Screening for Keratoconus in a High-Risk Adolescent Population.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of keratoconus (KC) in a majority-Emirati adolescent population and to demonstrate the feasibility of screening using a dual Scheimpflug and Placido imaging device.

Methods: Adolescent subjects from two secondary schools in Abu Dhabi, UAE underwent corneal imaging with the Galilei tomographer (Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems AG, Port, Switzerland). The prevalence of KC and KC suspects was determined using a combination of both subjective and objective criteria.

Volatiles and Tannins in Pistacia lentiscus and Their Role in Browsing Behavior of Goats (Capra hircus).

Goat herding is an important tool in the ecologically sound management of Mediterranean shrublands and woodlands, although effective levels of woody biomass removal by the goats is neither guaranteed nor easy to predict. Preliminary observations indicated that one reason for this may be poor understanding of plant-herbivore interactions that operate intraspecifically at the local spatial scale. We asked, whether goats show intraspecific preferences among neighboring plants when foraging a small local population of Pistacia lentiscus, a dominant tall shrub.

Novel technique of explantation of rigid phakic iris-claw lens and cataract extraction by sutureless manual small-incision surgery.

A 38-year-old patient presented to us with complaints of blurred vision and photophobia in the left eye with an uncorrected visual acuity of 20/400, improving to 20/60 with pinhole. The patient underwent phakic iris-claw lens surgery 15 years ago for high myopia. On examination, there was anterior chamber rigid phakic iris-claw lens along with complicated cataract.

Persistently poor vision in dim illumination after implantation of XtraFocus small-aperture IOL (Morcher).

A 21-year-old patient presents to us with complaints of blurred vision and photophobia in the left eye, with an uncorrected visual acuity of 20/100 improving to 20/30 with pinhole and diagnostic rigid gas permeable lens trial. He had a history of trauma with subsequent cataract extraction, with residual irregular astigmatism and traumatic mydriasis. XtraFocus Pinhole intraocular lens (Morcher) was implanted in the left eye.

Association of Ramadan daytime fasting with ocular surface inflammation and dry eye.

Purpose: Despite the widespread practice of fasting, there are no studies looking at ocular surface inflammation, specifically matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) testing, during fasting. In this prospective study, we wanted to evaluate the effect of Ramadan fasting on the level of tear film MMP-9 as well as other standard indicators of dry eye disease.

Methods: Forty healthy patients without history of ocular disease were tested before and toward the end of Ramadan.

Persistent troublesome floaters necessitating the explantation of XtraFocus Pinhole IOL (Morcher).

A 41-year-old patient presented with blurred vision and photophobia in the left eye with an uncorrected visual acuity of 20/150, improving to 20/30 with pinhole and diagnostic rigid gas permeable lens trial. He had a history of trauma with subsequent cataract extraction with residual irregular astigmatism and traumatic mydriasis. XtraFocus Pinhole intraocular lens (Morcher) was implanted in the left eye and the vision improved to 20/40.

Xtra focus pinhole IOL (Morchers GMBH) a novel approach to tackle irregular astigmatism and large pupillary defects with a single step surgery.

A 69-year-old patient presented to us with traumatic mydriasis with irregular pupil measuring 7 mm, with superior loss of iris tissue and large inferior peripheral iridotomy and pseudophakia. The patient had history of blunt trauma 3 years ago in a fire cracker injury. He was operated elsewhere primarily after the trauma for cataract surgery with intraocular lens implantation and had suboptimal visual outcome with glare and photophobia.

Importance of clinical signs leading to the diagnosis in a case of microbiological smear negative ocular microsporidiosis.

A 28-year-old patient presented to us with multifocal coarse raised epithelial lesions in the left eye associated with pain watering redness and blurred vision with a visual acuity of 20/40 in the left eye. The patient had been managed elsewhere with a course of topical moxifloxacin eye-drops four times a day and topical steroids (prednisolone acetate) 1% three times a day for 2 weeks without any resolution, which was stopped 2 days ago prior to presentation at our centre. Gram stain was negative for bacteria as well as microsporidial spores.

Two are Better Than One: Dual-Track Interventions in Hypnotherapy.

The current article provides clinical conceptualizations of six dual-track interventions for dealing with stuck and resistant situations in hypnotherapy. Dual-track interventions are based on the assumption that patients habitually regard their problems as one-dimensional and thus, tend to become rigid in their attitudes toward these problems. Dual-track interventions constitute hypnotherapeutic processes for transforming patients' negative and rigid perceptions of their problems into more positive and functional mental states that provide a dual-dimensional view, thereby offering patients more options and freeing them to contend with their problems more effectively.

Identifying the bottleneck of water oxidation by ab initio analysis of in situ optical absorbance spectrum.

