Pain in the treatment of vitreoretinal diseases

Treatment of vitreoretinal diseases comprises a range of options that has increased in the past several years, allowing more individuals to benefit from new therapeutic approaches. The use of lasers in the retina, new surgical techniques, and intravitreal drug administration constitute common treatment options. These retinal and vitreal procedures have both benefits and drawbacks. Among the drawbacks is discomfort associated with the procedure, constituting a relevant issue because it can compromise adherence to treatment. We reviewed aspects of pain associated with vitreoretinal procedures and the available options for its control. With regard to vitreoretinal procedures, laser photocoagulation is associated with a higher pain score compared with vitrectomy and intravitreal injection using traditional anesthesia methods, suggesting that laser photocoagulation still needs to be improved with regard to comfort during the procedure. In some cases, a combination of analgesic options may be the best choice for pain-sensitive individuals. Individual differences and the specific condition that is treated should be considered when deciding the best treatment option.

Pain in the treatment of vitreoretinal diseases

Treatment of vitreoretinal diseases comprises a range of options that has increased in the past several years, allowing more individuals to benefit from new therapeutic approaches. The use of lasers in the retina, new surgical techniques, and intravitreal drug administration constitute common treatment options. These retinal and vitreal procedures have both benefits and drawbacks. Among the drawbacks is discomfort associated with the procedure, constituting a relevant issue because it can compromise adherence to treatment. We reviewed aspects of pain associated with vitreoretinal procedures and the available options for its control. With regard to vitreoretinal procedures, laser photocoagulation is associated with a higher pain score compared with vitrectomy and intravitreal injection using traditional anesthesia methods, suggesting that laser photocoagulation still needs to be improved with regard to comfort during the procedure. In some cases, a combination of analgesic options may be the best choice for pain-sensitive individuals. Individual differences and the specific condition that is treated should be considered when deciding the best treatment option.(AU)

Controle da leptospirose em bovinos de leite com vacina autógena em Santo Antônio do Monte, Minas Gerais / Control of leptospirosis in dairy cattle with autogenous vaccine in Santo Antônio do Monte, MG, Brazil

Um surto de leptospirose foi observado em bovinos leiteiros em Santo Antônio do Monte, Minas Gerais. O rebanho apresentava reações positivas anti-leptospira sorovar Hardjo no teste de microaglutinação (MAT) e havia sido vacinado anteriormente com vacina experimental contendo a sorovariedade Hardjo. O MAT revelou 48,06% dos bovinos positivos para sorovariedade Hardjo genótipo Hardjobovis, 36,82% para sorovariedade Hardjo genótipo Hardjoprajitno. Os animais apresentavam aborto e mastite com presença de sangue no leite. A presente pesquisa teve como objetivos isolar as sorovariedades existentes a partir da urina de vacas sorologicamente positivas, elaborar uma vacina experimental com as sorovariedades isoladas no rebanho, avaliar a eficiência do programa de vacinação por um período de dois anos por meio da sorologia do rebanho. Foi isolada Leptospira spp. a partir da urina de duas vacas com sinais sugestivos da doença. As amostras isoladas foram identificadas pela sorologia com anticorpos monoclonais e seqüenciamento do gene 16S rRNA como pertencentes à espécie Leptospira interrogans, sorogrupo Sejroe, sorovariedade Hardjo e genótipo Hardjoprajitno. O uso da vacina autógena foi eficaz no controle da leptospirose no rebanho no período de dois anos. Os resultados da sorologia revelaram ausência de animais positivos na última prova realizada no rebanho.

An outbreak of leptospirosis in dairy cattle was observed in Santo Antonio do Monte, Minas Gerais. The herd had positive reactions in anti-Leptospira serovar Hardjo agglutination test (MAT) and had been previously vaccinated with a vaccine containing serovars Hardjo. The MAT showed 48.06% of cattle positive for serovars Hardjo genotype Hardjobovis, 36.82% for serovars Hardjo genotype Hardjoprajitno. The animals had abortions and mastitis with blood in the milk. This study aimed to isolate the existing serovars from the urine of serologically positive cows, produce an experimental vaccine with the serovars isolated in the herd, evaluating the effectiveness of the vaccination program for a period of two years through the herd serology. Leptospira spp. was isolated from the urine of two cows with signs suggestive of the disease. The strains were identified by serology with monoclonal antibodies and 16S rRNA gene sequencing as belonging to the Leptospira interrogans species Sejroe serogroup Hardjo serovars and Hardjoprajitno genotype. Use of the autochthonous vaccine was effective in leptospirosis controlling in the herd in two years. The serology results showed the absence of positive animals in the last race held in the herd.

