Blur adaptation: clinical and refractive considerations

The human visual system is amenable to a number of adaptive processes; one such process, or collection of processes, is the adaptation to blur. Blur adaptation can be observed as an improvement in vision under degraded conditions, and these changes occur relatively rapidly following exposure to blur. The potential important future directions of this research area and the clinical implications of blur adaptation are discussed.     

基于仝小林院士脏腑风湿理论探讨新型冠状病毒肺炎康复期的中药治疗

仝小林院士将新型冠状病毒肺炎定名为"寒湿疫"，并以此理论为基础制定了初期、中期、重症期及恢复期的中医治疗方案，同时基于仝院士学术理论体系中的"脏腑风湿"理论，根据恢复期 "余毒未清，正虚邪恋"的病机特点，探讨其符合具备脏腑风湿行成3个基本要素：即外受寒湿裹挟戾气为必要外因；脏腑内虚为重要基础；邪疫伏留胶着，正邪交争为致病关键。故在辨证施治中可应用脏腑风湿理论以调理脾胃，化湿透邪，补益肺脾，顾护阳气，养阴生津。     

Lifitegrast clinical efficacy for treatment of signs and symptoms of dry eye disease across three randomized controlled trials

Objective: Report efficacy findings from three clinical trials (one phase 2 and two phase 3 [OPUS-1, OPUS-2]) of lifitegrast ophthalmic solution 5.0% for treatment of dry eye disease (DED).

Research design and methods: Three 84-day, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled trials. Adults (≥18 years) with DED were randomized (1:1) to lifitegrast 5.0% or matching placebo. Changes from baseline to day 84 in signs and symptoms of DED were analyzed.

Main outcome measures: Phase 2, pre-specified endpoint: inferior corneal staining score (ICSS; 0–4); OPUS-1, coprimary endpoints: ICSS and visual-related function subscale (0–4 scale); OPUS-2, coprimary endpoints: ICSS and eye dryness score (EDS, VAS; 0–100).

Results: Fifty-eight participants were randomized to lifitegrast 5.0% and 58 to placebo in the phase 2 trial; 293 to lifitegrast and 295 to placebo in OPUS-1; 358 to lifitegrast and 360 to placebo in OPUS-2. In participants with mild-to-moderate baseline DED symptomatology, lifitegrast improved ICSS versus placebo in the phase 2 study (treatment effect, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.05–0.65; p?=?0.0209) and OPUS-1 (effect, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.10–0.38; p?=?0.0007). Among more symptomatic participants (baseline EDS ≥40, recent artificial tear use), lifitegrast improved EDS versus placebo in a post hoc analysis of OPUS-1 (effect, 13.34; 95% CI, 2.35–24.33; nominal p?=?0.0178) and in OPUS-2 (effect, 12.61; 95% CI, 8.51–16.70; p?<?0.0001).

Limitations: Trials were conducted over 12 weeks; efficacy beyond this period was not assessed.

Conclusions: Across three trials, lifitegrast improved ICSS in participants with mild-to-moderate baseline symptomatology in two studies, and EDS in participants with moderate-to-severe baseline symptomatology in two studies. Based on the overall findings from these trials, lifitegrast shows promise as a new treatment option for signs and symptoms of DED.     

Lower body mass index and higher height are correlated with increased varicocele risk

To evaluate the anthropometric indexes in subjects with varicocele compared to controls and the incidence of varicocele in different body mass index (BMI) groups for the purpose of exploring the association between varicocele and anthropometric indexes. A comprehensive literature search was conducted by using PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE databases and Cochrane Library up to February 2019. A systematic review and meta‐analysis was conducted by STATA, and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was utilised for assessing risk of bias. Ultimately, 13 articles containing seven case–control studies and six cross‐sectional studies with 1,385,630 subjects were involved in our study. Pooled results demonstrated that varicocele patients had a lower BMI (WMD = ?0.77, 95% CI = ?1.03 to ?0.51) and a higher height than nonvaricocele participants, especially in grade 3 varicocele patients. Subgroup analyses showed that normal BMI individuals had a higher risk of varicocele than obese or overweight individuals and a lower risk than underweight individuals. In conclusion, this study indicates that varicocele patients have a lower BMI and a higher height than nonvaricocele participants. Moreover, men with excess bodyweight have a lower incidence of varicocele compared to normal weight or underweight people. That is to say, high BMI and adiposity protect against varicocele and high BMI is associated with a decreased risk of varicocele.     

Training the Anesthesiologist Trainer: Enhancing the Quality of Feedback during Human Patient Simulations

An essential piece of anesthesiologist training is attending resident feedback sessions. Yet, few attending anesthesiologists have formal teaching education and little time to acquire it. In this field experiment, attending physicians were randomly assigned to a control group or to receive 30 minutes of feedback training inspired by Implicit Person Theory (IPT). As such, IPT training encouraged physicians to praise process-oriented learning while discouraging performance-oriented mindsets. Attending physicians then observed residents participate in a human patient simulation (HPS) activity and provided residents with feedback. Content and statistical analyses revealed trained attending physicians praised learning goals and challenged performance goals more often than untrained physicians during feedback sessions. Thus, the training provides a rapid method of enhancing the quality of attending physicians’ training communication.