Hematite's (α-FeO) major limitation to efficiently splitting water using sunlight is the low rate of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Thus, identifying the OER rate limiting step is a cornerstone to enhancing the current under low applied potential. Different measurement techniques showed similar absorption difference spectra during a change in applied potential on the hematite anode below and above the onset of the OER in the dark and under light.

Amino acid sequence repertoire of the bacterial proteome and the occurrence of untranslatable sequences.

Bioinformatic analysis of Escherichia coli proteomes revealed that all possible amino acid triplet sequences occur at their expected frequencies, with four exceptions. Two of the four underrepresented sequences (URSs) were shown to interfere with translation in vivo and in vitro. Enlarging the URS by a single amino acid resulted in increased translational inhibition.

The Dual-Dialectical Conceptualization in Psychotherapy.

The current paper describes the dual-dialectical conceptualization, a theoretical psychotherapeutic conceptualization based on three major rules: duality, contradiction, and complementarity. The paper surveys these rules with respect to various theoretical approaches in philosophy and psychotherapy. The essential feature of this conceptualization lies in its reinterpretation of problems that patients habitually regard as being one dimensional (e.

The illness/non-illness model: hypnotherapy for physically ill patients.

This article proposes a focused, novel sub-set of the cognitive behavioral therapy approach to hypnotherapy for physically ill patients, based upon the illness/non-illness psychotherapeutic model for physically ill patients. The model is based on three logical rules used in differentiating illness from non-illness: duality, contradiction, and complementarity. The article discusses the use of hypnotic interventions to help physically ill and/or disabled patients distinguish between illness and non-illness in their psychotherapeutic themes and attitudes.

mRNA-programmed translation pauses in the targeting of E. coli membrane proteins.

In all living organisms, ribosomes translating membrane proteins are targeted to membrane translocons early in translation, by the ubiquitous signal recognition particle (SRP) system. In eukaryotes, the SRP Alu domain arrests translation elongation of membrane proteins until targeting is complete. Curiously, however, the Alu domain is lacking in most eubacteria.

A comprehensive tRNA deletion library unravels the genetic architecture of the tRNA pool.

Deciphering the architecture of the tRNA pool is a prime challenge in translation research, as tRNAs govern the efficiency and accuracy of the process. Towards this challenge, we created a systematic tRNA deletion library in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, aimed at dissecting the specific contribution of each tRNA gene to the tRNA pool and to the cell's fitness. By harnessing this resource, we observed that the majority of tRNA deletions show no appreciable phenotype in rich medium, yet under more challenging conditions, additional phenotypes were observed.

The role of codon selection in regulation of translation efficiency deduced from synthetic libraries.

Background: Translation efficiency is affected by a diversity of parameters, including secondary structure of the transcript and its codon usage. Here we examine the effects of codon usage on translation efficiency by re-analysis of previously constructed synthetic expression libraries in Escherichia coli.

Results: We define the region in a gene that takes the longest time to translate as the bottleneck.

An evolutionarily conserved mechanism for controlling the efficiency of protein translation.

Recent years have seen intensive progress in measuring protein translation. However, the contributions of coding sequences to the efficiency of the process remain unclear. Here, we identify a universally conserved profile of translation efficiency along mRNAs computed based on adaptation between coding sequences and the tRNA pool.

Impaired memory and learning abilities in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus as measured by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess and characterise verbal memory impairment in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (Rey AVLT).

Methods: 40 consecutive, unselected patients with SLE were evaluated with the Rey AVLT, a clinical and research tool for the study of multiple learning and memory measures. All patients were assessed for disease activity, damage, presence of antiphospholipid antibodies and depression.

Assessment of visual function after corneal transplantation: the quality of life and psychometric assessment after corneal transplantation (Q-PACT) study.

Purpose: Many patients with successful corneal grafts have poor vision postoperatively. This study evaluates changes in vision-related quality of life after penetrating keratoplasty (PK).

Design: Multicenter prospective cohort study.

Scleral perforation during retrobulbar and peribulbar anesthesia: risk factors and outcome in 50,000 consecutive injections.

Purpose: To measure the frequency of scleral perforation and identify related risk factors during local anesthetic injection for intraocular surgery.

Setting: Multispecialty eye hospital.

Methods: All patients (n = 50,000) having retrobulbar (26,857) or peribulbar (23,143) injections at the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital were reviewed.

Axial length and posterior staphyloma in Saudi Arabian cataract patients.

Purpose: To determine the axial length distribution and prevalence of posterior staphyloma in a group of Saudi Arabian patients having cataract extraction.

Setting: Tertiary care referral center.

Methods: Approximately 75% of all cataract patients at the eye hospital have preoperative B-scan ultrasonography.

Outcome of cataract surgery associated with posterior staphyloma.

Purpose: To assess the outcome of cataract surgery in eyes with posterior staphyloma and identify predictors of surgical success.

Setting: Tertiary care referral center.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted of 107 consecutive patients with posterior staphyloma and 107 control patients who had cataract surgery.