High myopia following unilateral cryocoagulation for threshold retinopathy of prematurity

Despite the proven benefit of cryotherapy in the management of threshold retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), it was shown leading to ocular adverse effects. A male infant was born at 28 week of gestation with a birth weight of 1200 g. Serial examinations revealed worsening ROP in both eyes until he reached a high risk pre-threshold ROP in his right eye and threshold ROP in his left eye. Cryotherapy was performed for the threshold ROP in the left eye while the right eye was subjected to further observation. Subsequently, ROP in both eyes regressed without cicatrisation. The patient was followed-up over 8 years and refractions showed that the treated eye developed steadily increasing myopia while the untreated eye remained emmetropic. This case demonstrated the detrimental effect of cryotherapy to the treated eye leading to the progressive myopia as the child grew

Influence of Leadership Communication in Fostering Employees' Safety Commitment in Oil and Gas Industry

Over the span of decades, sustained research efforts have been dedicated to the realm of occupational safety and health practices within high-hazard work environments. This focus stems from the alarming frequency of accidents and injuries occurring within these settings. Recent research findings have consistently underscored the pivotal role of human factors – encompassing individual perspectives, communication, attitudes, and behaviors – as the chief catalysts behind such unfortunate incidents in high-risk workplaces. Nevertheless, the trajectory of these accidents and injuries can be altered, and the toll mitigated, by scrutinizing the safety commitment of employees. This commitment, crucial for ensuring safer work environments, can be cultivated through consistent interaction and communication with leaders. This interaction serves to enhance employees’ knowledge and awareness concerning safety practices. In this context, the current article delves into the profound impact of leadership communication on employees’ safety commitment within the oil and gas industry. Employing a quantitative approach, the study relied on survey-type questionnaires to fulfill its objectives. From maintenance and operation departments, a random selection of 260 technical employees participated as respondents. The findings convincingly establish that leadership communication exerts a substantial and significant influence on employees’ safety commitment. Keywords: OSH, leadership, communication, safety commitment, oil and ga

Dry eye among patients at the eye clinic of a secondary referral hospital

Introduction: Dry eye is a common but under-diagnosed problem in the general population. Lack of standardised diagnostic protocol causes prevalence of dry eye varied widely in different populations. Nevertheless, effective management rests largely on the accurate diagnosis and identification of the contributing risk factors. Methods: In a cross sectional study, socio-demographic, lifestyle and medical history data were collected from 157 respondents. A validated six-item questionnaire was used to determine the dry eye symptoms. Dry eye was determined by using Schirmer’s test. Fluorescein staining test and tear break up time (TBUT) test were performed to characterise the dry eye. Results: Using the Schirmer’s test, 33.8% of respondents had dry eyes. The likelihood of dry eye increased among Malay females in the seventh decade. The most frequently reported symptom was sensation of dryness of the eye. Although only 22.6% of dry eye cases were symptomatic, up to 47.2% of them may developed surface changes detectable by fluorescein dye test. Ethnicity (p=0.019) and diabetes mellitus (p=0.049) were significantly associated with dry eye. Conclusion: Dry eye could be subclinical but clinical tests in potential risk groups can lead to better detection of this condition and allow prescription of appropriate treatment for affected patients

Time division multiple access scheduling strategies for emerging vehicular ad hoc network medium access control protocols: a survey

[EN] Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) is an emerging and promising technology, which allows vehicles while moving on the road to communicate and share resources. These resources are aimed at improving traffic safety and providing comfort to drivers and passengers. The resources use applications that have to meet high reliability and delay constraints. However, to implement these applications, VANET relies on medium access control (MAC) protocol. Many approaches have been proposed in the literature using time division multiple access (TDMA) scheme to enhance the efficiency of MAC protocol. Nevertheless, this technique has encountered some challenges including access and merging collisions due to inefficient time slot allocation strategy and hidden terminal problem. Despite several attempts to study this class of protocol, issues such as channel access and time slot scheduling strategy have not been given much attention. In this paper, we have relatively examined the most prominent TDMA MAC protocols which were proposed in the literature from 2010 to 2018. These protocols were classified based on scheduling strategy and the technique adopted. Also, we have comparatively analyzed them based on different parameters and performance metrics used. Finally, some open issues are presented for future deployment.Tambawal, AB.; Noor, RM.; Salleh, R.; Chembe, C.; Anisi, MH.; Michael, O.; Lloret, J. (2019). Time division multiple access scheduling strategies for emerging vehicular ad hoc network medium access control protocols: a survey. Telecommunication Systems. 70(4):595-616. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11235-018-00542-8S59561670

Eyelid hook injury - a preventable domestic injury.

