Degree Of Blindness Research Articles

Oral health status among visually and hearing impaired individuals- A systematic review

To review and study the oral health status among visually and hearing-impaired individuals. A literature was performed in main databases like- Pub Med Central, Cochrane Library, Embase and Google Scholar from year 2001 to 2020. This systematic review study was done according to PRISMA guideline. It was found that disabled individuals had poor oral health status as compared to the non-disabled individuals. Blind children experienced more caries than hearing-impaired children in permanent, whereas it was opposite in primary dentition. Braille language and text instructions can be very useful for visually impaired individuals irrespective of the degree of blindness and can help them to maintain oral hygiene. Hearing impaired individuals are taught with actions and visualisations. As a public health personnel, the fact, it is extremely difficult to change people's attitudes rapidly. The sighted must know how to deal with the blind individuals and learn to overcome their own ambiguity, or their undesirable attitudes may be implemented and talk of social acceptance should not be felt in mind.

Human evolution in your hands. Inclusive education with 3D-printed TYPHLOLOGICAL replicas

ABSTRACT In recent decades, the application and adaptation of new technologies have gradually become invaluable in education. When the students are visually impaired, the use of these technologies becomes even more valuable. In this line, a theoretical-practical workshop on human evolution was carried out with 25 students from the Spanish National Organisation for the Blind. Twenty-two realistic replicas of skulls of the main species in human evolution were reproduced with a 3D-FDM printer. Thus, the students were able to learn about the variability of cranial anatomy between species as we could verify with a test to evaluate the usefulness of the technology as a complement to the theoretical explanation. The results were analysed taking into account the sex and age of the students, their educational level, their degree of blindness and previous knowledge of the subject. It showed that the use of 3D models is an excellent support to the teaching-learning process in the case of the visually impaired, since it allows them to form in their imagination a faithful image of the object they hold in their hands, to feel the similarities and morphological differences between the species and to formulate hypotheses about the reasons for them.

Proportion of various ophthalmic ailments and causes among the participants on their first visit to a tertiary care ophthalmic OPD- A cross sectional survey from south central Kerala

Blindness, loss of eyesight, could be temporary or permanent. Damage to any portion of the eye, optic nerve or the brain that is responsible for this function results in visual impairment. The commonest causes for blindness are cataract, refractive errors, glaucoma, corneal opacities. Assess major causes of visual impairment among new patients visiting ophthalmology OPD. : Study conducted using a cross sectional survey design. Data collected from ophthalmology OPD of a tertiary care hospital.The proportion of ocular diseases, degree of blindness and causative factors were assessed and recorded. Patient’s visual impairment status was classified as mild, moderate, severe and blind according to WHO classification for visual impairment and blindness (Oct. 2019). Visual acuity, auto refraction, colour vision, intra ocular pressure measurement, slit lamp and fundus examinations were carried out. Data Entry: MS Excel. Statistics: chi square, proportions. There were 303 participants, 42.2% males and 57.8% females and 0.3% were blind, 1% severely visually impaired, 3.3% moderately impaired, 4% mildly impaired. Among the 106 diabetic patients, 30 diabetic retinopathy cases were observed. There were 1.02% participants with impaired colour vision, refractive errors 54.8%, cataract 35.4%, diabetic retinopathy 9.9%, glaucoma 9.2%. Refractive error and cataract were most frequent. Color blindness was less common. Cataract and glaucoma was not observed before 40 years of age. Visual impairment across regions are similar, refractive error and cataract were leading causes of visual impairment.

Climate Science Denial as Willful Hermeneutical Ignorance

ABSTRACT Climate science denial results from ignorance and perpetuates ignorance about scientific facts and methods of inquiry. In this paper, I explore climate science denial as a type of active ignorance called willful hermeneutical ignorance, where ignorance is actively maintained by a gap in a person’s conceptual resources. This kind of ignorance is active in the sense that it resists correction. For instance, climate science denial may be motivated by ideological reasoning and other biases, it is often not responsive to the introduction of more evidence, and it can be maintained as consequence of conceptual gaps, or hermeneutical lacunas, that make possible a certain degree of blindness to evidence. I then identify three hermeneutical lacunas in the epistemology of science that prevent the uptake of evidence for anthropogenic climate change – one from Lawrence Torcello and two from the work of Dale Jamieson. Finally, while climate science denial’s resistance to correction poses significant challenges for effective education about climate science, this framework also suggests a way forward: education that emphasizes building basic concepts required for understanding and interpreting scientific research.

Yoga Practice Increases Minimum Muscular Fitness in Children with Visual Impairment.

Introduction: Muscle strength, a component for balance, gait and functional mobility is vital for children with visual impairment. Yoga has frequently been demonstrated to improve physical and mental fitness in children. This study aimed to assess the effect of 16 weeks yoga training on muscular fitness in children with visual impairment. Methods: This was a wait-listed two-armed-matched case–control study. Eighty (41 yoga, 39 control) visual impairment students of both genders aged 9-16 years matched on age, gender and degree of blindness were assessed at pre, mid (after 8 weeks) and post (after 16 weeks) yoga intervention using the Kraus-Weber test. Results: The percentage of students passed in yoga group were 12.2%, 43.9% and 68.3% whereas percentages in the control group were 23.1%, 30.8% and 30.8% in pre, mid, and post tests respectively. McNemar test showed significant differences between pre and mid, mid and post in the yoga group while those parameters were not significantly different in the control group. Yoga therapy seemed to have considerable benefits for the children’s muscular fitness. Conclusion: The study suggests that yoga have considerable benefits for improvement of fitness level in children with visual impairment and may be recommended as and effective, alternative, inexpensive low risk training activity option for them.

