State of Eye Protection for Metal Welders in the Workshops of Conakry

Introduction: Welders are an occupational group at high risk for eye injuries. The aim of this study was to investigate the state of eye protection of metal welders in the workshops of Conakry. Material and Methods: The study was cross-sectional, descriptive, and included 180 welders from 45 welding workshops in the city of Conakry for a period of three months. It involved all welding professionals working in an informal unit selected by the study and who had agreed to participate in the study. Results: The average age of the participants was 33.9 ± 13.4 years, with extremes of 15 and 68 years. The study found that 99% of the welders owned glasses, 27% owned face shields, and 49% owned welding masks. Goggles were used regularly by 86% of the welders but were not suitable for welding (98%). All welders had reported having had an eye injury at least once. Foreign bodies were cited in 81%, arc strike in 65%;eye burns in 61%. However, approximately 81% of welders did not have first aid kits at their work sites. Conclusion: The use of protective equipment during welding remains very low in the workshops of Conakry, which is the cause of great ocular morbidity among welders.

A 10-Year Survey of Severe Eye Injuries in Sport in Belgrade,Serbia 2000-2009

Introduction: The eye injuries inflicted in different sport activities are relatively rare and depend upon the type of sport. They are more common in recreational sport activities. These injuries are generally minor but may be very severe and result in permanent vision impairment. One must be aware of the fact that these sport activities, either recreative or professional, are exercised by young people. Methods: All analyzed patients were hospitalized at the Clinic of Eye Diseases, Clinical Center of Serbia, Belgrade, for severe eye injuries which occurred in sport activities. The analyzed period included 10 years, from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2009. Results: In this period, a total of 117 patients with eye injuries sustained in some of sport activities were hospitalized. There were 114 (97.5%) injured males. Mean age of the injured was 25.8 years, and there were no individuals older than 50 years of age. Closed eyeball injures were reported in 96.6% and open injuries were seen in the remaining 3.4% of cases. During recreational sports, the eye injuries occurred in 76.1%, in the school—19.6%, and in professional sport—4.3% of the time. The injured individuals were as follows: pupils—35.0%, students—17.9%, workers—22.2%, clerks—20.6% and professional players—4.3% of cases. Upon completed treatment, visual acuity was normal in 77.8%, subnormal in 16.2%, impaired in 3.4% and amaurosis in 2.6% of cases.

Can Taxis With Eyes Be Trusted To Protect Passengers＇ Privacy？

A taxi company in Shanghai has announced its plan to equip half of its fleet - about 6,000 taxis - with digital video recorders by the end of the year. According to the company, there will be four cameras per taxi, installed internally as well as externally to ensure the safety of both passengers and drivers.

High resolution mosaic image of capillaries in human retina by adaptive optics

Adaptive optics (AO) has been proved as a powerful means for high resolution imaging of human retina. Because of the pixel number of charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, the field of view is limited to 1°. In order to have image of capillaries around vivo human fovea, we use mosaic method to obtain high resolution image in area of 6°×6°. Detailed structures of capillaries around fovea with resolution of 2.3 μm are clearly shown. Comparison shows that this method has a much higher resolution than current clinic retina imaging methods.