Visual stress and dyslexia for the practicing optometrist

Visual stress should not be confused with dyslexia. It refers to symptoms of discomfort and perceptual distortion that have a neurological origin. Pattern 2 of the Pattern Glare Test can be used to elicit symptoms of visual stress, but pattern 3 is of relatively little clinical use. The symptoms sometimes remit with tints, but studies consistently show that tinting precision well within 0.07 in the CIE 1976 UCS diagram is necessary for optimal effect (see Precision is necessary – strong evidence is now available, below).  An improvement in reading speed with filters (overlays or lenses) can be measured using the Wilkins Rate of Reading Test, and an increase in reading speed of 15% is likely to indicate an improvement that exceeds any due to random variation. Visual stress remains a controversial issue, partly because of the publicity surrounding untrialled methods and partly because of reviews that are partial

Infiltrative Rectal Adenocarcinoma in a Dog

Background: Intestinal neoplasms are uncommon in dogs and adenocarcinoma is the main histological type found. This neoplasm presents slow growth and high capacity of causing metastasis. Histologically speaking, neoplasm cells can present solid, tubular, papillary arrangement and note amorphous extra-cellular material. Clinically observed tenesmus, diarrhea, dyskinesia, hematochezia, mane, protrusion of the anus, weight loss, anorexia. The occurrence and clinicopathological aspects of tumors in dogs’ gastrointestinal tract, the rectal segment, remains poorly understood. Accordingly, the aim of the present study is to report a case on infiltrative rectal adenocarcinoma diagnosed in a dog.Case: A 7-year-old male dog representative of the Fila Brasileiro breed was presented to the Veterinary Hospital of University Federal Rural of Amazonia, with history of hyperthermia, anorexia, apathy and tenesmus. Imaging examinations depicted prostatomegaly. Exploratory laparotomy was performed and showed the thickening and hardening of the rectum segment. The animal was subjected to euthanasia. Necroscopy showed increased rectal perimeter; the mucosa in its opening presented atypical cerebroid aspect and irregular surface, and areas dark red. The rectal segment depicted a thick wall of  white color, irregular limits covering the muscular and adjacent sub-mucosa. The peri-rectal adipose tissue presented poor delimitation with the rectum, multiple greyish and reddish areas. Increased prostate and iliac lymph, and multi node of regular limits in the lungs. The histology of the rectal tissue depicted epithelium with differentiated neoformation, composed of atypical cells; nuclear anisocytosis, anisocariasis and hyperchromasia placed in small islands, cords or tubular formation. Neoplasm growth was unorganized and of infiltrative character. Some areas presented mucosal pattern cells with Signal Ring morphologic. Multiple rectal blood vessels, regional lymph nodes and lungs had neoplasm growth similar to that observed in the intestine. Mucosa also presented ulceration areas and lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate. There was fibroplasia, lymphoplasmacytic points and bleeding in the serous, as well as in the peri-rectal fat tissue. The immunohistochemical technique showed immunostaining in cytokeratin and vimentin antibodies, and in marked epithelial cells and tumor stroma markings, respectively.Discussion: The intestinal tumor diagnosis in dogs is found by associating history, clinical signs, radiographic, ultrasound findings and necropsty. Only one data about the occurrence of rectal adenocarcinoma in Fila Brasileiro specimens. With regards to sex, results were similar to those record, whose males presented higher prevalence of primary rectal tumors. The macroscopic characteristic is consistent with infiltrative neoplasms; thickening was related to the presence of the tumor. The histopathological findings evidenced growing infiltrative neoplasm formed by atypical cells of tubular arrangement. Microscopy featured a chronic ulcerative colitis frame, such alteration represents one of the main risk factors for colon rectal cancer in humans. Epithelial histogenesis was confirmed through immunohistochemical results that have revealed co-expression of the cytokine epithelial marker in most tumor cells. The vimentin mesenchymal marker in the neoplasm stroma was positive, fact that can be explained by occasional immune-reaction in the anti-bodies (cytokine and vimentin) and in non-differentiated carcinomas. The prognostic was negative in the current report. Such outcome was attributed to the infiltrative character observed in the trans-operative period. Necropsy, as well as the histopathological and immunohistochemical exams, confirmed the infiltrative rectal adenocarcinoma in the dog

