Optometry Commons^™

A Review Of The Putative Causal Mechanisms Associated With Lower Macular Pigment In Diabetes Mellitus, Grainne Scanlon, James Loughman, Donal Farrell, Daniel Mccartney

Articles

Macular pigment (MP) confers potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects at the macula, and may therefore protect retinal tissue from the oxidative stress and inflammation associated with ocular disease and ageing. There is a body of evidence implicating oxidative damage and inflammation as underlying pathological processes in diabetic retinopathy. MP has therefore become a focus of research in diabetes, with recent evidence suggesting that individuals with diabetes, particularly type 2 diabetes, have lower MP relative to healthy controls. The present review explores the currently available evidence to illuminate the metabolic perturbations that may possibly be involved in MP’s depletion. Metabolic co-morbidities …

Identification Of Surrogate Biomarkers For The Prediction Of Patients At Risk Of Low Macular Pigment In Type 2 Diabetes, Grainne Scanlon, Daniel Mccartney, John Butler, Ekaterina Loskutova, James Loughman

Articles

Purpose: This cross-sectional study compared macular pigment (MP) levels among persons with Type 2 diabetes relative to healthy controls. Additionally, a range of behavioral, anthropometric, clinical and serum measures were explored as possible predictors of low MP optical density (MPOD) in diabetes.

Addressing Vision Impairment In Mozambique And The Africa Region, Stephen Thompson, Kovin Naidoo, Joel Bambamba, Vanessa Moodley, Diane Van Staden, Amanda Forde, Kajal Shah, Luigi Bilotto, James Loughman

Articles

The Mozambique Eyecare Project was an international partnership to implement and research eye health education in Mozambique and the Africa region. An optometry degree was developed at Universidade Lúrio, Mozambique. In addition, existing eye health workers were upskilled with training. Researchers from various disciplines evaluated the project and its potential for impact on eye health in the region. The body of evidence generated from the research provides useful lessons for development programmes in general, as well as specific lessons for delivering eye health education and service delivery models for low income settings.

Walking Biomechanics And Energetics Of Individuals With A Visual Impairment: A Preliminary Report, Hunter J. Bennett, Kevin A. Valenzuela, Kristina Fleenor, Steven Morrison, Justin A. Haegele

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Purpose.

Although walking gait in sighted populations is well researched, few studies have investigated persons with visual impairments (VIs). Given the lack of physical activity in people with VIs, it is possible that reduced efficiency in walking could adversely affect activity. The purposes of this preliminary study were to (1) examine the biomechanics and energetics utilized during independent and guided walking in subjects with VIs, and (2) compare gait biomechanics between people with VIs and sighted controls.

Methods.

Three-dimensional motion capture and force platforms were used during independent and guided walking at self-selected speeds. Joint angles, moments, external work, and …

Assessment Of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (Aitcs): Further Testing And Instrument Revision., Carole Orchard, Linda L Pederson, Emily Read, Cornelia Mahler, Heather Laschinger

Nursing Publications

INTRODUCTION: The need to be able to assess collaborative practice in health care teams has been recognized in response to the direction for team-based care in a number of policy documents. The purpose of this study is to report on further refinement of such a measurement instrument, the Assessment of Interprofessional Team Collaboration Scale (AITCS) first published in 2012. To support this refinement, two objectives were set: Objective 1: to determine whether the items from the data collected in 2016 load on the same factors as found for the 2012 version of the 37-item AITCS. Objective 2: to determine whether …

Compliance And Appropriateness Of Driver Vision Regulations In Ireland, Ciara Mchugh, Nabin Paudel, James Loughman, Matthew Sheehan

Other

Driving is a highly complex task which relies heavily on vision for successful execution. There are currently 2,820,528 holders of driving licences in Ireland. Holders of a driving license must meet the standards for vision as set out by the Road Safety Authority Slainte agus Tiomáint document. Visual acuity and Visual Field measurements are specified as the minimum standard. If there is reason to believe that these measurements are inadequate, it is required that the subject undergo a more detailed examination. Currently, drivers must undergo a vision screening when applying for their first license, and additional vision screening is not …

Tips For Allied Health Professionals To Successfully Engage With Research: A Commentary, Siti Nurliyana Abdullah, Saravana Kumar

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

While allied health professionals are encouraged to engage with research, there are numerous challenges to do so in practice. In this commentary, we reflect on some of these challenges and provide some simple tips on strategies that can be used by allied health professionals to overcome these challenges. These tips may provide a starting point for allied health professionals to successfully engage with research.

