Anesthetic Effects on Neuronally-based Resting-state Functional Connectivity (S43.008).

Objective: To investigate the impact of tribromoethanol, isoflurane, and ketamine/xylazine on neuronally- and hemodynamically-based functional connectivity.

Background: Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) captures correlated signals among brain regions while at rest. In humans, RSFC is imaged using fMRI by tracking spontaneous blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fluctuations.

Accuracy and Readability of ChatGPT Responses to Patient-Centric Strabismus Questions.

Purpose: To assess the medical accuracy and readability of responses provided by ChatGPT (OpenAI), the most widely used artificial intelligence-powered chat-bot, regarding questions about strabismus.

Methods: Thirty-four questions were input into ChatGPT 3.5 (free version) and 4.

Development of a Highly Multiplexed RT-LAMP Assay for Coverage of Genetic Sequence Diversity.

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) can achieve high accuracy for diagnosing infectious diseases by targeting conserved genetic sequences specific to the target organism. Isothermal NAATs, such as reverse-transcription loop mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP), simplify instrumentation requirements, facilitating point-of-care testing. However, sequence variation due to genetic variability can cause false negative results.

Impaired Resting State Functional Connectivity in CADASIL Mutant Mice.

Cerebral autosomal-dominant arteriopathy, subcortical infarcts, and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is the most prevalent monogenic inherited cause of cerebral small-vessel disease. Despite its prevalence, there is currently no proven therapy to prevent or reverse the progression of the disease. This study aimed to characterize the functional integrity of long white matter tracts in CADASIL transgenic mice, both with and without focal white matter lesions in the corpus callosum added on, utilizing optical resting-state functional connectivity imaging alongside behavioral examinations.

Photodynamic antimicrobial therapy with Erythrosin B, Eosin Y, and Rose Bengal for the inhibition of fungal keratitis isolates: An in vitro study.

Introduction: Fungal keratitis is a leading cause of corneal blindness, with current antifungal treatments having limited efficacy. One promising treatment modality is Rose Bengal (RB) photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (PDAT) that has shown mixed success against fungal keratitis. Therefore, there is a need to explore the antimicrobial efficacy of other green-light activated photosensitizers that have deep penetration in the cornea to combat the deep fungal infections, such as Erythrosin B (EB) and Eosin Y (EY).

Longitudinal Assessment of Ocular Biomarkers in Individuals With Gulf War Illness Symptoms.

Introduction: Gulf War illness (GWI) is characterized by a constellation of symptoms, including, but not limited to, diarrhea, fatigue, and memory problems that affect Gulf War veterans. Currently, there are no objective biomarkers for GWI. Previous studies have identified differences in optical coherence tomography (OCT) metrics between individuals with GWI symptoms and those without.

Enhancing Rose Bengal penetration in human corneas using iontophoresis.

Rose Bengal photodynamic antimicrobial therapy (RB-PDAT) has poor corneal penetration, limiting its efficacy against acanthamoeba keratitis (AK). Iontophoresis enhances corneal permeation of charged molecules, piquing interest in its effects on RB in human corneas. Five donor whole globes each underwent iontophoresis with RB, soaking in RB, or were soaked in normal saline (controls).

Combination Treatment of Biochanin A and Atorvastatin Alters Mitochondrial Bioenergetics, Modulating Cell Metabolism and Inducing Cell Cycle Arrest in Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

Background/aim: Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive type of cancer, with a dismally low survival rate of <5%. FDA-approved drugs like gemcitabine have shown little therapeutic success, prolonging survival by a mere six months. Isoflavones, such as biochanin A and daidzein, are known to exhibit anti-cancer activity, whereas statins reportedly have anti-proliferative effects.

Living with your biome: how the bacterial microbiome impacts ocular surface health and disease.

Introduction: Microbiome research has grown exponentially but the ocular surface microbiome (OSM) remains an area in need of further study. This review aims to explore its complexity, disease-related microbial changes, and immune interactions, and highlights the potential for its manipulation as a therapeutic for ocular surface diseases.

Areas Covered: We introduce the OSM by location and describe what constitutes a normal OSM.

Large-volume RT-LAMP enables extraction-free amplification of HIV RNA from fingerstick plasma.

Background: Point-of-care (POC) nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) can significantly expand testing coverage, which is critical for infectious disease diagnostics and monitoring. The development of various isothermal amplification techniques greatly simplifies NAATs, but the cumbersome nucleic acid extraction step remains a bottleneck for the POC. Alternatively, extraction-free amplification, where crude samples are directly added into the assay, substantially simplifies the workflow.

Impact of the geriatric emergency medicine specialist intervention on final emergency department disposition.

Background: The Geriatric Emergency Medicine Specialist (GEMS) pilot program is an innovative approach that utilizes geriatric-trained advanced practice providers to facilitate geriatric assessments and care planning for older adults in the emergency department (ED). The objective of this study was to explore the effect of GEMS on the use of observation status and final ED disposition.

Methods: This was a retrospective study under a target trial emulation framework.

Sensitive Pathogen Detection and Drug Resistance Characterization Using Pathogen-Derived Enzyme Activity Amplified by LAMP or CRISPR-Cas.

Pathogens encapsulate or encode their own suite of enzymes to facilitate replication in the host. The pathogen-derived enzymes possess specialized activities that are essential for pathogen replication and have naturally been candidates for drug targets. Phenotypic assays detecting the activities of pathogen-derived enzymes and characterizing their inhibition under drugs offer an opportunity for pathogen detection, drug resistance testing for individual patients, and as a research tool for new drug development.

