Remote probe microphone measurement to verify hearing aid performance

We assessed the feasibility of obtaining probe microphone measurements of hearing aids at a distance. Face-to-face and remote probe microphone measurements were carried out in 60 hearing aid users (mean age 67 yrs) with uni- or bilateral hearing losses (105 ears tested). The participant and a facilitator were located in a room equipped with a probe microphone system interfaced to a PC. Desktop videoconferencing and application sharing was used to allow an audiologist in another room to instruct the facilitator and control the equipment via the LAN. There were significant correlations between face-to-face and remote real ear unaided response (REUR), aided response (REAR) and insertion gain (REIG) at seven discrete frequencies from 250 to 6000 Hz. Differences between face-to-face and remote responses were within the reported variability for probe microphone measurements themselves. The results show that remote probe microphone measurements are feasible and might improve the quality of public hearing aid services and professional training in Brazil.

Fitting mixtures of Kent distributions to aid in joint set identification

When examining a rock mass, joint sets and their orientations can play a significant role with regard to how the rock mass will behave. To identify joint sets present in the rock mass, the orientation of individual fracture planer can be measured on exposed rock faces and the resulting data can be examined for heterogeneity. In this article, the expectation-maximization algorithm is used to lit mixtures of Kent component distributions to the fracture data to aid in the identification of joint sets. An additional uniform component is also included in the model to accommodate the noise present in the data.

Pragmatic solidarism and the dilemmas of humanitarian intervention

The theory and practice of humanitarian intervention in the 1990s has produced a series of seemingly intractable dilemmas. Why do states act in some cases and not others? How are we to evaluate the legitimacy of particular acts? This article introduces a new perspective on these questions informed by a combination of pragmatism and solidarism. It argues that although the search for criteria that may be used to judge the legitimacy and efficacy of humanitarian intervention may be a futile one, it is possible to think about a politics of legitimate humanitarian intervention. Such a politics may be based on three key insights drawn from pragmatism: the dialogic construction of moral knowledge, the fallibility of knowledge, and the priority of democracy over philosophy. The article discusses how such a pragmatic solidarism may be used to interrogate the quest for legitimising criteria and to build a new politics of humanitarian intervention.

Negative ion electrospray mass spectra of caerulein peptides: an aid to structural determination

MS/MS data derived from the [M-H](-) ions of desulfated caerulein peptides provide (i) sequencing information from a combination of alpha, beta and gamma backbone cleavages, and (ii) identification of specific amino acid side chains by side-chain cleavages [e.g. Ser (-CH2O), Thr (-CH3CHO) and Asp (-H2O)] (fragmentations having no counterparts in positive ion spectra). In addition, delta and/or gamma backbone cleavage ions from Asp residues identify the position of these residues in the peptide. In contrast, neither delta nor gamma cleavage ions are observed from either the Gln2 residue nor from Phe residues. Full structural information can be obtained from a consideration of the positive and negative ion MS/MS data in concert. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

Organizational responses to a changing aid environment: the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ)

As a major European donor, German government development assistance faces a series of challenges. Recent political changes have raised expectations for demonstrable health outcomes as a result of German development assistance; there has been a deepened commitment to collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral donors; and partner countries are increasingly open to new approaches to development. German development assistance also reflects a new ethos of partnership and the shift to programmatic and sector based development approaches. At the same time, its particular organizational structure and administrative framework highlight the extent of structural and systems reforms required of donors by changing development relationships, and the tensions created in responding to these. This paper examines organizational changes within the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit) (GTZ), aimed at increasing its Regional, Sectoral, Managerial and Process competence as they affect health and related sectors. These include the decentralization of GTZ, the trend to integration of projects, the increasing focus on policy and health systems reform, increased inter-sectoral collaboration, changes in recruitment and training, new perspectives in planning and evaluation and the introduction of a quality management programme. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

Beyond hearing aid fitting: improving communication for older adults

Many older adults with hearing impairment continue to have substantial communication difficulties after being fitted with hearing aids, and many do not choose to wear hearing aids. Two group communication education programs aimed at such older people are described. The 'Keep on Talking' program has a health promotion focus, and is aimed at maintaining communication for older adults living in the community. An experimental group (n=120) attended the program, and a control group (n=130) received a communication assessment but no intervention. Significant improvements were found in the experimental participants in terms of knowledge about communication changes with age and about strategies to maintain communication skills. At the follow-up evaluation at 1 year, 45% of the experimental group, compared to 10% of the control group, had acted to improve their communication skills. The 'Active Communication Education' program focuses on the development of problem-solving strategies to improve communication in everyday life situations. Preliminary outcomes have been assessed on a small scale (n=14) to date. It is concluded that communication programs represent an important adjunct to, or supplement for, the traditional approach that focuses on hearing aid fitting.

