Seven Years of Recording from Monkey Cortex with a Chronically Implanted Multiple Microelectrode

PubMed Central

Krüger, Jürgen; Caruana, Fausto; Volta, Riccardo Dalla; Rizzolatti, Giacomo

2010-01-01

A brush of 64 microwires was chronically implanted in the ventral premotor cortex of a macaque monkey. Contrary to common approaches, the wires were inserted from the white matter side. This approach, by avoiding mechanical pressure on the dura and pia mater during penetration, disturbed only minimally the cortical recording site. With this approach isolated potentials and multiunit activity were recorded for more than 7 years in about one-third of electrodes. The indirect insertion method also provided an excellent stability within each recording session, and in some cases even allowed recording from the same neurons for several years. Histological examination of the implanted brain region shows only a very marginal damage to the recording area. Advantages and problems related to long-term recording are discussed. PMID:20577628

77 FR 29749 - 74th Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 147, Minimal Operations Performance Standards for Traffic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-18

... 147, Minimal Operations Performance Standards for Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems... Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems Airborne Equipment. SUMMARY: The FAA is issuing this notice... Performance Standards for Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems Airborne Equipment. DATES: The meeting...

Short-term Beneficial Effects of 12 Sessions of Neurofeedback on Avoidant Personality Accentuation in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder.

PubMed

Dalkner, Nina; Unterrainer, Human F; Wood, Guilherme; Skliris, Dimitris; Holasek, Sandra J; Gruzelier, John H; Neuper, Christa

2017-01-01

This study evaluated the effects of alpha/theta neurofeedback on Clinical Personality Accentuations in individuals with alcohol use disorder. Twenty-five males were investigated using a pre-test/post-test design with a waiting-list control group. Participants were randomly assigned either to an experimental group ( n = 13) receiving 12 sessions of neurofeedback twice a week as a treatment adjunct over a period of 6 weeks, or to a control group ( n = 12) receiving treatment as usual. The Inventory of Clinical Personality Accentuations and the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory were applied at pre- and post-test. The neurofeedback protocol focused on enhancement of the EEG alpha (8-12 Hz) and theta (4-7 Hz) and used a visual feedback paradigm. Analyses of covariance showed improvements in Avoidant Personality Accentuation within the experimental group. Our data suggest that 12 sessions of this neurofeedback intervention might be effective in reducing avoidant and stress-related personality traits in patients with alcohol use disorder.

Food waste minimization from a life-cycle perspective.

PubMed

Bernstad Saraiva Schott, A; Andersson, T

2015-01-01

This article investigates potentials and environmental impacts related to household food waste minimization, based on a case study in Southern Sweden. In the study, the amount of avoidable and unavoidable food waste currently being disposed of by households was assessed through waste composition analyses and the different types of avoidable food waste were classified. Currently, both avoidable and unavoidable food waste is either incinerated or treated through anaerobic digestion. A hypothetical scenario with no generation of avoidable food waste and either anaerobic digestion or incineration of unavoidable food waste was compared to the current situation using the life-cycle assessment method, limited to analysis of global warming potential (GWP). The results from the waste composition analyses indicate that an average of 35% of household food waste is avoidable. Minimization of this waste could result in reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of 800-1400 kg/tonne of avoidable food waste. Thus, a minimization strategy would result in increased avoidance of GWP compared to the current situation. The study clearly shows that although modern alternatives for food waste treatment can result in avoidance of GWP through nutrient and energy recovery, food waste prevention yields far greater benefits for GWP compared to both incineration and anaerobic digestion. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Functional inactivation of the rat hippocampus disrupts avoidance of a moving object.

PubMed

Telensky, Petr; Svoboda, Jan; Blahna, Karel; Bureš, Jan; Kubik, Stepan; Stuchlik, Ales

2011-03-29

The hippocampus is well known for its critical involvement in spatial memory and information processing. In this study, we examined the effect of bilateral hippocampal inactivation with tetrodotoxin (TTX) in an "enemy avoidance" task. In this paradigm, a rat foraging on a circular platform (82 cm diameter) is trained to avoid a moving robot in 20-min sessions. Whenever the rat is located within 25 cm of the robot's center, it receives a mild electrical foot shock, which may be repeated until the subject makes an escape response to a safe distance. Seventeen young male Long-Evans rats were implanted with cannulae aimed at the dorsal hippocampus 14 d before the start of the training. After 6 d of training, each rat received a bilateral intrahippocampal infusion of TTX (5 ng in 1 μL) 40 min before the training session on day 7. The inactivation severely impaired avoidance of a moving robot (n = 8). No deficit was observed in a different group of rats (n = 9) that avoided a stable robot that was only displaced once in the middle of the session, showing that the impairment was not due to a deficit in distance estimation, object-reinforcement association, or shock sensitivity. This finding suggests a specific role of the hippocampus in dynamic cognitive processes required for flexible navigation strategies such as continuous updating of information about the position of a moving stimulus.

43 CFR 23.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... avoid, minimize, or correct damage to the environment—land, water, and air—and to avoid, minimize, or correct hazards to the public health and safety. The regulations in this part prescribe procedures to that...

43 CFR 23.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... avoid, minimize, or correct damage to the environment—land, water, and air—and to avoid, minimize, or correct hazards to the public health and safety. The regulations in this part prescribe procedures to that...

43 CFR 23.1 - Purpose.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... avoid, minimize, or correct damage to the environment—land, water, and air—and to avoid, minimize, or correct hazards to the public health and safety. The regulations in this part prescribe procedures to that...

Handbook on Coral Reef Impacts: Avoidance, Minimization, Compensatory Mitigation, and Restoration

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This Handbook provides a general summary of current avoidance, minimization, compensatory mitigation, and restoration strategies that may help address physical damage resulting from direct adverse impacts to coral reefs.

Absence of “Warm-Up” during Active Avoidance Learning in a Rat Model of Anxiety Vulnerability: Insights from Computational Modeling

PubMed Central

Myers, Catherine E.; Smith, Ian M.; Servatius, Richard J.; Beck, Kevin D.

2014-01-01

Avoidance behaviors, in which a learned response causes omission of an upcoming punisher, are a core feature of many psychiatric disorders. While reinforcement learning (RL) models have been widely used to study the development of appetitive behaviors, less attention has been paid to avoidance. Here, we present a RL model of lever-press avoidance learning in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats and in the inbred Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat, which has been proposed as a model of anxiety vulnerability. We focus on “warm-up,” transiently decreased avoidance responding at the start of a testing session, which is shown by SD but not WKY rats. We first show that a RL model can correctly simulate key aspects of acquisition, extinction, and warm-up in SD rats; we then show that WKY behavior can be simulated by altering three model parameters, which respectively govern the tendency to explore new behaviors vs. exploit previously reinforced ones, the tendency to repeat previous behaviors regardless of reinforcement, and the learning rate for predicting future outcomes. This suggests that several, dissociable mechanisms may contribute independently to strain differences in behavior. The model predicts that, if the “standard” inter-session interval is shortened from 48 to 24 h, SD rats (but not WKY) will continue to show warm-up; we confirm this prediction in an empirical study with SD and WKY rats. The model further predicts that SD rats will continue to show warm-up with inter-session intervals as short as a few minutes, while WKY rats will not show warm-up, even with inter-session intervals as long as a month. Together, the modeling and empirical data indicate that strain differences in warm-up are qualitative rather than just the result of differential sensitivity to task variables. Understanding the mechanisms that govern expression of warm-up behavior in avoidance may lead to better understanding of pathological avoidance, and potential pathways to modify these processes. PMID:25183956

Anastomotic stricture complicating esophagectomy.

PubMed

Rice, Thomas W

2006-02-01

Regardless of the definition, anastomotic strictures are a common complication after esophagectomy and adversely affect quality of life. They are best avoided by careful surgical technique that minimizes conduit ischemia during preparation, placement, and anastomosis. Anastomotic technique must assure an adequate anastomotic area. The Collard anastomosis, a significant advance in the construction of esophagogastric anastomoses, routinely assures adequate anastomotic area and thus assures fewer anastomotic strictures. The use of small-diameter (21-mm and 25-mm) circular staplers is discouraged, because they are unquestionably associated with the occurrence of major anastomotic strictures. Anastomotic leaks precede many anastomotic strictures, but strictures are not inevitable after leaks. Other variables are less reliably associated with anastomotic strictures. Treatment requires diagnosis and exclusion of recurrent cancer and other causes of stricture. Dilation is safe, but diligence with repeated sessions is necessary to restore swallowing. Reoperation is rarely required.

Resolving Alliance Ruptures from an Attachment-Informed Perspective.

PubMed

Miller-Bottome, Madeleine; Talia, Alessandro; Safran, Jeremy D; Muran, J Christopher

2018-04-01

In this article, we examine how the different attachment patterns enable or hinder the resolution of ruptures in the therapeutic alliance. We try to show that secure and insecure patients alike may experience ruptures in the therapeutic alliance, but that their ability to participate in resolving such ruptures differ markedly. Recent findings with the Patient Attachment Coding System (PACS) show that attachment classifications manifest in psychotherapy as distinct ways of communicating about present internal experience. Secure patients disclose their present experience openly and invite attunement from the therapist, while insecure patients either minimize their contributions to the dialogue (avoidant) or the contributions of the therapist (preoccupied). Using examples from session transcripts, we demonstrate how secure patients are particularly responsive to resolution strategies that focus on here-and-now experience, while insecure patients' characteristic ways of communicating pose significant challenges to the resolution process.

Short-term Beneficial Effects of 12 Sessions of Neurofeedback on Avoidant Personality Accentuation in the Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder

PubMed Central

Dalkner, Nina; Unterrainer, Human F.; Wood, Guilherme; Skliris, Dimitris; Holasek, Sandra J.; Gruzelier, John H.; Neuper, Christa

2017-01-01

This study evaluated the effects of alpha/theta neurofeedback on Clinical Personality Accentuations in individuals with alcohol use disorder. Twenty-five males were investigated using a pre-test/post-test design with a waiting-list control group. Participants were randomly assigned either to an experimental group (n = 13) receiving 12 sessions of neurofeedback twice a week as a treatment adjunct over a period of 6 weeks, or to a control group (n = 12) receiving treatment as usual. The Inventory of Clinical Personality Accentuations and the NEO-Five-Factor Inventory were applied at pre- and post-test. The neurofeedback protocol focused on enhancement of the EEG alpha (8–12 Hz) and theta (4–7 Hz) and used a visual feedback paradigm. Analyses of covariance showed improvements in Avoidant Personality Accentuation within the experimental group. Our data suggest that 12 sessions of this neurofeedback intervention might be effective in reducing avoidant and stress-related personality traits in patients with alcohol use disorder. PMID:29018397

Does habitual body avoidance and checking behavior influence the decrease of negative emotions during body exposure in eating disorders?

PubMed

Vocks, Silja; Kosfelder, Joachim; Wucherer, Maike; Wächter, Alexandra

2008-07-01

The aim of the present study was to assess whether habitual body avoidance and body-checking behavior influences the decrease of negative emotions during body exposure. Twenty-one eating-disordered female participants completed the Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire and the Body Checking Questionnaire. On another day, a 40-min body exposure session was conducted under standardized conditions. Every 10 min, negative emotions were assessed. It was shown that the extent of decrease in negative emotions during the body exposure session could be predicted by a lower degree of body checking. Results indicate that habitual checking behavior seems to negatively influence the effect of body exposure. Therefore, an adaptation of body exposure to patients with a higher degree of body-checking behavior might be promising.

75 FR 60495 - Eighteenth Plenary Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 203: Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-30

..., 20036; telephone (202) 833-9339; fax (202) 833-9434; Web site http://www.rtca.org . SUPPLEMENTARY... Product Team Breakout Session. RTCA Workspace Web Tool. Closing Plenary Session. Plenary Adjourns until... Engineering Workgroup. Control and Communications Workgroup. Sense and Avoid Workgroup. Wednesday, October...

Adapted shared reading at school for minimally verbal students with autism.

PubMed

Mucchetti, Charlotte A

2013-05-01

Almost nothing is known about the capacity of minimally verbal students with autism to develop literacy skills. Shared reading is a regular practice in early education settings and is widely thought to encourage language and literacy development. There is some evidence that children with severe disabilities can be engaged in adapted shared reading activities. The current study examines the impact of teacher-led adapted shared reading activities on engagement and story comprehension in minimally verbal 5-6-year-old children with autism using a multiple baseline/alternating treatment design. Four students and three teachers participated. Teachers conducted adapted shared reading activities with modified books (visual supports, three-dimensional objects, simplified text) and used specific strategies for increasing student engagement. Student performance during adapted activities was compared to performance during standard shared reading sessions. All four students showed increased story comprehension and engagement during adapted shared reading. Average percentage of session engaged was 87%-100% during adapted sessions, compared with 41%-52% during baseline. Average number of correct responses to story comprehension questions was 4.2-4.8 out of 6 during adapted sessions compared with 1.2-2 during baseline. Visual supports, tactile objects, and specific teaching strategies offer ways for minimally verbal students to meaningfully participate in literacy activities. Future research should investigate adapted shared reading activities implemented classroom-wide as well as joint engagement, language, and literacy outcomes after using such activities over time.

Effects of functional taping compared with sham taping and minimal intervention on pain intensity and static postural control for patients with non-specific chronic low back pain: a randomised clinical trial protocol.

PubMed

Jassi, F J; Del Antônio, T; Moraes, R; George, S Z; Chaves, T C

2017-06-01

To investigate the immediate and 1-month effects of functional taping to lumbar spine for pain intensity and postural control in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain. Randomised clinical trial. One hundred and twenty participants aged 18 to 50 years. Participants will be allocated at random to receive one of three interventions: functional star-shape taping for 7 days, sham functional taping for 7 days or minimal intervention, one session. The primary outcomes will be pain intensity and postural control. Four measurements of static posturography will be conducted: pre-intervention, immediately after application of the tape, 7 days post-intervention (after removal of the tape) and 1-month follow-up. The secondary outcomes will be low-back-pain-related disability, global perceived effect of treatment and fear avoidance beliefs. Primary and secondary outcomes will be assessed on three occasions: pre-intervention, 7 days post-intervention and at 1-month follow-up. All statistical analyses will be conducted following intention-to-treat principles, and the treatment effects will be calculated using linear mixed models. The results of this study will determine the effects of functional taping on pain intensity and postural control compared with sham taping and minimal intervention. NCT02546466. Copyright © 2016 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. All rights reserved.

Cognitive mediators of treatment for social anxiety disorder: comparing acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

PubMed

Niles, Andrea N; Burklund, Lisa J; Arch, Joanna J; Lieberman, Matthew D; Saxbe, Darby; Craske, Michelle G

2014-09-01

To assess the relationship between session-by-session mediators and treatment outcomes in traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for social anxiety disorder. Session-by-session changes in negative cognitions (a theorized mediator of CBT) and experiential avoidance (a theorized mediator of ACT) were assessed in 50 adult outpatients randomized to CBT (n=25) or ACT (n=25) for DSM-IV social anxiety disorder. Multilevel modeling analyses revealed significant nonlinear decreases in the proposed mediators in both treatments, with ACT showing steeper decline than CBT at the beginning of treatment and CBT showing steeper decline than ACT at the end of treatment. Curvature (or the nonlinear effect) of experiential avoidance during treatment significantly mediated posttreatment social anxiety symptoms and anhedonic depression in ACT, but not in CBT, with steeper decline of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire at the beginning of treatment predicting fewer symptoms in ACT only. Curvature of negative cognitions during both treatments predicted outcome, with steeper decline of negative cognitions at the beginning of treatment predicting lower posttreatment social anxiety and depressive symptoms. Rate of change in negative cognitions at the beginning of treatment is an important predictor of change across both ACT and CBT, whereas rate of change in experiential avoidance at the beginning of treatment is a mechanism specific to ACT. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Cognitive Mediators of Treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder: Comparing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

PubMed Central

Niles, Andrea N.; Burklund, Lisa J.; Arch, Joanna J.; Lieberman, Matthew D.; Saxbe, Darby; Craske, Michelle G.

2016-01-01

Objective To assess the relationship between session-by-session mediators and treatment outcomes in traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for social anxiety disorder. Method Session-by-session changes in negative cognitions (a theorized mediator of CBT) and experiential avoidance (a theorized mediator of ACT) were assessed in 50 adult outpatients randomized to CBT (n = 25) or ACT (n = 25) for DSM-IV social anxiety disorder. Results Multilevel modeling analyses revealed significant nonlinear decreases in the proposed mediators in both treatments, with ACT showing steeper decline than CBT at the beginning of treatment and CBT showing steeper decline than ACT at the end of treatment. Curvature (or the nonlinear effect) of experiential avoidance during treatment significantly mediated posttreatment social anxiety symptoms and anhedonic depression in ACT, but not in CBT, with steeper decline of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire at the beginning of treatment predicting fewer symptoms in ACT only. Curvature of negative cognitions during both treatments predicted outcome, with steeper decline of negative cognitions at the beginning of treatment predicting lower posttreatment social anxiety and depressive symptoms. Conclusions Rate of change in negative cognitions at the beginning of treatment is an important predictor of change across both ACT and CBT, whereas rate of change in experiential avoidance at the beginning of treatment is a mechanism specific to ACT. PMID:25022777

Methodological and physiological test-retest reliability of (13) C-MRS glycogen measurements in liver and in skeletal muscle of patients with type 1 diabetes and matched healthy controls.

PubMed

Buehler, Tania; Bally, Lia; Dokumaci, Ayse Sila; Stettler, Christoph; Boesch, Chris

2016-06-01

Glycogen is a major substrate in energy metabolism and particularly important to prevent hypoglycemia in pathologies of glucose homeostasis such as type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). (13) C-MRS is increasingly used to determine glycogen in skeletal muscle and liver non-invasively; however, the low signal-to-noise ratio leads to long acquisition times, particularly when glycogen levels are determined before and after interventions. In order to ease the requirements for the subjects and to avoid systematic effects of the lengthy examination, we evaluated if a standardized preparation period would allow us to shift the baseline (pre-intervention) experiments to a preceding day. Based on natural abundance (13) C-MRS on a clinical 3 T MR system the present study investigated the test-retest reliability of glycogen measurements in patients with T1DM and matched controls (n = 10 each group) in quadriceps muscle and liver. Prior to the MR examination, participants followed a standardized diet and avoided strenuous exercise for two days. The average coefficient of variation (CV) of myocellular glycogen levels was 9.7% in patients with T1DM compared with 6.6% in controls after a 2 week period, while hepatic glycogen variability was 13.3% in patients with T1DM and 14.6% in controls. For comparison, a single-session test-retest variability in four healthy volunteers resulted in 9.5% for skeletal muscle and 14.3% for liver. Glycogen levels in muscle and liver were not statistically different between test and retest, except for hepatic glycogen, which decreased in T1DM patients in the retest examination, but without an increase of the group distribution. Since the CVs of glycogen levels determined in a "single session" versus "within weeks" are comparable, we conclude that the major source of uncertainty is the methodological error and that physiological variations can be minimized by a pre-study standardization. For hepatic glycogen examinations, familiarization sessions (MR and potentially strenuous interventions) are recommended. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Portable conduction velocity experiments using earthworms for the college and high school neuroscience teaching laboratory

PubMed Central

Shannon, Kyle M.; Gage, Gregory J.; Jankovic, Aleksandra; Wilson, W. Jeffrey

2014-01-01

The earthworm is ideal for studying action potential conduction velocity in a classroom setting, as its simple linear anatomy allows easy axon length measurements and the worm's sparse coding allows single action potentials to be easily identified. The earthworm has two giant fiber systems (lateral and medial) with different conduction velocities that can be easily measured by manipulating electrode placement and the tactile stimulus. Here, we present a portable and robust experimental setup that allows students to perform conduction velocity measurements within a 30-min to 1-h laboratory session. Our improvement over this well-known preparation is the combination of behaviorally relevant tactile stimuli (avoiding electrical stimulation) with the invention of minimal, low-cost, and portable equipment. We tested these experiments during workshops in both a high school and college classroom environment and found positive learning outcomes when we compared pre- and posttests taken by the students. PMID:24585472

Pattern of Change in Prolonged Exposure and Cognitive-Processing Therapy for Female Rape Victims With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

PubMed Central

Nishith, Pallavi; Resick, Patricia A.; Griffin, Michael G.

2010-01-01

Curve estimation techniques were used to identify the pattern of therapeutic change in female rape victims with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Within-session data on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale were obtained, in alternate therapy sessions, on 171 women. The final sample of treatment completers included 54 prolonged exposure (PE) and 54 cognitive-processing therapy (CPT) completers. For both PE and CPT, a quadratic function provided the best fit for the total PTSD, reexperiencing, and arousal scores. However, a difference in the line of best fit was observed for the avoidance symptoms. Although a quadratic function still provided a better fit for the PE avoidance, a linear function was more parsimonious in explaining the CPT avoidance variance. Implications of the findings are discussed. PMID:12182271

Proline-containing dipeptide GVS-111 retains nootropic activity after oral administration.

PubMed

Ostrovskaya, R U; Mirsoev, T K; Romanova, G A; Gudasheva, T A; Kravchenko, E V; Trofimov, C C; Voronina, T A; Seredenin, S B

2001-10-01

Experiments on rats trained passive avoidance task showed that N-phenyl-acetyl-L-prolyl-glycyl ethyl ester, peptide analog of piracetam (GVS-111, Noopept) after oral administration retained antiamnesic activity previously observed after its parenteral administration. Effective doses were 0.5-10 mg/kg. Experiments on a specially-developed model of active avoidance (massive one-session learning schedule) showed that GVS-111 stimulated one-session learning after single administration, while after repeated administration it increased the number of successful learners among those animals who failed after initial training. In this respect, GVS-111 principally differs from its main metabolite cycloprolylglycine and standard nootropic piracetam.

Trajectories of change across outcomes in intensive treatment for adolescent panic disorder and agoraphobia.

PubMed

Gallo, Kaitlin P; Cooper-Vince, Christine E; Hardway, Christina L; Pincus, Donna B; Comer, Jonathan S

2014-01-01

Much remains to be learned about typical and individual growth trajectories across treatment for adolescent panic disorder with and without agoraphobia and about critical treatment points associated with key changes. The present study examined the rate and shape of change across an 8-day intensive cognitive behavioral therapy for adolescent panic disorder with and without agoraphobia (N = 56). Participants ranged in age from 12 to 17 (M = 15.14, SD = 1.70; 58.9% female, 78.6% Caucasian). Multilevel modeling evaluated within-treatment linear and nonlinear changes across three treatment outcomes: panic severity, fear, and avoidance. Overall panic severity showed linear change, decreasing throughout treatment. In contrast, fear and avoidance ratings both showed cubic change, peaking slightly at the first session of treatment, starting to decrease at the second session of treatment, and with large gains continuing then plateauing at the fourth session. Findings are considered with regard to the extent to which they may elucidate critical treatment components and sessions for adolescents with panic disorder with and without agoraphobia.

Interracial and Intraracial Quasi-Counseling Interactions When Counselors Avoid Discussing Race.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Chalmer E.; Jenal, Stephanie T.

1994-01-01

Analyzed 24 dyadic interactions of black clients and white or black race-avoidant counselors in quasi-counseling sessions. Uncovered following core categories related to interactional quality: smooth, exasperated, constricted, and disjunctive. Categories were explained by whether and how client introduced race concerns, client racial identity…

Effects of Myofascial Release in Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

PubMed

Arguisuelas, María D; Lisón, Juan Francisco; Sánchez-Zuriaga, Daniel; Martínez-Hurtado, Isabel; Doménech-Fernández, Julio

2017-05-01

Double-blind, randomized parallel sham-controlled trial with concealed allocation and intention-to treat analysis. To investigate the effects of an isolate myofascial release (MFR) protocol on pain, disability, and fear-avoidance beliefs in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). MFR is a form of manual medicine widely used by physiotherapists in the management of different musculoskeletal pathologies. Up to this moment, no previous studies have reported the effects of an isolated MFR treatment in patients with CLBP. Fifty-four participants, with nonspecific CLBP, were randomized to MFR group (n = 27) receiving four sessions of myofascial treatment, each lasting 40 minutes, and to control group (n = 27) receiving a sham MFR. Variables studied were pain measured by means Short Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) and visual analog scale (VAS), disability measured with Roland Morris Questionnaire, and fear-avoidance beliefs measured with Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire. Subjects receiving MFR displayed significant improvements in pain (SF-MPQ) (mean difference -7.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -14.5 to -1.1, P = 0.023) and sensory SF-MPQ subscale (mean difference -6.1; 95% CI: -10.8 to -1.5, P = 0.011) compared to the sham group, but no differences were found in VAS between groups. Disability and the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire score also displayed a significant decrease in the MFR group (P < 0.05) as compared to sham MFR. MFR therapy produced a significant improvement in both pain and disability. Because the minimal clinically important differences in pain and disability are, however, included in the 95% CI, we cannot know whether this improvement is clinically relevant. 2.

Effects of music therapy on drug avoidance self-efficacy in patients on a detoxification unit: a three-group randomized effectiveness study.

PubMed

Silverman, Michael J

2014-01-01

Self-efficacy is a component of Bandura's social cognitive theory and can lead to abstinence and a reduction of relapse potential for people who have substance abuse disorders. To date, no music therapy researcher has utilized this theoretical model to address abstinence and reduce the likelihood of relapse in people who have addictions. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of music therapy on drug avoidance self-efficacy in a randomized three-group wait-list control design with patients on a detoxification unit. Participants (N = 131) were cluster randomized to one of three single-session conditions: music therapy, verbal therapy, or wait-list control. Music therapy participants received a group lyric analysis intervention, verbal therapy participants received a group talk therapy session, and wait-list control participants eventually received a group recreational music therapy intervention. Although there was no significant between-group difference in drug avoidance self-efficacy, participants in the music therapy condition tended to have the highest mean drug avoidance self-efficacy scores. Posttest written comments supported the use of both music therapy and verbal therapy sessions. Two music therapy participants specifically noted that their initial skepticism had dissipated after receiving music therapy. Despite a lack of significant differences, the theoretical support of self-efficacy for substance abuse rehabilitation suggests that this may be an area of continued clinical focus and empirical investigation. Clinical anecdotes, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Use of the Analytic Hierarchy Process for Medication Decision-Making in Type 2 Diabetes

PubMed Central

Maruthur, Nisa M.; Joy, Susan M.; Dolan, James G.; Shihab, Hasan M.; Singh, Sonal

2015-01-01

Aim To investigate the feasibility and utility of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for medication decision-making in type 2 diabetes. Methods We conducted an AHP with nine diabetes experts using structured interviews to rank add-on therapies (to metformin) for type 2 diabetes. During the AHP, participants compared treatment alternatives relative to eight outcomes (hemoglobin A1c-lowering and seven potential harms) and the relative importance of the different outcomes. The AHP model and instrument were pre-tested and pilot-tested prior to use. Results were discussed and an evaluation of the AHP was conducted during a group session. We conducted the quantitative analysis using Expert Choice software with the ideal mode to determine the priority of treatment alternatives. Results Participants judged exenatide to be the best add-on therapy followed by sitagliptin, sulfonylureas, and then pioglitazone. Maximizing benefit was judged 21% more important than minimizing harm. Minimizing severe hypoglycemia was judged to be the most important harm to avoid. Exenatide was the best overall alternative if the importance of minimizing harms was prioritized completely over maximizing benefits. Participants reported that the AHP improved transparency, consistency, and an understanding of others’ perspectives and agreed that the results reflected the views of the group. Conclusions The AHP is feasible and useful to make decisions about diabetes medications. Future studies which incorporate stakeholder preferences should evaluate other decision contexts, objectives, and treatments. PMID:26000636

Effects of "minimally invasive curricular surgery" - a pilot intervention study to improve the quality of bedside teaching in medical education.

PubMed

Raupach, Tobias; Anders, Sven; Pukrop, Tobias; Hasenfuss, Gerd; Harendza, Sigrid

2009-09-01

Bedside teaching is an important element of undergraduate medical education. However, the impact of curricular course structure on student outcome needs to be determined. This study assessed changes in fourth-year medical students' evaluations of clinical teaching sessions before and after the introduction of a new course format. The curricular structure of bedside teaching sessions in cardiology was modified without changing the amount of teaching time. Clinical teachers were instructed about the new teaching format and learning objectives. The new format implemented for adult but not paediatric cardiology sessions was piloted with 143 students in winter 2007/08. By computing effect sizes, evaluation results were compared to data obtained from 185 students before the intervention. Significant rating increases were observed for adult cardiology teaching sessions (Cohen's d = 0.66) but not paediatric cardiology sessions (d = 0.22). In addition to improving the structure and organization of the course, the intervention significantly impacted on students' perceptions of their learning outcome regarding practical skills (d = 0.69). Minimal curricular changes combined with basic faculty development measures significantly increase students' perception of learning outcome. Curricular structure needs to be considered when planning bedside teaching sessions in medical undergraduate training.

Treatment processes and demographic variables as predictors of dropout from trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) for youth.

PubMed

Yasinski, Carly; Hayes, Adele M; Alpert, Elizabeth; McCauley, Thomas; Ready, C Beth; Webb, Charles; Deblinger, Esther

2018-05-22

Premature dropout is a significant concern in trauma-focused psychotherapy for youth. Previous studies have primarily examined pre-treatment demographic and symptom-related predictors of dropout, but few consistent findings have been reported. The current study examined demographic, symptom, and in-session process variables as predictors of dropout from Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) for youth. Participants were a diverse sample of Medicaid-eligible youth (ages 7-17; n = 108) and their nonoffending caregivers (n = 86), who received TF-CBT through an effectiveness study in a community setting. In-session process variables were coded from audio-recorded sessions, and these and pre-treatment demographic variables and symptom levels were examined as predictors of dropout prior to receiving an adequate dose of TF-CBT (<7 sessions). Twenty-nine children were classified as dropouts and 79 as completers. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that higher levels of child and caregiver avoidance expressed during early sessions, as well as greater relationship difficulties between the child and therapist, predicted dropout. Those children who were in foster care during treatment were less likely to drop out than children living with parents or relatives. No other demographic or symptom-related factors predicted dropout. These findings highlight the importance of addressing avoidance and therapeutic relationship difficulties in early sessions of TF-CBT to help reduce dropout, and they have implications for improving efforts to disseminate evidence-based trauma-focused treatments. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of Education Sessions of a Structured School Eye Screening Programme on Indian Schoolteachers' Knowledge and Responsibility for Children's Eye Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thummalapalli, Rohit; Williams, Jachin D.; Khoshnood, Kaveh; Salchow, Daniel J.; Forster, Susan H.

