Sense Organs Commons^™

Best Screening: Introducing The Neonatal Assessment Visual European Grid To Nicus In Tennessee, Gabrielle Sledge

OTD Capstone Projects

Blind Early Services Tennessee (BEST) is an early intervention agency that serves children ages 0-5 with visual impairments across Tennessee. BEST serves over 200 children and families across the state offering early intervention (BEST Start), parent empowerment (BEST Advocate), and family support (BEST Together) programming. The purpose of this project was to assist in the implementation of an early identification initiative (BEST Screening) using the Neonatal Assessment Visual European Grid (NAVEG). The NAVEG is a newborn vision screening shown to identify neurological risk for visual impairments. The long-term goal of this program is to promote the screening and early identification …

Dha Shortage Causes The Early Degeneration Of Photoreceptors And Rpe In Mice With Peroxisomal Β-Oxidation Deficiency, Daniëlle Swinkels, Sai Kocherlakota, Yannick Das, Adriaan D. Dane, Eric J.M. Wever, Frédéric M. Vaz, Nicolas G. Bazan, Paul P. Van Veldhoven, Myriam Baes

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

PURPOSE. Patients deficient in peroxisomal β-oxidation, which is essential for the synthesis of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3) and breakdown of very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs), both important components of photoreceptor outer segments, develop retinopathy present with retinopathy. The representative mouse model lacking the central enzyme of this pathway, multifunctional protein 2 (Mfp2−/−), also show early-onset retinal decay and cell-autonomous retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) degeneration, accompanied by reduced plasma and retinal DHA levels. In this study, we investigated whether DHA supplementation can rescue the retinal degeneration of Mfp2−/− mice. METHODS. Mfp2+/− breeding pairs and their offspring were fed a 0.12% DHA …

Rod-Specific Downregulation Of Omega-3 Very-Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Pathway In Age-Related Macular Degeneration, William C. Gordon, Marie Audrey I. Kautzmann, Bokkyoo Jun, Megan L. Cothern, Zhide Fang, Nicolas G. Bazan

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6) plays a key role in vision and is the precursor for very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs). The release of 32- and 34-carbon VLC-PUFAs and DHA from sn-1 and sn-2 of phosphatidylcholine (PC) leads to the synthesis of cell-survival mediators, the elovanoids (ELVs) and neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1), respectively. Macula and periphery from age-related macular degeneration (AMD) donor retinas were assessed for the availability of DHA-related lipids by LC-MS/MS-based lipidomic analysis and MALDI-molecular imaging. We found reduced retina DHA and VLC-PUFA pathways to synthesize omega-3 ELVs from precursors that likely resulted in altered disks and photoreceptor loss. Additionally, …

Potential Chemical Risks From Tattoos And Their Relevance To Military Health Policy In The United States, James D. Blando, Blas A. Guigni

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

We summarize and consolidate disparate sources of information about the practice of tattooing and its potential implications for military population health and policy. Each branch of the United States military has policies about tattoos for service members, but these have varied over time and do not cover health protection. The number of veterans receiving disability payments and the cost of those payments has been rising over time; the broad category of skin conditions accounts for 11% of disability claims. Any additional factor, such as tattoos that may increase the occurrence of adverse skin reactions, can substantially impact veteran benefit expenses …

Virtual Surgical Planning In Craniomaxillofacial Surgery: A Structured Review, Kaye Verlarde, Rentor Cafino, Armando Isla Jr., Karen Mae Ty, Xavier-Lewis Palmer, Lucas Potter, Larry Nadorra, Luchin Valrian Pueblos, Lemuel Clark Velasco

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Craniomaxillofacial (CMF) surgery is a challenging and very demanding field that involves the treatment of congenital and acquired conditions of the face and head. Due to the complexity of the head and facial region, various tools and techniques were developed and utilized to aid surgical procedures and optimize results. Virtual Surgical Planning (VSP) has revolutionized the way craniomaxillofacial surgeries are planned and executed. It uses 3D imaging computer software to visualize and simulate a surgical procedure. Numerous studies were published on the usage of VSP in craniomaxillofacial surgery. However, the researchers found inconsistency in the previous literature which prompted the …

Complications Of Pediatric Cochlear Implant Surgery, Andrew Stefan, Sabrina Bernardo, William Azkoul Ii, Bianca Siegel

Medical Student Research Symposium

Background:

Cochlear implantation (CI) surgery is the standard of care treatment for pediatric patients diagnosed with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss. While considered a relatively safe operation, any invasive procedure involving the cranium has risks. However, there are few recent studies in the United States that have analyzed complication rates among children who have received CI. Furthermore, existing studies fail to discuss specific risk factors that led to post-operative complications, nor offer solutions to reduce their incidence. This study aims to 1) determine the incidence of specific complications in pediatric CI patients and 2) identify evidence-based risk factors for …

Association Between Craniofacial Anomalies And Newborn Hearing Screening Fail Rate, Kaitlyn Sheapp, Ruth S. Marin, Larry Medwetsky

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: Increased knowledge of the prevalence of various craniofacial anomalies and their associated risks for hearing loss can help guide 1) development of evidence-based practice regarding detection and documentation of risk factors at birth and 2) health care professionals to make appropriate recommendations for follow-up testing and monitoring.

