Indoor and outdoor human behavior and myopia: an objective and dynamic study

Significance

Myopia holds significant public health concern given its social, ocular disease and economic burdens. Although environmental factors are primarily to blame for the rapid rise in prevalence, key risk factors remain unresolved.

Purpose

The aim of this study was to objectively characterize, using a wearable technology, the temporal indoor and outdoor behavioral patterns and associated environmental lighting characteristics of young myopic and nonmyopic University students.

Methods

Participants were recruited to continuously wear an Actiwatch for 3 weeks, during either or both academic and non-academic periods. The device allows continuous recording of activity and incident light. Recorded illuminance levels were used as a proxy for outdoors (>1,000 lux), with the dynamics (interval frequency and duration) of indoor and outdoor activities, as well as lighting characteristics derived. In addition, participant input regarding near work was obtained daily. Participants were classified by both myopia and axial length status (based on collected refractive error and biometry data) for the purpose of data analysis.

Result

A total of 55 students, aged 18 to 25 years of age, participated. Overall, the dosing of indoor and outdoor activities was similar across participants, regardless of myopia status, during the academic period. Nonetheless, an apparent difference in the timing of outdoor activities was noted with myopes going outdoors later in the day, particularly during the weekend (p = 0.03). While a trend was observed between increased lighting levels experienced outdoors and shorter axial lengths, there was no significant relationship with myopia status. Noteworthy, participants generally significantly overestimated time spent outdoors, compared to Actiwatch-derived estimates of the same.

Conclusion

While the findings from this cohort of young adult students did not reveal substantial myopia-related differences in behavior, the power of a more objective and dynamic approach to quantifying behavior cannot be understated, providing argument for general adoption of wearable technologies in future clinical myopia studies.

Improving Visual Comfort and Health through the Design of a Local Shading Device

As people develop higher standards for the beauty of urban architecture, more and more architectural designs are exploring sources of natural lighting, such as glass curtain walls and glass domes. However, the pursuit of architectural design aesthetics introduces glare into buildings, which can be uncomfortable and even dangerous for health. Scholars in related fields have carried out many theoretical studies and design activities based on this problem. In this study, we focus on issues of glare in public buildings, aiming to improve light comfort by solving this problem. First, we propose an improved design strategy based on IDEO design thinking by adding the step of diverging from the design scheme. Second, guided by the results of a questionnaire survey and light environment simulations, we avoided the subjective simplicity of the traditional design process. Third, taking the main library of Shanghai Jiao Tong University as an example, we designed a movable sunshade that could effectively reduce glare effects and improve visual comfort, which improved the light comfort in public buildings. The simulation results show that the proposed design can be useful in buildings to effectively control glare and improve visual comfort and health.

A sudden variation in the visual field reduces driver's accuracy in estimation of the speed of the car ahead

We offer the hypothesis that a variation in the visual environment of a driver affects their performance in estimating the speed of a car in front. The hypothesis was tested in a driving simulator with 18 drivers by recording their ability to estimate the relative speed of a car ahead when exposed to sudden variations in the visual environment. The sudden variation was produced by briefly (200 ms) masking the driving environment with a grey frame. The results of our study confirm the hypothesis, as the flashed mask significantly lowered the drivers' accuracy in estimating the speed of a car ahead. The results also show that it is possible to cope with variations in the visual environment and to partially recover from the loss of accuracy. The findings are relevant to the layout of driving environments, such as the placement of dynamic advertisements along the side of the road or the entrance zones of tunnels, and to the training of drivers. Practitioner summary: In our driving simulator study, we showed that sudden transitions in the visual environment reduce a driver's performance in evaluating the speed of the car ahead and are therefore a factor in accidents and traffic jams. Transitions should be limited, and drivers should be prepared for the effect of transitions. Abbreviation: ANOVA: analysis of variance.

Colour dimorphism in labrid fishes as an adaptation to life on coral reefs

Conspicuous coloration displayed by animals that express sexual colour dimorphism is generally explained as an adaptation to sexual selection, yet the interactions and relative effects of selective forces influencing colour dimorphism are largely unknown. Qualitatively, colour dimorphism appears more pronounced in marine fishes that live on coral reefs where traits associated with strong sexual selection are purportedly more common. Using phylogenetic comparative analysis, we show that wrasses and parrotfishes exclusive to coral reefs are the most colour dimorphic, but surprisingly, the effect of habitat is not influenced by traits associated with strong sexual selection. Rather, habitat-specific selective forces, including clear water and structural refuge, promote the evolution of pronounced colour dimorphism that manifests colours less likely to be displayed in other habitats. Our results demonstrate that environmental context ultimately determines the evolution of conspicuous coloration in colour-dimorphic labrid fishes, despite other influential selective forces.

Cultural Differences in Visual Contents in Picture Books

Previous studies investigating cultural differences in attention and perception have shown that individuals from Western countries (e. g., the U.S.) perceive more analytically whereas individuals from East Asian countries (e.g., Japan) perceive more holistically (e.g., Nisbett and Miyamoto, 2005). These differences have been shown in children as young as 3 years old (Kuwabara and Smith, 2016). To reflect cultural influences on cognition, specifically on attention and perception, this study investigated potential differences in the visual environment. In this study, we focused on one of such visual environments that young children are exposed to regularly and influence other domains of development, picture books (Horst and Houston-Price, 2015). Thirty seven U.S. picture books and 37 Japanese picture books were coded for visual contents—how visually crowded—by computer software from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and human coders. Results show that the U.S. picture books are more visually crowded than the Japanese books by the software, but contained more objects than the Japanese books as expected, which reflect well with the cultural differences in attention observed in young children in previous studies. However, the results differed based on the target ages of the books. The implication of the current study is discussed as a reflection of the mutual constitution between culture and psyche.

Combined effects of environmental factors on human perception and objective performance: A review of experimental laboratory works

This study reports the outcomes of a literature survey aimed at exploring how different environmental factors-that is acoustic, thermal, visual, and air quality stimuli-interact in affecting building occupants' perception and performance. Recent laboratory studies have been collected, and their methodological approaches reviewed in terms of experimental design, adopted exposures conditions, perception and performance assessment methods. Results have been summarized and compared to identify interaction patterns between environmental factors and possible practical implications for improving the design of both experimental studies and the built environment. The analysis allows highlighting limitations, potential improvements and future opportunities in this field of research, thus providing a reference for further investigations aimed at a deeper understanding, modeling, and prediction of the impacts caused by the main indoor variables on human comfort and performance.

Lighting Design as a Universal Design Strategy to Support Functional Visual Environments

The visual environment that surrounds us all makes us able to understand and interpret the world we live in. One of the most important players in that field is light. In general, it is useful for all of us to have aesthetic, appropriate and well-functioning lighting conditions. Research has shown that when it comes to visually impaired and hearing-impaired people it is of crucial importance in order to make their daily lives work and being self-reliant. Based on this research rules and regulation in a Danish context is studied to see how lighting design can support Universal Design in general and the specific users need in particular as described in the user organisations guidelines to accessibility. The regulations often focus on the quantitative aspects like light levels and the uniformity of the light. They certainly are important aspects however, they are not sufficient for users with specific needs. This point to the need for a broader approach to lighting design where the quantitative aspects meet the qualitative in order to fulfil a successful Universal Design of the visual environment. This paper present a general discussion on lighting design strategies and their impact on aesthetics and functionality of the visual environment based on classic theories on lighting design describe by Richard Kelly, William M. C. Lam and Hervé Descottes. These strategies are put in relation to the overall concept of the Universal Design principles and the guidelines outlined by The Danish Association of the Blind to support a visual stimulating environment.