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ABSTRACTThere are no wholly successful chemotherapeutic strategies against Burkholderia cepaciacomplex (BCC) colonization in cystic fibrosis (CF). We assessed the impact of cysteamine (Lynovex) in combination with standard-of-care CF antibiotics in vitroagainst BCC CF isolates by the concentration at which 100% of bacteria were killed (MIC100) and checkerboard assays under CLSI standard conditions. Cysteamine facilitated the aminoglycoside-, fluoroquinolone- and folate pathway inhibitor-mediated killing of BCC organisms that were otherwise resistant or intermediately sensitive to these antibiotic classes. Slow-growing BCC strains are often recalcitrant to treatment and form biofilms. In assessing the impact of cysteamine on biofilms, we demonstrated inhibition of BCC biofilm formation at sub-MIC100s of cysteamine.

To examine the visual predictors of falls and injurious falls among older adults with glaucoma.

The article presents developments on garden conservation matters in England. English Heritage will maintain its support for the conservation work of the Garden History Society (GHS) as a statutory consultee for the financial year ending March 2012. The Localism Bill that received its second reading in Parliament on January 17, 2011 contains a proposal to extend the Community Infrastructure Levy on new development to include on-going maintenance costs of historic development such as public green spaces.

To investigate evidence-based visual field size criteria for referral of low-vision (LV) patients for mobility rehabilitation.

When reading with a stand magnifier (SM), navigation along each line of text and retracing back to the correct position at the beginning of the next line has been suggested as a major difficulty for people with low vision. In this study, we evaluated the immediate impact of using a simple and inexpensive line guide on navigation performance.

This section offers news briefs on historic conservation in England as of March 2009. English Heritage plans to undertake a programme of strategic designation to plug some of the gaps in the existing designations. Sarah Rutherford, Harriet Jordan and Jonathan Lovie were commissioned to examine the grading of registered cemeteries. Cases related to the development or proposed development that might impact the integrity of historic parkland are detailed.

The aim of this study was to determine if useful field of view (UFV) measures help to predict aspects of orientation and mobility in people with visual impairment. The UFV is a composite measure of visual attention, ability to detect objects in the presence of clutter and basic visual functions such as visual field loss and contrast sensitivity.

To investigate the effect of visual impairment on postural sway among older adults with open-angle glaucoma.

The author talks about the Garden History Society's conservation reports for 2007. He says that in 2006, they saw several interesting developments with potentially essential implications for conservation and the historic environment. He says that the government's Comprehensive Spending Review for 2007 is significant for the future of historic environments in England.

To read efficiently with a simple hand or stand magnifier, people with visual impairment have to move (navigate) the device along each line (forward phase) and back to the correct position at the start of the next line (retrace phase). Page navigation difficulties have been implicated as limiting factors when reading with hand and stand magnifiers, but have not been objectively measured.

Age-related maculopathy (ARM) has become the major cause of blindness in the Western World. Currently its pathogenesis and primary site of functional damage is not fully understood but ischemia is believed to play a major role. Early detection and precise monitoring of progression of ARM are main goals of current research due to lack of sufficient treatment options, especially in the dry, atrophic form of this disease. We applied the multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) that can detect any local functional deficit objectively in the central retina. We recorded two paradigms in early ARM patients, the fast flicker and the slow flash paradigm which both represent fast adaptation processes of the proximal retina but under differing photopic conditions and stimulation rates. By subtracting the waveform responses we extracted a late component in the difference waveform that was significantly reduced in the early ARM group compared to a healthy control group (p ≤ 0.05). We propose that this multifocal nonlinear analysis permits the detection of adaptative deficits and provides topographic mapping of retinal dysfunction in early ARM. The difference waveform component we extracted with this novel approach might indicate early functional loss in ARM caused by ischemia in postreceptoral layers such as bipolar cells and inner plexiform regions.

This paper reviews non‐standard, clinical vision tests that may be used to detect the earliest visual loss in age‐related maculopathy (ARM), before fundus changes are detected. We recommend a clinical test battery for all patients aged 60 years and older, comprising low luminance/low contrast (SKILL) VA or low contrast VA, desaturated D‐15 colour vision assessment, flicker perimetry, glare recovery and dark adaptation if possible, together with conventional assessments of case history, ophthalmoscopy and high contrast visual acuity (VA) for the detection and diagnosis of ARM. Reading rate is also discussed as a potential indicator of early visual loss. For monitoring the progressive visual loss in age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) and determining the requirements for optometric vision rehabilitation, we recommend more conventional clinical vision tests of distance and near visual acuity, reading rate, the effects of varying illumination and a functional central visual field assessment.

