Transcriptome annotation reveals minimal immunogenetic diversity among Wyoming toads, .

Briefly considered extinct in the wild, the future of the Wyoming toad () continues to rely on captive breeding to supplement the wild population. Given its small natural geographic range and history of rapid population decline at least partly due to fungal disease, investigation of the diversity of key receptor families involved in the host immune response represents an important conservation need. Population decline may have reduced immunogenetic diversity sufficiently to increase the vulnerability of the species to infectious diseases.

Knockdown of Transmembrane Protein 150A () Results in Increased Production of Multiple Cytokines.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced signaling through Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is mediated by the plasma membrane lipid, phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P] and its derivatives diacylglycerol and inositol trisphosphate. Levels of PI(4,5)P are controlled enzymatically and fluctuate in LPS-stimulated cells. Recently, transmembrane protein 150A (TMEM150A/TM6P1/damage-regulated autophagy modulator 5) has been shown to regulate PI(4,5)P production at the plasma membrane by modifying the composition of the phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase enzyme complex.

[Vascular factors in glaucoma].

The exact pathophysiology of glaucoma is not fully understood. Understanding of the vascular pathophysiology of glaucoma requires: knowing the techniques for measuring ocular blood flow and characterizing the topography of vascular disease and the mechanisms involved in this neuropathy. A decreased mean ocular perfusion pressure and a loss of vascular autoregulation are implicated in glaucomatous disease.

Relationship Between Nocturnal Intraocular Pressure Variations and Sleep Macrostructure.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize the relationships between nocturnal intraocular pressure (IOP) variations and sleep macrostructure in healthy subjects.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a center with shared expertise in chronobiology. Twelve healthy volunteers (22.

Progression of visual field in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma - ProgF study 1.

Purpose: To evaluate the visual field rate of progression of patients with treated ocular hypertension (OHT) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in clinical practice, using the mean deviation (MD) and the visual field index (VFI).

Methods: Non-interventional cohort study. From a large multicentre database representative of the French population, 441 eyes of 228 patients with treated OHT or POAG followed up at least 6 years with Humphrey 24.

The impacts of blended learning design in first year medical studies.

In the first year of medical studies in France, students prepare for a highly selective entrance exam limited by numerus clausus into the second year. We have discontinued live lectures, made maximum use of new information and communication technologies and introduced tutorials in an attempt to make the first year more equitable and to personalise teaching. The reform is based on blended learning with flipped classroom organized into a four-week cycles of different activities.

Association of Nonarteritic Ischemic Optic Neuropathy With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Consequences for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Screening and Treatment.

Importance: The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in patients with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) and its influence on second eye involvement is not well known.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of OSAS in patients with NAION and risk factors of second eye involvement.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cohort study, we examined 118 patients with anterior ischemic optic neuropathy referred to a tertiary care center from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2010.

Correlation between clinical data and antibiotic resistance in coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species isolated from 68 patients with acute post-cataract endophthalmitis.

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) cause the majority of post-cataract endophthalmitis, which can lead to anatomical and/or functional loss of the eye. This study reports the antibiotic susceptibilities of CNS isolates associated with acute post-cataract endophthalmitis cases and correlates antibiotic resistance with severity and outcome of infection in these patients. Clinical data (initial ocular examination, final prognosis, antibiotic treatment) and the antibiotic susceptibilities of the isolated CNS strains were obtained from 68 patients with post-surgical endophthalmitis recruited during a 7-year period by the FRench Institutional ENDophthalmitis Study (FRIENDS) group.

Intravitreal dexamethasone implant versus anti-VEGF injection for treatment-naïve patients with retinal vein occlusion and macular edema: a 12-month follow-up study.

Purpose: The objective of his study was to compare the visual and anatomical outcomes in treatment-naïve patients with macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion after intravitreal injections of dexamethasone implants (DEX) and anti-VEGF.

Methods: One hundred two patients (64 in the anti-VEGF group, 38 in the DEX group) without previous treatment were included in this multi-center retrospective study and evaluated at baseline and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the onset of treatment. Patients were defined as "good responders" if central macular thickness (CMT) was less than or equal to 250 μm in TD-OCT or 300 μm in SD-OCT after the injections.

Multifocal electroretinogram in birdshot chorioretinopathy.

Purpose: To characterize multifocal electroretinogram parameters in patients with birdshot chorioretinopathy.

Methods: Twenty-eight patients with birdshot chorioretinopathy consecutively included from 2006 to 2011 were matched to 27 healthy subjects for age, axial length, and lens status. Multifocal electroretinogram was prospectively evaluated using the Vision Monitor system.

[Managing antithrombotic therapy in vitreoretinal surgery].