2013-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the effect of education sessions on Indian schoolteacher awareness of childhood eye health issues, responsibility for children's eye health, and successful participation in a teacher-led eye screening health intervention programme in primary schools aimed at addressing avoidable childhood blindness in India. Design:…

MDMA modifies active avoidance learning and recall in mice.

PubMed

Trigo, José Manuel; Cabrero-Castel, Araceli; Berrendero, Fernando; Maldonado, Rafael; Robledo, Patricia

2008-04-01

Several studies have suggested the existence of cognitive deficits after repeated or high doses of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) in humans and experimental animals. However, the extent of the impairments observed in learning or memory tasks remains unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different dosing regimens of MDMA on the ability of mice to learn and recall an active avoidance task. Animals were treated with MDMA (0, 1, 3, 10 and 30 mg/kg) under four different experimental conditions, and active avoidance acquisition and recall were evaluated. In experiments 1 and 2, MDMA was administered 1 h before different active avoidance training sessions. In experiments 3 and 4, mice received a repeated treatment with MDMA before or after active avoidance training, respectively. Changes in presynaptic striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) binding sites were evaluated at two different time points in animals receiving a high dose of MDMA (30 mg/kg) or saline twice a day over 4 days. MDMA administered before the active avoidance sessions interfered with the acquisition and the execution of a previously learned task. A repeated treatment with high doses of MDMA administered before training reduced acquisition of active avoidance in mice, while pre-treatment with both high and low doses of MDMA impaired recall of this task. A reduction in DAT binding was observed 4 days but not 23 days after the last MDMA administration. Acute MDMA modifies the acquisition and execution of active avoidance in mice, while repeated pre-treatment with MDMA impairs acquisition and recall of this task.

Sustained effects of attentional re-training on chocolate consumption.

PubMed

Kemps, Eva; Tiggemann, Marika; Elford, Joanna

2015-12-01

Accumulating evidence shows that cognitive bias modification produces immediate changes in attentional bias for, and consumption of, rewarding substances including food. This study examined the longevity of these attentional bias modification effects. A modified dot probe paradigm was used to determine whether alterations in biased attentional processing of food cues, and subsequent effects on consumption, were maintained at 24-h and one-week follow-up. One hundred and forty-nine undergraduate women were trained to direct their attention toward ('attend') or away from ('avoid') food cues (i.e., pictures of chocolate). Within each group, half received a single training session, the other half completed 5 weekly training sessions. Attentional bias for chocolate cues increased in the 'attend' group, and decreased in the 'avoid' group immediately post training. Participants in the 'avoid' group also ate disproportionately less of a chocolate food product in a so-called taste test than did those in the 'attend' group. Importantly, the observed re-training effects were maintained 24 h later and also one week later, but only following multiple training sessions. There are a number of limitations that could be addressed in future research: (a) the inclusion of a no-training control group, (b) the inclusion of a suspicion probe to detect awareness of the purpose of the taste test, and (c) the use of different tasks to assess and re-train attentional bias. The results showed sustained effects of attentional re-training on attentional bias and consumption. They further demonstrate the importance of administering multiple re-training sessions in attentional bias modification protocols. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Psychophysiological Responses to Group Exercise Training Sessions: Does Exercise Intensity Matter?

PubMed

Vandoni, Matteo; Codrons, Erwan; Marin, Luca; Correale, Luca; Bigliassi, Marcelo; Buzzachera, Cosme Franklim

2016-01-01

Group exercise training programs were introduced as a strategy for improving health and fitness and potentially reducing dropout rates. This study examined the psychophysiological responses to group exercise training sessions. Twenty-seven adults completed two group exercise training sessions of moderate and vigorous exercise intensities in a random and counterbalanced order. The %HRR and the exertional and arousal responses to vigorous session were higher than those during the moderate session (p<0.05). Consequently, the affective responses to vigorous session were less pleasant than those during moderate session (p<0.05). These results suggest that the psychophysiological responses to group exercise training sessions are intensity-dependent. From an adherence perspective, interventionists are encouraged to emphasize group exercise training sessions at a moderate intensity to maximize affective responses and to minimize exertional responses, which in turn may positively affect future exercise behavior.

Avoidant Coping and Treatment Outcome in Rape-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leiner, Amy S.; Kearns, Megan C.; Jackson, Joan L.; Astin, Millie C.; Rothbaum, Barbara O.

2012-01-01

Objective: This study investigated the impact of avoidant coping on treatment outcome in rape-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Method: Adult women with rape-related PTSD (N = 62) received 9 sessions of prolonged exposure (PE) or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). The mean age for the sample was 34.7 years, and race…

Prolonged Exposure: a Rapid Treatment for Phobias

PubMed Central

Watson, J. P.; Gaind, R.; Marks, I. M.

1971-01-01

Ten adult patients with long-standing specific phobias were treated by prolonged continuous exposure to their phobic objects in fantasy and reality without avoidance. All patients were greatly helped by four to five hours' treatment in two or three sessions, and all improved more after practice than after imaginal sessions. The treatment method is more economical and efficient than other methods described so far. PMID:5539135

Lack of behavioural responses of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) indicate limited effectiveness of sonar mitigation

PubMed Central

Kvadsheim, Petter H.; Lam, Frans-Peter A.; von Benda-Beckmann, Alexander M.; Sivle, Lise D.; Visser, Fleur; Curé, Charlotte; Tyack, Peter L.; Miller, Patrick J. O.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Exposure to underwater sound can cause permanent hearing loss and other physiological effects in marine animals. To reduce this risk, naval sonars are sometimes gradually increased in intensity at the start of transmission (‘ramp-up’). Here, we conducted experiments in which tagged humpback whales were approached with a ship to test whether a sonar operation preceded by ramp-up reduced three risk indicators – maximum sound pressure level (SPLmax), cumulative sound exposure level (SELcum) and minimum source–whale range (Rmin) – compared with a sonar operation not preceded by ramp-up. Whales were subject to one no-sonar control session and either two successive ramp-up sessions (RampUp1, RampUp2) or a ramp-up session (RampUp1) and a full-power session (FullPower). Full-power sessions were conducted only twice; for other whales we used acoustic modelling that assumed transmission of the full-power sequence during their no-sonar control. Averaged over all whales, risk indicators in RampUp1 (n=11) differed significantly from those in FullPower (n=12) by −3.0 dB (SPLmax), −2.0 dB (SELcum) and +168 m (Rmin), but not significantly from those in RampUp2 (n=9). Only five whales in RampUp1, four whales in RampUp2 and none in FullPower or control sessions avoided the sound source. For RampUp1, we found statistically significant differences in risk indicators between whales that avoided the sonar and whales that did not: −4.7 dB (SPLmax), −3.4 dB (SELcum) and +291 m (Rmin). In contrast, for RampUp2, these differences were smaller and not significant. This study suggests that sonar ramp-up has a positive but limited mitigative effect for humpback whales overall, but that ramp-up can reduce the risk of harm more effectively in situations when animals are more responsive and likely to avoid the sonar, e.g. owing to novelty of the stimulus, when they are in the path of an approaching sonar ship. PMID:29141878

CHARACTER OF THE CHANGES IN FEAR MOTIVATED DECLARATIVE MEMORY IN THE HIGH IMMOBILIZATION "DEPRESSIVE" RATS.

PubMed

Nachkebia, N; Shavgulidze, M; Babilodze, M; Chkhartishvili, E; Rogava, N

2016-10-01

Present study investigated possible differences in the learning and memory of declarative memory task in rats selected according to the differences in immobilization response that is in high immobilization "depressive" and low immobilization "non-depressive" rats. Understanding the character of learning and memory disturbances in basal conditions of animal models of depression is still very topical for more intimate definition of the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder and appropriate searching the ways of its correction. Experiments were carried out on the adult white wild rats (with the weight 200-250 g, n=20). Selection of rats according to the level of immobilization was made by means of forced swim test. Learning and memory disturbances were studied using passive avoidance test that is fear motivated one trial declarative memory task. It was shown by us that 100% of low immobilization "non-depressive" rats remember painful stimulation and therefore they are not enter in the dark compartment during whole period of observation during testing session. Behavior of high immobilization "depressive" rats is not similar in passive avoidance camera; 50% of "depressive" rats, with long escape latency during training session (92±10 sec), remember painful stimulation during testing session and therefore they are not enter in the dark compartment during whole observation period. The remaining 50%, that are not differ significantly from the low immobility "non-depressive" rats by the latency of escape (5±1 sec) during training session, are not able to remember painful stimulation during testing session and therefore they enter in the dark compartment with shortest escape latency (6±1 sec). In conclusion, high immobility "depressive" rats perform passive avoidance declarative memory task at the chance level that is a direct indicator for the serious disturbances of declarative memory mechanisms in "depressive" rats selected in forced swim test according to the level of immobility.

Teaching Note--Evaluation of an Avoiding Plagiarism Workshop for Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenster, Judy

2016-01-01

A 1-hour workshop on how to avoid plagiarizing when writing academic papers was developed and delivered at an orientation session for BSW and MSW students at a university in the northeast United States. Six social work instructors led the workshops at the university's main campus and two extension centers. Before and after the workshop, students…

Training Trainers on a Tight Budget.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoonmaker, Robert L.

1979-01-01

Presents training budget ideas which meet these criteria: (1) minimal cost, (2) minimal time consumption, and (3) convey skill or concept. Ideas include learning from attendance at free training demonstrations, sales meetings, professional groups, college/university courses, staff and division trainer meetings, visitations, cotraining sessions,…

Phasic dopamine release in the rat nucleus accumbens predicts approach and avoidance performance

PubMed Central

Gentry, Ronny N.; Lee, Brian; Roesch, Matthew R.

2016-01-01

Dopamine (DA) is critical for reward processing, but significantly less is known about its role in punishment avoidance. Using a combined approach-avoidance task, we measured phasic DA release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of rats during presentation of cues that predicted reward, punishment or neutral outcomes and investigated individual differences based on avoidance performance. Here we show that DA release within a single microenvironment is higher for reward and avoidance cues compared with neutral cues and positively correlated with poor avoidance behaviour. We found that DA release delineates trial-type during sessions with good avoidance but is non-selective during poor avoidance, with high release correlating with poor performance. These data demonstrate that phasic DA is released during cued approach and avoidance within the same microenvironment and abnormal processing of value signals is correlated with poor performance. PMID:27786172

Coordinated Multiple Cadaver Use for Minimally Invasive Surgical Training

PubMed Central

Blaschko, Sarah D.; Brooks, H. Mark; Dhuy, S. Michael; Charest-Shell, Cynthia; Clayman, Ralph V.

2007-01-01

Background: The human cadaver remains the gold standard for anatomic training and is highly useful when incorporated into minimally invasive surgical training programs. However, this valuable resource is often not used to its full potential due to a lack of multidisciplinary cooperation. Herein, we propose the coordinated multiple use of individual cadavers to better utilize anatomical resources and potentiate the availability of cadaver training. Methods: Twenty-two postgraduate surgeons participated in a robot-assisted surgical training course that utilized shared cadavers. All participants completed a Likert 4-scale satisfaction questionnaire after their training session. Cadaveric tissue quality and the quality of the training session related to this material were assessed. Results: Nine participants rated the quality of the cadaveric tissue as excellent, 7 as good, 5 as unsatisfactory, and 1 as poor. Overall, 72% of participants who operated on a previously used cadaver were satisfied with their training experience and did not perceive the previous use deleterious to their training. Conclusion: The coordinated use of cadavers, which allows for multiple cadaver use for different teaching sessions, is an excellent training method that increases availability of human anatomical material for minimally invasive surgical training. PMID:18237501

In-Session Caregiver Behavior Predicts Symptom Change in Youth Receiving Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

PubMed Central

Yasinski, Carly; Hayes, Adele; Ready, C. Beth; Cummings, Jorden A.; Berman, Ilana S.; McCauley, Thomas; Webb, Charles; Deblinger, Esther

2016-01-01

Objective Involving caregivers in trauma-focused treatments for youth has been shown to result in better outcomes, but it is not clear which in-session caregiver behaviors enhance or inhibit this effect. The current study examined the associations between caregiver behaviors during Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and youth cognitive processes and symptoms. Method Participants were a racially diverse sample of Medicaid-eligible youth (ages 7–17) and their non-offending caregivers (N= 71 pairs) who received TF-CBT through an effectiveness study in a community setting. Caregiver and youth processes were coded from audio-recorded sessions, and outcomes were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-IV (UPID) at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-intake. Results Piecewise linear growth curve modeling revealed that during the trauma narrative phase of TF-CBT, caregivers’ cognitive-emotional processing of their own and their child's trauma-related reactions predicted decreases in youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms over treatment. Caregiver support predicted lower internalizing symptoms over follow-up. In contrast, caregiver avoidance and blame of the child predicted worsening of youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms over follow-up. Caregiver avoidance early in treatment also predicted worsening of externalizing symptoms over follow-up. During the narrative phase, caregiver blame and avoidance were correlated with more child overgeneralization of trauma beliefs, and blame was also associated with less child accommodation of balanced beliefs. Conclusions The association between in-session caregiver behaviors and youth symptomatology during and after TF-CBT highlights the importance of assessing and targeting these behaviors to improve clinical outcomes. PMID:27618641

In-session caregiver behavior predicts symptom change in youth receiving trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT).

PubMed

Yasinski, Carly; Hayes, Adele M; Ready, C Beth; Cummings, Jorden A; Berman, Ilana S; McCauley, Thomas; Webb, Charles; Deblinger, Esther

2016-12-01

Involving caregivers in trauma-focused treatments for youth has been shown to result in better outcomes, but it is not clear which in-session caregiver behaviors enhance or inhibit this effect. The current study examined the associations between caregiver behaviors during Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and youth cognitive processes and symptoms. Participants were a racially diverse sample of Medicaid-eligible youth (ages 7-17) and their nonoffending caregivers (N = 71 pairs) who received TF-CBT through an effectiveness study in a community setting. Caregiver and youth processes were coded from audio-recorded sessions, and outcomes were measured using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV; UPID) at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postintake. Piecewise linear growth curve modeling revealed that during the trauma narrative phase of TF-CBT, caregivers' cognitive-emotional processing of their own and their child's trauma-related reactions predicted decreases in youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms over treatment. Caregiver support predicted lower internalizing symptoms over follow-up. In contrast, caregiver avoidance and blame of the child predicted worsening of youth internalizing and externalizing symptoms over follow-up. Caregiver avoidance early in treatment also predicted worsening of externalizing symptoms over follow-up. During the narrative phase, caregiver blame and avoidance were correlated with more child overgeneralization of trauma beliefs, and blame was also associated with less child accommodation of balanced beliefs. The association between in-session caregiver behaviors and youth symptomatology during and after TF-CBT highlights the importance of assessing and targeting these behaviors to improve clinical outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Collagenase Treatment in Dupuytren Contractures: A Review of the Current State Versus Future Needs.

PubMed

Degreef, Ilse

2016-06-01

Dupuytren disease is highly prevalent and the finger contractures can be very extensile, compromising the patients' hand function. To restore full function, contractures have been addressed by cutting the causative strands for nearly 200 years, ever since Baron Guillaume Dupuytren demonstrated his technique at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Surgery can be minimal (fasciotomy) or quite invasive (fasciectomy and even skin replacement). However, in the last decade translational research has introduced the non-surgical technique of enzymatic fasciotomy with collagenase injections. Now, finger contractures can be released with single injections on monthly intervals, to address one joint contracture at a time. However, in hands affected with Dupuytren contractures to the extent that the patient calls for treatment, most often more than one joint is involved. In surgical treatment options all contracted joints are addressed in a single procedure. Nevertheless, extensile surgery withholds inherent risks of complications and intense rehabilitation. Today, the minimally-invasive method with enzymatic fasciotomy by collagenase injection has demonstrated reliable outcomes with few morbidities and early recovery. However, single-site injection is todays' standard procedure and multiple joints are addressed in several sessions with monthly intervals. This triggers a longer recovery and treatment burden in severely affected hands even though surgery is avoided. Therefore, further treatment modalities of collagenase use are explored. Adjustments in the treatment regimes' flexibility and collagenase injections addressing more than one joint contracture simultaneously will improve the burden of multiple sessions and, therefore, enzymatic fasciotomy may become the preferred method in more extensile Dupuytren contractures. In this independent review, the challenge of Dupuytren disease affecting a single versus multiple joints is presented. The pros and cons of collagenase use are weighed, founded by the available scientific background. The demands and options for collagenase in future treatment regimens for extensile Dupuytren contractures are discussed.

Establishing the minimal number of virtual reality simulator training sessions necessary to develop basic laparoscopic skills competence: evaluation of the learning curve.

PubMed

Duarte, Ricardo Jordão; Cury, José; Oliveira, Luis Carlos Neves; Srougi, Miguel

2013-01-01

Medical literature is scarce on information to define a basic skills training program for laparoscopic surgery (peg and transferring, cutting, clipping). The aim of this study was to determine the minimal number of simulator sessions of basic laparoscopic tasks necessary to elaborate an optimal virtual reality training curriculum. Eleven medical students with no previous laparoscopic experience were spontaneously enrolled. They were submitted to simulator training sessions starting at level 1 (Immersion Lap VR, San Jose, CA), including sequentially camera handling, peg and transfer, clipping and cutting. Each student trained twice a week until 10 sessions were completed. The score indexes were registered and analyzed. The total of errors of the evaluation sequences (camera, peg and transfer, clipping and cutting) were computed and thereafter, they were correlated to the total of items evaluated in each step, resulting in a success percent ratio for each student for each set of each completed session. Thereafter, we computed the cumulative success rate in 10 sessions, obtaining an analysis of the learning process. By non-linear regression the learning curve was analyzed. By the non-linear regression method the learning curve was analyzed and a r2 = 0.73 (p < 0.001) was obtained, being necessary 4.26 (∼five sessions) to reach the plateau of 80% of the estimated acquired knowledge, being that 100% of the students have reached this level of skills. From the fifth session till the 10th, the gain of knowledge was not significant, although some students reached 96% of the expected improvement. This study revealed that after five simulator training sequential sessions the students' learning curve reaches a plateau. The forward sessions in the same difficult level do not promote any improvement in laparoscopic basic surgical skills, and the students should be introduced to a more difficult training tasks level.

Sleepwalking

MedlinePlus

... or anti-depressant medicines if you sleepwalk. Avoid sleep deprivation, and try to prevent insomnia, because these can trigger sleepwalking. Avoid or minimize stress, anxiety, and conflict, which can worsen the condition.

The use of cochlear's SCAN and wireless microphones to improve speech understanding in noise with the Nucleus6® CP900 processor.

PubMed

De Ceulaer, Geert; Pascoal, David; Vanpoucke, Filiep; Govaerts, Paul J

2017-11-01

The newest Nucleus CI processor, the CP900, has two new options to improve speech-in-noise perception: (1) use of an adaptive directional microphone (SCAN mode) and (2) wireless connection to MiniMic1 and MiniMic2 wireless remote microphones. An analysis was made of the absolute and relative benefits of these technologies in a real-world mimicking test situation. Speech perception was tested using an adaptive speech-in-noise test (sentences-in-babble noise). In session A, SRTs were measured in three conditions: (1) Clinical Map, (2) SCAN and (3) MiniMic1. Each was assessed for three distances between speakers and CI recipient: 1 m, 2 m and 3 m. In session B, the benefit of the use of MiniMic2 was compared to benefit of MiniMic1 at 3 m. A group of 13 adult CP900 recipients participated. SCAN and MiniMic1 improved performance compared to the standard microphone with a median improvement in SRT of 2.7-3.9 dB for SCAN at 1 m and 3 m, respectively, and 4.7-10.9 dB for the MiniMic1. MiniMic1 improvements were significant. MiniMic2 showed an improvement in SRT of 22.2 dB compared to 10.0 dB for MiniMic1 (3 m). Digital wireless transmission systems (i.e. MiniMic) offer a statistically and clinically significant improvement in speech perception in challenging, realistic listening conditions.

The Dynamics of Self-Esteem in Cognitive Therapy for Avoidant and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders: An Adaptive Role of Self-Esteem Variability?

PubMed Central

Cummings, Jorden A.; Hayes, Adele M.; Cardaciotto, LeeAnn; Newman, Cory F.

2011-01-01

Self-esteem variability is often associated with poor functioning. However, in disorders with entrenched negative views of self and in a context designed to challenge those views, variable self-esteem might represent a marker of change. We examined self-esteem variability in a sample of 27 patients with Avoidant and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders who received Cognitive Therapy (CT). A therapy coding system was used to rate patients’ positive and negative views of self expressed in the first ten sessions of a 52-week treatment. Ratings of negative (reverse scored) and positive view of self were summed to create a composite score for each session. Self-esteem variability was calculated as the standard deviation of self-esteem scores across sessions. More self-esteem variability predicted more improvement in personality disorder and depression symptoms at the end of treatment, beyond baseline and average self-esteem. Early variability in self-esteem, in this population and context, appeared to be a marker of therapeutic change. PMID:22923855

77 FR 3029 - Twentieth Meeting: RTCA Special Committee 203, Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-20

... Aircraft Systems. The agenda will include the following: February 21, 2012 Welcome, Introductions, and... Breakout Sessions Systems Engineering Workgroup Command & Control Workgroup Sense & Avoid Workgroup Safety...

Lack of behavioural responses of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) indicate limited effectiveness of sonar mitigation.

PubMed

Wensveen, Paul J; Kvadsheim, Petter H; Lam, Frans-Peter A; von Benda-Beckmann, Alexander M; Sivle, Lise D; Visser, Fleur; Curé, Charlotte; Tyack, Peter L; Miller, Patrick J O

2017-11-15

Exposure to underwater sound can cause permanent hearing loss and other physiological effects in marine animals. To reduce this risk, naval sonars are sometimes gradually increased in intensity at the start of transmission ('ramp-up'). Here, we conducted experiments in which tagged humpback whales were approached with a ship to test whether a sonar operation preceded by ramp-up reduced three risk indicators - maximum sound pressure level (SPL max ), cumulative sound exposure level (SEL cum ) and minimum source-whale range ( R min ) - compared with a sonar operation not preceded by ramp-up. Whales were subject to one no-sonar control session and either two successive ramp-up sessions (RampUp1, RampUp2) or a ramp-up session (RampUp1) and a full-power session (FullPower). Full-power sessions were conducted only twice; for other whales we used acoustic modelling that assumed transmission of the full-power sequence during their no-sonar control. Averaged over all whales, risk indicators in RampUp1 ( n =11) differed significantly from those in FullPower ( n =12) by -3.0 dB (SPL max ), -2.0 dB (SEL cum ) and +168 m ( R min ), but not significantly from those in RampUp2 ( n =9). Only five whales in RampUp1, four whales in RampUp2 and none in FullPower or control sessions avoided the sound source. For RampUp1, we found statistically significant differences in risk indicators between whales that avoided the sonar and whales that did not: -4.7 dB (SPL max ), -3.4 dB (SEL cum ) and +291 m ( R min ). In contrast, for RampUp2, these differences were smaller and not significant. This study suggests that sonar ramp-up has a positive but limited mitigative effect for humpback whales overall, but that ramp-up can reduce the risk of harm more effectively in situations when animals are more responsive and likely to avoid the sonar, e.g. owing to novelty of the stimulus, when they are in the path of an approaching sonar ship. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Toddlers at the Table: Avoiding Power Struggles

MedlinePlus

... she refuses. For some kids, dinner becomes a negotiation session from the very start, and parents have ... one bite" but don't fall into the negotiating trap. Prepare and serve healthy meals and let ...

Session: What can we learn from developed wind resource areas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thelander, Carl; Erickson, Wally

This session at the Wind Energy and Birds/Bats workshop was composed of two parts intended to examine what existing science tells us about wind turbine impacts at existing wind project sites. Part one dealt with the Altamont Wind Resource area, one of the older wind projects in the US, with a paper presented by Carl Thelander titled ''Bird Fatalities in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area: A Case Study, Part 1''. Questions addressed by the presenter included: how is avian habitat affected at Altamont and do birds avoid turbine sites; are birds being attracted to turbine strings; what factors contributemore » to direct impacts on birds by wind turbines at Altamont; how do use, behavior, avoidance and other factors affect risk to avian species, and particularly impacts those species listed as threatened, endangered, or of conservation concern, and other state listed species. The second part dealt with direct impacts to birds at new generation wind plants outside of California, examining such is sues as mortality, avoidance, direct habitat impacts from terrestrial wind projects, species and numbers killed per turbine rates/MW generated, impacts to listed threatened and endangered species, to USFWS Birds of Conservation Concern, and to state listed species. This session focused on newer wind project sites with a paper titled ''Bird Fatality and Risk at New Generation Wind Projects'' by Wally Erickson. Each paper was followed by a discussion/question and answer period.« less

Group climate in the voice therapy of patients with Parkinson's Disease.

PubMed

Diaféria, Giovana; Madazio, Glaucya; Pacheco, Claudia; Takaki, Patricia Barbarini; Behlau, Mara

2017-09-04

To verify the impact that group dynamics and coaching strategies have on the PD patients voice, speech and communication, as well as the group climate. 16 individuals with mild to moderate dysarthria due to the PD were divided into two groups: the CG (8 patients), submitted to traditional therapy with 12 regular therapy sessions plus 4 additional support sessions; and the EG (8 patients), submitted to traditional therapy with 12 regular therapy sessions plus 4 sessions with group dynamics and coaching strategies. The Living with Dysarthria questionnaire (LwD), the self-evaluation of voice, speech and communication, and the perceptual-auditory analysis of the vocal quality were assess in 3 moments: pre-traditional therapy (pre); post-traditional therapy (post 1); and post support sessions/coaching strategies (post 2); in post 1 and post 2 moments, the Group Climate Questionnaire (GCQ) was also applied. CG and EG showed an improvement in the LwD from pre to post 1 and post 2 moments. Voice self-evaluation was better for the EG - when pre was compared with post 2 and when post 1 was compared with post 2 - ranging from regular to very good; both groups presented improvement in the communication self-evaluation. The perceptual-auditory evaluation of the vocal quality was better for the EG in the post 1 moment. No difference was found for the GCQ; however, the EG presented lower avoidance scores in post 2. All patients showed improvement in the voice, speech and communication self-evaluation; EG showed lower avoidance scores, creating a more collaborative and propitious environment for speech therapy.

Independent, Community-Based Aerobic Exercise Training for People With Moderate-to-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

PubMed

Devine, Jennifer M; Wong, Bonnie; Gervino, Ernest; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro; Alexander, Michael P

2016-08-01

To determine whether people with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can adhere to a minimally supervised, community-based, vigorous aerobic exercise program. Prospective trial. Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) facilities. Community-dwelling volunteers (N=10; 8 men, 2 women; age range, 22-49y) 6 to 15 months after moderate-to-severe TBI. Participants received memberships to local YMCAs and brief orientations to exercise. They were then asked to independently complete ≥12 weeks of ≥3 training sessions per week, performed at 65% to 85% of maximum heart rate for ≥30 minutes per session. Participants could self-select exercise modality, provided they met intensity and duration targets. Programmable heart rate monitors captured session intensity and duration. Independence with equipment and facility use and compliance with training goals (session frequency, duration, intensity, total weeks of training). All participants achieved independence with equipment and facility use. All met at least 2 of 4 training goals; half met all 4 goals. Participants averaged (±SD) 3.3±0.7 sessions per week for 13 weeks (range, 6-24). Average ± SD session duration was 62±23 minutes, of which 51±22 minutes occurred at or above individuals' heart rate training targets. People in recovery from moderate-to-severe TBI can, with minimal guidance, perform vigorous, community-based exercise. This suggests that decentralized exercise may be logistically and economically sustainable after TBI, expanding its potential therapeutic utility and rendering longer-duration exercise studies more feasible. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

One-session treatment of specific phobias in youth: a randomized clinical trial in the United States and Sweden.

PubMed

Ollendick, Thomas H; Ost, Lars-Göran; Reuterskiöld, Lena; Costa, Natalie; Cederlund, Rio; Sirbu, Cristian; Davis, Thompson E; Jarrett, Matthew A

2009-06-01

One hundred and ninety-six youth, ages 7-16, who fulfilled Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.) criteria for various specific phobias were randomized to a one-session exposure treatment, education support treatment, or a wait list control group. After the waiting period, the wait list participants were offered treatment and, if interested, rerandomized to 1 of the 2 active treatments. The phobias were assessed with semistructured diagnostic interviews, clinician severity ratings, and behavioral avoidance tests, whereas fears, general anxiety, depression, and behavior problems were assessed with self- and parent report measures. Assessments were completed pretreatment, posttreatment, and at 6 months following treatment. Results showed that both treatment conditions were superior to the wait list control condition and that 1-session exposure treatment was superior to education support treatment on clinician ratings of phobic severity, percentage of participants who were diagnosis free, child ratings of anxiety during the behavioral avoidance test, and treatment satisfaction as reported by the youth and their parents. There were no differences on self-report measures. Treatment effects were maintained at follow-up. Implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright 2009 APA

Sensorimotor Model of Obstacle Avoidance in Echolocating Bats

PubMed Central

Vanderelst, Dieter; Holderied, Marc W.; Peremans, Herbert

2015-01-01

Bat echolocation is an ability consisting of many subtasks such as navigation, prey detection and object recognition. Understanding the echolocation capabilities of bats comes down to isolating the minimal set of acoustic cues needed to complete each task. For some tasks, the minimal cues have already been identified. However, while a number of possible cues have been suggested, little is known about the minimal cues supporting obstacle avoidance in echolocating bats. In this paper, we propose that the Interaural Intensity Difference (IID) and travel time of the first millisecond of the echo train are sufficient cues for obstacle avoidance. We describe a simple control algorithm based on the use of these cues in combination with alternating ear positions modeled after the constant frequency bat Rhinolophus rouxii. Using spatial simulations (2D and 3D), we show that simple phonotaxis can steer a bat clear from obstacles without performing a reconstruction of the 3D layout of the scene. As such, this paper presents the first computationally explicit explanation for obstacle avoidance validated in complex simulated environments. Based on additional simulations modelling the FM bat Phyllostomus discolor, we conjecture that the proposed cues can be exploited by constant frequency (CF) bats and frequency modulated (FM) bats alike. We hypothesize that using a low level yet robust cue for obstacle avoidance allows bats to comply with the hard real-time constraints of this basic behaviour. PMID:26502063

Minimizing predation risk in a landscape of multiple predators: effects on the spatial distribution of African ungulates.

