Association Between Baseline Macular Morphologic Features on Optical Coherence Tomography and Visual Outcomes in Patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease.

Purpose: The choroidal thickening and serous retinal detachments that characterize Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease can be imaged in detail using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Whether specific qualitative and quantitative SD-OCT features at presentation were associated with visual outcomes in a randomized controlled trial comparing methotrexate to mycophenolate for steroid-sparing control of uveitis were evaluated.

Methods: An exploratory subanalysis of data from the FAST trial in which SD-OCT images from VKH participants were analyzed for presence/absence of bacillary detachments, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) folds, and internal limiting membrane (ILM) fluctuations was performed.

Outcomes in Patients With Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease From the First-Line Antimetabolites for Steroid-Sparing Treatment Uveitis Trial.

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of methotrexate (MTX) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in achieving corticosteroid-sparing control of uveitis in patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease.

Methods: A subanalysis of patients with VKH from the First-line Antimetabolites as Steroid-sparing Treatment Uveitis Trial, a randomized, observer-masked, comparative effectiveness trial, with comparisons by treatment (MTX vs MMF) and disease stage (acute vs chronic). Individuals with noninfectious uveitis were placed on a standardized corticosteroid taper and block randomized 1:1 to either 25 mg weekly oral MTX or 1.

Systemic and Ophthalmic Manifestations of Chikungunya Fever.

Purpose: Chikungunya is a re-emerging viral infection across the globe. The purpose of this article is to review the systemic and ophthalmic manifestations associated with chikungunya fever.

Method: A review of literature was conducted using online databases.

Road Descriptors for Fast Global Localization on Rural Roads Using OpenStreetMap.

Accurate pose estimation is a fundamental ability that all mobile robots must posses in order to navigate a given environment. Much like a human, this ability is dependent on the robot's understanding of a given scene. For autonomous vehicles (AVs), detailed 3D maps created beforehand are widely used to augment the perceptive abilities and estimate pose based on current sensor measurements.

Retinopathy secondary to flare-up of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can have widespread ocular manifestations, and posterior segment involvement may be associated with poor visual outcome. We report a clinical flare-up of SLE presenting as combined vascular occlusion in one eye and drusen-like deposits, which is a newly described entity in both eyes. As an ophthalmologist, a knowledge of such presentations helps us identify and possibly help the rheumatologist titrate treatment accordingly, to prevent severe life-threatening systemic complications.

Heuristics and Learning Models for Dubins MinMax Traveling Salesman Problem.

This paper addresses a MinMax variant of the Dubins multiple traveling salesman problem (mTSP). This routing problem arises naturally in mission planning applications involving fixed-wing unmanned vehicles and ground robots. We first formulate the routing problem, referred to as the one-in-a-set Dubins mTSP problem (MD-GmTSP), as a mixed-integer linear program (MILP).

Ocular leptospirosis: lack of awareness among ophthalmologists and challenges in diagnosis.

Purpose Of Review: Systemic leptospirosis exists worldwide. But leptospiral uveitis, an important late complication is not identified by ophthalmologists in several countries.

Recent Findings: In the last 18 months numerous publications, especially on epidemiology, surveillances, and novel rapid diagnostic kits to test at the point of care site on leptospirosis have been published from all over the world.

Vehicle Detection and Tracking Using Thermal Cameras in Adverse Visibility Conditions.

Level 5 autonomy, as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers, requires the vehicle to function under all weather and visibility conditions. This sensing problem becomes significantly challenging in weather conditions that include events such as sudden changes in lighting, smoke, fog, snow, and rain. No standalone sensor currently in the market can reliably perceive the environment in all conditions.

Outcomes of Uveitic Macular Edema in the First-line Antimetabolites as Steroid-Sparing Treatment Uveitis Trial.

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of uveitic macular edema at 6 and 12 months in patients treated with methotrexate or mycophenolate mofetil.

Design: Subanalysis of a block-randomized, observer-masked, multicenter clinical trial.

Participants: Patients were enrolled in the First-line Antimetabolites as Steroid-sparing Treatment (FAST) Uveitis Trial between August 2013 and August 2017.

Efficacy and Safety of Intravitreal Sirolimus for Noninfectious Uveitis of the Posterior Segment: Results from the Sirolimus Study Assessing Double-Masked Uveitis Treatment (SAKURA) Program.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravitreal sirolimus in the management of noninfectious uveitis of the posterior segment (NIU-PS).

Design: Combined analysis of 2 phase 3, randomized, double-masked, multinational, 6-month studies.

Participants: Adults with active NIU-PS (intermediate uveitis, posterior uveitis, or panuveitis; defined as vitreous haze [VH] ≥1.

