Precision measurement with visual feedback using binary phase diffractive optical elements.

A novel method for obtaining precision measurements by using two binary diffractive optical elements is presented. The system provides visual feedback of the measurement without the use of electronics.

Is there a latent period for the surgical treatment of children with dense bilateral congenital cataracts?

Background: It generally is accepted that cataract surgery during the first 6 weeks of life is associated with the best visual outcomes for children with dense unilateral congenital cataracts. The latent period for children with dense bilateral congenital cataracts has not been clearly defined.

Methods: The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at 4 to 6 years of age was collected retrospectively on a series of 43 children with dense bilateral congenital cataracts from 4 institutions.

Functional expression of lepidopteran-selective neurotoxin in baculovirus: potential for effective pest management.

Recombinant baculovirus expressing insect-selective neurotoxins derived from venomous animals are considered as an attractive alternative to chemical insecticides for efficient insect control agents. Recently we identified and characterized a novel lepidopteran-selective toxin, Buthus tamulus insect-selective toxin (ButaIT), having 37 amino acids and eight half cysteine residues from the venom of the South Indian red scorpion, Mesobuthus tamulus. The synthetic toxin gene containing the ButaIT sequence in frame to the bombyxin signal sequence was engineered into a polyhedrin positive Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV) genome under the control of the p10 promoter.

A Beauveria phylogeny inferred from nuclear ITS and EF1-alpha sequences: evidence for cryptic diversification and links to Cordyceps teleomorphs.

Beauveria is a globally distributed genus of soil-borne entomopathogenic hyphomycetes of interest as a model system for the study of entomopathogenesis and the biological control of pest insects. Species recognition in Beauveria is difficult due to a lack of taxonomically informative morphology. This has impeded assessment of species diversity in this genus and investigation of their natural history.

Pediatric optic nerve sheath decompression.

Purpose: To review our experience with optic nerve sheath decompression for pediatric pseudotumor cerebri.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Participants: Seventeen eyes in 12 children younger than 16 years of age.

Posttraumatic abducens to oculomotor nerve misdirection.

Introduction: Paradoxical patterns of extraocular muscle, eyelid, or pupillary movements can occur following injury between divisions of the oculomotor nerve, trigeminal and abducens nerves, and trigeminal and oculomotor nerves. We report three cases of unusual ocular motility and eyelid movements that are a result of aberrant connections between the abducens and oculomotor nerves.

Methods: Three patients with unusual eye movement abnormalities after trauma were studied.

Stepping over obstacles to improve walking in individuals with poststroke hemiplegia.

For this study, we evaluated two training interventions for improving gait parameters in individuals with poststroke hemiplegia using a training methodology that required them to step over objects. Gait velocity, step length, ability to step over obstacles, and walking endurance were compared before and after 2 weeks of training and 2 weeks after cessation of training. Twenty subjects with poststroke hemiplegia completed six intervention sessions in which they were asked to step over either virtual objects while walking on a motorized treadmill or real foam objects on a 10 m walkway.

Optotype acuity and re-operation rate after unilateral cataract surgery during the first 6 months of life with or without IOL implantation.

Aims: To compare optotype acuities and re-operation rates in children corrected with a contact lens (CL) compared with an intraocular lens (IOL) following unilateral cataract extraction during infancy in a non-randomised, retrospective case series.

Methods: 25 infants with a unilateral congenital cataract underwent cataract surgery with (IOL group, n = 12) or without (CL group, n = 13) IOL implantation when <7 months of age. Optotype acuities were assessed in 19 of these children at a mean age of 4.

Perioperative plasma concentrations of stable nitric oxide products are predictive of cognitive dysfunction after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

In this study our objectives were to determine the incidence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) after laparoscopic cholecystectomy under sevoflurane anesthesia in patients aged >40 and <85 yr and to examine the associations between plasma concentrations of i) S-100beta protein and ii) stable nitric oxide (NO) products and POCD in this clinical setting. Neuropsychological tests were performed on 42 ASA physical status I-II patients the day before, and 4 days and 6 wk after surgery. Patient spouses (n = 13) were studied as controls.

Neurologic impairment 10 years after optic neuritis.

Background: Participants enrolled in the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial have been observed for more than a decade to assess the relationship between optic neuritis and the development of clinically definite multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To assess neurologic disability 10 to 12 years after an initial episode of optic neuritis.

Design: Longitudinal follow-up of a clinical trial.

The effect of increases in HMO penetration and changes in payer mix on in-hospital mortality and treatment patterns for acute myocardial infarction.

Objective: To determine whether changes in health maintenance organization (HMO) penetration or payer mix affected in-hospital mortality and treatment patterns of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Study Design: Observational study using patient-level logistic regression analysis and hospital and year fixed effects of data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a geographically diverse sample of 20% of the hospitalized patients in the United States.

