StreamLight Single-Step Transepithelial Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) for Myopia and Myopic Astigmatism.

To report the refractive outcomes of StreamLight transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy (PRK). A retrospective case series was conducted which included a total of 205 eyes of 109 patients who underwent StreamLight transepithelial PRK using the Alcon Wavelight EX500 excimer laser. All eyes had myopia or myopic astigmatism, and the preoperative spherical equivalent (SEQ) ranged from -0.

Hyperopia in schoolchildren: Investigating the impact on vision and determining appropriate methods for screening.

Introduction: Hyperopia is associated with reduced vision and educational outcomes in schoolchildren. This study explored the impact of clinically significant hyperopia (≥+2.00 D) on visual function in schoolchildren and compared the ability of different screening tests (alone and in combination) to detect this level of hyperopia.

Optical Coherence Tomography-Derived Measurements of the Optic Nerve Head Structure of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children.

Prcis: This study demonstrated significant differences in optic nerve head characteristics in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children compared with non-Indigenous children, which has implications for glaucoma risk and diagnosis in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the optic nerve head (ONH) characteristics of visually normal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and non-Indigenous Australian children.

Materials And Methods: Spectral domain optical coherence tomography imaging was performed on the right eye of 95 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and 149 non-Indigenous Australian children (5-18 years).

Ocular biometry measures and their correlation with refractive error in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Clinical Relevance: The ocular biometry measures of the eye determine the refractive status, and while most refractive error develops during childhood, the ocular biometry measures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have not previously been reported.

Background: To investigate the ocular biometry of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, including measures important in determining refractive error and those which relate to the risk of ocular disease.

Methods: Participants included 252 primary and secondary school children (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander: 101; non-Indigenous: 151), aged between 4 and 18 years.

Retinal thickness in healthy Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Background: Understanding normative retinal thickness characteristics is critical for diagnosis and monitoring of pathology, particularly in those predisposed to retinal disease. The macular retinal layer thickness of Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children was examined using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

Methods: High-resolution macular optical coherence tomography imaging was performed on 100 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children and 150 non-Indigenous visually healthy children aged 4-18 years.

High Rates of Uncorrected Vision Conditions among Schoolchildren in Rural Queensland, Australia.

Significance: This study is the first to report high rates of uncorrected vision conditions among Australian secondary schoolchildren living in a rural area and to comment on the rate of eye examinations undertaken on Australian Indigenous children. Uncorrected vision problems that continue throughout the school years have significant implications for children's quality of life and education.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of uncorrected vision conditions among Australian schoolchildren.

Choroidal Thickness in Indigenous Australian Children.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the choroidal thickness profiles in visually normal Australian Indigenous children, given the important role of the choroid in refractive error and a range of ocular diseases.

Methods: Choroidal thickness was assessed across the central 5 mm macular region using enhanced depth imaging spectral domain optical coherence tomography, in 250 children enrolled in an elementary school and a secondary school in rural Queensland, Australia. One hundred (40%) of these children identified as Indigenous Australians.

Role of B cells in vaccine-induced immunity against coccidioidomycosis.

We investigated secondary immunity against coccidioidomycosis by using gene expression microarrays. Surprisingly, a high percentage of B-cell-related genes were associated with protective immunity. A functional confirmation of the importance of B cells against coccidioidomycosis was achieved by demonstrating that vaccination was not fully protective in B-cell-deficient MuMT mice.

Coccidioidomycosis: host response and vaccine development.

Coccidioidomycosis is caused by the dimorphic fungi in the genus Coccidioides. These fungi live as mycelia in the soil of desert areas of the American Southwest, and when the infectious spores, the arthroconidia, are inhaled, they convert into the parasitic spherule/endospore phase. Most infections are mild, but these organisms are frank pathogens and can cause severe lethal disease in fully immunocompetent individuals.

Transfection of murine dendritic cell line (JAWS II) by a nonviral transfection reagent.

Dendritic cells are the most potent antigen-presenting cells that initiate and modulate the host immune system. Based on their immunostimulatory activity, a variety of strategies have been developed to use dendritic cells as vaccines and immunotherapeutic agents against infection and cancer. Genetically modified dendritic cells are useful for immunotherapeutic purposes because of their sustained activity in vivo.

Identification of a protective antigen of Coccidioides immitis by expression library immunization.

Coccidioides immitis is a fungal pathogen of humans and is classified as a Select Agent. We have identified a new potential vaccine candidate for this pathogen using cDNA expression library immunization (ELI). A C.

Molecular typing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by using nine novel variable-number tandem repeats across the Beijing family and low-copy-number IS6110 isolates.

Molecular epidemiological tools for genotyping clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis have been developed and used to help track and contain transmission of tuberculosis. We identified 87 short sequence repeat loci within the genome of the M. tuberculosis H37Rv strain.

Transmission of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Texas and Mexico.

To examine the transmission of drug-resistant (DR) tuberculosis between Texas and Mexico, Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates resistant to one or more of the first-line antimycobacterial drugs were obtained from 606 patients who resided in Texas and 313 patients who resided in Mexico, primarily within the state of Tamaulipas. The isolates were genotyped by IS6110-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and spoligotyping. Of the 919 isolates genotyped, 413 (45%) grouped into 105 clusters containing 2 or more isolates with identical genotypes.

Associate investigations: detection of tuberculosis infections in children resulting in discovery of undiagnosed tuberculosis in adults.

The authors present the design and implementation of associate investigations of young children with positive tuberculin skin test results. Case study analysis of an associate investigation was done using epidemiologic surveillance techniques, medical interviewing, sociogram mapping, tuberculin skin testing, radiographic evidence, and bacteriologic analysis. Deoxyribonucleic acid fingerprinting of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates using a standardized IS6110-based restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis and IS6110-independent DNA spoligotyping methods was done to track and identify specific bacterial strains.

Role of signal sequence in vaccine-induced protection against experimental coccidioidomycosis.

The vaccine efficacy of the gene sequence encoding the signal peptide of the antigen known as antigen 2 or proline-rich antigen (Ag2/PRA), an immunodominant antigen present in the cell wall of the fungal pathogen Coccidioides immitis, was investigated in a murine model of coccidioidomycosis. Expression plasmids for Ag2/PRA(1-18) DNA (signal sequence), Ag2/PRA(19-194) DNA (lacking the signal sequence), and Ag2/PRA(1-194) DNA (full length) were inserted in the pVR1012 vector, and the constructs were used to vaccinate the highly susceptible BALB/c mouse strain. Immunization with the signal gene sequence significantly reduced the fungal burden in the lungs and spleens of mice 12 days after intraperitoneal challenge with a lethal dose of 2,500 C.