Recently Published Articles
Eye Exam in the Virtual World: A Pilot Study
Abstract:
This study investigated the feasibility of using three-dimensional (3D) technology as a multi-functional visual stimulus to assist the clinical eye exam. Specifically, we examined: (1) whether the receding movement of a 3D fixation target into distance could relax the accommodation of non-cycloplegic hyperopic subjects so that accurate refraction measurements could be achieved; (2) the feasibility of using the left-eye and right-eye images from the 3D monitor as the light source to perform swinging-flashlight pupil tests; and (3) the implementation of 3D technology to interrupt the binocular visual/motor fusion as required for the clinical cover test to identify strabismus. Using a 3D TV to provide visual stimuli and a photoscreening (PS) device, near-infrared (NIR) eye images were acquired and analyzed for each of the three objectives. The result of accommodation test showed that with visual stimuli, the maximal hyperopic refractions could more ac...
A Systematic Review of Mexican American Elders with Type-2 Diabetes under Family Care of Medication Administration in Borderland
Abstract:
The prevalence of type-2 diabetes (T2DM) among Mexican-American older adults along the U.S.-Mexico border region is at epidemic proportions. Healthcare reform is trending toward long-term home-based management of chronic conditions. Under the Mexican cultural norm of familism, daily care for elders is also often provided by family caregivers whose competence levels may vary. Adherence to the prescribed medication regimen is critical to attainment of optimal glucose control. However, there is a startling lack of literature that addresses the link between family medication administration and care recipients’ health outcome. This paper explores the role of culture in medication administration by family caregivers of elders with T2DM from the perspective of caregiver capabilities and caregiving demands. A critical review of the literature offers suggestions to guide future studies.
A Checklist Instrument: Sensory Cues within Assisted Living Facilities
Abstract:
As people age, environments supporting changing needs can potentially impact their quality of life. The purpose of this exploratory study was to develop and assess the validity of a checklist instrument used to evaluate senior-supportive environmental risk factors within assisted living facilities (ALFs). Aging often leads to a decrease in the ability of a person to interpret sensory cues within his or her environment. This checklist instrument examined the relationship between sensory cue frequency and the influence on fall incidence within ALFs to maximize safety and quality of life. Observers visited 140 ALFs, utilizing the checklist instrument to document the presence or non-presence of 110 sensory cues. Contrary to the original hypothesis, a positive correlation was found between sensory cues and reported falls in each space. As the number of cues increased, the number of falls also increased. Additionally, the frequency of sensory cues within each room incre...
Rescuing Canavan Disease by Redirecting Metabolic Processing: Support for the Astrocyte Hypothesis of Canavan Disease Generation and A Possible Human Cure
Abstract:
Canavan disease (CD) is a globally occurring but rare human spongiform leukodystrophy that is associated with inborn errors affecting the activity of aspartoacylase (ASPA), an enzyme highly expressed in oligodendrocytes that hydrolyzes N-acetylaspartate (NAA). Lack of ASPA activity is associated with the inability of oligodendrocytes to build or maintain axon-enveloping myelin sheaths. The primary source of NAA in brain is neurons, cells that synthesize but cannot catabolize it. Neurons also synthesize N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAAG) from NAA and glutamate but cannot catabolize this substance as well. For their metabolism, these substances are released to extracellular fluid and are metabolized by oligodendrocyte ASPA and astrocyte NAAG peptidase respectively. A hypothesis developed suggested that the cause of the leukodystrophy component in CD was due to release of NAAG by neurons at white matter nodes of Ranvier, its catabolism by astrocytes forming NAA and inc...