PubMed

Thaker, Maria; Vanak, Abi T; Owen, Cailey R; Ogden, Monika B; Niemann, Sophie M; Slotow, Rob

2011-02-01

Studies that focus on single predator-prey interactions can be inadequate for understanding antipredator responses in multi-predator systems. Yet there is still a general lack of information about the strategies of prey to minimize predation risk from multiple predators at the landscape level. Here we examined the distribution of seven African ungulate species in the fenced Karongwe Game Reserve (KGR), South Africa, as a function of predation risk from all large carnivore species (lion, leopard, cheetah, African wild dog, and spotted hyena). Using observed kill data, we generated ungulate-specific predictions of relative predation risk and of riskiness of habitats. To determine how ungulates minimize predation risk at the landscape level, we explicitly tested five hypotheses consisting of strategies that reduce the probability of encountering predators, and the probability of being killed. All ungulate species avoided risky habitats, and most selected safer habitats, thus reducing their probability of being killed. To reduce the probability of encountering predators, most of the smaller prey species (impala, warthog, waterbuck, kudu) avoided the space use of all predators, while the larger species (wildebeest, zebra, giraffe) only avoided areas where lion and leopard space use were high. The strength of avoidance for the space use of predators generally did not correspond to the relative predation threat from those predators. Instead, ungulates used a simpler behavioral rule of avoiding the activity areas of sit-and-pursue predators (lion and leopard), but not those of cursorial predators (cheetah and African wild dog). In general, selection and avoidance of habitats was stronger than avoidance of the predator activity areas. We expect similar decision rules to drive the distribution pattern of ungulates in other African savannas and in other multi-predator systems, especially where predators differ in their hunting modes.

Drug–drug conditioning between citalopram and haloperidol or olanzapine in a conditioned avoidance response model: implications for polypharmacy in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Sparkman, Nathan L.; Li, Ming

2016-01-01

Patients with schizophrenia often have anxiety and depression, and thus are treated with multiple psychotherapeutic medications. This practice of polypharmacy increases the possibility for drug–drug interactions. However, the pharmacological and behavioral mechanisms underlying drug–drug interactions in schizophrenia remain poorly understood. In the present study, we adopted a preclinical approach and examined a less known behavioral mechanism, drug–drug conditioning (DDC) between haloperidol (a typical antipsychotic) or olanzapine (atypical antipsychotic) and citalopram (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor). A rat two-way conditioned avoidance response paradigm was used to measure antipsychotic activity and determine how DDC may alter the antipsychotic efficacy in this model. Following acquisition of the avoidance response, rats were then randomly assigned to receive vehicle, citalopram (10.0 mg/kg, intraperitoneally), haloperidol (0.05 mg/kg, subcutaneously), olanzapine (1.0 mg/kg, subcutaneously), combined haloperidol with citalopram, or combined olanzapine with citalopram treatment for seven avoidance test sessions. In comparison with antipsychotic treatment alone, combined treatment with citalopram potentiated the antiavoidance effect of olanzapine or haloperidol (to a lesser extent) during the seven drug-test sessions. In addition, repeated pairing of citalopram with haloperidol or olanzapine caused citalopram to show a newly acquired avoidance-disruptive effect. This effect was context specific because citalopram paired with haloperidol or olanzapine outside the avoidance testing context (i.e. home cages) did not show such an effect. These findings indicate that concurrent antidepressant and antipsychotic treatments may engender a DDC process that follows the general Pavlovian associative conditioning principles. They also indicate that adjunctive citalopram treatment may enhance the antipsychotic efficacy of haloperidol and olanzapine in the treatment of schizophrenia. PMID:22903071

Negative mood regulation expectancies moderate the relationship between psychological abuse and avoidant coping.

PubMed

Shepherd-McMullen, Cassandra; Mearns, Jack; Stokes, Julie E; Mechanic, Mindy B

2015-05-01

This study explored the relationships among psychological abuse, attitudes about intimate partner violence (IPV), negative mood regulation expectancies (NMRE), and coping. Participants were 126 female college students in dating, cohabitating, or married relationships within the previous year. In one single session, they completed self-report scales measuring IPV, NMRE, and coping. Results indicated that women reporting higher levels of psychological abuse reported less negative attitudes toward IPV, engaged in less-active coping responses, and had lower NMRE. Psychological abuse was a significant predictor of avoidant coping, while NMRE significantly predicted both active and avoidant coping. In addition, the interaction of NMRE × Psychological abuse added incremental prediction of avoidant coping. Implications for research and practice are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

Fluid Mechanics Can Be Fun.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blanks, Robert F.

1979-01-01

A humanistic approach to teaching fluid mechanics is described which minimizes lecturing, increases professor-student interaction, uses group and individual problem solving sessions, and allows for student response. (BB)

Dose-response relationships for the onset of avoidance of sonar by free-ranging killer whales.

PubMed

Miller, Patrick J O; Antunes, Ricardo N; Wensveen, Paul J; Samarra, Filipa I P; Alves, Ana Catarina; Tyack, Peter L; Kvadsheim, Petter H; Kleivane, Lars; Lam, Frans-Peter A; Ainslie, Michael A; Thomas, Len

2014-02-01

Eight experimentally controlled exposures to 1-2 kHz or 6-7 kHz sonar signals were conducted with four killer whale groups. The source level and proximity of the source were increased during each exposure in order to reveal response thresholds. Detailed inspection of movements during each exposure session revealed sustained changes in speed and travel direction judged to be avoidance responses during six of eight sessions. Following methods developed for Phase-I clinical trials in human medicine, response thresholds ranging from 94 to 164 dB re 1 μPa received sound pressure level (SPL) were fitted to Bayesian dose-response functions. Thresholds did not consistently differ by sonar frequency or whether a group had previously been exposed, with a mean SPL response threshold of 142 ± 15 dB (mean ± s.d.). High levels of between- and within-individual variability were identified, indicating that thresholds depended upon other undefined contextual variables. The dose-response functions indicate that some killer whales started to avoid sonar at received SPL below thresholds assumed by the U.S. Navy. The predicted extent of habitat over which avoidance reactions occur depends upon whether whales responded to proximity or received SPL of the sonar or both, but was large enough to raise concerns about biological consequences to the whales.

"Our Time is Up": A Relational Perspective on the Ending of a Single Psychotherapy Session.

PubMed

Gans, Jerome S

2016-12-31

This paper, written from a relational perspective, examines the final minutes of an individual psychotherapy session, and is organized around the topics of boundary negotiation, unwitting self-disclosures, visual challenges, and countertransference. Attending to session-ending material is important because the separation involved lends heightened emotional intensity to the oftensignificant material that appears in the final minutes. This material often serves as a bridge to the psychotherapeutic work to be taken up in subsequent sessions. Session-ending dynamics call upon the therapist to prioritize empathy, validation, and support for the patient suffering from early deprivation; identify and heal narcissistic injury in the patient wishing to be special; judiciously alter the frame when doing so will benefit the patient and not constitute a boundary violation; avoid re-traumatization; admit mistakes; confront blatant denial; advance agency; address uncomfortable topics; set appropriate limits; and deal authentically with uncomfortable countertransference. Numerous clinical examples serve to illustrate these clinical phenomena.

Prenatal low-dose bisphenol A enhances behavioral responses induced by a predator odor.

PubMed

Fujimoto, Tetsuya; Kubo, Kazuhiko; Nishikawa, Yasuo; Aou, Shuji

2015-01-01

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmental endocrine disrupter (EED). Previous studies by our group showed that pre- and postnatal administration of low-level BPA induced depression-like behavior in rats. In this study, we evaluated the effects of prenatal BPA on behavioral responses to a predator odor by using a novel cross-form apparatus consisting of 4 plastic chambers. On the first day, nothing was placed into the chambers (Session 1). On the second day, a predator odor (fox odor) was located in separate chambers at 2 opposite corners of the apparatus (Session 2). Pregnant Wistar rats were exposed to low-dose BPA (less than the reference dose) during the 7 days just before birth, and the offspring of the treated rats were evaluated as adults. The locomotor activity and avoidance response of each rat on both test days were compared. The control and BPA groups showed reduced locomotor activity in the presence of the predator odor, but the odor-avoidance response was significant only in the BPA rats. The BPA-exposed rats were obviously sensitive to the predator odor. These results suggest that prenatal BPA exposure has an amplifying effect on avoidance responses to predator odor stress.

Flexible session management in a distributed environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Zach; Bradley, Dan; Tannenbaum, Todd; Sfiligoi, Igor

2010-04-01

Many secure communication libraries used by distributed systems, such as SSL, TLS, and Kerberos, fail to make a clear distinction between the authentication, session, and communication layers. In this paper we introduce CEDAR, the secure communication library used by the Condor High Throughput Computing software, and present the advantages to a distributed computing system resulting from CEDAR's separation of these layers. Regardless of the authentication method used, CEDAR establishes a secure session key, which has the flexibility to be used for multiple capabilities. We demonstrate how a layered approach to security sessions can avoid round-trips and latency inherent in network authentication. The creation of a distinct session management layer allows for optimizations to improve scalability by way of delegating sessions to other components in the system. This session delegation creates a chain of trust that reduces the overhead of establishing secure connections and enables centralized enforcement of system-wide security policies. Additionally, secure channels based upon UDP datagrams are often overlooked by existing libraries; we show how CEDAR's structure accommodates this as well. As an example of the utility of this work, we show how the use of delegated security sessions and other techniques inherent in CEDAR's architecture enables US CMS to meet their scalability requirements in deploying Condor over large-scale, wide-area grid systems.

Attachment avoidance, but not anxiety, minimizes the joys of caregiving.

PubMed

Nelson-Coffey, S Katherine; Borelli, Jessica L; River, Laura M

2017-10-01

Perhaps unlike other social roles that people may hold, caring for children offers opportunities for both immense joy and incredible frustration. Yet what predicts how parents will feel during caregiving experiences? In the current study, we examined parents' (N = 152) positive emotion, negative emotion, and felt meaning during caregiving using the Day Reconstruction Method. In addition, we tested attachment anxiety and avoidance as predictors of parents' emotion during caregiving relative to their other daily experiences. We found that attachment avoidance was associated with elevated negative emotion and reduced positive emotion and meaning in life across the entire day, whereas attachment anxiety was associated with elevated negative emotion and marginally greater meaning in life, but not positive emotion, across the entire day. Furthermore, caregiving was associated with greater positive emotion and meaning, but not negative emotion, compared to parents' other daily activities. Finally, attachment avoidance, but not anxiety, was associated with lower levels of positive emotion, negative emotion, and felt meaning during caregiving compared to other daily activities. These findings are consistent with other evidence that attachment avoidance is associated with deactivation of emotion in close relationships and suggest that attachment avoidance minimizes the joys of parenting.

Minimally invasive surgical technique for tethered surgical drains

PubMed Central

Hess, Shane R; Satpathy, Jibanananda; Waligora, Andrew C; Ugwu-Oju, Obinna

2017-01-01

A feared complication of temporary surgical drain placement is from the technical error of accidentally suturing the surgical drain into the wound. Postoperative discovery of a tethered drain can frequently necessitate return to the operating room if it cannot be successfully removed with nonoperative techniques. Formal wound exploration increases anesthesia and infection risk as well as cost and is best avoided if possible. We present a minimally invasive surgical technique that can avoid the morbidity associated with a full surgical wound exploration to remove a tethered drain when other nonoperative techniques fail. PMID:28400669

False Safety Behavior Elimination Therapy: A randomized study of a brief individual transdiagnostic treatment for anxiety disorders.

PubMed

Riccardi, Christina J; Korte, Kristina J; Schmidt, Norman B

2017-03-01

In response to the ever-growing number of CBT based therapy protocols, transdiagnostic approaches to anxiety treatment, based on models of anxiety emphasizing common elements across anxiety disorders, have been increasingly explored. The aim of the current study was to test the efficacy of an individually administered, brief (5-session) transdiagnostic treatment for anxiety disorders. The current treatment (called F-SET) focuses chiefly on the elimination of anxiety maintaining behaviors and cognitive strategies (so-called "safety" aids) among individuals suffering from a range of anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD) and panic disorder (PD). Patients (N=28; mean age=28.5years; 75% female; 71% White) were randomly assigned to F-SET or waitlist control conditions. Participants were assessed prior to, immediately after, and 1-month following treatment. In addition to independent assessments of diagnostic status, standardized self-report measures and assessor ratings of severity and distress associated with anxiety symptoms were used. Participants in the F-SET condition experienced significantly less anxiety (Cohen's d=2.01) and depression (Cohen's d=2.16) than those in the WL condition. Mediational analysis showed that change in avoidance strategies mediated the group changes in anxiety symptoms. The results from the current study are an important first step in identifying a simpler, focused form of CBT that can be delivered with minimal therapist training, at a low cost and with minimal client contact time. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Influence of Depression on Cognitive Control: Disambiguating Approach and Avoidance Tendencies.

PubMed

Huang, He; Movellan, Javier; Paulus, Martin P; Harlé, Katia M

2015-01-01

Dysfunctions of approach and avoidance motivation play an important role in depression, which in turn may affect cognitive control, i.e., the ability to regulate thoughts and action to achieve internal goals. We use a novel experimental paradigm, i.e. a computer simulated driving-task, to study the impact of depression on cognitive control by measuring approach and avoidance actions in continuous time. In this task, 39 subjects with minimal to severe depression symptoms were instructed to use a joystick to move a virtual car as quickly as possible to a target point without crossing a stop-sign or crashing into a wall. We recorded their continuous actions on a joystick and found that depression 1) leads to further stopping distance to task target; and 2) increases the magnitude of late deceleration (avoidance) but not early acceleration (approach), which was only observed in the stop-sign condition. Taken together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that depressed individuals have greater avoidance motivation near stopping target, but are minimally affected by approach motivation.

Mating programs including genomic relationships

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Computer mating programs have helped breeders minimize pedigree inbreeding and avoid recessive defects by mating animals with parents that have fewer common ancestors. With genomic selection, breed associations, AI organizations, and on-farm software providers could use new programs to minimize geno...

Shape optimization of self-avoiding curves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Shawn W.

2016-04-01

This paper presents a softened notion of proximity (or self-avoidance) for curves. We then derive a sensitivity result, based on shape differential calculus, for the proximity. This is combined with a gradient-based optimization approach to compute three-dimensional, parameterized curves that minimize the sum of an elastic (bending) energy and a proximity energy that maintains self-avoidance by a penalization technique. Minimizers are computed by a sequential-quadratic-programming (SQP) method where the bending energy and proximity energy are approximated by a finite element method. We then apply this method to two problems. First, we simulate adsorbed polymer strands that are constrained to be bound to a surface and be (locally) inextensible. This is a basic model of semi-flexible polymers adsorbed onto a surface (a current topic in material science). Several examples of minimizing curve shapes on a variety of surfaces are shown. An advantage of the method is that it can be much faster than using molecular dynamics for simulating polymer strands on surfaces. Second, we apply our proximity penalization to the computation of ideal knots. We present a heuristic scheme, utilizing the SQP method above, for minimizing rope-length and apply it in the case of the trefoil knot. Applications of this method could be for generating good initial guesses to a more accurate (but expensive) knot-tightening algorithm.

Constrained trajectory optimization for kinematically redundant arms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carignan, Craig R.; Tarrant, Janice M.

1990-01-01

Two velocity optimization schemes for resolving redundant joint configurations are compared. The Extended Moore-Penrose Technique minimizes the joint velocities and avoids obstacles indirectly by adjoining a cost gradient to the solution. A new method can incorporate inequality constraints directly to avoid obstacles and singularities in the workspace. A four-link arm example is used to illustrate singularity avoidance while tracking desired end-effector paths.

Utility of Intraoperative Neuromonitoring during Minimally Invasive Fusion of the Sacroiliac Joint.

PubMed

Woods, Michael; Birkholz, Denise; MacBarb, Regina; Capobianco, Robyn; Woods, Adam

2014-01-01

Study Design. Retrospective case series. Objective. To document the clinical utility of intraoperative neuromonitoring during minimally invasive surgical sacroiliac joint fusion for patients diagnosed with sacroiliac joint dysfunction (as a direct result of sacroiliac joint disruptions or degenerative sacroiliitis) and determine stimulated electromyography thresholds reflective of favorable implant position. Summary of Background Data. Intraoperative neuromonitoring is a well-accepted adjunct to minimally invasive pedicle screw placement. The utility of intraoperative neuromonitoring during minimally invasive surgical sacroiliac joint fusion using a series of triangular, titanium porous plasma coated implants has not been evaluated. Methods. A medical chart review of consecutive patients treated with minimally invasive surgical sacroiliac joint fusion was undertaken at a single center. Baseline patient demographics and medical history, intraoperative electromyography thresholds, and perioperative adverse events were collected after obtaining IRB approval. Results. 111 implants were placed in 37 patients. Sensitivity of EMG was 80% and specificity was 97%. Intraoperative neuromonitoring potentially avoided neurologic sequelae as a result of improper positioning in 7% of implants. Conclusions. The results of this study suggest that intraoperative neuromonitoring may be a useful adjunct to minimally invasive surgical sacroiliac joint fusion in avoiding nerve injury during implant placement.

Mating programs including genomic relationships and dominance effects

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Computer mating programs have helped breeders minimize pedigree inbreeding and avoid recessive defects by mating animals with parents that have fewer common ancestors. With genomic selection, breed associations, AI organizations, and on-farm software providers could use new programs to minimize geno...

Psychosocial interventions for reducing injection and sexual risk behaviour for preventing HIV in drug users.

PubMed

Meader, Nicholas; Li, Ryan; Des Jarlais, Don C; Pilling, Stephen

2010-01-20

Drug users (including both injection drug users and crack cocaine users), are at high levels of risk for contracting HIV. Therefore it is important to reduce the injection and/or sexual risk behaviours of these groups both for the benefit of themselves and for society as a whole. To assess the efficacy of multi-session psychosocial interventions in comparison with standard education and minimal intervention controls for the reduction of injection and sexual risk behaviour. Electronic searches were conducted of a number of bibliographic databases (including Cochrane Library, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO). In addition, other methods of locating papers were employed including contacting various authors working in the field of HIV risk reduction and examining reference lists of applicable papers identified in the electronic search. The inclusion criteria consisted of randomised and quazi-randomised trials assessing the efficacy of psychosocial interventions in the reduction of injection and sexual risk behaviour for people who misused opiates, cocaine, or a combination of these drugs. Two authors independently assessed the eligibility of studies identified by the search strategy, quality assessed these studies and extracted the data. A total of 35 trials met the eligibility criteria of the review providing data on 11,867 participants. There were minimal differences identified between multi-session psychosocial interventions and standard educational interventions for both injection and sexual risk behaviour. Although it should be noted there were large pre-post changes for both groups suggesting both were effective in reducing risk behaviours. In addition, there was some evidence of benefit for multi-session psychosocial interventions when compared with minimal controls. Subgroup analyses suggest that people in formal treatment are likely to respond to multi-session psychosocial interventions. It also appears single-gender groups may be associated with greater benefit. There is limited support for the widespread use of formal multi-session psychosocial interventions for reducing injection and sexual risk behaviour. Brief standard education interventions appear to be a more cost-effective option. Further research is required to assess if there are particular groups of drug users more likely to respond to such interventions.

A comparison of emotion regulation strategies in response to craving cognitions: Effects on smoking behaviour, craving and affect in dependent smokers.

PubMed

Beadman, Matthew; Das, Ravi K; Freeman, Tom P; Scragg, Peter; West, Robert; Kamboj, Sunjeev K

2015-06-01

The effects of three emotion regulation strategies that targeted smoking-related thoughts were compared on outcomes relevant to smoking cessation. Daily smokers applied defusion (n = 25), reappraisal (n = 25) or suppression (n = 23) to thoughts associated with smoking during a cue-induced craving procedure. Smoking behaviour, approach/avoidance behavioural bias, and subjective measures of experiential avoidance, craving, and affect were assessed during the experimental session, with additional behavioural and subjective outcomes assessed at 24 h and seven day follow-up. The influence of baseline group differences in smoking level and nicotine dependence were explored statistically. Defusion and reappraisal were associated with greater restraint in smoking behaviour in the immediate post-session period as well as reduction in smoking at seven day follow-up compared to suppression. Relative to suppression, reduced subjective craving was seen in the reappraisal group, and reduced experiential avoidance in the defusion group. Differences in approach/avoidance responses to smoking and neutral cues were observed only between the suppression and reappraisal groups. Although suppression was rated as lower in both credibility and strategy-expectancy compared to defusion and reappraisal, neither credibility nor expectancy mediated the effect of any strategy on changes in levels of smoking. Defusion and reappraisal produced similar benefits in smoking-related behavioural outcomes but, relative to suppression, were associated with distinctive outcomes on experiential avoidance and craving. The effects appear to be independent of perceived expectancy and credibility of the different strategies. Overall, the results suggest a role for reappraisal and defusion strategies in the development of psychological treatments for addiction-related disorders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mediators of exposure therapy for youth obsessive-compulsive disorder: specificity and temporal sequence of client and treatment factors.

PubMed

Chu, Brian C; Colognori, Daniela B; Yang, Guang; Xie, Min-ge; Lindsey Bergman, R; Piacentini, John

2015-05-01

Behavioral engagement and cognitive coping have been hypothesized to mediate effectiveness of exposure-based therapies. Identifying which specific child factors mediate successful therapy and which therapist factors facilitate change can help make our evidence-based treatments more efficient and robust. The current study examines the specificity and temporal sequence of relations among hypothesized client and therapist mediators in exposure therapy for pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Youth coping (cognitive, behavioral), youth safety behaviors (avoidance, escape, compulsive behaviors), therapist interventions (cognitive, exposure extensiveness), and youth anxiety were rated via observational ratings of therapy sessions of OCD youth (N=43; ages=8 - 17; 62.8% male) who had received Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Regression analysis using Generalized Estimation Equations and cross-lagged panel analysis (CLPA) were conducted to model anxiety change within and across sessions, to determine formal mediators of anxiety change, and to establish sequence of effects. Anxiety ratings decreased linearly across exposures within sessions. Youth coping and therapist interventions significantly mediated anxiety change across exposures, and youth-interfering behavior mediated anxiety change at the trend level. In CLPA, youth-interfering behaviors predicted, and were predicted by, changes in anxiety. Youth coping was predicted by prior anxiety change. The study provides a preliminary examination of specificity and temporal sequence among child and therapist behaviors in predicting youth anxiety. Results suggest that therapists should educate clients in the natural rebound effects of anxiety between sessions and should be aware of the negatively reinforcing properties of avoidance during exposure. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

AF Cr(VI) Minimize Roadmap: Phase 1 Results

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-01

Environmental Technology Technical Symposium & Workshop, 30 Nov ? 2 Dec 2010, Washington, DC. Sponsored by SERDP and ESTCP. 14. ABSTRACT Hexavalent chromium ...unclassified c. THIS PAGE unclassified Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 Minimizing Hexavalent Chromium Use in DoD...Operations Technical Session No. 2B C-40 CURRENT STATE OF AIR FORCE HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM REDUCTION EFFORTS MR. CARL PERAZZOLA Air Force Corrosion

Self-arranged exposure for overcoming blood-injection-injury Phobia: a case study

PubMed Central

Pitkin, Michelle R.; Malouff, John M.

2014-01-01

Blood-injection-injury (BII) phobia is both common and dangerous, because it can lead to avoidance of medical procedures for diagnosis and treatment. It also tends to prevent individuals from donating blood for use in the healthcare of others. BII phobia often has an unusual characteristic for a type of phobia – fainting. The typical treatment for BII phobia involves teaching the client how to avoid fainting and staging multiple gradual-exposure trials for the client. In this case report, an adult with the phobia obtained initial, mostly written, guidance from a psychologist, arranged her own applied muscle-tension practice sessions to learn how to keep from fainting, created her own fear hierarchy, and staged exposure trials herself, ending years of avoidance of blood withdrawal. By the end of the trials, she was able to give blood for a medical test and to donate blood for the first time in her life and to work as a volunteer at a blood-donation center. The results provide the first evidence that adults with BII phobia can end the phobia by arranging their own sessions of applied-tension practice and gradual self-exposure. The results suggest a new option for treating specific phobias in general with some adults: initial professional guidance followed by self-arranged gradual-exposure trials. PMID:25750809

Tips on preventing or minimizing construction claims.

PubMed

Kasimer, J H

1981-02-01

With proper planning and use of successful techniques of claims avoidance, recognition, and resolution from the initial stages of the project, a hospital can prevent or minimize construction delays and claims and can complete its new construction in a reasonable atmosphere with a minimum of cost.

A role for hippocampal gastrin-releasing peptide receptors in extinction of aversive memory.

PubMed

Luft, Tatiana; Flores, Debora G; Vianna, Monica R M; Schwartsmann, Gilberto; Roesler, Rafael; Izquierdo, Ivan

2006-06-26

Although the gastrin-releasing peptide receptor has been implicated in memory consolidation, previous studies have not examined whether it is involved in extinction. Here we show that gastrin-releasing peptide receptor blockade in the hippocampus disrupts extinction of aversive memory. Male rats were trained in inhibitory avoidance conditioning and then returned repeatedly to the training context without shock on a daily basis for 3 days. Infusion of a gastrin-releasing peptide receptor antagonist or the protein synthesis inhibitor anisomycin into the dorsal hippocampus immediately after the first extinction session blocked extinction. These drugs did not affect performance in subsequent sessions when the first extinction session (1 day after training) was omitted. The results indicate that hippocampal gastrin-releasing peptide receptors are involved in memory extinction.

Development by Design in Colombia: Making Mitigation Decisions Consistent with Conservation Outcomes

PubMed Central

Saenz, Shirley; Walschburger, Tomas; González, Juan Carlos; León, Jorge; McKenney, Bruce; Kiesecker, Joseph

2013-01-01

Mitigation policy and regulatory frameworks are consistent in their strong support for the mitigation hierarchy of: (1) avoiding impacts, (2) minimizing impacts, and then (3) offsetting/compensating for residual impacts. While mitigation frameworks require developers to avoid, minimize and restore biodiversity on-site before considering an offset for residual impacts, there is a lack of quantitative guidance for this decision-making process. What are the criteria for requiring impacts be avoided altogether? Here we examine how conservation planning can guide the application of the mitigation hierarchy to address this issue. In support of the Colombian government's aim to improve siting and mitigation practices for planned development, we examined five pilot projects in landscapes expected to experience significant increases in mining, petroleum and/or infrastructure development. By blending landscape-level conservation planning with application of the mitigation hierarchy, we can proactively identify where proposed development and conservation priorities would be in conflict and where impacts should be avoided. The approach we outline here has been adopted by the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to guide licensing decisions, avoid piecemeal licensing, and promote mitigation decisions that maintain landscape condition. PMID:24339972

Development by design in Colombia: making mitigation decisions consistent with conservation outcomes.

PubMed

Saenz, Shirley; Walschburger, Tomas; González, Juan Carlos; León, Jorge; McKenney, Bruce; Kiesecker, Joseph

2013-01-01

Mitigation policy and regulatory frameworks are consistent in their strong support for the mitigation hierarchy of: (1) avoiding impacts, (2) minimizing impacts, and then (3) offsetting/compensating for residual impacts. While mitigation frameworks require developers to avoid, minimize and restore biodiversity on-site before considering an offset for residual impacts, there is a lack of quantitative guidance for this decision-making process. What are the criteria for requiring impacts be avoided altogether? Here we examine how conservation planning can guide the application of the mitigation hierarchy to address this issue. In support of the Colombian government's aim to improve siting and mitigation practices for planned development, we examined five pilot projects in landscapes expected to experience significant increases in mining, petroleum and/or infrastructure development. By blending landscape-level conservation planning with application of the mitigation hierarchy, we can proactively identify where proposed development and conservation priorities would be in conflict and where impacts should be avoided. The approach we outline here has been adopted by the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to guide licensing decisions, avoid piecemeal licensing, and promote mitigation decisions that maintain landscape condition.

Collision-avoidance behaviors of minimally restrained flying locusts to looming stimuli

PubMed Central

Chan, R. WM.; Gabbiani, F.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Visually guided collision avoidance is of paramount importance in flight, for instance to allow escape from potential predators. Yet, little is known about the types of collision-avoidance behaviors that may be generated by flying animals in response to an impending visual threat. We studied the behavior of minimally restrained locusts flying in a wind tunnel as they were subjected to looming stimuli presented to the side of the animal, simulating the approach of an object on a collision course. Using high-speed movie recordings, we observed a wide variety of collision-avoidance behaviors including climbs and dives away from – but also towards – the stimulus. In a more restrained setting, we were able to relate kinematic parameters of the flapping wings with yaw changes in the trajectory of the animal. Asymmetric wing flapping was most strongly correlated with changes in yaw, but we also observed a substantial effect of wing deformations. Additionally, the effect of wing deformations on yaw was relatively independent of that of wing asymmetries. Thus, flying locusts exhibit a rich range of collision-avoidance behaviors that depend on several distinct aerodynamic characteristics of wing flapping flight. PMID:23364572

UAS Collision Avoidance Algorithm that Minimizes the Impact on Route Surveillance

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-03-01

Appendix A: Collision Avoidance Algorithm/Virtual Cockpit Interface .......................124 Appendix B : Collision Cone Boundary Rates... b ) Split Cone (c) Multiple Intruders, Single and Split Cones [27] ........................................................ 27 3-3: Collision Cone...Approach in the Vertical Plane (a) Single Cone ( b ) Multiple Intruders, Single and Split Cone [27

One-session computer-based exposure treatment for spider-fearful individuals--efficacy of a minimal self-help intervention in a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Müller, Birgit H; Kull, Sandra; Wilhelm, Frank H; Michael, Tanja

2011-06-01

Computer-based self-help treatments have been proposed to provide greater access to treatment while requiring minimum input from a therapist. The authors employed a randomised controlled trial to investigate the efficacy of one-session computer-based exposure (CBE) as a self-help treatment for spider-fearful individuals. Spider-fearful participants in a CBE group underwent one 27-min session of standardised exposure to nine fear-eliciting spider pictures. Treatment outcome was compared to spider-fearful control participants exposed to nine neutral pictures. Fear reduction was quantified on a subjective level by the Fear of Spiders Questionnaire (FSQ) and complemented with a behavioural approach test (BAT). Results demonstrate that compared to control participants, CBE participants showed greater fear reduction from pre- to posttreatment on both the subjective level (FSQ) and the behavioural level (BAT). Moreover, in contrast to the control group, the obtained subjective fear reduction effect remained stable in the CBE group at 1-month follow-up. These findings highlight the role of computer-based self-help as a minimal but effective intervention to reduce fear of spiders. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Randomized controlled trial of home-based 4-week tDCS in chronic minimally conscious state.

