Effect of real-ear verification on hearing aid benefit

Real-ear measurements have been proven to be the most accurate measure of hearing aid verification. However, many audiologists find real-ear to be too time consuming to use consistently. One popular reason for underutilizing real-ear verification is the use of first fitting algorithms provided on manufacturer programming software. However, the predicted fittings provided on the software are not an accurate means of providing what is recommended by popular prescriptive formulas (Hawkins and Cook, 2003; Aarts and Caffee, 2005). The main reason for this discrepancy is that the software does not take into account individual anatomical differences, i.e. ear canal volume and impedance. When performing real-ear insertion gain (REIG), one must take into account individual differences by measuring the unaided response of the ear canal. When using REIG, prescriptive targets can be chosen which display the appropriate amount of gain recommended based on your patient’s amount of hearing loss and natural ear canal properties. While the real-ear method of target matching has been proven to be the most accurate means of hearing aid fitting, little research has been done to determine if there is a quantifiable benefit to this method. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of utilizing REIG throughout hearing aid fittings and adjustments. In particular, are there any differences in speech understanding in quiet and noisy conditions? Also, is there any difference in the amount of benefit the patient feels they are receiving from their hearing aids or how satisfied they are with them? Eight subjects were tested on measures of HINT Quiet and Noise, APHAB and SADL; measures were done before and after programming was matched to NAL-NL1 targets using real ear verification. Findings indicate that programming hearing aids more closely to prescribed targets did not necessarily correlate with improved speech understanding and patient-perceived satisfaction and benefit. However, patient feedback indicated that the preference was to have targets matched to prescriptive gains as closely as possible

Advances in island plant biology since Sherwin Carlquist’s Island Biology

Sherwin Carlquist’s seminal publications—in particular his classic Island Biology, published in 1974—formulated hypotheses specific to island biology that remain valuable today. This special issue brings together some of the most interesting contributions presented at the First Island Biology Symposiumhosted in Honolulu on 7–11 July 2014.We compiled a total of 18 contributions that present data from multiple archipelagos across the world and from different disciplines within the plant sciences. In this introductory paper,we first provide a short overviewof Carlquist’s life andwork and then summarize themain findings of the collated papers. A first group of papers deals with issues to which Carlquist notably contributed: longdistance dispersal, adaptive radiation and plant reproductive biology. The findings of such studies demonstrate the extent to which the field has advanced thanks to (i) the increasing availability and richness of island data, covering many taxonomic groups and islands; (ii) new information from the geosciences, phylogenetics and palaeoecology, which allows us a more realistic understanding of the geological and biological development of islands and their biotas; and (iii) the new theoretical and methodological advances that allow us to assess patterns of abundance, diversity and distribution of island biota over large spatial scales. Most other papers in the issue cover a range of topics related to plant conservation on islands, such as causes and consequences ofmutualistic disruptions (due to pollinator or disperser losses, introduction of alien predators, etc.). Island biologists are increasingly considering reintroducing ecologically important species to suitable habitats within their historic range and to neighbouring islands with depauperate communities of vertebrate seed dispersers, and an instructive example is given here. Finally, contributions on ecological networks demonstrate the usefulness of this methodological tool to advancing conservationmanagement and better predicting the consequences of disturbances on species and interactions in the fragile insular ecosystems

A method for evaluating transport energy consumption in suburban areas

peer reviewedUrban sprawl is a major issue for sustainable development. It represents a significant contribution to energy consumption of a territory especially due to transportation requirements. However, transport energy consumption is rarely taken into account when the sustainability of suburban structures is studied. In this context, the paper presents a method to estimate transport energy consumption in residential suburban areas. The study aimed, on this basis, at highlighting the most efficient strategies needed to promote awareness and to give practical hints on how to reduce transport energy consumption linked to urban sprawl in existing and future suburban neighborhoods. The method uses data collected by using empirical surveys and GIS. An application of this method is presented concerning the comparison of four suburban districts located in Belgium to demonstrate the advantages of the approach. The influence of several parameters, such as distance to work places and services, use of public transport and performance of the vehicles, are then discussed to allow a range of different development situations to be explored. The results of the case studies highlight that travelled distances, and thus a good mix between activities at the living area scale, are of primordial importance for the energy performance, whereas means of transport used is only of little impact. Improving the performance of the vehicles and favoring home-work give also significant energy savings. The method can be used when planning new areas or retrofitting existing ones, as well as promoting more sustainable life styles regarding transport habits.SAFE (Suburban Areas Favoring Energy efficiency

The Hawaiian C4 euphorbia adaptive radiation : an ecophysiological approach to understanding leaf trait diversification

Ph.D. University of Hawaii at Manoa 2011.Includes bibliographical references.Foliar traits, such as properties of venation, stomata, papillae, composition, and gross anatomy can provide important information about plant adaptation to the environment as these traits greatly influence plant physiological processes. Examining leaf traits in relationship to the natural physical environments in which they occur can provide a detailed understanding of plant function and adaptation to a set of given environmental conditions. My research focuses on the native Euphorbia subgenus Chamaesyce of Hawaii, a group of C4 eudicots that have diversified across dramatic habitat gradients from one putative herbaceous colonizing species into 29 endemic woody taxa, within the last five million years. This lineage includes a variety of life forms, ranging from subshrubs a few centimeters in height, to trees over six meters tall. Members of the radiation are adapted to diverse habitats, including wet, mesic, and dry forests, bogs, and coastal zones. In this dissertation work, leaf anatomy and physiology were explored in an ecophysiological context. I measured a total of 104 leaf traits from 27 Hawaiian Euphorbia taxa across five Hawaiian Islands to test the hypotheses that leaf traits are aligned with environmental factors including rainfall, precipitation, humidity, vapor pressure deficit, elevation, and with habitat irradiance, and that leaf traits are coordinated in plant function. In most cases, I found that leaf traits correlated with environmental factors similarly to what has been reported in previous studies of distantly related species sampled within or across communities. I confirmed that the C4 Hawaiian Euphorbia lineage has diversified across habitat types in their overall growth form and that there is exceptional variation in foliar characteristics for these taxa indicating strong adaptation to the diverse environments and habitats. Thus, I found very large variation across taxa in leaf morphology and nutrient composition; in stomatal distribution, size and densities; the presence of papillae; and venation characteristics. This work captures, in detail, some of the greatest variation for leaf traits across taxa within a genus ever reported and demonstrates the rapid evolutionary diversification of many aspects of leaf structure and function