Tribal Odisha Eye Disease Study (TOES # 2) Rayagada school screening program: efficacy of multistage screening of school teachers in detection of impaired vision and other ocular anomalies.

Purpose: To describe program planning and effectiveness of multistage school eye screening and assess accuracy of teachers in vision screening and detection of other ocular anomalies in Rayagada District School Sight Program, Odisha, India.

Methods: This multistage screening of students included as follows: stage I: screening for vision and other ocular anomalies by school teachers in the school; stage II: photorefraction, subjective correction and other ocular anomaly confirmation by optometrists in the school; stage III: comprehensive ophthalmologist examination in secondary eye center; and stage IV: pediatric ophthalmologist examination in tertiary eye center. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of teachers for vision screening and other ocular anomaly detection were calculated vis-à-vis optometrist (gold standard).

The Tribal Odisha Eye Disease Study (TOES) 1: prevalence and causes of visual impairment among tribal children in an urban school in Eastern India.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence and causes of visual impairment and other ocular comorbidities among tribal children in an urban school population in eastern India.

Method: In this cross-sectional study, vision screening tests were administered to tribal school children. Demographic data, including name, age, sex, home district, height, and weight of each child, and examination data, including unaided and pinhole visual acuity, external eye examination with a flashlight, slit-lamp examination, intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, and undilated fundus photography, were collected.

Differential induction of Leishmania donovani bi-subunit topoisomerase I-DNA cleavage complex by selected flavones and camptothecin: activity of flavones against camptothecin-resistant topoisomerase I.

Emergence of the bi-subunit topoisomerase I in the kinetoplastid family (Trypanosoma and Leishmania) has brought a new twist in topoisomerase research related to evolution, functional conservation and preferential sensitivities to the specific inhibitors of type IB topoisomerase family. In the present study, we describe that naturally occurring flavones baicalein, luteolin and quercetin are potent inhibitors of the recombinant Leishmania donovani topoisomerase I. These compounds bind to the free enzyme and also intercalate into the DNA at a very high concentration (300 microM) without binding to the minor grove.