Unveiling the Complex World of Extracellular Vesicles: Novel Characterization Techniques and Manufacturing Considerations.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) function as potent mediators of intercellular communication for many in vivo processes, contributing to both health and disease related conditions. Given their biological origins and diverse functionality from correspondingly unique "cargo" compositions, both endogenous and modified EVs are garnering attention as promising therapeutic modalities and vehicles for targeted therapeutic delivery applications. Their diversity in composition, however, has revealed a significant need for more comprehensive analytical-based characterization methods, and manufacturing processes that are consistent and scalable.

Lipids from ocular meibum and tears may serve as biomarkers for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Background: There is a need to develop biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction of treatment responses in depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Methods: Cross-sectional study examining correlations between tear inflammatory proteins, meibum and tear sphingolipids, and symptoms of depression and PTSD-associated anxiety. Ninety individuals filled depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 9, PHQ-9) and PTSD-associated anxiety (PTSD Checklist-Military Version, PCL-M) questionnaires.

Dementia risk analysis using temporal event modeling on a large real-world dataset.

The objective of the study is to identify healthcare events leading to a diagnosis of dementia from a large real-world dataset. This study uses a data-driven approach to identify temporally ordered pairs and trajectories of healthcare codes in the electronic health record (EHR). This allows for discovery of novel temporal risk factors leading to an outcome of interest that may otherwise be unobvious.

Clinical Outcome of Cystoid Macular Edema in Silicone Oil-Filled Eyes.

To investigate the clinical outcome of cystoid macular edema (CME) in eyes undergoing silicone oil (SO) tamponade with subsequent SO removal (SOR). A retrospective case series of adult patients with CME treated with SO tamponade and SOR was conducted between January 2015 and January 2021. Exclusion criteria included eyes with a prior SO tamponade, those that did not undergo SOR, or those with infectious/inflammatory diagnoses.

What Are Patients Asking Online About Strabismus? An Analysis of the Strabismus Subreddit.

Background: Reddit is particularly popular due to its anonymity and discussion forum-type format. As an increasing number of patients seek medical advice on social media online, understanding patients' activity regarding strabismus on Reddit will help assess their concerns and guide patient education.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of Reddit posts (www.

Unexplained Vision Loss Associated With Intraocular Silicone Oil Tamponade in Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Repair.

To evaluate the visual outcomes with unexplained vision loss during or after silicone oil (SO) tamponade. This multicenter retrospective case series comprised patients with unexplained vision loss associated with SO tamponade or its removal. Eyes with other clear secondary identifiable causes of vision loss were excluded.

Natural Products and Small Molecules Targeting Cellular Ceramide Metabolism to Enhance Apoptosis in Cancer Cells.

Molecular targeting strategies have been used for years in order to control cancer progression and are often based on targeting various enzymes involved in metabolic pathways. Keeping this in mind, it is essential to determine the role of each enzyme in a particular metabolic pathway. In this review, we provide in-depth information on various enzymes such as ceramidase, sphingosine kinase, sphingomyelin synthase, dihydroceramide desaturase, and ceramide synthase which are associated with various types of cancers.

Demographics, Practice Analysis, and Geographic Distribution of Neuro-Ophthalmologists in the United States in 2023.

Purpose: To assess the demographic characteristics and geographic distribution of neuro-ophthalmologists practicing in the United States.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Participants: Neuro-ophthalmologists across the United States.

A simple agglutination system for rapid antigen detection from large sample volumes with enhanced sensitivity.

Lateral flow assays (LFAs) provide a simple and quick option for diagnosis and are widely adopted for point-of-care or at-home tests. However, their sensitivity is often limited. Most LFAs only allow 50 μL samples while various sample types such as saliva could be collected in much larger volumes.

INTRAOCULAR INFLAMMATION INCIDENCE AFTER INTRAVITREAL BROLUCIZUMAB INJECTION FOR EXUDATIVE AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION.

Purpose: We evaluated the clinical outcomes of intraocular inflammation (IOI) of eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) injected with brolucizumab in our tertiary referral center.

Methods: A retrospective case series for which clinical records of all eyes that received intravitreal brolucizumab at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute between December 1, 2019, and April 1, 2021, were reviewed.

Results: There were 345 eyes of 278 patients who received 801 brolucizumab injections.

Assessment of circulating extracellular vesicles from calorie-restricted mice and humans in ischaemic injury models.

Calorie restriction (CR) and fasting affect lifespan, disease susceptibility and response to acute injury across multiple animal models, including ischaemic injuries such as myocardial infarction or kidney hypoxia. The cargo and function of circulating extracellular vesicles (EV) respond to changes in host physiology, including exercise, injury, and other interventions. Thus, we hypothesised that EVs induced following CR may reflect some of the beneficial properties of CR itself.

Intraocular Lens Exchange: Indications, Comparative Outcomes by Technique, and Complications.

Purpose: To describe the indications, outcomes, and complications associated with intraocular lens (IOL) exchange.

Patients And Methods: To determine the relative frequency of postoperative complications between techniques for all patients undergoing IOL exchange from May 1, 2014 through August 31, 2020.

Results: IOL exchange was performed in 511 eyes of 489 patients (59.