In a previous study, Chung, Legge & Cheung (2004) showed that training using repeated presentation of trigrams (sequences of three random letters) resulted in an increase in the size of the visual span (number of letters recognized in a glance) and reading speed in the normal periphery. In this study, we asked whether we could optimize the benefit of trigram training on reading speed by using trigrams more specific to the reading task (i.e. trigrams frequently used in the English language) and presenting them according to their frequencies of occurrence in normal English usage and observers’ performance. Averaged across seven observers, our training paradigm (four days of training) increased the size of the visual span by 6.44 bits, with an accompanied 63.6% increase in the maximum reading speed, compared with the values before training. However, these benefits were not statistically different from those of Chung et al (2004) using a random-trigram training paradigm. Our findings confirm the possibility of increasing the size of the visual span and reading speed in the normal periphery with perceptual learning, and suggest that the benefits of training on letter recognition and maximum reading speed may not be linked to the types of letter strings presented during training.

BackgroundThere are considerable phenotypic and neuroimmune overlaps between myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and multiple sclerosis (MS). While the precise aetiologies of both MS and ME/CFS are unclear, evidence suggests that deterioration in cognitive function is widely prevalent in patients with either condition. Little is known about differing risk factors or exposures, which may lead to severe cognitive or sleep symptoms. This study aims to gauge the extent of cognitive and sleep symptoms in ME/CFS and MS patients participating in the UK ME/CFS Biobank and identify the characteristics of those experiencing severe symptoms.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study of 395 UK ME/CFS Biobank participants, recruited from primary care and the community, using similar standardised protocols, and matched by age, sex and geographical area. Data were collected from participants using a standardized written questionnaire at clinical visits. Cognitive symptoms included problems with short-term memory, attention, and executive function. Sleep symptoms included unrefreshing sleep and poor quality or inadequate duration of sleep. All participants reported symptoms based on an ordinal severity scale. Multivariable logistic regression was carried out in the ME/CFS group to investigate socio-demographic factors associated with severe symptoms.ResultsAll cognitive and sleep symptoms were more prevalent in the ME/CFS group, with ‘trouble concentrating’ (98.3%) the most commonly reported symptom. Severe symptoms were also more commonly reported in the ME/CFS group, with 55% reporting ‘severe, unrefreshing sleep’. Similarly, in the MS group, the most commonly reported severe symptoms were sleep-related. Logistic regression analysis revealed that ME/CFS patients aged over 50 years were more than three times as likely to experience severe symptoms than those younger than 30 (OR 3.23, p = 0.031). Current smoking was associated with severe symptoms, increasing the risk by approximately three times (OR 2.93, p = 0.003) and those with household incomes of more than £15,000 per year were less likely to experience severe symptoms compared to those earning less than this (OR 0.31, p = 0.017).ConclusionsCognitive and sleep symptoms are more common in ME/CFS patients than in MS patients and healthy controls, providing further support for existing evidence of central nervous system abnormalities in ME/CFS. Our findings suggest that people with ME/CFS who are smokers, or have a low income, are more likely to report severe cognitive and sleep symptoms. Future research should aim to develop strategies to prevent the progression of severe cognitive and sleep symptoms through early interventions that prioritise patients identified as being at highest risk.

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Purpose: Among zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC) fractures presenting to a tertiary urban academic center, the authors hypothesized the presence of both clinical and radiographic predictors of operative management. Methods: The investigators implemented a retrospective cohort study of 1914 patients with ZMC fractures managed at an academic medical center in New York City between 2008 – 2017. The predictor variables were based on both clinical data and features of pertinent imaging studies, and the outcome variable was operative intervention. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed and the P value was set at .05. Findings: 196 patients sustained ZMC fractures (5.0%) and 121 (61.7%) ZMC fractures were treated surgically. All patients who presented with globe injury, blindness, retrobulbar injury, restricted gaze, or enophthalmos and a concurrent ZMC fracture were managed surgically. The most common surgical approach was the gingivobuccal corridor (31.9% of all approaches) and there were no significant immediate postoperative complications. Younger patients (38.9 + 18 years vs. 56.1 + 23.5 years, p<0.0001), patients with greater than or equal to 4mm of orbital floor displacement were more likely to receive surgical treatment than observation (82 vs. 56%, p=0.045), as were patients with comminuted orbital floor fractures (52 vs. 26%, p=0.011). Conclusion: In this cohort, patients more likely to undergo surgical reduction were young patients with ophthalmologic symptoms on presentation and at least 4mm displacement of the orbital floor. Low kinetic energy ZMC fractures may warrant surgical management as often as high energy ZMC fractures. While orbital floor comminution has been shown to be a predictor for operative reduction, in this study we also demonstrated a difference in rate of reduction based upon severity of orbital floor displacement. This may have significant implications in both the triage and selection of patients most suitable for operative repair.

ObjectiveSimulation may be a valuable tool in training laryngology office procedures on unsedated patients. However, no studies have examined whether existing awake procedure simulators improve trainee performance in laryngology. Our objective was to evaluate the transfer validity of a previously published 3D‐printed laryngeal simulator in improving percutaneous injection laryngoplasty (PIL) competency compared with conventional educational materials with a single‐blinded randomized controlled trial.MethodsOtolaryngology residents with fewer than 10 PIL procedures in their case logs were recruited. A pretraining survey was administered to participants to evaluate baseline procedure‐specific knowledge and confidence. The participants underwent block randomization by postgraduate year to receive conventional educational materials either with or without additional training with a 3D‐printed laryngeal simulator. Participants performed PIL on an anatomically distinct laryngeal model via trans‐thyrohyoid and trans‐cricothyroid approaches. Endoscopic and external performance recordings were de‐identified and evaluated by two blinded laryngologists using an objective structured assessment of technical skill scale and PIL‐specific checklist.ResultsTwenty residents completed testing. Baseline characteristics demonstrate no significant differences in confidence level or PIL experience between groups. Senior residents receiving simulator training had significantly better respect for tissue during the trans‐thyrohyoid approach compared with control (p < 0.0005). There were no significant differences in performance for junior residents.ConclusionsIn this first transfer validity study of a simulator for office awake procedure in laryngology, we found that a previously described low‐cost, high‐fidelity 3D‐printed PIL simulator improved performance of PIL amongst senior otolaryngology residents, suggesting this accessible model may be a valuable educational adjunct for advanced trainees to practice PIL.Level of EvidenceN/A Laryngoscope, 2023