Prevalence and impact of combined vision and hearing (dual sensory) impairment : a scoping review

Funding: MJB is supported by the Wellcome Trust (207472/Z/17/Z). JR's appointment at the University of Auckland is funded by the Buchanan Charitable Foundation, New Zealand. TB is funded by Christian Blind Mission (CBM International). The Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health is supported by The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, Moorfields Eye Charity [grant number GR001061], NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome Trust, Sightsavers, The Fred Hollows Foundation, The SEVA Foundation, British Council for the Prevention of Blindness and Christian Blind Mission. CGBJ is supported by an NHMRC Fellowship (GNT 1142897) and a WA Future Health Research and Innovation Fund Fellowship.Hearing and vision impairments are common globally. They are often considered separately in research, and in planning and delivering services. However, they can occur concurrently, termed dual sensory impairment (DSI). The prevalence and impact of hearing and vision impairment have been well-examined, but there has been much less consideration of DSI. The aim of this scoping review was to determine the nature and extent of the evidence on prevalence and impact of DSI. Three databases were searched: MEDLINE, Embase and Global Health (April 2022). We included primary studies and systematic reviews reporting the prevalence or impact of DSI. No limits were placed on age, publication dates, or country. Only studies where the full text was available in English were included. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstract, full texts. Data were charted by two reviewers independently using a pre-piloted form. The review identified 183 reports of 153 unique primary studies and 14 review articles. Most evidence came from high-income countries (86% of reports). Prevalence varied across reports, as did age groups of participants and definitions used. The prevalence of DSI increased with age. Impact was examined across three broad groups of outcomes-psychosocial, participation, and physical health. There was a strong trend towards poorer outcomes for people with DSI across all categories compared to people with one or neither impairment, including activities of daily living (worse for people with DSI in 78% of reports) and depression (68%). This scoping review highlights that DSI is a relatively common condition with substantial impact, particularly among older adults. There is a gap in evidence from low and middle-income countries. There is a pressing need for a consensus position on the definition(s) of DSI and standardisation of reporting age groups to enable reliable estimates to be ascertained and compared and responsive services developed.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Prompt fission gamma-ray spectrum characteristics from Pu-240(sf) and Pu-242(sf)

In this paper we present first results for prompt fission gamma-ray spectra (PFGS) characteristics from the spontaneous fission (sf) of Pu-240 and Pu-242. For Pu-242(sf) we obtained, after proper unfolding of the detector response, an average energy per photon (epsilon) over bar (gamma) = (0.843 +/- 0.012) MeV, an average multiplicity (M) over bar (gamma) = (6.72 +/- 0.07), and an average total gamma-ray energy release per fission (E) over bar (gamma,tot) = (5.66 +/- 0.06) MeV. The Pu-240(sf) emission spectrum was obtained by applying a so-called detector-response transformation function determined from the Pu-242 spectrum measured in exactly the same geometry. The results are an average energy per photon (epsilon) over bar = (0.80 +/- 0.07) MeV, the average multiplicity (M) over bar (gamma) = (8.2 +/- 0.4), and an average total gamma-ray energy release per fission (E) over bar (gamma,tot) = (6.6 +/- 0.5) MeV. The PFGS characteristics for Pu-242(sf) are in very good agreement with those from thermal-neutron-induced fission on Pu-241 and scales well with the corresponding prompt neutron multiplicity. Our results in the case of Pu-240(sf), although drawn from a limited number of events, show a significantly enhanced average multiplicity and average total energy, but may be understood from a different fragment yield distribution in Pu-240(sf) compared to that of Pu-242(sf)

Prevalence and impact of combined vision and hearing (dual sensory) impairment:a scoping review

Hearing and vision impairments are common globally. They are often considered separately in research, and in planning and delivering services. However, they can occur concurrently, termed dual sensory impairment (DSI). The prevalence and impact of hearing and vision impairment have been well-examined, but there has been much less consideration of DSI. The aim of this scoping review was to determine the nature and extent of the evidence on prevalence and impact of DSI. Three databases were searched: MEDLINE, Embase and Global Health (April 2022). We included primary studies and systematic reviews reporting the prevalence or impact of DSI. No limits were placed on age, publication dates, or country. Only studies where the full text was available in English were included. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstract, full texts. Data were charted by two reviewers independently using a pre-piloted form. The review identified 183 reports of 153 unique primary studies and 14 review articles. Most evidence came from high-income countries (86% of reports). Prevalence varied across reports, as did age groups of participants and definitions used. The prevalence of DSI increased with age. Impact was examined across three broad groups of outcomes-psychosocial, participation, and physical health. There was a strong trend towards poorer outcomes for people with DSI across all categories compared to people with one or neither impairment, including activities of daily living (worse for people with DSI in 78% of reports) and depression (68%). This scoping review highlights that DSI is a relatively common condition with substantial impact, particularly among older adults. There is a gap in evidence from low and middle-income countries. There is a pressing need for a consensus position on the definition(s) of DSI and standardisation of reporting age groups to enable reliable estimates to be ascertained and compared and responsive services developed.</p

Prompt-fission γ-ray spectral characteristics from 239Pu(nth,f)

In this paper we present new results for prompt fission γ -ray spectral characteristics from the thermal neutron induced fission of 240 Pu ∗ . The measured spectra were unfolded by using the detectors' response functions, simulated with geant4. We obtained in average per fission a γ -ray multiplicity ¯¯¯¯ M γ = ( 7.35 ± 0.12 ) , a mean photon energy ¯ ε γ = ( 0.85 ± 0.02 ) MeV, and an average total energy released in fission ¯¯¯ E γ , tot = ( 6.27 ± 0.11 ) MeV. Our results are in good agreement with historical data measured in the 1970s by Verbinski et al. and results from recent calculations in the framework of Monte Carlo Hauser–Feshbach models. Our measured average total energy is slightly smaller than the one deduced previously and present in evaluated data. From this we conclude that the 239 Pu ( n th , f ) reaction may be ruled out as possible source of γ heating underestimation, when compared with benchmark calculations based on existing nuclear data