PubMed

Martens, Géraldine; Lejeune, Nicolas; O'Brien, Anthony Terrence; Fregni, Felipe; Martial, Charlotte; Wannez, Sarah; Laureys, Steven; Thibaut, Aurore

2018-05-02

Patients with chronic disorders of consciousness face a significant lack of treatment options. We aimed at investigating the feasibility and the behavioral effects of home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), applied by relatives or caregivers, in chronic patients in minimally conscious state (MCS). Each participant received, in a randomized order, 20 sessions of active and 20 sessions of sham tDCS applied over the prefrontal cortex for 4 weeks; separated by 8 weeks of washout. Level of consciousness was assessed using the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised before the first stimulation (baseline), at the end of the 20 tDCS sessions (direct effects) and 8 weeks after the end of each stimulation period (long-term effects). Reported adverse events and data relative to the adherence (i.e., amount of sessions effectively received) were collected as well. Twenty-seven patients completed the study and 22 patients received at least 80% of the stimulation sessions. All patients tolerated tDCS well, no severe adverse events were noticed after real stimulation and the overall adherence (i.e., total duration of stimulation) was good. A moderate effect size (0.47 and 0.53, for modified intention to treat and per protocol analysis, respectively) was observed at the end of the 4 weeks of tDCS in favor of the active treatment. We demonstrated that home-based tDCS can be used adequately outside a research facility or hospital by patients' relatives or caregivers. In addition, 4 weeks of tDCS moderately improved the recovery of signs of consciousness in chronic MCS patients. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cosmetic medicine: facial resurfacing and injectables.

PubMed

Nguyen, Alexander T; Ahmad, Jamil; Fagien, Steven; Rohrich, Rod J

2012-01-01

After studying this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Describe the most common options available for minimally invasive facial rejuvenation. 2. Identify key elements essential to each treatment option. 3. Know how to avoid and manage complications for these procedures. Minimally invasive cosmetic procedures continue to increase in popularity. This article is intended to provide a broad and practical overview of common minimally invasive cosmetic techniques available to the plastic surgeon.

Mixing device for materials with large density differences

DOEpatents

Gregg, David W.

1994-01-01

An auger-tube pump mixing device for mixing materials with large density differences while maintaining low stirring RPM and low power consumption. The mixing device minimizes the formation of vortexes and minimizes the incorporation of small bubbles in the liquid during mixing. By avoiding the creation of a vortex the device provides efficient stirring of full containers without spillage over the edge. Also, the device solves the problem of effective mixing in vessels where the liquid height is large compared to the diameter. Because of the gentle stirring or mixing by the device, it has application for biomedical uses where cell damage is to be avoided.

Mixing device for materials with large density differences

DOEpatents

Gregg, D.W.

1994-08-16

An auger-tube pump mixing device is disclosed for mixing materials with large density differences while maintaining low stirring RPM and low power consumption. The mixing device minimizes the formation of vortexes and minimizes the incorporation of small bubbles in the liquid during mixing. By avoiding the creation of a vortex the device provides efficient stirring of full containers without spillage over the edge. Also, the device solves the problem of effective mixing in vessels where the liquid height is large compared to the diameter. Because of the gentle stirring or mixing by the device, it has application for biomedical uses where cell damage is to be avoided. 2 figs.

Development of sinkholes resulting from man's activities in the Eastern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Newton, John G.

1987-01-01

Alternatives that allow avoiding or minimizing sinkhole hazards are most numerous when a problem or potential problem is recognized during site evaluation. The number of alternatives declines after the beginning of site development. Where sinkhole development is predictable, zoning of land use can minimize hazards.

40 CFR 230.75 - Actions affecting plant and animal populations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Actions affecting plant and animal... Actions To Minimize Adverse Effects § 230.75 Actions affecting plant and animal populations. Minimization of adverse effects on populations of plants and animals can be achieved by: (a) Avoiding changes in...

40 CFR 230.75 - Actions affecting plant and animal populations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Actions affecting plant and animal... Actions To Minimize Adverse Effects § 230.75 Actions affecting plant and animal populations. Minimization of adverse effects on populations of plants and animals can be achieved by: (a) Avoiding changes in...

40 CFR 230.75 - Actions affecting plant and animal populations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Actions affecting plant and animal... Actions To Minimize Adverse Effects § 230.75 Actions affecting plant and animal populations. Minimization of adverse effects on populations of plants and animals can be achieved by: (a) Avoiding changes in...

40 CFR 230.75 - Actions affecting plant and animal populations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Actions affecting plant and animal... Actions To Minimize Adverse Effects § 230.75 Actions affecting plant and animal populations. Minimization of adverse effects on populations of plants and animals can be achieved by: (a) Avoiding changes in...

40 CFR 230.76 - Actions affecting human use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Actions affecting human use. 230.76... Minimize Adverse Effects § 230.76 Actions affecting human use. Minimization of adverse effects on human use... aquatic areas; (c) Timing the discharge to avoid the seasons or periods when human recreational activity...

40 CFR 230.76 - Actions affecting human use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Actions affecting human use. 230.76... Minimize Adverse Effects § 230.76 Actions affecting human use. Minimization of adverse effects on human use... aquatic areas; (c) Timing the discharge to avoid the seasons or periods when human recreational activity...

40 CFR 230.76 - Actions affecting human use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Actions affecting human use. 230.76... Minimize Adverse Effects § 230.76 Actions affecting human use. Minimization of adverse effects on human use... aquatic areas; (c) Timing the discharge to avoid the seasons or periods when human recreational activity...

40 CFR 230.76 - Actions affecting human use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Actions affecting human use. 230.76... Minimize Adverse Effects § 230.76 Actions affecting human use. Minimization of adverse effects on human use... aquatic areas; (c) Timing the discharge to avoid the seasons or periods when human recreational activity...

40 CFR 230.76 - Actions affecting human use.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 26 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Actions affecting human use. 230.76... Minimize Adverse Effects § 230.76 Actions affecting human use. Minimization of adverse effects on human use... aquatic areas; (c) Timing the discharge to avoid the seasons or periods when human recreational activity...

Supportive Care of Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Patients

PubMed Central

Jim, Heather S. L.; Syrjala, Karen L.; Rizzo, Doug

2012-01-01

Hematopoietic cell transplant survivors face a number of challenges including low energy and stamina, “chemo-brain” and emotional distress, and late effects that can compromise functioning or lead to early mortality. This session will review the most recent interventions and recommendations to avoid or mitigate these complications. PMID:22226095

Early improvement in eating attitudes during cognitive behavioural therapy for eating disorders: the impact of personality disorder cognitions.

PubMed

Park, Emma C; Waller, Glenn; Gannon, Kenneth

2014-03-01

The personality disorders are commonly comorbid with the eating disorders. Personality disorder pathology is often suggested to impair the treatment of axis 1 disorders, including the eating disorders. This study examined whether personality disorder cognitions reduce the impact of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for eating disorders, in terms of treatment dropout and change in eating disorder attitudes in the early stages of treatment. Participants were individuals with a diagnosed eating disorder, presenting for individual outpatient CBT. They completed measures of personality disorder cognitions and eating disorder attitudes at sessions one and six of CBT. Drop-out rates prior to session six were recorded. CBT had a relatively rapid onset of action, with a significant reduction in eating disorder attitudes over the first six sessions. Eating disorder attitudes were most strongly associated with cognitions related to anxiety-based personality disorders (avoidant, obsessive-compulsive and dependent). Individuals who dropped out of treatment prematurely had significantly higher levels of dependent personality disorder cognitions than those who remained in treatment. For those who remained in treatment, higher levels of avoidant, histrionic and borderline personality disorder cognitions were associated with a greater change in global eating disorder attitudes. CBT's action and retention of patients might be improved by consideration of such personality disorder cognitions when formulating and treating the eating disorders.

Tailored dialysis start may allow persistence of residual renal function after graft failure: a case report.

PubMed

Piccoli, G B; Motta, D; Gai, M; Mezza, E; Maddalena, E; Bravin, M; Tattoli, F; Consiglio, V; Burdese, M; Bilucaglia, D; Ferrari, A; Segoloni, G P

2004-11-01

Restarting dialysis after kidney transplantation is a critical step with psychological and clinical implications. Maintenance of residual renal function a known factor affecting survival in chronic kidney disease, has so far not been investigated after a kidney transplantation. A 54-year-old woman who started dialysis in 1974 (first graft, 1975-1999) received a second "marginal" kidney graft in February 2001 (donor age, 65 years). Her chronic therapy was tacrolimus and steroids. She had a clinical history as follows: nadir creatinine level of 1.5 mg/dL, moderate-severe hypertension, progressive graft dysfunction, nonresponsiveness to addition of mycophenolate, tapering FK levels, and a rescue switch from tacrolimus to rapamycin. From October to December 2003, the creatinine level increased from 2-2.8 to 7 mg/dL. Biopsy specimen showed malignant and "benign" nephrosclerosis, posttransplantation glomerulopathy, and tacrolimus toxicity. Chronic dialysis was started (GFR <3 mL/min). Rapamycin was discontinued. Dialysis was tailored to reach an equivalent renal clearance of >15 mL/min (2 sessions/wk). Blood pressure control improved, nephrotoxic drugs were avoided, and fluid loss was minimized (maximum 500 mL/hr). By this policy, renal function progressively increased to GFR >10 mL/min in May 2004, allowing a once or twice weekly dialysis schedule, with good clinical balance, and obvious advantages for the quality of life. This long-term patient, who restarted dialysis with severely reduced renal function, regained sufficient renal function to allow once weekly dialysis. Thus, careful tailoring of dialysis sessions at the restart of dialysis may allow preservation of residual kidney function, at least in individuals for whom a subsequent graft is unlikely.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sinclair, Karin; DeGeorge, Elise

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) prohibits the 'take' of these birds. The act defines take as to 'pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, destroy, molest or disturb.' The 2009 Eagle Permit Rule (74 FR 46836) authorizes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to issue nonpurposeful (i.e., incidental) take permits, and the USFWS 2013 Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance provides a voluntary framework for issuing programmatic take permits to wind facilities that incorporate scientifically supportable advanced conservation practices (ACPs). Under these rules, the Service can issue permits that authorize individual instances of take ofmore » bald and golden eagles when the take is associated with, but not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful activity, and cannot practicably be avoided. To date, the USFWS has not approved any ACPs, citing the lack of evidence for 'scientifically supportable measures.' The Eagle Detection and Deterrents Research Gaps and Solutions Workshop was convened at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in December 2015 with a goal to comprehensively assess the current state of technologies to detect and deter eagles from wind energy sites and the key gaps concerning reducing eagle fatalities and facilitating permitting under the BGEPA. During the workshop, presentations and discussions focused primarily on existing knowledge (and limitations) about the biology of eagles as well as technologies and emerging or novel ideas, including innovative applications of tools developed for use in other sectors, such as the U.S. Department of Defense and aviation. The main activity of the workshop was the breakout sessions, which focused on the current state of detection and deterrent technologies and novel concepts/applications for detecting and minimizing eagle collisions with wind turbines. Following the breakout sessions, participants were asked about their individual impressions of the relative priority of each of the existing and novel ideas.« less

Healthy young adults implement distinctive avoidance strategies while walking and circumventing virtual human vs. non-human obstacles in a virtual environment.

PubMed

Souza Silva, Wagner; Aravind, Gayatri; Sangani, Samir; Lamontagne, Anouk

2018-03-01

This study examines how three types of obstacles (cylinder, virtual human and virtual human with footstep sounds) affect circumvention strategies of healthy young adults. Sixteen participants aged 25.2 ± 2.5 years (mean ± 1SD) were tested while walking overground and viewing a virtual room through a helmet mounted display. As participants walked towards a stationary target in the far space, they avoided an obstacle (cylinder or virtual human) approaching either from the right (+40°), left (-40°) or head-on (0°). Obstacle avoidance strategies were characterized using the position and orientation of the head. Repeated mixed model analysis showed smaller minimal distances (p = 0.007) while avoiding virtual humans as compared to cylinders. Footstep sounds added to virtual humans did not modify (p = 0.2) minimal distances compared to when no sound was provided. Onset times of avoidance strategies were similar across conditions (p = 0.06). Results indicate that the nature of the obstacle (human-like vs. non-human object) matters and can modify avoidance strategies. Smaller obstacle clearances in response to virtual humans may reflect the use of a less conservative avoidance strategy, due to a resemblance of obstacles to pedestrians and a recall of strategies used in daily locomotion. The lack of influence of footstep sounds supports the fact that obstacle avoidance primarily relies on visual cues and the principle of 'inverse effectiveness' whereby multisensory neurons' response to multimodal stimuli becomes weaker when the unimodal sensory stimulus (vision) is strong. Present findings should be taken into consideration to optimize the ecological validity of VR-based obstacle avoidance paradigms used in research and rehabilitation. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The design of a minimal sensor configuration for a Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System - Stop Sign Assist : (CICAS-SSA report #2).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-08-01

The deployment of a Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance System Stop Sign Assist (CICAS-SSA) can save lives by addressing the causal factor of crashes at rural thru-Stop intersection: drivers who stop on the minor leg of the intersection,...

Avoiding Surgical Skill Decay: A Systematic Review on the Spacing of Training Sessions.

PubMed

Cecilio-Fernandes, Dario; Cnossen, Fokie; Jaarsma, Debbie A D C; Tio, René A

Spreading training sessions over time instead of training in just 1 session leads to an improvement of long-term retention for factual knowledge. However, it is not clear whether this would also apply to surgical skills. Thus, we performed a systematic review to find out whether spacing training sessions would also improve long-term retention of surgical skills. We searched the Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, Eric, and Web of Science online databases. We only included articles that were randomized trials with a sample of medical trainees acquiring surgical motor skills in which the spacing effect was reported. The quality and bias of the articles were assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias assessment tool. With respect to the spacing effect, 1955 articles were retrieved. After removing duplicates and articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria, 11 articles remained. The overall quality of the experiments was "moderate." Trainees in the spaced condition scored higher in a retention test than students in the massed condition. Our systematic review showed evidence that spacing training sessions improves long-term surgical skills retention when compared to massed practice. However, the optimal gap between the re-study sessions is unclear. Copyright © 2017 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fear extinction can be made state-dependent on peripheral epinephrine: role of norepinephrine in the nucleus tractus solitarius.

PubMed

Rosa, Jessica; Myskiw, Jociane C; Furini, Cristiane R G; Sapiras, Gerson G; Izquierdo, Ivan

2014-09-01

We investigate whether the extinction of inhibitory avoidance (IA) learning can be subjected to endogenous state-dependence with systemic injections of epinephrine (E), and whether endogenous norepinephrine (NE) and the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS)→locus coeruleus→hippocampus/amygdala (HIPP/BLA) pathway participate in this. Rats trained in IA were submitted to two sessions of extinction 24 h apart: In the first, the animals were submitted to a training session of extinction, and in the second they were tested for the retention of extinction. Saline or E were given i.p. immediately after the extinction training (post-extinction training injections) and/or 6 min before the extinction test (pre-extinction test). Post-extinction training E (50 or 100 μg/kg) induced a poor retrieval of extinction in the test session of this task unless an additional E injection (50 μg/kg) was given prior to the extinction test. This suggested state-dependence. Muscimol (0.01 μg/side) microinfused into the NTS prior to the extinction test session blocked E-induced state-dependence. Norepinephrine (NE, 1 μg/side) infused bilaterally into NTS restores the extinction impairment caused by post-extinction training i.p. E. In animals with bilateral NTS blockade induced by muscimol, NE (1 μg/side) given prior to the extinction test into the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus or into the basolateral amygdala restored the normal extinction levels that had been impaired by muscimol. These results suggest a role for the NTS→locus coeruleus→HIPP/BLA pathway in the retrieval of extinction, as it has been shown to have in the consolidation of inhibitory avoidance and of object recognition learning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Surgical Outcome in Patients Taking Concomitant or Recent Intake of Oral Isotretinoin: A Multicentric Study-ISO-AIMS Study.

PubMed

Mahadevappa, Omprakash Heggadahalli; Mysore, Venkataram; Viswanath, Vishalakshi; Thurakkal, Salim; Majid, Imran; Talwar, Suresh; Aurangabadkar, Sanjeev J; Chatterjee, Manas; Bhat, M Ramesh; Barua, Shyamanta; Ganjoo, Anil

2016-01-01

The current standard recommendation is to avoid surgical interventions in patients taking oral isotretinoin. However, this recommendation has been questioned in several recent publications. To document the safety of cosmetic and surgical interventions, among patients receiving or recently received oral isotretinoin. Association of Cutaneous Surgeons, India, in May 2012, initiated this study, at 11 centers in different parts of India. The data of 183 cases were collected monthly, from June 2012 to May 2013. Of these 61 patients had stopped oral isotretinoin before surgery and 122 were concomitantly taking oral isotretinoin during the study period. In these 183 patients, a total of 504 interventions were performed. These included[1] 246 sessions of chemical peels such as glycolic acid, salicylic acid, trichloroacetic acid, and combination peels;[2] 158 sessions of lasers such as ablative fractional laser resurfacing with erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet and CO2, conventional full face CO2 laser resurfacing, laser-assisted hair reduction with long-pulsed neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet, diode laser, and LASIK surgery;[3] 27 sessions of cold steel surgeries such as microneedling, skin biopsy, subcision, punch elevation of scars, excision of skin lesion, and wisdom tooth extraction;[4] 1 session of electrosurgery. No significant side effects were noted in most patients. 2 cases of keloid were documented which amounted to 0.4% of side effects in 504 interventions, with a significant P value of 0.000. Reversible transient side effects were erythema in 10 interventions and hyperpigmentation in 15. The study showed that performing dermatosurgical and laser procedures in patients receiving or recently received isotretinoin is safe, and the current guidelines of avoiding dermatosurgical and laser interventions in such patients taking isotretinoin need to be revised.

Evaluation of acute tacrine treatment on passive-avoidance response, open-field behavior, and toxicity in 17- and 30-day-old mice.

PubMed

Pan, S Y; Han, Y F; Yu, Z L; Yang, R; Dong, H; Ko, K M

2006-09-01

The potential of tacrine in altering cognitive/behavioral function as well as in causing toxicity was evaluated in mice of 17 and 30 days of age. Cognitive and behavioral studies were performed using a step-through passive avoidance task and a habituation open-field test with a 24-h retention interval. Tacrine was subcutaneously injected (1.25-80 micro mol/kg) 30 min prior to the first session of both tests. During the training session in step-through task, tacrine treatment dose-dependently decreased the number of footshocks, with IC(50) values being 7.8 and 23.3 micro mol/kg in 17- and 30-day-old mice, respectively. Treatment with tacrine at a low dose (5 micro mol/kg) significantly prolonged the retention latency in 17-day-old mice only, but it shortened the retention latency at high doses of 20 and 40 micro mol/kg in 17- and 30-day-old, respectively. During the acquisition session in the open-field test, tacrine treatment dose-dependently decreased the locomotor activity in 17- and 30-day-old mice, with IC(50) values being 15.1 and 24.7 micro mol/kg, respectively. High doses of tacrine invariably increased the locomotor activity during the recall session. Tacrine treatment at a dose of 40 micro mol/kg caused a significant increase in serum alanine aminotransferase activity in 17- and 30-day-old mice at 6 h post-dosing, with the extent of stimulation in 30-day-old mice being more prominent. In conclusion, tacrine was more potent in enhancing/disrupting the cognitive function, inhibiting locomotor activity as well as in causing hepatotoxicity in 17-day-old than in 30-day-old mice.

Acute and delayed responses of C-reactive protein, malondialdehyde and antioxidant markers after resistance training session in elite weightlifters: Effect of time of day.

PubMed

Ammar, Achraf; Chtourou, Hamdi; Hammouda, Omar; Trabelsi, Khaled; Chiboub, Jihen; Turki, Mouna; AbdelKarim, Osama; El Abed, Kais; Ben Ali, Mamdouh; Hoekelmann, Anita; Souissi, Nizar

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an Olympic-Weightlifting-session followed by 48-h recovery period on the oxidative and antioxidant parameters' diurnal variation. Nine weightlifters (21 ± 0.5 years) performed, in randomized order, three Olympic-Weightlifting-sessions at 08 h:00, 14 h:00 and 18 h:00. Blood samples were collected: at rest and 3 min and 48 h after each session. C-reactive protein (CRP), rate of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant activities were assessed. At rest, analysis of variance showed a significant time of day (TOD) effect (p < 0.05) for uric acid, catalase and glutathione peroxidase with higher values at 14 h:00 and 18 h:00 compared with 08 h:00. However, no significant TOD effect for malondialdehyde, total bilirubin and CRP was observed. Given the profound changes (p < 0.001) in the post-training session values, these diurnal variations have been altered immediately and even 48 h after the training sessions. Despite the significant decreases in the post-training values after the 48-h recovery period (p < 0.05), levels of lipid peroxidation and enzymatic defense remained elevated (p < 0.05) 48 h after the morning training session. However, after the afternoon and evening sessions, the same period was sufficient to return values to the baseline levels. In conclusion, the morning session seems to generate the most important acute and delayed lipid peroxidation responses. Therefore, weightlifting coaches should avoid scheduling their training sessions in the morning-hours.

Black Turpentine Beetle Infestations After Thinning in a Loblolly Pine Plantation

Treesearch

D.P. Feduccia; W.F. Mann

1975-01-01

Black turpentine beetle infestations can be reduced substantially by minimizing injuries to residual trees during logging and avoiding harvesting on waterlogged soils to prevent excessive root damage. After thinning, losses can be minimized by spraying visibly injured trees with lindane immediatly, checking susceptible stands frequently for infestations, and applyling...

Decision Making and the Avoidance of Cognitive Demand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kool, Wouter; McGuire, Joseph T.; Rosen, Zev B.; Botvinick, Matthew M.

2010-01-01

Behavioral and economic theories have long maintained that actions are chosen so as to minimize demands for exertion or work, a principle sometimes referred to as the "law of less work". The data supporting this idea pertain almost entirely to demands for physical effort. However, the same minimization principle has often been assumed also to…

40 CFR 230.70 - Actions concerning the location of the discharge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Actions To Minimize Adverse Effects § 230.70 Actions concerning the location of the discharge. The effects...) Designing the discharge to avoid a disruption of periodic water inundation patterns; (c) Selecting a... minimize or prevent the creation of standing bodies of water in areas of normally fluctuating water levels...

Cut income taxes with reorganization planning.

PubMed

Miller, J E

1985-04-01

It is necessary to plan when reorganizing a corporate structure, to minimize taxes at the tax-exempt parent organization level and avoid unexpected tax consequences at year-end. With an awareness of the income tax rules, proper debt structuring during the reorganization phase is possible and should enable the financial manager to minimize total income tax.

Protect Yourself! How To Minimize Your Risk of an IRS Audit.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lukaszewski, Thomas; Moser, Barbara

1998-01-01

Shows how to minimize risk of an IRS audit and how to avoid traps caused by improper documentation and reporting requirements. Outlines the most likely audit areas for business tax returns. These include cash business; for sole proprietors, Schedule C; S and C corporation salary issues; shareholder loans; contractors versus employees; fringe…

Body mass changes during training in elite rugby union: Is a single test of hydration indices reliable?

PubMed

Black, Katherine Elizabeth; Black, Alistair David; Baker, Dane; Fairbairn, Kirsty

2018-05-28

There is limited research studying fluid and electrolyte balance in rugby union players, and a paucity of information regarding the test-retest reliability. This study describes the fluid balance of elite rugby union players across multiple squads and the reliability of fluid balance measures between two equivalent training sessions. Sixty-one elite rugby players completed a single fluid balance testing session during a game simulation training session. A subsample of 21 players completed a second fluid balance testing session during an equivalent training session. Players were weighed in minimal clothing before and after each training session. Each player was provided with their own drinks which were weighed before and after each training session. More players gained body weight (9 (14.8%)) during training than lost greater than 2% of their initial body mass (1 (1.6%)). Pre-training body mass and rate of fluid loss were significantly associated (r = 0.318, p = .013). There was a significant correlation between rate of fluid loss in sessions 1 (1.74 ± 0.32 L h -1 ) and 2 (1.10 ± 0.31 L. h -1 ), (r = 0.470, p = .032). This could be useful for nutritionists working with rugby squads to identify players with high sweat losses.

Video interaction guidance inviting transcendence of postpartum depressed mothers' self-centered state and holding behavior.

PubMed

Vik, Kari; Braten, Stein

2009-05-01

By sometimes evoking self-absorbed and avoidance behaviors in new mothers, postnatal depression affects the quality of mother-infant interaction, which in turn may invoke distress and avoidance in the infant and cause even more lasting impairment in the child's development. Three depressed mothers, A, B, and C, are reported upon after having been offered counseling in accordance with the Marte Meo approach through jointly watching with the therapist video replays of themselves interacting with their newborns. Clinical vignettes are offered which indicate how empathic and positive support of a sensitive therapist can be helpful in inviting the mother's recognition of her importance to her infant and facilitating mutually gratifying interaction between mother and child. Protocol analyses of select sessions of video-related therapy reveal that two of the mothers sometimes complete the therapist's unfinished statements in an other-centered manner, thereby transcending their initial self-centered state. This is most dramatic in the case of Mother A, who starts out in the first session almost incapable of speech, merely nodding or shaking her head. In addition to other indications of improved mother-infant interaction, comparison of pre- and postguidance windows regarding the three mothers' holding behaviors reveals a shift from an avoidance or anxious stance to closer and more secure holding. Copyright © 2009 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Navigating legal issues in academic nursing.

PubMed

Pressler, Jana L; Kenner, Carole A

2014-01-01

Through its publications, typically the catalogs and departmental materials, an institution establishes contractual obligations between it and students. While faculty are expected to keep current on policy changes, responsibility for knowing requirements ultimately remains with students. Faculty cannot be held personally liable for negligent, irresponsible, or capricious behavior of students. By keeping complete and accurate notes of advising and counseling sessions, faculty can avoid future disputes as well as protect themselves against claims of erroneous advising. Deans need to work closely with faculty and students to improve communication and to ensure that all know their rights. Clear communication will oftentimes avoid legal tangles.

76 FR 80875 - Los Padres National Forest: California; Environmental Impact Statement for the Removal of the...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-27

... minimize trampling of arroyo toads and vegetation. Applicators would avoid walking or stepping in water, to... red-legged frog found within the treatment sites shall be carefully moved outside the immediate work... within access routes may be moved to appropriate habitat if their avoidance is not practicable. If...

Taking the 'work' out of networking: strategies for smarter, simpler network architecture and administration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luna, C. de

2003-01-01

This session will help you tune up your skills and knowledge on the latest advances in network design and management, to keep your agency's data communications running at peak performance, with minimal cost and effort.

The Impact of Experiential Avoidance on the Inference of Characters' Emotions: Evidence for an Emotional Processing Bias.

PubMed

Pickett, Scott M; Kurby, Christopher A

2010-12-01

Experiential avoidance is a functional class of maladaptive strategies that contribute to the development and maintenance of psychopathology. Although previous research has demonstrated group differences in the interpretation of aversive stimuli, there is limited work on the influence of experiential avoidance during the online processing of emotion. An experimental design investigated the influence of self-reported experiential avoidance during emotion processing by assessing emotion inferences during the comprehension of narratives that imply different emotions. Results suggest that experiential avoidance is partially characterized by an emotional information processing bias. Specifically, individuals reporting higher experiential avoidance scores exhibited a bias towards activating negative emotion inferences, whereas individuals reporting lower experiential avoidance scores exhibited a bias towards activating positive emotion inferences. Minimal emotional inference was observed for the non-bias affective valence. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications of experiential avoidance as a cognitive vulnerability for psychopathology.

The relevance of experiential avoidance in breast cancer distress: insights from a psychological group intervention.

PubMed

Aguirre-Camacho, Aldo; Pelletier, Guy; González-Márquez, Ana; Blanco-Donoso, Luis M; García-Borreguero, Paula; Moreno-Jiménez, Bernardo

2017-04-01

Research on the implication of experiential avoidance in the aetiology and maintenance of diverse forms of psychopathology has grown considerably over the last 10 years. However, the potential contribution of experiential avoidance to cancer-related distress has received limited attention. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to examine the association between experiential avoidance, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and quality of life (QoL) during the course of a psychological group intervention for women with breast cancer. Fifty-four women with breast cancer participated in a psychological group intervention designed to reduce distress and improve QoL. Participants completed measures of experiential avoidance, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and QoL upon the first and last sessions. A path analysis revealed that, after controlling for baseline measures, smaller reductions in experiential avoidance during the course of the intervention predicted smaller reductions in anxiety and depressive symptoms. Also, experiential avoidance had a negative indirect effect on QoL via depressive symptoms. Experiential avoidance may perpetuate the emotional problems commonly found in women with breast cancer and attenuate improvements associated with participation in psychological interventions. Implications for clinical practice in psycho-oncology are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Autobiographical Memory Phenomenology and Content Mediate Attachment Style and Psychological Distress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sutin, Angelina R.; Gillath, Omri

2009-01-01

In 2 studies, the present research tested the phenomenology and content of autobiographical memory as distinct mediators between attachment avoidance and anxiety and depressive symptoms. In Study 1, participants (N = 454) completed measures of attachment and depressive symptoms in 1 session and retrieved and rated 2 self-defining memories of…

Preparing for Staffings: 10 Tips for Parents and Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romaneck, Greg

2005-01-01

Staffings are designed to be problem-solving meetings. In theory, all participants come to a staffing with information, knowledge or general input aimed at designing an effective educational program for a child. However, in some cases, staffings become discordant sessions laced with conflict. In order to avoid this negative outcome, it may be…

Skills Training to Avoid Inadvertent Plagiarism: Results from a Randomised Control Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newton, Fiona J.; Wright, Jill D.; Newton, Joshua D.