An Algorithm for the Diagnosis of Behçet Disease Uveitis in Adults.

: To develop an algorithm for the diagnosis of Behçet's disease (BD) uveitis based on ocular findings.: Following an initial survey among uveitis experts, we collected multi-center retrospective data on 211 patients with BD uveitis and 207 patients with other uveitides, and identified ocular findings with a high diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). Subsequently, we collected multi-center prospective data on 127 patients with BD uveitis and 322 controls and developed a diagnostic algorithm using Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis and expert opinion.

A Cross-Sectional Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Toward Leptospirosis among Rural and Urban Population of a South Indian District.

: Leptospirosis is one of the common zoonotic diseases, endemic among farmers. Globally, awareness of risk factors is reported to be very low. This study aims to quantitatively analyze the knowledge and attitude related to leptospirosis in Madurai district and to identify misconceptions that result in poor practice.

Molecular Mimicry between Betaine Aldehyde Dehydrogenase of and Retinal Dehydrogenase 1 of Human Lens: A Potential Trigger for Cataract Formation in Leptospiral Uveitis Patients.

: Rapidly progressing cataract is one of the ocular manifestations in leptospiral uveitis patients. We examined whether molecular mimicry between the leptospira antigens and lens proteins exists that could result in cataract in these patients.: Immunoblot analysis using patient sera was done with proteins from normal lens and cataract lens from leptospiral uveitis patients and the cross-reacting lens proteins were identified by mass spectrometry analysis.

Cloning, expression & evaluation of potential immunogenic recombinant capsid premembrane protein of West Nile virus.

Background & Objectives: West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic flavivirus that has emerged globally as a significant cause of viral encephalitis. The early confirmatory diagnosis of WNV infections is important for timely clinical management and in areas where multiple flaviviruses are endemic. Diagnosis of WNV infection is primarily based on serodiagnosis, followed by virus isolation and identification.

A ten year study of prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, and genotypic characterization of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus causing ocular infections in a tertiary eye care hospital in South India.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important cause of vision threatening ocular infections. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of MRSA and their genotypic characterization in ocular infections. The study period was from January 2007 to December 2017 in Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai.

A Two-Stage Approach for Routing Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with Stochastic Fuel Consumption.

The past decade has seen a substantial increase in the use of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in both civil and military applications. This article addresses an important aspect of refueling in the context of routing multiple small UAVs to complete a surveillance or data collection mission. Specifically, this article formulates a multiple-UAV routing problem with the refueling constraint of minimizing the overall fuel consumption for all the vehicles as a two-stage stochastic optimization problem with uncertainty associated with the fuel consumption of each vehicle.

Evaluation of real-time reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for clinical diagnosis of West Nile virus in patients.

Background & Objectives: West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus. The disease can be diagnosed by isolation followed by fluorescent antibody tests, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. These diagnostic methods are laborious and time-consuming.

Polymerase Chain Reaction and its Correlation with Clinical Features and Treatment Response in Tubercular Uveitis.

Purpose: Correlation of results of polymerase chain reaction for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB PCR) with clinical features and treatment response in tubercular uveitis.

Methods: Retrospective case study.

Results: Among 56 patients, 31 (55.

Quality-of-Life Outcomes From a Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Antimetabolites for Intermediate, Posterior, and Panuveitis.

Purpose: To evaluate the changes in quality of life in noninfectious uveitis patients treated with 2 of the most commonly prescribed antimetabolite treatments.

Design: Secondary analysis of a multicenter, block-randomized clinical trial.

Methods: Eighty patients at Aravind Eye Hospitals in Madurai and Coimbatore, India, with noninfectious intermediate, posterior, or panuveitis were randomized to receive oral methotrexate, 25 mg weekly, or oral mycophenolate mofetil, 1 g twice daily, and were followed up monthly for 6 months.

A Bayesian Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Antimetabolite Therapies for Non-Infectious Uveitis.

Purpose: To conduct a Bayesian analysis of a randomized clinical trial (RCT) for non-infectious uveitis using expert opinion as a subjective prior belief.

Methods: A RCT was conducted to determine which antimetabolite, methotrexate or mycophenolate mofetil, is more effective as an initial corticosteroid-sparing agent for the treatment of intermediate, posterior, and pan-uveitis. Before the release of trial results, expert opinion on the relative effectiveness of these two medications was collected via online survey.

Intravitreal Sirolimus for Noninfectious Uveitis: A Phase III Sirolimus Study Assessing Double-masKed Uveitis TReAtment (SAKURA).

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intravitreal sirolimus in the treatment of noninfectious uveitis (NIU) of the posterior segment (i.e., posterior, intermediate, or panuveitis).