This paper gives a brief review of methods that assess objectively function in age‐related maculopathy (ARM) with emphasis on a newer method, the multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG). In contrast to other electrophysiological tests, such as the full‐field and focal electroretinogram (ERG) or the electro‐oculogram (EOG), which measure summed responses from various cells from larger areas of the retina, the multifocal electroretinogram maps function locally with a resolution as small as four degrees within the central 30 degrees. By using different paradigms it can measure local cone‐ and rod‐mediated functional impairment at early and late stages of ARM. This improved mapping and higher resolution of the posterior pole compared to other objective methods might lead to earlier detection of ARM. Its usefulness has been demonstrated in documenting the effects of treatment after established laser treatments, such as photodynamic therapy (PDT) and in documenting function after retinal pigment epithelial transplantation, a possible future treatment in late neovascular ARM.

Covers various issues on the Conservation Committee of the Garden History Society (GHS) in Great Britain as of June 2005. Highlights of the training visit of the conservation officers to gardens in Cornwall, England; Launch of the guidance notes on specific planning and conservation issues relating to historic parks and gardens at the annual general meeting of the GHS; Invitation to help the conservation officers on a voluntary basis.

Presents updates on the conservation of historic gardens in England as of summer 2004. Highlights of the Oxford Conference--Historic Gardens and Landscapes; Completion of the program for the conservation of 19th and early 20th century cemetery landscapes; Information on the campaign against the erection of wind turbines, led by the Country Life organization.

Two hundred and forty self‐selected community‐based older people were tested for vision and hearing acuity, and reported on their hearing and vision difficulties and social networks. Social network size, proximity and frequency of contacts were used as dependent variables in the analysis of the effects of any sensory loss on social structure. Neither objectively measured sensory loss nor self‐reported sensory difficulties were associated with significant changes to network size, however, people with sensory losses were found to have more intense networks with fewer contacts outside their immediate inner circle.

Background: In the past, practitioners have used distance and/or near visual acuity (VA) to calculate required magnification for low vision aids. Magnification was usually under‐estimated when compared with the final magnification prescribed. Recent studies have emphasised the importance of acuity reserve in determining the required magnification for optimum reading rate. Two different approaches have been proposed for the appropriate acuity reserve to use in calculating magnification. These are a fixed acuity reserve of 0.3 log unit or an individual determination of optimum acuity reserve. The aim of this study was to investigate the magnification and reading rates with low vision aids selected by the two methods.Methods: Nineteen low vision subjects with age‐related macular degeneration (AMD) who were experienced magnifier‐users were recruited. Reading rates and near VA with low vision aids determined by the fixed and individual acuity reserve methods were compared with the same measures made with the subjects' own magnifiers.Results: There were no significant differences in reading rate and near VA measured with low vision aids selected by either the fixed or individual acuity reserve methods or the subjects' own magnifiers. Reading rate with low vision aids was not significantly different from reading rate for large print with conventional near additions. Thus, for experienced users, magnifiers do not cause reduced reading rate.Conclusions: The fixed acuity reserve method is simple to apply as only near VA and print size of the target reading task are required. For the individual acuity reserve method, reading rates at different print sizes need to be measured. We recommend the use of a fixed acuity reserve (0.3 log unit) for the calculation of required magnification for low vision patients. If near VA or reading rate are not satisfactory with the magnification calculated by this method, individual assessment of required acuity reserve is necessary.

Case reports for three patients with low vision due to different ocular diseases are presented. In each case, a different rehabilitation professional was the main provider of the low vision care needed to meet the patient's goals. However, in all cases the patients benefited from the services of a range of professionals, agencies or groups for visually impaired people. The importance of defining patients' specific goals, referral to multi‐disciplinary low vision services and regular reviews of vision and visual tasks is highlighted.

Purpose:While educators and optometrists are concerned with reading efficiency in children with low vision, in most low vision assessments, children's reading performance is assessed only by a brief evaluation of reading fluency. We examined the relationships between clinical vision measures and reading performance in children with low vision.

