, suggesting the possibility of colonization instead of infection. The recommendation of long-term doxycycline suppression after treatment may be supported by the slow response of retroperitoneal lymphadenopathies to antibiotics in our patient. Conclusions Unintentional weight gain and constipation could be atypical presentations of Whipple’s disease. It is a rare disease in the Chinese population despite the advancement of molecular techniques in the diagnosis of infections. A prolonged course of antibiotics may be required due to slow clinical response as documented by serial imaging in our case. The possibility of IRIS should be considered in patients with breakthrough fever during treatment of Whipple’s disease.

Abstract Background Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) associated with syphilis has rarely been described in HIV-infected patients. Diagnosis can be challenging because it is not always possible to discern it from a recent infection or a worsening of an undiagnosed one. Case presentation An HIV-positive 42-year-old man with a poor compliance history of antiretroviral therapy presented at our unit and complained of ocular symptoms. Ocular syphilis diagnosis was posed after initial misdiagnosing with cytomegalovirus infection, and antiretroviral therapy compliance improved after switching to a bictegravir-based regimen. Despite intravenous (IV) penicillin, we observed an initial worsening with the appearance of new skin lesions, and IRIS syphilis was suspected. In the literature, 14 cases of IRIS syphilis are described, all regarding male patients. Seven were HIV naïve to therapy, and 7 HIV-experienced with poor therapy compliance. Basal syphilis serology was negative in ten, with subsequent seroconversion after the development of IRIS. IRIS-syphilis development was observed after a median time of 28 days from ART initiation; 10 cases were considered "unmasking-IRIS" and 4 "paradoxical-IRIS". Skin and ocular involvement were the most often reported. In most cases, it was not necessary to use a systemic steroid. A good outcome was reported in 12. Conclusions Syphilis should be considered in differential diagnosis with other diseases associated with IRIS. A negative syphilis serology before beginning antiretroviral therapy could convey the impression that syphilis has been ruled out. Whereas a high index of suspicion should be maintained when symptoms suggestive of syphilis, such as ocular and skin manifestations, are noticed after therapy has begun.

Intraoperative floppy iris syndrome (IFIS) is a cataract surgery complication that remains a challenge for eye surgeons. It is caused by the antagonism of alfa-1-adrenergic receptors within the dilator muscle of the iris, thus preventing the iris from dilation during a cataract surgery. The long-term blocking alfa-1 adrenergic receptors by the chronic use of a number of systemic medications may lead to permanent anatomical atrophy of the dilator muscle of the iris. The most common drugs associated with the development of IFIS are tamsulosin and other alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonists prescribed to patients with low urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). There are other systemic medications that have been reported to have increased risk for IFIS. It is crucial for the ophthalmologist to identify the high-risk patients prone to develop IFIS. Its presence may complicate the course of cataract surgery, ultimately negatively affecting visual outcome. Cataract surgery should be performed by an experienced eye surgeon using alternative pharmacological and surgical techniques. Interdisciplinary cooperation is essential to mitigate potential complications. Patients should be informed by their physicians about the need to report a medication history to their eye specialists, especially before cataract surgery.

Iris laevigata Fisch. is an excellent ornamental plant in cold regions due to its unique ornamental ability and strong cold resistance. However, the flowering period of the population is only about 20 days, greatly limiting its potential uses in landscaping and the cutting flower industry. In addition, I. laevigata is often challenged with various abiotic stresses including high salinity and drought in its native habitats. Thus, breeding novel cultivars with delayed flowering time and higher resistance to abiotic stress is of high importance. In this study, we utilized sequencing data from the I. laevigata transcriptome to identify WRKYs and characterized IlWRKY22, a key transcription factor that modulates flowering time and abiotic stress responses. IlWRKY22 is induced by salt and drought stress. We cloned IlWRKY22 and found that it is a Group IIe WRKY localized in the nucleus. Overexpressing IlWRKY22 in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. and Nicotiana tabacum L. resulted in a delayed flowering time in the transgenic plants. We created transgenic N. tabacum overexpressing IlWRKY22, which showed significantly improved resistance to both salt and drought compared to the control plants. Thus, our study revealed a unique dual function of IlWRKY22, an excellent candidate gene for breeding novel Iris cultivars of desirable traits.