Given the growing number of patients on antithrombotic therapy we are increasingly confronted with the management of this therapy before, during and after vitreoretinal surgery. In the absence of a consensus, the decision to withdraw antithrombotic therapy is based on the cardiovascular thromboembolism risk versus the theoretical risk of bleeding if the antithrombotic treatment is continued. As suggested by the literature, antiplatelet therapy (acetylsalicylic acid or clopidogrel) may be safely continued for vitreoretinal surgery, including retinal detachment repair.

A case-control study to assess aspirin as a risk factor of bleeding in rhegmatogenous retinal detachment surgery.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hemorrhagic risk factors during the management of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RD).

Methods: Three hundred and twenty-two patients with (n = 74) or without (n = 248) bleeding (anterior segment, choroidal, intravitreal and/or subretinal) during or after RD surgery were included in this case-control study. Exclusion criteria were: history of trauma, vitreoretinal surgery, diabetic retinopathy, and taking clopidogrel and/or a vitamin K antagonist.

Hourly awakening vs continuous contact lens sensor measurements of 24-hour intraocular pressure: effect on sleep macrostructure and intraocular pressure rhythm.

Importance: All studies of 24-hour intraocular pressure (IOP) rhythm conducted to date have used repeated IOP measurements requiring nocturnal awakenings, potentially disturbing sleep macrostructure.

Objective: To evaluate the effects on sleep architecture and IOP rhythm of hourly awakening vs a contact lens sensor (CLS) to continuously monitor IOP without awakening.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Cross-sectional study at a referral center of chronobiology among 12 young healthy volunteers, with a mean (SD) age of 22.

Long-term reproducibility of diurnal intraocular pressure patterns in patients with glaucoma.

Purpose: To evaluate the long-term reproducibility of diurnal intraocular pressure (IOP) patterns in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

Design: Database study.

Participants: Ninety-two patients with POAG.

Anterior segment biometry using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.

Purpose: To compare the anterior chamber and anterior chamber angle measurements obtained with spectral-domain anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and time-domain AS-OCT.

Methods: The anterior chamber of healthy participants was imaged with spectral-domain AS-OCT (Casia SS-1000; Tomey, Nagoya, Japan) and time-domain AS-OCT (Visante; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA). Central corneal thickness (CCT), anterior chamber depth (ACD), angle opening distance at 500 and 750 μm (AOD 500 and AOD 750), trabecular iris space area at 500 and 750 μm (TISA 500 and TISA 750), and scleral spur angle were measured.

Structure-function relationships with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography retinal nerve fiber layer and optic nerve head measurements.

Purpose: To evaluate the regional structure-function relationship between visual field sensitivity and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and optic nerve head (ONH) measurements using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).

Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study conducted on patients with glaucoma, suspected glaucoma, and healthy subjects. Eyes were tested on Cirrus OCT and standard achromatic perimetry.

[Ocular syphilis].

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum. Previously known as the "great imitator", this disease can have numerous and complex manifestations. The ophthalmologist should suspect the diagnosis in patients with uveitis or optic neuropathy and high-risk sexual behavior and/or another sexually transmitted disease (such as HIV) or those presenting with posterior placoid chorioretinitis or necrotising retinitis.

Twenty-four-hour rhythm of ocular perfusion pressure in non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy.

Purpose: In non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy (NAAION) patients, circulatory insufficiency within the optic nerve has previously been hypothesized to be related to nocturnal systemic hypotension. The main objective of this prospective cohort study was to investigate the nyctohemeral variations in ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) in NAAION patients.

Methods: In 20 patients with NAAION, the intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured using the Tono-Pen XL(™) electronic tonometer every hour for 24 hr.

Principles and applications of molecular biology techniques for the microbiological diagnosis of acute post-operative endophthalmitis.

The systematic microbiological evaluation of endophthalmitis allows the confirmation of the infectious nature of the disease and the possible adaptation of treatment at the individual level and, at the collective level, the epidemiological characterization of the bacterial spectrum of endophthalmitis. Long reserved for research, the use of molecular biology techniques to complement conventional culture techniques has become important for the diagnosis of endophthalmitis in recent years. These new diagnostic techniques are particularly useful for the microbiological study of bacteria that are difficult or impossible to grow because of their intrinsic properties, their presence in only a small inoculum, their sequestration on prosthetic materials, or their inactivation by prior antibiotic treatment.

Continuous response of optic nerve head blood flow to increase of arterial blood pressure in humans.

Purpose: This study investigates the effect of increased ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) on optic nerve head (ONH) hemodynamics.

Methods: In 21 healthy subjects, the increase in arterial blood pressure (BP), measured continuously using a pneumatic transcutaneous sensor, was produced by isometric exercise consisting of 2 minutes of hand-gripping. ONH blood flow parameters-namely the velocity (Vel), number (Vol), and flux (F) of red blood cells-were measured using the laser Doppler flowmeter (LDF).