Background: If visually impaired people had their sight fully restored, it is assumed that they would walk at their optimal speeds. Previous mobility studies have used preferred walking speed (PWS) to measure walking efficiency of visually impaired adults. Therefore, the actual speeds that visually impaired people adopt on a route can be expressed as a percentage of their preferred walking speed (PPWS). There have been two approaches used in previous studies for determining preferred walking speed.1 the sighted guide technique (SG), which requires a subject to walk with a sighted guide and regard the latter as a perfect mobility aid, with the subject setting the preferred (optimal) walking pace.2 the non‐sighted guide technique (NonSG), which requires a subject to walk alone along an unobstructed straight path for a certain distance, adopting the preferred (optimal) walking speed.There is some debate on which technique is the better. This study was conducted to determine if there is any difference between the two techniques for determining visually impaired subjects' preferred walking speeds.Methods: Fourteen visually impaired adult subjects were recruited. PWS was determined by recording the time taken for a subject to walk an unobstructed, straight 20‐metre corridor path using each technique.Results: There was no significant difference in PWS using the sighted guide and non‐guided techniques.Conclusions: Either the SG or NonSG techniques can be used to determine PWS for a heterogeneous group of visually impaired subjects.

Fungi cause disease in nearly one billion individuals worldwide. Only three classes of antifungal agents are currently available in mainstream clinical use.

Most patients with low vision request help with reading. Despite improvements in the assessment of visual functions, determining the appropriate magnification for reading still often involves a trial and error approach. Recent research has shown that with accurate and systematic assessments of vision, the required magnification can be predicted but this magnification needs to be much higher than has been previously recommended. This paper presents a systematic approach to enable practitioners to determine the power of a near addition or simple magnifier needed to assist patients with mild or moderate low vision who may present seeking help for reading. Guidelines for appropriate referral to low vision services are also provided.

The full extent of hearing and vision impairments in older Australians and their effects on communication is not well known. The aims of the present study were to (1) determine the prevalence of hearing and vision impairments in a sample of older Australians, (2) investigate the nature of hearing and vision difficulties experienced in everyday life, and (3) compare the results obtained using objective and self-report assessments. The prevalence of hearing and vision impairments were 57% and 28%, respectively, while 19% of participants had a dual sensory loss. More participants reported vision difficulties (35%) than had a measured impairment, whereas the percentage of participants who reported hearing difficulties (55%) was similar to the prevalence of objectively measured hearing impairment. However, there was extensive “mismatching” in that participants reporting difficulty were frequently not those who had objectively measured impairment. The finding that approximately one in five older Australians has a dual sensory loss highlights the need to assess both hearing and vision in older people in order to provide appropriate rehabilitation. The results also indicate that these sensory conditions should be evaluated both objectively and subjectively in order to obtain accurate and complete information about an individual's performance.

: In this fourth paper in the series on the effects and management of senile macular degeneration (SMD), we define and distinguish between the terms ocular disorder, visual impairment, visual disability and visual handicap. We describe the role of the optometrist in the care of a patient with SMD and discuss in detail the wide range of tests available to the optometrist to assess the visual impairment caused by SMD.

ABSTRACT This paper aims to identify the population affected by the ocular disease, senile macular degeneration (SMD). We examine the available data on the prevalence and incidence of the disease, the age, sex and race of those affected and risk factors associated with this condition. Using these data, we suggest a profile for the ‘typical’ patient with SMD. We estimate that there are more than 249000 persons in Australia with SMD in one or both eyes. Approximately 10000 of these are legally blind. With the increasing proportion of aged persons in our population, private practitioners will be increasingly required to provide vision rehabilitation to persons with SMD.

ABSTRACTIt is a well established fact that older persons require higher levels of illumination to meet their visual needs, than do younger people. However, most interior lighting standards pay little attention to the needs of older persons. These standards give few recommendations for domestic lighting and rarely does illumination in homes meet the recommended levels. This paper discusses the role of the optometrist in the assessment of the response of older patients to illuminance levels and presents information which can help the optometrist better advise older persons on their domestic lighting requirements.

