Ophthalmology Commons^™

Vitreoretinal Lymphoma Presenting As Frosted Branch Angiitis In A Patient With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Tomas Anderson, Charles G. Miller, Tian Xia, Jose S. Pulido, Alexander J. Brucker, Albert M. Maguire

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Purpose: To describe the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of vitreoretinal lymphoma presenting as frosted branch angiitis in a patient with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Observations: A 57-year-old woman with a history of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and recent DLBCL relapse presented with frosted branch angiitis that raised suspicion for an infectious retinitis but was found to be vitreoretinal lymphoma.

Conclusions and Importance: This case primarily highlights the importance of considering vitreoretinal lymphoma on the differential diagnosis of etiologies of frosted branch angiitis. Despite suspicion for vitreoretinal lymphoma, it is also important to treat empirically for infectious etiologies of retinitis in cases …

The Association Of Intravitreal Injections Of Different Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor With Systemic Outcomes In Diabetic Patients, Eugene Yu-Chuan Kang, Tzu-Yi Lin, Sunir J. Garg, Nan-Kai Wang, Lee-Jen Chen, Pei-Wei Huang, Ming-Jen Chan, Kuan-Jen Chen, Wei-Chi Wu, Chi-Chun Lai, Yih-Shiou Hwang

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

This retrospective cohort study aimed to assess the systemic effects of three commonly available anti-vascular endothelial growth factor intravitreal injections in patients with diabetes, using data taken from a multi-institutional database in Taiwan. Patient data were sourced from the multi-institutional Chang Gung Research Database. Participants were divided into groups based on treatment with bevacizumab, ranibizumab, or aflibercept. Baseline characteristics were matched among the groups by the inverse probability of treatment weighting. The incidence rate of outcome events was calculated as the number of events divided by 100 person-years of follow-up. The cumulative incidence function was used to estimate the incidence …

Comparative Evaluation Of The Effect Of Calcium Silicate And Epoxy Resinbased Root Canal Sealers On Postoperative Pain In Patients With Primary Endodontic Lesion: A Randomized Clinical Study, Kaur Supreet, Karkala Venkappa Kishan, Nimisha Chinmay Shah, Ruchi Shah, Manan G Shroff, Shreya Volety

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: This study's objective was to assess and compare postoperative pain response between bioceramic sealer (Nishika BG) and epoxy resin based (AH Plus) in patients with primary endodontic lesion at time interval of 24 h, 48 h, and 7 days using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 40 individuals with necrotic pulp and apical periodontitis. Calcium hydroxide was administered as the intracanal medication during the two-visit endodontic therapy. They were subsequently allocated randomly to either the AH Plus root canal sealer or the Nishika Canal Sealer BG, with a total of 20 participants in each …

Conjunctival And Lingual Mucosal Neuromas Without Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 2b, Talia N. Shoshany, Christopher J. Rapuano, Tatyana Milman

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Purpose: To report a patient with conjunctival and buccal neuromas and enlarged corneal nerves without Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia 2B (MEN2B).

Observations: A 28-year-old female presented with progressively enlarging bilateral limbal conjunctival growths. Slit lamp examination was notable for enlarged corneal nerves and well-circumscribed gelatinous subepithelial limbal nodules. Systemic examination revealed similar lesions on the tongue. Conjunctival biopsy demonstrated a mucosal neuroma. The patient underwent endocrine workup for MEN2B and genetic testing for the RET-proto oncogene mutations, all of which were negative.

Conclusions and Importance: The findings in our patient may be compatible with pure mucosal neuroma syndrome. The pattern of …

Risk Of Diabetic Retinopathy Between Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors And Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists, Tzu-Yi Lin, Eugene Yu-Chuan Kang, Shih-Chieh Shao, Edward Chia-Cheng Lai, Sunir J. Garg, Kuan-Jen Chen, Je-Ho Kang, Wei-Chi Wu, Chi-Chun Lai, Yih-Shiou Hwang

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

BACKGROUND: To compare risk of diabetic retinopathy (DR) between patients taking sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) and those taking glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RAs) in routine care.

