Outcomes of immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgeries (ISBCS) performed by trainees vs consultants: a two-armed cohort study
Related Articles
Building collaborative infrastructures for an interdisciplinary higher education master’s program
This paper examines the practices and importance of building a collaborative infrastructure in interdisciplinary education, using the context of the master’s program developed by the Interdisciplinary Consortium for Applied Research in Ecology and Evolution (ICARE) as a case study. The study focuses on two levels of collaborative infrastructure: The project organization and project practice of the ICARE program and the specific use of CoNavigator, a physical tool for interdisciplinary teaching, learning, and collaboration. The analysis explores the educational aspects of the ICARE program and investigates how the training teams (each consisting of a master’s student, supervisors, and mentors) within the project organized themselves and developed their collaboration methods. By examining the challenges faced by ICARE and the implications for its Trainees and stakeholders, this paper emphasizes the significance of prioritizing and developing robust and explicit collaborative infrastructures both at the program and institutional level, as the challenges identified in ICARE mirror those at higher institutional levels, where interdisciplinary activities are not sustained unless they are fully embedded in the visible and physical structures. The findings provide valuable insights for future interdisciplinary study programs and underscore the necessity of proactive infrastructure planning and implementation to support successful interdisciplinary teaching and learning practices.
Nationwide analysis of sex differences in waiting times for cataract surgery in Sweden between 2010 and 2022
Sex-based disparities in healthcare access remain a global challenge. We aimed to investigate differences in waiting times for cataract surgery between males and females in Sweden, hypothesizing that such disparities might persist even within a universal healthcare system.
The future of cataract surgery
The topic of the 2024 Cambridge Ophthalmology Symposium was “Evolution and the Eye”. The topic of this paper is to discuss various “evolutionary” pressures that may shape the future of cataract surgery (CS) over the next decades. These pressures include: The need to improve CS access; The need to improve sustainability; The development and introduction of new technologies, and the incorporation of artificial intelligence.
Caught in the crossfire: biodiversity conservation paradox of sociopolitical conflict
The current state of global biodiversity is confronted with escalating threats arising from human-induced environmental changes and a growing array of unpredictable challenges. However, effective conservation efforts are often hindered by limited knowledge, especially in developing economies such as the Philippines. The limitations imposed by these shortfalls in biodiversity knowledge hamper the capacity to protect biodiversity in light of the continuing extinction crisis. Our study revealed that areas with higher conflict levels exhibited lower species richness, fewer occurrence records, and reduced forest cover. This finding provides initial evidence for the relationship between sociopolitical conflict and biodiversity in the Philippines. We posit that the security risks caused by sociopolitical conflicts could have a negative impact on conservation efforts, particularly in terms of monitoring and implementing measures to protect natural resources. The links that bind armed conflict and biodiversity conservation are multifaceted and complex issues that warrant greater scientific and political attention. Finally, we identified 10 meaningful approaches to address shortfalls in biodiversity knowledge in conflicted areas, particularly incorporating conflict-sensitive approaches, considering the geopolitical context and conflict dynamics to adapt and align their strategies with local realities for more effective conservation efforts.
Assessment of polygenic risk score performance in East Asian populations for ten common diseases
Polygenic risk score (PRS) uses genetic variants to assess disease susceptibility. While PRS performance is well-studied in Europeans, its accuracy in East Asians is less explored. This study evaluated PRSs for ten diseases in the Health Examinees (HEXA) cohort (n = 55,870) in Korea. Single-population PRSs were constructed using PRS-CS, LDpred2, and Lassosum based on East Asian GWAS summary statistics (sample sizes: 51,442–341,204), while cross-population PRSs were developed using PRS-CSx and CT-SLEB by integrating European and East Asian GWAS data. PRS-CS consistently outperformed other single-population methods across key metrics, including the likelihood ratio test (LRT), odds ratio per standard deviation (perSD OR), net reclassification improvement (NRI), and area under the curve (AUC). Cross-population PRSs further improved predictive performance, with average increases of 1.08-fold (LRT), 1.07-fold (perSD OR), and 1.15-fold (NRI) across seven diseases with statistical significance, and a 1.01-fold improvement in AUC. Differences in R² between single- and cross-population PRSs were statistically significant for five diseases, showing an average increase of 1.13%. Cross-population PRSs achieved 87.8% of the predictive performance observed in European PRSs. These findings highlight the benefits of integrating European GWAS data while underscoring the need for larger East Asian datasets to improve prediction accuracy.
Responses