Acoustic analysis of speech through a hearing aid: perceptual effects of changes with two-channel compression

Compression amplification significantly alters the acoustic speech signal in comparison to linear amplification. The central hypothesis of the present study was that the compression settings of a two-channel aid that best preserved the acoustic properties of speech compared to linear amplification would yield the best perceptual results, and that the compression settings that most altered the acoustic properties of speech compared to linear would yield significantly poorer speech perception. On the basis of initial acoustic analysis of the test stimuli recorded through a hearing aid, two different compression amplification settings were chosen for the perceptual study. Participants were 74 adults with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing impairment. Overall, the speech perception results supported the hypothesis. A further aim of the study was to determine if variation in participants' speech perception with compression amplification (compared to linear amplification) could be explained by the individual characteristics of age, degree of loss, dynamic range, temporal resolution, and frequency selectivity; however, no significant relationships were found.

Cancer incidence projections for Lisbon and Santarém districts: an aid to radiotherapy services planning

Will the existing means in Radiotherapy respond to the needs of the potential user population in 2014 for Lisbon and Santarém districts? Number of treatment units? Number of Radiotherapy Technologists? Temporal variations of the dimension and age structure of the populations: Coastal areas/Interior areas, Urban areas/Rural areas. Temporal variations in the incidence of several types of cancer. Overall objectives: evaluate of the necessities of Radiotherapy for Lisbon and Santarém districts in 2014 and elaboration of proposals that aim the access/use for the potential user population.

A tool to aid institutions recognize their employees competences acquired by informal learning

People do not learn only in formal educational institutions, but also throughout their lives, from their experiences, conversations, observations of others, exploration of the Internet, meetings and conferences, and chance encounters etc. However this informal and non-formal learning can easily remain largely invisible, making it hard for peers and employers to recognize or act upon it. The TRAILER project aims to make this learning visible so that it can benefit both the individual and the organization. The proposed demonstration will show a software solution that (i) helps the learners to capture, organize and classify a wide range of ’informal’ learning taking place in their lives, and (ii) assists the organization in recognizing this learning and use it to help managing human resources (benefiting both parts). This software tool has recently been used in two phases of pilot studies, which have run in four different European countries.

Intestinal spirochetosis: first cases reported in Brazil and the use of immunohistochemistry as an aid in histopathological diagnosis

Colonization of the colon and rectum by intestinal spirochetes is detected for the first time in Brazil in 4 of 282 (1.41%) patients who had undergone sigmoidoscopy and/or colonoscopy with a histopathological diagnosis of chronic non specific-colitis. This frequency is probably understimated, since surgically obtained specimens were not considered in the present study. Histopathological diagnosis was performed using routine stains like hematoxylin-eosin which showed the typical, of 3-µm thick hematoxyphilic fringe on the brush border of the surface epithelium, and by silver stains like the Warthin-Starry stain. Immunohistochemical procedures using two, polyclonal, primary antibodies, one against Treponema pallidum and the other against Leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae cross-reacted with spirochetal antigen/s producing a marked contrast of the fringe over the colonic epithelium, preserving the spiral-shaped morphology of the parasite. In one case with marked diarrhea, immunohistochemistry detected spirochetal antigen/s within a cell in an intestinal crypt, thus demonstrating that the infection can be more widely disseminated than suspected using routine stains. Immunohistochemical procedures, thus, greatly facilitate the histological diagnosis of intestinal spirochetosis and may contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy performed in one case showed that the spirochete closely resembled the species designated as Brachyspira aalborgi.

A Web based geospatial application for disaster preparedness in Uganda

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.