METHODS: This retrospective cohort study emulating a target trial included patient data from the multi-institutional Chang Gung Research Database in Taiwan. Totally, 33,021 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using SGLT2is and GLP1-RAs between 2016 and 2019 were identified. 3,249 patients were excluded due to missing demographics, age <40 >years, prior use of any study drug, a diagnosis of retinal disorders, a history of receiving vitreoretinal procedure, no baseline glycosylated hemoglobin, or no follow-up data. …

Defining The Role Of Ab Externo Xen Gel Stent In Glaucomatous Eyes With Prior Failed Surgical Intervention, Lillian K To, Rupak K Dhoot, Alice Z Chuang, Sam Karimaghaei, Francisco Guevara-Abadia, Ruchi D Shah, Robert M Feldman

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Xen45 Gel stent (Xen; Allergan) in eyes that have failed prior surgical intervention, compared to traditional glaucoma drainage device (GDD) or continuous-wave cyclophotocoagulation (CPC). Since this population has low expected success rates with additional surgery, it is vital to compare to standard-of-care surgical options.

METHODS: Retrospective, single-center, case-control study of ab externo transconjunctival Xen shunt in eyes that have previously undergone trabeculectomy and/or GDD surgery. Postoperative data were collected for 18 months. Failure was defined as no light perception, additional glaucoma surgery required, or intraocular pressure (IOP) of < 6 mmHg after 6 weeks postoperatively.

RESULTS: Eighteen Xen eyes …

Direct Costs Of Second Aqueous Shunt Implant Versus Transscleral Cyclophotocoagulation (The Assists Trial), Jack X Ma, Alice Z Chuang, Robert M Feldman, Steve L Mansberger, Angelo P Tanna, Lauren S Blieden, Daniel Shoham, Nicholas P Bell, Ronald L Gross, Louis R Pasquale, David S Greenfield, Jeffrey M Liebmann, Robert N Weinreb

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PRCIS: The cost of cyclophotocoagulation is less than the cost of a second glaucoma drainage device.

PURPOSE: To compare the total direct costs of implantation of a second glaucoma drainage device (SGDD) with transscleral cyclophotocoagulation (CPC) for patients with inadequately controlled intraocular pressure (IOP) reduction, despite the presence of a preexisting glaucoma drainage device in the ASSISTS clinical trial.

METHODS: We compared the total direct cost per patient, including the initial study procedure, medications, additional procedures, and clinic visits during the study period. The relative costs for each procedure during the 90-day global period and the entire study period were …

A Multicenter Analysis Of Nucleic Acid Quantification Using Aqueous Humor Liquid Biopsy In Retinoblastoma: Implications For Clinical Testing, Deborah H Im, Sarah Pike, Mark W Reid, Chen-Ching Peng, Shreya Sirivolu, Hans E Grossniklaus, G Baker Hubbard, Alison H Skalet, Kellyn N Bellsmith, Carol L. Shields, Sara E Lally, Andrew W Stacey, Bibiana J Reiser, Aaron Nagiel, Rachana Shah, Liya Xu, Jesse L Berry

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

PURPOSE: Retinoblastoma (RB) is most often diagnosed with clinical features and not diagnosed with tumor biopsy. This study describes tumor-derived analyte concentrations from aqueous humor (AH) liquid biopsy and its use in clinical assays.

DESIGN: Case series study.

PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-two RB eyes from 55 children and 14 control eyes from 12 children from 4 medical centers.

METHODS: This study included 128 RB AH samples including: diagnostic (DX) samples, samples from eyes undergoing treatment (TX), samples after completing treatment (END), and during bevacizumab injection for radiation therapy after completing RB treatment (BEV). Fourteen-control AH were analyzed for unprocessed analytes (double-stranded DNA …

Sakurabonsai: Protocol Design Of A Novel, Prospective Study To Explore Clinical, Imaging, And Biomarker Outcomes In Patients With Aqp4-Igg-Seropositive Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder Receiving Open-Label Satralizumab, Jeffrey L Bennett, Kazuo Fujihara, Ho Jin Kim, Romain Marignier, Kevin C O'Connor, Robert C Sergott, Anthony Traboulsee, Heinz Wiendl, Jens Wuerfel, Scott S Zamvil, Veronica G Anania, Regine Buffels, Thomas Künzel, Annemarie N Lekkerkerker, Siân Lennon-Chrimes, Sean J Pittock