Disorders of the Sleep-Wake Cycle in Blindness

Alteration of the intensity of light reaching the pineal gland through the visual pathway affects the sleepwake cycle in humans. To determine the prevalence, types and severity of sleep-wake disorders in the blind and their relation to the degree and cause of blindness. One hundred and seventy consecutive blind patients were included in the study. The patients were interviewed and administered the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Pittsburg Sleep Quang Index (PSQI) questionnaire. Information collected included age, sex, visual loss parameters, type and degree of sleep-wake disorder. A total of 138 (81.2%) blind patients had sleep-wake disorders with significant disorder found in 84(49.4%). The mean PSQI+/- SD were 8.4 +/-2.91, 9.6+/- 3.3 and 8.0+/-2.7 globally, no light perception group and the remaining blind patients respectively. The commonest type of sleep-wake disorder was day time nap [112(65.9%)]. Forty-one (46.1%), 33(58.9%), 8(80.0%), 2(100%) and 0(0.0%) of those that had cataract, glaucoma, optic atrophy, uveitis and others respectively had moderate and/or severe sleep-wake disorder. The relationship between degree of blindness and prevalence and severity of sleep-wake disorder was very significant statistically (p= 0.008 and 0.002 respectively). The relationship between causes of blindness and prevalence and degree of sleep-wake disorder was statistically significant (p=0.009 and 0.007 respectively). This study has shown that the prevalence of sleep-wake disorders in the blind is high and a strong relationship exists between visual loss and the sleep-wake cycle in humans.

Text Advertising Blindness: The New Banner Blindness?

Banner blindness, the phenomenon of website users actively ignoring web banners, was first reported in the late 1990s. This study expands the banner blindness concept to text advertising blindness and examines the effects of search type and advertisement location on the degree of blindness. Performance and eye-tracking analyses show that users tend to miss information in text ads on the right side of the page more often than in text ads at the top of the page. Search type (exact or semantic) was also found to affect performance and eye-tracking measures. Participant search strategies differed depending on search type and whether the top area of the page was perceived to be advertising or relevant content. These results show that text ad blindness occurs, significantly affects search performance on web pages, and is more prevalent on the right side of the page than the top.

Autonomic and Respiratory Measures in Children with Impaired Vision Following Yoga and Physical Activity Programs

We conducted assessments of 28 children with impaired vision (VI group), with ages ranging from 12 to 17 years, and an equal number of age-matched, normal-sighted children (NS group). The VI group had significantly higher rates of breathing, heart rates, and diastolic blood pressure values compared to the NS group (Mann–Whitney U test). Twenty-four of the VI group formed pairs matched for age and degree of blindness, and we randomly assigned members of the pairs to two groups, viz., yoga and physical activity. Both groups spent an hour each day practicing yoga or working in the garden, depending on their group. After 3 weeks, the yoga group showed a significant decrease in breath rate (Wilcoxon paired signed ranks test). There was no change after the physical activity program. The results showed that children with visual impairment have higher physiological arousal than children with normal sight, with a marginal reduction in arousal following yoga.

A theoretical model for blinding in cake filtration

This study concerns blinding of the filter cake during filtration of wastewater solids. A theoretical model is suggested that describes blinding as happening in the filter cake only and not in the filter medium. It is based on the idea of having a filter cake built up by larger particles. This filter cake then serves as a secondary filter for small‐scale solids. Data obtained from filtering wastewater solids show good agreement between the estimated parameters for the amount of small‐scale solids and the degree of blinding. This indicates that the model is plausible.

A meta-analysis of antidepressant outcome studies that involved children and adolescents.

A meta-analysis was performed of available studies that document response to antidepressant medications in the pediatric population, based upon guidelines developed in a methodological review of adult antidepressant response (Greenberg, Borstein, Greenberg, & Fisher, 1992). The 27 studies accessed through standard medical and psychological data bases were assessed against the following criteria: degree of blindness, placebo group design, rating issues, sample size, inclusion criteria, and other methodological issues. Serious methodological flaws emerged in all areas, as well as an inverse relationship between positive findings and the presence of adequate experimental controls. Recommendations are made for improvements in experimental methodology, and caution is urged in the absence of well-controlled studies.

Occurrence of cataracts in triploid Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) on four farms in Scotland.

In September 1991 cataracts occurred in two year-classes of triploid Atlantic salmon. The fish showed varying degrees of blindness, were lethargic and became emaciated owing to their inability to feed. The lesions in the lens were mainly in the anterior and posterior cortex and perinuclear areas, the capsule and embryonic nucleus remaining unaffected. Diploid fish of the same year-class did not have cataracts. The origin of the triploid fish, the method of triploidisation, their diet and disease status were investigated, but no predisposing factors could be found to account for the high incidence of cataracts.

Breast cancer, blindness and melatonin.

The hypothesis is advanced that blindness from an early age may lead to a reduced risk of breast cancer through altered patterns of melatonin secretion by the pineal gland. The available experimental evidence in animals and in vitro is consistent with this hypothesis. The hypothesis can be tested in humans by a simple observational study in which the breast cancer risk in blind women is compared with that of all women. The effect of age at onset, duration and degree of blindness could also be assessed, after adjustment for known risk factors for breast cancer. Melatonin might prove to be a natural oncostatic agent of practical value in cancer prevention.

The voice-recognition accuracy of blind listeners.

A research programme has been carried out that concerns the accuracy with which listeners can identify a speaker heard once before. The present study examined the voice-recognition abilities of blind listeners, and it was found that they could more accurately select target voices from the test arrays than could sighted people. However, the degree of blindness, the age at onset of blindness, and the number of years of blindness all failed to relate to voice-recognition accuracy.