scholarly journals Assessment of the Utility of Plusoptix A09 Handheld Photo-refractometer in Screening Refractory Errors and Amblyopia in Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (01) ◽  
pp. e110-e113
Author(s):  
Muhammed Selcuk Sinanoglu ◽  
Yakıncı Cengiz ◽  
Soner Demirel

AbstractThe aim of this study is to find out the frequency of anisometropic amblyopia in children and to increase awareness about this disease. All children between the ages of 4 and 10 years who were attending 11 kindergarten and primary schools determined by provincial directorate for national education in the center of Malatya were included. A screening team including interns and a resident from the Department of Pediatrics have used Plusoptix A09 handheld photo-refractometer device for detecting amblyopia and its reasons. A total of 7,000 students were screened. The mean age of the students was 7.4 ± 2 years. Amblyopia was suspected in 357 cases with the Plusoptix S09 screening. After eye examinations performed by an ophthalmologist, 303 cases were found to have pathologic eye examination. Amblyopia was found in 67 (18.8%) of the 303 cases, and anisometropic amblyopia was found in 59 of 67 cases. As a result of the screening, sensitivity of Plusoptix A09 was found to be 88.1%, while its specificity was found to be 88.6%. Its positive predictive value was found to be 64.0% and its negative predictive value was found to be 97.0%. We believe that with screenings performed by health professionals who are given short-term training by using a device that can conduct remote measurements, detection of anisometropic amblyopia, which is the most frequent reason for amblyopia, can be done in a fast and relatively less expensive way and with the minimum number of specialist physician required. This way, children with amblyopia can reach the ophthalmologist earlier for treatment.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32
Author(s):  
Yee Bee Choo ◽  
Nurul Syazana Zainuddin

This is an Action Research of using the Story Jumper as an E-book to improve the reading comprehension among Year 4 pupils in one of the primary schools in Malaysia. The participants involved were twenty pupils consisting of seven males and thirteen females. Three data collection methods employed were pre-test and post-test, pupils’ work and teacher’s reflective journal. The findings showed that the use of E-book had increased the level of understanding in reading comprehension among the research participants. The mean for the pre-test and post-test had increased from 45.83 to 93.33. The pupils’ work indicated positive improvements in terms of their level of understanding and responses in reading. It was also found from the reflective journal that the research participants had participated actively in the learning process and their level of motivation was also increased. The implication is to use E-book in the teaching of reading skills among the primary school learners.


1985 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
pp. 2396-2410
Author(s):  
Miloslav Hošťálek ◽  
Ivan Fořt

The study describes a method of modelling axial-radial circulation in a tank with an axial impeller and radial baffles. The proposed model is based on the analytical solution of the equation for vortex transport in the mean flow of turbulent liquid. The obtained vortex flow model is tested by the results of experiments carried out in a tank of diameter 1 m and with the bottom in the shape of truncated cone as well as by the data published for the vessel of diameter 0.29 m with flat bottom. Though the model equations are expressed in a simple form, good qualitative and even quantitative agreement of the model with reality is stated. Apart from its simplicity, the model has other advantages: minimum number of experimental data necessary for the completion of boundary conditions and integral nature of these data.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Begin

<p>To estimate the impact of climate change on our society we need to use climate projections based on numerical models. These models make it possible to assess the effects on climate of the increase in greenhouse gases (GHG) as well as natural variability. We know that the global average temperature will increase and that the occurrence, intensity and spatio-temporal distribution of extreme precipitations will change. These extreme weather events cause droughts, floods and other natural disasters that have significant consequences on our life and environment. Precipitation is a key variable in adapting to climate change.</p><p> </p><p>This study focuses on the ClimEx large ensemble, a set of 50 independent simulations created to study the effect of climate change and natural variability on the water network in Quebec. This dataset consists of simulations produced using the Canadian Regional Climate Model version 5 (CRCM5) at 12 km of resolution driven by simulations from the second generation Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2) global model at 310 km of resolution.</p><p> </p><p>The aim of the project is to evaluate the performance of the ClimEx ensemble in simulating the daily cycle and representing extreme values.  To get there, 30 years of hourly time series for precipitation and 3 hourly for temperature are analyzed. The simulations are compared with the values from the simulation of CRCM5 driven by ERA-Interim reanalysis, the ERA5 reanalysis and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) stations. An evaluation of the sensitivity of different statistics to the number of members is also performed.</p><p> </p><p>The daily cycle of precipitation from ClimEx shows mainly non-significant correlations with the other datasets and its amplitude is less than the observation datas from ECCC stations. For temperature, the correlation is strong and the amplitude of the cycle is similar to observations. ClimEx provides a fairly good representation of the 95, 97, 99<sup>th</sup> quantiles for precipitation. For temperature it represents a good distribution of quantiles but with a warm bias in southern Quebec. For precipitation hourly maximum, ClimEx shows values 10 times higher than ERA5.  For temperature, minimum and maximum values may exceed the ERA5 limit by up to 20°C. For precipitation, the minimum number of members for the estimation of the 95 and 99<sup>th</sup><sup></sup>quantiles and the mean cycle is between 15 and 50 for an estimation error of less than 5%. For the 95, 99<sup>th</sup> quantiles of temperature, the minimum number of members is between 1 and 17 and for the mean cycle 1 to 2 members are necessary to obtain an estimation error of less than 0.5°C.</p>