Cutting, J. E. Perception with an eye for motion. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press, 1986. Pp. 321.ISBN 0-262-03119-1. £29.95.Kimble, G. A. and Schlesinger, K. (Eds.). Topics in the history of psychology, Volume 1. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 1985. Pp. 409. ISBN 0-89859-312-3. £36.00.Bruce, V. and Green, P. (1985). Visual perception :Physiology, psychology and ecology. London : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Ltd. Pp. 369. ISBN 0-86377-012-6. Hardback £26.95; paperback £8.95.Pylyshyn, Z. W. & Demopoulos, W. (Eds.). Meaning and cognitive structure : Issues in the computational theory of mind. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1986. Pp. xi + 264. ISBN 0-89391-372-3.£36.50.Pylyshyn, Z. W. (Ed.). The robot's dilemma: The frame problem in artificial intelligence. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1987. Pp. xi +156. ISBN 0-89391-371-5. £25.50.Beaton, A. (1985). Left side, right side : A review of laterality research. London: Batsford. Pp. 364. ISBN 0-7134-4389-8. £25.00.

Squire, L. and Butters, N. (Eds.) The neuropsychology of memory. New York:Guildford Press. 1984. Pp.655. ISBN 0-89862-638-2. £49.95.Mandler, J. M.(1984). Stories, scripts, and scenes: Aspects of schema theory. Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Pp. xii + 132, ISBN 0-9859-446-4. £19.15.Smyth, M. M. and Wing, A. M. (Eds.). The psychology of human movement. London: Academic Press. 1984. Pp. xiv + 339. ISBN 0-12-653022-X. £16.00.Murray, D. J.A history of Western psychology. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Pp. xiv + 428. ISBN 0-13-392381-9. £32.15.Parasuranam, R. and Davies, D. R. (Eds.)Varieties of attention. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press Inc. 1984. Pp. 554. ISBN 0-12-544970-4. £45.50.Braitenberg, V. Vehicles: Experiments in synthetic psychology. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 1985. Pp. 152. £15.60.Goldmeier, E. (1982). The memory trace: Its formation and fate. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Pp. 257, ISBN 0-89859-172-4, £15.00.Weingartner, H. and Parker, E. S.(Eds.)(1984). Memory consolidation: Psychobiology of cognition. Hillsdale, N. J .: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Pp. 272,ISBN 0-89859-323-9, £26.50.Clarke, D. D. Language and action: A structural model of behaviour. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 1983. Pp. 318. ISBN 0-08426090-X. £19.95.Prinz, W. and Sanders, A. F. (Eds.). Cognition and motor processes. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. 1984. Pp. 378. ISBN 3-540-12855-7.

Purpose: Reduced mobility can have a serious impact on quality of life. Though previous studies have demonstrated that some vision measures relate to the mobility of subjects with simulated and true low vision, the relationship between residual vision and mobility is not clear. We investigated the relationship between clinical vision measures and mobility performance under different illumination levels for subjects with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).Methods: Binocular visual acuities, letter contrast sensitivities and static central threshold visual fields were measured on 10 subjects with RP and nine age‐matched control subjects. Mobility performance was measured on an indoor mobility course at high and low illuminances and was assessed by percentage preferred walking speed (PPWS) and number of errors.Results: The RP group showed significantly reduced PPWS and greater numbers of errors than the control group. The reduction in illumination resulted in significantly worse error and PPWS scores. Unlike the control group, the presence of a glare source did not reduce the PPWS of the RP group under high illumination. Multiple regression analyses showed that the average visual field extent was the most significant predictor of mobility; letter contrast sensitivity and visual acuity added to the regression models for the low illumination measures to account for up to 75 per cent of the variation in mobility performance.Conclusions: People with RP have worse mobility than people with normal vision, more so under reduced illumination levels. Visual field extent was the strongest predictor of mobility performance. (Clin Exp Optom1996; 80: 1: 1–12)

Although the use of a prototype of the user interface of a software application early in the development cycle is a valuable tool in the design of a usable user interface, prototyping can be difficult to introduce into the development process. Furthermore, designers without experience in using a prototype can run into problems which counteract the value of this user interface design methodology.Designers with experience in a substantial prototyping effort have formulated guidelines for the use of prototyping which can help to minimize these problems.

