Progressive auditory neuropathy in patients with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy

Objective: To investigate auditory neural involvement in patients with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).Methods: Auditory assessment was undertaken in two patients with LHON. One was a 45 year old woman with Harding disease (multiple-sclerosis-like illness and positive 11778mtDNA mutation) and mild auditory symptoms, whose auditory function was monitored over five years. The other was a 59 year old man with positive 11778mtDNA mutation, who presented with a long standing progressive bilateral hearing loss, moderate on one side and severe to profound on the other. Standard pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, stapedial reflex threshold measurements, stapedial reflex decay, otoacoustic emissions with olivo-cochlear suppression, auditory brain stem responses, and vestibular function tests were undertaken.Results: Both patients had good cochlear function, as judged by otoacoustic emissions ( intact outer hair cells) and normal stapedial reflexes ( intact inner hair cells). A brain stem lesion was excluded by negative findings on imaging, recordable stapedial reflex thresholds, and, in one of the patients, olivocochlear suppression of otoacoustic emissions. The deterioration of auditory function implied a progressive course in both cases. Vestibular function was unaffected.Conclusions: The findings are consistent with auditory neuropathy - a lesion of the cochlear nerve presenting with abnormal auditory brain stem responses and with normal inner hair cells and the cochlear nucleus (lower brain stem). The association of auditory neuropathy, or any other auditory dysfunction, with LHON has not been recognised previously. Further studies are necessary to establish whether this is a consistent finding

Apprenticeship in Learning Design for Literature Courses

This essay explains how research in Physics education by Eric Mazur, arguing from the pedagogic deficiencies of instruction through lectures, has been applied successfully in a thorough revision of two undergraduate courses in English, one on John Milton and another on William Shakespeare. (supplied on the final publisher version) ,This essay explains how research in Physics education by Eric Mazur, arguing from the pedagogic deficiencies of instruction through lectures, has been applied successfully in a thorough revision of two undergraduate courses in English, one on John Milton and another on William Shakespeare

Information Architecture for a Chemical Modeling Knowledge Graph

Machine learning models for chemical property predictions are high dimension design challenges spanning multiple disciplines. Free and open-source software libraries have streamlined the model implementation process, but the design complexity remains. In order better navigate and understand the machine learning design space, model information needs to be organized and contextualized. In this work, instances of chemical property models and their associated parameters were stored in a Neo4j property graph database. Machine learning model instances were created with permutations of dataset, learning algorithm, molecular featurization, data scaling, data splitting, hyperparameters, and hyperparameter optimization techniques. The resulting graph contains over 83,000 nodes and 4 million edges and can be explored with interactive visualization software. The structure of the property graph is centered around models and molecules which enables efficient and intuitive inter- and intra-model evaluation. We use a curated lipophilicity dataset to demonstrate graph use cases. Difficult to predict molecules were identified across multiple models simultaneously. Powerful and expressive graph queries were implemented to identify molecular fragments that were both prevalent and associated with high lipophilicity prediction error

An assessment of the impact of climate change on plant species richness through an analysis of the Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) in Mutirikwi Sub-catchment, Zimbabwe

This study assesses the effects of climate change on vegetative species diversity exploring the usefulness of the Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) in predicting spatio-temporal diversity variations. The relationship between species richness and climatic variables of rainfall and temperature is explored based on species data collected from the field over a 3 year period and climate data collected from four local weather stations. Relationship between NDWI and species diversity indices is examined to confirm the usefulness of Remote Sensing in predicting vegetative diversity. The resultant predictive model was used to estimate changes in species richness over a 27 year period (1987-2014). The species diversity data was then regressed with climatic data for the same period. The results show a significant (P<0.05) correlation between species diversity and the two climatic variables. The results also indicate that there is a significant positive (P=0.0001; α=0.05; R2=0.565) relationship between species richness and NDWI. This implies that the NDWI is essential when assessing changes in species diversity over time. The Mann Kendall test revealed a decrease, though not statistically significant, in the rainfall received within the catchment over the period and significant variability. The minimum and maximum temperatures over the period were significantly increasing. These changes in climate variables were matched with a decrease in species richness. Some species tend to be succumbing to the environmental changes influenced by climate change resulting in their changes in phenology, abundance and distribution

Interference between postural control and mental task performance in patients with vestibular disorder and healthy controls

OBJECTIVES - To determine whether interference between postural control and mental task performance in patients with balance system impairment and healthy subjects is due to general capacity limitations, motor control interference, competition for spatial processing resources, or a combination of these.METHOD - Postural stability was assessed in 48 patients with vestibular disorder and 24 healthy controls while they were standing with eyes closed on (a) a stable and (b) a moving platform. Mental task performance was measured by accuracy and reaction time on mental tasks, comprising high and low load, spatial and non-spatial tasks. Interference between balancing and performing mental tasks was assessed by comparing baseline (single task) levels of sway and mental task performance with levels while concurrently balancing and carrying out mental tasks.RESULTS - As the balancing task increased in difficulty, reaction times on both low load mental tasks grew progressively longer and accuracy on both high load tasks declined in patients and controls. Postural sway was essentially unaffected by mental activity in patients and controls.CONCLUSIONS - It is unlikely that dual task interference between balancing and mental activity is due to competition for spatial processing resources, as levels of interference were similar in patients with vestibular disorder and healthy controls, and were also similar for spatial and non-spatial tasks. Moreover, the finding that accuracy declined on the high load tasks when balancing cannot be attributed to motor control interference, as no motor control processing is involved in maintaining accuracy of responses. Therefore, interference between mental activity and postural control can be attributed principally to general capacity limitations, and is hence proportional to the attentional demands of both tasks

Oda Elt Project in Nicaragua. A Case Study in Project Design

The following is a description of the aims and activities of the ODA ELT Project: Nicaragua. It will describe the research into English Language Teaching which took place in the secondary schools of Nicaragua, how this research was conducted,and what the most significant findings were. From there, it will look at how project plans and activities were developed and the rationale for those plans. Finally, it will consider the implementation of these plans and the implications for future development within the área of ELT in Nicaragua

Improving Productivity of Multiphase Flow Aerobic Oxidation Using a Tube-in-Tube Membrane Contactor

The application of flow reactors in multiphase catalytic reactions represents a promising approach for enhancing the efficiency of this important class of chemical reactions. We developed a simple approach to improve the reactor productivity of multiphase catalytic reactions performed using a flow chemistry unit with a packed bed reactor. Specifically, a tube-in-tube membrane contactor (sparger) integrated in-line with the flow reactor has been successfully applied to the aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde utilizing a heterogeneous palladium catalyst in the packed bed. We examined the effect of sparger hydrodynamics on reactor productivity quantified by space time yield (STY). Implementation of the sparger, versus segmented flow achieved with the built in gas dosing module (1) increased reactor productivity 4-fold quantified by space time yield while maintaining high selectivity and (2) improved process safety as demonstrated by lower effective operating pressures

Oda Elt Project in Nicaragua. A Case Study in Project Design

The following is a description of the aims and activities of the ODA ELT Project: Nicaragua. It will describe the research into English Language Teaching which took place in the secondary schools of Nicaragua, how this research was conducted,and what the most significant findings were. From there, it will look at how project plans and activities were developed and the rationale for those plans. Finally, it will consider the implementation of these plans and the implications for future development within the área of ELT in Nicaragua

Guideline and indicators for Target 6.6 of the SDGs: “Change in the extent of waterrelated ecosystems over time”

This guideline provides supporting information to assist with implementation of monitoring procedures for Target 6.6 indicator, which focuses on protecting and maintaining water-related ecosystems