In this article, we present new design techniques to improve the gain and impedance bandwidth of short backfire antennas. For the gain enhancement procedure, our approach was to flare the rim of the antenna, which simultaneously led to an increase in the impedance bandwidth of the antenna. Parametric studies were carried out to obtain the optimal flaring angle. The peak realized gain was obtained as 17.2 dBi with an impedance bandwidth of 55% (2.4 dB and 28.6% increase in gain and bandwidth, respectively, compared to the unflared antenna). To further enhance the impedance bandwidth, an inductive iris was added to improve impedance matching at the waveguide aperture. We varied the width of the iris to obtain the optimal width that provided the best gain and impedance bandwidth result of 17.1 dBi and 66% (~40% increase compared to the unflared antenna without iris). To experimentally verify the work, prototypes were fabricated and tested. We found good agreement between simulation and measurement. The results of this study indicate that gain and bandwidth can be enhanced through optimized geometrical modification of the SBF structure. Furthermore, our 3D-printed technique demonstrates a mass reduction compared with conventional metallic structures.

Based on the suggestion that flower and fruit are integrally evolving structures, we aimed to reveal the floral traits persisting in the fruit structure in Iris pseudacorus, a widely distributed riparian species in Ukraine. We intended to compare the results with the other Iris species studied previously and reveal the constancy of micromorphological features of fruit interior structure. We revealed exomorphological and micromorphological peculiarities of the fruiting ovary using the model of vertical zonality of the gynoecium, vascular anatomy, and general anatomy of the fruit wall. In the fruiting ovary of I. pseudacorus, we revealed the presence of three vertical zones: short synascidiate zone, long symplicate zone bearing uniseriate seeds, and hemisymplicate zone located in the fruit beak. The vascular system of the ovary is composed of dorsal, septal, and ventral veins. Each of three dorsal veins divides radially into the outer tepal trace, stamen trace, and dorsal carpellary bundle, while each septal vein divides tangentially into three bundles of the inner tepal trace. Paired ventral veins enter the ovary from its bottom and supply ovules and seeds. The exocarp is composed of polygonal cells with thickened cellulose walls. The endocarp is uniseriate, unlignified, and composed of live prosenchymal cells, which are elongated tangentially. In the parenchymatous mesocarp, a great number of secretory canals with tannin-like content occur. The dehiscence of fruit on three valves proceeded by both dorsal and ventral slits. Dorsal slits are formed along dorsal grooves and provided by small-celled tissue surrounding the dorsal veins. The presence of ventral sutures of carpels in the symplicate zone of the ovary provides ventral dehiscence of fruit. Hence, the structure of the fruiting ovary in I. pseudacorus is comparable to that of other Iris species. Our investigation confirmed that the vertical zonality, placentation, and vascular system of the gynoecium in Iris can be appropriately estimated in the fruiting stage because the structural components of the ovary, which developed at the pre-anthetic phase, persist in the fruit.

