Effect of cultivar and explants type on tissue culture regeneration of three Nigerian cultivars of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicon)

&lt;p&gt;In order to assess the suitable explant(s) for &lt;em&gt;in-vitro&lt;/em&gt; regeneration of three local cultivars of Nigerian tomatoes, Ibadan local (IbL), Ife and JM94/46, cotyledon, hypocotyls and radicle explants were cultured in shoot regeneration medium consisting of&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;MS containing 30 g L&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; sucrose and 8 g L&lt;sup&gt;-1 &lt;/sup&gt;agar with no exogenous plant growth hormones. Forty-five of each explant type was cultured on the medium in triplicate experiments and results showed varied percentage survival and shooting for the various explants. Hypocotyl explants had the highest percentage of shooting explants at 13.3% for IbL; 6.67% for Ife and 20% in JM94/46. IbL cotyledon explants had 4.44% of shooting explants with no shoots recorded in Ife and JM94/46 cotyledon explants. IbL radicle explants had 2.22% shooting explants and no shoots recorded in Ife and JM94/46. Student Neuman Keuls (SNK) statistical analysis of cultivar-media interaction showed there was no significant difference (P &amp;gt; 0.05) among the three cultivars in number of calli and shooting calli. There was however significant difference among the cultivars in the number of shoots recorded. SNK values for explants-media interaction showed that cotyledon and radicle explants were significantly different (P &amp;lt; 0.05) from hypocotyl explants in the number of shoots produced.&lt;/p&gt;</jats:p

Epidemiology of blindness in children

An estimated 1.4 million of the world’s children are blind. A blind child is more likely to live in socioeconomic deprivation, to be more frequently hospitalised during childhood and to die in childhood than a child not living with blindness. This update of a previous review on childhood visual impairment focuses on emerging therapies for children with severe visual disability (severe visual impairment and blindness or SVI/BL). For children in higher income countries, cerebral visual impairment and optic nerve anomalies remain the most common causes of SVI/BL, while retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and cataract are now the most common avoidable causes. The constellation of causes of childhood blindness in lower income settings is shifting from infective and nutritional corneal opacities and congenital anomalies to more resemble the patterns seen in higher income settings. Improvements in maternal and neonatal health and investment in and maintenance of national ophthalmic care infrastructure are the key to reducing the burden of avoidable blindness. New therapeutic targets are emerging for childhood visual disorders, although the safety and efficacy of novel therapies for diseases such as ROP or retinal dystrophies are not yet clear. Population-based epidemiological research, particularly on cerebral visual impairment and optic nerve hypoplasia, is needed in order to improve understanding of risk factors and to inform and support the development of novel therapies for disorders currently considered ‘untreatable’

Congenital cataract associated with persistent fetal vasculature: findings from IoLunder2

PURPOSE: To describe the frequency, characteristics, and treatment outcome of persistent fetal vasculature (PFV) in children undergoing surgery for congenital and infantile cataract in the first 2 years of life. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Observational population-based cohort study with case identification through active surveillance and standardised data collection via a national clinical network, the British Isles Congenital Cataract Interest Group (BCCIG). RESULTS: The IoLunder2 cohort comprises 246 children undergoing surgery for bilateral and unilateral congenital and infantile cataract in the first 2 years of life. A total of 58/246 (24%) children had PFV (%): overall, 46/95 (46%) with unilateral cataract, and 12/141 (8%) with bilateral disease. Anterior segment vascular remnants were more common in bilateral than unilateral disease (75 vs 11%, P=0.01). At 1 year after surgery, 20% of children with bilateral PFV and 24% with unilateral had achieved normal vision for age within the operated eye. The prevalence of post-operative glaucoma was 9% (of children with bilateral disease) and 4% (unilateral). CONCLUSION: PFV is significantly more common than previously reported, and outcomes are comparable to that for congenital and infantile cataract overall

