Do more stringent policies reduce daily COVID-19 case counts? Evidence from Canadian provinces.

The enactment of COVID-19 policies in Canada falls under provincial jurisdiction. This study exploits time-series variation across four Canadian provinces to evaluate the effects of stricter COVID-19 policies on daily case counts. Employing data from this time-period allows an evaluation of the efficacy of policies independent of vaccine impacts.

A Comparative Study of Two Photoscreening Devices With Manual Vision Screening Involving Preschool Children.

Purpose: To compare referral results from two photoscreening devices that are in wide use relative to a manual screening test protocol in preschool children.

Methods: Children aged 3 to 5 years who attended preschools in two counties within the State of Michigan (N = 1,085) took part in the State's vision screening program, which included the Lea Symbols and Stereo Butterfly tests, during a 3-month period. All who failed this screening or were unable to be tested, and 20% of those who passed, were then invited to undergo testing with the Plusoptix Vision Screener Model S-12C (Plusoptix, Inc) and Welch Allyn SPOT Vision Screener Model VS-100 (Hill-Rom, Inc) photoscreening devices.

Use of data mining at the Food and Drug Administration.

Objectives: This article summarizes past and current data mining activities at the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Target Audience: We address data miners in all sectors, anyone interested in the safety of products regulated by the FDA (predominantly medical products, food, veterinary products and nutrition, and tobacco products), and those interested in FDA activities.

Scope: Topics include routine and developmental data mining activities, short descriptions of mined FDA data, advantages and challenges of data mining at the FDA, and future directions of data mining at the FDA.

The role and efficacy of secondary intraocular lenses in the treatment of monocular infantile cataracts.

Purpose: To determine if and when a secondary intraocular lens (IOL) can be beneficial to the successful treatment of a monocular infantile cataract.

Methods: This retrospective study reviewed medical records of children undergoing treatment of a monocular congenital cataract from 1996 to 2009 at one pediatric ophthalmology practice. Patients had unilateral cataracts removed by age 8 months and a secondary IOL inserted prior to 6 years of age.

Masked bilateral superior oblique palsy in children.

Purpose: Following surgery on an eye for unilateral superior oblique palsy, it is a well-recognized postoperative occurrence for the unoperated eye to develop superior oblique palsy, commonly referred to as masked bilateral superior oblique palsy. The purpose of this study was to describe this postoperative finding in children following unilateral inferior oblique weakening surgery.

Methods: A retrospective review of records of children who underwent unilateral inferior oblique weakening surgery at Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, from 1987 to 2005, including information on the development of masked bilateral superior oblique palsy with contralateral inferior oblique overaction requiring a second surgical intervention.

Accuracy and reliability of GPS devices for measurement of sports-specific movement patterns related to cricket, tennis, and field-based team sports.

The aim of this study was to determine the accuracy and reliability of 5, 10, and 15 Hz global positioning system (GPS) devices. Two male subjects (mean ± SD; age, 25.5 ± 0.

Polyomic profiling reveals significant hepatic metabolic alterations in glucagon-receptor (GCGR) knockout mice: implications on anti-glucagon therapies for diabetes.

Background: Glucagon is an important hormone in the regulation of glucose homeostasis, particularly in the maintenance of euglycemia and prevention of hypoglycemia. In type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), glucagon levels are elevated in both the fasted and postprandial states, which contributes to inappropriate hyperglycemia through excessive hepatic glucose production. Efforts to discover and evaluate glucagon receptor antagonists for the treatment of T2DM have been ongoing for approximately two decades, with the challenge being to identify an agent with appropriate pharmaceutical properties and efficacy relative to potential side effects.

Secondary or new compensatory head posture after Anderson-Kestenbaum surgery.

Purpose: To report clinical findings and surgical management of 4 patients with congenital nystagmus who presented with a new or reversal of their original horizontal compensatory head posture (CHP) after Anderson-Kestenbaum (A-K) surgery.

Method: Retrospective chart review.

Results: All 4 patients demonstrated a 40°-45° horizontal face turn at the time of their initial surgery and 3 underwent 20% and one 30% augmented A-K surgery to correct the CHP.

Functional results of the surgical repair of a lacerated canaliculus in children.

Purpose: This study examined the functional success of surgical repair of lacerated canaliculi in a pediatric population.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on 46 patients who had surgical repair of a lacerated canaliculus. Functional success was defined as no tearing or discharge present at the end of treatment.

Progression of type 2 to type 1 retinopathy of prematurity in the Early Treatment for Retinopathy of Prematurity Study.

Objective: To examine the frequency and timing of progression from type 2 to type 1 retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in the Early Treatment for Retinopathy of Prematurity Study.