Eye Tissue Regeneration: Seam As A Cure For Prevalent Eye Disease, Molly Bute

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

SEAM (Self-formed ectodermal autonomous multizone) is a form of eye tissue regeneration discovered by Japanese scientists in 2016. This tissue regeneration encompasses tissues from all areas of the human eye. The SEAM forms tissues using stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells were used in the first study, and produces four concentric zones. The SEAM that has been created was shown to cure corneal blindness in animal models, and has the potential to cure a multitude of human eye diseases in the future.

College Of Optometry Senior Awards Dinner Dance, Nova Southeastern University

NSU Commencement Programs

No abstract provided.

Health Care Priorities In Developing Countries: A Systematic Review, Heather Mckay

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Countries around the globe are struggling to find an affordable health care system. Developing countries have it particularly challenging with a lack of health care professionals and funding to spend on health care. This systematic review analyzes five developing countries’ (China, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Peru and Turkey) health care systems to find what is working well and what needs improvement. The main findings that these countries could adopt are requiring medical student graduates to do their residency in rural areas, giving more power of health care to local governments rather than the federal government, making insurance companies non-profit, and providing …

Parental Attitudes To Myopia: A Key Agent Of Change For Myopia Control?, Saoirse Mccrann, Daniel Ian Flitcroft, Kevin Lalor, John Butler, Aaron Bush, James Loughman

Articles

Purpose

With the increasing prevalence in myopia there is growing interest in active myopia prevention. This study aims to increase our understanding of parental attitudes to myopia development and control, as a means to inform future health planning and policy. It evaluates, for the first time, the attitude of parents to myopia and its associated risks, as well as assessing the exposure of Irish children to environmental factors that may influence their risk profile for myopia development.

Methods

Parents of 8–13 year old children in eight participating schools completed a questionnaire designed to assess their knowledge of and attitudes towards …

Epigenetics, Microbiota, And Intraocular Inflammation: New Paradigms Of Immune Regulation In The Eye, Paul W. Bible, Xiaofeng Wen, Xiao Hu, Li Miao, Yuhua Deng, Lai Wei

Computer Science Faculty publications

Sight threatening immune responses that damage the eye characterize intraocular inflammatory diseases. These diseases including uveitis and age-related macular degeneration are worryingly common and quality of life shattering. Genetic studies in past decades significantly advanced our understanding of the etiology of these devastating diseases. Unfortunately, patient genetics alone failed to adequately explain disease origin, susceptibility, and progression. Non-genetic factors such as the epigenetic regulation of ocular diseases and the environmental factors triggering intraocular inflammation offer new insight into intraocular inflammatory disorders. Importantly, mounting evidence is signaling that dysbiosis of human microbiota leads to rapid epigenomic reprograming of host cells …

Investigation Of Wavenumber Calibration For Raman Spectroscopy Using A Polymer Reference, Dongyue Liu, Hugh Byrne, Luke O'Neill, Bryan M. Hennelly

Conference papers

Raman spectroscopy is an optical technique that can be used to evaluate the biomolecular composition of tissue and cell samples in a real-time and non-invasive manner. Subtle differences between datasets of spectra obtained from related cell groups can be identified using multivariate statistical algorithms. Such techniques are highly sensitive to small errors, however, and, therefore, the classification sensitivity of Raman spectroscopy can be significantly impacted by miscalibration of the optical system due to small misalignments of the optical elements and/or variation in ambient temperature. Wavenumber calibration is often achieved by recording the spectrum from a wavenumber reference standard, such as …

Student Handbook 2018-2019, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Two Methods Of Determining Central Corneal Vault Under A Scleral Lens: Estimation By Slit Lamp Biomicroscope And Anterior Segment Oct, Claire E. Mcdonnell, Darragh O'Donnell, Lynn O'Mara, Shannon Power

Conference Papers

Purpose: The aim of this study was to ascertain if there is agreement in the measurement of central corneal vault (CCV) under a scleral lens, between estimations made using a slit lamp biomicroscope (SLB) and measurements made using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT).