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Background: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a rare, autoimmune disease of the central nervous system that produces acute, unpredictable relapses causing cumulative neurological disability. Satralizumab, a humanized, monoclonal recycling antibody that targets the interleukin-6 receptor, reduced NMOSD relapse risk vs. placebo in two Phase 3 trials: SAkuraSky (satralizumab ± immunosuppressive therapy; NCT02028884) and SAkuraStar (satralizumab monotherapy; NCT02073279). Satralizumab is approved to treat aquaporin-4 IgG-seropositive (AQP4-IgG+) NMOSD. SAkuraBONSAI (NCT05269667) will explore fluid and imaging biomarkers to better understand the mechanism of action of satralizumab and the neuronal and immunological changes following treatment in AQP4-IgG+ NMOSD.

Objectives: …

Severe Ocular Alkali Injury Managed With An Externally Sutured Amniotic Membrane And Customized Symblepharon Ring, Sophia S. Lam, Bonnie Sklar, Marisa Schoen, Christopher J. Rapuano

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Alkali injuries are ocular emergencies that require immediate evaluation and therapy to preserve vision. Severe alkali injuries can result in long‑term vision‑threatening sequelae including symblepharon, corneal ulceration, corneal scarring, limbal stem cell deficiency, xerophthalmia, cicatricial changes of the eyelid and adnexa, glaucoma, uveitis, and permanent vision loss. Treatment is aimed at neutralizing the pH, controlling inflammation, and restoring the ocular surface. Here, we present the case of a 35‑year‑old male who sustained direct ocular exposure to sodium hydroxide, resulting in significant corneal and conjunctival epithelial defects despite aggressive initial medical therapy. The patient subsequently received a large, externally sutured amniotic …

Endogenous Mirna-Based Innate-Immunity Against Sars-Cov-2 Invasion Of The Brain, Walter J. Lukiw, Aileen I. Pogue

School of Medicine Faculty Publications

The severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, possesses an unusually large positive-sense, single-stranded viral RNA (ssvRNA) genome of about ~29,903 nucleotides (nt). In many respects, this ssvRNA resembles a very large, polycistronic messenger RNA (mRNA) possessing a 5′-methyl cap (m7GpppN), a 3′- and 5′-untranslated region (3′-UTR, 5′-UTR), and a poly-adenylated (poly-A+) tail. As such, the SARS-CoV-2 ssvRNA is susceptible to targeting by small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) and/or microRNA (miRNA), as well as neutralization and/or inhibition of its infectivity via the human body’s natural complement of about ~2650 miRNA species. Depending on host cell and tissue …

Autophagy Requirements For Eye Lens Differentiation And Transparency, Lisa Brennan, M Joseph Costello, J Fielding Hejtmancik, A. Menko, S Amer Riazuddin, Alan Shiels, Marc Kantorow

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Recent evidence points to autophagy as an essential cellular requirement for achieving the mature structure, homeostasis, and transparency of the lens. Collective evidence from multiple laboratories using chick, mouse, primate, and human model systems provides evidence that classic autophagy structures, ranging from double-membrane autophagosomes to single-membrane autolysosomes, are found throughout the lens in both undifferentiated lens epithelial cells and maturing lens fiber cells. Recently, key autophagy signaling pathways have been identified to initiate critical steps in the lens differentiation program, including the elimination of organelles to form the core lens organelle-free zone. Other recent studies using ex vivo lens culture …

A Qualitative Description Of Barriers To Visual Rehabilitation Experienced By Stroke Survivors With Visual Impairment In Alberta, Canada, Kiran Pohar Manhas, Katelyn Brehon, Jennis Jiang, Karim F. Damji, Fiona Costello

Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences

Background: Post-stroke visual impairment (VI) is a common but under-recognized care challenge. Common manifestations of post-stroke VI include: diplopia, homonymous hemianopia, oscillopsia secondary to nystagmus, and visual inattention or neglect. In acute care settings, post-stroke VI recognition and treatment are often sub-optimal as emphasis is placed on survival. Stroke survivors with VI often face inconsistencies when accessing care out of hospital because variable availability and subsidization of visual rehabilitation. We sought to identify gaps in care experienced by stroke survivors with VI from stroke survivors' and care providers' perspectives.
Methods: We conducted a qualitative description study across 12 care sites …

Risk Factors For Strabismus Surgery After Pediatric Cataract Surgery In The United States, Bryce Hwang, Isdin Oke, Scott R. Lambert

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Purpose: To determine the cumulative incidence of strabismus surgery after pediatric cataract surgery and identify the associated risk factors.

