Clinical disorders affecting mesopic vision

Vision in the mesopic range is affected by a number of inherited and acquired clinical disorders. We review these conditions and summarize the historical background, describing the clinical characteristics alongside the genetic basis and molecular biological mechanisms giving rise to rod and cone dysfunction relevant to twilight vision. The current diagnostic gold standards for each disease are discussed and curative and symptomatic treatment strategies are summarized

Inactivation of infectious hepatitis E virus present in commercial pig livers sold in local grocery stores in the United States

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is a zoonotic pathogen and pigs are a known reservoir. Recently we showed that approximately 11% of commercial pig livers sold in local U.S. grocery stores for food consumptions are contaminated by infectious HEV. In this study, a swine bioassay was used to determine if the infectious HEV in contaminated commercial pig livers could be inactivated by traditional cooking methods. Group 1 pigs (n=5) were each inoculated intravenously (I.V.) with a HEV-negative liver homogenate as negative controls, group 2 pigs (n=5) were each inoculated I.V. with a pool of two HEV-positive pig liver homogenates as positive controls, groups 3, 4 and 5 pigs (n=5, each group) were each inoculated I.V. with a pool of homogenates of two HEV-positive livers incubated at 56°C for 1 hr, stir-fried at 191°C for 5 min or boiled in water for 5 min, respectively. As expected, the group 2 positive control pigs all became infected whereas the group 1 negative control pigs remained negative. Four of the five pigs inoculated with HEV-positive liver homogenates incubated at 56°C for 1 hr also became infected. However, pigs in groups 4 and 5 did not become infected. The results indicated that HEV in contaminated commercial pig livers can be effectively inactivated if cooked properly, although incubation at 56°C for 1 hr cannot inactivate the virus. Thus, to reduce the risk of food-borne HEV transmission, pig livers must be thoroughly cooked