947 resultados para Rehabilitation of hearing impaired
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In the health domain, the field of rehabilitation suffers from a lack specialized staff while hospital costs only increase. Worse, almost no tools are dedicated to motivate patients or help the personnel to carry out monitoring of therapeutic exercises. This paper demonstrates the high potential that can bring the virtual reality with a platform of serious games for the rehabilitation of the legs involving a head-mounted display and haptic robot devices. We first introduce SG principles and the current context regarding rehabilitation interventions followed by the description of an original haptic device called Lambda Health System. The architecture of the model is then detailed, including communication specifications showing that lag is imperceptible for user (60Hz). Finally, four serious games for rehabilitation using haptic robots and/or HMD were tested by 33 health specialists.
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Neural signal processing is a discipline within neuroengineering. This interdisciplinary approach combines principles from machine learning, signal processing theory, and computational neuroscience applied to problems in basic and clinical neuroscience. The ultimate goal of neuroengineering is a technological revolution, where machines would interact in real time with the brain. Machines and brains could interface, enabling normal function in cases of injury or disease, brain monitoring, and/or medical rehabilitation of brain disorders. Much current research in neuroengineering is focused on understanding the coding and processing of information in the sensory and motor systems, quantifying how this processing is altered in the pathological state, and how it can be manipulated through interactions with artificial devices including braincomputer interfaces and neuroprosthetics.
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<b>Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease Beta-amyloid Pathology -Applicability of Positron Emission Tomography with the Amyloid Radioligand <sup>11</sup>C-PIB</b> Accumulation of beta amyloid (Abeta) in the brain is characteristic for Alzheimers disease (AD). Carbon-11 labeled 2-(4-methylaminophenyl)-6-hydroxybenzothiazole (<sup>11</sup>C-PIB) is a novel positron emission tomography (PET) amyloid imaging agent that appears to be applicable for <i>in vivo</i> Abeta plaque detection and quantitation. The biodistribution and radiation dosimetry of <sup>11</sup>C-PIB were investigated in 16 healthy subjects. The reproducibility of a simplified <sup>11</sup>C-PIB quantitation method was evaluated with a test-retest study on 6 AD patients and 4 healthy control subjects. Brain <sup>11</sup>C-PIB uptake and its possible association with brain atrophy rates were studied over a two-year follow-up in 14 AD patients and 13 healthy controls. Nine monozygotic and 8 dizygotic twin pairs discordant for cognitive impairment and 9 unrelated controls were examined to determine whether brain Abeta accumulation could be detected with <sup>11</sup>C-PIB PET in cognitively intact persons who are at increased genetic risk for AD. The highest absorbed radiation dose was received by the gallbladder wall (41.5 mjuGy/MBq). About 20 % of the injected radioactivity was excreted into urine, and the effective whole-body radiation dose was 4.7 mjuSv/MBq. Such a dose allows repeated scans of individual subjects. The reproducibility of the simplified <sup>11</sup>C-PIB quantitation was good or excellent both at the regional level (VAR 0.9-5.5 %) and at the voxel level (VAR 4.2-6.4 %). <sup>11</sup>C-PIB uptake did not increase during 24 months follow-up of subjects with mild or moderate AD, even though brain atrophy and cognitive decline progressed. Baseline neocortical <sup>11</sup>C-PIB uptake predicted subsequent volumetric brain changes in healthy control subjects (r = 0.725, p = 0.005). Cognitively intact monozygotic co-twins but not dizygotic co-twins of memory-impaired subjects exhibited increased <sup>11</sup>C-PIB uptake (117-121 % of control mean) in their temporal and parietal cortices and the posterior cingulate (p<0.05), when compared with unrelated controls. This increased uptake may be representative of an early AD process, and genetic factors seem to play an important role in the development of AD-like Abeta plaque pathology. <sup>11</sup>C-PIB PET may be a useful method for patient selection and follow-up for early-phase intervention trials of novel therapeutic agents. AD might be detectable in high-risk individuals in its presymptomatic stage with <sup>11</sup>C-PIB PET, which would have important consequences both for future diagnostics and for research on disease-modifying treatments.
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The knowledge of the spatial variability of noise levels and the build of kriging maps can help the evaluation of the salubrity of environments occupied by agricultural workers. Therefore, the objective of this research was to characterize the spatial variability of the noise level generated by four agricultural machines, using geostatistics, and to verify if the values are within the limits of human comfort. The evaluated machines were: harvester, chainsaw, brushcutter and tractor. The data were collected at the height of the operator's ear and at different distances. Through the results, it was possible to verify that the use of geostatistics, by kriging technique, made it possible to define areas with different levels for the data collected. With exception of the harvester, all of machines presented noise levels above than 85 dB (A) near to the operator, demanding the use of hearing protection.