Design: US population-based insurance claims retrospective cohort study.

Participants: Patients ≤ 18 years old who underwent cataract surgery in 2 large databases: Optum Clinformatics Data Mart (2003e2021) and IBM MarketScan (2007e2016). Methods: Individuals with at least 6 months of prior enrollment were included, and those with a history of strabismus surgery were excluded. The primary outcome was strabismus surgery within 5 years of cataract surgery. The risk factors investigated included age, sex, persistent fetal vasculature (PFV), intraocular lens (IOL) placement, nystagmus …

Refractory Age-Related Macular Degeneration Due To Concurrent Central Serous Chorioretinopathy In Previously Well-Controlled Eyes, Chikako Hara, Taku Wakabayashi, Kaori Sayangi, Kohji Nishida

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Background: During the treatment of age-related macular degeneration with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs, we often see cases with anti-VEGF-resistant refractory subretinal fluid. In this report, we present two cases of anti-VEGF-resistant refractory age-related macular degeneration (AMD) due to the concurrent development of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) in eyes previously well controlled with intravitreal anti-VEGF injections. Case presentation: Two patients underwent intravitreal aflibercept for the treatment of neovascular AMD. Initially, both patients responded well to intravitreal aflibercept, resulting in the complete resolution of the subretinal fluid. However, both patients subsequently developed sudden-onset refractory subretinal fluid that did not respond …

Comparison Between The Casia Ss-1000 And Pentacam In Measuring Corneal Curvatures And Corneal Thickness Maps, Robert M Feldman, Gene Kim, Alice Z Chuang, Atsushi Shiraishi, Keiichiro Okamoto, Makoto Tsukamoto

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: To compare the intra-device repeatability and inter-device reproducibility between two anterior segment imaging instruments, the CASIA SS-1000 (Tomey Corp., Nagoya, Japan) and Pentacam (OCULUS, Arlington, WA) in measuring anterior segment parameters.

METHODS: Single-center, prospective clinical trial. Participants ≥20 years of age were included. One eye was randomly selected, each imaged by three CASIA SS-1000 devices and three Pentacam devices by three different examiners. Each photographer operated a pair of devices, one CASIA SS-1000 and one Pentacam. The image order for each participant was determined by a random permutation table. Three images were taken from each device. A total of …

Pupillometry, Elizabeth Plante, Casey Schmidt

Nursing Posters

Background:

• Measuring pupillary light reflex is a standard part of neurological assessment.
• Changes in pupil reactivity may indicate unfavorable outcomes, such as increased intracranial pressure and brain herniation.
• Physiologic and pharmacologic agents may affect pupil reactivity.
• In some instances, pupillary light reflex is the only piece of neurologic assessment readily testable.

Incidence And Prevalence Of Keratoconus Based On Scheimpflug Imaging, Elsie Chan, Elaine W. Chong, Samantha Sze-Yee Lee, Maria Franchina, Seyhan Yazar, Peter Eastwood, Nigel Mcardle, David A. Mackey, Gareth Lingham

Articles

The prevalence of keratoconus (Belin/Ambrόsio Enhanced Ectasia Display Score ≥2.6 on Scheimpflug imaging) in a longitudinal, community cohort study from Western Australia was 3.4% (n=26/755). Keratoconus incidence over an 8-year period was 2.2% (n=15/669).

Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty In A Rural Sub-Saharan African Population, Grant Slagle, Richard Chitedze, Vincent Saka, William E. Sponsel

West Florida Division GME Research Day 2023

No abstract provided.