One-dimensional and multi-dimensional studies of the exocentric distance estimates in frontoparallel plane, virtual space, and outdoor open field

The aim of this study is twofold: on the one hand, to determine how visual space, as assessed by exocentric distance estimates, is related to physical space. On the other hand, to determine the structure of visual space as assessed by exocentric distance estimates. Visual space was measured in three environments: (a) points located in a 2-D frontoparallel plane, covering a range of distances of 20 cm; (b) stakes placed in a 3-D virtual space (range ≈ 330 mm); and (c) stakes in a 3-D outdoors open field (range = 45 m). Observers made matching judgments of distances between all possible pairs of stimuli, obtained from 16 stimuli (in a regular squared 4 × 4 matrix). Two parameters from Stevens' power law informed us about the distortion of visual space: its exponent and its coefficient of determination (R2). The results showed a ranking of the magnitude of the distortions found in each experimental environment, and also provided information about the efficacy of available visual cues of spatial layout. Furthermore, our data are in agreement with previous findings showing systematic perceptual errors, such as the further the stimuli, the larger the distortion of the area subtended by perceived distances between stimuli. Additionally, we measured the magnitude of distortion of visual space relative to physical space by a parameter of multidimensional scaling analyses, the RMSE. From these results, the magnitude of such distortions can be ranked, and the utility or efficacy of the available visual cues informing about the space layout can also be inferred (AU)

En este estudio se pretendía cubrir un doble objetivo. Por un lado, determinar cómo el espacio visual, evaluado en términos de estimaciones de distancias exocéntricas, se corresponde con el espacio físico. Y, por otro lado, determinar la estructura del espacio visual a partir de las mismas estimaciones de distancias. Para ello, registramos la respuesta (métrica) de los observadores en tres entornos espaciales: (a) puntos localizados en un plano 2-D (frontoparalelo) en un rango de distancias de 20 cm; (b) estacas vistas esteroscopicamente y situadas en un espacio virtual 3-D (rango de 33 cm); y (c) estacas físicas dispuestas en un espacio abierto exterior (rango de 45 m). Los observadores hicieron juicios de emparejamiento de distancias entre todos los posibles pares que se podían formar con 16 estacas (dispuestas en una matriz cuadrada regular de 4 filas × 4 columnas). Utilizamos dos parámetros de la ley potencial de Stevens, que nos informaron de la distorsión percibida del espacio visual: el exponente y el coeficiente de determinación (R2). Los resultados permitieron ordenar la magnitud de la distorsión encontrada en cada entorno experimental, proporcionando información sobre la utilidad y eficacia de las claves de profundidad disponibles. Nuestros datos concuerdan con los obtenidos en estudios previos en mostrar una cierta anisotropía espacial que difiere en cada entorno. Adicionalmente, aplicamos el escalamiento multidimensional y medimos la distorsión a través del RECM, lo que también nos permitió ordenar la magnitud de las distorsiones en cada contexto, así como la eficacia de las claves visuales de distancia (AU)

Distance perception in a natural outdoor setting: is there a developmental trend to overconstancy?

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate whether in natural environment, using very large physical distances, there isa trend to over constancy for distance estimates during development. One hundred and twenty-nine children aged 5 to 13 years old and twenty-one adults (in a control group), participated as observers. The observer’s task was to bisect egocentric distances, ranging from 1.0 to 296.0 m, presented in a large open field. The analyses focused on two parameters, constant errors and variable errors, such as measuring accuracy and precision, respectively. A third analysis focused on the developmental pattern of shifts in constancy as a function of age and range of distances. Constant error analysis showed that there are two relevant parameters for accuracy, age, and range of distances. For short distances, there are three developmental stages: 5-7 years, when children have unstable responses, 7-11, under constancy, and 13 to adulthood, when accuracy is reached. For large distances, there is a two-stage development: 5-11 years, with severe under constancy, and beyond this age, with mild under constancy. Variable errors analyses indicate that precision is noted for 7 year-old children, independently of the range of distances. The constancy analyses indicated that there is a shift from constancy (or slightly over constancy) to under constancy as a function of physical distance for all age groups. The age difference is noted in the magnitude of under constancy that occurs in larger distances, where adults presented lower levels of under constancy than children. The present data were interpreted as due to a developmental change in cognitive processing rather than to changes in visual space perception (AU)

