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Hui-hsiu Chang,1,2 Edward Suh,3 Blake H Fortes,3 Franklin Zheng,3 Anny MS Cheng3,4 1Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hosiptal Yunlin Branch, Yunlin, Taiwan; 2Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin, Taiwan; 3Department of Ophthalmology, Florida International University, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA; 4Ocular Surface Center, Miami, FL, USA Purpose: To present a successful case of single-staged total upper eyelid reconstruction after sebaceous gland carcinoma excision by using forehead galeal pericranial flap.Observations: An 80-year-old female with a progressively enlarged left upper eyelid mass presented with ocular irritation, blurred vision, and gritty sensation despite topical antibiotics treatment. This multinodular mass involved the left total upper eyelid, compromised corneal surface integrity, and caused complete ptosis. Excisional biopsy confirmed advanced sebaceous gland carcinoma, which was followed by extensive excision. The resultant total upper eyelid defect was reconstructed by a forehead galeal pericranial flap accompanied by anterior and posterior lamellar grafts. For the 34-month follow-up period, patient remained symptom-free without tumor recurrence and achieved acceptable cosmetic outcome.Conclusion: The forehead galeal pericranial flap appears to be effective as single-staged total upper lid reconstruction following extensive sebaceous gland carcinoma excision to restore eyelid function, avoid corneal exposure, and achieve acceptable cosmesis. Keywords: forehead, galeal pericranial flap, reconstruction, sebaceous gland carcinoma, single-staged, total upper eyelid reconstruction

The multielemental characterization of sea sediments from an important Cuban coast was performed using instrumental neutron activation analysis. The obtained results show an impoverishment of rare earth elements in the studied zone, in comparison with the data taken from other Cuban coaster zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work makes a comparative analysis of certain areas in the northwest part of Pinar del Río: Hierro-Mantua, Cayo Largo and Centro Escolar. The mineralogical study was made taking into acount the type of ores and lithologies. Different analytical methods were applied (optical mineralogy, X-ray difraction, chemical of macrocomponents, gamma spectrometric and spectral emision analysis. Minerals from Crandallite group are present in the three areas. The presence of uranium in those was demonstrated through the flourescence test, the analysis of electronic microscopy and self radiography. From the results obtained, comparative criteria with other areas can be established, either of the national territory or other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O estudo tem por objetivo modelar a distribuição espacial da ocorrência de ascaríase, utilizando mapas de risco mediante técnicas de geoprocessamento e análise geoestatística. Com base no banco de dados do PAISQUA, foram selecionados 19 setores censitários do Rio de Janeiro. Foram amostradas e georreferenciadas, no centróide de seu respectivo domicílio, 1.550 crianças com idade de 1 a 9 anos. Mapas de risco de Ascaris lumbricoides foram gerados usando krigagem indicadora. Com base na validação cruzada, os valores estimados foram comparados aos observados por intermédio da curva ROC. Um modelo de semivariograma isotrópico esférico com alcance de 30m e efeito pepita de 50% foi empregado na krigagem ordinária indicadora para a construção de um mapa de probabilidade de infecção por A. lumbricoides. A acurácia global, mensurada por meio da área sob a curva ROC, mostrou-se significativa. O uso da krigagem ordinária indicadora permitiu a modelagem de mapas de risco valendo-se da amostra de uma variável indicadora. O emprego das técnicas de análise estatística espacial mostrou-se adequado na predição da ocorrência do fenômeno, não ficando restrita a delimitações político-administrativas da região.

