Massachusetts Eye and Ear (Mass. Eye and Ear, or MEE) is a specialty hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, which focuses on ophthalmology (eye), otolaryngology (ear/nose/throat), and related medicine and research. Founded in 1824 as the Boston Eye Infirmary (BEI), it has also been known as the Massachusetts Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary (MCEEI), and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI). It is a teaching partner of Harvard Medical School. Massachusetts Eye and Ear has earned an international reputation for its successful treatment of the most difficult diseases and conditions of the eye, ear, nose, throat, head, and neck, and for its outstanding contributions to medical research and education. In 2018, Massachusetts Eye and Ear has two adult specialties nationally ranked the "U.S. News Best Hospitals Rankings and Ratings 2018-18, with the Department of Ophthalmology ranked number four in the U.S. and the Department of Otolaryngology placing number six in the nation.The primary teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School in ophthalmology and otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear trains more than 110 residents and fellows each year in its various sub-specialties, including cornea, neuro-ophthalmology, retina, eye pathology, pediatrics, glaucoma, ocular oncology, immunology, head & neck surgery, oncology, pediatric otolaryngology, facial plastics, otology and oto-neurology. In addition to ophthalmology and otolarynology, the hospital provides patient services and conducts research and clinical training in audiology (diagnostics, hearing aids and cochlear implants), balance (vestibular), facial nerve, thyroid, voice and speech, and vision rehabilitation.
Avian influenza viruses, particularly the H5N1 subtype, represent a major global threat due to their high transmissibility and mortality rates. Rapid, low-cost, and reliable detection is essential for controlling viral spread in both avian and human populations. This work presents a microfluidic electronic tongue composed of interdigitated electrodes functionalized with one-layer, nanostructured films from renewable sources zein, jacalin, concanavalin A, and sericin-modified gold nanoparticles (AuNP-SER) for the detection of anti-H5N1 antibodies. Electrical impedance spectroscopy was employed to monitor the interaction between antibodies and molecular architectures, supported by contact angle and polarization-modulated infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) analyses to elucidate the detection mechanism. The sensors exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity, with limits of detection ranging from 0.42 to 0.56 ng/mL and no false positives when tested against common avian disease antibodies. Information visualization techniques demonstrated strong discrimination among analytes, with silhouette coefficients up to 0.81 for the electronic tongue. Using the multidimensional calibration space (MCS) approach with decision-tree models, the system achieved 78% accuracy in multiclass classification of 10 antibody concentrations and 98.6% accuracy in distinguishing positive from negative samples. The MCS revealed that the 2154 Hz frequency from the AuNP-SER unit was influential in both scenarios. These results confirm the potential of the electronic tongue proposed as a robust, interpretable, and low-cost diagnostic tool for H5N1-related diseases in veterinary and clinical contexts.
Purpose: To describe the epidemiology, clinical features, and visual outcomes after intraocular foreign body (IOFB) removal. Design: Retrospective multicenter cohort study using data from the American Academy of Ophthalmology IRIS (R) Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight). Subjects: Eyes that underwent IOFB removal between January 2016 and October 2024. Methods: Sociodemographic information, clinical features at presentation, primary surgical procedures, and postoperative complications were summarized. Multivariable linear mixed-effects regression models were employed to investigate predictors of visual outcomes up to 18 months post-IOFB removal. Main Outcome Measure: Epidemiology (including annual incidence rates and associated factors) and clinical characteristics and predictors of visual acuity (VA) up to 18 months after IOFB removal. Results: A total of 4784 eyes (4684 patients, 70.3% male) with a median age of 55 years at presentation (inter-quartile range, 36-70) were identified over the study period. Mean annual incidence was estimated at 2.28 per 100 000 patient-years (95% confidence interval, 2.09-2.49) and was independently associated with male sex, race, and rural residence. The most common complications at presentation were retinal detachment (12.5%), cataract (10.5%), vitreous hemorrhage (7.9%), and endophthalmitis (3.9%). Median VA at presentation was 1.24 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) (interquartile range, 0.30-2.30). A significant improvement in VA was seen only from month 2 post-IOFB removal (-0.38 LogMAR; 95% confidence interval, -0.41 to -0.34), with