The Dialectic Between Empathy and Violence: An Opportunity for Intervention?

The authors provide a comprehensive review of the neurobiology of empathy and compare this with the neurobiology of psychopathic predatory violence-the most extreme deficit of empathy. This suggests that the specific areas of the prefrontal cortex and limbic system, which have been associated with violent behavior, also appear to subserve the capacity for empathy. Damage to these regions may result in the emergence of aggression, but not of empathy, suggesting a structurally inverse relationship between the two.

Biometric characteristics of eyes with exfoliation syndrome and occludable as well as open angles and eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma.

Objective: To describe differences in axial length scan (A-scan) and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) parameters in eyes with exfoliation syndrome (XFS) and occludable angles (XFSOc), XFS and open angles (XFSOp), and eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.

Participants: Seventy-two eyes of 72 patients (mostly Caucasians) were identified through glaucoma clinics at the University of Ottawa;19 eyes had XFSOc, 31 eyes XFSOp, and 22 eyes POAG.

Ultrasound biomicroscopy characterization of acrylic, silicone, and polymethyl methacrylate lenses in vitro.

Background: This study aims to characterize the reflective properties of some commonly used intraocular lenses (IOLs) in vitro, with a particular focus on lens haptics.

Methods: Six different types of IOLs, representative of silicone, acrylic, and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), single, multipiece, and multifocal were imaged using high-resolution ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM).

Results: Reflectivity patterns were distinct to the material that was being imaged irrespective of whether the part being imaged was the haptic or optic.

Clinical features distinguishing angle closure from pseudoplateau versus plateau iris.

Purpose: To evaluate clinical aspects of patients with the diagnosis of plateau iris (PI) or pseudoplateau iris (PPI) made by ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) in order to determine if there are any clinical factors that can help differentiate between these two entities.

Method: A retrospective cohort of consecutive UBM patients with the diagnosis of PI or PPI. The diagnosis of PI was based on an anteriorly positioned ciliary body that abutted the peripheral iris, a narrow (<10 degrees) or closed angle for at least 180 degrees, and the anterior portion of the iris positioned anterior to scleral spur.