Although cultural surveys of airborne fungi are pursued widely, the comparative virtues of popular media have not been systematically tested. To facilitate an informed choice, eight different agar media were compared using paired single-plate exposures of identical, wind-oriented, Andersen samplers. Modified Mehrlich's (MM), Sabouraud's dextrose (SAB), malt extract (MALT), V8 juice (V8), and po...

PURPOSE To evaluate the incidence of dry eye in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with or without Sjögren syndrome (SS), and to investigate the correlation between dry eye and RA activity. DESIGN Prospective case-control study. METHODS In 72 RA patients, the severity of dry eye was assessed by the Schirmer test, tear break-up time, rose bengal staining, and fluorescein staining. The RA act...

Our purpose was to evaluate the efficacy of a new formulation of methylcellulose, preservative-free 0.5% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), for the treatment of dry eye. In the clinical part of our study, two groups of dry-eye patients, those with Sjögren's syndrome (SS) and those without (non-SS), were treated topically with 0.5% HPMC and evaluated for symptoms, ocular surface vital stainin...

In dentistry, residual infection remains a major cause of failure after endodontic treatment; many of these infections involve Enterococcus faecalis. In the current study, we explored the possibility that blue light activated photosensitizers could be used, in principle, to inactivate this microbe as an adjunct disinfection strategy for endodontic therapy. Three blue light absorbing photosensit...

PURPOSE To determine whether measurable preoperative characteristics predispose patients to chronic dry eye after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). METHODS The study consisted of 24 eyes of 24 patients who underwent LASIK. Tear breakup time, Schirmer testing with and without anesthesia, rose bengal staining, central corneal sensitivity, nucleus-to-cytoplasmic ratio, and goblet cell densit...

Sera obtained from 62 patients from four mountain counties in Catalonia (Northeastern Spain), in whom brucellosis had been diagnosed on the basis of clinical evidence and/or personal history, were analyzed using the rose Bengal test, standard serum agglutination test (SAT), Coombs' test, ELISA, and complement fixation. The diagnosis was further confirmed through blood cultures. Clinical evidenc...

PURPOSE To compare the clinical presentation of 231 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) with 89 patients with aqueous-deficient dry eye (keratoconjunctivitis sicca; KCS), to determine those procedures that best differentiate these groups in the eye care clinic. METHODS The records of all patients seen at the University Health Network Sjögren's Syndrome Clinic from October 1992 to J...

Rose bengal shell- or core-functionalized acrylic latex synthesized by RAFT emulsion PISA: interfacial photosensitized 1O2 production under visible light.

It had been thought that quantal size in synaptic transmission is invariable. Evidence has been emerging, however, that quantal size can be varied under certain conditions. We present evidence that alteration in vesicular [(3)H]L-glutamate (Glu) content within the synaptosome (a pinched-off nerve ending preparation) leads to a change in the amount of exocytotically released [(3)H]Glu. We found ...

PURPOSE To evaluate tear film quality by rose bengal staining and its stability by breakup time, relating with palpebral fissure height and exophthalmos in patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy. METHODS We studied 54 eyes of 27 patients with Graves' ophthalmopathy, either in the inflammatory or in the chronic phase of the disease. The evaluation consisted of tear film qualitative analysis by r...