Iris unguicularissensu lato is an endemic species to the Mediterranean region. In Italy, the species is alien and recorded in Liguria, Tuscany, Abruzzo, and Apulia administrative regions. In the latter region, the species was recorded in Salento, Province of Lecce (Southern Apulia), in three main stations: Li Fani, in the administrative territory of the municipality of Salve, Serra del Rio, Castiglione d'Otranto (Andrano) in the residual Mediterranean scrub areas, along with the new station of Serra of Masseria Grande, Spongano, and on a site near Surano. Morphological analyses and genetic investigations made it possible to establish how the specimens from Li Fani (Salve) belong to I. unguicularis subsp. unguicularis, a species of allochthonous origin, while the plants of Castiglione d'Otranto and Spongano represent a taxonomically distinct group, identifiable as I. unguicularis subsp. carica. The presence of this subspecies in Salento redefines the western boundaries of the area known to date, constituting a novelty for the Apulian and Italian flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycobacterium haemophilum is a nontuberculous mycobacterium with fastidious in vitro growth requirements and an increasingly reported cause of extrapulmonary disease. Timely diagnosis and management of M. haemophilum infections and the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndromes (IRIS) observed in a subset of patients during treatment remain challenging. We conducted a retrospective chart review between January 1, 2010, and January 1, 2022 and identified 26 patients diagnosed with M. haemophilum infection at our institution. We describe their clinical presentation, diagnostic results, management, and outcomes. The majority of patients in our cohort had upper and/or lower extremity skin involvement, were immunosuppressed, and had generally favourable treatment outcomes. All tested M. haemophilum isolates were susceptible in vitro to clarithromycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Moreover, high rates of susceptibility were noted for ciprofloxacin (95%), linezolid (90%), and rifampin (85%). IRIS was identified in 31% of cases and should be considered in patients who develop worsening skin lesions or systemic symptoms following the initiation of effective antimicrobial therapy. Visualisation of acid-fast bacilli on initial tissue stains, a positive mycobacterial blood culture, and rapid de-escalation of tumour necrosis factor-α inhibitors and/or corticosteroids were more frequently encountered among patients in our cohort who developed IRIS. M. haemophilum infection should be considered among patients receiving immunomodulatory therapy who develop discoloured or nodular skin lesions involving the extremities, worsening focal arthritis, tenosynovitis, or isolated adenopathy. A heightened awareness of this pathogen's clinical and laboratory characteristics can lead to a timely diagnosis and favourable outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents hypotheses regarding the ideas of race and their associated concepts that circulated in a particular Chilean literature between the 1840s and 1940s, with the perspective of uncovering ideological continuities and divergences. The century that begins and ends in these decades is crucial for studying the development of racialism/racism in Chile, as it marks the consolidation of the Chilean literary field and the strengthening of the nation and its territories both to the north and south of colonial boundaries. This involved a discursive synthesis of specifically culturally and physically differentiated populations, in the words of the time, the encounter and amalgamation of "diverse races." In continental terms, these years stand out as the pivotal period for the development of nationalism and so-called "scientific racism," discourses and practices that were adopted by a significant portion of the Chilean intellectual elite. We will approach this exposition through writings published in Santiago, Valparaíso, and Copiapó, authored by Jotabeche (José Joaquín Vallejo), Vicente Fidel López, and Iris (Inés Echeverría Bello). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of paradoxical tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) and its prevention using prednisone may potentially be mediated by the LTA4H genotype. We assessed this hypothesis in a clinical trial evaluating prednisone to prevent TB-IRIS. We did not find an association between LTA4H genotype and TB-IRIS incidence or prednisone efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the suggestion that flower and fruit are integrally evolving structures, we aimed to reveal the floral traits persisting in the fruit structure in Iris pseudacorus, a widely distributed riparian species in Ukraine. We intended to compare the results with the other Iris species studied previously and reveal the constancy of micromorphological features of fruit interior structure. We revealed exomorphological and micromorphological peculiarities of the fruiting ovary using the model of vertical zonality of the gynoecium, vascular anatomy, and general