Transscleral Pars Plana Choroid Ablation Using the Iridex Laser System Yields Improvements for Surgical Insertion of the Port Delivery Implant in a Minipig Model.

Purpose: To evaluate an alternative surgical approach for Port Delivery System with ranibizumab (PDS) implant and a novel application of Iridex laser system in Gottingen minipig model.

Methods: A total of seventeen male minipigs (Part 1: 9 animals in non-recovery and Part 2: 8 animals observed for 8-days post-surgery Part 2) received PDS implant insertion into each eye. The effect of Iridex 810 nm infrared diode laser with varying energy (power or duration) on transscleral pars plana ablation, surrounding ocular tissue and postsurgical vitreous hemorrhage (VH) was investigated.

Effects of Altering HSPG Binding and Capsid Hydrophilicity on Retinal Transduction by AAV.

Adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) have recently emerged as the leading vector for retinal gene therapy. However, AAV vectors which are capable of achieving clinically relevant levels of transgene expression and widespread retinal transduction are still an unmet need. Using rationally designed AAV2-based capsid variants, we investigate the role of capsid hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity as it relates to retinal transduction.

Novel AAV44.9-Based Vectors Display Exceptional Characteristics for Retinal Gene Therapy.

The majority of inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) are caused by mutations in genes expressed in photoreceptors (PRs). The ideal vector to address these conditions is one that transduces PRs in large areas of retina with the smallest volume/lowest titer possible, and efficiently transduces foveal cones, the cells responsible for acute, daylight vision that are often the only remaining area of functional retina in IRDs. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the retinal tropism and potency of a novel capsid, AAV44.

Self-disclosure of serostatus by youth who are HIV-positive: a review.

Self-disclosure of serostatus by youth who are HIV-positive has been considered an important objective for preventing transmission and can have positive outcomes including enhancement of social support. This paper reviews the literature on self-disclosure. Several findings are consistent with the literature in adults, including the influence of gender, lower likelihood of disclosure in casual sexual relationships, and the identified barriers of rejection and stigma.

Children's questions about interparent conflict and violence: what's a mother to say?

This research examined the relation between mothers' responses to children's questions about interparent conflict and children's adjustment. Participants were 134 mothers and their children (70 boys, 64 girls), aged 7 to 10. In each family, an act of intimate-partner violence (IPV) had recently occurred.

Improving the effectiveness of computer-delivered personalized drinking feedback interventions for college students.

This study evaluated methods of enhancing college students' retention of information provided to them in a computer-delivered personalized drinking feedback intervention and whether enhanced retention reduced alcohol consumption during the two-week period following the intervention. Participants were 98 college students who reported at least one heavy drinking episode in the past two weeks. After participating in an online, personalized drinking feedback intervention, students were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: 1) typical, in which they were simply sent home, 2) reading, in which they were asked to spend the next 20 minutes re-reading the feedback, and 3) recall, in which they were asked to spend the next 20 minutes writing down as much of the information from the feedback as they could remember.

Correlates of dating violence among male and female heavy-drinking college students.

Objective: To evaluate the correlates for dating violence among heavy-drinking college students.

Method: Participants were at least 18 years old and reported at least one heavy-drinking episode in the past 2 weeks.

Results: After covariate adjustment, estimated peak blood alcohol concentration during the past month was associated with higher victims' verbal-emotional abuse score, and perpetrators' verbal-emotional abuse and threatening abuse scores ( N = 280).

Readiness to change among a group of heavy-drinking college students: correlates of readiness and a comparison of measures.

Objective: Although several multi-item scales assess readiness to change alcohol consumption, some researchers have proposed that a small number of single-item rulers may assess readiness nearly as well.

Participants: In fall 2006 and spring 2007, the authors assessed 279 participants who reported at least 1 heavy drinking episode in the 2 weeks prior to the survey.

Methods: The authors compared answers from the Readiness to Change Questionnaire with rulers measuring importance and confidence regarding change.

Intimate partner violence and preschoolers' explicit memory functioning.

This research examines whether parents' intimate partner physical violence (IPV) relates to their preschoolers' explicit memory functioning, whether children's symptoms of hyperarousal mediate this relation, and whether mothers' positive parenting moderates this relation. Participants were 69 mothers and their 4- or 5-year-old child (34 girls). Mothers completed measures of IPV, children's hyperarousal symptoms, parent-child aggression, and positive parenting.

Cumulating retrieval inhibition in semantic and lexical domains.

In 3 experiments the authors examined changes in successive exemplar generation percentages within categories defined semantically (e.g., fruit-P, fruit-A, fruit-M) and by 1st letter (e.