OBJETIVO: Estimar áreas de risco para a ocorrência de carga parasitária produzida pelo Ascaris lumbricoides, por meio da utilização de técnicas de geoprocessamento e análise geoestatística. MÉTODOS: Foram selecionados 19 setores censitários para a realização do inquérito copro-parasitológico e domiciliar na localidade de Parque Fluminense, no município de Duque de Caxias, RJ. Foram amostradas e plotadas no centróide de seu respectivo domicílio 1.664 crianças com idade entre 1 e 9 anos. As técnicas de geoestatística permitiram a análise exploratória espacial, variografia e krigagem ordinária. A análise estatística inclui teste "t" de Student, odds ratio e intervalos de confiança de 95%. RESULTADOS: A prevalência encontrada para A. lumbricoides foi de 27,5%. A renda familiar, o nível de escolaridade da dona de casa e as condições peridomiciliares foram identificados como fatores significativamente associados à ocorrência de ascaríase. Um modelo de semivariograma isotrópico esférico com alcance de 150 metros, contribuição de 0,45 e efeito pepita de 0,55 foi empregado na krigagem ordinária. CONCLUSÕES: A continuidade espacial de aproximadamente 150 metros corrobora a influência do peridomicílio na ascaríase. Pela krigagem ordinária, foi possível estimar a ocorrência da doença em toda a área de estudo e construir um mapa de risco.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical characteristics and visual acuity outcomes of patients who presented with endophthalmitis prior to and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic., Methods: This multicenter retrospective case series with historical controls included consecutive patients presenting with any form of endophthalmitis from March 1, 2019 to September 1, 2019 (pre-COVID-19) and from March 1, 2020 to September 1, 2020 (COVID-19) at Mayo Clinic Rochester (MCR), Health System (MCHS), Arizona (MCA), and Florida (MCF) sites. Cases were divided into "pre-COVID-19" versus "COVID-19" groups depending on when they first presented with endophthalmitis., Results: Twenty-eight cases of endophthalmitis presented to all Mayo Clinic sites during the study period. Of these, 10 patients presented during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the same six-month period the year prior, 18 patients presented with endophthalmitis. Endophthalmitis etiology (post-injection, post-cataract extraction, post-glaucoma filtering surgery, post-pars plana vitrectomy, endogenous, and others) was similar between both groups ( P = 0.34), as was post-injection endophthalmitis rate ( P = 0.69), days to presentation ( P = 0.07), initial management ( P = 0.11), culture-positivity rate ( P = 0.70), and need for subsequent pars plana vitrectomy ( P = 1). Visual acuity outcomes were similar between both groups at six months, however, the mean LogMAR visual acuity at presentation was worse in the COVID-19 group compared to the pre-COVID-19 group (2.44 vs 1.82; P = 0.026)., Conclusion: Clinical characteristics and the post-injection endophthalmitis rate were similar during both periods, however, patients presented with worse vision during the pandemic suggesting that the pandemic may have contributed to delayed presentation, regardless, outcomes are still poor., Competing Interests: Dr. Starr has served on Advisory Boards to Genentech, Alimera Sciences, Regenxbio, and Gyroscope Therapeutics.Other authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Fortes et al.)

A 31-year-old healthy White man experienced painless sequential vision loss. Brain imaging and laboratory investigations for infectious, inflammatory, and nutritional conditions, in addition to targeted genetic testing for Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), were all normal or negative. Despite systemic corticosteroid therapy and plasma exchange, vision continued to worsen. Eventually, mitochondrial whole-genome sequencing was performed, which demonstrated a mutation at the 13513G>A position confirming the diagnosis of LHON. The three primary mutations ( 11778G>A , 14484T>C , and 3460G>A ) account for 90% of LHON cases; therefore, it is important to consider whole-genome mitochondrial sequencing in cases with a high index of clinical suspicion and negative primary mutation screening testing., (© 2021 American Academy of Neurology.)

The design and operation of manufacturing systems is evolving to adapt to different challenges. One of the most important is the reconfiguration of the manufacturing process in response to context changes (e.g., faulty equipment or urgent orders, among others). In this sense, the Autonomous Transport Vehicle (ATV) plays a key role in building more flexible and decentralized manufacturing systems. Nowadays, robotic frameworks (RFs) are used for developing robotic systems such as ATVs, but they focus on the control of the robotic system itself. However, social abilities are required for performing intelligent interaction (peer-to-peer negotiation and decision-making) among the different and heterogeneous Cyber Physical Production Systems (such as machines, transport systems and other equipment present in the factory) to achieve manufacturing reconfiguration. This work contributes a generic multi-layer architecture that integrates a RF with a Multi-Agent System (MAS) to provide social abilities to ATVs. This architecture has been implemented on ROS and JADE, the most widespread RF and MAS framework, respectively. We believe this to be the first work that addresses the intelligent interaction of transportation systems for flexible manufacturing environments in a holistic form.

The causal illusion is a cognitive bias that results in the perception of causality where there is no supporting evidence. We show that people selectively exhibit the bias, especially in those situations where it favors their current worldview as revealed by their political orientation. In our two experiments (one conducted in Spain and one conducted in the United Kingdom), participants who self-positioned themselves on the ideological left formed the illusion that a left-wing ruling party was more successful in improving city indicators than a right-wing party, while participants on the ideological right tended to show the opposite pattern. In sum, despite the fact that the same information was presented to all participants, people developed the causal illusion bias selectively, providing very different interpretations that aligned with their previous attitudes. This result occurs in situations where participants inspect the relationship between the government's actions and positive outcomes (improving city indicators) but not when the outcomes are negative (worsening city indicators).

