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Background: We evaluated whether the best‐fit intraocular lens (IOL) power formula for the first operated eye (BF1) was also the most accurate formula for the second eye. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 152 patients who underwent uncomplicated delayed bilateral cataract surgery with a minimum delay of 3 weeks using only one 1‐piece IOL (HOYA, Vivinex) at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Seven different formulae (Barrett Universal II, Castrop, Haigis, Hoffer Q, Holladay 1, Kane, and SRK/T) were investigated to test the formula selection approach with regard to the calculated mean and median absolute prediction errors (MAE/MedAE). Results: The mean intraindividual difference in axial length was 0.2 mm (±0.3 mm). BF1 coincided with the best‐fit formula for the second eye (BF2) in 56% of patients (p < 0.05). Using BF1 for the second eye led to a lower MedAE (0.22 dioptre, D) than using a formula at random (0.33 D) and was less accurate than using the best‐fit formula for each eye separately (0.1 D). The MedAEs of all formulae were generally low, ranging from 0.28 to 0.35 D. Conclusion: Using BF1 for the second eye led to a lower MedAE than the random selection of a formula. Therefore, BF1 can be used for the second eye if the surgeon is unsure of the choice of formula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the MedicReS World Congress 2012 on Good Medical Research and Good Biostatistical Practice, held in Vienna, Austria on June 6 to 9, 2012. The event featured 20 invited and 30 contributed speakers and over 50 presentations. Topics tackled include medical ethics, creating good evidence, and the importance of research guidance.

This article presents information on the German Society for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (GMDS) conference in Austria. Cooperative care, collaborative research, ubiquitous information and the human being in the center of healthcare in the 21st century was the title of for the GMDS conference taking place in September, 26-30, 2004. For the first time in its history, a GMDS conference took place outside of Germany, in Innsbruck, Austria. This special topic of Methods of Information in Medicine contains selected papers from GMDS 2004. Medical informatics, biometry and epidemiology face new challenges and responsibilities, shaped by an accelerated pace of innovation in medicine and healthcare, in the sciences and in technology. The progress achieved raises new opportunities for adapting to healthcare systems and to the challenges of societies, such as aging populations or emerging diseases. One of the highlights of the conference was the keynote speaker Dr. Donald Lindberg, Director of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Many epidemiological research problems deal with large numbers of exposed subjects of whom only a small number actually suffers the adverse event of interest. Such rare events data can be analysed by employing an approximate Poisson model. The objective of this study is to challenge the interpretability of the corresponding Poisson pseudo R-squared measure. It will lack sensible interpretation whenever the approximate Poisson outcome is generated by counting the number of events within covariate patterns formed by cross-tabulating categorical covariates. The failure is caused by the immanent arbitrariness in the definition of the covariate patterns, that is, independent Bernoulli events, B(1,pi), are arbitrarily combined into binomially distributed ones, B(n,pi), which are then approximated by the Poisson model., (Copyright 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The eel population in Neusiedler See has been maintained by regular massive stocking since 1958. After the establishment of the National Park Neusiedler See-Seewinkel in 1993, eel stocking was prohibited and the population, together with the specific parasites of eels, was predicted to decline to extinction within 10 years. This investigation was undertaken to document the decline and extinction of the Anguillicola crassus population in eels. From 1994 to 2001, 720 eels were collected from two sites in the lake. Prevalence and abundance of A. crassus were lower in spring than in summer and autumn and larger eels harboured more parasites than smaller ones. Neither year of study nor sampling site were correlated with parasite infection levels. No significant trend in the population parameters of A. crassus was detected over the 8 years of the survey. This suggested that there had been no significant decline in the eel population. This suggestion was confirmed by investigations of the fishery, which also found evidence of regular illegal stocking. The stability of the A. crassus population over the past decade seems to reflect the lack of change in eel population density. No mass mortalities of eels occurred over the period despite the many similarities between Neusiedler See and Lake Balaton in Hungary. Differences in eel size, eel diet and the lack of large-scale insecticide use are discussed as possible explanations for the absence of eel mass mortalities in Neusiedler See.

The microhabitat distribution of two congeneric species Dactylogyrus carpathicus and D. malleus (Monogenea) parasitizing the gills of the barbel (Barbus barbus L.) was investigated. We tested whether congeneric species exhibited microhabitat preference and whether interspecific interactions could be attributed to the microhabitat segregation of congeners. The outlying mean index method was used to evaluate species microhabitats. Gill variables (different microhabitats within gills) were used as environmental factors characterizing the gills. When abundances of both species were highest, and no significant difference was found between the abundance of the two species, the gill segments and gill areas were the most important factors segregating the Dactylogyrus species on the gills. Niche overlap was low within each of the four gill arches, and parasites were segregated in the same microhabitats within each gill arch. When abundances of both species were low, each monogenean species was segregated at the level of the gill arches. When abundances of both species increased, the niche and overlap between species increased. The distribution of both congeneric species confirmed microhabitat preference within the gills. The results suggest that microhabitat preference is dependent on species abundances, species being segregated in the case of low abundance, possibly to increasing mating opportunities. Both niche and overlap between species increased with species abundance. In the case of the high abundance of both species, microhabitat preference seems to be related to interspecific interactions between monogenean species, as previously found for endoparasitic species.