What are the effects of acquired hearing loss in older people?

Background: Acquired hearing loss (AHL) is defined as a hearing loss which is acquired after birth or at any other time in one’s life. In Ireland, one in every twelve adults has a permanent hearing loss as a result of aging or exposure to noise. Aim: The experiences of the older Irish population has not yet been researched, therefore this study aimed to investigate the experiences of members of the Cork Deaf Association (CDA) who have an acquired hearing loss (AHL). Methods: This study was a pilot study in collaboration with CARL and the Cork Deaf Association which used a qualitative research design. Data was gathered using an open ended questionnaire which was distributed by the CDA to 30 potential participants. Data was analysed using a latent thematic approach. Results:12 members of the CDA responded to the questionnaires. From these responses four themes were identified. They included emotional well-being, management strategies and habilitation, alienation and promoting awareness. This study supported the hypothesis that AHL can have a negative effect on older people Conclusion: Further research is needed in this area in order to get a deeper insight into the effects AHL has on the older Irish population as a whole. Promoting awareness within communities may help older people with AHL to re-integrate into society and help eliminate the feeling of isolation and alienation

Master of Science

thesisThe primary purpose of this study is to develop a method for estimating the location of a single point source of a greenhouse gas (GHG) leak. The case study is the University of Utah campus. Specifically, we hypothesized that sewer access covers (“manholes”) are significant sources of GHG emissions on campus, and we used these known point source locations to test the ability of standard GHG measurement instruments to develop methods for identifying a priori unknown locations. We sited gas analyzers at specific distances and directions from sewer access covers and then evaluated whether tailored probability density functions would “point” towards the sites. All GHG data were measured by a Picarro© cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS) gas analyzer and contemporaneous wind speed and direction were measured with a 3-dimensional (3D) anemometer. Since this study focused on locating leakage sources, we assigned the concentration threshold for leakage concentration to be the 99th percentile concentration of each dataset, a common approach in leakage detection studies. The leakage concentration data along with corresponding wind speed and direction were used to create conditional bivariate probability function (CBPF) plots. All CBPF plots were constructed for varying time spans throughout the day at each collection site to discern the probable location of GHG leakage sources. The results revealed that all 99th percentile concentrations were associated with lower wind speeds (<1.5 m/s). Higher GHG concentrations associated with high wind speeds were most likely diluted before the signal could reach the receptor. Furthermore, the study site is characterized by hilly terrain, large buildings, and a moderate amount of large vegetation (trees) that likely tend to disperse what would otherwise be detectable GHG signals. Differences in CBPF plots at different receptor (tower) locations confirm that the distance between the tower and leakage sources is a critical issue. To our knowledge, this study is the first to apply CBPF’s with the intent of quantifying trends in spatio-temporal GHG distributions from point leakage sources and determining probable locations of those sources

Quantifying critical thinking: Development and validation of the Physics Lab Inventory of Critical thinking (PLIC)

Introductory physics lab instruction is undergoing a transformation, with increasing emphasis on developing experimentation and critical thinking skills. These changes present a need for standardized assessment instruments to determine the degree to which students develop these skills through instructional labs. In this article, we present the development and validation of the Physics Lab Inventory of Critical thinking (PLIC). We define critical thinking as the ability to use data and evidence to decide what to trust and what to do. The PLIC is a 10-question, closed-response assessment that probes student critical thinking skills in the context of physics experimentation. Using interviews and data from 5584 students at 29 institutions, we demonstrate, through qualitative and quantitative means, the validity and reliability of the instrument at measuring student critical thinking skills. This establishes a valuable new assessment instrument for instructional labs.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Point prevalence and patterns of mental health comorbidity among people accessing Australia\u27s first older adult–specific alcohol and other drug treatment service