2014-01-01

Plagiarism continues to be a concern within academic institutions. The current study utilised a randomised control trial of 137 new entry tertiary students to assess the efficacy of a scalable short training session on paraphrasing, patch writing and plagiarism. The results indicate that the training significantly enhanced students' overall…

Autobiographical Memory Phenomenology and Content Mediate Attachment Style and Psychological Distress

PubMed Central

Sutin, Angelina R.; Gillath, Omri

2009-01-01

In two studies, the present research tested the phenomenology and content of autobiographical memory as distinct mediators between attachment avoidance and anxiety and depressive symptoms. In Study 1, participants (N = 454) completed measures of attachment and depressive symptoms in one session, and retrieved and rated two self-defining memories of romantic relationships in a separate session. In Study 2, participants (N = 534) were primed with attachment security, attachment insecurity, or a control prime and then retrieved and rated a self-defining relationship memory. Memory phenomenology, specifically memory coherence and emotional intensity, mediated the association between attachment avoidance and depressive symptoms, whereas the negative affective content of the memory mediated the association between attachment anxiety and depressive symptoms. Priming attachment security led to retrieval of a more coherent relationship memory, whereas insecurity led to the retrieval of a more incoherent relationship memory. Discussion focuses on the construction and recollection of memories as underlying mechanisms of adult attachment and psychological distress, the importance of memory coherence, and the implications for counseling research and practice. PMID:20706555

Reflective practice as a tool to teach digital professionalism.

PubMed

Kung, Justin W; Eisenberg, Ronald L; Slanetz, Priscilla J

2012-11-01

Digital professionalism is increasingly being integrated into postgraduate medical education. We developed a small-group, reflective practice-based session incorporating radiology-specific cases to heighten residents' awareness about digital professionalism. Case-based, radiology-specific scenarios were created for a small-group, reflective practice-based session on digital professionalism. Anonymous pre- and postsession surveys evaluating residents' use of social media and their thoughts about the session were administered to the radiology residents. Twenty-five of 38 (66%) residents responded to the presession survey with 40% (10/25) reporting daily social media use; 50% (12/24) witnessing an unprofessional posting on Facebook; and 8% (2/25) posting something unprofessional themselves. Of the 21 residents who attended the session, 13 (62%) responded to the postsession survey. Residents reported that the session added to their understanding of professionalism 3.92, 95% CI (3.57-4.27). As a result of the session, residents stated that they were more aware of protecting patient privacy and confidentiality on social media sites 3.92, 95% CI (3.47-4.37), and would take a more active role in ensuring professional use of social media as it relates to patient care 4.00, 95% CI (3.66-4.34). Residents favorably viewed the reflective case-based session on digital professionalism as a means to be more aware of ways to avoid unprofessional interactions on the internet. Our results suggest that such reflective sessions are an effective method to educate residents on key concepts regarding digital professionalism. Copyright © 2012 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emotional processing and outcome of imaginal flooding therapy in Vietnam veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder.

PubMed

Pitman, R K; Orr, S P; Altman, B; Longpre, R E; Poiré, R E; Macklin, M L; Michaels, M J; Steketee, G S

1996-01-01

This study examined emotional processing and outcome in 20 Vietnam veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who underwent imaginal flooding therapy. Results supported the occurrence of emotional processing, as manifest in significant activation, within-session habituation, and partial across-session habituation of physiologic and self-reported process variables. The flooding therapy produced only modest overall improvement, which was statistically significant for avoidance symptomatology measured by the impact of Events Scale (IOES) and number of intrusions per day recorded by the subject in a log. Symptomatic improvement appeared to generalize from a treated to an untreated experience. Heart rate activation during the first flooding session predicted a decrease in daily number of intrusive combat memories across the therapy. Otherwise, there was little association between extent of emotional processing and therapeutic outcome. The results provide limited support for the notion that mobilization of psychophysiologic arousal during exposure therapy predicts improvement.

Optimizing injectable poly-L-lactic acid administration for soft tissue augmentation: The rationale for three treatment sessions

PubMed Central

Bauer, Ute; Graivier, Miles H

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND: The availability and variety of different injectable modalities has led to a dramatic increase in soft tissue augmentation procedures in recent years. Injectable poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) is a synthetic, biodegradable polymer device approved in the United States for use in immunocompetent patients as a single regimen of up to four treatment sessions for correction of shallow to deep nasolabial fold contour deficiencies and other facial wrinkles. Injectable PLLA is also approved for restoration and/or correction of signs of facial fat loss (lipoatrophy) in individuals with HIV. METHODS: The present article provides an overview of previous studies with injectable PLLA, and specifically focuses on the number of recommended treatment sessions and intervals between treatment sessions. The authors also provide two case studies to support their recommendations for an average of three treatment sessions. RESULTS: Although the specific mechanisms remain hypothetical, injections of PLLA are believed to cause a cascade of cellular events that lead to collagen repair and subsequent restoration of facial volume. Because the development of a response to injectable PLLA is gradual and its duration of effect is long lasting, sufficient time between treatment sessions should be allocated to avoid overcorrection. CONCLUSION: Studies of injectable PLLA support the hypothesized mode of operation, and the experience and clinical recommendations of the authors that suggest that three treatment sessions are an optimal regimen for use of injectable PLLA in the majority of patients. PMID:22942665

Treatment philosophy and retreatment rates following piezoelectric lithotripsy.

PubMed

Fegan, J; Camp, L A; Wilson, W T; Miller, G L; Preminger, G M

1993-01-01

Second generation lithotriptors offer the advantage of anesthesia-free fragmentation of renal and ureteral calculi but they frequently require multiple treatments to attain a stone-free status. However, excessive single lithotripsy sessions or multiple treatments may be associated with significant damage to the kidney. For some clinicians a common treatment philosophy involves evaluation of serial plain abdominal films every 24 hours after lithotripsy and immediate retreatment of all patients with incomplete fragmentation. To avoid unnecessary retreatments and, thus, minimize potential renal damage, we prospectively evaluated 100 patients undergoing lithotripsy on a Wolf Piezolith 2300 device. Patients were routinely treated with 4,000 shocks at 1,100 bar. Serial plain abdominal films were obtained at 1 day and 2 weeks after lithotripsy. The need for retreatment was determined by the plain abdominal film results. Additional therapy was considered necessary if there was no stone fragmentation or if residual fragments measured greater than 4 mm. Of the patients whose plain abdominal film at 24 hours indicated the need for a repeat treatment 43% were stone-free on the 2-week film. Thus, these patients were spared an unnecessary treatment by allowing adequate time for the stone fragments to pass spontaneously. Our data suggest that repeat treatments on second generation lithotriptors should not be performed within 24 hours. Rather, the patient should be reevaluated at least 1 to 2 weeks later to avoid unnecessary retreatment with the attendant potential for renal injury. In addition, when comparing the retreatment rates of various lithotriptors, one should also consider the treatment philosophy used at the particular institution and the timing of the radiographic studies used to determine the stone-free status.

Beneficial effect of commercial Rhodiola extract in rats with scopolamine-induced memory impairment on active avoidance.

PubMed

Vasileva, Liliya V; Getova, Damianka P; Doncheva, Nina D; Marchev, Andrey S; Georgiev, Milen I

2016-12-04

Rhodiola rosea L., family Crassulaceae also known as Golden Root or Arctic root is one of the most widely used medicinal plants with effect on cognitive dysfunction, psychological stress and depression. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of a standardized commercial Rhodiola extract on learning and memory processes in naive rats as well as its effects in rats with scopolamine-induced memory impairment. Sixty male Wistar rats were used in the study. The experiment was conducted in two series - on naive rats and on rats with scopolamine-induced model of impaired memory. The active avoidance test was performed in an automatic conventional shuttle box set-up. The criteria used were the number of conditional stimuli (avoidances), the number of unconditioned stimuli (escapes) as well as the number of intertrial crossings. The chemical fingerprinting of the standardized commercial Rhodiola extract was performed by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Naive rats treated with standardized Rhodiola extract increased the number of avoidances during the learning session and memory retention test compared to the controls. Rats with scopolamine-induced memory impairment treated with Rhodiola extract showed an increase in the number of avoidances during the learning session and on the memory tests compared to the scopolamine group. The other two parameters were not changed in rats treated with the extract of Rhodiola in the two series. It was found that the studied Rhodiola extract exerts a beneficial effect on learning and memory processes in naive rats and rats with scopolamine-induced memory impairment. The observed effect is probably due to multiple underlying mechanisms including its modulating effect on acetylcholine levels in the brain and MAO-inhibitory activity leading to stimulation of the monoamines' neurotransmission. In addition the pronounced stress-protective properties of Rhodiola rosea L. could also play a role in the improvement of cognitive functions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Punishment and the potential for negative reinforcement with histamine injection.

PubMed

Mayer, Paulo César Morales; de Carvalho Neto, Marcus Bentes; Katz, Jonathan L

2018-03-01

The present study examined punishment of responding with histamine injection, and its potential to generate avoidance of punishment. Sprague-Dawley rats were trained under concurrent schedules in which responses on one lever (the punishment lever) produced food under a variable-interval schedule, and under some conditions intermittent injections of histamine, which suppressed behavior. Responses on a second (avoidance) lever prevented histamine injections scheduled on the punishment lever. After stabilization of punished responding, a variable-interval 15-s schedule of cancellation of histamine (avoidance) was added for responding on the second/avoidance lever, without subsequent acquisition of responding on that lever. Progressive decreases in the length of the punishment variable-interval schedule increased suppression on the punishment lever without increases in response rates on the avoidance lever. Exchanging contingencies on the levers ensured that response rates on the avoidance lever were sufficiently high to decrease the histamine injection frequency; nonetheless response rates on the avoidance lever decreased over subsequent sessions. Under no condition was responding maintained on the avoidance lever despite continued punishing effectiveness of histamine throughout. The present results suggest that avoidance conditioning is not a necessary condition for effective punishment, and confirm the importance of empirical rather than presumed categorization of behavioral effects of stimulus events. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Random early detection for congestion avoidance in wired networks: a discretized pursuit learning-automata-like solution.

PubMed

Misra, Sudip; Oommen, B John; Yanamandra, Sreekeerthy; Obaidat, Mohammad S

2010-02-01

In this paper, we present a learning-automata-like The reason why the mechanism is not a pure LA, but rather why it yet mimics one, will be clarified in the body of this paper. (LAL) mechanism for congestion avoidance in wired networks. Our algorithm, named as LAL Random Early Detection (LALRED), is founded on the principles of the operations of existing RED congestion-avoidance mechanisms, augmented with a LAL philosophy. The primary objective of LALRED is to optimize the value of the average size of the queue used for congestion avoidance and to consequently reduce the total loss of packets at the queue. We attempt to achieve this by stationing a LAL algorithm at the gateways and by discretizing the probabilities of the corresponding actions of the congestion-avoidance algorithm. At every time instant, the LAL scheme, in turn, chooses the action that possesses the maximal ratio between the number of times the chosen action is rewarded and the number of times that it has been chosen. In LALRED, we simultaneously increase the likelihood of the scheme converging to the action, which minimizes the number of packet drops at the gateway. Our approach helps to improve the performance of congestion avoidance by adaptively minimizing the queue-loss rate and the average queue size. Simulation results obtained using NS2 establish the improved performance of LALRED over the traditional RED methods which were chosen as the benchmarks for performance comparison purposes.

Angle Concept: A High School and Tertiary Longitudinal Perspective to Minimize Obstacles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barabash, Marita

2017-01-01

The concept of angle emerges in numerous forms as the learning of mathematics and its applications advances through the high school and tertiary curriculum. Many difficulties and misconceptions in the usage of this multifaceted concept might be avoided or at least minimized should the lecturers in different areas of pure and applied mathematics be…

Translation and Validation of the Arabic Version of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire in Patients With Low Back Pain.

PubMed

Alanazi, Fahad; Gleeson, Peggy; Olson, Sharon; Roddey, Toni

2017-04-01

Prospective cohort study of a cross-cultural low back pain (LBP) questionnaire OBJECTIVE.: The objectives of the present study were to translate and cross-culturally adapt the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ) to create a version in Arabic and to test its psychometric properties. The FABQ measures the effects that fear and avoidance beliefs have on work and on physical activity. An FABQ cross-culturally adapted for Arabic readers and speakers was created by forward translation, translation synthesis, and backward translation. Forty patients in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with LBP evaluated use of the questionnaire, and 70 patients from the same hospital participated in reliability, validity, and sensitivity studies. To determine test-retest reliability of the Arabic FABQ, patients completed it twice within 48 hours without receiving any active treatment between these two sessions. Patients completed the Arabic FABQ (and three other scales) at baseline and 14 days later to determine its validity and sensitivity. Test-retest reliability was good (FABQ-work: intraclass coefficient [ICC] = 0.74; FABQ-physical activity: ICC = 0.90; FABQ overall: ICC = 0.76). Correlations between the FABQ and three other instruments for measuring pain and disability were weak. The strongest correlation was found at the follow-up session with the Arabic Oswestry Questionnaire (r = 0.283; P ≤ 0.05). Sensitivity to change was low. The translation and adaptation of the Arabic version of the FABQ was successful. Overall, the Arabic FABQ had good test-retest reliability, acceptable construct validity, and low sensitivity to change. The Arabic version of the FABQ shows promise in the assessment of fear-avoidance beliefs among patients with LBP who speak and read Arabic. 3.

The role of treatment delivery factors in exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder with agoraphobia.

PubMed

Weck, Florian; Grikscheit, Florian; Höfling, Volkmar; Kordt, Anne; Hamm, Alfons O; Gerlach, Alexander L; Alpers, Georg W; Arolt, Volker; Kircher, Tilo; Pauli, Paul; Rief, Winfried; Lang, Thomas

2016-08-01

Treatment delivery factors (i.e., therapist adherence, therapist competence, and therapeutic alliance) are considered to be important for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder and agoraphobia (PD/AG). In the current study, four independent raters conducted process evaluations based on 168 two-hour videotapes of 84 patients with PD/AG treated with exposure-based CBT. Two raters evaluated patients' interpersonal behavior in Session 1. Two raters evaluated treatment delivery factors in Session 6, in which therapists provided the rationale for conducting exposure exercises. At the 6-month follow-up, therapists' adherence (r=0.54) and therapeutic alliance (r=0.31) were significant predictors of changes in agoraphobic avoidance behavior; therapist competence was not associated with treatment outcomes. Patients' interpersonal behavior in Session 1 was a significant predictor of the therapeutic alliance in Session 6 (r=0.17). The findings demonstrate that treatment delivery factors, particularly therapist adherence, are relevant to the long-term success of CBT for PD/AG. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preexposure to salty and sour taste enhances conditioned taste aversion to novel sucrose

PubMed Central

Flores, Veronica L.; Moran, Anan; Bernstein, Max

2016-01-01

Conditioned taste aversion (CTA) is an intensively studied single-trial learning paradigm whereby animals are trained to avoid a taste that has been paired with malaise. Many factors influence the strength of aversion learning; prominently studied among these is taste novelty—the fact that preexposure to the taste conditioned stimulus (CS) reduces its associability. The effect of exposure to tastes other than the CS has, in contrast, received little investigation. Here, we exposed rats to sodium chloride (N) and citric acid (C), either before or within a conditioning session involving novel sucrose (S). Presentation of this taste array within the conditioning session weakened the resultant S aversion, as expected. The opposite effect, however, was observed when exposure to the taste array was provided in sessions that preceded conditioning: such experience enhanced the eventual S aversion—a result that was robust to differences in CS delivery method and number of tastes presented in conditioning sessions. This “non-CS preexposure effect” scaled with the number of tastes in the exposure array (experience with more stimuli was more effective than experience with fewer) and with the amount of exposure sessions (three preexposure sessions were more effective than two). Together, our results provide evidence that exposure and experience with the realm of tastes changes an animal's future handling of even novel tastes. PMID:27084929

A Study of Attitudes Associated with Retraining. Part II. Work Resource and Retraining Initiative.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miskovic, Darlene

A study was conducted to gain insight into how to persuade those in fields where job opportunities are declining to take advantage of existing retraining programs in order to avoid future displacement. Research was conducted through a series of focus groups in Chicago, Louisville, and Davenport. Participants in these sessions included men and…

Using an Animal Group Vigilance Practical Session to Give Learners a "Heads-Up" to Problems in Experimental Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rands, Sean A.

2011-01-01

The design of experimental ecological fieldwork is difficult to teach to classes, particularly when protocols for data collection are normally carefully controlled by the class organiser. Normally, reinforcement of the some problems of experimental design such as the avoidance of pseudoreplication and appropriate sampling techniques does not occur…

Avoiding Conflicts of Interest: A Guide for School Board Members and Superintendents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington State School Directors' Association (NJ1), 2007

2007-01-01

Nearly every legislative session in the last decade has changed state law in a way that requires school board members and superintendents to be more highly sensitized to conflict of interest issues, regardless of the size of their district. Prior state law simply forbade most opportunities for financial conflicts of interest, especially those…

Trait and state disgust: an experimental investigation of disgust and avoidance in colorectal cancer decision scenarios.

PubMed

Reynolds, Lisa M; McCambridge, Sarah A; Bissett, Ian P; Consedine, Nathan S

2014-12-01

To evaluate whether trait and experimentally manipulated state disgust independently and/or interactively predict immediate and anticipated avoidance in decision scenarios related to colorectal cancer (CRC). Eighty participants, aged 18 to 66 years, completed questionnaires assessing trait disgust prior to a laboratory session. Participants were gender block randomized to disgust or control conditions before completing tasks assessing immediate avoidance of a CRC disgust elicitor (stoma bag) and anticipated avoidance in hypothetical CRC scenarios. Manipulation checks confirmed the elicitation of disgust in the experimental condition. Persons in the experimental condition were more likely to exhibit immediate avoidance behaviors in response to a commonly used bowel disease device (stoma bag), and trait disgust predicted time to touch the device. Trait disgust also moderated the influence of state disgust on anticipated avoidance, namely delay in help seeking for bowel symptoms and predicted rating disgusting side effects as more deterring to adherence. The current report suggests the importance of examining disgust in CRC contexts and provides the first empirical demonstration that state and trait aspects of disgust may interactively operate to deter certain types of decisions. It thus furthers understanding of emotions and avoidance in a health context that has had surprisingly little focus to date.

Food avoidance in athletes: FODMAP foods on the list.

PubMed

Lis, Dana; Ahuja, Kiran D K; Stellingwerff, Trent; Kitic, Cecilia M; Fell, James

2016-09-01

We surveyed 910 athletes to assess behaviours towards self-selected food/ingredient avoidance to minimize gastrointestinal distress. Fifty-five percent eliminated at least 1 high fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) food/category, with up to 82.6% reporting symptom improvement. In athletes indicating that high FODMAP foods trigger gastrointestinal symptoms, lactose (86.5%) was most frequently eliminated, followed by galactooligosaccharides (23.9%), fructose (23.0%), fructans (6.2%), and polyols (5.4%). Athletes avoid predominantly lactose and to a lesser extent other high FODMAP foods to reduce gastrointestinal distress.

Centrifugal compressor controller for minimizing power consumption while avoiding surge

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haley, P.F.; Junk, B.S.; Renaud, M.A.

1987-08-18

For use with a variable capacity centrifugal compressor driven by an electric motor, a controller is described for adjusting the capacity of the compressor to satisfy a demand, minimize electric power consumption and avoid a surge condition. The controller consists of: a. means for sensing an operating parameter that is indicative of the capacity of the compressor; b. means for setting a selected setpoint that represents a desired value of the operating parameter; c. surge sensing means for detecting an impending surge by sensing fluctuation in the electric current supplied to the compressor motor, wherein an impending surge is detectedmore » whenever fluctuations in excess of a predetermined amplitude occur in excess of a predetermined frequency; and d. control means, responsive to the operating parameter sensing means, the setpoint setting means, and the surge sensing means, for controlling the compressor, such that its capacity is minimally above a level that would cause a surge condition yet is sufficient to maintain the operating parameter at the setpoint.« less

Management of cystinuric patients: an observational, retrospective, single-centre analysis.

PubMed

Ahmed, Kamran; Khan, Mohammad Shamim; Thomas, Kay; Challacombe, Ben; Bultitude, Matthew; Glass, Jonathan; Tiptaft, Richard; Dasgupta, Prokar

2008-01-01

A critical appraisal of the management of patients with cystine stones treated in our unit in the past 6 years and to analyze the outcome of multimodality therapies. An observational, single-centre retrospective study. We reviewed the records of all patients with stones referred to our centre over a 6-year period from 1998 to 2005. Data recorded included demographic details, medical therapies received/prescribed, compliance with medical therapies, mode of treatment, stone clearance and any recurrence during this period of study. A total of 30 cystinuric patients were treated in our institution over the period of 6 years from 1998 to early 2005. Of these 16 were males and 14 females with an average age at last follow-up of 39 years (range 15-70). Two patients were successfully managed medically. The remaining patients (n = 28) underwent a total of 237 procedures (pre- and postreferral to our unit), with an average of 7.9 procedures per patient for 126 stone episodes (4.2 episodes/patient). The modes of treatment included extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (n = 143), ureterorenoscopy and intracorporeal lithotripsy (n = 50), percutaneous nephrolithotomy (n = 28) and open procedures (n = 16). Two patients needed open surgery at our unit. Prior to referral to our dedicated unit, patients had received treatment with extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (multiple sessions), ureteroscopy (n = 14), percutaneous nephrolithotomy (n = 4) and open stone removal (n = 14). Most of the stones at our unit were managed using minimally invasive therapies. Compliance of cystinuric patients with medical treatment is often poor and patients experience recurrent stone episodes requiring multiple interventions. Modern management of cystine calculi should be with staged minimally invasive procedures to avoid the complications of multiple open procedures wherever possible along with appropriate medical prophylaxis.

One-single physical exercise session after object recognition learning promotes memory persistence through hippocampal noradrenergic mechanisms.

PubMed

da Silva de Vargas, Liane; Neves, Ben-Hur Souto das; Roehrs, Rafael; Izquierdo, Iván; Mello-Carpes, Pâmela

2017-06-30

Previously we showed the involvement of the hippocampal noradrenergic system in the consolidation and persistence of object recognition (OR) memory. Here we show that one-single physical exercise session performed immediately after learning promotes OR memory persistence and increases norepinephrine levels in the hippocampus. Additionally, effects of exercise on memory are avoided by an intra-hippocampal beta-adrenergic antagonist infusion. Taken together, these results suggest that exercise effects on memory can be related to noradrenergic mechanisms and acute physical exercise can be a non-pharmacological intervention to assist memory consolidation and persistence, with few or no side effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

If War--How to Minimize the Loss for School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gentry, Ruben

2008-01-01

War is so devastating that if at all possible, it should be avoided. But if reasoning and negotiation fail to yield peace between nations and countries and war results, the loss to children must be minimized. In the last decade, two million children have been killed in wars and conflicts, 4.5 million have been disabled and 12 million have been…

A conveyor belt task for assessing visuo-motor coordination in the marmoset (Callithrix jacchus): effects of diazepam, chlorpromazine, pentobarbital and d-amphetamine.

PubMed

D'Mello, G D; Duffy, E A; Miles, S S

1985-01-01

A conveyor belt task for assessing visuo-motor coordination in the marmoset is described. Animals are motivated by apple, a preferred food, under a state of minimal food deprivation. The apparatus used was designed to test animals within their home cages and not restrained in any way, thus avoiding possible confounding factors associated with restraint stress. Stable baseline levels of performance were reached by all animals in a median of 24 sessions. Performance was shown to be differentially sensitive to the effects of four psychoactive drugs. Moderate doses of diazepam, chlorpromazine and pentobarbital disrupted visuo-motor coordination in a dose-related manner. The possibility that disruption of performance observed at higher doses may have resulted from non-specific actions of these drugs such as decreases in feeding motivation were not supported by results from ancillary experiments. Changes in performance characteristic of high dose effects were similar in nature to changes observed when the degree of task difficulty was increased. Doses of d-amphetamine up to and including those reported to produce signs of stereotypy failed to influence performance. The potential of the conveyor belt task for measuring visuo-motor coordination in both primate and rodent species is discussed.

CWA Section 404 Mitigation

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Council on Environmental Quality has defined mitigation in its implementing regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act to include avoiding, minimizing, rectifying, reducing over time, and compensating for impacts.

Design principles for contamination abatement in scientific satellites.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Naumann, R. J.

1972-01-01

It is shown that deposition of contamination films on satellite optics can be controlled by the following means: isolating critical optical surfaces from the rest of the spacecraft; avoiding or minimizing the use of nonmetallic material, particularly near or in line of sight of optical surfaces; avoiding materials with high vapor pressures; subjecting materials to vacuum baking prior to use, to drive off the volatile outgassing products; keeping the critical surfaces at temperatures above the ambient; avoiding elevated operational temperatures for nonmetallic materials; paying special attention to optics exposed to intense UV-, X-ray, or particular radiation; avoiding water-vapor sources; and directing RCS plumes away from critical surfaces. Methods of controlling particulate contaminants are also proposed.

Minimal conditions of motor inductions of approach-avoidance states: The case of oral movements.

PubMed

Topolinski, Sascha; Boecker, Lea

2016-12-01

The minimal conditions to elicit affective responses via approach-avoidance movements were explored by using oral movements (total N = 1,363). To induce oral movements, words were construed whose consonants (and vowels) wandered either from front to back of the mouth (e.g., PEKA, inward, like swallowing, approach) or from back to front (e.g., KEPA, outward, like spitting, avoidance). Participants preferred inward over outward consonant wanderings when reading only 2 phonemes (e.g., PEKA vs. KEPA), single letters (e.g., PK vs. KP), and even when only listening to a speaker uttering such stimuli (Experiments 1-4). Vowel wanderings had no systematic effect. The larger the consonantal inward and outward jumps, irrespective from where they started in the mouth, the stronger was their affective impact (Experiments 6-7). Visual presentation of words generally evoked stronger in-out effects than listening to a speaker uttering the words, which speaks against a sound symbolism explanation. Informing theorizing also on the much more common manual approach-avoidance inductions, these findings show that approach-avoidance movements can elicit affect by activating only the starting and ending point of a spatial movement gradient, even involving differing muscles for these spots, respectively. Also, the present findings imply that the magnitude of the distance of the spatial approach-avoidance gradient matters (the larger the distance, the larger the affective response), and that such effects can be induced by mere observation (by only listening to a speaker). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Working session 4: Preventative and corrective measures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Clark, R.; Slama, G.

1997-02-01

The Preventive and Corrective Measures working session included 13 members from France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Slovenia, and the United States. Attendee experience included regulators, utilities, three steam generator vendors, consultants and researchers. Discussions centered on four principal topics: (1) alternate materials, (2) mechanical mitigation, (3) maintenance, and (4) water chemistry. New or replacement steam generators and original equipment steam generators were separately addressed. Four papers were presented to the session, to provide information and stimulate various discussion topics. Topics discussed and issues raised during the several meeting sessions are provided below, followed by summary conclusions and recommendations on which themore » group was able to reach a majority consensus. The working session was composed of individuals with diverse experience and varied areas of specialized expertise. The somewhat broad range of topics addressed by the group at times saw discussion participation by only a few individuals. As in any technical meeting where all are allowed the opportunity to speak their mind, straying from an Individual topic was not unusual. Where useful, these stray topics are also presented below within the context In which they occurred. The main categories of discussion were: minimize sludge; new steam generators; maintenance; mechanical mitigation; water chemistry.« less

Geneva cocktail for cytochrome p450 and P-glycoprotein activity assessment using dried blood spots.

PubMed

Bosilkovska, M; Samer, C F; Déglon, J; Rebsamen, M; Staub, C; Dayer, P; Walder, B; Desmeules, J A; Daali, Y

2014-09-01

The suitability of the capillary dried blood spot (DBS) sampling method was assessed for simultaneous phenotyping of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) using a cocktail approach. Ten volunteers received an oral cocktail capsule containing low doses of the probes bupropion (CYP2B6), flurbiprofen (CYP2C9), omeprazole (CYP2C19), dextromethorphan (CYP2D6), midazolam (CYP3A), and fexofenadine (P-gp) with coffee/Coke (CYP1A2) on four occasions. They received the cocktail alone (session 1), and with the CYP inhibitors fluvoxamine and voriconazole (session 2) and quinidine (session 3). In session 4, subjects received the cocktail after a 7-day pretreatment with the inducer rifampicin. The concentrations of probes/metabolites were determined in DBS and plasma using a single liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. The pharmacokinetic profiles of the drugs were comparable in DBS and plasma. Important modulation of CYP and P-gp activities was observed in the presence of inhibitors and the inducer. Minimally invasive one- and three-point (at 2, 3, and 6 h) DBS-sampling methods were found to reliably reflect CYP and P-gp activities at each session.

Geneva Cocktail for Cytochrome P450 and P-Glycoprotein Activity Assessment Using Dried Blood Spots

PubMed Central

Bosilkovska, M; Samer, C F; Déglon, J; Rebsamen, M; Staub, C; Dayer, P; Walder, B; Desmeules, J A; Daali, Y

2014-01-01

The suitability of the capillary dried blood spot (DBS) sampling method was assessed for simultaneous phenotyping of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) using a cocktail approach. Ten volunteers received an oral cocktail capsule containing low doses of the probes bupropion (CYP2B6), flurbiprofen (CYP2C9), omeprazole (CYP2C19), dextromethorphan (CYP2D6), midazolam (CYP3A), and fexofenadine (P-gp) with coffee/Coke (CYP1A2) on four occasions. They received the cocktail alone (session 1), and with the CYP inhibitors fluvoxamine and voriconazole (session 2) and quinidine (session 3). In session 4, subjects received the cocktail after a 7-day pretreatment with the inducer rifampicin. The concentrations of probes/metabolites were determined in DBS and plasma using a single liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method. The pharmacokinetic profiles of the drugs were comparable in DBS and plasma. Important modulation of CYP and P-gp activities was observed in the presence of inhibitors and the inducer. Minimally invasive one- and three-point (at 2, 3, and 6 h) DBS-sampling methods were found to reliably reflect CYP and P-gp activities at each session. PMID:24722393

Avoidant Coping and Treatment Outcome in Rape-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

PubMed Central

Leiner, Amy S.; Kearns, Megan C.; Jackson, Joan L.; Astin, Millie C.; Rothbaum, Barbara O.

2012-01-01

Objective This study investigated the impact of avoidant coping on treatment outcome in rape-related PTSD. Method Adult women with rape-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD; N = 62) received nine sessions of prolonged exposure (PE) or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Mean age for sample was 34.7 years old, and race or ethnicity was reported as 67.7% Caucasian, 25.8% African American, 3.2% Latina, and 3.2% Other. PTSD was assessed with the PTSD Symptom Scale-Self Report and avoidant coping was assessed using the Disengagement Subscale of the Coping Strategies Inventory (CSI-D). Results Pretreatment avoidant coping was negatively associated with posttreatment PTSD symptom severity even when controlling for initial severity of total PTSD symptoms and when removing PTSD avoidance symptoms from the analysis to account for potential overlap between avoidant coping and PTSD avoidance symptoms (ΔR2 = .08, b* = −0.31, 95% CI [−0.17, −0.01], t (60) = −2.27, p = .028). The CSI-D mean score of 100 predicted a 96% likelihood of experiencing clinically significant change (CSC) during treatment. A CSI-D mean score of 61 was associated with a 40% likelihood of experiencing CSC. Conclusions PE and EMDR appear to be beneficial for women who frequently engage in avoidant coping responses following rape. A small subset of women with initially low levels of avoidant coping are unlikely to experience a therapeutic response from PE or EMDR. PMID:22229757

Dynamic clearance measure to evaluate locomotor and perceptuo-motor strategies used for obstacle circumvention in a virtual environment.