Method: 30 images were taken of CCV under various scleral lenses using a SLB and an AS-OCT. Estimations of CCV from SLB photographs were made using known thicknesses of the scleral lenses used and imagej software. The in-built measurement callipers was used to measure CCV on the AS-OCT. Right eyes were imaged on the AS-OCT first …

Highly Sensitive Strain Sensor Based On Composite Interference Established Within S-Tapered Multimode Fiber Structure, Ke Tian, Ment Zhang, Gerald Farrell, Ruoning Wang, Elfed Lewis, Pengfei Wang

Articles

In this paper, a novel strain sensor based on composite interference established within an S-tapered multimode (STM) fiber structure is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The STM fibre structure is simply realized by non-axially tapering a traditional single-mode-multimode-single-mode (SMS) fiber into S-shape using a fusion splicer. This fabricated S-tapered structure provides an extra Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) that is introduced within the multimode fibre (MMF) section; therefore, composite interference based on the inherent multimode interference (MMI) of an SMS and the introduced MZI is successfully established. This resultant composite interference greatly enhances the performance of traditional SMS fibre structures for strain sensing, …

Frameworks For Integrating Technology Into Optometric Education, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

(Introduction) Technology has driven a major societal change permeating the very traditions, beliefs and rituals of our social and work milieu. Following the revolution caused by the introduction of the Gutenberg printing press, the current digital epoch has been recognised as the second major event in history that has extended and enhanced access to information and learning (Brynjolfsson 2014; Topol 2015). Research shows that digital technologies can be used to provide educational opportunities that were not possible before this digital era. These technologies allow learning in contextualised settings and provide a variety of learning opportunities for those studying optometry (Yi …

A Comprehensive Experimental Study Of Whispering Gallery Modes In A Cylindrical Micro-Resonator Excited By A Tilted Fiber Taper, Vishnu Kavungal, Gerald Farrell, Qiang Wu, Arun Mallik, Yuliya Semenova

Articles

Whispering gallery modes (WGMs) excitation in a cylindrical microresonator formed by a section of silica optical fiber has been studied. Evanescent light coupling into the microresonator is realized using a tapered optical fiber, fabricated by a microheater brushing technique. Several types of silica fibers with different diameters are studied as microresonators, and the influence of the resonator's diameter on the excitation of WGMs is investigated. The excitation of WGMs in a cylindrical fiber resonator were studied with changes to the tilt angle between the microcylinder and the fiber taper in the range of angles from a perpendicular position (0 degrees) …

Addressing Avoidable Vision Impairment In Mozambique And The Africa Region, Stephen Thompson, Kovin Naidoo, Joel Bambamba, Vanessa R. Moodley, Diane Van Staden, Amanda Forde, Kajal Shah, Luigi Bilotto, James Loughman

Articles

The Mozambique Eyecare Project was an international partnership to implement and research eye health education in Mozambique and the Africa region. An optometry degree was developed at Universidade Lúrio, Mozambique. In addition, existing eye health workers were upskilled with training. Researchers from various disciplines evaluated the project and its potential for impact on eye health in the region. The body of evidence generated from the research provides useful lessons for development programmes in general, as well as specific lessons for delivering eye health education and service delivery models for lowincome settings.

Connecting Cilium Proteins Bbs5 And Mks6 And Their Roles In Retinal Degeneration, Katie Leigh Bales

All ETDs from UAB

The primary cilium is an evolutionary conserved structure with numerous motility and sensory-related functions, dynamically concentrating signaling molecules to developmental, homeostatic and sensory pathways. Rod and cone photoreceptor cells are highly modified primary cilia, which reside in the back of the eye within the neural retina and are responsible for dim light sensitivity and visual acuity/ color vision, respectfully. These cells require massive protein production and proper protein trafficking on a daily basis. The major protein complexes that govern protein trafficking within photoreceptors form the connecting cilium, are the transition zone which serves as a gatekeeper, regulating protein trafficking into …