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The purpose of this study was to gather information on hearing impairment and related factors among elderly people. The HHIE-S questionnaire (Hearing Handicap Inventory for Elderly-Screening) and a single hearing question (Do you feel you have a hearing loss) were compared to audiometric hearing thresholds (N=164). HHIE-S was reliable for detecting moderate or worse hearing impairment. The single question was equally sensitive and more specific in identifying mild hearing impairment. The prevalence of hearing impairment was evaluated in four age cohorts (70, 75, 80 and 85 years, N=4067) in Turku, Finland. The HHIE-S cut-off score >8 as an indicator of at least mild hearing impairment yielded prevalence values of 37.7% - 54.1%, and a score >18 (moderate or more severe hearing impairment) was 21.1% - 38.9%. The single question test was positive in 25.5% - 46.2%. Hearing aid compliance and problems experienced by hearing aid users were recorded as informed by the participants in a mailed interview (N=249/4067). The hearing aids were used daily by 55.4%, and never by 10.7%. Use sank with advancing age. The disturbance caused by tinnitus among 583 subjects was compared to their level of alexithymia (TAS-20) and depressiveness (BDI). Depressiveness was weakly associated with annoying tinnitus, but not alexithymia. The prevalence of hearing impairment can be measured by enquiry. Hearing aid compliance should be improved by technical means and better counseling. The factors affecting the distress experienced by tinnitus patients need further study.
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The purpose of this research was to evaluate the role of hippocampal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in acquisition and consolidation of memory during shuttle avoidance conditioning in rats. Adult male Wistar rats were surgically implanted with cannulae aimed at the CA1 area of the dorsal hippocampus. After recovery from surgery, animals were trained and tested in a shuttle avoidance apparatus (30 trials, 0.5-mA footshock, 24-h training-test interval). Immediately before or immediately after training, animals received a bilateral intrahippocampal 0.5-l infusion containing 5.0 g of the NMDA competitive receptor antagonist aminophosphonopentanoic acid (AP5) or vehicle (phosphate-buffered saline, pH 7.4). Infusion duration was 2 min per side. Pre-training infusion of AP5 impaired retention test performance (mean SEM number of conditioned responses (CRs) during retention test session was 16.47 1.78 in the vehicle group and 9.93 1.59 in the AP5 group; P<0.05). Post-training infusion of AP5 did not affect retention (mean SEM number of conditioned responses during retention test session was 18.46 1.94 in the vehicle group and 20.42 2.38 in the AP5 group; P>0.10). This impairment could not be attributed to an effect on acquisition, motor activity or footshock sensitivity since AP5 affected neither training session performance measured by the number of CRs nor the number of intertrial crossings during the training session. These data suggest that NMDA receptors in the hippocampus are critical for retention of shuttle avoidance conditioning, in agreement with previous evidence showing a role of NMDA receptors in fear memory.
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Pharmacological evidence indicates that the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) is involved in the mediation of inhibitory avoidance but not of escape behavior in the elevated T-maze test. These defensive responses have been associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder, respectively. In the present study, we determined whether the BLA plays a differential role in the control of inhibitory avoidance and escape responses in the elevated T-maze. Male Wistar rats (250-280 g, N = 9-10 in each treatment group) were pre-exposed to one of the open arms of the maze for 30 min and 24 h later tested in the model after inactivation of the BLA by a local injection of the GABA A receptor agonist muscimol (8 nmol in 0.2 L). It has been shown that a prior forced exposure to one of the open arms of the maze, by shortening latencies to withdrawal from the open arm during the test, improves the escape task as a behavioral index of panic. The effects of muscimol in the elevated T-maze were compared to those caused by this GABA agonist in the avoidance reaction generated in the light/dark transition test. This defensive behavior has also been associated with GAD. In the elevated T-maze, intra-BLA injection of muscimol impaired inhibitory avoidance (control: 187.70 14.90 s, muscimol: 37.10 2.63 s), indicating an anxiolytic effect, without interfering with escape performance. The drug also showed an anxiolytic effect in the light/dark transition test as indicated by the increase in the time spent in the lighted compartment (control: 23.50 2.45 s, muscimol: 47.30 4.48 s). The present findings point to involvement of the BLA in the modulation of defensive responses that have been associated with GAD.
