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  • Cruz posted an update 7 months, 2 weeks ago

    We propose a cross-scanning optical coherence tomography (CS-OCT) system to correct eye motion artifacts in OCT angiography images. This system employs a dual illumination configuration with two orthogonally polarized beams, each of which simultaneously perform raster scanning in perpendicular direction with each other over the same area. In the reference arm, a polarization delay unit is used to acquire the two orthogonally polarized interferograms with a single photodetector by introducing different optical delay lines. The two cross-scanned volume data are affected by the same eye motion but in two orthogonal directions. We developed a motion correction algorithm, which removes artifacts in the slow axis of each angiogram using the other and merges them through a non-rigid registration algorithm. In this manner, we obtained a motion-corrected angiogram within a single volume scanning time without additional eye-tracking devices. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Objective To describe early prostheses implantation in a cohort of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) followed in a tertiary referral hospital and to analyze possible factors influencing implant survival. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study. Charts of all JIA patients who underwent total joint replacement at G. Pini Hospital, Milan, Italy from January 1992 to June 2019 were retrieved, and relevant data were analyzed. Results Eighty-five patients met the inclusion criteria for this study, with a median follow-up of 17.2 years. The median age at first prosthesis was 22.7 years. The total number of replaced joints was 198 over a period of 27 years. The hip was the most replaced joint accounting for almost two thirds of the total number of implants; the other third refers mostly to knee implants. Polyarticular (polyJIA) and systemic (sJIA) were the most represented JIA categories in the study cohort. A significant upward trend of the age at arthroplasty and of disease duration before arthroplasty over decades was found. The rates of implant survival at 5, 10 and 15 years were comparable (from 84% to 89%); 50% of implants lasted 20 years or more. Conclusions We reported retrospective data on early joint replacement in a cohort of patients with JIA. We observed a progressive and significant upward trend of both age at arthroplasty and disease duration before the first arthroplasty over time. JIA category, year of implants and the presence of complications significantly affected implant survivorship.The content of dermal beta-carotene can be a good indicator showing the body health. Because, it is involved in production of vitamin A maintaining healthy skin and mucous membranes. Also, it reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and its antioxidant capacity prevents the formation of cancerous cells. In this work, we use Raman spectroscopy and a low-cost diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) to detect the dermal beta-carotene spectra. We apply computational optical clearing (OC) method to in vivo evaluation the concentration of this chromophore. The results show that Raman spectroscopy is a good tool for in vitro detection of carotenoids but is not able to clearly discriminate the individual carotenoids in skin tissue in vivo. The results also show that using OC enhances the ability of low-cost diffuse reflection spectroscopy for in vivo detection of dermal beta-carotene in humans. This method can be used as a low-cost and portable device to screening the concentration of chromophores such as melanin and carotenoid molecules for oncological studies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Objective A Phase IV, open-label, prospective study was conducted to characterize the long-term safety of rituximab in a 4-year observational registry of adult patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) or microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) within the United States. Methods Patients initiating treatment with rituximab were evaluated every 6 months for up to 4 years. Outcomes were the incidence of serious adverse events (SAEs), infusion-related reactions (IRRs), and SAEs of specific interest, including serious infections, serious cardiac events, serious vascular events, and malignancies. Results Overall, 97 patients (72 with GPA and 25 with MPA) received rituximab through a median of 8 (range, 1-28) infusions, and were followed up for a median of 3.94 (range, 0.05-4.32) years. The estimated incidence rates (95% CI) of serious infections, serious cardiac events, and serious vascular events were 7.11 (4.55 to 10.58), 5.03 (2.93 to 8.06) and 2.37 (1.02 to 4.67) per 100 patient-years (PYs), respectively. No IRRs or SAEs occurred within 24 hours of an infusion of rituximab. find more None of the 9 deaths reported (crude mortality rate, 2.67 [95% CI, 1.22 to 5.06] per 100 PYs) were considered to be related to use of rituximab. Conclusion The safety profile of long-term treatment with rituximab in patients with GPA or MPA was consistent with that of rituximab administered for shorter durations and with rituximab’s known safety profile in other autoimmune disease for which it has received regulatory approval. These findings provide clinicians with long-term, practice-level safety data for rituximab in the treatment of GPA or MPA.Objective To explore preferences for self-management and support services in patients with inflammatory joint disease (IJD) and whether these preferences differ by age, gender, diagnosis and disease duration. Methods Nationwide cross-sectional online survey for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis. Descriptive statistics were applied to explore preferences and test for differences according to the different subgroups of patients. Results The questionnaire was completed by 664 patients. Younger patients indicated greater interest in one-to-one discussions with psychologists or another patient, educational sessions, events and online services, and older patients in talks by researchers. More women than men indicated interest in health professionals’ one-to-one discussions, occupational therapists’ question-and-answer (Q&A) sessions, physical activity, and informational websites. Patients with axial spondyloarthritis tended to indicate the most interest and patients with rheumatoid arthritis the least in the different services, reaching statistical significance regarding discussion groups about IJD experiences, one-to-one discussions with psychologists or another patient, Q&A with another patient, stress/anger management, and online patient communication.

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