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Anton-Babinski syndrome is a rare extension of cortical blindness following injury to the occipital lobe. The patient behaves as sighted but has visual function derangements. The posterior cerebral artery (PCA) stroke represents 5% to 10% of total strokes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown a rise in stroke cases. We present a case of this rare PCA stroke, first diagnosed by an ophthalmologist. This case had an inconsistent initial presentation, but subsequent computed tomography of the brain and other neurological investigations confirmed the diagnosis. If such cases are diagnosed early, they could have better management. Timely intervention can decrease morbidity as well as mortality.

Purpose: To study corneal endothelial changes post phacoemulsification in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Methods: A comparative, prospective, observational study was conducted on 100 diabetic and 100 non-diabetics who underwent phacoemulsification. All patients were operated by the same surgeon by using the phaco chop technique to exclude any surgeon-related bias. Endothelial cell count, CCT, and coefficient of variance (CV) were measured with a specular microscope along with BCVA preoperatively and at 1 week, 4 weeks, and 3 months postoperatively. For statistical analysis, data were analyzed by using SPSS (version 27.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Data were summarized as mean and standard deviation for numerical variables and count and percentages for categorical variables. Chi square test, independent sample T test, and paired T test were used to compare the data. P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Postoperatively at 1 week, 4-week, and 3 months follow-up intervals, the mean endothelial cell count and coefficient of variance were significantly higher, and the mean percentage of hexagonal cells was significantly lower in non diabetic as compared to the diabetic group. A significant difference in mean central corneal thickness of the two groups was observed at 1-week and 4-weeks postoperative intervals; at both these intervals, the mean value was significantly higher in non diabetic as compared to the non-diabetic group. However, at 3-months post-operative interval, the difference between the two groups was not significant statistically. Mean BCVA values were significantly higher in diabetic as compared to the diabetic group at all three follow-up intervals. Conclusion: The findings of the present study show that endothelial cell characteristics are adversely affected in diabetic eyes as compared to non-diabetic patients undergoing phacoemulsification; this might also have an effect on the visual outcomes.

Purpose: To evaluate peripapillary-RNFL thickness in myopia by Cirrus OCT among north Indian population by spherical equivalent (SE), age, gender, and axial length (AL). Methods: This was a cross-sectional study held during 2019-2020. Patients aged 18-60 years underwent ophthalmic examination including retinoscopy, AL, and OCT RNFL thickness. Persons with previous ocular surgery or ocular ailment other than refractive error were excluded. The peripapillary-RNFL thickness was noted and compared by demographic determinants. Results: We examined 300 eyes of 300 persons (mean age: 30.75 ± 8.57 years; 144 males/156 females). Among them, 224 were myopes and 76 were emmetropes (EM). The mean SE was − 3.3 ± 0.4D (range: −11.0D to + 0.37D). The mean AL was 24.61 ± 1.92 mm (22.1-29.5). Overall temporal, nasal, superior, inferior, and mean peripapillary-RNFL thickness was 66.31 ± 7.58, 78.57 ± 16.00, 120.63 ± 11.69, 116.60 ± 15.80, and 95.50 ± 10.84 μm, respectively. Temporal, nasal, superior, inferior, and mean peripapillary-RNFL thickness was 73.97 ± 8.36, 94.84 ± 7.63, 127.96 ± 8.96, 136.89 ± 6.53, and 108.34 ± 6.28 μm, respectively, in EM eyes as compared to 63.71 ± 6.18, 73.05 ± 14.24, 118.21 ± 11.53, 109.71 ± 11.50, and 91.14 ± 8.31 μm, respectively, in myopic eyes (P < 0.001). Association of peripapillary-RNFL thickness with myopia and its different grades was P < 0.001. Association of mean peripapillary-RNFL thickness with age was P > 0.005 and gender was P = 0.168. Correlation between SE and RNFL thickness was positive and significant. Correlation between AL and RNFL thickness was negative but statistically significant. Association of AL with SE was P < 0.001. Conclusion: We provide normative peripapillary-RNFL thickness in the north Indian population in order to help in screening for myopia with comorbidity such as glaucoma based on RNFL thickness.