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Middle ear infections (acute otitis media, AOM) are among the most common infectious diseases in childhood, their incidence being greatest at the age of 612 months. Approximately 1030% of children undergo repetitive periods of AOM, referred to as recurrent acute otitis media (RAOM). Middle ear fluid during an AOM episode causes, on average, 2030 dB of hearing loss lasting from a few days to as much as a couple of months. It is well known that even a mild permanent hearing loss has an effect on language development but so far there is no consensus regarding the consequences of RAOM on childhood language acquisition. The results of studies on middle ear infections and language development have been partly discrepant and the exact effects of RAOM on the developing central auditory nervous system are as yet unknown. This thesis aims to examine central auditory processing and speech production among 2-year-old children with RAOM. Event-related potentials (ERPs) extracted from electroencephalography can be used to objectively investigate the functioning of the central auditory nervous system. For the first time this thesis has utilized auditory ERPs to study sound encoding and preattentive auditory discrimination of speech stimuli, and neural mechanisms of involuntary auditory attention in children with RAOM. Furthermore, the level of phonological development was studied by investigating the number and the quality of consonants produced by these children. Acquisition of consonant phonemes, which are harder to hear than vowels, is a good indicator of the ability to form accurate memory representations of ambient language and has not been studied previously in Finnish-speaking children with RAOM. The results showed that the cortical sound encoding was intact but the preattentive auditory discrimination of multiple speech sound features was atypical in those children with RAOM. Furthermore, their neural mechanisms of auditory attention differed from those of their peers, thus indicating that children with RAOM are atypically sensitive to novel but meaningless sounds. The children with RAOM also produced fewer consonants than their controls. Noticeably, they had a delay in the acquisition of word-medial consonants and the Finnish phoneme /s/, which is acoustically challenging to perceive compared to the other Finnish phonemes. The findings indicate the immaturity of central auditory processing in the children with RAOM, and this might also emerge in speech production. This thesis also showed that the effects of RAOM on central auditory processing are long-lasting because the children had healthy ears at the time of the study. An effective neural network for speech sound processing is a basic requisite of language acquisition, and RAOM in early childhood should be considered as a risk factor for language development.
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Travail ralis en cotutelle (Universit de Paris IV-La Sorbonne).
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Nous nous intressons, dans le cadre de cette recherche, laccs linternet des personnes malvoyantes. Plusieurs types doutils destins ce public sont disponibles sur le march, comme les lecteurs et les agrandisseurs dcran, en fonction de lacuit visuelle de la personne. Bien que ces outils soient utiles et rgulirement utiliss, les malvoyants (ainsi que les aveugles) voquent souvent leur aspect frustrant. Plusieurs raisons sont cites, comme le manque dorganisation spatiale du contenu lu avec les lecteurs dcran ou le fait de ne solliciter quun seul sens. La prsente recherche consiste adapter pour les malvoyants un systme en dveloppement le TactoWeb (Petit, 2013) qui permet une exploration audio-tactile du Web. TactoWeb a t conu pour les handicaps ayant une ccit complte et noffre donc aucune proprit visuelle. Nous proposons ici une adaptation du systme pour les handicaps nayant quune dficience visuelle partielle. Nous esprons fournir cette population des outils performants qui leur permettront de naviguer sur linternet de faon efficace et agrable. En effet, grce une exploration non-linaire (qui devrait amliorer lorientation spatiale) et une interface multimodale (qui sollicite la vue, loue et le toucher), nous pensons rduire fortement le sentiment de frustration quvoquent les malvoyants. Nous avons pos lhypothse quune exploration non-linaire et trimodale dun site internet avec TactoColor est plus satisfaisante et efficace quune exploration non-linaire bimodale avec TactoWeb (sans retour visuel). TactoColor a t adapt pour les malvoyants en ajoutant des indices visuels traduisant les composantes de la page (liens, menus, boutons) qui devraient rendre lexploration plus aise. Pour vrifier notre hypothse, les deux versions du logiciel ont t values par des malvoyants. Ainsi, les participants ont commenc soit avec TactoWeb, soit avec TactoColor afin de ne pas favoriser une des versions. La qualit de la navigation, son efficacit et son efficience ont t analyses en se basant sur le temps ncessaire laccomplissement dune tche, ainsi que la facilit ou la difficult voque par le participant. Aussi, la fin de chaque session, nous avons demand leur avis aux participants, grce un questionnaire dvaluation, ce qui nous a permis davoir leur retour sur notre logiciel aprs leur brve exprience. Tous ces relevs nous ont permis de dterminer que lajout des couleurs entraine une exploration plus rapide des pages web et une meilleure orientation spatiale. Par contre les performances trs diffrentes des participants ne permettent pas de dire si la prsence des couleurs facilite la compltion des tches.