further minor improvements up to month 18 (-0.59 LogMAR; 95% confidence interval, -0.69 to -0.48). After adjusting for relevant covariates, Black or African American race and the presence of endophthalmitis, retinal detachment, or hyphema at baseline were associated with worse visual outcomes. Subgroup analysis of patients who had pre-IOFB VA found that improvement was attenuated for people with pre-IOFB VA worse than 1.0 LogMAR. Conclusions: These findings offer a real-world benchmark for post-IOFB visual trajectories and outcomes and may support clinicians in prognostication and patient counseling. Further research is needed to investigate the underlying drivers of observed racial disparities to inform equitable care. Financial Disclosure(s): Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article. Ophthalmology Retina 2026;10:411-419 (c) 2025 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
We aim to validate the previously published FIRST-ROP algorithm in a tertiary-level center. This is a retrospective consecutive study that includes premature infants screened for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) at a tertiary referral center in Thessaloniki, Greece. Infants who did not meet criteria for microprematurity or nanoprematurity (i.e., infants born at ≥ 27 weeks gestational age and weighing ≥ 800 g) were included in the study. Of the 1251 infants screened, 1094 (87.4
PURPOSE:Exposure keratopathy (EK) is a preventable condition commonly affecting critically ill patients. A 2017 to 2018 study at our institution reported high EK incidence across the medical intensive care unit (MICU), neurologic ICU (NICU), and pediatric ICU (PICU). This study reassesses EK incidence after the implementation of a prophylaxis protocol implemented within the electronic medical record (EMR). METHODS:This is a prospective cohort study of patients admitted to the MICU, NICU, and PICU. Patients were enrolled within 24 hours of admission to the ICU and underwent daily ocular surface examinations assessing lagophthalmos, conjunctival injection, chemosis, punctate epithelial erosions, ulceration, Bell reflex, and blink reflex. Compliance with the prophylaxis protocol was assessed via review of the EMR for ocular lubricant order and administration history. RESULTS:Sixty patients were recruited (20 each from MICU, NICU, and PICU). Postimplementation, EK incidence decreased significantly overall (11.7% vs. 38.5%, P < 0.001), with notable reductions in the MICU (15.0% vs. 60.0%, P = 0.011) and NICU (5.0% vs. 47.8%, P = 0.002). PICU EK incidence did not significantly change (15.0% vs. 18.5%, P = 1.000). In univariable analysis, intubation (P = 0.0496), lagophthalmos (P = 0.013), injection (P < 0.001), and chemosis (P = 0.004) were associated with EK risk. No variable remained significant in multivariable analysis. Although all patients had EK prophylaxis ordered, only 53.3% received both correctly ordered and administered prophylaxis. CONCLUSIONS:EK incidence decreased significantly in the MICU and NICU because of an EMR-based prophylaxis protocol. Continued provider education is needed to enhance compliance and further reduce EK rates.
Background Disabling hearing loss affects millions of adults world-wide. Metabolomics investigations are comprehensive assessments of an individual's metabolic processes that could provide insight into biological pathways underlying auditory dysfunction, yet data are limited. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional investigation of the association of plasma metabolite profiles and self-reported adult-onset moderate or severe hearing loss among 3925 women, including 1167 hearing loss cases and 2758 controls in the Nurses' Health Study. Information on hearing status at the time of the blood collection and on relevant risk factors was collected on biennial questionnaires. Metabolic profiling was conducted by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The independent associations of 278 metabolites with hearing loss was assessed in logistic regression models adjusted for age, fasting status, race/ethnicity, co-morbidities, medication use and biobehavioral factors. The false discovery rate was controlled at 5% through the q-value approach. Metabolite Set Enrichment Analysis was conducted to identify metabolite classes that are enriched for concordant associations with hearing loss. Results We identified 10 metabolites that were significantly associated (q value < 0.05) with moderate or severe hearing loss in multivariable-adjusted models. Steroid esters were enriched for negative associations, while triglycerides were enriched for positive associations. Triglycerides with fewer double bonds were enriched for significant, positive associations with hearing loss (p = 0.04). Conclusion In this population-based investigation, we identified that triglycerides were enriched for positive associations, while steroid esters were inversely associated with adult-onset moderate or severe hearing loss. This study indicates that metabolic perturbations may contribute to the pathoetiology underlying adult-onset hearing loss.