anatomy of the fruit wall. In the fruiting ovary of I. pseudacorus, we revealed the presence of three vertical zones: short synascidiate zone, long symplicate zone bearing uniseriate seeds, and hemisymplicate zone located in the fruit beak. The vascular system of the ovary is composed of dorsal, septal, and ventral veins. Each of three dorsal veins divides radially into the outer tepal trace, stamen trace, and dorsal carpellary bundle, while each septal vein divides tangentially into three bundles of the inner tepal trace. Paired ventral veins enter the ovary from its bottom and supply ovules and seeds. The exocarp is composed of polygonal cells with thickened cellulose walls. The endocarp is uniseriate, unlignified, and composed of live prosenchymal cells, which are elongated tangentially. In the parenchymatous mesocarp, a great number of secretory canals with tannin-like content occur. The dehiscence of fruit on three valves proceeded by both dorsal and ventral slits. Dorsal slits are formed along dorsal grooves and provided by small-celled tissue surrounding the dorsal veins. The presence of ventral sutures of carpels in the symplicate zone of the ovary provides ventral dehiscence of fruit. Hence, the structure of the fruiting ovary in I. pseudacorus is comparable to that of other Iris species. Our investigation confirmed that the vertical zonality, placentation, and vascular system of the gynoecium in Iris can be appropriately estimated in the fruiting stage because the structural components of the ovary, which developed at the pre-anthetic phase, persist in the fruit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iris lacustris, a northern Great Lakes endemic, is a rare species known from 165 occurrences across Lakes Michigan and Huron in the United States and Canada. Due to multiple factors, including habitat loss, lack of seed dispersal, patterns of reproduction, and forest succession, the species is threatened. Early population genetic studies using isozymes and allozymes recovered no to limited genetic variation within the species. To better explore genetic variation across the geographic range of I. lacustris and to identify units for conservation, we used tunable Genotyping-by-Sequencing (tGBS) with 171 individuals across 24 populations from Michigan and Wisconsin, and because the species is polyploid, we filtered the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) matrices using polyRAD to recognize diploid and tetraploid loci. Based on multiple population genetic approaches, we resolved three to four population clusters that are geographically structured across the range of the species. The species migrated from west to east across its geographic range, and minimal genetic exchange has occurred among populations. Four units for conservation are recognized, but nine adaptive units were identified, providing evidence for local adaptation across the geographic range of the species. Population genetic analyses with all, diploid, and tetraploid loci recovered similar results, which suggests that methods may be robust to variation in ploidy level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single Iris bushes can be seen in many flower and bird miniature of Shiraz painters. This flower grows in the region of Susa. The region of Susa or Suzian has been so named because of the growth of Iris - in the west and southwest of present in the Elamite period, and has a religious connection with the Elamite goddess and has a symbolic aspect in the culture and art of ancient Iran. Also emphasizes the belief of the people of this region in the mother-gods and Iris can be known in the Ural language "As the land of the Aryans". In the islamic period, due to the prohibition of portraiture, the use of the role of Iris (Islamic) in the decoration of places such as mosques and elements that add to their architectural nature such as water(pool) and light(skylight) is a continuation of the traditions of temples and crypts of worship of the goddess Anahita. The aim is the genealogy of the Iris flower and its connection with the gods in the art of ancient Iran and its transformation in the Islamic period. So what is relationship between he celestial Iris and the goddess Anahita? And how did its transformation into Islam manifest itself in the Islamic period? And what is its place in Safavid to Qajar flowers and birid miniature? The research method is descriptive and analytical and data collection is library and electronic. The findings show that the Iris is known in pre-islamic texts as the guardian of the plant and water on earth, Along with the goddess Anahita, with two amshaspands of "Hwrtat" and "Ameretat". In the art of ancient Iran, the role of the Iris along with the Lotus and Ahuramazda, formed the holy trinity of the Iranians and confirmed their religious aspect by appearing in the murals of the stairs of apadana palace. In the Islamic period, artists established the abstract role of Iris in Islamic, Islimi or Arabesque Form in religious places. From the Safavid period onwards, when Iranian painting tended towards naturalism, artists used western painting methods and