Effects of color-enhancing glasses on color vision in congenital red-green color deficiencies

As commercially available glasses for color vision deficiency (CVD) are classified as low risk, they are not subject to stringent marketing regulations. We investigate how EnChroma and VINO glasses affect performance on the Colour Assessment and Diagnosis (CAD) test in individuals with CVD. Data were obtained from 51 individuals with red-green CVD. Blood or saliva samples were collected to examine the structure of the OPN1LW/OPN1MW array. Individuals completed the CAD test twice without glasses and once with each pair of glasses. Although there was a statistically significant effect of both glasses, only that of VINO could be considered functionally meaningful

PORTAL: A communication library for run-time visualization of distributed, asynchronous data

In this paper we present a method for collecting and visualizing data generated by a parallel computational simulation during run time. Data distributed across multiple processes is sent across parallel communication lines to a workstation, which sorts and queues the data for visualization. We have implemented our method in a set of tools called PORTAL (for Parallel aRchitecture data-TrAnsfer Library). The tools comprise generic routines for sending data from a parallel program (callable from C or FORTRAN), and a run-time connection to the scientific visualization program AVS. Our method is most valuable when used to examine large datasets that can be efficiently generated and do not need to be stored on disk. PORTAL source libraries, detailed documentation, and working examples can be obtained by anonymous ftp from info.mcs.anl.gov from the file portal.tar.Z from the directory pub/portal. Key Words: Scientific Visualization, Distributed Algorithms, High-Speed Networking, Massively Pa..

Communication library for run-time visualization of distributed, asynchronous data

In this paper we present a method for collecting and visualizing data generated by a parallel computational simulation during run time. Data distributed across multiple processes is sent across parallel communication lines to a remote workstation, which sorts and queues the data for visualization. We have implemented our method in a set of tools called PORTAL (for Parallel aRchitecture data-TrAnsfer Library). The tools comprise generic routines for sending data from a parallel program (callable from either C or FORTRAN), a semi-parallel communication scheme currently built upon Unix Sockets, and a real-time connection to the scientific visualization program AVS. Our method is most valuable when used to examine large datasets that can be efficiently generated and do not need to be stored on disk. The PORTAL source libraries, detailed documentation, and a working example can be obtained by anonymous ftp from info.mcs.anl.gov from the file portal.tar.Z from the directory pub/portal

Gene therapy rescues cone function in congenital achromatopsia

The successful restoration of visual function with recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV)-mediated gene replacement therapy in animals and humans with an inherited disease of the retinal pigment epithelium has ushered in a new era of retinal therapeutics. For many retinal disorders, however, targeting of therapeutic vectors to mutant rods and/or cones will be required. In this study, the primary cone photoreceptor disorder achromatopsia served as the ideal translational model to develop gene therapy directed to cone photoreceptors. We demonstrate that rAAV-mediated gene replacement therapy with different forms of the human red cone opsin promoter led to the restoration of cone function and day vision in two canine models of CNGB3 achromatopsia, a neuronal channelopathy that is the most common form of achromatopsia in man. The robustness and stability of the observed treatment effect was mutation independent, but promoter and age dependent. Subretinal administration of rAAV5–hCNGB3 with a long version of the red cone opsin promoter in younger animals led to a stable therapeutic effect for at least 33 months. Our results hold promise for future clinical trials of cone-directed gene therapy in achromatopsia and other cone-specific disorders