One hundred and six years of change in a Sonoran Desert plant community: Impact of climate anomalies and trends in species sensitivities.

A major restriction in predicting plant community response to future climate change is a lack of long-term data needed to properly assess species and community response to climate and identify a baseline to detect climate anomalies. Here, we use a 106-year dataset on a Sonoran Desert plant community to test the role of extreme temperature and precipitation anomalies on community dynamics at the decadal scale and over time. Additionally, we tested the climate sensitivity of 39 desert plant species and whether sensitivity was associated with growth form, longevity, geographic range, or local dominance.

Corneal Crosslinking With Rose Bengal and Green Light: Efficacy and Safety Evaluation.

Purpose: To evaluate crosslinking of cornea in vivo using green light activation of Rose Bengal (RGX) and assess potential damaging effects of the green light on retina and iris.

Methods: Corneas of Dutch belted rabbits were de-epithelialized, then stained with Rose Bengal and exposed to green light, or not further treated. Corneal stiffness was measured by uniaxial tensiometry.

Direct and indirect effects of environmental variability on growth and survivorship of pre-reproductive Joshua trees, Yucca brevifolia Engelm. (Agavaceae).

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Premise Of Study: Accurate demographic information about long-lived plant species is important for understanding responses to large-scale disturbances, including climate change. It is challenging to obtain these data from desert perennial plants because seedling establishment is exceptionally rare, and estimates of survival are lacking for their vulnerable early stages. Desert wildfires, urbanization, and climate change influence the persistence of the long-lived Yucca brevifolia.

Reclaiming freshwater sustainability in the Cadillac Desert.

Increasing human appropriation of freshwater resources presents a tangible limit to the sustainability of cities, agriculture, and ecosystems in the western United States. Marc Reisner tackles this theme in his 1986 classic Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water. Reisner's analysis paints a portrait of region-wide hydrologic dysfunction in the western United States, suggesting that the storage capacity of reservoirs will be impaired by sediment infilling, croplands will be rendered infertile by salt, and water scarcity will pit growing desert cities against agribusiness in the face of dwindling water resources.

Psychological benefits 2 and 4 weeks after a single treatment with near infrared light to the forehead: a pilot study of 10 patients with major depression and anxiety.

Background: Many studies have reported beneficial effects from the application of near-infrared (NIR) light photobiomodulation (PBM) to the body, and one group has reported beneficial effects applying it to the brain in stroke patients. We have reported that the measurement of a patient's left and right hemispheric emotional valence (HEV) may clarify data and guide lateralized treatments. We sought to test whether a NIR treatment could 1.

Optical functional properties of the Boston Keratoprosthesis.

Purpose: To evaluate the optical characteristics of the Boston Keratoprosthesis (KPro), identify glare sources, evaluate possible glare control, and examine the benefit of implantation when the fellow eye has normal vision.

Methods: Computed and optical-bench-measured point spread function (PSF) and glare sources were compared. A translucent plastic cornea was used to determine the impact of glare caused by scatter in the cornea and its control with a dark-iris tinted contact lens.

Maximum permissible exposures for ocular safety (ANSI 2000), with emphasis on ophthalmic devices.

After discussing the rationale and assumptions of the ANSI Z136.1-2000 Standard for protection of the human eye from laser exposure, we present the concise formulation of the exposure limits expressed as maximum permissible radiant exposure (in J/cm(2)) for light overfilling the pupil. We then translate the Standard to a form that is more practical for typical ophthalmic devices or in vision research situations, implementing the special qualifications of the Standard.

In vivo fluorescent imaging of the mouse retina using adaptive optics.

In vivo imaging of the mouse retina using visible and near infrared wavelengths does not achieve diffraction-limited resolution due to wavefront aberrations induced by the eye. Considering the pupil size and axial dimension of the eye, it is expected that unaberrated imaging of the retina would have a transverse resolution of 2 microm. Higher-order aberrations in retinal imaging of human can be compensated for by using adaptive optics.

Line-scanning laser ophthalmoscope.

Scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) is a powerful imaging tool with specialized applications limited to research and ophthalmology clinics due in part to instrument size, cost, and complexity. Conversely, low-cost retinal imaging devices have limited capabilities in screening, detection, and diagnosis of diseases. To fill the niche between these two, a hand-held, nonmydriatic line-scanning laser ophthalmoscope (LSLO) is designed, constructed, and tested on normal human subjects.

A low-power, LED-based, high-brightness anomaloscope.

Color matches made with a Nagel anomaloscope are used in the differentiation of color vision deficiencies. When these color matches are made over a wide range of retinal illuminances, the changes in the color match provide information about the regeneration kinetics and the absorption spectra of the middle- and long-wavelength cone photopigments. These steady-state color matches vary with a variety of conditions, and may have value in screening for eye disease.

Optical characterization of ultrabright LEDs.

Ultrabright light emitting diodes (LEDs) are a new light source for visual psychophysics and microscopy. The new LEDs are intended primarily for room and exterior illumination, and the manufacturers' specifications are adequate for that. However, we use them as light sources in situations where a more complete characterization may be useful.

Stroke amplifier for deformable mirrors.

We demonstrate a simple optical configuration that amplifies the usable stroke of a deformable mirror. By arranging for the wavefront to traverse the deformable mirror more than once, we correct it more than once. The experimental implementation of the idea demonstrates a doubling of 2.

Using InterWave aberrometry to measure and improve the quality of vision in LASIK surgery.

Objective: To compare visual outcomes in eyes undergoing aberrometry-guided (InterWave) LASIK with those in eyes undergoing standard LASIK treatment based upon refractive measures.

Design: Single-center, comparative, interventional, consecutive case series.

Participants: Four hundred two consecutive eyes undergoing LASIK were analyzed retrospectively.

Compact scanning laser ophthalmoscope with high-speed retinal tracker.

The effectiveness of image stabilization with a retinal tracker in a multifunction, compact scanning laser ophthalmoscope (TSLO) was demonstrated in initial human subject tests. The retinal tracking system uses a co confocal reflectometer with a closed-loop optical servo system to lock onto features in the fundus. The system is multifarious and modular to allow configuration for many research a clinical applications.

SSR (spatially resolved refractometer): a null-seeking aberrometer.

The spatially resolved refractometer is an aberrometer used to measure the wave-front aberrations of the human eye. In its original form and the new configuration that we report, it uses the patient's perception in a psychophysical task to evaluate the wave-front errors at a variable number of loci (typically 40 or 160) across the cornea. This configuration includes pupil tracking and the ability to choose the measurement loci in software.