applied it realistically, not only in murals and marquises, but also in the texture of fabrics. Examining the composition of Irises in lacquer works, it can be understood that the artists of the fitrat period had some knowledge of the characteristics of two flowers of the Iris and the lily. as well as the poems that we see in the margins of these roles that contain words such as "mirror", idol (goddess of Pinikir), ornament (Anahita's feature in Aban yasht), seal, light, wheel (sky), moon (goddess of sin), sitting on the mirror (emphasis on the moon), divine kight (Mitra), the shadow of god the connection between Mehr and Anahita, which is between water and light, can be understood. Light emerges from three sources (sun, moon and stars). It can be understood that these lacquered mirror cases & book coovers in the Zand and Qajar periods (the school of flowers) were an emphasis on Anahita's identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eyes are one of the most vital organs of perception. Replacement of such crucial organs needs expertise and precision. To achieve esthetics in an ocular prosthesis, the accurate positioning of the iris is cardinal. The aim of a maxillofacial prosthodontist is to bring back the appearance of the patient to fit into the norms of society. This case report presents a case of customized ocular prosthesis fabricated with the help of a grid graph and spectacles to locate the exact three-dimensional position of the iris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune inflammatory skin disease, mostly affecting the elderly population. Therefore, patients often have multiple comorbidities, but there is inconsistent data regarding the relationship between HIV-1 infection and BP, which has been rarely reported in combination. Herein, we describe three patients who presented with BP and concomitant HIV-1 infection that was well controlled with modern combined antiretroviral therapy. All patients received topical and oral corticosteroids. Depending on the individual severity, further add-on therapeutics, such as azathioprine, dapsone, doxycycline and the interleukin 4/13 antibody dupilumab, were added to the therapy regimen. All patients recovered from pruritic skin lesions and blistering. The cases are further discussed in the context of the current study landscape. In conclusion, HIV-1 infection shifts the cytokine profile from T-helper type 1 (TH1) towards T-helper type 2 (TH2), resulting in the excessive secretion of distinct cytokines, such as interleukin 4 (IL-4) and interleukin 10 (IL-10). With IL-4 being a main driver in the pathogenesis of BP, HIV-1-positive patientsmay benefit greatly fromtargeting IL-4 with monoclonal antibodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rising concerns about data theft and stricter security rules in many countries, biometric technology is becoming increasingly integral to our everyday lives. Given the severe limits of current single-modal biometric systems, it is no surprise that multimodal biometric approaches are experiencing a surge in popularity. Based on these findings, this work provides a novel multimodal biometric person identification system that combines iris, face, and palmprint biometric modalities for human recognition via the use of deep learning algorithms. The network relies on a convolutional neural network (CNN) to extract features, and a SoftMax and Tanh classifier to label images. The Adam and Adadelta optimisation technique are utilised to construct the CNN model, and the categorical cross-entropy loss function was implemented. As a result, the functional and evaluation levels were fused together. Several tests were conducted on the PolyU-IITD, PolyU Cross-Spectral Iris Image, and Tufts Face datasets to empirically evaluate the performance of the proposed system. In a biometric identification system, employing three biometric characteristics was shown to be superior to using one or two biometric features. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that the proposed method achieves 100% accuracy, much better than existing state-of-the-art approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iris/ciliary body tumors can broadly be classified as benign or malignant, cystic or solid, and melanocytic or non-melanocytic. This study aims to provide a systematic review of anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) findings in iris and ciliary body tumors. We conducted a search of published articles related to the use of AS-OCT in iris/ciliary body tumors as of December 2022. Databases that were searched included PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The following search terms in various combinations were used: 'anterior segment optical coherence tomography,' 'ciliary body melanoma,' 'ciliary body nevus,' 'ciliary body tumor,' 'iris cyst,' 'iris melanoma,' 'iris nevus,' 'iris tumor,' and 'metastasis.' A total of 41 studies (10 original articles and 31 case reports) met the inclusion criteria. AS-OCT data pertaining to 545 iris/ciliary body lesions could be retrieved. AS-OCT has proved to be useful as a noninvasive tool for the diagnosis