Atypical Migratory Serpiginous Corneal Epitheliopathy: Unmasking Herpes Simplex Virus Association.

Purpose: Migratory Serpiginous Corneal Epitheliopathy (MSCE) is a rare condition characterized by migrating corneal epithelial lesions with a serpiginous or amoeboid-shaped appearance. Its etiology remains poorly understood, and the condition often presents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Here, we report a case of a recurrent, unilateral MSCE-like lesion in a 25-year-old woman not responding to standard treatments, including repeated corneal debridement, bandage contact lens placement, and superficial keratectomy with postoperative slow tapering of steroids.

Impact of GLP-1 receptor agonists for type 2 diabetes mellitus on the development and progression of age-related macular degeneration.

Purpose: To evaluate whether GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) therapy reduces the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study using a global health research network matched T2DM patients on GLP-1RA vs non-GLP-1RA therapy. AMD incidence was determined over the first 1 to 10 years of treatment.

Serological Influences on Dry Eye: Insights from the Sjögren's International Collaborative Clinical Alliance.

Purpose: To define associations between serologies, specifically Sjögren syndrome-related antigen A (SSA) antibody and immunoglobulin (Ig) levels, on ocular profiles in patients enrolled in the Sjögren's International Collaborative Clinical Alliance (SICCA) cohort.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Subjects: Individuals from the SICCA cohort (n = 3514).

The Epidemiology of Sports-Related Orbital Fractures in the United States.

Purpose: To characterize the epidemiologic features of sports-related orbital fractures in the United States, including incidence, demographic patterns, mechanisms of injury, and associated ocular injuries.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Participants: Patients with sports-related facial fractures recorded in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database from 2014 through 2023.

Heightened visual light sensitivity discomfort measured by the ocular photosensitivity analyzer is associated with chronic ocular pain.

Purpose: To quantify visual photosensitivity discomfort thresholds (VPDT) in individuals with chronic ocular pain (COP) compared to controls without COP and explore relationships between VPDT, demographics, clinical factors, and ocular metrics.

Methods: Prospective case-control study of 75 participants: 36 with COP (age 46.5 ± 15.

Allergic Rhinitis-Underrepresented Populations and Barriers to Healthcare Access.

Objective: To establish the prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR), categorized by demographics and barriers to healthcare, and the prevalence of antihistamine and nasal steroid use in these subgroups.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study utilizing the All of Us Database. Sociodemographic factors among AR patients were compared via Chi-Square analysis and multivariable logistic regression (MLR).

Effects of central amygdala chemogenetic manipulation and prior chronic alcohol exposure on Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer.

Background: Recent work suggests that a history of chronic alcohol exposure can enhance the influence of nondrug reward cues on ongoing actions. This is often modeled in Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) tasks that examine the interaction between Pavlovian and instrumental learning processes, usually reflected as an increase in action vigor during the presentation of a reward-associated cue. Though prior chronic alcohol exposure strengthens this type of cue-guided behavior, the neural mechanisms underlying such enhancements are not known.

Effects of chronic alcohol exposure on motivation-based value updating.

Dysfunctional decision-making has been observed in alcohol dependence. However, the specific underlying processes disrupted have yet to be identified. Important to goal-directed decision-making is one's motivational state, which is used to update the value of actions.

Prior chronic alcohol exposure enhances Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer.

Alcohol dependence is associated with aberrant decision-making processes, particularly in the presence of alcohol-related environmental cues. For instance, alcohol cues can trigger alcohol seeking, consumption, and even relapse behavior. Recently, works have suggested that alcohol dependence may induce more general alterations in cued processes that support adaptive behavior, including enhanced cue control of volitional behavior unrelated to alcohol use.

Review of Orbitofrontal Cortex in Alcohol Dependence: A Disrupted Cognitive Map?

Alcoholism is a persistent worldwide problem associated with long-lasting impairments to decision making processes. Some aspects of dysfunction are thought to reflect alcohol-induced changes to relevant brain areas such as the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). In this review, we will examine how chronic alcohol exposure alters OFC function to potentially contribute to maladaptive decision making, and explore experimental behavioral approaches that may be better suited to test whether alcohol dependence disrupts OFC's function.

Mapping 123 million neonatal, infant and child deaths between 2000 and 2017.

Since 2000, many countries have achieved considerable success in improving child survival, but localized progress remains unclear. To inform efforts towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3.2-to end preventable child deaths by 2030-we need consistently estimated data at the subnational level regarding child mortality rates and trends.

Publisher Correction: Mapping exclusive breastfeeding in Africa between 2000 and 2017.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Mapping exclusive breastfeeding in Africa between 2000 and 2017.

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF)-giving infants only breast-milk (and medications, oral rehydration salts and vitamins as needed) with no additional food or drink for their first six months of life-is one of the most effective strategies for preventing child mortality. Despite these advantages, only 37% of infants under 6 months of age in Africa were exclusively breastfed in 2017, and the practice of EBF varies by population. Here, we present a fine-scale geospatial analysis of EBF prevalence and trends in 49 African countries from 2000-2017, providing policy-relevant administrative- and national-level estimates.

Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors in Child and Adolescent Health, 1990 to 2017: Findings From the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2017 Study.

Importance: Understanding causes and correlates of health loss among children and adolescents can identify areas of success, stagnation, and emerging threats and thereby facilitate effective improvement strategies.

Objective: To estimate mortality and morbidity in children and adolescents from 1990 to 2017 by age and sex in 195 countries and territories.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This study examined levels, trends, and spatiotemporal patterns of cause-specific mortality and nonfatal health outcomes using standardized approaches to data processing and statistical analysis.

Effects of multi-modal cues on conditioned place preference in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice.

Rationale: Previous work has shown that some mouse strains (e.g., DBA/2J [D2]) readily develop robust ethanol-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) while others (e.

Effects of sex on ethanol conditioned place preference, activity and variability in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice.

Previous studies of ethanol drinking in rodents have shown greater intake in females than in males, but the reasons behind this difference are unknown. To address one possible interpretation of the drinking difference, these studies tested the hypothesis that female and male mice differ in sensitivity to the rewarding effects of ethanol using the conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure. To increase the generalizability of the results, sex differences were examined in two inbred mouse strains known to differ in their sensitivity to ethanol reward: C57BL/6J (B6) and DBA/2J (D2).

Mapping child growth failure in Africa between 2000 and 2015.

Insufficient growth during childhood is associated with poor health outcomes and an increased risk of death. Between 2000 and 2015, nearly all African countries demonstrated improvements for children under 5 years old for stunting, wasting, and underweight, the core components of child growth failure. Here we show that striking subnational heterogeneity in levels and trends of child growth remains.

Mapping local variation in educational attainment across Africa.

Educational attainment for women of reproductive age is linked to reduced child and maternal mortality, lower fertility and improved reproductive health. Comparable analyses of attainment exist only at the national level, potentially obscuring patterns in subnational inequality. Evidence suggests that wide disparities between urban and rural populations exist, raising questions about where the majority of progress towards the education targets of the Sustainable Development Goals is occurring in African countries.