The aim of this report is to describe the presentation and management of eyelid injury resulting from the hook of a rubber string. A seven-year-old boy presented with pain of the right upper eyelid. A rubber string with metal hook ends, snatched his right eye from below. The hook pierced through his upper eyelid from the conjunctival surface and remained in situ. However, there was no globe laceration noted. Removal was performed by reverse-tracking of the hook through the wound. The wound was stitched with 6'0 Vicryl sutures. Healing was excellent with minimal scarring

Soemmering’s Ring in a spontaneous partially absorbed lens: a case report

Soemmering's ring and spontaneous lens absorption are two distinct conditions that are uncommon and unlikely to occur simultaneously. We report a case of a 67-year-old man who presented with blurred vision in his left eye and has had poor eyesight since birth. His right and left eye visual acuities were 6/7.5 and hand movement (HM), respectively. There was no relative afferent pupillary defect (RAPD). The right eye’s examination was unremarkable. The left eye revealed a spontaneous rupture of the anterior lens capsule with partially absorbed lens material and the presence of Soemmering's ring. There was no evidence of phacodonesis. The left fundus appeared slightly hazy, while the retina appeared flat. Extraction of the left eye lens was performed for the patient, and he was left aphakic. In this case, the patient's Soemmering's ring was linked to the ruptured anterior lens capsule followed by spontaneous partial absorption of lens material, which caused deposition of residual lens filaments near the equator of the capsule sac. In addition to ocular trauma, patients with congenital rubella infection of the eye, uveitis, and Morgagnian cataract have reported spontaneous absorption of lens material. The exact mechanism by which cataracts dissolve spontaneously is unlikely to be the same in all patients. This patient who has had an unsightly left eye since birth is presumed to have been born with an ocular infection complicated by amblyopia. The presence of both the Soemmering's ring and spontaneous lens absorption is unusual in this case. Early attention to the precious fellow eye is critical to ensure that the other unaffected eye maintains an adequate vision and allows independent patient mobility

Enhanced weight-based clustering algorithm to provide reliable delivery for VANET safety applications.

A vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) is an emerging and promising wireless technology aimed to improve traffic safety and provide comfort to road users. However, the high mobility of vehicles and frequent topology changes pose a considerable challenge to the reliable delivery of safety applications. Clustering is one of the control techniques used in VANET to make the frequent topology changes less dynamic. Nevertheless, research has shown that most of the existing clustering algorithms focus on cluster head (CH) election with very few addressing other critical issues such as cluster formation and maintenance. This has led to unstable clusters which could affect the timely delivery of safety applications. In this study, enhanced weight-based clustering algorithm (EWCA) was developed to address these challenges. We considered any vehicle moving on the same road segment with the same road ID and within the transmission range of its neighbour to be suitable for the cluster formation process. This was attributed to the fact that all safety messages are expected to be shared among the vehicles within the vicinity irrespective of their relative speedto avoid any hazardous situation. To elect a CH, we identified some metrics on the basis of the vehicle mobility information. Each vehicle was associated with a predefined weight value based on its relevance. A vehicle with the highest weight value was elected as the primary cluster head (PCH). We also introduced a secondary cluster head (SeCH) as a backup to the PCH to improve the cluster stability. SeCH took over the leadership whenever the PCH was not suitable for continuing with the leadership. The simulation results of the proposed approach showed a better performance with an increase of approximately40%- 45% in the cluster stability when compared with the existing approaches. Similarly, cluster formation messages were significantly minimized, hence reducing the communication overhead to the system and improving the reliable delivery of the safety applications

Development of biomass waste-based carbon quantum dots and their potential application as non-toxic bioimaging agents

Over recent years, carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have advanced significantly and gained substantial attention for their numerous benefits. These benefits include their simple preparation, cost-effectiveness, small size, biocompatibility, bright luminescence, and low cytotoxicity. As a result, they hold great potential for various fields, including bioimaging. A fascinating aspect of synthesizing CQDs is that it can be accomplished by using biomass waste as the precursor. Furthermore, the synthesis approach allows for control over the physicochemical characteristics. This paper unequivocally examines the production of CQDs from biomass waste and their indispensable application in bioimaging. The synthesis process involves a simple one-pot hydrothermal method that utilizes biomass waste as a carbon source, eliminating the need for expensive and toxic reagents. The resulting CQDs exhibit tunable fluorescence and excellent biocompatibility, making them suitable for bioimaging applications. The successful application of biomass-derived CQDs has been demonstrated through biological evaluation studies in various cell lines, including HeLa, Cardiomyocyte, and iPS, as well as in medaka fish eggs and larvae. Using biomass waste as a precursor for CQDs synthesis provides an environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative to traditional methods. The resulting CQDs have potential applications in various fields, including bioimaging