Patients And Methods: Discharges of patients (n = 340,064) with a primary diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction who were treated in general medical or surgical hospitals that contributed at least 2 years of data to the HealthCare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 1989 to 1996.

Surgical treatment of upgaze palsy in Parinaud's syndrome.

Introduction: Upgaze paralysis due to supranuclear defects can cause significant visual symptoms. There are only a few reports on the treatment of this problem in the literature. Patients with Parinaud's syndrome may also have retraction nystagmus and convergence on attempted upgaze that further complicates the treatment.

Intraocular lens implantation during infancy: perceptions of parents and the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus members.

Background: To determine whether a randomized clinical trial, the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study, comparing intraocular lens (IOL) implantation with contact lens (CL) correction for infants with a unilateral congenital cataract (UCC), is feasible by (1) ascertaining whether American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) members have equipoise regarding these two treatments and (2) evaluating the willingness of parents to agree to randomization.

Methods: All AAPOS members were surveyed in August 1997 and again in June 2001 regarding their use of CLs and IOL implants to correct infants vision after unilateral cataract surgery. In addition, a pilot study was begun in March 2002 to evaluate the safety of IOL implantation during infancy and the willingness of parents to randomize their children with a UCC to either IOL implantation or CL correction.

Visual function more than 10 years after optic neuritis: experience of the optic neuritis treatment trial.

Purpose: To assess visual function more than 10 years after an episode of optic neuritis in patients enrolled in the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial.

Design: Longitudinal follow-up of a randomized clinical trial.

Methods: Vision testing included measures of visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and visual field.

All-fibre photonic crystal distributed Bragg reflector (PC-DBR) fibre laser.

We describe an Er3+-doped aluminosilicate core photonic crystal fibre laser incorporating distributed Bragg reflectors written by two-photon 193nm irradiation through an optical phase mask as the feedback elements. The laser is diode pumped at 980nm and evidence of dual linewidth laser operation close to threshold is observed. However, at higher pumping levels gain competition preferentially selects one laser line.

High- and low-risk profiles for the development of multiple sclerosis within 10 years after optic neuritis: experience of the optic neuritis treatment trial.

Objective: To identify factors associated with a high and low risk of developing multiple sclerosis after an initial episode of optic neuritis.

Methods: Three hundred eighty-eight patients who experienced acute optic neuritis between July 1, 1988, and June 30, 1991, were followed up prospectively for the development of multiple sclerosis. Consenting patients were reassessed after 10 to 13 years.

Propagation in air by field superposition of scattered light within a Fresnel fiber.

Propagation of light at 1.5 microm with peak intensity in an air hole is achieved within an air-silica-structured Fresnel waveguide. Thus a simpler fiber design alternative to photonic crystal fibers is possible for high-peak-power propagation with reduced nonlinear interactions.

Bragg gratings in air-silica structured fibers.

We report on grating writing in air-silica structured optical fibers with pure silica cores by use of two-photon absorption at 193 nm. A decrease in propagation loss with irradiation was observed. The characteristic growth curves were obtained.

Multiple source generation using air-structured optical waveguides for optical field shaping and transformation within and beyond the waveguide.

In this paper we review recent results describing the generation of optical modes within waveguides based on coherent scattering from artificially structured interfaces. The generation of optical waveguide propagation similar to free space propagation enables possible solutions to controlling and shaping optical field generation in free space using coherent scattering of multiple sources. It is shown that the controlled fabrication of such sources can be done simply with air-material structured waveguides such as air-silica structured fibres.

Postural instability in idiopathic Parkinson's disease: the role of medication and unilateral pallidotomy.

Postural instability (PI) is common in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). We measured sensory and motor contributions to PI in 50 patients with advanced IPD, off and on medication and in a subset pre- and 3, 6 and 12 months post-unilateral pallidotomy, using computerized dynamic posturography [specifically, the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) and the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) subscale PIGD (Postural Instability and Gait Disorder)]. Off medication, all patients had abnormal PIGD scores.

A framework for developing excellence as a clinical educator.

The current emphasis on providing quality undergraduate and postgraduate medical education has focused attention on the educational responsibilities of all doctors. There is a greater awareness of the need to train doctors as educators and courses have been set up to satisfy this need. Some courses, such as those on how to conduct appraisal, are specific to one task facing a medical educator.

A comparison of grating visual acuity, strabismus, and reoperation outcomes among children with aphakia and pseudophakia after unilateral cataract surgery during the first six months of life.

Purpose: The method of correcting aphakia after unilateral cataract extraction during infancy is controversial. Some authorities advocate correction with an intraocular lens (IOL) whereas others advocate correction with a contact lens (CL). We compared grating visual acuity, alignment, and reoperative outcomes in age-matched children treated with these 2 modalities at 5 clinical centers.