of solid tumors involving the iris/angle with no marked ciliary body involvement, iris pigment epithelial, and iris stromal cysts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic review in the literature evaluating the utility of AS-OCT in iris/ciliary body tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeTo assess the preliminary safety and efficacy of custom silicone artificial iris implantation.SettingStein Eye Institute.DesignProspective consecutive case series.MethodsMedical records of patients implanted with the artificial iris were reviewed and followed for 1 year. Safety measures included corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), endothelial cell count (ECC), surgical complications, secondary interventions, and adverse events (AEs). Efficacy measures included CDVA with glare, subjective daytime and nighttime glare graded from 0 to 10 (very significant), and subjective cosmetic appearance graded from 0 to 10 (very satisfied).ResultsTwenty eyes (19 patients) were implanted. Safety data were mixed. CDVA improved in 13 eyes and worsened in 6. ECC decreased from 1918 ± 870 to 1405 ± 705 cells/mm (P = .02). Eight eyes experienced postoperative complications. There were 4 IOP elevations, 2 corneal decompensations, 1 case of cystoid macular edema, and 1 device dislocation. Four eyes underwent secondary surgical interventions including 2 AEs (1 glaucoma surgery and 1 device dislocation). Efficacy outcomes were excellent. CDVA with glare improved from 1.5 ± 0.6 to 0.7 ± 0.8 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (P < .01). Mean subjective daytime glare decreased from 8.9 ± 1.8 to 2.7 ± 2.6 (P < .01) and nighttime glare decreased from 7.9 ± 1.8 to 2.5 ± 2.7 (P < .01). Mean cosmesis improved from 2.2 ± 1.6 to 8.8 ± 2.1 (P < .01).ConclusionsCustom artificial iris implantation was moderately risky but very effective at reducing light and glare sensitivity and in improving ocular cosmesis.

Cryptococcus gattii is a species that has received more recognition in the recent past as distinct from Cryptococcus neoformans. C gattii is known to cause meningeal disease in both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed hosts. Patients may be clinically asymptomatic until immunosuppressive conditions occur such as corticosteroid treatment or an HIV infection. HIV-associated cryptococcal infections are most often due to C neoformans. C gattii is found in a minority. Speciation and subtyping of Cryptococcus are not always accomplished. In many parts of the world, there is no availability for speciation of Cryptococcus. Travel history may provide a clue to the most probable species. This case demonstrates a case of C gattii meningitis with a multiplicity of complications. These include advanced HIV disease secondary to nonadherence, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, and superior sagittal sinus thrombosis. The patient represented diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas over time. Headache was the primary symptom in cryptococcal meningitis, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome, and superior sagittal sinus thrombosis. All are discussed in detail as potential etiologies for the primary disease. Isavuconazonium is a relatively new broad-spectrum antifungal azole that was used as salvage therapy.

Gate security systems use authentication methods to operate hardware components that grant or deny access to restricted areas. Each context has specific requirements to determine user admissibility. There are currently no design recommendations available for these systems despite their significance. Most research proposes designs based on their recommended authentication scheme without providing general guidance on constructing these systems. This study follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to conduct a systematic literature review, focusing on recent smart gate research. Studies published between 2016 and 2023 are analyzed and evaluated to identify their main components and authentication schemes. A total of 52 studies published in various journals and conferences are collected. After conducting the review, three main design themes are identified: smartphones, tags, and biometrics. These themes are the focal point of the study. Of all the designs, 66% consider using only one-factor authentication. These designs primarily rely on biometric-based methods. During the COVID-19 crisis, some designs used biometric authorization instead of identity authentication to incorporate health status, with a focus on detecting whether the person wore a face mask and had a normal body temperature. Furthermore, the review reveals that most studies disregard the system’s hardware components and focus on authorization. Additionally, only 25% of the studies conduct an implementation for their design and produce results evaluating their performance. The study concludes that a successful smart gate design must consider and balance cost, usability, and security. Furthermore, health status needs to be verified as an additional layer of protection after determining the existing authentication requirements.

