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Adherence of glaucoma intervention studies to World Glaucoma Association guidelines
No full textObjective:
To assess the adherence of glaucoma surgical and laser studies to WGA guidelines for reporting glaucoma surgery studies, analyse trends in adherence over time and explore associations between adherence and study characteristics.
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Methods:
Systematic review (PROSPERO:CRD42023394477) of glaucoma surgical and laser studies published between 2010 and 2023 in PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE. Eligible studies included RCTs, non-randomized comparative and prospective observational designs (>100 eyes). Two reviewers independently extracted data across five domains: Methodology, Definition of success, Ethics, Postoperative complications and Statistical reporting. Temporal trends and associations with study features were analysed using linear regression.
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Results:
Two hundred and fifty-six studies were included, 75% of which were published in Q1–Q3 journals. Mean overall adherence was 47% ± 9.2%. Domain-level adherence was highest in Ethics (61% ± 20%), followed by Postoperative complications (50% ± 22%), Statistical reporting (48% ± 18%), Methodology (44% ± 12%) and Definition of success (30% ± 13%). No significant differences (p > 0.06) were observed in overall adherence for studies from Europe, Asia, Oceania or the Middle East. Studies involving cataract surgery for angle-closure disease (est. = −10% [−19%, −2.2%], p = 0.014) and laser trabeculoplasty (est. = −7.1% [−11%, −3.5%], p < 0.001) had lower adherence compared with trabeculectomy, while MIGS studies showed no difference (p = 0.45). Visual field progression was reported in only 3% of studies, while various anatomical outcomes (e.g. bleb morphology) were reported in 0%–24% of studies.
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Conclusion:
Current literature shows poor adherence to WGA guidelines across both traditional and newer glaucoma surgeries, reflecting inadequate reporting and outdated recommendations. Evidence-based updates, broader consensus and stronger implementation are needed to ensure standardized and meaningful reporting
Unraveling Stakeholder Engagement in Megaprojects: A Political Opportunity Structure Perspective in Turbulent Times
No full textGrowing up wild: social learning opportunities during foraging in immature baboons
No full textImmature individuals may play an important role in group-level information transmission because they learn socially more than adults. However, little is known about social learning during development, particularly in nontool-using species. Our aim was to determine how immatures' social learning opportunities during foraging changed with age and differed between the sexes, and from whom immatures had more opportunities to learn. Behavioural data on 53 immature wild chacma baboons, Papio ursinus , were collected across 2 years, recording all behaviours associated with social learning in other species: observing others while foraging, inspecting or eating food dropped by others, sniffing others' mouths, stealing food from others, joining the same location that others are foraging and eating the same food. Results showed that immatures had relatively more opportunities to learn from others before and around the weaning period, but no sex differences were found. Immatures had more opportunities to learn from individuals in proximity when they were young, but their learning opportunities were limited to relatively more specific ‘demonstrators’ (that is, possible learning partners) when older. In general, immatures had relatively more opportunities to learn from grooming affiliates and individuals of a similar age as themselves. Immature males had less opportunities to learn from grooming partners compared with female peers. Finally, high-ranking immatures had greater opportunities to learn socially compared with low-ranking peers. The relatively greater social learning opportunities of immatures around weaning could improve their independent foraging competence before being weaned. In addition, tolerance, through shared proximity and grooming, may be important in determining from whom immatures have greater opportunities to learn. Baboons live in a matrilineal society with a high degree of nepotism; thus, the greater opportunities of immatures to learn from tolerant individuals may translate into a higher within-matriline versus across-matriline information spread, which could limit group-level information transmission
Conversational Topic Shifts and Topic Maintenance in Autistic and Neurotypical Children
No full textTopic maintenance and topic shifts are crucial components of conversation; however, existing research lacks a clear quantitative operationalization of these topic management skills. Previous studies suggest that autistic children are less likely than their neurotypical peers to maintain and elaborate on the interlocutor's prior topic, and that they shift topics inappropriately more often. Nevertheless, findings on topic maintenance remain inconclusive, and studies specifically investigating topic shifts are limited. Moreover, little is known about the conversational skills of autistic children from non‐English‐speaking contexts. We investigated topic maintenance and shifting in 43 autistic and 46 age‐matched neurotypical Spanish‐speaking children (