Objective: There are good data regarding the prevalence and patterns of dual diagnosis among the general population; however, data regarding the older adult cohort are limited. We aimed to extend the knowledge of the point prevalence and patterns of dual diagnosis among older adults and the impact of dual diagnosis on the utilization of alcohol and other drug treatment services. Method: A 12-month medical chart audit of clients discharged from an Australian older adult–specific alcohol and other drug treatment service was performed. Measures included the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test–Consumption, the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test–Consumption, the Kessler 10, and the Modified MINI Screen. Additional data collected included mental health diagnoses, number of session types, and treatment outcomes. Results: There were 79 (n = 45, 57% male) medical charts audited, with a mean age of 65.9 years (SD = 5.8). There were 68 (89%) clients having at least one comorbid mental illness. Clients with a dual diagnosis were younger (p = .011) than those without. Some comorbid mental health conditions were associated with additional service utilization (p \u3c .05). Clients with personality disorders required more telephone calls and outreach services (p \u3c .05). The number of mental health diagnoses was associated with additional treatment sessions (p \u3c .05). Conclusions: Further research with a larger sample size of older adults seeking age-specific alcohol and other drug treatment services is required. Older adult–specific alcohol and other drug treatment services need to allow for longer episodes of care for clients with certain dual diagnoses and a focus on reducing anxiety to increase treatment retention

Psychiatric Treatment and Management of Psychiatric Comorbidities of Movement Disorders

Pediatric movement disorders may present with psychiatric symptoms at many points during the course of the disease. For the relatively common pediatric movement disorder, Tourette syndrome, psychiatric comorbidities are well-described and treatment is well-studied. Treating these comorbidities may be more effective than treating the movements themselves. For more uncommon movement disorders, such as juvenile-onset Huntington disease, treatment of psychiatric comorbidities is not well-characterized, and best practice recommendations are not available. For the least common movement disorders, such as childhood neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation, psychiatric features may be nonspecific, so that underlying diagnosis may be apparent only after recognition of other symptoms. However, psychiatric medication, psychotherapy, and psychosocial support for these disorders may prove helpful to many children and adolescents

Automatic differentiation evaluated as a tool for rotorcraft design and optimization

This paper investigates the use of automatic differentiation (AD) as a means for generating sensitivity analyses in rotorcraft design and optimization. This technique transforms an existing computer program into a new program that performs sensitivity analysis in addition to the original analysis. The original FORTRAN program calculates a set of dependent (output) variables from a set of independent (input) variables, the new FORTRAN program calculates the partial derivatives of the dependent variables with respect to the independent variables. The AD technique is a systematic implementation of the chain rule of differentiation, this method produces derivatives to machine accuracy at a cost that is comparable with that of finite-differencing methods. For this study, an analysis code that consists of the Langley-developed hover analysis HOVT, the comprehensive rotor analysis CAMRAD/JA, and associated preprocessors is processed through the AD preprocessor ADIFOR 2.0. The resulting derivatives are compared with derivatives obtained from finite-differencing techniques. The derivatives obtained with ADIFOR 2.0 are exact within machine accuracy and do not depend on the selection of step-size, as are the derivatives obtained with finite-differencing techniques

Medication use among older Australians seeking alcohol and other drug treatment

© 2019 AJA Inc. Objective: To describe the use of medications that interact with alcohol or for which alcohol reduces the medication\u27s efficacy in older adults consuming alcohol at hazardous levels. Method: Retrospective file audit of patients discharged from Australia\u27s only older adult-specific alcohol and other drug treatment service. Results: Seventy-two patients aged between 58 years and 87 years (M = 65.88; SD = 5.67) drinking alcohol at hazardous or harmful levels were taking between 1 and 12 pharmaceutical drugs (M = 4.03; SD = 2.42). The majority (92%) of patients were taking at least one medication that placed them at high risk of serious adverse side effects when consumed with alcohol. The efficacy of most patients’ (97%) medication was deemed to be significantly reduced when consumed with alcohol. Conclusions: Among older adults who consume alcohol at hazardous levels, many take prescribed medications that adversely interact with alcohol or have reduced efficacy when consumed alongside alcohol. Targeted education is required for patients and health-care workers to mitigate these risks