Estimating Visual Acuity Without a Visual Acuity Chart.

Purpose: This study explored whether visual acuity (VA) can be inferred from self-reported ability to recognize everyday objects using a set of yes/no questions.

Methods: Participants answered 100 yes/no questions designed to assess their ability to recognize familiar objects at typical viewing distances, such as distinguishing between a full moon and a half moon on a clear night. The questions demanded VA ranging from normal to severe vision impairment.

Melanopsin in the human and chicken choroid.

The choroid embedded in between retina and sclera is essential for retinal photoreceptor nourishment, but is also a source of growth factors in the process of emmetropization that converts retinal visual signals into scleral growth signals. Still, the exact control mechanisms behind those functions are enigmatic while circadian rhythms are involved. These rhythms are attributed to daylight influences that are melanopsin (OPN4) driven.

Effects of Morning or Evening Narrow-band Blue Light on the Compensation to Lens-induced Hyperopic Defocus in Chicks.

Significance: Exposure to blue light before bedtime is purported to be deleterious to various aspects of human health. In chicks, blue evening light stimulated ocular growth, suggesting a role in myopia development. To further investigate this hypothesis, we asked if brief blue light altered the compensatory responses to hyperopic defocus.

Effects of morning and evening exposures to blue light of varying illuminance on ocular growth rates and ocular rhythms in chicks.

Recent evidence indicates that moderate levels of blue light are sufficient to suppress the nighttime rise in serum melatonin in humans, suggesting that luminous screens may be deleterious to sleep cycles and to other functions. Little is known however, about the effects of exposures to blue light on ocular physiology. We tested the effects of transient blue light exposures of various illuminances on ocular growth rates and ocular rhythms in chicks.

Visual conditions affecting eye growth alter diurnal levels of vitreous DOPAC.

In chicks, the diurnal patterns of retinal dopamine synthesis and release are associated with refractive development. To assess the within-day patterns of dopamine release, we assayed vitreal levels of DOPAC (3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid) using high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, at 4-h intervals over 24 h in eyes with experimental manipulations that change ocular growth rates. Chicks were reared under a 12 h light/12 h dark cycle; experiments began at 12 days of age.

The effects of brief high intensity light on ocular growth in chicks developing myopia vary with time of day.

Evidence suggests that the relevant variable in the anti-myopigenic effect of increased time spent outdoors is the increase in light intensity. Because light is the strongest Zeitgeber, it is plausible that the effects of bright light exposure depend on time of day, and may impact circadian rhythms. In these studies, we asked whether the effects on eye growth rates and ocular rhythms of brief daily exposures to bright light differed depending on time of day in eyes developing myopia in response to form deprivation (FD) or negative lens-induced hyperopic defocus (LENS).

12 Components of a Strong Vision Health System of Care: Part 3-Standardized Approach for Rescreening.

Strong school-based vision and eye health systems include 12 key components to be implemented before, during, and after the actual vision screening event. The National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health (NCCVEH) at Prevent Blindness partnered with the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) to provide guidance for school nurses for each of the 12 key components via a Vision and Eye Health webpage on the NASN website ( https://www.nasn.

12 Components of a Strong Vision Health System of Care: Components 1 and 2-Family Education and Comprehensive Communication/Approval Process.

The National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health (NCCVEH) at Prevent Blindness partnered with the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) to provide guidance for school nurses responsible for screening the vision of preschool and K-12 students. Goals of this national partnership are to (1) standardize approaches to vision health, (2) facilitate follow up to eye care for students who do not pass vision screening, (3) provide family/caregiver friendly educational information, and (4) consult with leading pediatric eye care experts to promote evidence-based best practices. The NCCVEH/NASN partnership created a Vision and Eye Health page on the NASN website ( https://www.

Effects of time-of-day on inhibition of lens-induced myopia by quinpirole, pirenzepine and atropine in chicks.

Injections of the D2 dopamine receptor agonist quinpirole or the acetylcholine muscarinic receptor antagonists pirenzepine and atropine prevent the development of negative-lens-induced myopia in chicks by inhibiting ocular growth. Because ocular growth is diurnally rhythmic, we hypothesized that the efficacy for inhibition may depend on time of day. Chicks wore monocular -10D lenses for 5 days, starting at 12d of age.

