In vitro susceptibility of filamentous fungi from mycotic keratitis to azole drugs

Abstract—The Internet-of-Things will require ubiquitous infor-mation sharing between connected things on a global scale, which existing systems do not offer. Most current efforts focus on so-lutions for information dissemination, which induce single points of failure and introduce unnecessary communication delays. To this end we propose the SensibleThings platform, which is a fully distributed open source architecture for Internet-of-Things based applications. This article describes the major problems that Internet-of-Things platforms must address, our technical solution to these problems, and an evaluation thereof. We also present the current progress and a series of demonstrators, which show the wide range of applications enabled by the platform. Finally, we present how the platform will be used in our future research and potential spin off companies. Keywords–overlay;sensors;actuators;internet-of-things. I

Keratitis caused by the recently described new species Aspergillus brasiliensis: two case reports

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Human infections caused by <it>Aspergillus brasiliensis </it>have not yet been reported. We describe the first two known cases of fungal keratitis caused by <it>Aspergillus brasiliensis</it>.</p> <p>Case presentations</p> <p>A 49-year-old Indian Tamil woman agricultural worker came with pain and defective vision in the right eye for one month. Meanwhile, a 35-year-old Indian Tamil woman presented with a history of a corneal ulcer involving the left eye for 15 days. The fungal strains isolated from these two cases were originally suspected to belong to <it>Aspergillus </it>section <it>Nigri </it>based on macro- and micromorphological characteristics. Molecular identification revealed that both isolates represent <it>A. brasiliensis</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The two <it>A. brasiliensis </it>strains examined in this study were part of six keratitis isolates from <it>Aspergillus </it>section <it>Nigri</it>, suggesting that this recently described species may be responsible for a significant proportion of corneal infections caused by black Aspergilli. The presented cases also indicate that significant differences may occur between the severities of keratitis caused by individual isolates of <it>A. brasiliensis</it>.</p

Comparison of choroidal thickness using swept-source and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in normal Indian eyes

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Choroidal thickness measurements are reported to differ between spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and swept-source OCT (SS-OCT). The aim of this study was to assess the comparability of choroidal thickness measurements using SS-OCT and SD-OCT devices among normal participants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective study of 31 (62 eyes) normal participants. Choroidal imaging was performed sequentially with the Spectralis OCT (SD-OCT) and the deep range imaging OCT (DRI OCT-1) (SS-OCT) using standardized imaging protocols. The subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFChT) was measured manually by two masked retinal specialists. Paired t-tests and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used to compare the measurements. RESULTS: The mean SFChT was 319.5 μm and 325.3 μm for DRI OCT-1 and Spectralis OCT, respectively (P = 0.001), with a mean difference of 5.9 with ICC of 0.97. The mean difference in choroidal thickness between the OCT devices was larger among eyes with choroidal thickness > 350 μm compared with eyes with thinner choroids (8.0 μm vs. 4.7 μm). CONCLUSIONS: SFChT measurements are comparable between DRI OCT-1 and Spectralis OCT. The variability between the devices increases in thicker choroids

Neuro-Ophthalmology in South India

We were greatly interested in the article by Dhiman et al (1) discussing their experience with neuro-ophthalmology in a central government-funded tertiary eye care hospital in North India. We wish to share our experience from a private nongovernmental organization (NGO) tertiary eye care hospital in South India

Experiences of two different modalities in the management of choroidal melanoma in the Asian Indian population

Background: Choroidal malignant melanoma is a rare intraocular cancer in Asian Indian population. There is a paucity of data from our population comparing iodine 125 (I-125) brachytherapy and enucleation. Aim: This study aims to compare two groups of choroidal melanoma patients treated with either I-125 brachytherapy or enucleation in the Asian Indian population. Objectives: To evaluate the long-term morbidity and mortality rates in choroidal melanoma patients treated with either I-125 brachytherapy or enucleation. Methods: It is a retrospective study involving forty four eyes, diagnosed with choroidal melanoma from May 2008 to February 2015. All were evaluated preoperatively for metastasis. Twenty-two underwent globe salvaging I-125 brachytherapy surgery whereas remaining 22 underwent globe destructive primary enucleation procedure. Results: At a mean follow-up 39 months, 2 of 22 cases (9%) died in the brachytherapy group. One was secondary to metastasis in the liver while the other case died of a natural cause. In the enucleation group also, there were two deaths (9%) secondary to metastasis. The metastasis free survival was 95% in the brachytherapy group and 91% in the enucleation group, which was not statistically significant (P = 0.3577). Kaplan–Meier survival at 3 years and 5 years was 95% and 89% for brachytherapy group and 94% and 89% for enucleation group. Conclusion: This study found no difference in the long-term survival of choroidal melanoma patients treated with either brachytherapy or enucleation in the Asian Indian eyes

Curious case of retrolental mass: An unusual tele-screening artifact

We are presenting a case of premature baby born at 32 weeks of gestation who was under regular follow-up with our retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) tele-screening team. During final follow-up at 41 weeks of postconceptional age, anterior segment image captured with RetCam showed a retrolental mass lesion in right eye resembling retinoblastoma or medulloepithelioma. The baby was referred to our base hospital for further evaluation, where a detailed examination showed no retrolental lesion or intraocular mass. This is the first case where imaging artifact, despite use of high-quality imaging system by well-trained staff, during ROP tele-screening appeared like a retrolental mass lesion and resulted in false-positive referral