Neural assemblies coordinated by cortical waves are associated with waking and hallucinatory brain states.

The relationship between sensory stimuli and perceptions is brain-state dependent: in wakefulness, suprathreshold stimuli evoke perceptions; under anesthesia, perceptions are abolished; and during dreaming and in dissociated states, percepts are internally generated. Here, we exploit this state dependence to identify brain activity associated with internally generated or stimulus-evoked perceptions. In awake mice, visual stimuli phase reset spontaneous cortical waves to elicit 3-6 Hz feedback traveling waves.

Alternative end-joining results in smaller deletions in heterochromatin relative to euchromatin.

Pericentromeric heterochromatin is highly enriched for repetitive sequences prone to aberrant recombination. Previous studies showed that homologous recombination (HR) repair is uniquely regulated in this domain to enable 'safe' repair while preventing aberrant recombination. In cells, DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) relocalize to the nuclear periphery through nuclear actin-driven directed motions before recruiting the strand invasion protein Rad51 and completing HR repair.

Neural assemblies coordinated by cortical waves are associated with waking and hallucinatory brain states.

The relationship between sensory stimuli and perceptions is brain-state dependent: in wakefulness stimuli evoke perceptions; under anesthesia perceptions are abolished; during dreaming and in dissociated states, percepts are internally generated. Here, we exploit this state dependence to identify brain activity associated with internally generated or stimulus-evoked perception. In awake mice, visual stimuli phase reset spontaneous cortical waves to elicit 3-6 Hz feedback traveling waves.

Visual evoked feedforward-feedback traveling waves organize neural activity across the cortical hierarchy in mice.

Sensory processing is distributed among many brain regions that interact via feedforward and feedback signaling. Neuronal oscillations have been shown to mediate intercortical feedforward and feedback interactions. Yet, the macroscopic structure of the multitude of such oscillations remains unclear.

Novel open-source 3D-printed eye mount (TEMPO) for the ophthalmology wet lab.

Objective: Procuring an affordable eye mount that can stabilise a cadaveric eye and simulate a patient's normal facial contours represents an ongoing challenge in the ophthalmology simulation wet lab, with notable limitations to all currently available commercial options. This project uses computer-assisted design and three-dimensional (3D)-printing techniques to tackle these challenges for ophthalmologic surgical training.

Methods And Analysis: Proof-of-concept study.

Face and content validity of an artificial eye model for Ab-Interno Goniotomy.

Purpose: To determine the face and content validity of an artificial eye model for ab-interno goniotomy (SimulEYE KDB model, InsEYEt, Westlake Village, CA) by surveying ophthalmologists with varying experience using a Kahook Dual Blade (KDB; New World Medical, Rancho Cucamonga, CA, USA) following a 90-min wet-lab course using the model.

Participants: Overall 13 ophthalmologists participated following a surgical simulation session on goniotomy using the goniotomy blade at the 2019 Canadian Ophthalmological Society annual meeting.

Methods: A 17-question survey to assess the face and content validity of the model was given immediately following the surgical simulation session on goniotomy using the goniotomy blade.

Canadian Opinions on Refractive Surgery and Approaches to Presbyopia Correction.

Purpose: To explore the opinions of Canadian ophthalmologists on refractive and presbyopia-correcting surgeries.

Methods: We distributed an online survey to the Canadian Ophthalmological Society members, covering laser refractive surgery (LRS), femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS), lenticular refractive surgery (lenRS) that includes cataract refractive surgery (CRS) with premium intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, and presbyopia correction.

Results: There were 68 (7.

Competency-based medical education in ophthalmology residency training: a review.

Competency-based medical education (CBME) is an outcomes-based training model that has become the new standard of medical education internationally. Regulatory and accrediting bodies have responded by establishing key competencies that residency programs may use to reshape their curricula. Available literature on the implementation of CBME in ophthalmology residency training programs across North America was examined.

Competency-Based Education Assessment Tools for Laser Capsulotomy, Peripheral Iridotomy, and Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty.

Purpose: To produce Competency-Based Education Assessment Tools (C-BEAT) for performance of neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser capsulotomy, laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI), and selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) on an artificial eye model that can be used in competency-based medical education (CBME) of ophthalmology residents.

Design: Survey.

Participants: Eight content experts (residency program director and faculty members involved in ophthalmology resident training).

Association of pseudoexfoliation syndrome with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) is a systemic disease, but evidence of its association with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cerebrovascular disease (CVA) is controversial. A quantitative systematic review will provide an accurate summary of the current body of the literature.

Design: Meta-analysis.

Opinions on corrective refractive surgery.

Objective: To investigate public perception that ophthalmologists are hesitant to undergo refractive surgery by determining the personal opinions of ophthalmologists on different surgical options.

