Although neural responses were higher in the PbN of chronic CTX rats compared to acute-sectioned controls, taste-evoked activity was much lower than observed in previous reports, suggesting permanent deficits in taste signaling. These findings demonstrate that the developing gustatory hindbrain exhibits high functional plasticity following early nerve injury.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Early and chronic loss of taste input from the chorda tympani is associated with abnormal taste behaviors. We found that compared to when the chorda tympani is sectioned acutely, chronic nerve loss leads to amplification of spared inputs in the gustatory pons, with higher response to salty and sour stimuli. Findings point to plasticity that may compensate for sensory loss, but permanent deficits in taste signaling also occur following early denervation.Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) is a hallmark manifestation of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a widespread breathing disorder. CIH-treated rodents exhibit activation of the sympathetic nervous system and hypertension. Heightened carotid body (CB) activity has been implicated in CIH-induced hypertension. CB expresses high abundance of olfactory receptor (Olfr) 78, a G-protein coupled receptor. Olfr 78 null mice exhibit impaired CB sensory nerve response to acute hypoxia. Present study examined whether Olfr78 participates in CB-dependent activation of the sympathetic nervous system and hypertension in CIH-treated mice and in hemeoxygenase (HO)-2 null mice experiencing CIH as a consequence of naturally occurring OSA. CIH-treated wild-type (WT) mice showed hypertension, biomarkers of sympathetic nerve activation, and enhanced CB sensory nerve response to hypoxia and sensory long-term facilitation (sLTF), and these responses were absent in CIH-treated Olfr78 null mice. HO-2 null mice showed higher apnea index (r78 null and Olfr78/HO-2 double null mice.Since infectious foot ulcers represent one of the major causes of lower-limb amputation, it calls for an appropriate action for early detection and sufficient treatment of diabetic foot infection (DFI). The present study aimed at investigating the bacterial epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns of DFIs in Iran. We have conducted a systematic search in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Scientific Information Database to identify all articles reporting the proportion of different kinds of bacteria isolated from Iranian DFI samples. Quality was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute tool. A pooled estimate of proportion with a corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was calculated using the random effect method. Fifteen studies were eligible, of which 1970 bacterial isolates were obtained from 1316 patients. The most predominant isolates recovered from DFIs was Staphylococcus aureus with a pooled proportion of 24.29% (95% CI 20.25%, 28.57%) from which 55% (95% CI 38%, 72%) were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Among Gram-negative strains, Escherichia coli had the highest proportion (17.19%; 95% CI 13.96%, 20.68%) followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 7.54% (95% CI 4.56%, 11.14%). The highest pooled estimates of resistance against cotrimoxazole and ciprofloxacin were found in S. aureus 66% (95% CI 48%, 82%) and E coli isolates 68% (95% CI 51%, 84%), respectively. Our study revealed that AMR is at a high level in Iran and clinicians should be aware of bacterial resistance patterns to prescribe appropriate antibiotic regimens.Visual systems evolve to process the stimuli that arise in the organism's natural environment, and hence, to fully understand the neural computations in the visual system, it is important to measure behavioral and neural responses to natural visual stimuli. Here, we measured psychometric and neurometric functions in the macaque monkey for detection of a windowed sine-wave target in uniform backgrounds and in natural backgrounds of various contrasts. The neurometric functions were obtained by near-optimal decoding of voltage-sensitive-dye-imaging (VSDI) responses at the retinotopic scale in primary visual cortex (V1). The results were compared with previous human psychophysical measurements made under the same conditions. We found that human and macaque behavioral thresholds followed the generalized Weber's law as function of contrast, and that both the slopes and the intercepts of the threshold as a function of background contrast match each other up to a single scale factor. We also found that the neurometriimal decoding of V1 population responses.We analyzed a retrospective cohort of 150 patients with diabetic foot infections (DFIs) who underwent surgical treatment to determine long-term outcomes. The median follow-up of the series was 7.6 years. Cox's proportional hazards model for survival time was performed and hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated. Survival times were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method. Fifteen patients (10%) required readmission after discharge from the hospital for a recurrence of the infection. Ninety patients (60%) had re-ulcerations. Forty-nine (54.4% of those re-ulcerated) required new admission and 24 of them (26.6% of those re-ulcerated) finally required a new amputation. Overall cumulative survival rates at 1, 5, and 8 years were 95%, 78%, and 64%, respectively. Predictive variables of long-term mortality were insulin treatment (HR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.6, P = .01), female sex (HR 3.1, 95% CI 1.7-5.3, P less then .01) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) less then 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 (HR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1-4.2, P = .01). PIK-III Autophagy inhibitor In conclusion, patients undergoing surgical treatment for DFIs had a high rate of recurrences and mortality. Women, patients who underwent treatment with insulin, and those with eGFR less then 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 had a higher risk of long-term mortality.The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of 2 lockdown periods during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the course and management of nonhealing vascular ulcers of lower limbs. A total of 41 patients were included in the study. Before the pandemic began they had been seen at our unit at weekly intervals. During lockdown from March 9, 2020, to May 18, 2020 subjects were not allowed to enter the hospital unless they needed urgency or emergency surgery, or oncological management. During the second lockdown, from October 19, 2020, to December 11, 2020 patients could be followed up at distance by direct outreach including telephoning contacts. Data obtained early after each lockdown were compared with those obtained prior to the pandemic. Data for the first lockdown show that pain intensified and there was an increase in the recurrence rate of wounds, of their severity, and of superimposed infections as compared with the prelockdown period. The risk of lower-limb amputation was also considerably greater.