Introduction: Endonasal surgeries are among the most common procedures performed in otolaryngology. Due to difficulty in cadaver acquisition and the intrinsic risks of training residents during operations on real patients, nasosinusal endoscopic dissection courses utilizing real simulators, such as the Sinus Model Otorhino Neuro Trainer are being developed as a new technique to facilitate the acquisition of better anatomical knowledge and surgical skill., Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of nasosinusal endoscopic dissection courses with the Sinus Model Otorhino Neuro Trainer simulator in the training of otolaryngology surgeons., Methods: A prospective, longitudinal cohort study was conducted with 111 otolaryngologists who participated in a theoretical and practical course of endoscopic surgery dissection using the Sinus Model Otorhino Neuro Trainer simulator, with application of questionnaires during and after the course., Results: From the ten procedures performed utilizing the simulator, the evaluation revealed mean scores from 3.1 to 4.1 (maximum of 5). Seventy-seven participants answered the questionnaire six months after the end of the course. 93% of them reported that they could perform the procedures more safely following the course, 98% reported an improvement in their anatomical and clinical knowledge, and 85% related an improvement in their surgical ability. After the course, the number of endoscopic surgeries increased in 40% of the respondents., Conclusion: Endoscopic sinus dissection courses using the Sinus Model Otorhino Neuro Trainer simulator proved to be useful in the training of otolaryngologists., (Copyright © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

Background: The Trypanosoma cruzi infection is associated with severe T cell unresponsiveness to antigens and mitogens characterized by decreased IL-2 synthesis. Trypanosoma cruzi mucin (Tc Muc) has been implicated in this phenomenom. These molecules contain a unique type of glycosylation consisting of several sialylated O-glycans linked to the protein backbone via N-acetylglucosamine residues., Methodology/principal Findings: In this study, we evaluated the ability of Tc Muc to modulate the activation of CD4(+) T cells. Our data show that cross-linking of CD3 on naïve CD4(+) T cells in the presence of Tc Muc resulted in the inhibition of both cytokine secretion and proliferation. We further show that the sialylated O-Linked Glycan residues from tc mucin potentiate the suppression of T cell response by inducing G1-phase cell cycle arrest associated with upregulation of mitogen inhibitor p27(kip1). These inhibitory effects cannot be reversed by the addition of exogenous IL-2, rendering CD4(+) T cells anergic when activated by TCR triggering. Additionally, in vivo administration of Tc Muc during T. cruzi infection enhanced parasitemia and aggravated heart damage. Analysis of recall responses during infection showed lower frequencies of IFN-γ producing CD4(+) T cells in the spleen of Tc Muc treated mice, compared to untreated controls., Conclusions/significance: Our results indicate that Tc Muc mediates inhibitory efects on CD4(+) T expansion and cytokine production, by blocking cell cycle progression in the G1 phase. We propose that the sialyl motif of Tc Muc is able to interact with sialic acid-binding Ig-like lectins (Siglecs) on CD4(+) T cells, which may allow the parasite to modulate the immune system.

Adenosine is an endogenous nucleoside that has potent receptor-mediated immunomodulatory effects on macrophage/monocyte function. In this study, we determined the effects of an adenosine A(2A) receptor agonist, ATL313, on the expression of mRNAs for four pro-inflammatory mediators, IL-1beta, IL-8, COX-2, and TNF-alpha, and the mRNA and protein for the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10 in equine monocytes incubated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The results indicate that ATL313 significantly reduces LPS-induced expression of COX-2 and TNF-alpha, enhances the expression of IL-10 and IL-8, but does not alter the expression of IL-1beta. These effects of ATL313 were reversed by co-incubation with the selective adenosine A(2A) antagonist ZM241385, and were mimicked by the cAMP analogue dibutyryl cAMP. These differential effects of adenosine A(2A) receptor activation were in contrast to those obtained using the P38 MAPK inhibitor, SB203580, which nearly abolished all LPS-induced changes in mRNA expression as well as the production of TNF-alpha protein. These findings, which indicate that adenosine A(2A) receptor activation modulates the transcription of several, but not all, pro-inflammatory mediators and exerts a synergistic effect on the induction of at least one anti-inflammatory cytokine, suggest that selective adenosine A(2A) agonists may reduce the early pro-inflammatory effects of endotoxemia in horses., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

To provide complete compensation for turbulent distortions in the visible range at aperture dimensions typical for modern telescopes (6-10 m), one needs to develop adaptive systems with hundreds of control channels. More simple adaptive systems that provide complete compensation in the infrared range can give an essential advantage in angular resolution in the visible range too. In this case the image brightness characterized by the Strehl ratio remains much less than that in the diffraction-limited case, i.e., the system provides only partial compensation. We present the results of numerical calculations of the partially corrected point-spread function and discuss possible approaches to composing the adaptive system configuration.