El principal objetivo de este estudio fue investigar si en un medio natural, empleando distancias físicas muy grandes, hay una tendencia a sobre-constancia para las estimaciones de distancias durante el desarrollo evolutivo. Participaron como observadores 129 niños de edades entre 5 y 13 años y 21 adultos (en un grupo control). La tarea de los observadores consistió en biseccionar unas distancias egocéntricas, que variaban entre 1,0 y 296,0 m, presentadas en un gran campo abierto. El análisis se centró en dos parámetros, error constante y error variable, de la exactitud y precisión de medida, respectivamente. Un tercer análisis se centró en el patrón evolutivo de cambios en la constancia en función de la edad y el rango de distancias. El análisis de los errores constantes mostró que hay dos parámetros relevantes para la precisión, edad y rango de distancias. Para distancias cortas, hay tres fases evolutivas: 5-7 años, cuando los niños dan respuestas inestables, 7-11, infra-constancia, y 13 años hasta la adultez, cuando alcanzan la exactitud (constancia). Para las distancias largas, hay un desarrollo de dos fases: 5-11 años, con infra-constancia severa, y más allá de esta edad, con ligera infraconstancia. El análisis del error variable indica que se alcanza precisión a partir de 7 años, con independencia del rango de distancias. En análisis de la constancia indica que existe un cambio desde la constancia (o una ligera sobre-constancia) a infra-constancia en función de la distancia física para todos los grupos de edad. La diferencia de edad se nota en la magnitud de la infra-constancia que ocurre en las distancias más largas, donde los adultos presentaban niveles menores de infra-constancia que los niños. Estos datos se interpretan como debidos a un cambio evolutivo en el procesamiento cognitivo más que a cambios en la percepción visual del espacio (AU)

Visual angle as determinant factor for relative distance perception

Visual angles are defined as the angle between line of sight up to the meanpoint of a relative distance and the relative distance itself. In one experiment,we examined the functional aspect of visual angle in relative distanceperception using two different layouts composed by 14 stakes, one of themwith its center 23 m away from the observation point, and the other 36 maway from the observation point. Verbal reports of relative distance weregrouped in 10 categories of visual angles. Results indicated visual angle as adeterminant factor for perceived relative distance as observed in the absenceof perceptual errors to distances with visual angle equal or larger than 70degrees that could be attributed to a combination of sources of visualinformation. Another finding showed a possible intrusion of non-perceptualfactors (observer’s tendencies), leading to compressed estimates to relativedistances with visual angles smaller than 70 degrees

Reconhecimento de fala no ruído em jovens e idosos com perda auditiva / Speech recognition in noise background in young and elderly with hearing loss

Muitas pesquisas têm buscado investigar a interferência do ruído na percepção de fala de ouvintes. OBJETIVO: Este estudo foi realizado com a finalidade de pesquisar os efeitos da perda auditiva e da idade no reconhecimento de fala na presença de ruído, utilizando-se dois tipos de ruído. FORMA DE ESTUDO: Clínico prospectivo. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Três grupos experimentais foram organizados, sendo um composto por adultos sem alteração auditiva, outro por sujeitos adultos com perda auditiva em freqüências altas e, por último, um grupo de idosos, com configuração audiométrica semelhante ao grupo de adultos com perda. Todos os sujeitos realizaram tarefas de reconhecimento de fala em silêncio, na presença de ruído branco de espectro ampliado e ruído "cocktail party", na mesma relação sinal/ruído (0 dB), em ambas as orelhas. RESULTADO: Os resultados mostraram que o ruído interfere negativamente no reconhecimento de fala em todos os grupos. O desempenho dos sujeitos com audição normal foi superior aos grupos com perda auditiva. Contudo, o grupo de idosos teve pior desempenho, sendo mais evidente com o ruído "coktail party". Observou-se também que todos os sujeitos apresentaram melhores resultados na segunda orelha testada, mostrando o efeito de aprendizagem. CONCLUSÃO: Estes achados apontam que a idade, além da perda auditiva contribui para o baixo desempenho de idosos na percepção de fala na presença de ruído e que o ruído "cocktail party" se mostrou adequado para esta investigação.