Mechanistic Insights Into The Therapeutic Potential Of Adjunctive Thymosin Beta-4 Treatment In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa-Induced Keratitis, Yuxin Wang

Wayne State University Dissertations

Tβ4, a naturally occurring 43-amino acid protein, has been found to promote wound healing and reduce corneal inflammation. Topical Tβ4 as a therapeutic agent in conjunction with ciprofloxacin improves the outcome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced keratitis by regulating the cellular functions of PMNs and MΦs and enhancing the production of SPMs. Understanding the mechanisms of Tβ4 provides valuable insights and novel therapeutic potential for resolving disease pathogenesis not only in the cornea but also in other infectious and immune-regulated inflammatory conditions.

Direct Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty In Open Angle Glaucoma Study Design: A Multicentre, Randomised, Controlled, Investigator-Masked Trial (Glaurious), Nathan Congdon, Augusto Azuara-Blanco, Yoram Solberg, Carlo E Traverso, Michele Iester, Carlo Alberto Cutolo, Alessandro Bagnis, Tin Aung, Scott J Fudemberg, Richard Lindstrom, Thomas Samuelson, Kuldev Singh, Eytan Z Blumenthal, Gus Gazzard, Glaurious Study Group

Wills Eye Hospital Papers

Introduction: Laser trabeculoplasty is an effective and widely used treatment for glaucoma. A new laser technology, the Eagle direct selective laser trabeculoplasty (DSLT) device, may provide automated, fast, simple, safe and effective laser treatment for glaucoma in a broader range of clinical settings. This trial aims to test the hypothesis that translimbal DSLT is effective and not inferior to selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) in reducing intraocular pressure (IOP) in open angle glaucoma (OAG).

Methods and analysis: This is a multicentre, randomised, controlled, investigator-masked study. The primary efficacy outcome is intergroup difference in mean change from baseline IOP measured at 6 …

Stephen Massey: A Career In Visual Neuroscience, Stephen L Mills, David W Marshak

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

This review is a memoir by Dr. Stephen C. Massey's longtime collaborator, Dr. Stephen L. Mills, and written, for the most part, in the first person. It also serves as an introduction to the virtual festschrift to celebrate Dr. Massey's retirement. and. The references cited here are only a few of the highlights of Dr. Massey's distinguished career. A complete list is found here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=massey+sc+%28retina+or+photoreceptors%29&sort=date.

Retinal Alpha-Synuclein Accumulation Correlates With Retinal Dysfunction And Structural Thinning In The A53t Mouse Model Of Parkinson’S Disease, Katie K N Tran, Vickie H Y Wong, Anh Hoang, David I Finkelstein, Bang V Bui, Christine T O Nguyen

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Abnormal alpha-synuclein (α-SYN) protein deposition has long been recognized as one of the pathological hallmarks of Parkinson's disease's (PD). This study considers the potential utility of PD retinal biomarkers by investigating retinal changes in a well characterized PD model of α-SYN overexpression and how these correspond to the presence of retinal α-SYN. Transgenic A53T homozygous (HOM) mice overexpressing human α-SYN and wildtype (WT) control littermates were assessed at 4, 6, and 14  months of age (male and female,

A Phase 3b Study For Management Of Ocular Side Effects In Patients With Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-Amplified Glioblastoma Receiving Depatuxizumab Mafodotin, Colin J Vize, Stella K Kim, Tim Matthews, Marian Macsai, Ryan Merrell, Sigmund Hsu, Madan Gopal Kundu, Jennifer Yoon, Emma Kennedy, Madhavi Pai, Earle Bain, Andrew B Lassman, Golnaz Moazami

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

INTRODUCTION: The Understanding New Interventions with GBM ThErapy (UNITE) study was designed to assess the effect of prophylaxis for ocular side effects (OSEs) in patients with glioblastoma receiving the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) depatuxizumab mafodotin. UNITE (NCT03419403) was a phase 3b, open-label, randomized, exploratory study performed at 18 research sites in 5 countries.

METHODS: The study enrolled adult patients with epidermal growth factor receptor-amplified, histologically confirmed, newly diagnosed supratentorial glioblastoma or grade IV gliosarcoma, and a Karnofsky Performance Status ≥70, receiving depatuxizumab mafodotin. All patients were administered depatuxizumab mafodotin during concurrent radiotherapy and temozolomide and with adjuvant temozolomide. Ninety patients were …

Chatgpt: Is It Good For Our Glaucoma Patients?, Gloria Wu, David A Lee, Weichen Zhao, Adrial Wong, Sahej Sidhu

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Purpose: Our study investigates ChatGPT and its ability to communicate with glaucoma patients.