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Depuis le dbut des annes 80, les systmes dducation travers le monde recommandent lintgration des lves malentendants en classe ordinaire. Malgr lutilisation daides auditives et de systme MF, les lves vivent des priodes o lamplification reue est insuffisante ou non optimale. Ces priodes sont causes par des facteurs influenant leurs conditions de communication et cela peut nuire leurs apprentissages. Pourtant, les tudes sur ces situations vcues par les lves ont trs peu considr leur point de vue. Ltude prsente vise 1) de documenter les perceptions des situations de communication en classe mentionnes par des lves malentendants intgrs, appareills et ayant un systme MF dcern ou rapportes des professionnels; 2) de comprendre le contexte dans lequel des conditions non optimales de communication surviennent; 3) didentifier les stratgies compensatoires rapportes par llve ou son locuteur ou dployes lors de leur participation aux activits de classe. Cette tude de cas multiples combine des donnes qualitatives et quantitatives recueillies partir dentrevues en profondeur auprs de huit lves malentendants, de courtes entrevues avec leur enseignant et leur intervenant principal et une session dobservation en classe au cours de laquelle le niveau de bruit a t mesur et les positions de lenseignant ont t notes. Les donnes ont t analyses de manire longitudinale afin de dcrire les participants et transversale afin de les comparer. Les rsultats montrent que les lves malentendants parlent de leurs situations de communication en classe, surtout les plus difficiles en associant toutes leurs difficults au locuteur ou au milieu et non eux-mmes. Pour ce qui est du contexte, des niveaux levs de bruit ont t mesurs et les positions des enseignants montrent quils sont gnralement loin de lenfant malentendant ou quils ne lui font pas face. Par ailleurs, les enseignants mentionnent ne pas avoir assez dinformations pour bien venir en aide ces lves. Enfin, les lves et leurs enseignants utilisent diffrentes stratgies de communication, mais celles-ci ne sont pas toujours efficaces pour faciliter la communication. Toutes ces constatations mnent des pistes de solutions visant amliorer les situations de communication en classe et le contexte dans lequel les lves apprennent, notamment laccroissement des connaissances des divers acteurs et de leur collaboration entre eux.
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Cette tude dcrit le dveloppement des structures morphosyntaxiques et morphophonologiques chez les enfants francophones gs entre 3 et 6 ans. Ces donnes pourront contribuer particulariser certaines difficults morphosyntaxiques et morphophonologiques retrouves chez lenfant dficient auditif qubcois porteur dimplant cochlaire. Le premier objectif de notre projet pilote vise comparer les habilets morphosyntaxiques et morphophonologiques au niveau expressif de lenfant porteur dIC celles des enfants entendants de mme ge auditif et chronologique. Ltude value spcifiquement laccord intra-nominal en genre, et les processus de fusion, dlision et de liaison. Nous prdisons quune entre auditive infrieure la norme aura un impact sur lacquisition des rgles morpho(phonolo)giques en franais. Le deuxime objectif consiste observer si la matrise de ces structures est lie la matrise de la production phonmique chez lenfant franco-qubcois porteur dIC. Llaboration de deux tches exprimentales et la passation de tches valuatives et exprimentales ont permis dtudier les difficults morphologiques et phonologiques de lenfant porteur d'IC. Le groupe tmoin a inclus 14 enfants dveloppement typique. Ils ont t compars au cas de Vincent, g de 59 mois, porteur dimplant cochlaire. Ce dernier prsente des tapes de dveloppement linguistique dcales qui correspondent celles denfants apparis sur lge auditif (date dIC) plutt qu lge chronologique (AC). Nous avons observ des similitudes et des diffrences, sur le plan phonologique et morphosyntaxique, entre Vincent et les enfants entendants : il prsente des performances significativement moins bonnes que la norme pour certaines de structures morphosyntaxiques et processus morphophonologiques (accord du genre, lision, fusion) mais meilleures que les tmoins dans la tche de liaison. Nous pensons que le gain prothtique nest pas le seul facteur qui a un impact sur le dveloppement linguistique prcoce et que dautres facteurs linfluenceraient, tels lge dimplantation, le mode de communication, limplantation bilatrale, linvestissement des parents et les effets dapprentissage. Enfin, notre tude de cas na pu tayer si la matrise de la production phonmique est en relation avec la matrise de certaines structures et processus morphologiques.