Method: Records were reviewed for 39,813 infants born at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center and White Oak Medical Center between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2019 to determine the association between the presence of craniofacial anomalies and newborn hearing screening fail rates, as well as the prevalence of confirmed hearing …

Sex Differences In Hippocampal O-Glcnacylation Of The Adult Mouse Brain, Makenzie Johnson

Selected Honors Theses

The hippocampus is a structure in the brain crucial for learning and memory. This occurs by synaptic remodeling known as long term potentiation and long term depression. Modifications of proteins in the hippocampus can affect its function. One of these modifications is the addition of O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine, also known as O-GlcNAc. This is a sugar produced from glucose by the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway that is reversibly added onto serine and threonine residues of proteins by O-GlcNAc Transferase, or OGT. It is reversibly removed from these residues by O-GlcNAcAse, or OGA. This modification has been implicated in diabetes, cardiac dysfunction, and …

Otorhinolaryngology Consultations In A Multidisciplinary Hospital - Their Effects On Residents Training On Floor, Ambreen Abdullah Unar, Muhammad Hammad Deewani, Mohammad Sohail Awan, Syeda Amrah Hashmi, Abdul Basit Shah Vardag, Ainulakbar Mughal

Section of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery

Objective: To determine all types and severity of Otolaryngology consultation requests at our tertiary care center and spectral records of problems related to otorhinolaryngology come across initially by residents which will help in re-shaping residency programmes and enhance patient related care.
Methodology: All otorhinolaryngology consultation received over a three-month period were recorded prospectively. Information collected for each encounter included the time, date, reason for consult at primary service and admission with final ENT diagnosis, any surgical or non-surgical intervention, and basic patient demographics.
Results: A total of 127 consults for inpatients were reviewed from April 2020 to June 2020. Out …

In Vitro And In Vivo Correlation Of Skin And Cellular Responses To Nucleic Acid Delivery, M. Bosnjak, K. Znidar, A. Sales Conniff, T. Jesenko, B. Markelc, Nina Semenova, J. Tur, K. Kohena, S. Kranjc Brezar, L. Heller, M. Cemazar

Bioelectrics Publications

Skin, the largest organ in the body, provides a passive physical barrier against infection and contains elements of the innate and adaptive immune systems. Skin consists of various cells, including keratinocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and immune cells. This diversity of cell types could be important to gene therapies because DNA transfection could elicit different responses in different cell types. Previously, we observed the upregulation and activation of cytosolic DNA sensing pathways in several non-tumor and tumor cell types as well in tumors after the electroporation (electrotransfer) of plasmid DNA (pDNA). Based on this research and the innate immunogenicity of …

A Proposed Method To Verify Physician Visual Estimation Of Intraoperative Corneal Edema From Refractive Measurement Images During Cataract Surgery, Karalee Corley

CMC Senior Theses

A patient’s resultant vision quality in a restorative Femtosecond Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery (FLACS) can be fine tuned via an intraoperative measurement of refractive power and axis of astigmatism in the aphakic state. Standard preoperative measurements often disagree with intraoperative measurements (Optiwave Refractive Analysis; Alcon, Inc.) on account of the inclusion or exclusion of posterior corneal curvature, leaving the ultimate lens selection to physician discretion. One additional suggested cause of disagreement is swelling at the corneal incision site (Corley and Carmack 2020).The following proposes a method to verify visual estimation of intraoperative corneal swelling from 2D gray-scale images collected during …

Eye Movement And Pupil Measures: A Review, Bhanuka Mahanama, Yasith Jayawardana, Sundararaman Rengarajan, Gavindya Jayawardena, Leanne Chukoskie, Joseph Snider, Sampath Jayarathna

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Our subjective visual experiences involve complex interaction between our eyes, our brain, and the surrounding world. It gives us the sense of sight, color, stereopsis, distance, pattern recognition, motor coordination, and more. The increasing ubiquity of gaze-aware technology brings with it the ability to track gaze and pupil measures with varying degrees of fidelity. With this in mind, a review that considers the various gaze measures becomes increasingly relevant, especially considering our ability to make sense of these signals given different spatio-temporal sampling capacities. In this paper, we selectively review prior work on eye movements and pupil measures. We first …

Role Of Meibum And Tear Phospholipids In The Evaporative Water Loss Associated With Dry Eye., Samiyyah M. Sledge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is generally believed that the tear film lipid surface film inhibits the rate of evaporation (Revap) of the underlying tear aqueous. It is also generally believed that changes in the composition of the tear film lipid layer is responsible for an increase in Revap in patients with dry eye. Both of these ideas have never been proven. The purpose of the current studies was to test these ideas. Revap was measured in vitro gravimetrically. Lipid spreading was measured using Raman spectroscopy and microscopy. The influence of the following surface films on the Revap of the sub phase of physiologically …

