Comparison of monocular autorefraction to comprehensive eye examinations in preschool-aged and younger children.

Background: Monocular autorefraction is a newly available technology for vision screening that has been advocated to test young children. Such devices automatically determine the refractive state of each eye, but cannot directly detect amblyopia or strabismus.

Objective: To compare the results of a commercially available monocular autorefractor (SureSight; Welch Allyn Medical Products, Skaneateles Falls, NY) with findings from a comprehensive eye examination for significant refractive error, strabismus, and amblyopia.

Cardiac muscle cell cytoskeletal protein 4.1: analysis of transcripts and subcellular location--relevance to membrane integrity, microstructure, and possible role in heart failure.

The spectrin-based cytoskeleton assembly has emerged as a major player in heart functioning; however, cardiac protein 4.1, a key constituent, is uncharacterized. Protein 4.

The pyruvate requirement of some members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex is due to an inactive pyruvate kinase: implications for in vivo growth.

Through examination of one of the fundamental in vitro characteristics of Mycobacterium bovis--its requirement for pyruvate in glycerol medium--we have revealed a lesion in central metabolism that has profound implications for in vivo growth and nutrition. Not only is M. bovis unable to use glycerol as a sole carbon source but the lack of a functioning pyruvate kinase (PK) means that carbohydrates cannot be used to generate energy.

Functional demonstration of reverse transsulfuration in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex reveals that methionine is the preferred sulfur source for pathogenic Mycobacteria.

Methionine can be used as the sole sulfur source by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex although it is not obvious from examination of the genome annotation how these bacteria utilize methionine. Given that genome annotation is a largely predictive process, key challenges are to validate these predictions and to fill in gaps for known functions for which genes have not been annotated. We have addressed these issues by functional analysis of methionine metabolism.

The complete genome sequence of Mycobacterium bovis.

Mycobacterium bovis is the causative agent of tuberculosis in a range of animal species and man, with worldwide annual losses to agriculture of $3 billion. The human burden of tuberculosis caused by the bovine tubercle bacillus is still largely unknown. M.

The effects of a mentoring program on at-risk youth.

This study examined an intensive mentoring program that focuses on youth deemed at-risk for juvenile delinquency or mental illness. Mothers and teachers completed the Child Behavior Checklist, and youth completed the Hopelessness Scale for Children, the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale, and the Self-Report Delinquency Scale. The youth (ages 10 to 17) either participated in the mentoring program (intervention, n = 34) or remained on the waiting list (nonintervention, n = 34) for 6 months.