M =
8.55, SD
=
1.91) during a semi‐spontaneous conversation task. Given their important role in social interactions, we developed a theoretically grounded protocol for systematically coding topic shifts, supported through a rating task conducted with neurotypical adults. Results showed that although autistic and neurotypical children provided a comparable number of topic‐supporting responses, autistic participants produced significantly more topic shifts. Furthermore, autistic children's topic shifts corresponded to a less natural end of the empirically supported rating scale, indicating such topic shifts interrupted the conversation flow more drastically. These findings suggest that, while autistic children may not have difficulties maintaining a conversation topic, the frequency and nature of their topic shifts could challenge reciprocal conversations. Our study presents a coding scheme that captures relevant distinctions in how different topic shifts are perceived in conversation, serving as a valuable resource for research and clinical practice in assessing and supporting the conversational skills of autistic individuals
Report of the RGS Heads of Geography Workload Model Working Group
No full textThis Working Group met throughout the 2023-2024 academic year in response
to concern among Heads of Schools/Departments about rising workloads
among staff and associated stress and mental well-being issues. It was felt that
Geographers share certain commonalities regarding workload that differentiate
us from neighbouring Schools/Departments within our institutional contexts,
and therefore there would be value in trying to find principles or best practices
that might be shared. The members of the Working Group came from a wide
range of Schools/Departments, as became clear early in the discussion, and they
faced widely different institutional contexts. While this limited the Group’s ability
to spell out specific policies that might apply to all Schools/Departments, we
nevertheless were able to explore the elements of the workload crisis that spoke
to all of us. The group met four times online (via Zoom) to formulate the
contents of this report, and then the report was circulated among the
membership for final revision
Understanding the Challenges and Future Trends of Immersive Technology Use in Indoor Pedestrian and Evacuation Dynamics: A Systematic Review
No full textThis systematic review examines immersive technologies (ImT), virtual (VR), augmented (AR) and mixed reality (MR), in indoor pedestrian evacuation dynamics (PED) published between 2014 and 2024. Using the PRISMA protocol, 51 studies were screened and coded across four lenses: improvement focus (human behaviour, safety training, path optimisation, algorithm enhancement), technology applied, target users and behavioural factors (pre-evacuation actions, pedestrian interaction, navigation choice). PED refers to the micro-level movement and behavioural mechanisms (e.g., pre-movement, route choice, speed and flow) that shape indoor egress performance. VR dominates current applications, but interest in AR/MR is rising. Participants range from designers and facility managers to the public and emergency staff. Recurring barriers include motion sickness, incomplete multisensory integration, limited visual realism, high hardware cost, sub-optimal algorithms and data-privacy concerns. To integrate dispersed evidence, we propose a conceptual model linking ImT parameters, occupant responses and evacuation performance, thereby flagging potential congestion points and recommending optimal routes. The review suggests that future research should advance display and tracking hardware, promote interdisciplinary collaboration, refine behaviour-driven algorithms, enhance haptic and auditory feedback, reduce costs and design user-centred training curricula. Addressing these priorities will unlock the full safety value of ImT, delivering more reliable evacuation preparedness and faster, better-informed emergency responses
Vascular Comorbidities and an Increased Comorbidity Score Are Associated With Disability and Disability Progression in Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis
No full textBackground:
Vascular risk factors are associated with increased disease activity and disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). This has been studied mainly in cohorts with relapsing–remitting MS. However, the association between vascular comorbidities (VCM) and clinical disability in secondary progressive MS (SPMS) is less well studied. Our aim was to investigate the association between VCM, non-VCM, comorbidity burden and both physical and cognitive performance in SPMS./ /
Methods:
Longitudinal analysis of 445 patients from the MS secondary progressive multi-arm trial (MS-SMART)–a multi-arm multicentre phase-2b randomised placebo-controlled trial of three agents in SPMS (NCT01910259). VCM (hypertension and hyperlipidaemia) and non-VCM (asthma, hypothyroidism and osteoporosis) were recorded. A comorbidity score was also determined (0, 1, ≥ 2). Physical disability and processing speed were assessed at baseline, 48- and 96 weeks. Multiple linear regression and mixed models were used to investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between baseline VCM, non-VCM, comorbidity score and clinical outcome measures. / /
Results:
The cohort was predominantly female (67%), median Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 6.0. 13% and 9% had hypertension and hyperlipidaemia (VCM), respectively. 7%, 9% and 5% had asthma, hypothyroidism and osteoporosis (non-VCM), respectively. Co-morbidity counts were 0,63%; 1, 23% and with > = 2, 11%. In cross-sectional models, both hypertension (β = 0.36, 95% CI 0.18–0.54) and an increased comorbidity count (β = 0.47, 95% CI 0.28–0.67) were associated with higher EDSS scores. In longitudinal models, hyperlipidaemia (β = 0.22, 95% CI 0.02–0.42) and increased comorbidity count (β = 0.21, 95% CI 0.01–0.41) were associated with increased EDSS scores over 48/96 weeks. No associations were seen with the non-VCM. / /
Conclusion:
VCM and also increased comorbidity burden per se are associated with increased disability. Disability worsening over 96 weeks was most evident in those with hyperlipidaemia and increased comorbidity burden
Enhanced HCl removal performance of calcium- and zinc-modified hydrotalcites: a comprehensive mechanism study via experiments and DFT calculations
No full textTo efficiently address the industrial and environmental hazards caused by HCl during utilization of organic solid waste, this study systematically investigated the HCl removal performance and reaction mechanism of Ca- and Zn-modified hydrotalcites. Three adsorbents, Mg-Al-CO3 (HT), Zn-Mg-Al-CO3 (Zn-HTLC), and Ca-Mg-Al-CO3 (Ca-HTLC), were synthesized via co-precipitation method, and the effects of Ca and Zn on the structural characteristics of hydrotalcite were analyzed. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were employed to investigate the adsorption pathways and rate-determining step of HCl on the three surfaces. Experimental results demonstrated that the incorporation of Ca and Zn leads to an increase in crystal size and thermal stability. In the temperature range of 300 to 700 °C, Ca-HTLC and Zn-HTLC exhibit markedly higher HCl removal performance than HT, with Ca-HTLC outperforming Zn-HTLC. As the reaction temperature increased, the HCl removal performance of HT decreased, whereas that of Zn-HTLC and Ca-HTLC first increased and then decreased. The maximum HCl adsorption capacity of Ca-HTLC reached 488.4 mg/g at 500 °C, which was 1.2 times that of Zn-HTLC and 12.7 times that of HT. This indicates that the incorporation of Ca and Zn significantly enhances the HCl removal performance of HT. DFT calculations revealed that H2O desorption is the rate-determining step. The incorporation of Ca and Zn reduced the activation energy barriers of this step, thereby improving the HCl adsorption performance. Ca (119.91 kJ/mol) showed the lowest activation barrier, corresponding to decreases of 10.9% compared with Zn (134.59 kJ/mol) and 41.9% compared with Mg (206.41 kJ/mol)
Case Report: The First Report of a Family with Sitosterolemia in the Polish Population
No full textSitosterolemia is a rare autosomal recessive lipid disorder caused by mutations in the ABCG5 or ABCG8 genes, resulting in excessive intestinal absorption and impaired biliary excretion of plant sterols, which leads to their accumulation in plasma and tissues. Clinical manifestations include premature coronary artery disease, liver dysfunction, hepatosplenomegaly, and hematologic abnormalities. We report the first Polish family diagnosed with sitosterolemia. A 19-year-old male patient with severe hypercholesterolemia and resistance to statin therapy and his family members were examined, including biochemical and imaging studies, serum sterol assessment by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and genetic testing using next-generation sequencing of genes involved in lipid metabolism. The proband presented with total cholesterol of 8.0 mmol/L, LDL-C of 5.80 mmol/L, HDL-C of 1.24 mmol/L, and triglycerides of 2.38 mmol/L. Genetic analysis revealed two variants in the ABCG8 gene in the patient and his brother: a pathogenic variant c.1083G>A (p.Trp361Ter), present in the patient's father, and a variant of uncertain significance c.1534G>A (p.Gly512Arg), present in the patient's mother. Serum sterol concentrations in the patient were markedly elevated, including campesterol (139.8 µmol/L), stigmasterol (2.2 µmol/L), isofucosterol (56.9 µmol/L), and sitosterol (333.9 µmol/L). Introduction of ezetimibe therapy combined with a low–plant sterol diet resulted in improvement of the lipid profile. These findings highlight the role of genetic testing and serum sterol measurement in the differential diagnosis of inherited lipid disorders, especially in patients with statin-resistant hypercholesterolemia. Early diagnosis of sitosterolemia is important in order to introduce appropriate diet and pharmacotherapy