Anton-Babinski syndrome is a rare extension of cortical blindness following injury to the occipital lobe. The patient behaves as sighted but has visual function derangements. The posterior cerebral artery (PCA) stroke represents 5% to 10% of total strokes. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown a rise in stroke cases. We present a case of this rare PCA stroke, first diagnosed by an ophthalmologist. This case had an inconsistent initial presentation, but subsequent computed tomography of the brain and other neurological investigations confirmed the diagnosis. If such cases are diagnosed early, they could have better management. Timely intervention can decrease morbidity as well as mortality.

A significant majority of the population in India makes their living through agriculture. Different illnesses that develop due to changing weather patterns and are caused by pathogenic organisms impact the yields of diverse plant species. The present article analyzed some of the existing techniques in terms of data sources, pre-processing techniques, feature extraction techniques, data augmentation techniques, models utilized for detecting and classifying diseases that affect the plant, how the quality of images was enhanced, how overfitting of the model was reduced, and accuracy. The research papers for this study were selected using various keywords from peer-reviewed publications from various databases published between 2010 and 2022. A total of 182 papers were identified and reviewed for their direct relevance to plant disease detection and classification, of which 75 papers were selected for this review after exclusion based on the title, abstract, conclusion, and full text. Researchers will find this work to be a useful resource in recognizing the potential of various existing techniques through data-driven approaches while identifying plant diseases by enhancing system performance and accuracy.

Fruit that has reached maturity is ready to be harvested. The prediction of fruit maturity and quality is important not only for farmers or the food industry but also for small retail stores and supermarkets where fruits are sold and purchased. Fruit maturity classification is the process by which fruits are classified according to their maturity in their life cycle. Nowadays, deep learning (DL) has been applied in many applications of smart agriculture such as water and soil management, crop planting, crop disease detection, weed removal, crop distribution, strong fruit counting, crop harvesting, and production forecasting. This study aims to find the best deep learning algorithms which can be used for the prediction of fruit maturity and quality for the shelf life of fruit. In this study, two datasets of banana fruit are used, where we create the first dataset, and the second dataset is taken from Kaggle, named Fruit 360. Our dataset contains 2100 images in 3 categories: ripe, unripe, and over-ripe, each of 700 images. An image augmentation technique is used to maximize the dataset size to 18,900. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) and AlexNet techniques are used for building the model for both datasets. The original dataset achieved an accuracy of 98.25% for the CNN model and 81.75% for the AlexNet model, while the augmented dataset achieved an accuracy of 99.36% for the CNN model and 99.44% for the AlexNet model. The Fruit 360 dataset achieved an accuracy of 81.96% for CNN and 81.75% for the AlexNet model. We concluded that for all three datasets of banana images, the proposed CNN model is the best suitable DL algorithm for bananas’ fruit maturity classification and quality detection.