Visual Axis Opacity after Intraocular Lens Implantation in Children in the First 2 Years of Life: Findings from the IoLunder2 Cohort Study

Objective/ Purpose: Appropriate correction of aphakia is key to good outcomes. There may be clinical settings and populations where accessing or managing aphakic contact lenses is challenging. Strategies to target the increased risk of visual axis opacity (VAO) following primary IoL implantation in infancy are necessary. We describe the predictors of VAO following primary IoL implantation for unilateral or bilateral congenital or infantile cataract in children aged under 2 years. / Design: Population based (UK and Ireland) prospective inception cohort study undertaken through a national clinical network. / Participants: 105 children (57 bilateral cataract, 48 unilateral, total 162 eyes) undergoing primary IoL implantation in the first two years of life between January 2009 and December 2010. / Methods: Observational longitudinal study with multilevel, multivariable modelling to investigate associations between outcome of interest, and child and treatment specific factors including age, axial length, socioeconomic status, IoL model, and post operative steroid use. / Main outcome measures: Post operative proliferative and / or inflammatory visual axis opacity (VAO) requiring surgical correction. / Results: Visual axis opacity occurred in 67 eyes (45%), typically within the first post-operative year. Use of a three piece IoL model (odds ratio/OR 0.3, 95% confidence interval/CI 0.09 – 0.99, p=0.03), and increasing age at surgery (OR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95-0.99, p=0.02), were each independently protective against the development of proliferative VAO. Inflammatory VAO was independently associated with socioeconomic deprivation (OR 5.39, 95%CI 1.46 – 19.89, p=0.01). / Conclusions: Visual axis opacification is common following IoL implantation in early childhood. The findings of this prospective cohort study suggest that the use of three piece IoL models may reduce the risk of pseudophakic VAO in children aged under 2 years

Visual impairment, severe visual impairment, and blindness in children in Britain (BCVIS2): a national observational study

Background: The WHO VISION 2020 global initiative against blindness, launched in 2000, prioritised childhood visual disability by aiming to end avoidable childhood blindness by 2020. However, progress has been hampered by the global paucity of epidemiological data concerning childhood visual disability. The British Childhood Visual Impairment and Blindness Study 2 (BCVIS2) was done to address this evidence gap. Methods: BCVIS2 was a prospective UK-wide, cross-sectional, observational study to establish an inception cohort of children newly diagnosed with visual impairment. Ophthalmologists and paediatricians reported cases from 89 hospitals and community centres across the UK. We included children aged 18 years or younger who were newly diagnosed with any condition causing impaired visual acuity to a level of 0·5 logMAR or worse (worse than 6/18 Snellen) in each eye, or equivalent vision as assessed by standard qualitative measures, between Oct 1, 2015, and Nov 1, 2016. Eligible children were notified simultaneously but independently by their managing ophthalmologists and paediatricians via the two national active surveillance schemes, the British Ophthalmological Surveillance Unit and the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit. Standardised detailed demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical data about detection, management, and treatment were collected at diagnosis and 1 year later. We calculated incidence estimates and relative rates by key sociodemographic factors. We did descriptive analyses of underlying ophthalmic disorders and non-ophthalmic comorbidities. Findings: 61 (7%) of 845 eligible children initially notified were ineligible at follow-up because of improved vision after treatment. Thus, the study sample comprised 784 children with permanent newly-diagnosed all-cause visual impairment, severe visual impairment, or blindness. 559 (72%) of 778 children had clinically significant non-ophthalmic impairments or conditions. 28 (4%) of 784 children died within a year after diagnosis of visual disability (all had underlying systemic disorders). Incidence of visual disability in the first year of life was 5·19 per 10 000 children (95% CI 4·71–5·72), almost ten times higher than among 1-to-4-year-olds and between 20 times and 100 times higher than in the older age groups. The overall cumulative incidence (or lifetime risk) of visual impairment, severe visual impairment, or blindness was 10·03 per 10 000 children (9·35–10·76). Incidence rates were higher for those from any ethnic minority group, the lowest quintile of socioeconomic status, and those born preterm or with low birthweight. 345 (44%) of 784 children had a single affected anatomical site. Disorders of the brain and visual pathways affected 378 (48%) of 784 children. Interpretation: BCVIS2 provides a contemporary snapshot of the heterogeneity, multi-morbidity, and vulnerability associated with childhood visual disability in a high-income country. These findings could facilitate developing and delivering health care and planning of interventional research. Our findings highlight the importance of including childhood visual disability as a sentinel event and metric in global child health initiatives. Funding: Fight for Sight, National Institute for Health Research, and Ulverscroft Foundation