Identifying visual stress during a routine eye examination

Purpose: To investigate whether the clinical tests used in routine eye examinations can identify adults whose reading rate increases with their preferred coloured overlay(s). Methods: Routine optometric tests were used to measure 73 undergraduate students’ refractive error, visual acuity, stereo-acuity, amplitude of accommodation, near point of convergence, associated heterophoria at near, colour vision and ocular motility. Participants chose an overlay or combination of overlays with colour optimal for clarity, and completed the Wilkins Rate of Reading Test with and without an overlay(s) of this colour. Results: Overall, there was a significant increase in reading speed with overlay (t(72) = −5.26, p 5% with their chosen coloured overlay(s). Ten participants (14%) had a reading speed increase of >10%. The increase in reading speed was not significantly associated with any clinical finding. Conclusion: Tests which are completed in routine eye examinations did not identify those participants who benefitted from coloured overlays in terms of reading speed

Precision, reliabilty and application of the Wilkins Rate of Reading Test

Background- The Wilkins Rate of Reading Test (WRRT) enables rapid measurement of reading speed using text passages that have no semantic content and demand minimal word recognition skills. It is suited to applications where the primary interest is in the influence of visual and ocular motor factors on reading rate. Methods- We obtained estimates of precision and reliability of WRRT from four data samples (A-D) collected independently by the authors: (A) n = 118 adults; (B) n = 90 adults; (C) n = 787 children; (D) n = 134 children. Each participant was asked to read aloud as quickly and accurately as possible, for 1 min, and results were recorded as number of words read correctly per minute (wcpm). Results- Estimates of precision are given by the within-subjects standard deviation sw, and reliability by the intraclass correlation coefficient for single measurements r1. For each sample these estimates were (A) sw = 11.5 wcpm, r1 = 0.85; (B) sw = 3.8 wcpm, r1 = 0.98; (C) sw = 6.7 wcpm, r1 = 0.93; (D) sw = 6.2 wcpm, r1 = 0.94. Conclusion- The reliability of WRRT reflects large variation in reading rate between individuals compared to within-individual variability, indicating that it is a good test for discriminating differences in reading speed between individuals. The precision of the test varies from 3.8 wcpm to 11.5 wcpm among samples, and the pooled value of 7.2 wcpm, provides a basis for setting a population-wide criterion for minimum detectable change of reading rate in individuals over time. Nevertheless, a preferable way of monitoring change in an individual would be to use a criterion determined from estimates of that individual's baseline variation in WRRT scores

Pattern Glare

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The effect of viewing distance on responses to the pattern glare test

BACKGROUND: We investigated whether symptoms of pattern glare were affected by viewing distance, as distinct from spatial frequency, because of an association between symptoms and anomalies of accommodation and vergence. METHODS: One hundred young adults viewed gratings with spatial frequencies of 0.3, 2.3 and 9.4 cycles per degree (cpd) at four test distances (0.4, 0.8, 1.6 and 3.2 metres). Participants were asked to grade the presence of 15 symptoms of visual perceptual distortions and discomfort, on a scale from zero (no symptoms) to 10 (maximum perceptual and somatic symptoms). RESULTS: The viewing distance did not affect the nature and strength of symptoms, when viewing gratings with similar spatial frequencies. The symptoms increased with spatial frequency (p < 0.008 for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS: The symptoms from the Pattern Glare Test do not appear to be modulated by the changes in accommodation and vergence associated with viewing distance, at least in an unselected sample of students. The highest spatial frequency of the current Pattern Glare Test was 9.4 cpd at 0.4 metre and this is insufficiently high to measure the reduction in symptoms at high spatial frequencies. If assessing relative aversion to gratings of different spatial frequencies, it may be useful to increase the testing distance to 0.6 metre so as to increase the spatial frequency of the third grating to 14.2 cpd

Managing Soils for Recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global food supply chain and exacerbated the problem of food and nutritional insecurity. Here we outline soil strategies to strengthen local food production systems, enhance their resilience, and create a circular economy focused on soil restoration through carbon sequestration, on-farm cycling of nutrients, minimizing environmental pollution, and contamination of food. Smart web-based geospatial decision support systems (S-DSSs) for land use planning and management is a useful tool for sustainable development. Forensic soil science can also contribute to cold case investigations, both in providing intelligence and evidence in court and in ascertaining the provenance and safety of food products. Soil can be used for the safe disposal of medical waste, but increased understanding is needed on the transfer of virus through pedosphere processes. Strengthening communication between soil scientists and policy makers and improving distance learning techniques are critical for the post-COVID restoration