Eradicating the Loneliness Epidemic: One Phone Call at a Time.

Loneliness and social isolation are serious problems that can impose negative consequences on individual well-being. Research suggests that loneliness can lead to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and other health issues. Meritus Health, recognizing that loneliness is an issue within its community, has set a goal to comprehensively eradicate loneliness.

Circulating Hsp70 Levels and the Immunophenotype of Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes as Potential Biomarkers for Advanced Lung Cancer and Therapy Failure after Surgery.

Lung cancer remains a devastating disease with a poor clinical outcome. A biomarker signature which could distinguish lung cancer from metastatic disease and detect therapeutic failure would significantly improve patient management and allow for individualized, risk-adjusted therapeutic decisions. In this study, circulating Hsp70 levels were measured using ELISA, and the immunophenotype of the peripheral blood lymphocytes were measured using multiparameter flow cytometry, to identify a predictive biomarker signature for lung cancer patients pre- and post-operatively, in patients with lung metastases and in patients with COPD as an inflammatory lung disease.

Multiplexed random-access optical memory in warm cesium vapor.

The ability to store large amounts of photonic quantum states is regarded as substantial for future optical quantum computation and communication technologies. However, research for multiplexed quantum memories has been focused on systems that show good performance only after an elaborate preparation of the storage media. This makes it generally more difficult to apply outside a laboratory environment.

Case Report: Downbeat Nystagmus Due to Epidural Puncture during Labor with Undiagnosed Arnold-Chiari Malformation.

Significance: Epidural anesthesia is a safe procedure used in pregnant patients during labor. However, caution should be exercised in those patients who have concurrent Arnold-Chiari malformation.

Purpose: This study aimed to report a rare and atypical presentation of downbeat nystagmus, in a pregnant patient with Arnold-Chiari malformation type 1 (ACM1), secondary to accidental dural puncture.

A versatile ceramic capillary membrane reactor system for continuous enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis.

As an alternative to classical batch processes, enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis can also be carried out continuously. To facilitate this, a continuous ceramic capillary membrane reactor system (CCCMRS) was developed which can be operated with various proteolytic enzymes immobilized on the porous ceramic capillary membranes. This system has several advantages over common batch processes regarding stability, reproducibility and controllability and can easily be adapted to optimal reaction conditions and individual preferences.

Tissue optical perfusion pressure: a simplified, more reliable, and faster assessment of pedal microcirculation in peripheral artery disease.

Oscillometry is an alternative to continuous-wave Doppler (cw-Doppler) to determine peripheral artery disease (PAD) severity using the ankle-brachial index (ABI). cw-Doppler ABI differentiates systolic pressure of ATP and ADP where either one of both values in most patients is higher (high) and the other value is lower (low). In contrast, oscillometric ABI measures the strongest signal and hence misses the lower value.

Use of the King-Devick Variable Color Contrast Sensitivity Chart to differentiate stages of age-related macular degeneration.

Objective: This study aimed to determine which colour contrast sensitivity differences exist in early to advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and examine the potential utility of the King-Devick Variable Color Contrast Sensitivity Chart in detecting AMD severity.

Methods And Analysis: A total of 85 participants (144 total eyes) were recruited from multiple clinical practices and enrolled in the study. The control group consisted of 57 healthy eyes.

Urban-rural disparity in sociodemographic characteristics and sexual behaviors of HIV-positive adolescent girls and young women and their perspectives on their male sexual partners: A cross-sectional study in Zimbabwe.

We conducted a cross sectional survey in Zimbabwe to describe urban-rural disparity in socio-demographic characteristics and sexual behaviors of HIV-positive adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and their male sexual partners. Between September and November 2016, we interviewed 360 sexually active HIV positive AGYW, aged 15--24 years attending ART and PMTCT clinics in urban and rural health facilities in Harare and Mazowe district respectively. HIV positive AGYW in rural areas as compared to those in urban areas were older, less educated, more frequently married or cohabiting, had lower number of male sexual partners in their lifetime and in the last 12 months preceding the survey.

Visual Structure and Function in Collision Sport Athletes.

Background: Vision-based measures have been shown to be useful markers in multiple sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer and Parkinson disease. Therefore, these testing paradigms may have applications to populations explaining repetitive head trauma that has been associated with long-term neurodegenerative sequelae. We investigated retinal structure and visual function in professional collision sport athletes compared to age- and race-matched control participants.

The Effect of In-School Saccadic Training on Reading Fluency and Comprehension in First and Second Grade Students.

Efficient eye movements provide a physical foundation for proficient reading skills. We investigated the effect of in-school saccadic training on reading performance. In this cross-over design, study participants (n = 327, 165 males; mean age [SD]: 7 y 6 mo [1y 1 mo]) were randomized into treatment and control groups, who then underwent eighteen 20-minute training sessions over 5 weeks using King-Devick Reading Acceleration Program Software.

The effect of saccadic training on early reading fluency.

Background: Eye movements are necessary for the physical act of reading and have been shown to relate to underlying cognitive and visuoattentional processes during reading. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of saccadic training using the King-Devick remediation software on reading fluency.

Methods: In this prospective, single-blinded, randomized, crossover trial, a cohort of elementary students received standardized reading fluency testing pre- and posttreatment.

