Spontaneous resolution of infantile esotropia.

PURPOSE: To report the spontaneous resolution of infantile esotropia in 3 patients. METHODS: The clinical histories and the results of ophthalmologic examinations in 3 patients with infantile esotropia were reviewed and analyzed with reference to the literature. RESULTS: All 3 patients with infantile esotropia were diagnosed with 25 to 30 PD of esotropia before the age of 6 months. All of them had insignificant refractive errors. Against medical advice, they were not brought in for follow-up examinations. At the age of 34 months to 59 months, the esotropia of the patients had changed into exophoria, esophoria less than 4 PD, or orthophoria. All patients eventually showed dissociated vertical deviation and overaction of the inferior oblique muscles. Of the 2 cooperative patients, 1 consistently identified Titmus stereograms with 3000 seconds of arc and fused Worth 4 dots at near and at distance. The other patient could not identify stereo targets and suppressed one eye on Worth 4 testing at distance, though she showed no suppression at near. CONCLUSION: In these cases, infantile esotropia with a relatively small angle may spontaneously resolve without any treatment. However, all these patients showed poor stereoacuity, dissociated vertical deviation, and overaction of the inferior oblique muscles.

Antibodies to alphavirus, flavivirus, and bunyavirus arboviruses in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and tree sparrows (P. montanus) in Poland.

Sparrows from central Poland were examined by a hemagglutination-inhibition test (titer > or = 20) for the presence of antibodies to arboviruses, between 1995 and 1996. In house sparrows (Passer domesticus) (n = 179), antibodies to Sindbis, West Nile, tick-borne encephalitis, Tahyna, and Calovo viruses were detected at seroprevalences of 1.1%, 2.8%, 1.1%, 2.8%, and 1.1%, respectively. In tree sparrows (P. montanus) (n = 33), antibodies to the Sindbis, West Nile, and Tahyna viruses were detected at seroprevalences of 9.1%, 12.1%, and 3.0%, respectively.

Protein biosynthesis in low dose ionizing radiation-adapted human melanoma cells.

Adaptive responses induced by low dose gamma-ray irradiation in human melanoma cells were examined using a clonogenic assay. Survival fractions were significantly increased in cells irradiated with low dose gamma-rays then 4 hrs later with high dose gamma-ray as compared to cells irradiated only with high dose gamma-rays. When low dose irradiation was given 20 hrs prior to high dose irradiation, however, no adaptive response was induced. Changes in protein biosynthesis in human melanoma cells were observed under the same conditions. Significant changes in protein biosynthesis occurred in the nuclear and membrane proteins of cells first irradiated with a low dose then a high dose of gamma-rays after 4 hrs. No such changes were found in cells irradiated with low dose gamma-rays 20 hrs prior to high dose irradiation, consistent with the results of the clonogenic assay. Our findings suggest that prior treatment with low dose gamma-rays induces an adaptive response that has a significant effect on the induction of the nuclear and membrane protein biosynthesis caused by high dose gamma-ray irradiation of human melanoma cells.