Methods: We inputted eight glaucoma-related questions/topics found on the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)'s website into ChatGPT. We used the Flesch-Kincaid test, Gunning Fog Index, SMOG Index, and Dale-Chall readability formula to evaluate the comprehensibility of its responses for patients. ChatGPT's answers were compared with those found on the AAO's website.

Results: ChatGPT's responses required reading comprehension of a higher grade level (average = grade 12.5 ± 1.6) than that of the text on the AAO's website (average = 9.4 grade ± 3.5), (0.0384). For the eight …

Dye Coupling Of Horizontal Cells In The Primate Retina, Feng Pan, Stephen C Massey

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In the monkey retina, there are two distinct types of axon-bearing horizontal cells, known as H1 and H2 horizontal cells (HCs). In this study, cell bodies were prelabled using 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), and both H1 and H2 horizontal cells were filled with Neurobiotin™ to reveal their coupling, cellular details, and photoreceptor contacts. The confocal analysis of H1 and H2 HCs was used to assess the colocalization of terminal dendrites with glutamate receptors at cone pedicles. After filling H1 somas, a large coupled mosaic of H1 cells was labeled. The dendritic terminals of H1 cells contacted red/green cone pedicles, with the occasional …

Subfoveal Choroidal Imaging In High Myopic Nepalese Cohort, Parash Gyawali, Ashutosh Jnawali, Anish Kharal, Manish Subedi, Sandeep Kandel, Prajjol Raj Puri, Nabin Paudel

Articles

Current image captioning models produce fluent captions, but they rely on a one-size-fits-all approach that does not take into account the preferences of individual end-users. We present a method to generate descriptions with an adjustable amount of content that can be set at inference-time, thus providing a step toward a more user centered approach to image captioning.

Syntaxin 3b Is A T-Snare Specific For Ribbon Synapses Of The Retina, Mariajose Perez-Hurtado, Calvin Dao, Amanda E Saenz, Ruth Heidelberger

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Biallelic loss-of-function mutations in the syntaxin 3 gene have been linked to a severe retinal dystrophy in humans that presents in early childhood. In mouse models, biallelic inactivation of the syntaxin 3 gene in photoreceptors rapidly leads to their death. What is not known is whether a monoallelic syntaxin 3 loss-of-function mutation might cause photoreceptor loss with advancing age. To address this question, we compared the outer nuclear layer of older adult mice (≈ 20 months of age) that were heterozygous for syntaxin 3 with those of similarly-aged control mice. We found that the photoreceptor layer maintains its thickness in …

Enabling Customization Of Discussion Forums For Blind Users, Mohan Sunkara, Yash Prakash, Hae-Na Lee, Sampath Jayarathna, Vikas Ashok

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Online discussion forums have become an integral component of news, entertainment, information, and video-streaming websites, where people all over the world actively engage in discussions on a wide range of topics including politics, sports, music, business, health, and world affairs. Yet, little is known about their usability for blind users, who aurally interact with the forum conversations using screen reader assistive technology. In an interview study, blind users stated that they often had an arduous and frustrating interaction experience while consuming conversation threads, mainly due to the highly redundant content and the absence of customization options to selectively view portions …

Autodesc: Facilitating Convenient Perusal Of Web Data Items For Blind Users, Yash Prakash, Mohan Sunkara, Hae-Na Lee, Sampath Jayarathna, Vikas Ashok

Computer Science Faculty Publications

Web data items such as shopping products, classifieds, and job listings are indispensable components of most e-commerce websites. The information on the data items are typically distributed over two or more webpages, e.g., a ‘Query-Results’ page showing the summaries of the items, and ‘Details’ pages containing full information about the items. While this organization of data mitigates information overload and visual cluttering for sighted users, it however increases the interaction overhead and effort for blind users, as back-and-forth navigation between webpages using screen reader assistive technology is tedious and cumbersome. Existing usability-enhancing solutions are unable to provide adequate support in …