Calculation of test-retest variability in phase I/IIa clinical trials for Inherited Retinal Degenerations.

: Several novel treatments of inherited retinal degenerations have undergone phase I/IIa clinical trials with limited sample size, yet investigators must still determine if toxicity or an efficacy signal occurred or if the change was due to test-retest variability (TRV) of the measurement tool.: Synthetic datasets were used to compare three types of TRV estimators under different sample sizes, mean drift, skewness, and number of baseline measurements.: Mixed effects models underestimated the standard deviation of measurement error (SDEM); the unbiased change score estimator method (UBS) was more accurate.

Long-term follow up of systemic rituximab therapy as first-line and salvage therapy for idiopathic orbital inflammation and review of the literature.

Purpose: To report long-term outcomes of systemic rituximab therapy for idiopathic orbital inflammation (IOI) as both primary and salvage therapy and to review the English literature.

Methods: A retrospective review of four consecutive biopsy-proven IOI cases managed with systemic rituximab including demographics, management, and outcomes, and review of English literature, were performed. Primary outcome measures included resolution of symptoms, recurrence, and length of follow up.

Resuscitating the Socratic Method: Student and Faculty Perspectives on Posing Probing Questions During Clinical Teaching.

Purpose: Teaching by way of asking questions is a time-honored practice that has taken on the negative connotation of "pimping" among medical students and has made some faculty hesitant to ask students questions during clerkship rotations. Yet, quantitative studies exploring student perspectives on this practice are limited. This study aimed to solicit student and faculty views and investigate faculty perceptions of students' preferences.

Vision impairment and depression among older adults in low- and middle-income countries.

Objectives: To investigate the association between visual impairment (VI) and depression in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and the mediating role of disability and social participation.

Methods/design: The World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) provided data on objective and subjective visual function, depression, disability (WHODAS-12), and social participation for nationally representative samples of adults 50 years and older in China, India, Ghana, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa. Multivariable logistic and linear models were used to test the association between VI and depression and the indirect pathways through disability and social participation.

Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase in response to temperature elevation shows seasonal variation in the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha.

Global climate change is affecting ectothermic species, and a variety of studies are needed on thermal tolerances, especially from cellular and physiological perspectives. This study utilized AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key regulator of cellular energy levels, to examine the effects of high water temperatures on zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) physiology. During heating, AMPK activity increased as water temperature increased to a point, and maximum AMPK activity was detected at high, but sublethal, water temperatures.