Effects of autonomic denervations on the rhythms in axial length and choroidal thickness in chicks.

In chicks, axial length and choroidal thickness undergo circadian oscillations. The choroid is innervated by both branches of the autonomic nervous system, but their contribution(s) to these rhythms is unknown. We used two combination lesions to test this.

Brief hyperopic defocus or form deprivation have varying effects on eye growth and ocular rhythms depending on the time-of-day of exposure.

It is generally accepted that myopic defocus is a more potent signal to the emmetropization system than hyperopic defocus: one hour per day of myopic defocus cancels out 11 h of hyperopic defocus. However, we have recently shown that the potency of brief episodes of myopic defocus at inhibiting eye growth depends on the time of day of exposure. We here ask if this will also be true of the responses to brief periods of hyperopic defocus: may integration of the signal depend on time of day? If so, are the rhythms in axial length and choroidal thickness altered? Hyperopic defocus: Birds had one eye exposed to hyperopic defocus by the wearing of -10D lenses for 2 or 6 h at one of 3 times of day for 5 days: Morning (7 am - 9 am: n = 13; 7 am - 1 pm: n = 6), Mid-day (12 pm - 2 pm: n = 20; 10 am - 4 pm: n = 8), or Evening (7 pm - 9 pm: n = 12; 2 pm - 8 pm: n = 11).

Influence of Optic Disc Size on Identifying Glaucomatous Optic Neuropathy.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to use a large group of observers to test prior research findings that suggest optic disc size, clinical evaluation of the neuroretinal rim (ISNT rule), and practitioner characteristics influence the accuracy of differentiating normal from glaucomatous optic nerves.

Methods: Participant observers were optometrists, optometry students, and vision scientists/researchers attending the 2013 American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting. Each observer viewed and judged six sets of stereoscopic photographs of normal and clinically confirmed glaucomatous optic nerves of different sizes presented in random order.

Myopic defocus in the evening is more effective at inhibiting eye growth than defocus in the morning: Effects on rhythms in axial length and choroid thickness in chicks.

Animal models have shown that myopic defocus is a potent inhibitor of ocular growth: brief (1-2 h) daily periods of defocus are sufficient to counter the effects of much longer periods of hyperopic defocus, or emmetropic vision. While the variables of duration and frequency have been well-documented with regard to effect, we ask whether the efficacy of the exposures might also depend on the time of day that they are given. We also ask whether there are differential effects on the rhythms in axial length or choroidal thickness.

Brief light exposure at night disrupts the circadian rhythms in eye growth and choroidal thickness in chicks.

Changes in ocular growth that lead to myopia or hyperopia are associated with alterations in the circadian rhythms in eye growth, choroidal thickness and intraocular pressure in animal models of emmetropization. Recent studies have shown that light at night has deleterious effects on human health, acting via "circadian disruptions" of various diurnal rhythms, including changes in phase or amplitude. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of brief, 2-h episodes of light in the middle of the night on the rhythms in axial length and choroidal thickness, and whether these alter eye growth and refractive error in the chick model of myopia.

Practitioner Perceptions of Patients Wearing Decorative Contact Lenses Purchased Through Unauthorized Sellers.

Objectives: To describe practitioner experiences regarding ocular complications in patients wearing decorative contact lenses, and to investigate the compliance of unauthorized distributors of decorative contact lenses to current Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations. Also, to provide data to support a more targeted public health approach to reducing the incidence of illegal contact lens sales and associated ocular complications.

Methods: An institutional review board-approved online survey was distributed through mass email to a list of 98 optometrists in the Boston, MA area.

Choroidal thickness predicts ocular growth in normal chicks but not in eyes with experimentally altered growth.

Background: In hatchling chicks, the thickness of the choroid is quite variable. It has been postulated that thickness per se or the changes occurring during early life might play a causal role in the regulation of ocular growth. We tested this notion by measuring ocular dimensions in several experimental conditions that alter ocular growth and in the fellow eyes.