Background. 'Mirror syndrome' (Ballantyne's syndrome) refers to the association of fetal hydrops with placentomegaly and severe maternal edema. Preeclampsia occurs in approximately 50% of these cases. Soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (sVEGFR-1), an anti-angiogenic factor, has been implicated in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia (PE). Objective. The objective of this study was to determine if the maternal plasma concentration of sVEGFR-1 is elevated in patients with mirror syndrome. Study design. This case-control study included patients with uncomplicated pregnancies (n = 40) and those with mirror syndrome (n = 4) matched for gestational age. Mirror syndrome was defined as fetal hydrops and severe maternal edema. Maternal plasma sVEGFR-1 concentrations were determined using specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Immunohistochemistry of sVEGFR-1 on villous trophoblasts was also performed in samples from one patient with mirror syndrome and compared with those from a patient with spontaneous preterm delivery matched for gestational age. Non-parametric statistics were used for analysis (p < 0.05). Results. (1) The median maternal plasma concentration of sVEGFR-1 was significantly higher in patients with mirror syndrome than in the control group (median: 3974 pg mL, range: 3083-10 780 vs. median: 824 pg mL, range: 260-4712, respectively; p < 0.001). (2) All patients with mirror syndrome had sVEGFR-1 concentrations above the 95th percentile for gestational age. Syncytiotrophoblast, especially syncytial knots, showed strong staining with antibodies against sVEGFR-1 in placental samples from the patient with mirror syndrome, but not in those from the patient with spontaneous preterm delivery. Conclusion. High maternal plasma concentrations of sVEGFR-1 were observed in mirror syndrome. We propose that this anti-angiogenic factor may participate in the pathophysiology of this syndrome. Thus, maternal plasma determination of sVEGFR-1 may help to identify the hydropic fetus that places the mother at risk for preeclampsia.

Objectives. Placental growth hormone (PGH) is a pregnancy-specific protein produced by syncytiotrophoblast and extravillous cytotrophoblast. No other cells have been reported to synthesize PGH Maternal. PGH Serum concentration increases with advancing gestational age, while quickly decreasing after delivery of the placenta. The biological properties of PGH include somatogenic, lactogenic, and lipolytic functions. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the maternal serum concentrations of PGH change in women with preeclampsia (PE), women with PE who deliver a small for gestational age neonate (PE + SGA), and those with SGA alone. Study design. This cross-sectional study included maternal serum from normal pregnant women (n = 61), patients with severe PE (n = 48), PE + SGA (n = 30), and SGA alone (n = 41). Fetal cord blood from uncomplicated pregnancies (n = 16) and PE (n = 16) was also analyzed. PGH concentrations were measured by ELISA. Non-parametric statistics were used for analysis. Results. (1) Women with severe PE had a median serum concentration of PGH higher than normal pregnant women (PE: median 23,076 pg mL (3473-94 256) vs. normal pregnancy: median 12 157 pg mL (2617-34 016); p < 0.05), pregnant women who delivered an SGA neonate (SGA: median 10 206 pg mL (1816-34 705); p < 0.05), as well as pregnant patients with PE and SGA (PE + SGA: median 11 027 pg mL (1232-61 702); p < 0.05). (2) No significant differences were observed in the median maternal serum concentration of PGH among pregnant women with PE and SGA, SGA alone, and normal pregnancy (p > 0.05). (3) Compared to those of the control group, the median umbilical serum concentration of PGH was significantly higher in newborns of preeclamptic women (PE: median 356.1 pg mL (72.6-20 946), normal pregnancy: median 128.5 pg mL (21.6-255.9); p < 0.01). (4) PGH was detected in all samples of cord blood. Conclusions. (1) PE is associated with higher median concentrations of PGH in both the maternal and fetal circulation compared to normal pregnancy. (2) Patients with PE + SGA had lower maternal serum concentrations of PGH than preeclamptic patients without SGA. (3) Contrary to previous findings, PGH was detectable in the fetal circulation. The observations reported herein are novel and suggest that PGH may play a role in the mechanisms of disease in preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction.