Synthetic biometric samples are created with an ultimate goal of getting around privacy concerns, mitigating biases in biometric datasets, and reducing the sample acquisition effort to enable large-scale evaluations. The recent breakthrough in the development of neural generative models shifted the focus from image synthesis by mathematical modeling of biometric modalities to data-driven image generation. This paradigm shift on the one hand greatly improves the realism of synthetic biometric samples and therefore enables new use cases, but on the other hand new challenges and concerns arise. Despite their realism, synthetic samples have to be checked for appropriateness for the tasks they are intended which includes new quality metrics. Focusing on sample images of fingerprint, face, iris and vascular patterns, we highlight the benefits of using synthetic samples, review the use cases, and summarize and categorize the most prominent studies on synthetic biometrics aiming at showing recent progress and the direction of future research.

Iris japonica Thunberg is one of the horticultural species belonging to the Iris genus and Iridaceae family. Previous studies have revealed its hepatoprotective activity and ornamental values. However, little genetic and genomic information about this species is available. Here, to decipher the chloroplast genome and reveal its evolutionary characteristics, we sequenced, de novo assembled, and comprehensively analyzed the chloroplast genome of I. japonica. The genome was 152,453 bp in length and displayed a circular structure with a large single-copy region, a small single-copy region, and two inverted repeat regions. It contained 131 genes, including 85 protein-coding genes, eight ribosomal RNA genes, and 38 transfer RNA genes. We also identified 23 microsatellite repeat sequences, 34 tandem repeat sequences, and 60 dispersed repeat sequences in the chloroplast genome of I. japonica. Sequence divergence analyses of the chloroplast genomes of 20 Iris species revealed that the top four most highly variable regions were ndhC-trnV-UAC, rpl22-rps19, rps16-trnQ-UUG, and trnG-UCC-trnR-UCU. Phylogenetic analysis showed that I. japonica was most closely related to I. tectorum. This study reported a new chloroplast genome of I. japonica and performed comparative analyses of 20 Iris chloroplast genomes. The results would facilitate the evolutionary research and development of molecular markers for Iris species.

The aim of this literature review was to identify the stages of chronic kidney disease in dogs that have greater immune dysfunction and which cellular components of the innate and humoral immune system are most affected by the retention of uremic toxins. Chronic kidney disease is characterized by being a serious and irreversible disease, but common in the practice of medical clinic for dogs and cats and usually affects those of advanced age. The consequences of chronic kidney disease can expand to other systems as the disease progresses; systemic arterial hypertension, hypertensive retinopathies and secondary renal hyperparathyroidism are examples of extra-renal impairment caused by chronic kidney disease. The Interest Renal Society (IRIS), established degrees of progression of renal impairment according to serum concentrations of symmetrical creatinine and dimethylarginine, biomarkers of kidney injury, which allows aid in diagnosis, classification of the degree of nephrological and systemic impairment and treatment affected patient. Studies in human patients demonstrate that, in the terminal stages of kidney disease, there is an impairment of the immune function of these patients, which contributes to the increase in the rate of deaths related to secondary infections, cancers caused by viruses and low responsiveness to vaccines. In Veterinary Medicine, despite the scarcity of research on immunosuppression in dogs with chronic kidney disease, some have observed, in vitro and in vivo environments, dysfunction in the innate and humoral immune system of dogs with advanced chronic kidney disease, due to the pro-inflammatory environment resulting from the retention of uremic toxins that had their clearance affected by impaired kidney excretory function. Stage III of chronic kidney disease in dogs requires greater care, not only to prevent the disease from progressing to stage IV, but also to prevent immune disorders that may result in death. The adoption of intervention criteria and measures aimed at preventing and / or minimizing these immunological disorders depends on the expansion of research on this topic to establish better clinical management for dogs with nephrological disorder.