2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 862-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pakhee Aggarwal ◽  
Swaraj Batra ◽  
Gauri Gandhi ◽  
Vijay Zutshi

Objectives:To compare the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of Papanicolaou test with visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA)/VIA using magnification devices (VIAM) and develop the best strategy for screening in low resource settings.Materials and Methods:This is a prospective cross-sectional study on 408 symptomatic multiparous women in the reproductive age group, sequentially using the Papanicolaou test, the VIA, and the VIAM for screening. Women with a positive screening test underwent guided biopsy and endocervical curettage. The site of biopsy was recorded. Histopathological findings were taken as the "gold" standard in comparing the methods.Results:The mean (SD) age was 32.3 (6.8) years (range, 15-49 years), whereas the mean (SD) parity was 2.9 (1.2) (range, 1-9). Abnormal cytological findings were detected in 2.9% patients, whereas the remaining smears were negative for any intraepithelial lesion or malignancy. A total of 113 cases were screened positive by one/all methods. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of the Papanicolaou test, the VIA, and the VIAM were 24, 98, 42, 96, and 94%; 95, 78, 19, 99, and 79%; and 95, 78, 19, 99, and 79%, respectively, for high-grade lesions.Conclusions:The Papanicolaou test had low sensitivity but high specificity, whereas visual detection methods had a high sensitivity in addition to being cheaper. Alternative methods of screening such as VIA/VIAM can be a valuable alternative to the Papanicolaou test for cervical cancer screening in low resource settings. Visual inspection using magnification devices may be of benefit over VIA in doubtful cases.


2014 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saverio Forte ◽  
Pasquale Martino ◽  
Silvano Palazzo ◽  
Matteo Matera ◽  
Floriana Giangrande ◽  
...  

Introduction: The intrarenal resistance index (RI) is a calculated parameter for the assessment of the status of the graft during the follow-up ultrasound of the transplanted kidney. Currently it is still unclear the predictive value of RI, also in function of the time. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively investigated the correlation between the RI and the graft survival (GS) and the overall survival (OS) after transplantation. We evaluated 268 patients transplanted between 2003 and 2011, the mean followup was 73 months (12-136). The RI was evaluated at 8 days, 6 months, 1 year and 3 years. The ROC analysis was used to calculate the predictive value of RI and the Kaplan Mayer curves was used to evaluated the OS and PS. Results: The ROC analysis, correlated to the GS, identified a value of RI equal to 0.75 as a cut-off. All patients was stratified according to the RI at 8 days (RI ≤ 0,75: 212 vs RI > 0.75: 56), at 6 months (RI ≤ 0.75: 237 vs RI > 0.75: 31), at 1 year (RI ≤ 0.75: 229 vs RI > 0.75: 39) and at 3 years (RI ≤ 0.75: 224 vs RI > 0.75: 44). The RI showed statistically significant differences between the two groups in favor of those who had an RI ≤ 0.75 only at 8 days and at 6 moths (p = 0.0078 and p = 0.02 to 8 days to 6 months) on the GS. On the contrary, we observed that the RI estimated at 1 year and 3 years has not correlated with the GS. The same RI cut-off was correlate with PS after transplantation. We observed that there are no correlations between the RI and OS. Conclusions: The RI proved to be a good prognostic factor on survival organ when it was evaluated in the first months of follow- up after transplantation. This parameter does not appear, however, correlate with OS of the transplanted subject.


Author(s):  
Maadarani O ◽  
Bitar Z ◽  
Almeri K

Background: Echocardiography and lung ultrasound are important tests for assessing left ventricular function in patients presented to the emergency department with acute pulmonary edema. Chest ultrasound is becoming an important tool in diagnosing acute pulmonary edema. Aim: To investigate the relationship between the B profile on ultrasound chest and Spectral tissue Doppler echocardiography (E/e’ ratio) in patients presented with the suspicion of acute pulmonary edema. Methods: This paper reports a prospective observational study of 61 consecutive patients, which was presented with symptoms and signs of pulmonary edema and B - profile detected by echocardiography with a 5 MHz curvilinear probe. Critical care physicians trained in ultrasound examination performed echocardiography and chest ultrasounds. Results: Sixty-one participants were included in the study. Forty-seven of the 61 patients had a B-profile and 14 patients had an A profile. The mean E/e’ level in the patients with B-profile was 20.8, compared with the mean level in the patients with an A-profile of 8.2 (CI = 0.33-0.82). The distribution in the two groups differed significantly (p=0.003). Based on the value of E/e’, the sensitivity and specificity were determined; the sensitivity of B profile on ultrasound was 92% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.812-0.968), and the specificity was 91% (CI =0.623-0.98). The positive predictive value of the B-profile was 97% (CI=0.889-0.996), and the negative predictive value was 71% (CI=0.454-0.883). The systolic function in the subjects with a B-profile was below 50% in 74.3% of the subjects and normal in 25.7% of the subjects. All the subjects with B profile and systolic function > 50% had elevated ProBNP and E/e’ > 15. An A-profile subjects had systolic function > 55%. Conclusions: Detecting the B-profile in lung ultrasound is highly sensitive and specific for elevated left ventricular diastolic pressures regardless of the systolic function of the left ventricle which may help in diagnosing pulmonary edema.