Methods: Infants with prethreshold ROP that was no worse than low risk in 1 or both eyes, based on the RM-ROP2 model, were examined every 2 to 4 days for at least 2 weeks. Using the Early Treatment for Retinopathy of Prematurity Study-defined classification of eyes as having type 1 or type 2 prethreshold ROP, we analyzed the time to conversion from type 2 to type 1.

The role of the random dot Stereo Butterfly test as an adjunct test for the detection of constant strabismus in vision screening.

Background: A goal of vision screening is the detection of amblyopia risk factors, including strabismus. The random dot Stereo Butterfly test requires no instruction, has a simple pass/fail response with no monocular clues, and is easily administered. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this test could be used as a cost-effective and reliable component of preschool vision screening.

Improved image analysis workflow for 2-D gels enables large-scale 2-D gel-based proteomics studies--COPD biomarker discovery study.

2-D gel electrophoresis has been used for more than three decades to study the protein complement of organisms, tissues, and cells. Three issues are holding back large-scale proteomics studies: low-throughput, high technical variation, and study designs lacking statistical power. We identified image analysis as the central factor connecting these three issues.

Twenty-year follow-up of surgery for intermittent exotropia.

Purpose: We sought to evaluate the 20-year follow-up of intermittent exotropia surgery performed before the age of 10 years to determine the stability of alignment and the effect of strabismus on visual function.

Methods: Patients meeting the inclusion criteria were identified from surgical logs, contacted, and examined. The history obtained assessed the effect of their strabismus on education, career choices, driving, and reading ability.

Quantitative evaluation of sebum lipid components with nuclear magnetic resonance.

A NMR spectroscopic method is described that enables the quantitation of specific lipid classes and components, independent of fatty acid composition. We demonstrate this method for measuring cholesterol, squalene, and pools of sterol esters, wax esters (WEs), and triglyceride (TG) components in sebum and meibum. When 600 MHz NMR equipment is used in conjunction with highly sensitive cryogenically cooled probes, this method has adequate sensitivity, and for some applications, advantages over commonly used HPLC-evaporative light-scattering detection and mass spectrometry-based approaches.

Excimer laser in myocardial infarction: a comparison between STEMI patients with established Q-wave versus patients with non-STEMI (non-Q).

Patients sustaining acute myocardial infarction (AMI) often require urgent percutaneous revascularization within the first 24 h from onset of the infarction due to continuous ischemia and hemodynamic instability. Upon arrival to the cardiac catheterization, the electrocardiogram of AMI patients may exhibit acute ST-elevation (STEMI) with or without accompanying Q-wave or depression of the ST segment (non-STEMI or non-Q-wave infarction). Data comparing acute outcome of device application in patients presenting for urgent revascularization with established Q-wave myocardial infarction (QWMI) versus those with non-STEMI (NQMI) are sparse.

DFTMP, an NMR reagent for assessing the near-neutral pH of biological samples.

A new NMR chemical shift standard and pH indicator, difluorotrimethylsilanylphosphonic acid (DFTMP), is described, and the utility of this reagent is demonstrated for in situ determination of pH in complex biofluids. The pH dependence of this reagent allows accurate in situ determination of aqueous solution pH to within an RMSE of 0.02 pH units over a pH range of 5 to 8.

Age-adjustment and related epidemiology rates in education and research.

A quick review of introductory textbooks reveals that while gerontology authors and instructors introduce some aspect of demography and epidemiology data, there is limited focus on age adjustment or other important epidemiology rates. The goal of this paper is to reintroduce a variety of basic epidemiology strategies such as incidence, prevalence, crude, age-specific and age-adjustment rates into the gerontology classroom. Background information and formulas for each rate, as well as examples of how they can be applied are provided.

Lions Clubs International Foundation Core Four Photoscreening: results from 17 programs and 400,000 preschool children.

Introduction: Photoscreening programs for preschool vision screening have been promoted by Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) via their 17 Core Four grant project awards since 1999. Results from 15 Core Four grant programs in the United States and one in Taiwan are presented here.

Methods: Photoscreening was modeled after the Tennessee program and instituted statewide in each area.

Outcome of eyes developing retinal detachment during the Early Treatment for Retinopathy of Prematurity Study (ETROP).

Objective: To report the structural and visual outcomes of eyes in which retinal detachment developed from retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in the Early Treatment of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ETROP) Study. Method Infants in the ETROP Study with bilateral high-risk prethreshold ROP had 1 eye randomized to early treatment, with the fellow eye managed conventionally. In infants with asymmetric disease, the eye with high-risk prethreshold ROP was randomized to early treatment or conventional management.

Twenty years after childhood strabismus surgery.

Introduction: Children with infantile or acquired esotropia often have surgery in the first few years of life. Many of these children have additional surgeries and may also be treated for amblyopia. As pediatric ophthalmologists, we do not often have the opportunity to learn the affect of this strabismus on their life as they have become adults, completed their education and chosen a career and during this time, what has happened to their eye alignment.