Resetting Of Auditory And Visual Segregation Occurs After Transient Stimuli Of The Same Modality, Nathan C. Higgins, Ambar G. Monjaras, Breanne D. Yerkes, David F. Little, Jessica E. Nave-Blodgett, Mounya Elhilali, Joel S. Snyder

Psychology Faculty Research

In the presence of a continually changing sensory environment, maintaining stable but flexible awareness is paramount, and requires continual organization of information. Determining which stimulus features belong together, and which are separate is therefore one of the primary tasks of the sensory systems. Unknown is whether there is a global or sensory-specific mechanism that regulates the final perceptual outcome of this streaming process. To test the extent of modality independence in perceptual control, an auditory streaming experiment, and a visual moving-plaid experiment were performed. Both were designed to evoke alternating perception of an integrated or segregated percept. In both experiments, …

Comprehensive Review And Update Of Burning Eye Syndrome, Stephen Giacomazzi, Ivan Urits, Briggs Hoyt, Ashley Hubble, Elyse M. Cornett, Kyle Gress, Karina Charipova, Amnon A. Berger, Hisham Kassem, Alan D. Kaye, Omar Viswanath

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (“dry eye”) is a common (14%–30% of adults over age 48) though difficult to treat condition that causes both discomfort and disability with associated dryness, pain, and visual disturbances. Etiology is not clearly understood but is likely varied, with a subset of patients suffering from chronic neuropathic pain referred to as “burning eye syndrome.” This review of existing literature summarizes the clinical presentation, natural history, pathophysiology, and treatment modalities of burning eye syndrome.

Chronicity of burning eye syndrome is likely secondary to increased nociception from the cornea, decrease in inhibitory signals, and nerve growth factor expression alterations. Treatment …

The Developmental Plasticity Of Fruit Fly Vision, John Paul Currea

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation we explore the morphological and neural plasticity underlying vision at different scales—within and between species of Drosophila—to elucidate the role of eye development in the evolution of vision. In chapter 2, we offer a tool to accelerate large-scale research into compound eye morphology, and validate it on the eyes of several insect orders and image media. Then, in chapter 3 we demonstrate the developmental plasticity of eye morphology and neural summation in fruit flies, finding an interesting interplay between the two systems. In chapter 4, we elucidate the role of visual plasticity and neural summation in the …

Differential Effect Of Proinflammatory Cytokines On Corneal And Conjunctival Epithelial Cell Mucins And Glycocalyx, Kiumars Shamloo, Priya Mistry, Ashley Barbarino, Christopher Ross, Vishal Jhanji

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose: Ocular surface mucins and glycocalyx are critical for providing ocular hydration as well lubrication and repelling pathogens or allergens. Elevated levels of tear proinflammatory cytokines in dry eye may have detrimental effect on mucins and glycocalyx. The present study tested the effect of proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ on membrane-tethered mucins expression, glycocalyx, and viability of ocular surface epithelial cells.

Methods: Stratified cultures of human corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells were exposed to different concentrations of IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ for 24 hours. The mucins gene and protein expressions were quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction …

Terson-Like Syndrome Associated With Familial Retinal Arteriolar Tortuosity (Frat) And A Spontaneous Spinal Hemorrhage, Peter Maduka, David R. Lally

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: Familial retinal arteriolar tortuosity (fRAT) is an autosomal dominant disorder that is characterized by tortuosity of the second and third order retinal arterioles in the macular and peripapillary areas. The genetics of fRAT are incompletely understood but have been associated with a missense mutation in the COL4A1 gene in some cases. fRAT is not typically associated with visual loss and prognosis is good. However, the tortuous arterioles can bleed, causing intraretinal, preretinal, and/or subretinal hemorrhages.

Objective: To describe a case of Terson-like syndrome associated with familial retinal arteriolar tortuosity (fRAT) in the setting of spontaneous spinal hemorrhage.

Results: A …

Retinal Vasculitis: A Case Study, Peter Maduka, Sarah G. Bonaffini, Naman Shah, Deepika Malik

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Purpose: To describe a case of idiopathic retinal vasculitis.

Methods: Case report and literature review.

Case: A healthy 25-year-old female presented with a one-week history of a large floater in her right eye. Patient’s subjective complaint of floaters, including the scotoma on VF and the FA findings were most consistent with retinal vasculitis displaying predominant venous involvement. However, findings for acute macular neuroretinopathy and multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) were present as well. Autoimmune and infectious disease panels were negative. Neuro consult and brain MRI showed nonspecific, non contributory findings. Several weeks later, following Medrol dose pack, patient reported …

Open Neuroscience Initiative, Austin Lim

College of Science and Health Full Text Publications

The Open Neuroscience Initiative is a free-to-use textbook

This project began as a means to overcoming the financial burden that face undergraduate neuroscience students when buying textbooks. By compiling and writing a completely free-to-access textbook that covers the foundations of a typical college introduction to neuroscience course, students would have one less obstacle to overcome in their educational career, allowing them to focus their valuable time and attention on learning rather than finances. To make this project a reality, I began with a humble tweet in May 2019 that managed to gain a tiny bit of traction among the neuroscience …