PubMed

Darekar, Anuja; Lamontagne, Anouk; Fung, Joyce

2015-04-01

Circumvention around an obstacle entails a dynamic interaction with the obstacle to maintain a safe clearance. We used a novel mathematical interpolation method based on the modified Shepard's method of Inverse Distance Weighting to compute dynamic clearance that reflected this interaction as well as minimal clearance. This proof-of-principle study included seven young healthy, four post-stroke and four healthy age-matched individuals. A virtual environment designed to assess obstacle circumvention was used to administer a locomotor (walking) and a perceptuo-motor (navigation with a joystick) task. In both tasks, participants were asked to navigate towards a target while avoiding collision with a moving obstacle that approached from either head-on, or 30° left or right. Among young individuals, dynamic clearance did not differ significantly between obstacle approach directions in both tasks. Post-stroke individuals maintained larger and smaller dynamic clearance during the locomotor and the perceptuo-motor task respectively as compared to age-matched controls. Dynamic clearance was larger than minimal distance from the obstacle irrespective of the group, task and obstacle approach direction. Also, in contrast to minimal distance, dynamic clearance can respond differently to different avoidance behaviors. Such a measure can be beneficial in contrasting obstacle avoidance behaviors in different populations with mobility problems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tips to Prevent Tick Bites

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Using the right insect repellent and other preventive actions can discourage ticks, mosquitoes, and other biting insects from landing on you. Tips include avoiding tick habitats and minimizing exposed skin.

What Learning Environments Help Improve Decision-Making?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Connor, Donna; Larkin, Paul; Williams, A. Mark

2017-01-01

Background: Decision-making is a key component of performance in sport. However, there has been minimal investigation of how coaches may adapt practice sessions to specifically develop decision-making. Purpose: The aim in this exploratory study was to investigate the pedagogical approaches coaches use to develop decision-making in soccer. Method:…

Impact of Test-Taking Behaviors on Full-Scale IQ Scores from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV Spanish Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oakland, Thomas; Harris, Josette G.

2009-01-01

Research on children's counterproductive test behavior supports a three-factor model for behaviors: inattentiveness, avoidance, and uncooperative mood. In this study, test behaviors measured by the Guide to the Assessment of Test Session Behaviors (GATSB) are rated on a sample of 110 Hispanic Spanish-speaking children included in the Wechsler…

Vitamin B6 prevents cognitive impairment in experimental pneumococcal meningitis.

PubMed

Barichello, Tatiana; Generoso, Jaqueline S; Simões, Lutiana R; Ceretta, Renan A; Dominguini, Diogo; Ferrari, Pâmela; Gubert, Carolina; Jornada, Luciano K; Budni, Josiane; Kapczinski, Flávio; Quevedo, João

2014-10-01

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the relevant cause of bacterial meningitis, with a high-mortality rate and long-term neurological sequelae, affecting up to 50% of survivors. Pneumococcal compounds are pro-inflammatory mediators that induce an innate immune response and tryptophan degradation through the kynurenine pathway. Vitamin B6 acts as a cofactor at the active sites of enzymes that catalyze a great number of reactions involved in the metabolism of tryptophan, preventing the accumulation of neurotoxic intermediates. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of vitamin B6 on memory and on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression in the brain of adult Wistar rats subjected to pneumococcal meningitis. The animals received either 10 µL of artificial cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) or an equivalent volume of S. pneumoniae suspension. The animals were divided into four groups: control, control treated with vitamin B6, meningitis, and meningitis treated with vitamin B6. Ten days after induction, the animals were subjected to behavioral tests: open-field task and step-down inhibitory avoidance task. In the open-field task, there was a significant reduction in both crossing and rearing in the control group, control/B6 group, and meningitis/B6 group compared with the training session, demonstrating habituation memory. However, the meningitis group showed no difference in motor and exploratory activity between training and test sessions, demonstrating memory impairment. In the step-down inhibitory avoidance task, there was a difference between training and test sessions in the control group, control/B6 group, and meningitis/B6 group, demonstrating aversive memory. In the meningitis group, there was no difference between training and test sessions, demonstrating impairment of aversive memory. In the hippocampus, BDNF expression decreased in the meningitis group when compared to the control group; however, adjuvant treatment with vitamin B6 increased BDNF expression in the meningitis group. Thus, vitamin B6 attenuated the memory impairment in animals subjected to pneumococcal meningitis. © 2014 by the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.

Reducing fear of falling and avoidance of activity in elderly persons: the development of a Dutch version of an American intervention.

PubMed

Zijlstra, G A Rixt; Tennstedt, Sharon L; van Haastregt, Jolanda C M; van Eijk, Jacques Th M; Kempen, Gertrudis I J M

2006-08-01

The present study reports on the development of a Dutch version of an American intervention for community-residing older persons in The Netherlands. Adaptation of this cognitive behavioural group intervention, to reduce fear of falling and avoidance of activity in older persons, was required before evaluation in a different setting. The process of adaptation consisted of defining the target population, translating the original intervention manual literally, consulting Dutch experts and a developer of the original intervention, selecting qualified facilitators and conducting a pilot study of the adapted manual. Adaptations were incorporated to improve the content, feasibility and didactic materials. The main adaptations were scheduling more time for some activities, changing session frequency from twice to once a week, adding a booster session after 6 months and adding more transparencies. A critical assessment of the appropriateness and feasibility of the original intervention provided important information to facilitate replication in the Dutch setting. Applying a systematic approach is recommended in the process of adapting an original intervention for use in a different setting. To facilitate replication, in general, more detailed information should be provided about interventions.

An active constraint environment for minimally invasive heart surgery: early experience of a cutting operation.

PubMed

Borelli, Joao; Bello, Fernando; Rodriguez Y Bena, Ferdinando; Davies, Brian

2004-01-01

Master/slave telemanipulator systems can be applied in minimally invasive heart surgery. However, due to the beating heart and difficulties of finding inner points inside the heart, a surgical task operation such as cutting can be very difficult. In order to avoid surgical error, the "active constraint" concept can be applied. This paper shows an example of an "active constraint" environment used for minimally invasive heart surgery. Experiments have been carried out for a 2-DOF master and the preliminary results validate the present approach.

Minimal acceptable care as a vital component to Missouri's trauma system.

PubMed

Helling, Thomas S

2002-07-01

Immediate attention to life-threatening injuries and expeditious transfer of major and complex wounds to tertiary care trauma centers are the cornerstones of any trauma system. Rapid assessment and "minimalization" of care should be the buzz-word of rural (Level III) and suburban (Level II) trauma centers in order to provide quickest treatment of injuries by timely referral of patients for definitive attention. This concept is called minimal acceptable care and may serve to improve patient outcome by reducing the interval to ultimate treatment and avoidance of duplication of services.

Avoiding antiperspirants during breast radiation therapy: Myth or sound advice?

PubMed

Baumann, Brian C; Zeng, Chuan; Freedman, Gary M; Verginadis, Ioannis I; MacArthur, Kelly M; Lin, Lilie L; Vachani, Carolyn; Koumenis, Constantinos; Solberg, Timothy D; Metz, James M

2017-08-01

Breast cancer patients are typically advised to avoid antiperspirants for fear of increasing radiation dermatitis in the axilla. We hypothesized that antiperspirants would have minimal effect on skin dose. We found no difference in surface dose±antiperspirants using 6MV photons at gantry angles of 0°/30°/60°/90° regardless of aluminum concentration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface acoustic wave probe implant for predicting epileptic seizures

DOEpatents

Gopalsami, Nachappa [Naperville, IL; Kulikov, Stanislav [Sarov, RU; Osorio, Ivan [Leawood, KS; Raptis, Apostolos C [Downers Grove, IL

2012-04-24

A system and method for predicting and avoiding a seizure in a patient. The system and method includes use of an implanted surface acoustic wave probe and coupled RF antenna to monitor temperature of the patient's brain, critical changes in the temperature characteristic of a precursor to the seizure. The system can activate an implanted cooling unit which can avoid or minimize a seizure in the patient.

Modified Nuss repair for pectus carinatum.

PubMed

Poullis, Michael

2010-09-01

A minimally-invasive modified Nuss technique is described for pectus carinatum which has reduced risk of cardiac perforation compared to a standard Nuss procedure, and avoids performing the Ravitch procedure.

Avoiding common pitfalls in qualitative data collection and transcription.

PubMed

Easton, K L; McComish, J F; Greenberg, R

2000-09-01

The subjective nature of qualitative research necessitates scrupulous scientific methods to ensure valid results. Although qualitative methods such as grounded theory, phenomenology, and ethnography yield rich data, consumers of research need to be able to trust the findings reported in such studies. Researchers are responsible for establishing the trustworthiness of qualitative research through a variety of ways. Specific challenges faced in the field can seriously threaten the dependability of the data. However, by minimizing potential errors that can occur when doing fieldwork, researchers can increase the trustworthiness of the study. The purpose of this article is to present three of the pitfalls that can occur in qualitative research during data collection and transcription: equipment failure, environmental hazards, and transcription errors. Specific strategies to minimize the risk for avoidable errors will be discussed.

SSP-002392, a new 5-HT4 receptor agonist, dose-dependently reverses scopolamine-induced learning and memory impairments in C57Bl/6 mice.

PubMed

Lo, Adrian C; De Maeyer, Joris H; Vermaercke, Ben; Callaerts-Vegh, Zsuzsanna; Schuurkes, Jan A J; D'Hooge, Rudi

2014-10-01

5-HT4 receptors (5-HT4R) are suggested to affect learning and memory processes. Earlier studies have shown that animals treated with 5-HT4R agonists, often with limited selectivity, show improved learning and memory with retention memory often being assessed immediately after or within 24 h after the last training session. In this study, we characterized the effect of pre-training treatment with the selective 5-HT4R agonist SSP-002392 on memory acquisition and the associated long-term memory retrieval in animal models of impaired cognition. Pre-training treatment with SSP-002392 (0.3 mg/kg, 1.5 mg/kg and 7.5 mg/kg p.o.) dose-dependently inhibited the cognitive deficits induced by scopolamine (0.5 mg/kg s.c.) in two different behavioral tasks: passive avoidance and Morris water maze. In the Morris water maze, spatial learning was significantly improved after treatment with SSP-002392 translating in an accelerated and more efficient localization of the hidden platform compared to scopolamine-treated controls. Moreover, retention memory was assessed 24 h (passive avoidance) and 72 h (Morris water maze) after the last training session of cognitive-impaired animals and this was significantly improved in animals treated with SSP-002392 prior to the training sessions. Furthermore, the effects of SSP-002392 were comparable to galanthamine hydrobromide. We conclude that SSP-002392 has potential as a memory-enhancing compound. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Novel Treatment of Fear of Flying Using a Large Virtual Reality System.

PubMed

Czerniak, Efrat; Caspi, Asaf; Litvin, Michal; Amiaz, Revital; Bahat, Yotam; Baransi, Hani; Sharon, Hanania; Noy, Shlomo; Plotnik, Meir

2016-04-01

Fear of flying (FoF), a common phobia in the developed world, is usually treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, most efficiently when combined with exposure methods, e.g., virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET). We evaluated FoF treatment using VRET in a large motion-based VR system. The treated subjects were seated on a moving platform. The virtual scenery included the interior of an aircraft and a window view to the outside world accompanied by platform movements simulating, e.g., takeoff, landing, and air turbulence. Relevant auditory stimuli were also incorporated. Three male patients with FoF underwent a clinical interview followed by three VRETs in the presence and with the guidance of a therapist. Scores on the Flight Anxiety Situation (FAS) and Flight Anxiety Modality (FAM) questionnaires were obtained on the first and fourth visits. Anxiety levels were assessed using the subjective units of distress (SUDs) scale during the exposure. All three subjects expressed satisfaction regarding the procedure and did not skip or avoid any of its stages. Consistent improvement was seen in the SUDs throughout the VRET session and across sessions, while patients' scores on the FAS and FAM showed inconsistent trends. Two patients participated in actual flights in the months following the treatment, bringing 12 and 16 yr of avoidance to an end. This VR-based treatment includes critical elements for exposure of flying experience beyond visual and auditory stimuli. The current case reports suggest VRET sessions may have a meaningful impact on anxiety levels, yet additional research seems warranted.

The economics of a pharmacy-based central intravenous additive service for paediatric patients.

PubMed

Armour, D J; Cairns, C J; Costello, I; Riley, S J; Davies, E G

1996-10-01

This study was designed to compare the costs of a pharmacy-based Central Intravenous Additive Service (CIVAS) with those of traditional ward-based preparation of intravenous doses for a paediatric population. Labour costs were derived from timings of preparation of individual doses in both the pharmacy and ward by an independent observer. The use of disposables and diluents was recorded and their acquisition costs apportioned to the cost of each dose prepared. Data were collected from 20 CIVAS sessions (501 doses) and 26 ward-based sessions (30 doses). In addition, the costs avoided by the use of part vials in CIVAS was calculated. This was derived from a total of 50 CIVAS sessions. Labour, disposable and diluent costs were significantly lower for CIVAS compared with ward-based preparation (p < 0.001). The ratio of costs per dose [in 1994 pounds sterling] between ward and pharmacy was 2.35:1 (2.51 pounds:1.07 pounds). Sensitivity analysis of the best and worst staff mixes in both locations ranged from 2.3:1 to 4.0:1, always in favour of CIVAS. There were considerable costs avoided in CIVAS from the multiple use of vials; the estimated annual sum derived from the study was 44,000 pounds. In addition, CIVAS was less vulnerable to unanticipated interruptions in work flow than ward-based preparation. CIVAS for children was more economical than traditional ward-based preparation, because of a cost-minimisation effect. Sensitivity analysis showed that these advantages were maintained over a full range of skill mixes. Additionally, significant savings accrued from the multiple use of vials in CIVAS.

Potentials for food waste minimization and effects on potential biogas production through anaerobic digestion.

PubMed

Schott, Anna Bernstad Saraiva; Vukicevic, Sanita; Bohn, Irene; Andersson, Tova

2013-08-01

Several treatment alternatives for food waste can result in both energy and nutrient recovery, and thereby potential environmental benefits. However, according to the European Union waste management hierarchy, waste prevention should be the prioritized strategy to decrease the environmental burdens from all solid waste management. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the potential for food waste minimization among Swedish households through an investigation of the amount of avoidable food waste currently disposed of. A further aim was to investigate the effect on the national biogas production potential through anaerobic digestion of food waste, considering minimization potentials. A method for waste composition analyses of household food waste, where a differentiation between avoidable and unavoidable food waste is made, was used in a total of 24 waste composition analyses of household waste from Swedish residential areas. The total household food waste generation reached 3.4 kg (household and week)(-1), on average, of which 34% is avoidable. The theoretical methane (CH4) potential in unavoidable food waste reached 442 Ndm(3) (kg VS)(-1) or 128 Nm(3) tonne(-1) wet waste, while the measured (mesophilic CH4 batch tests) CH4 production reached 399 Ndm(3) (kg VS)(-1), which is lower than several previous assessments of CH4 production from household food waste. According to this study the combination of a decrease in food waste generation-in case of successful minimization-and decreased CH4 production from unavoidable food waste will thus result in lower total potential energy recovery from household food waste through anaerobic digestion CH4 potential than previously stated.

Modified incision for maxillectomy: our experience.

PubMed

Bhavana, Kranti; Tyagi, Isha; Ramani, Mukesh Kumar

2012-06-01

Radical maxillectomy has usually been done by the classical Weber Ferguson incision since age old times and still is being used widely due to its advantage of excellent exposure and minimal scarring as the incision follows the natural skin crease. In our modification of radical maxillectomy incision we avoid a scar on the midface by performing a midface degloving and combining it with a subconjunctival eye incision thus avoiding any cosmetic deformity and associated eye complication. It also avoids the late complication of cutaneous fistula following radiotherapy to these areas and due to early healing of the wound, early radiotherapy can be started.

Neuronal and non-neuronal signals regulate Caernorhabditis elegans avoidance of contaminated food.

PubMed

Anderson, Alexandra; McMullan, Rachel

2018-07-19

One way in which animals minimize the risk of infection is to reduce their contact with contaminated food. Here, we establish a model of pathogen-contaminated food avoidance using the nematode worm Caernorhabditis elegans We find that avoidance of pathogen-contaminated food protects C. elegans from the deleterious effects of infection and, using genetic approaches, demonstrate that multiple sensory neurons are required for this avoidance behaviour. In addition, our results reveal that the avoidance of contaminated food requires bacterial adherence to non-neuronal cells in the tail of C. elegans that are also required for the cellular immune response. Previous studies in C. elegans have contributed significantly to our understanding of molecular and cellular basis of host-pathogen interactions and our model provides a unique opportunity to gain basic insights into how animals avoid contaminated food.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours'. © 2018 The Authors.

Effects of a psychosocial intervention on breast self-examination attitudes and behaviors.

PubMed

Fry, Rachel B; Prentice-Dunn, Steven

2006-04-01

An educational intervention to promote breast self-examinations (BSEs) among young women was tested. In a group (intervention versus control) x time (Session 1 versus Session 2) mixed design, 172 college females were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control condition. Both groups attended two sessions; the second session was 48 hours after the first. The intervention consisted of an essay, lecture, video portraying young survivors of breast cancer, group discussions, self-test and instructions on performing BSEs. The control group had the same format; however, the information was focused on nutrition and exercise. Participants in the intervention group scored higher on rational problem solving and behavioral intentions, suggesting that the intervention increased adaptive responses to breast cancer threat. Conversely, control participants scored significantly higher on maladaptive reactions (e.g. hopelessness, avoidance and fatalistic religiosity) to breast cancer threat. For intervention participants, the initial decline in maladaptive reactions remained stable at 3-month follow-up, but adaptive reactions decreased. Intervention participants had greater confidence in performing BSEs compared with controls but performed them on an irregular basis. Results were interpreted in terms of protection motivation theory, a model that applies the social psychology of persuasion to preventive health.

Client Predictors of Short-term Psychotherapy Outcomes among Asian and White American Outpatients

PubMed Central

Kim, Jin E.; Zane, Nolan W.; Blozis, Shelley A.

2015-01-01

Purpose To examine predictors of psychotherapy outcomes, focusing on client characteristics that are especially salient for culturally diverse clients. Method Sixty clients (31 women; 27 White Americans, 33 Asian Americans) participated in this treatment study. Client characteristics were measured at pre-treatment, and outcomes were measured post-fourth session via therapist ratings of functioning and symptomatology. Regression analyses were utilized to test for predictors of outcomes, and bootstrap analyses were utilized to test for mediators. Results Higher levels of somatic symptoms predicted lower psychosocial functioning at post-treatment. Avoidant coping style predicted more negative symptoms and more psychological discomfort. Non-English language preference predicted worse outcomes; this effect was mediated by an avoidant coping style. Conclusions Language preference, avoidant coping style, and somatic symptoms predicted treatment outcome in a culturally diverse sample. Findings suggest that race/ethnicity-related variables may function through mediating proximal variables to affect outcomes. PMID:22836681

Heart rate prediction for coronary artery disease patients (CAD): Results of a clinical pilot study.

PubMed

Müller-von Aschwege, Frerk; Workowski, Anke; Willemsen, Detlev; Müller, Sebastian M; Hein, Andreas

2015-01-01

This paper describes the results of a pilot study with cardiac patients based on information that can be derived from a smartphone. The idea behind the study is to design a model for estimating the heart rate of a patient before an outdoor walking session for track planning, as well as using the model for guidance during an outdoor session. The model allows estimation of the heart rate several minutes in advance to guide the patient and avoid overstrain before its occurrence. This paper describes the first results of the clinical pilot study with cardiac patients taking β-blockers. 9 patients have been tested on a treadmill and during three outdoor sessions each. The results have been derived and three levels of improvement have been tested by cross validation. The overall result is an average Median Absolute Deviation (MAD) of 4.26 BPM between measured heart rate and smartphone sensor based model estimation.

Visual feedback training improves postural adjustments associated with moving obstacle avoidance in elderly women.

PubMed

Hatzitaki, V; Voudouris, D; Nikodelis, T; Amiridis, I G

2009-02-01

The study examined the impact of visually guided weight shifting (WS) practice on the postural adjustments evoked by elderly women when avoiding collision with a moving obstacle while standing. Fifty-six healthy elderly women (70.9+/-5.7 years, 87.5+/-9.6 kg) were randomly assigned into one of three groups: a group that completed 12 sessions (25 min, 3s/week) of WS practice in the Anterior/Posterior direction (A/P group, n=20), a group that performed the same practice in the medio/lateral direction (M/L group, n=20) and a control group (n=16). Pre- and post-training, participants were tested in a moving obstacle avoidance task. As a result of practice, postural response onset shifted closer to the time of collision with the obstacle. Side-to-side WS resulted in a reduction of the M/L sway amplitude and an increase of the trunk's velocity during avoidance. It is concluded that visually guided WS practice enhances elderly's ability for on-line visuo-motor processing when avoiding collision eliminating reliance on anticipatory scaling. Specifying the direction of WS seems to be critical for optimizing the transfer of training adaptations.

Lesions of the lateral habenula facilitate active avoidance learning and threat extinction.

PubMed

Song, Mihee; Jo, Yong Sang; Lee, Yeon-Kyung; Choi, June-Seek

2017-02-01

The lateral habenula (LHb) is an epithalamic brain structure that provides strong projections to midbrain monoaminergic systems that are involved in motivation, emotion, and reinforcement learning. LHb neurons are known to convey information about aversive outcomes and negative prediction errors, suggesting a role in learning from aversive events. To test this idea, we examined the effects of electrolytic lesions of the LHb on signaled two-way active avoidance learning in which rats were trained to avoid an unconditioned stimulus (US) by taking a proactive shuttling response to an auditory conditioned stimulus (CS). The lesioned animals learned the avoidance response significantly faster than the control groups. In a separate experiment, we also investigated whether the LHb contributes to Pavlovian threat (fear) conditioning and extinction. Following paired presentations of the CS and the US, LHb-lesioned animals showed normal acquisition of conditioned response (CR) measured with freezing. However, extinction of the CR in the subsequent CS-only session was significantly faster. The enhanced performance in avoidance learning and in threat extinction jointly suggests that the LHb normally plays an inhibitory role in learning driven by absence of aversive outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Charge and energy minimization in electrical/magnetic stimulation of nervous tissue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jezernik, Sašo; Sinkjaer, Thomas; Morari, Manfred

2010-08-01

In this work we address the problem of stimulating nervous tissue with the minimal necessary energy at reduced/minimal charge. Charge minimization is related to a valid safety concern (avoidance and reduction of stimulation-induced tissue and electrode damage). Energy minimization plays a role in battery-driven electrical or magnetic stimulation systems (increased lifetime, repetition rates, reduction of power requirements, thermal management). Extensive new theoretical results are derived by employing an optimal control theory framework. These results include derivation of the optimal electrical stimulation waveform for a mixed energy/charge minimization problem, derivation of the charge-balanced energy-minimal electrical stimulation waveform, solutions of a pure charge minimization problem with and without a constraint on the stimulation amplitude, and derivation of the energy-minimal magnetic stimulation waveform. Depending on the set stimulus pulse duration, energy and charge reductions of up to 80% are deemed possible. Results are verified in simulations with an active, mammalian-like nerve fiber model.

Charge and energy minimization in electrical/magnetic stimulation of nervous tissue.

PubMed

Jezernik, Saso; Sinkjaer, Thomas; Morari, Manfred

2010-08-01

In this work we address the problem of stimulating nervous tissue with the minimal necessary energy at reduced/minimal charge. Charge minimization is related to a valid safety concern (avoidance and reduction of stimulation-induced tissue and electrode damage). Energy minimization plays a role in battery-driven electrical or magnetic stimulation systems (increased lifetime, repetition rates, reduction of power requirements, thermal management). Extensive new theoretical results are derived by employing an optimal control theory framework. These results include derivation of the optimal electrical stimulation waveform for a mixed energy/charge minimization problem, derivation of the charge-balanced energy-minimal electrical stimulation waveform, solutions of a pure charge minimization problem with and without a constraint on the stimulation amplitude, and derivation of the energy-minimal magnetic stimulation waveform. Depending on the set stimulus pulse duration, energy and charge reductions of up to 80% are deemed possible. Results are verified in simulations with an active, mammalian-like nerve fiber model.

High-Intensity Training and Salivary Immunoglobulin A Responses in Professional Top-Level Soccer Players: Effect of Training Intensity.

PubMed

Owen, Adam L; Wong, Del P; Dunlop, Gordon; Groussard, Carole; Kebsi, Wiem; Dellal, Alexandre; Morgans, Ryland; Zouhal, Hassane

2016-09-01

Owen, AL, Wong, DP, Dunlop, G, Groussard, C, Kebsi, W, Dellal, A, Morgans, R, and Zouhal, H. High-intensity training and salivary immunoglobulin A responses in professional top-level soccer players: Effect of training intensity. J Strength Cond Res 30(9): 2460-2469, 2016-This study aimed (a) to test the hypothesis that salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) would vary with training intensity sessions (low-intensity [LI] vs. high-intensity sessions [HI]) during a traditional training program divided into 4 training periods and (b) to identify key variables (e.g., GPS data, rating of perceived exertion [RPE], and training duration), which could affect s-IgA. Saliva samples of 10 elite professional soccer players were collected (a) before the investigation started to establish the baseline level and (b) before and after each 4 training sessions (LI vs. HI). Training intensity was monitored as internal (through heart rate responses and RPE) and external (through GPS) loads. High-intensity sessions were associated with higher external load (GPS) and with higher RPE. Baseline and pretraining s-IgA did not differ between the 4 training sessions both for HI and LI. Post-training s-IgA were not different (in absolute value and in percentage of change) between HI and LI sessions at the first 3 periods. However, at the fourth period, s-IgA concentration for HI session was significantly lower (p ≤ 0.05) than the LI session. The percentage change between s-IgA post-training and s-IgA baseline concentrations differ significantly (p ≤ 0.05) between HI and LI training sessions. Significant correlations between s-IgA and training intensity were also noted. High-intensity soccer training sessions might cause a significant decrease in s-IgA values during the postexercise window as compared with LI sessions. This study encourages coaches to monitor s-IgA in routine, particularly during HI training periods, to take precautions to avoid upper respiratory tract infection in highly trained soccer players.

Relationship between biomarkers of muscle damage and redox status in response to a weightlifting training session: effect of time-of-day.

PubMed

Ammar, A; Chtourou, H; Hammouda, O; Turki, M; Ayedi, F; Kallel, C; AbdelKarim, O; Hoekelmann, A; Souissi, N

2016-06-01

The aims of the present study were to: (1) investigate the effect of a weightlifting training session and time-of-day (TOD) upon biological parameters (i.e., oral temperature, hematological, C-reactive protein (CRP), and oxidative stress) and (2) assess their possible link with muscle damage responses. Nine weightlifters (21 ± 0.5 years) performed, in a randomized order, three Olympic-Weightlifting sessions (i.e., at 08:00, 14:00, and 18:00). Blood samples were collected at rest, 3 min and 48 h after each training session. Between pre- and post-training session, ANOVA showed significant increases in oxidative stress markers at the three TODs (p < 0.01) and significant increases for creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) only at 08:00 and 18:00 (p < 0.05). At rest, the results showed a significant diurnal variation for the majority of the selected parameters except for malondialdehyde (MDA), total bilirubin, and CRP with higher values observed at 18:00 (p < 0.05). After the training session, given the higher rate of increase during the morning session, these diurnal variations persisted for temperature and WBC (p < 0.01) and were suppressed for CK, LDH, uric acid (UA), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase. The main significant correlations (p < 0.001) were observed between: (1) CK and MDA (r = 0.6) and CK and UA (r = 0.66 and r = 0.82) during the morning and evening training sessions; (2) CK and CRP only during the morning session (r = 0.5); and (3) CRP and WBC during the three training sessions (r = 0.8). In conclusion, the present findings: (1) confirm that the muscle damage responses could be induced by a high level of oxidative stress and (2) suggest to avoid scheduling training sessions in the morning given the higher muscle damage, inflammatory, and oxidative responses at this TOD.

Analysis of Realized Volatility in Two Trading Sessionsof the Japanese Stock Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takaishi, T.; Chen, T. T.; Zheng, Z.

We analyze realized volatilities constructedusing high-frequency stock data on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In order to avoid non-trading hours issue in volatility calculations we define two realized volatilities calculated separately in the two trading sessions of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, i.e. morning and afternoon sessions. After calculating the realized volatilities at various sampling frequencies we evaluate the bias from the microstructure noise as a function of sampling frequency. Taking account of the bias to realized volatility we examine returns standardized by realized volatilities and confirm that price returns on the Tokyo Stock Exchange are described approximately by Gaussian time series with time-varying volatility, i.e. consistent with a mixture of distributions hypothesis.

A rehabilitation program based on music practice for patients with unilateral spatial neglect: a single-case study.

PubMed

Guilbert, Alma; Clément, Sylvain; Moroni, Christine

2017-02-01

Two major limitations of unilateral spatial neglect (USN) rehabilitation methods are actually reported: a lack of long-term efficiency and a lack of generalization to daily life. The aim of our case study was to underline how a multisensory method-music practice-could avoid these limitations. Mrs BV suffered from a chronic severe USN. She had rehabilitation sessions of music practice over 8 weeks. An improvement of her USN was found on paper-pencil tests but also in daily activities. Benefits subsisted 4 months after rehabilitation. Music practice seemed to avoid the major limitations of USN rehabilitations and could represent a promising tool.

