Visuoperceptual deficits and participation in older adults after stroke

Introduction: Visuoperceptual deficits frequently occur after a stroke but little is known about how they evolve over time. These deficits may have an impact on participation in daily activities and social roles. Objectives: The aims were to 1) track changes over six months in the visual perception of older adults with persistent visuoperceptual deficits after a stroke; 2) examine if these changes differed between participants who had and had not received rehabilitation services; and 3) verify if participation differed between participants with and without visuoperceptual deficits. Methods: Visual perception as well as participation of 189 older adults who had had a stroke were evaluated in the first month (T1) after being discharged home from an acute care hospital (NO REHAB group) or rehabilitation unit (REHAB group). For visual perception, only participants presenting deficits at T1 were re-evaluated at 3 months (T2; n=93), and those with deficits at T2 were re-evaluated at 6 months (T3; n=61). Results: A total of 57 people (30.2%) had visuoperceptual deficits six months after discharge home. Despite persistent deficits, approximately 45% of the participants in the two groups improved while 50% of the NO REHAB group and 24.3% of the REHAB group deteriorated. Changes in the mean scores on the MVPT-V were similar in the two groups. Participation, and especially participation in social roles, was more restricted in participants with visuoperceptual deficits (p<0.001), whatever the severity of the stroke. Conclusion: Visuoperceptual deficits are common post-stroke. However, they evolve differently in different people and are associated with a reduction in participation.

Parasound-Data from "North Pond", Mid Atlantic Ridge

Am Mittelatlantischen Rücken befinden sich zahlreiche intermontane Sedimentbecken. Ein solches 8 x 14 km großes und bereits im Rahmen der internationalen Bohrprogramme ODP und DSDP mehrmals beprobtes und untersuchtes Sedimentbecken ist "North Pond". In Februar und März 2009 wurde erstmals ein umfassender Parasound-Survey in "North Pond" durchgeführt. Parasound-Daten werden zur Untersuchung oberflächennaher Sedimentstrukturen genutzt. Dabei können kleinskalige Rutschungen, Störungen und Sedimentabfolgen abgebildet werden, die mit niederfrequenterer Seismik nicht erkannt werden können.

Swath sonar bathymetry during SONNE cruise SO202 (INOPEX) with links to multibeam raw data files

Multibeam data were measured during R/V SONNE cruise SO202 (INOPEX) along track lines of 6938 NM total length in the North Pacific and Bering Sea during transits and stationary work. Starting from Hokkaido (Japan) data were achieved east of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench and south of the Aleutian Trench. The track crosses the Bowers Ridge, the continental margin of Alaska and the Umnak Plateau in the Bering Sea. Further data were gained in the North Pacific in the area of the Patton Seamounts, Gibson Seamount, Hess Rise and Shatsky Rise. The multibeam sonar system Simrad EM 120 from Kongsberg was operated using 191 beams and an aperture angle of 90° to 140° due to particular conditions. The refraction correction was achieved utilizing 6 CTD profiles measured during the cruise and one from cruise SO201. The quality of data might be reduced during bad weather periods. The dataset contains raw data that are not processed and thus may contain errors and blunders in depth and position.

The Global Plankton Database: an inventory and data from the Former Soviet Union expeditions

At present time, there is a lack of knowledge on the interannual climate-related variability of zooplankton communities of the tropical Atlantic, central Mediterranean Sea, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea, due to the absence of appropriate databases. In the mid latitudes, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is the dominant mode of atmospheric fluctuations over eastern North America, the northern Atlantic Ocean and Europe. Therefore, one of the issues that need to be addressed through data synthesis is the evaluation of interannual patterns in species abundance and species diversity over these regions in regard to the NAO. The database has been used to investigate the ecological role of the NAO in interannual variations of mesozooplankton abundance and biomass along the zonal array of the NAO influence. Basic approach to the proposed research involved: (1) development of co-operation between experts and data holders in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UK, and USA to rescue and compile the oceanographic data sets and release them on CD-ROM, (2) organization and compilation of a database based on FSU cruises to the above regions, (3) analysis of the basin-scale interannual variability of the zooplankton species abundance, biomass, and species diversity.