Characterization of ischemic index using ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography in patients with focal and diffuse recalcitrant diabetic macular edema.

Purpose: To explore the association of angiographic nonperfusion in focal and diffuse recalcitrant diabetic macular edema (DME) in diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Design: A retrospective, observational case series of patients with the diagnosis of recalcitrant DME for at least 2 years placed into 1 of 4 cohorts based on the degree of DR.

Methods: A total of 148 eyes of 76 patients met the inclusion criteria at 1 academic institution.

Progressive, asymptomatic papilledema as the presenting sign of a Chiari I malformation.

Background: Chiari I malformation (CM1) is the caudal herniation of the cerebellar tonsils into the foramen magnum. It can cause several neurological signs and symptoms, or be asymptomatic. Papilledema is a potential, but unusual, manifestation of CM1.

Functional loss in the magnocellular and parvocellular pathways in patients with optic neuritis.

Purpose: To evaluate contrast threshold and contrast gain in patients with optic neuritis under conditions designed to favor mediation by either the inferred magnocellular (MC) or parvocellular (PC) pathway.

Methods: Achromatic and chromatic contrast discrimination was measured in 11 patients with unilateral or bilateral optic neuritis and in 18 age-matched controls with normal vision, using achromatic steady- and pulsed-pedestal paradigms to bias performance toward the MC or PC pathway, respectively. In addition, L-M chromatic discrimination at equiluminance was evaluated using the steady-pedestal paradigm.

A nutrition and physical activity intervention for family child care homes.

Background: Family child care homes (FCCHs) provide child care to 1.9 million children in the U.S.

The King-Devick test and sports-related concussion: study of a rapid visual screening tool in a collegiate cohort.

Objective: Concussion, defined as an impulse blow to the head or body resulting in transient neurologic signs or symptoms, has received increasing attention in sports at all levels. The King-Devick (K-D) test is based on the time to perform rapid number naming and captures eye movements and other correlates of suboptimal brain function. In a study of boxers and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters, the K-D test was shown to have high degrees of test-retest and inter-rater reliability and to be an accurate method for rapidly identifying boxers and mixed martial arts fighters with concussion.

Spectral domain optical coherence tomography as a predictor of visual function in chronic solar maculopathy.

Purpose: Solar maculopathy can be a diagnostic challenge as clinical findings are often subtle and resemble other macular pathologies. Recent reports of chronic solar maculopathy have described characteristic loss of outer retinal layers. With the advent of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), higher resolution of the chorioretinal architecture is possible and provides a unique means of assessing the organization and integrity of the retinal layers in cases of solar maculopathy.

The King-Devick test as a determinant of head trauma and concussion in boxers and MMA fighters.

Objective: Sports-related concussion has received increasing attention as a cause of short- and long-term neurologic symptoms among athletes. The King-Devick (K-D) test is based on measurement of the speed of rapid number naming (reading aloud single-digit numbers from 3 test cards), and captures impairment of eye movements, attention, language, and other correlates of suboptimal brain function. We investigated the K-D test as a potential rapid sideline screening for concussion in a cohort of boxers and mixed martial arts fighters.

Nutrition and physical activity policies and practices in family child care homes.

Background: Family child care homes (FCCHs) are the second-largest provider of nonrelative care in the U.S. However, despite providing care for nearly 1.

Torpedo maculopathy: in-vivo histology using optical coherence tomography.

Purpose: Recent reports of torpedo maculopathy have disclosed underlying irregularities within the chorioretinal tissue that have not been shown to induce disturbances in visual function. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides a unique means of assessing the chorioretinal organization and integrity of torpedo lesions in an in vivo setting that has yet to be explored. In agreement with reported cases, torpedo maculopathy appears to be a benign, non-progressive condition that subtends the horizontal raphe in the juxtafoveal region and imparts no disturbance in visual function.

Coordinating eye and primary medical care in a low-income and uninsured population: the experience of the Vision of Hope Health Alliance.

Purpose: The Vision of Hope Health Alliance (VOHHA) was developed to provide an integrated system of eye and primary medical services to low-income and uninsured patients who were referred from nonmedical and medical agencies.

Methods: Partnerships were formed to facilitate patient referrals. Eye examinations and ophthalmic materials were provided at no cost to patients.

Ophthalmic manifestations of an undifferentiated sinonasal carcinoma.

Introduction: Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC) are uncommon, highly aggressive neoplasms arising in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. Unlike the majority of sinonasal carcinomas, SNUC possess an uncertain histological origin and pleomorphic composition. Their heterogeneous composition prohibits their distinction from other more commonly encountered nasal tumors on the basis of imaging alone.

Bilateral abducens palsies and facial weakness as initial manifestations of a Chiari 1 malformation.

Purpose: Chiari I malformations are rare, congenital anomalies involving the caudal herniation of the cerebellar tonsils into the upper cervical spinal canal. Osseous abnormalities of the skull permit the extension of the hindbrain below the foramen magnum and engender syringohydromyelia formation. Neuroophthalmic manifestations are not uncommon; nevertheless, this is the first report of concomitant bilateral abducens palsies and facial nerve impairment as presenting manifestations of a Chiari I malformation.