Light-adaptive effects of retinoic acid on receptive field properties of retinal horizontal cells

Besides its role in ocular development, retinoic acid (RA), which is a light-correlated byproduct of the phototransduction cycle, was recently shown to affect light-driven synaptic plasticity in the outer plexiform layer of the adult fish retina. Tuning by ambient light conditions of the retinal network properties is very prominent in outer plexiform layer circuits, and we therefore examined whether RA could affect cone horizontal cell physiology similar to ambient light. Performing intracellular recordings and dye injections in the dark-adapted inverted eyecup preparation of the carp, we found that RA reduced the receptive fields of horizontal cell somata and impaired gap junctional communication. This action was not observed among coupled axon terminals of horizontal cells and appeared to be stereospecific because it could only be attributed to all-trans and 13-cis RA but not to the 9-cis isomer and photoisomerized all-trans RA. Modulation of receptive field size occurred independently of the dopaminergic system. Furthermore, RA affected the light responsiveness of cone horizontal cells. Compared to the dark-adapted condition, responsiveness to intense light stimulation was enhanced but decreased when low intensities were used. Moreover, following RA treatment H2-type horizontal cells of dark-adapted retinae which do not give rise to colour-opponent light properties became colour-opponent and performed depolarizing responses to long-wavelength stimulation. In all these cases RA perfectly matched the effects of light adaptation, supporting the notion that RA acts as an endogenous neuromodulator.     

Reasons for Teachers' Adaptation of Substance Use Prevention Curricula in Schools with Non-White Student Populations

In this study we investigate reasons why teachers adapt substance use prevention curricula in the nation's middle schools. We hypothesize that these reasons will be most salient in schools with racially and ethnically diverse student populations, for whom teachers may believe it appropriate to tailor their curricula. The study sample comprised a nationally representative sample of lead substance use prevention teachers in the nation's middle schools. Respondents answered questions concerning eight student problems or needs that constituted reasons why they might adapt their prevention lessons. Controlling for a variety of school and teacher characteristics, we found that teachers in high minority schools were more likely to adapt curricula in response to three of the eight characteristics presented: youth violence, limited English proficiency, and various racial/ethnic or cultural groups. We suggest that curriculum developers make a systematic effort to understand how teachers are adapting their curricula in high minority schools and incorporate these modifications, if found effective, into their curricula.     

机动车驾驶员视觉功能与道路交通安全

现行的交通法规对驾驶员的视觉功能有特殊要求,但其标准有待规范。本文对关系到安全驾驶的视觉功能如视力、视野、立体视觉、色觉、视觉适应等因素从原理、流行病学调查以及一些相关措施方面加以讨论。最后指出,我们对汽车驾驶员的视觉功能要求应该做进一步的划分达到有针对性地约束其驾驶行为。     

AYA testis cancer: The unmet challenge

Testis cancer is considered a rare‐incidence cancer but comprises the third most common cancer diagnosed within the adolescent and young adult (AYA) years (15–39 years). Most testis cancer patients can anticipate a survival outcome in excess of 95%. However, there are subgroups of AYA patients where outcomes are considerably worse, including younger adolescents, patients with certain histological subtypes, or from certain ethnic backgrounds. For those cured with chemotherapy, the toxicity of treatment and burden of late effects is significant. Newer germ cell tumor–specific biomarkers may identify patients who do not require further treatment interventions or may detect early recurrence, potentially reducing the burden of treatment required for cure. An international collaboration for this rare tumor is creating the forum for trial design, where these biomarker research questions are embedded. Going forward, AYA testis cancer patients could benefit from having a more personalized treatment plan, tailored to risk, that minimizes the overall burden of late effects.     

Simplified Chinese Version of the Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score in Evaluating Patients with Metastatic Spinal Tumor: A Cross‐Cultural Adaptation and Validation