This paper describes a study of the choice of correct looping structures and errors in assignment by novice assembly language programmers and shows the relationship of these two factors to writing a correct program, to gender, and to mathematical, verbal, and scholastic aptitude. Although there was significant correlation between writing a correct program and selecting the correct looping structure, there seems to be no relationship between using the appropriate looping structure and gender or math/verbal aptitude.

This article reports on a study of the psychosocial adjustment to age-related macular degeneration of 30 elderly persons by comparing the responses of subjects with this condition to those from age- and sex-matched controls on four psychosocial scales: life satisfaction, daily hassles, social support, and self-esteem. The subjects with the condition reported significantly poorer life satisfaction and greater stress, perhaps as a result of poor social support.

The Honey and Mumford Learning Style questionnaire was applied to undergraduate students at the first and third year level courses in Nursing, Optometry and Podiatryin the Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Health Science, and to students in the post-graduate courses in Nursing and Nutrition and Dietetics. With one exception, there were no significant differences between first and third year student results for any learning style or course. The mean scores from all courses fell within the normal range defined by Honey and Mumford, but some differences were identified in the preferred learning styles across the different disciplines.The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to the use of different teaching techniques such as structured lectures, practical exercises, case discussions and role-play, as the findings may be used to predict the type of instructional techniques which would be most effective. Recommendations are made on the most appropriate of these techniques for different health science courses.

Background: Only a small percentage of people with low vision in Australia receive comprehensive low vision rehabilitation services. In an attempt to examine reasons for this under‐utilisation of low vision services, the referral criteria used by Australian ophthalmologists and optometrists were investigated. This paper reports the results for optometric referrals; the results for the ophthalmological referrals have been reported elsewhere. Method: A survey was sent to a random sample of 800 optometrists in Australia. Information requested included the vision loss criteria used for referral of patients to services for visually impaired people, the frequency of prescription of low vision devices (LVDs), frequency of referrals and perceptions of the availability and quality of low vision services. Results: The response rate was 36 per cent. Optometrists reported that only 4.7 per cent of their patients have low vision. Optometrists frequently prescribe LVDs but the majority infrequently refer patients to low vision or rehabilitation services. The rate of referral is influenced by their referral criterion and the perceived availability and quality of low vision services. Conclusions: Optometrists do not manage many patients with low vision because the patients are usually referred to ophthalmologists for management of the underlying eye disease. However, many optometrists could adopt a lesser degree of vision loss as their referral criteria for low vision services and encourage ophthalmologists to do the same. With improved communication between the eye care practitioners and low vision services, patients will be referred to low vision services earlier, before vision loss severely affects their daily lives. (Clin Exp Optom1996; 79: 6: 227–234)

ABSTRACT This paper reports the results of a survey conducted at a paediatric low vision clinic, of all children examined in the eight year period 1974 to 1981. The data provide a unique opportunity to identify the ophthalmic characteristics of children with low vision.

AbstractThis paper describes a study of the choke of correct looping structures and errors in assignment by novice assembly language programmers, and shows the relationship of these two factors to writing a correct program and to final grades in the class. Although there was a significiant correlation between writing a correct program and selecting the correct looping structure, there seems to be no relationship between using the appropriate looping structure and final grades in the class.

New Zealand White rabbits were infused with [3H]tyrosine for periods of 5–6 h and then different methods of extraction were applied for the purification of the main muscle proteins and protein fractions. Myosin (I), prepared from salt extraction of muscle mince, consistently had a higher specific radioactivity than did myosin (II), isolated by dissociation of actomyosin. Actins (IA) and (IB), extracted from acetone-dried powders prepared by different treatments of myosin-extracted muscle mince, gave specific radioactivities approx. 0.6 that of myosin (I) and 0.7 that of myosin(II). Actin (II), isolated by dissociation of actomyosin, had a specific radioactivity similar to that of myosin (II) from the same source, but higher than those of actins (IA) and (IB). The differences between the specific radioactivities of the proteins, in particular actin, purified by the various methods, are attributed to the loss of newly synthesized material of high specific radioactivity during the initial extraction procedures. It is suggested that actin (II) and myosin (II) are representative preparations for the total population of each protein and that, on this basis, myosin and actin have similar rates of synthesis. Total muscle protein, myofibrils, actomyosin and sarcoplasm were all found to have very similar specific radioactivities at the end of a 6 h infusion.