Objective. Women with preeclampsia and those who deliver small for gestational age (SGA) neonates are characterized by intravascular inflammation (T helper 1 (Th1)-biased immune response). There is controversy about the T helper 2 (Th2) response in preeclampsia and SGA. CD30, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, is preferentially expressed in vitro and in vivo by activated T cells producing Th2-type cytokines. Its soluble form (sCD30) has been proposed to be an index of Th2 immune response. The objective of this study was to determine whether the maternal serum concentration of sCD30 changes with normal pregnancy, as well as in mothers with preeclampsia and those who deliver SGA neonates. Methods. This cross-sectional study included patients in the following groups: (1) non-pregnant women (N = 49); (2) patients with a normal pregnancy (N = 89); (3) patients with preeclampsia (N = 100); and (4) patients who delivered an SGA neonate (N = 78). Maternal serum concentration of sCD30 was measured by a specific and sensitive enzyme-linked immunoassay. Non-parametric tests with post-hoc analysis were used for comparisons. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. (1) The median sCD30 serum concentration of pregnant women was significantly higher than that of non-pregnant women (median 29.7 U mL, range 12.2-313.2 vs. median 23.2 U mL, range 14.6-195.1, respectively; p = 0.01). (2) Patients with preeclampsia had a significantly lower median serum concentration of sCD30 than normal pregnant women (median 24.7 U mL, range 7.6-71.2 vs. median 29.7 U mL, range 12.2-313.2, respectively; p < 0.05). (3) Mothers with SGA neonates had a lower median concentration of sCD30 than normal pregnant women (median 23.4 U mL, range 7.1-105.3 vs. median 29.7 U mL, range 12.2-313.2, respectively; p < 0.05). (4) There was no significant correlation (r = −0.059, p = 0.5) between maternal serum sCD30 concentration and gestational age (19-38 weeks) in normal pregnant women. Conclusions. (1) Patients with preeclampsia and those who deliver an SGA neonate had a significantly lower serum concentration of sCD30 than normal pregnant women. (2) This finding is consistent with the view that preeclampsia and SGA are associated with a polarized Th1 immune response and, perhaps, a reduced Th2 response.

Objective. Interferon (IFN)-γ inducible protein, CXCL10 IP-10, is a member of the CXC chemokine family with pro-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic properties. This chemokine has been proposed to be a key link between inflammation and angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine whether preeclampsia and delivery of a small for gestational age (SGA) neonate are associated with changes in maternal serum concentration of CXCL10 IP-10. Study design. This cross-sectional study included patients in the following groups: (1) non-pregnant women (N = 49); (2) women with normal pregnancies (N = 89); (3) patients with preeclampsia (N = 100); and (4) patients who delivered an SGA neonate (N = 78). SGA was defined as birth weight below the 10th percentile. Maternal serum concentrations of CXCL10 IP-10 were measured by sensitive immunoassay. Non-parametric statistics were used for analysis. Results. (1) Patients with normal pregnancies had a significantly higher median serum concentration of CXCL10 IP-10 than non-pregnant women (median 116.1 pg mL, range 40.7-1314.3 vs. median 90.3 pg mL, range 49.2-214.7, respectively; p = 0.002); (2) no significant correlation was found between maternal serum concentration of CXCL10 IP-10 and gestational age (between 19 and 38 weeks); (3) there were no differences in median serum CXCL10 IP-10 concentrations between patients who delivered an SGA neonate and those with normal pregnancies (median 122.4 pg mL, range 37.3-693.5 vs. median 116.1 pg mL, range 40.7-1314.3, respectively; p > 0.05); (4) patients with preeclampsia had a higher median serum concentration of CXCL10 IP-10 than normal pregnant women (median 156.4 pg mL, range 47.4-645.9 vs. median 116.1 pg mL, range 40.7-1314.3, respectively; p < 0.05); (5) patients with preeclampsia had a higher median concentration of CXCL10 IP-10 than those who delivered an SGA neonate (median 156.4 pg mL, range 47.4-645.9 vs. median 122.4 pg mL, range 37.3-693.5, respectively; p < 0.05). Conclusions. Patients with preeclampsia have significantly higher serum concentrations of CXCL10 IP-10 than both normal pregnant women and mothers who have SGA neonates. These results are likely to reflect an anti-angiogenic state as well as an enhanced systemic inflammatory response in patients with preeclampsia. Alternatively, since preeclampsia and SGA share several mechanisms of disease, it is possible that a higher concentration of this chemokine may contribute to the clinical presentation of preeclampsia in patients with a similar intrauterine insult.