Chronic Abdominal Pain In A Geriatric Patient: A Rare Case Of A Spigelian Hernia

We present a case of Spigelian hernia in a 77-year-old patient to highlight the difficulty in making this diagnosis and to raise awareness of this rare condition among physicians who care for geriatric patients with chronic bouts of abdominal pain. The patient presented to the emergency department with a two-day complaint of abdominal pain after three years of similar recurrent attacks. Results of the physical examination and computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen were consistent with a left-sided Spigelian hernia. Operative repair was performed using robotic-assisted reduction and the patient recovered without any complications

Precession-driven changes in Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water penetration and bottom water circulation on Gardar Drift since ~ 200 ka

© The Author(s), 2015. This is the author's version of the work and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 440 (2015): 561-563, doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.09.042.Benthic foraminiferal stable isotopic records from a transect of sediment cores south of the Iceland-Scotland Ridge reveal that the penetration depth of Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) varied on orbital timescales with precessional pacing over the past ~ 200 kyr. Similar, higher benthic foraminiferal δ13 C values (~ 1.0 ‰) were recorded at all transect sites downstream of the Iceland-Scotland Ridge during interglacial periods (Marine Isotope Chrons 5 and 1), indicating a deeply penetrating ISOW. During glacial periods (Marine Isotope Chrons 6, 4, and 2), benthic foraminiferal δ13C values from the deeper (2700-3300 m), southern sites within this transect were significantly lower (~ 0.5 ‰) than values from the northern (shallower) portion of the transect (~ 1.0 ‰), reflecting a shoaling of ISOW and greater influence of glacial Southern Component Water (SCW) in the deep Northeast Atlantic. Particularly during intermediate climate states, ISOW strength is driven by precesional cycles, superimposed on the large-scale glacial-interglacial ISOW variability. Millennial-scale variability in the penetration of ISOW, likely caused by high-frequency Heinrich and Dansgaard-Oeschger Events, is most pronounced during intermediate climate states.This research was supported by National Science Foundation grant OCE-0095219 to J.D. Wright2016-10-0

Towards a better understanding of sensory substitution: the theory and practice of developing visual-to-auditory sensory substitution devices

Visual impairment is a global and potentially devastating affliction. Sensory substitution devices have the potential to lessen the impact of blindness by presenting vision via another modality. The chief motivation behind each of the chapters that follow is the production of more useful sensory substitution devices. The first empirical chapter (chapter two) demonstrates the use of interactive genetic algorithms to determine an optimal set of parameters for a sensory substitution device based on an auditory encoding of vision (“the vOICe”). In doing so, it introduces the first version of a novel sensory substitution device which is configurable at run-time. It also presents data from three interactive genetic algorithm based experiments that use this new sensory substitution device. Chapter three radically expands on this theme by introducing a general purpose, modular framework for developing visual-to-auditory sensory substitution devices (“Polyglot”). This framework is the fuller realisation of the Polyglot device introduced in the first chapter and is based on the principle of End-User Development (EUD). In chapter four, a novel method of evaluating sensory substitution devices using eye-tracking is introduced. The data shows both that the copresentation of visual stimuli assists localisation and that gaze predicted an auditory target location more reliably than the behavioural responses. Chapter five explores the relationship between sensory substitution devices and other tools that are used to acquire real-time sensory information (“sensory tools”). This taxonomy unites a range of technology from telescopes and cochlear implants to attempts to create a magnetic sense that can guide further research. Finally, in chapter six, the possibility of representing colour through sound is explored. The existence of a crossmodal correspondence between (equi-luminant) hue and pitch is documented that may reflect a relationship between pitch and the geometry of visible colour space

“It’s Just a New Way of Looking at Learning”: Evaluation of the Mediating Learning Support Assistant (MeLSA) Training Programme

This feasibility study evaluated the Mediating Learning Support Assistant (MeLSA) training programme. Two cohorts (N = 16) of learning support staff (teaching assistants and learning support assistants) completed the MeLSA training programme that consisted of six-day sessions delivered over six weeks. The MeLSA training content focuses on applying psychology to support children’s learning within schools. Feedback was gathered from four learning support staff, using semi-structured interviews to evaluate the training programme. The interviews were analysed thematically. Learning support staff reported on the impact of MeLSA on developing psychologically informed thinking, valued aspects of, and suggested improvements for, the training programme, and the implementation of MeLSA in schools. Facilitating school staff to mediate learning through providing training is discussed as an effective approach for educational psychologists to support children and young people to become independent and competent learners