Session: Development and application of guidelines for siting, constructing, operating and monitoring wind turbines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Manville, Albert; Hueckel, Greg

2004-09-01

This session at the Wind Energy and Birds/Bats workshop consisted of two presentations followed by a discussion/question and answer period. The two papers were: 'Development and Application of USFWS Guidance for Site Evaluation, Siting, Construction, Operation and Monitoring of Wind Turbines' by Albert Manville and 'Wind Power in Washington State' by Greg Hueckel. The session provided a comparison of wind project guidelines developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in May 2003 and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife in August 2003. Questions addressed included: is there a need or desire for uniform national or statemore » criteria; can other states learn from Washington State's example, or from the USFWS voluntary guidelines; should there be uniform requirements/guidelines/check-lists for the siting, operation, monitoring, and mitigation to prevent or minimize avian, bat, and other wildlife impacts.« less

Compensatory Mitigation Rule Factsheet

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

A two page fact sheet developed by EPA for the public to reinforce the requirements under the 2008 Compensatory Mitigation Rule to adhere to the “mitigation sequence” of “avoid, minimize and compensate”.

ODOT research news : fall 2004.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-01-01

ODOT research newsletter includes: 1) project solicitation and selection. 2) GIS mapping and environmental justice which environmental justice requires ODOT to avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse effects of its activities...

Testicular Cancer Treatments: Surveillance

MedlinePlus

... pain and take your chances later? Your job, finances or personal life would be more convenient if ... can to avoid or minimize it. Your job, finances or personal life would be more convenient if ...

Sclerotherapy of testicular hydroceles with 3% aqueous phenol.

PubMed

Ozdemir, E

1996-06-01

With the evolution of minimally invasive approaches in medicine, phenol has regained its popularity for the sclerotherapy of testicular hydroceles. Together with reported efficiency and safety of 2.5% phenol in the literature, the recently proved safety of 3% phenol in esophageal variceal sclerotherapy has led us to perform a prospective study to lessen the number of sessions. Sclerotherapy with 3% aqueous phenol was applied on an ambulatory basis to 23 patients with 31 hydroceles, who were over 40 years old and who had no fertility problems. The over-all cure rate was 96% with an average follow-up of 3 years, and 58% of the hydroceles required only one session of treatment. The average number of treatment sessions was 2.2 (range; 1-7). One patient with a history of herniorraphy 10 years earlier, was treated surgically following failure of seven sclerotherapy sessions. Phenol, a sclerosant superior to other conventional agents including tetracyclines, requires neither anesthetics nor prophylactic antibiotics. Our findings indicate that sclerotherapy with 3% phenol is an effective, economical and safe form of therapy for patients with hydrocele.

Post-learning infusion of anisomycin into the anterior cingulate cortex impairs instrumental acquisition through an effect on reinforcer valuation

PubMed Central

Jonkman, Sietse; Everitt, Barry J.

2009-01-01

The integrity of the rodent anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is essential for various aspects of instrumental behavior, but it is not clear if the ACC is important for the acquisition of a simple instrumental response. Here, it was demonstrated that post-session infusions of anisomycin into the rat ACC completely prevented the acquisition of instrumental responding. The experimental use of post-session intracranial infusions of plasticity inhibitors is assumed to affect local consolidation of plasticity, but not behavioral task performance. However, in associative appetitive conditioning, post-session intracranial infusion of pharmaco-active compounds could actually interfere with subsequent task performance indirectly through retrospective effects on the valuation of ingested rewards. Thus, it was subsequently demonstrated that the intracranial infusion of anisomycin into the ACC after sucrose pellet consumption significantly reduced subsequent pellet consumption, suggesting that the infusion of anisomycin into the ACC produced conditioned taste avoidance. In the third experiment, an innovative procedure was introduced that dissociated the effects of intracranial infusions after conditioning sessions on task-learning and unconditioned stimulus valuation. With this procedure, the infusion of anisomycin into the ACC after instrumental sessions did not affect instrumental reinforcer valuation or the acquisition of instrumental responding, suggesting that plasticity in the ACC is not necessary for the acquisition of instrumental behavior. PMID:19864297

A Guide to Safe Field Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-01-01

be dangerous depending on the type of insect and your reaction to their sting or bite. Stinging insects, which include honey bees , killer bees ...and operational policies of the WRD to ensure that (1) their activities avoid or minimize personal injury to the employee, coworkers, or anyone in...assignments with minimal chance of personal injury or infringement on the rights of others. However, once you have received training and have been

Neck muscle activity in fighter pilots wearing night-vision equipment during simulated flight.

PubMed

Ang, Björn O; Kristoffersson, Mats

2013-02-01

Night-vision goggles (NVG) in jet fighter aircraft appear to increase the risk of neck strain due to increased neck loading. The present aim was, therefore, to evaluate the effect on neck-muscle activity and subjective ratings of head-worn night-vision (NV) equipment in controlled simulated flights. Five experienced fighter pilots twice flew a standardized 2.5-h program in a dynamic flight simulator; one session with NVG and one with standard helmet mockup (control session). Each session commenced with a 1-h simulation at 1 Gz followed by a 1.5-h dynamic flight with repeated Gz profiles varying between 3 and 7 Gz and including aerial combat maneuvers (ACM) at 3-5 Gz. Large head-and-neck movements under high G conditions were avoided. Surface electromyographic (EMG) data was simultaneously measured bilaterally from anterior neck, upper and lower posterior neck, and upper shoulder muscles. EMG activity was normalized as the percentage of pretest maximal voluntary contraction (%MVC). Head-worn equipment (helmet comfort, balance, neck mobility, and discomfort) was rated subjectively immediately after flight. A trend emerged toward greater overall neck muscle activity in NV flight during sustained ACM episodes (10% vs. 8% MVC for the control session), but with no such effects for temporary 3-7 Gz profiles. Postflight ratings for NV sessions emerged as "unsatisfactory" for helmet comfort/neck discomfort. However, this was not significant compared to the control session. Helmet mounted NV equipment caused greater neck muscle activity during sustained combat maneuvers, indicating increased muscle strain due to increased neck loading. In addition, postflight ratings indicated neck discomfort after NV sessions, although not clearly increased compared to flying with standard helmet mockup.

Comparison of athlete-coach perceptions of internal and external load markers for elite junior tennis training.

PubMed

Murphy, Alistair P; Duffield, Rob; Kellett, Aaron; Reid, Machar

2014-09-01

To investigate the discrepancy between coach and athlete perceptions of internal load and notational analysis of external load in elite junior tennis. Fourteen elite junior tennis players and 6 international coaches were recruited. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPEs) were recorded for individual drills and whole sessions, along with a rating of mental exertion, coach rating of intended session exertion, and athlete heart rate (HR). Furthermore, total stroke count and unforced-error count were notated using video coding after each session, alongside coach and athlete estimations of shots and errors made. Finally, regression analyses explained the variance in the criterion variables of athlete and coach RPE. Repeated-measures analyses of variance and interclass correlation coefficients revealed that coaches significantly (P < .01) underestimated athlete session RPE, with only moderate correlation (r = .59) demonstrated between coach and athlete. However, athlete drill RPE (P = .14; r = .71) and mental exertion (P = .44; r = .68) were comparable and substantially correlated. No significant differences in estimated stroke count were evident between athlete and coach (P = .21), athlete notational analysis (P = .06), or coach notational analysis (P = .49). Coaches estimated significantly greater unforced errors than either athletes or notational analysis (P < .01). Regression analyses found that 54.5% of variance in coach RPE was explained by intended session exertion and coach drill RPE, while drill RPE and peak HR explained 45.3% of the variance in athlete session RPE. Coaches misinterpreted session RPE but not drill RPE, while inaccurately monitoring error counts. Improved understanding of external- and internal-load monitoring may help coach-athlete relationships in individual sports like tennis avoid maladaptive training.

Straight Talk. Communicating in Health Care Settings. An Offering of Step Ahead: A Partnership for Improved Health Care Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dutson-Mallory, Cate; And Others

This coursebook provides materials for a course to improve the oral communication skills of workers in health care settings. The course is designed to be delivered in eight sessions over a 4-week period. Stated objectives for the participants are as follows: feel more comfortable with communication in the hospital, avoid becoming defensive or…

[Tongue base reduction with radiofrequency energy in sleep apnea].

PubMed

Stuck, B A; Maurer, J T; Hörmann, K

2001-07-01

Tongue base reduction with temperature-controlled radiofrequency for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a minimally invasive technique. Repeated application leads to a progressive shrinking of the tissue. In our study, we summarize the experiences gained from 100 tongue base reductions and compare them with the pilot study that was recently published. An intensified treatment scheme was used with higher amounts of energy applied per treatment session. Visual analogue scales were used for the assessment of postoperative pain and functional parameters. Regular follow-up visits were scheduled to evaluate postoperative complications. Postoperative pain was mostly mild or moderate. Paraoperative complications were not observed. The overall rate for postoperative complications was 8%, with 2% mild and 5% moderate complications. One severe complication--a tongue base abscedation--was observed. Using para- and postoperative antibiotic prophylaxis reduced the rate of complications. Functional parameters such as taste or swallowing were not affected. Our results underline the safety of the procedure and demonstrate the minimal para- and postoperative morbidity. The increased amount of energy applied per session has not led to an increase in postoperative morbidity.

Sustained Smoking Abstinence is Associated with Reductions in Smoking-Specific Experiential Avoidance Among Treatment-seeking Smokers

PubMed Central

Farris, Samantha G.; DiBello, Angelo M.; Heggeness, Luke F.; Reitzel, Lorraine R.; Vidrine, Damon J.; Schmidt, Norman B.; Zvolensky, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Background and Objectives Smoking-specific experiential avoidance is related to the maintenance of cigarette smoking. However, it is unclear whether sustained smoking abstinence is associated with subsequent reductions in smoking-specific experiential avoidance. Methods Daily smokers (n = 149) underwent a cessation attempt in the context of a 4-session smoking cessation treatment trial. Participants provided biochemical verification of smoking status at 1 week, 2 weeks, and 1 Month post-quit day. Smoking-specific experiential avoidance was assessed per the Avoidance and Inflexibility Scale (AIS) – the total score and two factor scores were examined at 1 Month post-quit day as a function of abstinence status. Two path models were conducted and included participant sex, treatment condition, and precessation nicotine dependence, smoking-specific experiential avoidance, and presence of emotional disorders as covariates. Results After adjusting for covariates, sustained smoking abstinence was associated with a reduction in the AIS total score at Month 1 post-quit (β = −.45, p < .001). Sustained smoking abstinence was associated with reductions across both facets of experiential avoidance -- smoking-related thoughts and feelings (β = −.44, p < .001) and internal bodily sensations (β = −.41, p < .001). Limitations Biochemical verification of smoking status was confirmed only at three time points post-quit day, and continued abstinence throughout the one-month post-quitting period is not fully known. Conclusions Sustained smoking abstinence may contribute to reductions in smoking-specific experiential avoidance. Findings contribute to the research documenting the relevance of experiential avoidance in various processes of smoking (including smoking abstinence). PMID:26773342

Is therapist evaluation of Social Anxiety/Avoidance traits associated with patient-reported attachment style?

PubMed

Katz, Michael; Hilsenroth, Mark J

2017-11-01

The Social Anxiety/Avoidance Scale was recently added to the Shedler Westen Assessment Procedure (SWAP), and requires independent validation. This study used data drawn from a larger ongoing project in order to retrospectively examine its convergent validity with two self-report attachment measures: Relationship Questionnaire (RQ) and Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire-Revised (ECR-R). Fifty-two patients completed the RQ and the ECR-R before beginning psychotherapy treatment. Clinicians rated the patients on the SWAP after six sessions. The SWAP Social Anxiety/Avoidance Scale (SWAP-SAAS) was negatively related to the RQ secure attachment prototype scale and positively related to the ECR-R attachment anxiety scale. Our findings provide initial support for the use of the SWAP-SAAS as a therapist-rated measure associated with lower patient-reported levels of fit with a secure attachment prototype and with higher patient-reported levels of attachment anxiety. Implications and suggestions for future research on the SWAP-SAAS, as well as for clinical work with socially anxious and avoidant patients, are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Total hip arthroplasty through anterior "minimal invasive" approach].

PubMed

Moerenhout, Kevin G; Cherix, Stéphane; Rüdiger, Hannes A

2012-12-19

Total hip replacement has seen a tremendous development and has become one of the most successful surgical interventions in orthopaedics. While during the first decades of development of total hip arthroplasty the fixation of the implant into the bone was the main concern, the focus has shifted towards surgical technique and soft tissue handling. In order to avoid permanent soft tissue damage, muscular dysfunction and concerns in regards to cosmetics, minimal invasive and anatomic approaches have been developed. We here provide a short overview on various methods of total hip replacements and we describe our technique through a minimal invasive direct anterior approach. While muscle and nerve damage is minimal, this technique allows for a rapid rehabilitation and is associated with an excellent functional outcome and a minimal risk for dislocation.

Wind Energy News | Wind | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Wildlife Biologist Tom Ryon sees a tapestry that others may not. Everywhere he goes, he can't avoid involving the research and development of early-stage wind-wildlife impact minimization technologies

Decibels Made Easy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tindle, C. T.

1996-01-01

Describes a method to teach acoustics to students with minimal mathematical backgrounds. Discusses the uses of charts in teaching topics of sound intensity level and the decibel scale. Avoids the difficulties of working with logarithm functions. (JRH)

Analysis of problems and failures in the measurement of soil-gas radon concentration.

PubMed

Neznal, Martin; Neznal, Matěj

2014-07-01

Long-term experience in the field of soil-gas radon concentration measurements allows to describe and explain the most frequent causes of failures, which can appear in practice when various types of measurement methods and soil-gas sampling techniques are used. The concept of minimal sampling depth, which depends on the volume of the soil-gas sample and on the soil properties, is shown in detail. Consideration of minimal sampling depth at the time of measurement planning allows to avoid the most common mistakes. The ways how to identify influencing parameters, how to avoid a dilution of soil-gas samples by the atmospheric air, as well as how to recognise inappropriate sampling methods are discussed. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Minimally invasive posterior cervical decompression using tubular retractor: The technical note and early clinical outcome

PubMed Central

Hur, Jung-Woo; Kim, Jin-Sung; Shin, Myeong-Hoon; Ryu, Kyeong-Sik

2014-01-01

Background: The aim of this work is to present a novel decompression technique that approaches cervical spine posteriorly, but through minimal invasive method using tubular retractor avoiding detachment of posterior musculature. Methods: Six patients underwent minimally invasive posterior cervical decompression using the tubular retractor system and surgical microscope. Minimally invasive access to the posterior cervical spine was performed with exposure through a paramedian muscle-splitting approach. With the assistance of a specialized tubular retraction system and deep soft tissue expansion mechanism, multilevel posterior cervical decompression could be accomplished. This approach also allows safe docking of the retractor system on the lateral mass, thus avoiding the cervical spinal canal during exposure. A standard operating microscope was used with ×10 magnification and 400 mm focal length. The hospital charts, magnetic resonance imaging studies, and follow-up records of all the patients were reviewed. Outcome was assessed by neurological status and visual analog scale (VAS) for neck and arm pain. Results: There was no significant complication related to operation. The follow-up time was 4-12 months (mean, 9 months). Muscle weakness improved in all patients; sensory deficits resolved in four patients and improved in two patients. Analysis of the mean VAS for radicular pain and VAS for neck pain showed significant improvement. Conclusions: The preliminary experiences with good clinical outcome seem to promise that this minimally invasive technique is a valid alternative option for the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy. PMID:24778922

Residual limb skin temperature and thermal comfort in people with amputation during activity in a cold environment.

PubMed

Segal, Ava D; Klute, Glenn K

2016-01-01

Thermal comfort remains a common problem for people with lower-limb amputation. Both donning a prosthesis and engaging in activity at room temperature can increase residual limb skin temperature; however, the effects of activity on skin temperature and comfort in more extreme environments remain unknown. We examined residual limb skin temperatures and perceived thermal comfort (PTC; 11-point Likert scale) of participants with unilateral transtibial amputation (n = 8) who were snowshoeing in a cold environment. Residual limb skin temperature increased by 3.9°C [3.0°C to 4.7°C] (mean difference [95% confidence interval (CI)], p < 0.001) after two 30 min exercise sessions separated by a 5 min rest session. Minimal cooling (-0.2°C [-1.1°C to 0.6°C]) occurred during the rest period. Similar changes in PTC were found for the residual limb, intact limb, and whole body, with a mean scale increase of 1.6 [1.1 to 2.1] and 1.3 [0.8 to 1.8] for the first and second exercise sessions, respectively (p < 0.001). Activity in a cold environment caused similar increases in residual limb skin temperature as those found in studies conducted at room temperature. Participants with amputation perceived warming as their skin temperature increased during exercise followed by the perception of cooling during rest, despite minimal associated decreases in skin temperature.

Attempted Training of Alcohol Approach and Drinking Identity Associations in US Undergraduate Drinkers: Null Results from Two Studies

PubMed Central

Lindgren, Kristen P.; Wiers, Reinout W.; Teachman, Bethany A.; Gasser, Melissa L.; Westgate, Erin C.; Cousijn, Janna; Enkema, Matthew C.; Neighbors, Clayton

2015-01-01

There is preliminary evidence that approach avoid training can shift implicit alcohol associations and improve treatment outcomes. We sought to replicate and extend those findings in US undergraduate social drinkers (Study 1) and at-risk drinkers (Study 2). Three adaptations of the approach avoid task (AAT) were tested. The first adaptation – the approach avoid training – was a replication and targeted implicit alcohol approach associations. The remaining two adaptations – the general identity and personalized identity trainings – targeted implicit drinking identity associations, which are robust predictors of hazardous drinking in US undergraduates. Study 1 included 300 undergraduate social drinkers. They were randomly assigned to real or sham training conditions for one of the three training adaptations, and completed two training sessions, spaced one week apart. Study 2 included 288 undergraduates at risk for alcohol use disorders. The same training procedures were used, but the two training sessions occurred within a single week. Results were not as expected. Across both studies, the approach avoid training yielded no evidence of training effects on implicit alcohol associations or alcohol outcomes. The general identity training also yielded no evidence of training effects on implicit alcohol associations or alcohol outcomes with one exception; individuals who completed real training demonstrated no changes in drinking refusal self-efficacy whereas individuals who completed sham training had reductions in self-efficacy. Finally, across both studies, the personalized identity training yielded no evidence of training effects on implicit alcohol associations or alcohol outcomes. Despite having relatively large samples and using a well-validated training task, study results indicated all three training adaptations were ineffective at this dose in US undergraduates. These findings are important because training studies are costly and labor-intensive. Future research may benefit from focusing on more severe populations, pairing training with other interventions, increasing training dose, and increasing gamification of training tasks. PMID:26241316

Childhood trauma and problem behavior: Examining the mediating roles of experiential avoidance and mindfulness processes.

PubMed

Roche, Anne I; Kroska, Emily B; Miller, Michelle L; Kroska, Sydney K; O'Hara, Michael W

2018-03-22

Childhood trauma is associated with a variety of risky, unhealthy, or problem behaviors. The current study aimed to explore experiential avoidance and mindfulness processes as mechanisms through which childhood trauma and problem behavior are linked in a college sample. The sample consisted of college-aged young adults recruited November-December, 2016 (N = 414). Participants completed self-report measures of childhood trauma, current problem behavior, experiential avoidance, and mindfulness processes. Bootstrapped mediation analyses examined the mechanistic associations of interest. Mediation analyses indicated that experiential avoidance was a significant mediator of the association between childhood trauma and problem behavior. Additionally, multiple mediation analyses indicated that specific mindfulness facets-act with awareness and nonjudgment of inner experience-significantly mediated the same association. Interventions for college students who have experienced childhood trauma might profitably target mechanisms such as avoidance and mindfulness in order to minimize engagement in problem behavior.

An efficient approach for inverse kinematics and redundancy resolution scheme of hyper-redundant manipulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chembuly, V. V. M. J. Satish; Voruganti, Hari Kumar

2018-04-01

Hyper redundant manipulators have a large number of degrees of freedom (DOF) than the required to perform a given task. Additional DOF of manipulators provide the flexibility to work in highly cluttered environment and in constrained workspaces. Inverse kinematics (IK) of hyper-redundant manipulators is complicated due to large number of DOF and these manipulators have multiple IK solutions. The redundancy gives a choice of selecting best solution out of multiple solutions based on certain criteria such as obstacle avoidance, singularity avoidance, joint limit avoidance and joint torque minimization. This paper focuses on IK solution and redundancy resolution of hyper-redundant manipulator using classical optimization approach. Joint positions are computed by optimizing various criteria for a serial hyper redundant manipulators while traversing different paths in the workspace. Several cases are addressed using this scheme to obtain the inverse kinematic solution while optimizing the criteria like obstacle avoidance, joint limit avoidance.

Optimizing Sampling Design to Deal with Mist-Net Avoidance in Amazonian Birds and Bats

PubMed Central

Marques, João Tiago; Ramos Pereira, Maria J.; Marques, Tiago A.; Santos, Carlos David; Santana, Joana; Beja, Pedro; Palmeirim, Jorge M.

2013-01-01

Mist netting is a widely used technique to sample bird and bat assemblages. However, captures often decline with time because animals learn and avoid the locations of nets. This avoidance or net shyness can substantially decrease sampling efficiency. We quantified the day-to-day decline in captures of Amazonian birds and bats with mist nets set at the same location for four consecutive days. We also evaluated how net avoidance influences the efficiency of surveys under different logistic scenarios using re-sampling techniques. Net avoidance caused substantial declines in bird and bat captures, although more accentuated in the latter. Most of the decline occurred between the first and second days of netting: 28% in birds and 47% in bats. Captures of commoner species were more affected. The numbers of species detected also declined. Moving nets daily to minimize the avoidance effect increased captures by 30% in birds and 70% in bats. However, moving the location of nets may cause a reduction in netting time and captures. When moving the nets caused the loss of one netting day it was no longer advantageous to move the nets frequently. In bird surveys that could even decrease the number of individuals captured and species detected. Net avoidance can greatly affect sampling efficiency but adjustments in survey design can minimize this. Whenever nets can be moved without losing netting time and the objective is to capture many individuals, they should be moved daily. If the main objective is to survey species present then nets should still be moved for bats, but not for birds. However, if relocating nets causes a significant loss of netting time, moving them to reduce effects of shyness will not improve sampling efficiency in either group. Overall, our findings can improve the design of mist netting sampling strategies in other tropical areas. PMID:24058579

Thoracopelvic assisted movement training to improve gait and balance in elderly at risk of falling: a case series

PubMed Central

Springer, Shmuel; Friedman, Itamar; Ohry, Avi

2018-01-01

Background Age-related changes in coordinated movement pattern of the thorax and pelvis may be one of the factors contributing to fall risk. This report describes the feasibility of using a new thoracopelvic assisted movement device to improve gait and balance in an elderly population with increased risk for falls. Methods In this case series, 19 older adults were recruited from an assisted living facility. All had gait difficulties (gait speed <1.0 m/s) and history of falls. Participants received 12 training sessions with the thoracopelvic assisted movement device. Functional performance was measured before, during (after 6 sessions), and after the 12 sessions. Outcomes measures were Timed Up and Go, Functional Reach Test, and the 10-meter Walk Test. Changes in outcomes were calculated for each participant in the context of minimal detectable change (MDC) values. Results More than 25% of participants showed changes >MDC in their clinical measures after 6 treatment sessions, and more than half improved >MDC after 12 sessions. Six subjects (32%) improved their Timed Up and Go time by >4 seconds after 6 sessions, and 10 (53%) after 12 sessions. After the intervention, 4 subjects (21%) improved their 10-meter Walk Test velocity from limited community ambulation (0.4–0.8 m/s) to functional community ambulation (>0.8 m/s). Conclusion Thoracopelvic assisted movement training that mimics normal walking pattern may have clinical implications, by improving skills that enhance balance and gait function. Additional randomized, controlled studies are required to examine the effects of this intervention on larger cohorts with a variety of subjects.

Environmental Assessment for Establishment of an Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Program at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

OHV area for the following resource areas: geomorphology and soils , water quality and hydrology, biological resources, cultural resources, and...established in such a mmmer to avoid wetlands and minimize stream crossings and interaction with highly erodible soils . If such areas are utilized...operational constraints would be implemented that would minimize impacts in these areas, such as restricted use in wet soils and speed limits. At

75 FR 60093 - Record of Decision for the United States Marine Corps Basewide Utilities Infrastructure Project...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-29

... construction, operation, and maintenance of utility infrastructure upgrades, expansions, and improvements... and wastewater facilities and road improvements to Range 130. All practical means to avoid or minimize...

Preliminary human factors guidelines for traffic management centers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-04-01

Sometimes the development of infrastructure can negatively impact habitat and ecosystems. Ways to better avoid, minimize, and mitigate these impacts, as well as the impacts of past infrastructure projects, have been developed. Nevertheless, these avo...

Research notes : GIS mapping of environmental justice populations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-03-01

As part of the requirements for receiving federal funds, ODOT is responsible for successfully integrating environmental justice (EJ) into its program and planning activities. Environmental justice requires ODOT to avoid, minimize, or mitigate disprop...

Sensible Guide for Healthier School Renovations

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This booklet provides school administrators, facility managers, staff and the school community with an overview of how to avoid key environmental health hazards and ways to minimize children’s exposures as they prepare for and undergo renovations.

40 CFR 264.226 - Monitoring and inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... absence of tears, punctures, or blisters; and (2) Soil-based and admixed liners and covers must be... dimensions, and level that avoids backup into the drainage layer and minimizes head in the sump. [47 FR 32357...

40 CFR 264.226 - Monitoring and inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... absence of tears, punctures, or blisters; and (2) Soil-based and admixed liners and covers must be... dimensions, and level that avoids backup into the drainage layer and minimizes head in the sump. [47 FR 32357...

40 CFR 264.226 - Monitoring and inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... absence of tears, punctures, or blisters; and (2) Soil-based and admixed liners and covers must be... dimensions, and level that avoids backup into the drainage layer and minimizes head in the sump. [47 FR 32357...

40 CFR 264.226 - Monitoring and inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... absence of tears, punctures, or blisters; and (2) Soil-based and admixed liners and covers must be... dimensions, and level that avoids backup into the drainage layer and minimizes head in the sump. [47 FR 32357...

40 CFR 264.226 - Monitoring and inspection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... absence of tears, punctures, or blisters; and (2) Soil-based and admixed liners and covers must be... dimensions, and level that avoids backup into the drainage layer and minimizes head in the sump. [47 FR 32357...

Communication interventions for minimally verbal children with autism: a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial.

PubMed

Kasari, Connie; Kaiser, Ann; Goods, Kelly; Nietfeld, Jennifer; Mathy, Pamela; Landa, Rebecca; Murphy, Susan; Almirall, Daniel

2014-06-01

This study tested the effect of beginning treatment with a speech-generating device (SGD) in the context of a blended, adaptive treatment design for improving spontaneous, communicative utterances in school-aged, minimally verbal children with autism. A total of 61 minimally verbal children with autism, aged 5 to 8 years, were randomized to a blended developmental/behavioral intervention (JASP+EMT) with or without the augmentation of a SGD for 6 months with a 3-month follow-up. The intervention consisted of 2 stages. In stage 1, all children received 2 sessions per week for 3 months. Stage 2 intervention was adapted (by increased sessions or adding the SGD) based on the child's early response. The primary outcome was the total number of spontaneous communicative utterances; secondary measures were the total number of novel words and total comments from a natural language sample. Primary aim results found improvements in spontaneous communicative utterances, novel words, and comments that all favored the blended behavioral intervention that began by including an SGD (JASP+EMT+SGD) as opposed to spoken words alone (JASP+EMT). Secondary aim results suggest that the adaptive intervention beginning with JASP+EMT+SGD and intensifying JASP+EMT+SGD for children who were slow responders led to better posttreatment outcomes. Minimally verbal school-aged children can make significant and rapid gains in spoken spontaneous language with a novel, blended intervention that focuses on joint engagement and play skills and incorporates an SGD. Future studies should further explore the tailoring design used in this study to better understand children's response to treatment. Clinical trial registration information-Developmental and Augmented Intervention for Facilitating Expressive Language (CCNIA); http://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT01013545. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Role of Pre-Exposure to Novel Food Tastes in Activity-Based Conditioned Taste Avoidance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heth, C. Donald; Pierce, W. David

2007-01-01

Rats were given differential exposure to three distinct and novel foods. One of these foods was exposed for 7 days; another for 2 days, and the last was not exposed. Next, half of the rats received six daily sessions in which a compound of the three flavors was followed by opportunities to run in wheels. The other rats received the food compound…

Data Science Careers: A Sampling of Successful Strategies, Pitfalls, and Persistent Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stocks, K. I.; Duerr, R.; Wyborn, L. A.; Yarmey, L.

2015-12-01

Data Scientists do not have a single career trajectory or preparatory pathway. Successful data scientists have come from domain sciences, computer science, library science, and other diverse fields. They have worked up from entry-level staff positions, have started as academics with doctoral degrees, and have established themselves as management professionals. They have positions in government, industry, academia, and NGO's, and their responsibilities range from highly specialized, to generalists, to high-level leadership. This presents a potentially confusing landscape for students interested in the field: how to decide among the varied options to have the best chance at fulfilling employment? What are the mistakes to avoid? Many established data scientist, both old-timers and early career professionals, expressed interest in presenting in this session but were unable to justify using their one AGU abstract for something other than their funded projects. As the session chairs we interviewed them, plus our extended network of colleagues, to ask for their best advice on what was most critical to their success in their current position, what pitfalls to avoid, what ongoing challenges they see, and what advice they would give themselves, if they could do it all over again starting now. Here we consolidate those interviews with our own perspectives to present some of the common themes and standout advice.

Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy based on the pain sustainment/exacerbation model in patients with tension-type headache: a pilot study.

PubMed

Motoya, Ryo; Oda, Keiko; Ito, Eiji; Ichikawa, Masahiro; Sato, Taku; Watanabe, Tadashi; Sakuma, Jun; Saito, Kiyoshi; Niwa, Shin-Ichi; Yabe, Hirooki

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to carry out a program of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) based on the pain sustainment/exacerbation model for tension-type headache (TTH) patients and to examine the effectiveness as a pilot study. The participants were 4 TTH patients who consulted the outpatient clinic of a university hospital. It consisted of 4 individualized sessions as CBT program (including psychological education, self-monitoring, relaxation technique, cognitive restricting and exposure), and a follow-up examination was carried out 1 month after its completion. The sessions, each of which was 60 minutes long, were executed at weekly intervals. As a result, the score of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) decreased after program compared with before program in all patients. The score of escape/avoidance was also reduced at the post-program and follow-up (1 month later) compared with the score of pre-program in patients except Case 2, in whom the score was 0 throughout the study. The degree of the Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) improved by program and changed to "mild" or "none" in all participants. These findings show that in patients with TTH this short CBT program has effect on pain catastrophizing, escape/avoidance and daily disability.

