KNOWLEDGE OF ASTHENOPIA AND AMMETROPIC STATUS AMONG FRESHERS: OPTOMETRIST VISIBILITY IN UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTER

The society register a large population of person who has never visited the clinic and most of these subjects suffer asthenopia due to either uncorrected spherical or astigmatic condition. This can lead to other damaging visual disorders like amblyopia and strabismus. Most tertiary institutions seem unaware of these indices and the dangers associated; therefore, do not take deliberate steps in the prevention and correction of these disorders leading to a rise in visual impairment among students. This study wished to close the gap between knowledge of asthenopia and its indices in tertiary institutions. The research adopted an incidental random sampling technique and recruited 258 subjects from the target population. Snellen Visual Acuity Test, Slit Acuity Test and Near Point of Convergence (NPC) were performed on the student and findings recorded. Furthermore, questionnaires were administered to subjects for assessment their level of personal refractive error status awareness. Research observed that the percentage of students who were presumed to have spherical ocular aberrations were 18.2% and those without were 81.8%. Cylindrical ocular aberrations were 15.1% and those without cylindrical ocular aberrations were 84.9%. This study also predicted that students with spectacle prescription (8.5%) are less than students with aberrations (24.8%). Furthermore, study showed a weak negative relationship between spherical and cylindrical aberration when compared to NPC (r ₌ -0.116). Conclusively, this study observed that a greater number of this population were ignorant of their refractive status and therefore, study wish to advocate for a proper ocular health screening on-admission and, periodic medical fitness check which must include a comprehensive eye examination with treatment plans including lens prescription coverage

IMPACT OF LIGHT PATTERNS ON PSYCHOPHYSICAL ACTIVITY: A FOCUS ON REPRODUCTIVE HORMONES IN MALE WISTAR RATS

Light is a fundamental environmental factor that profoundly influences various physiological and behavioral processes in animals, including humans. This study aimed to investigate impact of light patterns on psychophysical behavior (such as depression-like behavior, anxiety-like behavior, social interaction), reproductive hormones (including testosterone, LH, FSH, and GnRH) in Wister rats. A total of twenty-eight male Wistar rats were grouped into four (4) groups: Group I: Control group which received normal light, Group II: Rats kept in total darkness (no light source), Group III: Rats expose to Tonic/constant light, Group IV: Rhythmic light (off and on flickering light). Data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism v9.0 version.Results demonstrated that exposure to rhythmic light, total darkness, and bright light induced depression-like behavior, with rhythmic light having the most pronounced effect. Anxiety-like behavior was heightened in rats exposed to rhythmic light, aligning with disrupted light-dark cycles inducing anxiety-like symptoms. Social interaction was negatively influenced by total darkness and bright light, while rhythmic light promoted positive social behavior. Reproductive hormone levels, including testosterone, LH, FSH, and GnRH, were significantly impacted by light patterns. Bright light exposure was associated with increased FSH levels, while rhythmic light suppressed FSH production. However, GnRH levels were elevated by bright light and reduced by other light patterns. Additionally, exposure to total darkness led to increased body weight in male rats, whereas rhythmic light was linked to reduced weight gain. The study underscores the intricate relationship between light patterns and physiological responses, contributing to a nuanced understanding of how light exposure influences behavior and hormonal regulation. &nbsp

Relationship and Impact Of Strabismus On Head And Eye Movement

Strabismus also known as misaligned eyes is disorder associated with sense of sight that can affect physiological and psycho-social activity of humans and in this study, its effect on eye movement with slight or no head movement of subjects. This study aimed at evaluating the impact of strabismus on head and eye movement. Subjects recruited were strabismic, myopic and relative emmetropes. Effect of strabismus on visual acuity was attained using Snellens’ distance and near chart but result showed no relationship when compared with emmetrope’s acuity. Near point of accommodation using meter rule was also carried out showing accommodation break-up, recovery and amplitude of accommodation; giving the result that strabismus does not have any effect on accommodation. Hirschberg or broad H test was used in this study to show the effect of strabismus on eye movement and head movement, and it showed that for eye movement some muscles are suppressed or defective, with the lateral deviation type of strabismus- esotropia and exotropia recruited for this study, showing that media and lateral rectus can be affected and that there is no relative impact on head movement. This study has shown that although strabismus is an eye defect it does not have any effect or impact on visual acuity, accommodation, or on head movement, it only has impact on eye movement with by suppressing eye muscles

Cumulative disadvantage, employment–marriage, and health inequalities among American and British mothers

This paper illuminates processes of cumulative disadvantage and the generation of health inequalities among mothers. It asks whether adverse circumstances early in the life course cumulate as health-harming biographical patterns across the prime working and family caregiving years. It also explores whether broader institutional contexts may moderate the cumulative effects of micro-level processes. An analysis of data from the British National Child Development Study and the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth reveals several expected social inequalities in health. In addition, the study uncovers new evidence of cumulative disadvantage: Adversities in early life selected women into long-term employment and marriage biographies that then intensified existing health disparities in mid-life. The analysis also shows that this accumulation of disadvantage was more prominent in the US than in Britain

Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada

Until the late 1960s, the authorities on abortion were for the most part men—politicians, clergy, lawyers, physicians, all of whom had an interest in regulating women’s bodies. Even today, when we hear women speak publicly about abortion, the voices are usually those of the leaders of women’s and abortion rights organizations, women who hold political office, and, on occasion, female physicians. We also hear quite frequently from spokeswomen for anti-abortion groups. Rarely, however, do we hear the voices of ordinary women—women whose lives have been in some way touched by abortion. Their thoughts typically owe more to human circumstance than to ideology, and without them, we run the risk of thinking and talking about the issue of abortion only in the abstract. Without Apology seeks to address this issue by gathering the voices of activists, feminists, and scholars as well as abortion providers and clinic support staff alongside the stories of women whose experience with abortion is more personal. With the particular aim of moving beyond the polarizing rhetoric that has characterized the issue of abortion and reproductive justice for so long, Without Apology is an engrossing and arresting account that will promote both reflection and discussion.Canada Council for the Arts Government of Canada Canada Book Fund (CFB) Government of Alberta, Alberta Media Fun

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

Evidence synthesis to inform model-based cost-effectiveness evaluations of diagnostic tests: a methodological systematic review of health technology assessments

Background: Evaluations of diagnostic tests are challenging because of the indirect nature of their impact on patient outcomes. Model-based health economic evaluations of tests allow different types of evidence from various sources to be incorporated and enable cost-effectiveness estimates to be made beyond the duration of available study data. To parameterize a health-economic model fully, all the ways a test impacts on patient health must be quantified, including but not limited to diagnostic test accuracy. Methods: We assessed all UK NIHR HTA reports published May 2009-July 2015. Reports were included if they evaluated a diagnostic test, included a model-based health economic evaluation and included a systematic review and meta-analysis of test accuracy. From each eligible report we extracted information on the following topics: 1) what evidence aside from test accuracy was searched for and synthesised, 2) which methods were used to synthesise test accuracy evidence and how did the results inform the economic model, 3) how/whether threshold effects were explored, 4) how the potential dependency between multiple tests in a pathway was accounted for, and 5) for evaluations of tests targeted at the primary care setting, how evidence from differing healthcare settings was incorporated. Results: The bivariate or HSROC model was implemented in 20/22 reports that met all inclusion criteria. Test accuracy data for health economic modelling was obtained from meta-analyses completely in four reports, partially in fourteen reports and not at all in four reports. Only 2/7 reports that used a quantitative test gave clear threshold recommendations. All 22 reports explored the effect of uncertainty in accuracy parameters but most of those that used multiple tests did not allow for dependence between test results. 7/22 tests were potentially suitable for primary care but the majority found limited evidence on test accuracy in primary care settings. Conclusions: The uptake of appropriate meta-analysis methods for synthesising evidence on diagnostic test accuracy in UK NIHR HTAs has improved in recent years. Future research should focus on other evidence requirements for cost-effectiveness assessment, threshold effects for quantitative tests and the impact of multiple diagnostic tests

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

Measuring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries : a baseline analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background In September, 2015, the UN General Assembly established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs specify 17 universal goals, 169 targets, and 230 indicators leading up to 2030. We provide an analysis of 33 health-related SDG indicators based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015). Methods We applied statistical methods to systematically compiled data to estimate the performance of 33 health-related SDG indicators for 188 countries from 1990 to 2015. We rescaled each indicator on a scale from 0 (worst observed value between 1990 and 2015) to 100 (best observed). Indices representing all 33 health-related SDG indicators (health-related SDG index), health-related SDG indicators included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG index), and health-related indicators not included in the MDGs (non-MDG index) were computed as the geometric mean of the rescaled indicators by SDG target. We used spline regressions to examine the relations between the Socio-demographic Index (SDI, a summary measure based on average income per person, educational attainment, and total fertility rate) and each of the health-related SDG indicators and indices. Findings In 2015, the median health-related SDG index was 59.3 (95% uncertainty interval 56.8-61.8) and varied widely by country, ranging from 85.5 (84.2-86.5) in Iceland to 20.4 (15.4-24.9) in Central African Republic. SDI was a good predictor of the health-related SDG index (r(2) = 0.88) and the MDG index (r(2) = 0.2), whereas the non-MDG index had a weaker relation with SDI (r(2) = 0.79). Between 2000 and 2015, the health-related SDG index improved by a median of 7.9 (IQR 5.0-10.4), and gains on the MDG index (a median change of 10.0 [6.7-13.1]) exceeded that of the non-MDG index (a median change of 5.5 [2.1-8.9]). Since 2000, pronounced progress occurred for indicators such as met need with modern contraception, under-5 mortality, and neonatal mortality, as well as the indicator for universal health coverage tracer interventions. Moderate improvements were found for indicators such as HIV and tuberculosis incidence, minimal changes for hepatitis B incidence took place, and childhood overweight considerably worsened. Interpretation GBD provides an independent, comparable avenue for monitoring progress towards the health-related SDGs. Our analysis not only highlights the importance of income, education, and fertility as drivers of health improvement but also emphasises that investments in these areas alone will not be sufficient. Although considerable progress on the health-related MDG indicators has been made, these gains will need to be sustained and, in many cases, accelerated to achieve the ambitious SDG targets. The minimal improvement in or worsening of health-related indicators beyond the MDGs highlight the need for additional resources to effectively address the expanded scope of the health-related SDGs.Peer reviewe

Adding 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy to postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of short-course versus no androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised controlled trial

Background Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. Methods RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. Findings Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61–69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1–10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688–1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4–82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6–83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population