The Influence of Race, Age, and Pupil Size on the Measurement of a Photorefraction Device
Abstract:
Photorefraction (PR) methods have beenwidely used for pediatric vision screening since the 1980’s. While PR is easy to implement, the accuracy of refractive error measurements in humans has been unsatisfactory, largely due to the variations of intraocular scattering, the retinal reflectance, and pupil size. The objective of our studies was to clinically evaluate the accuracy of refraction measurements of an improved PR-based device, the Dynamic Ocular Evaluation System (DOES), and to investigate whether the accuracy is affected by the patient’s age, race, and pupil size, which are relevant to individual intraocular scattering and retinal reflectance. We performed DOES measurements in 99 volunteers (198 eyes) under two environmental light conditions and using four fixation targets. These results were compared to the standard clinical refraction testing performed the same day. The correlation and standard deviation were determined by Bland-Altman analysis. The i...
Molecular Structure and Vibrational Analysis of 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2, 3-Dihydro-1H-Perimidine using Density Functional Theory
Abstract:
The compound 2-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2, 3-dihydro-1H-perimidine (MPDP) was synthesized. The molecular structure and its functional groups were characterized with the help of Fourier Transform Infrared: FTIR/ Fourier Transform FT-Raman spectra in the regions of 400-4000/50-4000cm-1, respectively. The geometrical parameters, harmonic vibrational wavenumbers, Infrared (IR) & Raman scattering intensities, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) chemical shift and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectra were computed using B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory. The complete vibrational analysis were made on the basis of Potential energy distribution (PED) calculation with the help of VEDA4 programme. The Highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) – Lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy gap and intra-molecular charge transfer (ICT) were studied using NBO analysis. The first order hyperpolarizability (β0) and other related properties (β, α0, Δα) of ...
Combination of Radiation Therapy and Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Melanoma
Abstract:
Melanoma is considered to be a very aggressive cancer due to its rapid growth, early and multiple metastases and limited response to standard treatment. Many researchers have hypothesized that the combination of radiation therapy and immunotherapy in the treatment of melanoma primary tumors and metastases improves the efficiency of these methods as compared to their use separately. Therefore, combined therapy is an increasingly popular topic in radiation oncology. Although the mechanism of immune response to ionizing radiation remains unclear, known are the factors involved in the immune response, including NK and CD8(+) T cells. Many studies have demonstrated the importance of inflammatory factors, primarily cytokines, in the response to ionizing radiation. In turn, many cytokines released in an irradiated organ, such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), interleukins IL1 and IL6 and transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ), can induce the production of significa...
Prediction of Discharge Disposition in Geriatric Women after Traumatic Injury
Abstract:
Discharge disposition planning begins at admission and is frequently one of the first questions posed to healthcare providers by patients and families. We hypothesized that pre-injury functional status would predict discharge disposition. We linked prospective data from the Worcester, MA cohort of the Global Longitudinal Study of Osteoporosis (GLOW) study and the UMassMemorial Level 1 Trauma Center Registry to determine predictors of discharge disposition for female geriatric (over the age of 55) trauma patients using bivariate comparisons and multivariable modeling. 154 women of 5,091 in the Worcester GLOW cohort were evaluated for traumatic injury at UMassMemorial and were discharged alive eit...
Internal Jugular Vein and Transverse Sinus Thrombosis as a Complication of a Chronic Ethmoidal Sinusitis
Abstract:
Lemierre’s syndrome is rare jugular thrombosis associated with an oropharyngeal infection. The jugular thrombosis is from septic origin. This often happens in young males subjects. We described Lemierre’s syndrome in a 46 year-old man with a chronic ethmoidal sinusitis associated to the left jugular thrombosis extended to the transverse sinus with a partial recanalisation after three months of oral anticoagulant therapy.
Implementing High Energy Liquid Nutrition, Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Nutritional Supplements for the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa
Abstract:
To assess the effect of different treatment approaches on the course of anorexia nervosa (AN) over time. The subjects were 27 hospitalized AN patients. In our retrospective analysis we compared weight gain in two groups. While one group was treated with a standard oral refeeding protocol (historical control) through January 2013 (N=16), the second group (highly standardized refeeding protocol) received a high energy liquid nutrition and nutritional supplements including omega-3 fatty acids (N=11). On admission, the two groups were comparable in terms of height, weight, age and heart rate. At the end of our monitoring time frame of 25 days, weight gain was 121.4% higher in the highly standardized re...