Tiny tweaks, big changes: An alternative strategy to empower ethical culture of human research in anesthesia (A Taiwan Acta Anesthesiologica Taiwanica-Ethics Review Task Force Report)

Effect of Color Temperature and Illuminance on Psychology, Physiology, and Productivity: An Experimental Study

In this study, we investigated the impact of the lighting environment on psychological perception, physiology, and productivity and then designed lighting control strategies based on the experimental results. The research was conducted in a smart lighting laboratory, and 67 subjects were tested in different illuminances and correlated color temperatures (CCTs). During the experiment, the physiological data of subjects were continuously recorded, while the psychology and productivity results were evaluated by questionnaires and working tests, respectively. The experimental results found that both illuminance and CCT could significantly influence the feeling of comfort and relaxation of the subjects. Warm CCT and higher illuminance (3000 K–590 lux) made subjects feel more comfortable. Productivity reached its maximum value with illuminance above 500 lux and equivalent melanopic lux (EML) higher than 150. The brain-wave and heart-rate changes did not have a close relationship with either illuminance or CCT, but the heart rate slightly increased in the adjustable lighting mode. Regardless of the initial value setting, the subjects preferred intermediate CCT (4200 K) and bright illumination (500 lux) after self-adjustment. Finally, we proposed three comprehensive lighting control strategies based on psychology, productivity, circadian rhythm, and energy-saving.

Research ethics committee approval as reported for abstracts submitted to the annual Euroanaesthesia meeting

BACKGROUND

The annual congress of the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA) is one of the largest anaesthesia congresses in the world and exhibits more than 1200 abstracts annually.

OBJECTIVES

The aims of this study were to quantify the frequency of inadequate evidence of ethical approval for abstracts submitted to the ESA congress and to examine whether abstracts without appropriate ethical approval were subsequently accepted.

DESIGN AND SETTING

All abstracts submitted in 2015 were adjudicated according to European ethical criteria.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

The proportion of submitted abstracts that lacked evidence of appropriate ethics committee approval. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of accepted abstract that lacked evidence of appropriate ethical approval; the proportion of correctly identified case reports; the proportion of accepted abstracts that lacked evidence of appropriate ethics committee approvals corresponding to location (within/outside Europe); and the proportion of accepted abstracts that lacked evidence of appropriate ethics committee approvals corresponding to a specific area of research.

RESULTS

In total, 1792 abstracts were reviewed and 1572 (87.7%) involved humans. In 527 (29.4%), the authors failed to demonstrate adequate ethical approval with higher rates in abstracts submitted from Europe (32.1%) than the rest of the world (23.5%), P < 0.001. Appropriate approvals were reported in 80% of animal studies, 74.6% of case reports and 57.6% of human research studies. The proportion with evidence of adequate ethical approvals was lowest in obstetric anaesthesia and emergency medicine. Case reports were identified correctly 98.6% (347/352) of the time, but 14 research abstracts were assigned wrongly to this category. Most abstracts (68.5%, 361/527) lacking evidence of ethical approval were still accepted for presentation.

CONCLUSION

Research abstracts lacking evidence of appropriate ethical approval are common worldwide. Societies shoulder the responsibility for ensuring that only ethically sound abstracts are presented at meetings. Abstract submission systems must include mechanisms to ensure that publications are accepted and judged not just on scientific merit but also on adherence to best ethical practice.