Elman Neural Network (ENN) is one of the most common type of recurrent neural network (RNN). It is frequently applied to numerous applications such as classification and predication. However, the ENN model, suffers from serious flaws like network stagnancy and delayed convergence during training. To enhance the effectiveness of the ENN and address the mention problems, numerous studies have been conducted to speed up the learning process of ENN. Many optimization techniques are being used and each algorithm has its own characteristics in terms of efficiency. Some of the algorithms inspire from nature, while others come from the swarm's combined behaviour. Different numbers of optimization methods, including Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Bat Algorithm, and Cuckoo Search (CS) are applied to improve the ENN's learning process. As a result, this study suggested using Salp Swarm algorithm (SSA) to address these issues and speed up the ENN algorithm's learning process. The SSA, which is based on the typical behaviour of Salp swarms, is proposed in this research as a novel optimization technique. Due to its effectiveness and Salp intelligent behaviour, a novel Salp algorithm improves the learning process of the artificial neural network (ANN), and ENN models. Therefore this study proposed Salp swarm artificial neural network (SSANN) and Salp swarm Elman neural network (SSElmanNN). Performance of the suggested models is evaluated against ANN, back propagation neural network (BPNN), along with ENN in term of accuracy and Mean Square Error (MSE). Two datasets such as IRIS and Credit Card are used for simulation. The simulation results demonstrate that the suggested models outperform the other algorithms used in this study in terms of MSE and accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognition of gender from iris images can be considered a texture classification task in which a classification model discriminates iris textures of male and female subjects. Although many researchers have proposed efficient iris texture classification methods that rely on deep features or employ Fourier and wavelet transforms, several issues have still been reported in the literature. On the one hand, it is difficult to discriminate the details of iris textures using the features extracted by traditional frequency domain transforms. On the other hand, in different imaging conditions, small changes in pupil diameter or head rotations result in the translation and deformation of the iris texture and inaccurate classification results. To overcome these challenges, the current study proposes an approach that employs a feature extraction method based on a wavelet scattering transform comparable with deep features extracted from raw image data using convolutional neural networks. In the proposed method, the scattering coefficients are extracted from each RGB channel, followed by applying the principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce the extracted features' dimensionality. These features are used to train a convolutional neural network. The current paper compares the deep feature vectors extracted from raw RGB images against features obtained from the wavelet scattering transform. This comparison is made according to the performance results obtained from a fine-tuned multi-layer perceptron (MLP) model trained by both feature sets. Experiments conducted on CVBL and UTIRIS databases indicate that using a wavelet scattering transform and extracting second-order features can significantly enhance the performance of the iris-based gender classification in comparison to deep features achieved from applying a deep neural network to raw pixel information. Moreover, our feature extraction method provides learnable features, thus eliminating the need for an additional training step to obtain deep features, as performed in the most recent state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) associated with syphilis has rarely been described in HIV-infected patients. Diagnosis can be challenging because it is not always possible to discern it from a recent infection or a worsening of an undiagnosed one. Case presentation: An HIV-positive 42-year-old man with a poor compliance history of antiretroviral therapy presented at our unit and complained of ocular symptoms. Ocular syphilis diagnosis was posed after initial misdiagnosing with cytomegalovirus infection, and antiretroviral therapy compliance improved after switching to a bictegravir-based regimen. Despite intravenous (IV) penicillin, we observed an initial worsening with the appearance of new skin lesions, and IRIS syphilis was suspected. In the literature, 14 cases of IRIS syphilis are described, all regarding male patients. Seven were HIV naïve to therapy, and 7 HIV-experienced with poor therapy compliance. Basal syphilis serology was negative in ten, with subsequent seroconversion after the development of IRIS. IRIS-syphilis development was observed after a median time of 28 days from ART initiation; 10 cases were considered "unmasking-IRIS" and 4 "paradoxical-IRIS". Skin and ocular involvement were the most often reported. In most cases, it was not necessary to use a systemic steroid. A good outcome was reported in 12. Conclusions: Syphilis should be considered in differential diagnosis with other diseases associated with IRIS. A negative syphilis serology before beginning antiretroviral therapy could convey the impression that syphilis has been ruled out. Whereas a high index of suspicion should be maintained when symptoms suggestive of syphilis, such as ocular and skin manifestations, are noticed after therapy has begun. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]