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The author deals with the theme of aggression taking inspiration from the film plot of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Taking up the conceptualization of various authors in the psychoanalytic field, she argues on the different forms in which aggression can find expression: direct and manifest methods, such as destructiveness and hatred; indirect and coerced forms, such as anger and resentment; the active/passive elements in the dynamics of the social group; the transformative potential in the work of mourning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To assess differences in choriocapillaris (CC) and macular neovascularization (MNV) optical coherence tomography angiography quantitative parameters between long-term persistently nonexudative MNVs (NE-MNVs) and long-term activated NE-MNVs in age-related macular degeneration., Methods: Age-related macular degeneration patients with treatment-naïve NE-MNVs with >2 years of follow-up and no evidence of exudation within the first 6 months from diagnosis were retrospectively recruited. Two groups were considered according to the occurrence (EX group) or not (NE group) of exudation within the first 2 years of follow-up. Segmentation of the MNV and of the perilesional CC were obtained from enface optical coherence tomography angiography acquisitions at diagnosis and at 6-month follow-up. OCT B-scan images of the MNV were also collected. Fractal ratio was defined as the ratio between MNV fractal dimension (FrD) and CC FrD., Results: Fifty (50) eyes were included (20 EX group and 30 NE group). EX group showed higher flow deficit density and flow deficit number at the 6-month follow-up. It also showed higher MNV FrD, lower CC FrD, and higher fractal ratio at the 6-month follow-up. The fractal ratio significantly increased at 6-month acquisitions in the EX group, showing an area under the ROC curves of 0.887 (95% CI 0.869-0.922)., Conclusion: Fractal ratio at 6 months can predict exudation risk of MNV within 2 years from diagnosis. This suggests increased structural complexity of the NE-MNV accompanied by progressive capillary rarefaction of the perilesional CC as a key driving factor for the development of exudation in NE-MNV.

Background: Around 30% of nonexudative macular neovascularizations exudate within 2 years from diagnosis in patients with age-related macular degeneration. The aim of this study is to develop a deep learning classifier based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) to identify nonexudative macular neovascularizations at risk of exudation., Methods: Patients with age-related macular degeneration showing OCTA and fluorescein angiography-documented nonexudative macular neovascularization with a 2-year minimum imaging follow-up were retrospectively selected. Patients showing OCT B-scan-documented macular neovascularization exudation within the first 2 years formed the EX GROUP while the others formed the QU GROUP. ResNet-101, Inception-ResNet-v2, and DenseNet-201 were independently trained on OCTA and OCT B-scan images. Combinations of the six models were evaluated with major and soft voting techniques., Results: Eighty-nine eyes of 89 patients with a follow-up of 5.7 ± 1.5 years were recruited (35 EX GROUP and 54 QU GROUP). Inception-ResNet-v2 was the best performing among the three single convolutional neural networks. The major voting model resulting from the association of the three different convolutional neural networks resulted in an improvement of performance both for OCTA and OCT B-scan (both significantly higher than human graders' performance). The soft voting model resulting from the combination of OCTA and OCT B-scan-based major voting models showed a testing accuracy of 94.4%. Peripheral arcades and large vessels on OCTA en face imaging were more prevalent in the QU GROUP., Conclusion: Artificial intelligence shows high performances in identifications of nonexudative macular neovascularizations at risk for exudation within the first 2 years of follow-up, allowing better customization of follow-up timing and avoiding treatment delay. Better results are obtained with the combination of OCTA and OCT B-scan image analysis.

Purpose: Radial keratotomies (RKs) are responsible for corneal irregularities resulting in biometric errors and lower best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) due to lower-order and higher-order optical aberrations. The aim of the study was to compare performances of new and old generation formulas in a population of RK patients., Methods: RK patients who underwent phacoemulsification with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation were retrospectively recruited. Inclusion criteria were availability of preoperative and 6-month postoperative BCVA assessment, topography, and tomography. Documented refraction instability, corneal ectasia, and previous ocular surgery except for RK were exclusion criteria. Mean prediction error (ME), mean absolute prediction error (MAE), and incidence of MAE > 0.25D were calculated for SRK-T, Barrett True K, EVO 2.0, Kane, and PEARL-DGS., Results: Twenty-seven patients with a mean baseline BCVA of 0.32 ± 0.18 logMAR and a mean corneal root mean square (RMS) value of 1.59 ± 0.91 μm were included. EVO 2.0, Kane, and PEARL-DGS showed a significantly lower MAE and lower ME compared with all other formulas ( P < 0.001 and P < 0.001) and a significant lower incidence of MAE >0.25D ( P < 0.001). Significant differences were still detected when using 3-mm mean keratometry for IOL calculation., Conclusions: PEARL-DGS, Kane, and EVO 2.0 formulas show superior accuracy in IOL power calculation compared with SRK-T and Barrett True K in RK patients, with no significant differences between the 3., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding or conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

In recent years, several genome-wide approaches based on RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) have been developed. These methods allow a comprehensive and dynamic view of the structure and function of the multi-layered RNA pathways and networks. Many of these approaches, including the promising one of single-cell transcriptome analysis, have been successfully applied to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. However, we are only at the beginning because only a few surrounding conditions have been considered. Here, we aim to illustrate the different types of approaches based on RNA-seq that will lead us in the future to a better understanding of the dynamics of RNA biology in P. aeruginosa., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Several animal models have been developed to study infection strategies and pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Some of these models are also used in preclinical and clinical research. However, these models are increasingly showing their limitations, including in recapitulating human diseases such as cystic fibrosis, which is strongly linked to P. aeruginosa infection. The emerging field of human organoids and organs-on-a-chip is expected to provide answers to the need for in vitro modeling of human diseases. Here, we describe the first recent efforts that will hopefully provide the basis for the development of advanced in vitro models for the study of P. aeruginosa infection and pathogenesis and the testing of antibacterial agents., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Bacterial small RNAs have emerged as modulators that play key roles in regulatory networks related to viability, environmental adaptation, and pathogenesis. Small RNAs can modulate gene expression by base-pairing to target mRNAs, influencing their translation and/or stability. A superfolder GFP reporter system, previously developed for Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica, was adapted to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and used to validate novel mRNA targets in studies of small RNA-mediated regulatory mechanisms., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The ability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to establish chronic infections is associated with an effective switch from a motile to a sessile lifestyle. This proficiency is controlled by intracellular levels of the second messenger bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP). Targeting the c-di-GMP network could be a strategy to interfere with P. aeruginosa pathogenicity. Therefore, the development of tools to profile c-di-GMP intracellular levels is crucial. Here, we describe a protocol for the in vivo measurement of c-di-GMP levels in P. aeruginosa., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)