ObjectiveTo translate the original English version of the Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) into simplified Chinese, adapt it cross‐culturally, validate its psychometric properties in measuring spinal instability in patients with metastatic spinal tumors in the Chinese mainland, examine the reliability and validity to demonstrate its accuracy and applicability in clinical practice.MethodsPatients diagnosed with metastatic spinal disease between January 2016 and January 2020 were recruited. The number of participants was advised to be at least 50 for appropriate analysis of reliability, construct validity, as well as ceiling or floor effects, and recruitment of 100 patients was advised for internal consistency analysis. The study was conducted in two phases: first, the SINS was translated into simplified Chinese; second, the factor structure, internal consistency, test–retest reliability, validity, and floor and ceiling effects of the SC‐SINS were assessed. The internationally recognized cross‐cultural adaptation guidelines were followed. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach''s alpha. Test–retest reliability was examined among the patients with a 4‐week interval. The validity of the Chinese version of SINS (SC‐SINS) was assessed by examining its relationship with Kostuik classification. Principal component analysis was conducted to confirm the factor structure of each subscale.ResultsA total of 160 participants (88 males and 72 females) were enrolled. No major difficulties occurred in the forward and backward translations of SINS. The internal consistency of SC‐SINS was excellent (Cronbach''s α =0.857, ranging from 0.68 to 0.85). Test–retest reliability was also excellent with a value of 0.89, ranging from 0.86 to 0.95. Validity analyses indicated that the SC‐SINS was positively and significantly correlated with Kostuik classification. The correlation between “Posterolateral Involvement of Spinal Elements” and “1‐2 Partial Damage” was the highest with a correlation value of 0.792. The correlation between “Pain” and “1–2 Partial Damage” was the lowest with a value of 0.341. All items showed principal component coefficients greater than 0.4. The values of Factor 1 ranged from 0.523 to 0.681; Factor 2 ranged from 0.591 to 0.731; Factor 3 ranged from 0.613 to 0.754; Factor 4 ranged from 0.461 to 0.711; Factor 5 ranged from 0.513 to 0.701; and Factor 6 ranged from 0.501 to 0.668. In addition, neither floor nor ceiling effects were seen in the SC‐SINS.ConclusionThe SC‐SINS demonstrated high internal consistency and test–retest reliability, which has been proven valid and reliable to measure spinal stability in patients from the Chinese mainland with metastatic spinal tumor.     

Diabetic retinopathy identification based on multi-source-free domain adaptation

AIM: To address the challenges of data labeling difficulties, data privacy, and necessary large amount of labeled data for deep learning methods in diabetic retinopathy (DR) identification, the aim of this study is to develop a source-free domain adaptation (SFDA) method for efficient and effective DR identification from unlabeled data. METHODS: A multi-SFDA method was proposed for DR identification. This method integrates multiple source models, which are trained from the same source domain, to generate synthetic pseudo labels for the unlabeled target domain. Besides, a softmax-consistence minimization term is utilized to minimize the intra-class distances between the source and target domains and maximize the inter-class distances. Validation is performed using three color fundus photograph datasets (APTOS2019, DDR, and EyePACS). RESULTS: The proposed model was evaluated and provided promising results with respectively 0.8917 and 0.9795 F1-scores on referable and normal/abnormal DR identification tasks. It demonstrated effective DR identification through minimizing intra-class distances and maximizing inter-class distances between source and target domains. CONCLUSION: The multi-SFDA method provides an effective approach to overcome the challenges in DR identification. The method not only addresses difficulties in data labeling and privacy issues, but also reduces the need for large amounts of labeled data required by deep learning methods, making it a practical tool for early detection and preservation of vision in diabetic patients.     

晕动病的精准前庭康复治疗

目的 研究精准前庭康复训练对晕动病的治疗效果.方法 收集门诊62例晕动病患者,所有受试者在训练前2周内乘坐同一大巴车,乘坐30 min后采用视觉模拟评分量表(VAS)对其晕车症状进行自我评分;所有受试者接受3次精准前庭康复训练治疗.治疗后1周再次乘坐同样的大巴车,并再次行VAS评分.并分别按病情轻重、性别、年龄进行分组...     

Cutaneous malignant melanoma incidence is strongly associated with European depigmented skin type regardless of ambient ultraviolet radiation levels: evidence from Worldwide population-based data

Current public health advice is that high ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure is the primary cause of Malignant Melanoma of skin (CMM), however, despite the use of sun-blocking products incidence of melanoma is increasing. To investigate the UVR influence on CMM incidence worldwide WHO, United Nations, World Bank databases and literature provided 182 country-specific melanoma incidence estimates, daily UVR levels, skin colour (EEL), socioeconomic status (GDP PPP), magnitude of reduced natural selection (Ibs), ageing, urbanization, percentage of European descendants (Eu%), and depigmentation (blonde hair colour), for parametric and non-parametric correlations, multivariate regressions and analyses of variance. Worldwide, UVR levels showed negative correlation with melanoma incidence (“rho” = −0.515, p < 0.001), remaining significant and negative in parametric partial correlation (r = −0.513, p < 0.001) with other variables kept constant. After standardising melanoma incidence for Eu%, melanoma correlation with UVR disappeared completely (“rho” = 0.004, p = 0.967, n = 127). The results question classical views that UVR causes melanoma. No correlation between UVR level and melanoma incidence was present when Eu% (depigmented or light skin type) was kept statistically constant, even after adjusting for other known variables. Countries with lower UVR levels and more Eu% (depigmented or light skin people) have higher melanoma incidence. Critically, this means that individual genetic low skin pigmentation factors predict melanoma risk regardless of UVR exposure levels, and even at low-UVR levels.