Design: Prospective cross-sectional survey.

Participants: Members of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery electronic mailing list.

Distinctive Infectious Complications in Patients with Central Nervous System Lymphoma Undergoing Thiotepa, Busulfan, and Cyclophosphamide-conditioned Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation.

We investigated the incidence of viral, fungal, bacterial, and parasitic infections observed in 57 patients with central nervous system lymphoma after thiotepa, busulfan, and cyclophosphamide-conditioned autologous stem cell transplantation (TBC-ASCT) and 79 patients with systemic non-Hodgkin lymphoma after traditional carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan-conditioned ASCT (BEAM-ASCT). Twenty of 57 (35%) TBC-ASCT patients had detectable viremia with human herpesvirus 6, cytomegalovirus, adenovirus, or BK virus, versus 9 of 79 (11%) BEAM-ASCT patients. Eight TBC-ASCT patients had clinically relevant viral infections (4 human herpesvirus 6, 2 cytomegalovirus, 1 adenovirus, 2 BK virus), versus 0 in the BEAM-ASCT group.

Evaluation of occupational ocular trauma: are we doing enough to promote eye safety in the workplace?

Objective: The aim of this study was to document the use of eye personal protective equipment (PPE) by patients who had sustained an eye injury in the workplace and to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of these patients.

Design: Case-control study.

Participants: All adult patients who had sustained an eye injury in the workplace and presented to the urgent ophthalmology clinic of a tertiary care hospital from October 1, 2013, to November 30, 2014, were eligible for inclusion.

Hospitalists on an inpatient tertiary care oncology teaching service.

Purpose: Hospitalists provide quality care in various inpatient settings, but the ability of hospitalists to provide quality inpatient care for patients with complex cancer has not been studied. This study explores outcomes with a hospitalist-led versus medical oncologist-led house staff team on an inpatient medical GI oncology teaching service.

Methods: This observational retrospective cohort study examined 829 patient discharges from August 2012 to January 2013 on the GI oncology inpatient teaching service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, a tertiary cancer center in New York, New York.

Longitudinal fluorescent observation of retinal degeneration and regeneration in zebrafish using fundus lens imaging.

Purpose: Longitudinal observation of retinal degeneration and regeneration in animal models is time-consuming and expensive. To address this challenge, we used a custom fundus lens and zebrafish transgenic lines with cell-specific fluorescent reporters to document the state of individual retinal neurons in vivo.

Methods: We empirically tested several versions of a custom fundus lens and assessed its capabilities under a stereomicroscope to image retinal neurons in transgenic zebrafish lines expressing fluorescent reporters.

Disparities in healthcare utilisation rates for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Albertan residents, 1997-2006: a population database study.

Background: It is widely recognised that significant discrepancies exist between the health of indigenous and non-indigenous populations. Whilst the reasons are incompletely defined, one potential cause is that indigenous communities do not access healthcare to the same extent. We investigated healthcare utilisation rates in the Canadian Aboriginal population to elucidate the contribution of this fundamental social determinant for health to such disparities.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence and its role in assessing the value of new cancer treatments in England and Wales.

The boundaries of medical science in the treatment of cancer are constantly extending. Developments of existing treatments, innovative approaches, new discoveries, and more targeted therapeutic options are translating into practice. With advances come increasing costs, often of a magnitude that stretches finite financial resources.

Engineered antibody Fc variants with enhanced effector function.

Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, a key effector function for the clinical efficacy of monoclonal antibodies, is mediated primarily through a set of closely related Fcgamma receptors with both activating and inhibitory activities. By using computational design algorithms and high-throughput screening, we have engineered a series of Fc variants with optimized Fcgamma receptor affinity and specificity. The designed variants display >2 orders of magnitude enhancement of in vitro effector function, enable efficacy against cells expressing low levels of target antigen, and result in increased cytotoxicity in an in vivo preclinical model.

Hyaluronan participates in the epidermal response to disruption of the permeability barrier in vivo.

Hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid, HA) is a glycosaminoglycan in the extracellular matrix of tissues that plays a role in cellular migration, proliferation and differentiation. Injury to the stratum corneum elicits an epidermal hyperproliferative response, a pathogenic feature in many cutaneous diseases including eczema and psoriasis. Because HA is abundant in the matrix between keratinocytes, we asked whether the presence of HA is required for epidermal hyperplasia to occur in response to barrier injury.

Development of a cytokine analog with enhanced stability using computational ultrahigh throughput screening.

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is used worldwide to prevent neutropenia caused by high-dose chemotherapy. It has limited stability, strict formulation and storage requirements, and because of poor oral absorption must be administered by injection (typically daily). Thus, there is significant interest in developing analogs with improved pharmacological properties.