The Differential Impact of COVID-19 on the Work Conditions of Women and Men Academics during the Lockdown

That the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected the work conditions of large segments of society is in no doubt. A growing body of journalistic accounts raised the possibility that the lockdown caused by the pandemic has affected women and men in different ways, due mostly to the traditionally gendered division of labour in society. We attempt to test this oft‐cited argument by conducting an original survey with nearly 200 academics. Specifically, we explore the extent to which the effect of the lockdown on childcare, housework and home‐office environment varies across women and men. Our results show that a number of factors are associated with the effect of the lockdown on the work conditions of academics at home, including gender, having children, perceived threat from COVID‐19 and satisfaction with the work environment. We also show that having children disproportionately affects women in terms of the amount of housework during the lockdown.

[Optical quality of three trifocal intraocular lens models : An optical bench comparison]

BACKGROUND

Knowledge of the optical quality of different trifocal intraocular lenses (IOL) is important in customized patient care.

OBJECTIVE

Different trifocal IOL were compared regarding their optical quality.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We analyzed the FineVision (PhysIOL, Liège, Belgium), the AT LISA tri 839MP (Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany), and the AcrySofIQ PanOptix (Alcon, Fort Worth, TX, USA) with a power of +21D for the distance using the OptiSpheric IOL PRO optical bench (Trioptics, Wedel, Germany). The additions for the near and intermediate distances were as follows: +3.5D/+1.75D (FineVision), +3.33D/+1.66D (AT LISA tri), and + 3,25D/+ 2,17D (PanOptix). We evaluated the modulation transfer function (MTF) at a spatial frequency of 50lp/mm and the Strehl ratio using 3‑ (photopic) and 4.5-mm (mesopic) apertures.

RESULTS

The MTF at 50 lp/mm (FineVision/AT Lisa tri/PanOptix) at the far focus was 0.373/0.399/0.400 (3-mm aperture) and 0.512/0.311/0.243 (4.5-mm aperture). At the intermediate focus, the MTF was 0.162/0.147/0.153 (3-mm aperture) and 0.092/0.125/0.137 (4.5-mm aperture). The MTF at the near focus was 0.229/0.192/0.404 (3-mm aperture) and 0.217/0.212/0.169 (4.5-mm aperture). The Strehl ratio was 0.335/0.298/0.370 (3-mm aperture) and 0.243/0.180/0.270 (4.5-mm aperture) at the far focus. At intermediate distances, the Strehl ratio was 0.189/0.185/0.162 (3-mm aperture) and 0.099/0.097/0.114 (4.5-mm aperture). The Strehl ratio was 0.305/0.283/0.464 (3-mm aperture) and 0.177/0.181/0.155 (4.5-mm aperture) at the near focus.

CONCLUSION

Evaluation of the three trifocal IOL models at the optical bench could show distinct peaks at the far, intermediate, and near focus. The results were comparable in terms of optical performance.