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The present study Molecular genetic characterization of endemic yellow catfish ,generated an important information on the genetic variation and stock structure of the endangered yellow catfish(Horabagrus brachysoma) endemic to the western Ghats. Three genetically discrete stocks of the species have been identified for the first time using allozymes, RAPD(Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) and microsatelite markers and it is a significant step towards realizing the goal of management of fishery and conservation of the yellow catfish populations in the rivers of the Western Ghats region. In conclusion genetic markers were found to be powerful tools to analyze the population genetic structure of the yellow catfish. Geographic isolation by land distance,inbreading as a result of over-exploitation etc are some reasons for the genetic differenciation between the pairs and deficiency of hetrozygosity revealed by the two co dominant markers, allozyme, and microsatelites.the study emphasizes the need for stock-wise, propagation assisted-rehabilitation of the natural populations yellow catfish
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The family Cyprinidae is the largest of freshwater fishes and, with the possible exception of Gobiidae, the largest family of vertebrates.Various members of this family are important as food fish, as aquarium fish, and in biological research. In this study, a fish species from this family exclusively found in the west flowing rivers originating from the Western Ghat region Gonoproktopterus curmuca was taken for population genetic analysis.There was an urgent need for restoration ecology by the development of apt management strategies to exploit resources judiciously. One of the strategies thus developed for the scientific management of these resources was to identify the natural units of the fishery resources under exploitation (Altukov, 1981). These natural units of a species can otherwise be called as stocks. A stock can be defined as a panmictic population of related individuals within a single species that is genetically distinct from other such populations.It is believed that a species may undergo micro evolutionary process and differentiate into genetically distinct sub-populations or stocks in course of time, if reproductively and geographically isolated.In recent times, there has been a wide spread degradation of natural aquatic environment due to anthropogenic activities and this has resulted in the decline and even extinction of some fish species. In such situations, evaluation of the genetic diversity of fish resources assumes important to conservation.The species selected for the study, was short-listed as one of the candidates for stock-specific, propagation assisted rehabilitation and management programme in rivers where it is naturally distributed. In connection with this, captive breeding and milt cryopreservation techniques of the species have been developed by the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow. However, for a scientific stock-specific rehabilitation programme, information on the stock structure and basic genetic profile of the species are essential and that is not available in case of G. curmuca. So the present work was taken up to identify molecular genetic markers like allozymes, microsatellites and RAPDs and, to use these markers to discriminate the distinct populations of the species, if any, in areas of its natural distribution. The genetic markers were found to be powerful tools to analyze the population genetic structure of the red-tailed barb and demonstrated clear cut genetic differentiation between pairs of populations examined. Geographic isolation by land distance is likely to be the factor that contributed to the restricted gene flow between the river systems. So the present study emphasizes the need for stock-wise, propagation assisted-rehabilitation of the natural populations of red-tailed barb, Gonoprokfopterus curmuca.
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Imprisonment is the most common method of punishment resorted to by almost all legal systems.The new theories of crime causation propounded in the latter half of the nineteenth century gave rise to the feeling that the prisons could be used as appropriate institutions for reforming the offenders. It called for individualisation of punishment.As a result of international movements for humanisation of prisons the judiciary' in tine common law countries started taking active interest in prisoner's treatment.Various studies reveal that much has been done in America to improve the lot of prisoners and to treat them as human beings.The courts there have gone to the extent of saying that there is no iron curtain between a prisoner and the constitution. Most of the rights available to citizens except those which they cannot enjoy due to the conditions of incarceration have also been granted to prisoner.In India also the judiciary has come forward to protect the rights of the prisoners.Maneka Gandhi is a turning point in prisoner's rights.The repeated intervention of courts in prison administration project the view that prisoners have been denied the basic human rights.The High Courts and the Supreme Court of India have been gradually exercising jurisdiction ixl assuming prison justice, including improving the quality of food and amenities, payment of wages and appropriate standards of medical care. Access to courts must be made easier to the aggrieved prisoners.The government should come forward along with some public spirited citizens and voluntary organisations to form a "discharged prisoner aid society. The society should exploit opportunities for rehabilitation of prisoners after their release.Most of the prison buildings in the State of Kerala are ill-equipped, ill furnished and without proper ventilation or sanitation and with insufficient water supply arrangements.In India prisoners and prisons today are governed by the old central legislations like Prisons Act l894 Prisoners Act 1900 and the Transfer of Prisoners Act 1950.