Author(s):  
Lisa Zumpe ◽  
Tobias Bensel ◽  
Andreas Wienke ◽  
Matilda Mtaya-Mlangwa ◽  
Jeremias Hey

There has been no research on the prevalence of and factors associated with dental caries in rural southwestern Tanzania among schoolchildren. Determining the prevalence of and factors associated with dental caries will help to assess the need for dental intervention and prophylactic measures among children in the region. In February 2020, a cross-sectional study was conducted in the Wanging’ombe District of the Ilembula Ward. The data were collected through clinical examinations and personal interviews at two primary schools. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify potential risk indicators for caries. The study included 319 students aged 11–12 years (average 11.92 ± 0.27 years). The mean Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth index was 0.24 ± 0.68, and the mean Specific affected Caries Index was 1.66 ± 0.9. The greatest influences on the caries risk were poor oral hygiene (OR 8.05, 95% CI 0.49–133.23), low tooth brushing frequency (OR 3.03, 95% CI 1.26–7.26) and low level of education in parents (OR 2.63, 95% CI 0.99–6.98). Dental caries was low among students in rural areas in the Wanging’ombe District.


Author(s):  
Ammar Chaudhry ◽  
Ammar Chaudhry ◽  
William H. Moore

Purpose: The radiographic diagnosis of lung nodules is associated with low sensitivity and specificity. Computer-aided detection (CAD) system has been shown to have higher accuracy in the detection of lung nodules. The purpose of this study is to assess the effect on sensitivity and specificity when a CAD system is used to review chest radiographs in real-time setting. Methods: Sixty-three patients, including 24 controls, who had chest radiographs and CT within three months were included in this study. Three radiologists were presented chest radiographs without CAD and were asked to mark all lung nodules. Then the radiologists were allowed to see the CAD region-of-interest (ROI) marks and were asked to agree or disagree with the marks. All marks were correlated with CT studies. Results: The mean sensitivity of the three radiologists without CAD was 16.1%, which showed a statistically significant improvement to 22.5% with CAD. The mean specificity of the three radiologists was 52.5% without CAD and decreased to 48.1% with CAD. There was no significant change in the positive predictive value or negative predictive value. Conclusion: The addition of a CAD system to chest radiography interpretation statistically improves the detection of lung nodules without affecting its specificity. Thus suggesting CAD would improve overall detection of lung nodules.


Al Adzka ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Berkati Berkati

The purpose of this study was to determine the increase in the ability of teachers in preparing Learning Implementation Plans (RPP) through academic supervision. This research is a school action research with steps: planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. This research is planned to consist of two cycles. This research was carried out at MIN Amkoteng Subdistrict Anjir Muara, Barito Kuala District, South Kalimantan Province. Quantitative data analysis was used to determine the increase in the value of the practice of making RPP by teachers based on the standards set by the Ministry of National Education. The results of the study show that the teacher's ability to prepare RPP can be improved by academic supervision; collaboration between teachers and Supervisors of Primary Schools can be well established and useful in fostering teachers to improve their abilities in preparing RPP; the complete document II of the Education Unit (KTSP) MIN Amkoteng curriculum is complete, in the form of RPP collection documents; and this academic supervision can be used as a model in the following years in terms of drafting RPP, and can be used as an example for other schools.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Elenius

A national metasystem for education and fostering in TornedalenA national interacting metasystem of national education and fostering developed in the Finnish speaking region Tornedalen in northern Sweden from the late 19th century to the 1950s. It was not formally agreed as a deliberate education system, but was more of a tacit understanding of a common nationalistic goal within different educational institutions such as primary schools, the residential industrial schools [arbetsstugor], the folk high-schools and the different forms of explicit military education. The aim was to help the poor region economically, to spread the Swedish language and culture in the area, to break the isolation of the region through education and to integrate this geopolitically sensitive border region into the nation. The integrative phase of Swedish nationalism was a common denominator. Leading persons in the educational and fostering activities were many times the same persons. There was a consensus over party lines about the need of acculturation and assimilation of the Tornedalians. The school, the nation and the family was regarded as central concepts in the fostering of the minority into Swedish citizens. By regarding the educations in Tornealen as a metasystem of ideological influences you get an imagination of the ideological power single educations gets when interconnected as a system.


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