Measurement of the photoreceptor pointing in the living chick eye.

The chick eye is used in the study of ocular growth and emmetropization; however optical aberrations in the lens and cornea limit the ability to visualize fine retinal structure in living eyes. These aberrations can be corrected using adaptive optics (AO) allowing for cellular level imaging in vivo. Here, this capability is extended to measure the angular tuning properties of individual photoreceptors.

The Muscarinic Antagonist MT3 Distinguishes Between Form Deprivation- and Negative Lens-Induced Myopia in Chicks.

Purpose: The muscarinic M4 receptor antagonist MT3 (muscarinic toxin 3) is effective at inhibiting the development of myopia in response to form deprivation, and prevents the deprivation-induced choroidal thinning. We asked if it was equally effective in eyes wearing negative lenses.

Methods: Chicks wore monocular diffusers or -15 D lenses for 7 days.

Stereoacuity of preschool children with and without vision disorders.

Purpose: To evaluate associations between stereoacuity and presence, type, and severity of vision disorders in Head Start preschool children and determine testability and levels of stereoacuity by age in children without vision disorders.

Methods: Stereoacuity of children aged 3 to 5 years (n = 2898) participating in the Vision in Preschoolers (VIP) Study was evaluated using the Stereo Smile II test during a comprehensive vision examination. This test uses a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm with four stereoacuity levels (480 to 60 seconds of arc).

Correlation of tear osmolarity and dry eye symptoms in convention attendees.

Purpose: To assess the correlation between tear osmolarity readings and symptoms of dry eye in a nonclinical convenience sample and to determine how well symptoms and osmolarity correlate with the self-assessment of dry eye.

Methods: Two hundred forty-nine attendees in the exhibit hall at an optometric educational meeting agreed to participate in a dry eye study. Contact lens wearers were excluded.

Nitric oxide synthase inhibitors prevent the growth-inhibiting effects of quinpirole.

Purpose: Both dopamine and nitric oxide (NO) have been implicated in the signal cascade mediating ocular growth inhibition. If both are part of the same pathway, which precedes the other? We tested the hypothesis that dopamine acts upstream of NO, by using two NOS inhibitors in combination with the dopamine agonist quinpirole, and measured the effects on ocular growth rate.

Methods: Chicks wore -10 D lenses or diffusers (FD) for 4 days starting at age 13 days.

Effects of muscarinic agents on chick choroids in intact eyes and eyecups: evidence for a muscarinic mechanism in choroidal thinning.

Purpose: In chicks, ocular growth inhibition is associated with choroidal thickening and growth stimulation with choroidal thinning, suggesting a mechanistic link between the two responses. Because muscarinic antagonists inhibit the development of myopia in animal models by a non-accommodative mechanism, we tested the hypothesis that agonists would stimulate eye growth and thin the choroid. We also hypothesized that the effective growth-inhibiting antagonists would thicken the choroid.

Parasympathetic influences on emmetropization in chicks: evidence for different mechanisms in form deprivation vs negative lens-induced myopia.

Ciliary ganglionectomy inhibits the development of myopia in chicks (Schmid et al., 1999), but has no effect on the compensatory responses to spectacle lenses (Schmid and Wildsoet, 1996). This study was done to assess the potential influence of the other parasympathetic input to the choroid, the pterygopalatine ganglia, on the choroidal and axial responses to retinal defocus, and to form deprivation.

Watching Their Steps: Integrating Vision Intervention Into Daily Practice to Limit Fall Risk at Skilled Nursing Facilities.

Strategies that address decreased vision are an important part of multifactorial interventions to prevent falls and facilitate safe participation in valued occupations.

Association of education and occupation with myopia in COMET parents.

Purpose: To investigate refractive error, especially myopia, in parents of myopic children and its association with education and occupation.

Methods: Six hundred twenty-seven parents (n = 375 mothers and 252 fathers) of the 469 myopic 6- to <12-year-old children enrolled in COMET provided refraction data as well as answered questions about their education and occupation. Eighty-five percent of the refractions were obtained by non-cycloplegic autorefraction (Nidek ARK 700A), and 15% were obtained from the most recent prescription.