The Experience of Menarche for Young People With Sensory and Motor Impairments: A Systematic Review

Young people with disabilities may face barriers to optimal management of menstrual health, including the management of menarche, a unique stage of development. This systematic review examined the barriers to and facilitators of a positive experience of menarche for young people with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments. The MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO bibliographic databases, and grey literature were systematically searched in February 2022 to identify relevant research. Thematic synthesis of the extracted study findings was undertaken, using a team-based approach. A total of seven primary qualitative, and 1 mixed method studies were eligible for inclusion. The themes identified through metasynthesis were: timeliness of pre-menarcheal access, with many being unaware of menarche before it occurred, leading to fear and shock at their first period; resonance, with individuals reporting positive impacts of guidance from those with similar disabilities; and frame, the impact of surrounding societal narratives on the experience of menarche. Families, and those involved in the care of children with visual, hearing, and mobility impairments should be made aware of the importance of timely and resonant menarcheal support and guidance for these individuals and of broadcasting positive surrounding narratives of menarche. This should enable a positive experience of menarche for these vulnerable young people, supporting a good trajectory for later-life menstrual health

Temporal Trends in Childhood Uveitis: Using Administrative Health Data to Investigate the Impact of Health Policy and Clinical Practice

Background: We describe an investigation of temporal trends in the incidence of childhood uveitis-related hospital admissions, hospitalization being a robust indicator of disease severity. Methods: A population-based retrospective study using a hospitalization database, the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) dataset, capturing data on care between 2013 and 2020. Primary outcomes were rates of pediatric hospital admissions for uveitis-related disorders. Results: During the study period, there were 3,258 reported uveitis-related hospital admissions of children aged 0 to 14 years, comprising 19% of all-age uveitis-related admissions. Anterior uveitis was the most common diagnosis. The annual incidence of childhood uveitis-related hospitalizations declined year on year from a peak incidence of 5.4 per 100,000 children (95% confidence interval 5.0–5.9) in 2015–2016 to 3.3 per 100,000 (95% CI 3.0–3.6) in 2019–2020. Over the same period, the national incidence of juvenile arthropathy-related admissions stayed stable. Conclusion: The decline in admissions nationally may reflect reduced incidence of uveitis complications with increasing use of immunosuppressive therapies

Paediatric autoimmune and autoinflammatory conditions associated with uveitis

Childhood uveitis comprises a collection of heterogenous ocular phenotypes which are associated with a diverse range of childhood autoimmune and autoinflammatory disorders. Of these genetic and/or acquired disorders, juvenile idiopathic arthritis is the most common, affecting 30-80% of children with uveitis. Up to a third of children with uveitis have ‘isolated’ idiopathic disease and do not have an associated systemic disease which manifests in childhood. However, uveitis may be the presenting manifestation of disease; thus, the apparently well child who presents with uveitis may have isolated idiopathic disease, but they may have an evolving systemic disorder. The diagnosis of most of the associated disorders is reliant on clinical features rather than serological or genetic investigations, necessitating detailed medical history taking and systemic examination. Adequate control of inflammation is key to good visual outcomes, and multidisciplinary care is key to good broader health outcomes