REPORT ON THE PANEL SESSION: EMERGING ELECTRONICS ISSUES - HOW CAN WE MINIMIZE THE HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF ELECTRONICS RECYCLING?

EPA Science Inventory

The production and use of electronic products is growing and the rapid pace at which the technology advances means that many electronic products become obsolete in a relatively short period of time. These factors are contributing to a growing challenge for waste management becaus...

Impact of Sex Education Programs on Sexual Knowledge and Feelings of Men with a Mild Intellectual Disability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garwood, Monique; McCabe, Marita P.

2000-01-01

After participating in 6 to 10 sex education sessions, six adolescent and adult men with mild mental retardation showed minimal increases in their knowledge of friendship, contraception, pregnancy, sexual interaction, and social skills. Following sex education, negative feelings developed about marriage, having children, and being present during…

Typology of Couples Entering Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy: An Empirical Approach and Test of Predictive Validity on Treatment Response

PubMed Central

Ladd, Benjamin O.; McCrady, Barbara S.

2016-01-01

The current study aimed to examine whether classification of couples in which one partner has an alcohol problem is similar to that reported in the general couples literature. Typologies of couples seeking Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy (ABCT) were developed via hierarchical cluster analysis using behavioral codes of couple interactions during their first ABCT session. Four couples types based on in-session behavior were established reliably, labeled Avoider, Validator, Hostile, and Ambivalent-Detached. These couple types resembled couples types found in previous research. Couple type was associated with baseline relationship satisfaction, but not alcohol use. Results suggest heterogeneity in couples with alcohol problems presenting to treatment; further study is needed to investigate the function of alcohol within these different types. PMID:25808432

Effects of whole-body cryotherapy duration on thermal and cardio-vascular response.

PubMed

Fonda, Borut; De Nardi, Massimo; Sarabon, Nejc

2014-05-01

Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) is the exposure of minimally dressed participants to very cold air, either in a specially designed chamber (cryo-chamber) or cabin (cryo-cabin), for a short period of time. Practitioners are vague when it comes to recommendations on the duration of a single session. Recommended exposure for cryo-chamber is 150s, but no empirically based recommendations are available for a cryo-cabin. Therefore the aim of this study was to examine thermal and cardio-vascular responses after 90, 120, 150 and 180s of WBC in a cryo-cabin. Our hypothesis was that skin temperature would be significantly lower after longer exposers. Twelve male participants (age 23.9±4.2 years) completed four WBC of different durations (90, 120, 150 and 180s) in a cryo-cabin. Thermal response, heart rate and blood pressure were measured prior, immediately after, 5min after and 30min after the session. Skin temperature differed significantly among different durations, except between 150 and 180s. There was no significant difference in heart rate and blood pressure. Thermal discomfort during a single session displayed a linear increase throughout the whole session. Our results indicate that practitioners and clinicians using cryo-cabin for WBC do not need to perform sessions longer than 150s. We have shown that longer sessions do not substantially affect thermal and cardio-vascular response, but do increase thermal discomfort. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Symmetric caging formation for convex polygonal object transportation by multiple mobile robots based on fuzzy sliding mode control.

PubMed

Dai, Yanyan; Kim, YoonGu; Wee, SungGil; Lee, DongHa; Lee, SukGyu

2016-01-01

In this paper, the problem of object caging and transporting is considered for multiple mobile robots. With the consideration of minimizing the number of robots and decreasing the rotation of the object, the proper points are calculated and assigned to the multiple mobile robots to allow them to form a symmetric caging formation. The caging formation guarantees that all of the Euclidean distances between any two adjacent robots are smaller than the minimal width of the polygonal object so that the object cannot escape. In order to avoid collision among robots, the parameter of the robots radius is utilized to design the caging formation, and the A⁎ algorithm is used so that mobile robots can move to the proper points. In order to avoid obstacles, the robots and the object are regarded as a rigid body to apply artificial potential field method. The fuzzy sliding mode control method is applied for tracking control of the nonholonomic mobile robots. Finally, the simulation and experimental results show that multiple mobile robots are able to cage and transport the polygonal object to the goal position, avoiding obstacles. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attachment and compassion fatigue among American and Israeli mental health clinicians working with traumatized victims of terrorism.

PubMed

Racanelli, Christine

2005-01-01

This study compared the construct of compassion fatigue with the role of attachment as a potential mediator among mental health clinicians working with victims of terrorism in the New York metropolitan region of the United States and Israel. Differences between clinicians practicing within Israel (n = 31) and New York (n = 35), in terms of their symptoms of compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and "burnout," were not significant, as measured by multivariate analyses of variance. Based upon nonsignificant differences, mediational statistical tests could not be run; thus, mediation did not hold. The data failed to support a significant difference between compassion fatigue and attachment avoidance or anxiety. However, data collection resulted in attenuated scores for compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction within both study groups of clinicians and moderate to average scores for burnout. Israeli clinicians had significantly more avoidant attachment dimensions than their New York cohorts. The strongest predictors of compassion satisfaction were (a) low attachment anxiety and (b) sufficient clinical experience related to treating victims of trauma. The strongest predictors of burnout were (a) minimal clinical experience, (b) minimal experience working with trauma victims, and (c) greater avoidant attachment dimensions.

Sustained smoking abstinence is associated with reductions in smoking-specific experiential avoidance among treatment-seeking smokers.

PubMed

Farris, Samantha G; DiBello, Angelo M; Heggeness, Luke F; Reitzel, Lorraine R; Vidrine, Damon J; Schmidt, Norman B; Zvolensky, Michael J

2016-06-01

Smoking-specific experiential avoidance is related to the maintenance of cigarette smoking. However, it is unclear whether sustained smoking abstinence is associated with subsequent reductions in smoking-specific experiential avoidance. Daily smokers (n = 149) underwent a cessation attempt in the context of a 4-session smoking cessation treatment trial. Participants provided biochemical verification of smoking status at 1 week, 2 weeks, and 1 Month post-quit day. Smoking-specific experiential avoidance was assessed per the Avoidance and Inflexibility Scale (AIS) - the total score and two factor scores were examined at 1 Month post-quit day as a function of abstinence status. Two path models were conducted and included participant sex, treatment condition, and pre-cessation nicotine dependence, smoking-specific experiential avoidance, and presence of emotional disorders as covariates. After adjusting for covariates, sustained smoking abstinence was associated with a reduction in the AIS total score at Month 1 post-quit (β = -.45, p < .001). Sustained smoking abstinence was associated with reductions across both facets of experiential avoidance -- smoking-related thoughts and feelings (β = -.44, p < .001) and internal bodily sensations (β = -.41, p < .001). Biochemical verification of smoking status was confirmed only at three time points post-quit day, and continued abstinence throughout the one-month post-quitting period is not fully known. Sustained smoking abstinence may contribute to reductions in smoking-specific experiential avoidance. Findings add to the research documenting the relevance of experiential avoidance in various processes of smoking (including smoking abstinence). Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Learning on Performance When Computerized Dynamic Posturography Assessments Are Repeated

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Laura C.; Paloski, William H.; Wood, Scott J.

2008-01-01

Background: Computerized dynamic posturography is widely used to measure balance control performance. Clinically, performance is assessed by comparing individual data against standards obtained from a normative population. When performing repeated assessments to track performance changes, one must be concerned with the influence of learning effects. Subjects do not have the opportunity to practice before the first session, and often a second session is not performed prior to an experiment. Thus, the objective of this activity was to examine learning effects on balance control performance. We hypothesize that subjects will perform better on the second session when compared to the first, and that the difference will be greater for more difficult conditions. Methods: Data were collected from 204 subjects using the NeuroCom Equitest system during quiet stance with arms crossed at the chest on up to two sessions. All subjects performed standard sensory organization tests (SOTs) including 1) normal vision, fixed support; 2) absent vision, fixed support; 3) sway-referenced vision, fixed support; 4) normal vision, swayreferenced support; 5) absent vision, sway-referenced support; and 6) sway-referenced vision, sway-referenced support. 120 of these subjects performed modified sensory organization tests (mSOTs 2 and 5) which included static (20 back) and dynamic (20, 0.33Hz) head tilts. Median equilibrium scores (mEQ) were calculated from peak-to-peak anterior-posterior sway across trials. Data collected on the first session were then compared with the second to examine learning effect. Results: There were no differences in mEQ scores between the first and second sessions for SOTs 1, 2, and 4, while mEQ scores were higher for the second session when compared to the first for SOTs 3, 5, and 6 and for all mSOTs. Discussion: An additional familiarization session or practice trials prior to the first session may be necessary for more challenging SOT and mSOT conditions to minimize learning effect.

Prediction of Auditory and Visual P300 Brain-Computer Interface Aptitude

PubMed Central

Halder, Sebastian; Hammer, Eva Maria; Kleih, Sonja Claudia; Bogdan, Martin; Rosenstiel, Wolfgang; Birbaumer, Niels; Kübler, Andrea

2013-01-01

Objective Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) provide a non-muscular communication channel for patients with late-stage motoneuron disease (e.g., amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)) or otherwise motor impaired people and are also used for motor rehabilitation in chronic stroke. Differences in the ability to use a BCI vary from person to person and from session to session. A reliable predictor of aptitude would allow for the selection of suitable BCI paradigms. For this reason, we investigated whether P300 BCI aptitude could be predicted from a short experiment with a standard auditory oddball. Methods Forty healthy participants performed an electroencephalography (EEG) based visual and auditory P300-BCI spelling task in a single session. In addition, prior to each session an auditory oddball was presented. Features extracted from the auditory oddball were analyzed with respect to predictive power for BCI aptitude. Results Correlation between auditory oddball response and P300 BCI accuracy revealed a strong relationship between accuracy and N2 amplitude and the amplitude of a late ERP component between 400 and 600 ms. Interestingly, the P3 amplitude of the auditory oddball response was not correlated with accuracy. Conclusions Event-related potentials recorded during a standard auditory oddball session moderately predict aptitude in an audiory and highly in a visual P300 BCI. The predictor will allow for faster paradigm selection. Significance Our method will reduce strain on patients because unsuccessful training may be avoided, provided the results can be generalized to the patient population. PMID:23457444

ACHP | Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Section 213 Reports

Science.gov Websites

affected historic property, describe the effects of any proposed undertaking on the property, and recommend measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects to the property. Section 213 reports have been

Choosing the right diagnostic imaging modality in musculoskeletal diagnosis.

PubMed

Aagesen, Andrea L; Melek, Maged

2013-12-01

Radiological studies can confirm or rule out competing diagnoses for musculoskeletal injuries and pain. Obtaining a detailed history and physical examination is pivotal for localizing the pain generator and choosing the most appropriate imaging studies, based on the suspected injured tissue. Judicious use of imaging is important to avoid unnecessary radiation exposure, minimize cost, and avoid therapy targeting asymptomatic imaging abnormalities. This article compares and contrasts the diagnostic imaging commonly used for detecting musculoskeletal injuries. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prism adaptation and spatial neglect: the need for dose-finding studies.

PubMed

Goedert, Kelly M; Zhang, Jeffrey Y; Barrett, A M

2015-01-01

Spatial neglect is a devastating disorder in 50-70% of right-brain stroke survivors, who have problems attending to, or making movements towards, left-sided stimuli, and experience a high risk of chronic dependence. Prism adaptation is a promising treatment for neglect that involves brief, daily visuo-motor training sessions while wearing optical prisms. Its benefits extend to functional behaviors such as dressing, with effects lasting 6 months or longer. Because one to two sessions of prism adaptation induce adaptive changes in both spatial-motor behavior (Fortis et al., 2011) and brain function (Saj et al., 2013), it is possible stroke patients may benefit from treatment periods shorter than the standard, intensive protocol of ten sessions over two weeks-a protocol that is impractical for either US inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation. Demonstrating the effectiveness of a lower dose will maximize the availability of neglect treatment. We present preliminary data suggesting that four to six sessions of prism treatment may induce a large treatment effect, maintained three to four weeks post-treatment. We call for a systematic, randomized clinical trial to establish the minimal effective dose suitable for stroke intervention.

Unifying practice schedules in the timescales of motor learning and performance.

PubMed

Verhoeven, F Martijn; Newell, Karl M

2018-06-01

In this article, we elaborate from a multiple time scales model of motor learning to examine the independent and integrated effects of massed and distributed practice schedules within- and between-sessions on the persistent (learning) and transient (warm-up, fatigue) processes of performance change. The timescales framework reveals the influence of practice distribution on four learning-related processes: the persistent processes of learning and forgetting, and the transient processes of warm-up decrement and fatigue. The superposition of the different processes of practice leads to a unified set of effects for massed and distributed practice within- and between-sessions in learning motor tasks. This analysis of the interaction between the duration of the interval of practice trials or sessions and parameters of the introduced time scale model captures the unified influence of the between trial and session scheduling of practice on learning and performance. It provides a starting point for new theoretically based hypotheses, and the scheduling of practice that minimizes the negative effects of warm-up decrement, fatigue and forgetting while exploiting the positive effects of learning and retention. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Long-Pulsed 532-Nm Neodymium-Doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet Laser for Treatment of Facial Plane Warts in 160 Yemeni Patients.

PubMed

Alshami, Mohammad Ali; Mohana, Mona Jameel; Alshami, Ahlam Mohammad

2016-11-01

Warts in general and plane warts in particular pose a therapeutic challenge for dermatologists. Many treatment modalities exist, with variable success rates, side effect profiles, and precautions. The long-pulsed 532-nm neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (LP Nd:YAG) laser has not been previously used for this indication. This study was conducted to assess the efficacy and safety of the LP Nd:YAG laser for treating facial plane warts. A total of 160 Yemeni patients (62 women, 98 men; age range, 5-55 years) were exposed to 1 laser treatment session with the following parameters: wavelength, 532 nm; pulse duration, 20 millisecond; spot size, 2 to 3 mm; and fluence, 25 J/cm. The end point was graying or whitening of the lesion. Color photographs were taken before and immediately after treatment and at follow-up visits 1, 4, and 16 weeks after the laser session. An overall clearance rate of 92% after only one session was achieved, with minimal and transient side effects. The LP Nd:YAG laser is safe and effective for treating facial plane warts, with a success rate of 92% after only one session.

Prism adaptation and spatial neglect: the need for dose-finding studies

PubMed Central

Goedert, Kelly M.; Zhang, Jeffrey Y.; Barrett, A. M.

2015-01-01

Spatial neglect is a devastating disorder in 50–70% of right-brain stroke survivors, who have problems attending to, or making movements towards, left-sided stimuli, and experience a high risk of chronic dependence. Prism adaptation is a promising treatment for neglect that involves brief, daily visuo-motor training sessions while wearing optical prisms. Its benefits extend to functional behaviors such as dressing, with effects lasting 6 months or longer. Because one to two sessions of prism adaptation induce adaptive changes in both spatial-motor behavior (Fortis et al., 2011) and brain function (Saj et al., 2013), it is possible stroke patients may benefit from treatment periods shorter than the standard, intensive protocol of ten sessions over two weeks—a protocol that is impractical for either US inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation. Demonstrating the effectiveness of a lower dose will maximize the availability of neglect treatment. We present preliminary data suggesting that four to six sessions of prism treatment may induce a large treatment effect, maintained three to four weeks post-treatment. We call for a systematic, randomized clinical trial to establish the minimal effective dose suitable for stroke intervention. PMID:25983688

Human Hallucinogen Research: Guidelines for Safety

PubMed Central

Johnson, Matthew W.; Richards, William A.; Griffiths, Roland R.

2010-01-01

There has recently been a renewal of human research with classical hallucinogens (psychedelics). This paper first briefly discusses the unique history of human hallucinogen research, and then reviews the risks of hallucinogen administration and safeguards for minimizing these risks. Although hallucinogens are relatively safe physiologically and are not considered drugs of dependence, their administration involves unique psychological risks. The most likely risk is overwhelming distress during drug action (“bad trip”), which could lead to potentially dangerous behavior such as leaving the study site. Less common are prolonged psychoses triggered by hallucinogens. Safeguards against these risks include the exclusion of volunteers with personal or family history of psychotic disorders or other severe psychiatric disorders, establishing trust and rapport between session monitors and volunteer before the session, careful volunteer preparation, a safe physical session environment, and interpersonal support from at least two study monitors during the session. Investigators should probe for the relatively rare hallucinogen persisting perception disorder in follow up contact. Persisting adverse reactions are rare when research is conducted along these guidelines. Incautious research may jeopardize participant safety and future research. However, carefully conducted research may inform the treatment of psychiatric disorders, and may lead to advances in basic science. PMID:18593734

Effects of long-term shock and associated stimuli on aggressive and manual responses1

PubMed Central

Hutchinson, R. R.; Renfrew, J. W.; Young, G. A.

1971-01-01

Squirrel monkeys were exposed to response-independent, fixed-frequency shock that produced biting attack upon a pneumatic hose. Attacks decreased within and across sessions at low intensities and high frequencies of shock, but increased within and across sessions at higher intensities and lower shock frequencies. Stimuli paired with shock, when presented alone, came to produce biting, and stimuli correlated with shock parameters that produced increases in responding within sessions produced similar increases when presented alone. Further experiments showed that continuing exposure to shock also produced lever pressing or chain pulling, with longer shock exposure again producing higher response rates. Whereas biting generally decreased throughout the intershock interval, manual responding generally increased as shock time approached, but immediately before shock was often suppressed. Following shock, biting attack predominated over manual behavior. The results suggest a possible explanation for the extreme resistance of avoidance behavior to extinction, and may also partially explain the persistence of responding during schedules of response-produced shock. Relationships of the present findings to naturalistic observations of relations between fleeing, freezing, and fighting performances are discussed. PMID:16811496

Dietary bioactives: establishing a scientific framework for recommended intakes.

PubMed

Wallace, Taylor C; Blumberg, Jeffrey B; Johnson, Elizabeth J; Shao, Andrew

2015-01-01

In the United States, dietary reference intakes describe the relations between nutrient intakes and indicators of adequacy, prevention of disease, and avoidance of excessive intakes among healthy populations for essential nutrients but not dietary bioactive components (DBCs), whose absence from the diet is presumably not deleterious to health (i.e., does not cause a deficiency syndrome). An appropriate framework is needed for establishing recommended intakes for which public health messages and food labeling for DBCs can be derived, because their putative health benefits may not be readily defined in the context of nutritional essentiality. In addition, a myriad of factors make determining their intake and status and investigating their discrete contributions to health particularly challenging. Therefore, the ASN Dietary Bioactive Components Research Interest Section felt it worthwhile to convene a special "hot topic" session at the 2014 Experimental Biology meeting to discuss this issue and serve as a call for future scientific dialogue on establishing a framework for recommended intakes of DBCs. This session summary captures the discussions and presentations that transpired during this session. © 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

Dietary Bioactives: Establishing a Scientific Framework for Recommended Intakes12

PubMed Central

Wallace, Taylor C; Blumberg, Jeffrey B; Johnson, Elizabeth J; Shao, Andrew

2015-01-01

In the United States, dietary reference intakes describe the relations between nutrient intakes and indicators of adequacy, prevention of disease, and avoidance of excessive intakes among healthy populations for essential nutrients but not dietary bioactive components (DBCs), whose absence from the diet is presumably not deleterious to health (i.e., does not cause a deficiency syndrome). An appropriate framework is needed for establishing recommended intakes for which public health messages and food labeling for DBCs can be derived, because their putative health benefits may not be readily defined in the context of nutritional essentiality. In addition, a myriad of factors make determining their intake and status and investigating their discrete contributions to health particularly challenging. Therefore, the ASN Dietary Bioactive Components Research Interest Section felt it worthwhile to convene a special “hot topic” session at the 2014 Experimental Biology meeting to discuss this issue and serve as a call for future scientific dialogue on establishing a framework for recommended intakes of DBCs. This session summary captures the discussions and presentations that transpired during this session. PMID:25593139

Modified CBT using visualization for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), anxiety and avoidance behavior--a quasi-experimental open pilot study.

PubMed

Ekman, Elizabeth; Hiltunen, Arto J

2015-12-01

In recent studies it has been suggested that Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is beneficial to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but that the method needs to be modified in relation to their cognitive profile. The aim of this study is to measure the effect of modified CBT, that is, using visualized language throughout the entire session for clients with ASD and anxiety and avoidance behavior. The modification of CBT in this study consists of focusing on CBT protocols for anxiety disorders and depression, while visualizing and systematizing "the invisible" in the conversation, in order for the clients to understand the social, cognitive and emotional context of self and others and how they should interact to avoid misunderstandings. ASD clients may need help to detect the invisible code of social interaction and communication. The level of anxiety and the frequency of target behavior were measured. Four assessments were made, two at the pre-assessment, and one in mid-therapy and end of therapy respectively. Generally, results suggest no improvement during pre-treatment period but a significant improvement during treatment. The values of the clients' psychological, social and occupational ability to function improved on the Global Function Rating scale. The preliminary conclusion of this pilot study indicates that the use of visualized language throughout the CBT therapy sessions is a promising modification of current CBT protocols for individuals with ASD. After manualization, larger studies with randomized controlled study designs can replicate or challenge these results. © 2015 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology published by Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The association between estradiol levels, hormonal contraceptive use, and responsiveness to one-session-treatment for spider phobia in women.

PubMed

Graham, Bronwyn M; Li, Sophie H; Black, Melissa J; Öst, Lars-Göran

2018-04-01

Preclinical studies have demonstrated that conditioned fear extinction is impaired in females with low endogenous levels of the sex hormone estradiol, due to menstrual fluctuations or hormonal contraceptive use. As fear extinction is a laboratory model of exposure therapy for anxiety and trauma disorders, here we assessed the hypothesis that treatment outcomes may be diminished when exposure therapy occurs during periods of low estradiol. 90 women with spider phobia (60 cycling and 30 using hormonal contraceptives) underwent a one-session exposure treatment for spider phobia, following which, serum estradiol levels were assessed. A median split in estradiol level was used to divide cycling participants into two groups; lower and higher estradiol. Behavioral avoidance and self-reported fear of spiders were measured pre-treatment, post-treatment, and at a 12 week follow-up assessment. Women using hormonal contraceptives exhibited a significantly slower rate of improvement across treatment, greater behavioral avoidance at post-treatment and follow-up, and fewer self-initiated post-treatment exposure tasks, relative to both groups of cycling women, who did not differ. No group differences in self-reported fear were evident. Correlational analyses revealed that across the whole sample, lower estradiol levels were associated with slower rates of improvement across treatment, and greater self-reported fear and behavioral avoidance at post-treatment, but not follow-up. These results provide the first evidence of an association between endogenous estradiol, hormonal contraceptive use, and exposure therapy outcomes in spider phobic women. Hormonal profile may partly account for variability in responsiveness to psychological treatments for anxiety and trauma disorders in women. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

7-Nitroindazole, a neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, impairs passive-avoidance and elevated plus-maze memory performance in rats.

PubMed

Yildiz Akar, Furuzan; Ulak, Guner; Tanyeri, Pelin; Erden, Faruk; Utkan, Tijen; Gacar, Nejat

2007-10-01

The role of nitric oxide (NO) on cognitive performance in a modified elevated plus-maze (mEPM) and passive-avoidance (PA) task was investigated by using the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitor 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) and an NO precursor l-arginine. The interaction between the activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and NO synthesis on memory retention was also studied. 7-NI, l-arginine or MK-801, a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist were injected intraperitoneally (i.p) to male Wistar rats 30 min before the first training session of the PA test or 30 min before on the first day testing (acquisition session) of mEPM task. Transfer latency, the time rat took to move from the open arm to the enclosed arm, was used as an index of learning and memory in a mEPM test. The retention session was performed 24 h after the acquisition one. In the PA task, the retention test was carried out 24 h after training and reduction of retention latency was used to evaluate the acquisition of learning and memory. Blood glucose level and locomotor activity of the rats was also evaluated. 7-NI (10, 20, 25, 50 mg/kg) and MK-801 (0.15 mg/kg) significantly prolonged the transfer latency on retention session in a mEPM test and shortened step-through latency in PA test. 7-NI-induced impairment in memory and learning was partly reversed by l-arginine (200 mg/kg), a competitive substrate for NOS. However subeffective doses of 7-NI (5 mg/kg) and MK-801 (0.075 mg/kg) given in combination significantly impaired plus-maze and PA performances in rats. Thus NMDA receptor mediated NO pathways may be implicated in the PA and mEPM behaviours in rats. Since 7-NI does not affect blood pressure and did not alter blood glucose level and locomotor activity in conscious rats, 7-NI-induced impairment of memory is not due to either hypertension, changes in blood glucose level or effects on locomotor activity.

Retraining automatic action tendencies changes alcoholic patients' approach bias for alcohol and improves treatment outcome.

PubMed

Wiers, Reinout W; Eberl, Carolin; Rinck, Mike; Becker, Eni S; Lindenmeyer, Johannes

2011-04-01

This study tested the effects of a new cognitive-bias modification (CBM) intervention that targeted an approach bias for alcohol in 214 alcoholic inpatients. Patients were assigned to one of two experimental conditions, in which they were explicitly or implicitly trained to make avoidance movements (pushing a joystick) in response to alcohol pictures, or to one of two control conditions, in which they received no training or sham training. Four brief sessions of experimental CBM preceded regular inpatient treatment. In the experimental conditions only, patients' approach bias changed into an avoidance bias for alcohol. This effect generalized to untrained pictures in the task used in the CBM and to an Implicit Association Test, in which alcohol and soft-drink words were categorized with approach and avoidance words. Patients in the experimental conditions showed better treatment outcomes a year later. These findings indicate that a short intervention can change alcoholics' automatic approach bias for alcohol and may improve treatment outcome.

Individualized music played for agitated patients with dementia: analysis of video-recorded sessions.

PubMed

Ragneskog, H; Asplund, K; Kihlgren, M; Norberg, A

2001-06-01

Many nursing home patients with dementia suffer from symptoms of agitation (e.g. anxiety, shouting, irritability). This study investigated whether individualized music could be used as a nursing intervention to reduce such symptoms in four patients with severe dementia. The patients were video-recorded during four sessions in four periods, including a control period without music, two periods where individualized music was played, and one period where classical music was played. The recordings were analysed by systematic observations and the Facial Action Coding System. Two patients became calmer during some of the individualized music sessions; one patient remained sitting in her armchair longer, and the other patient stopped shouting. For the two patients who were most affected by dementia, the noticeable effect of music was minimal. If the nursing staff succeed in discovering the music preferences of an individual, individualized music may be an effective nursing intervention to mitigate anxiety and agitation for some patients.

Prevention of illicit drug use through a school-based program: results of a longitudinal, cluster-randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Guo, Jong-Long; Lee, Tzu-Chi; Liao, Jung-Yu; Huang, Chiu-Mieh

2015-03-01

To evaluate the long-term effects of an illicit drug use prevention program for adolescents that integrates life skills into the theory of planned behavior. We conducted a cluster-randomized trial in which 24 participating schools were randomized to either an intervention group (12 schools, n = 1,176 students) or a control group (12 schools, n = 915 students). Participants were grade 7 students. The intervention comprised a main intervention of 10 sessions and two booster interventions. Booster 1 (four sessions) and booster 2 (two sessions) were performed at 6 months and 12 months, respectively, after completion of the main intervention. Assessments were made at baseline, after the main intervention, and after each booster session using specific questionnaires for measuring participants' attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and life skills. Retention rates were 71.9% (845/1,176) in the intervention group and 90.7% (830/915) in the control group after the 12-month follow-up. A significantly lower proportion of intervention group participants reported illicit drug use after the first and second booster sessions compared with control group participants (.1% vs. 1.7% and .2% vs. 1.7%, respectively; both p < .05). Attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, life skills, and behavioral intention scores of the intervention group were significantly higher than those of control group after the first and second booster sessions (all p < .001), suggesting that intervention group students tended to avoid drug use. A drug use prevention program integrating life skills into the theory of planned behavior may be effective for reducing illicit drug use and improving planned behavior-related constructs in adolescents. Copyright © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pre-training in a radial arm maze abolished anxiety and impaired habituation in C57BL6/J mice treated with dizocilpine.

PubMed

Abuhamdah, R M; Hussain, M D; Chazot, P L; Ennaceur, A

2016-10-01

Familiarity can imply a reduction of fear and anxiety, which may render learning and memory performance insensitive to NMDA receptor antagonism. Our previous study indicates that MK-801 (dizocilpine), NMDA antagonist, increased anxiety and prevented the acquisition of a spatial memory task. Here, we examined whether MK-801 will produce anxiety in mice that were familiar with the test environment. Male C57BL/6J mice were exposed, one session a day for 7days, to a 3D maze, which consisted of nine arms attached to upward inclined bridges radiating from a nonagonal platform. In this maze, high anxiety mice avoid the arms in the first sessions. One group of mice received saline (SAL) while a second group received MK-801 (MKD1), both on day one. A third group received saline in the first 3 sessions, and MK 801 in subsequent sessions (MKD4). Saline and MK-801 (0.1mg/kg) were administered intraperitoneally 30min before the test. MKD4 mice demonstrated an increase in bridge and arm visits, and reached arm/bridge entries ratio close to 1 in session 5. SAL mice also crossed frequently onto the arms, and reached a comparable ratio, but this was achieved with a lower number of arm visits. MKD1 mice demonstrated a reduced number of arm visits in each session compared to SAL and MKD4 mice. Dizocilpine produced anxiety in mice treated from day 1 of the test, but not in those treated from day 4. It also impaired habituation in animals familiar with the test environment; it produced sustained non-habituating hyperactivity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adaptive treatment-length optimization in spatiobiologically integrated radiotherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ajdari, Ali; Ghate, Archis; Kim, Minsun

2018-04-01

Recent theoretical research on spatiobiologically integrated radiotherapy has focused on optimization models that adapt fluence-maps to the evolution of tumor state, for example, cell densities, as observed in quantitative functional images acquired over the treatment course. We propose an optimization model that adapts the length of the treatment course as well as the fluence-maps to such imaged tumor state. Specifically, after observing the tumor cell densities at the beginning of a session, the treatment planner solves a group of convex optimization problems to determine an optimal number of remaining treatment sessions, and a corresponding optimal fluence-map for each of these sessions. The objective is to minimize the total number of tumor cells remaining (TNTCR) at the end of this proposed treatment course, subject to upper limits on the biologically effective dose delivered to the organs-at-risk. This fluence-map is administered in future sessions until the next image is available, and then the number of sessions and the fluence-map are re-optimized based on the latest cell density information. We demonstrate via computer simulations on five head-and-neck test cases that such adaptive treatment-length and fluence-map planning reduces the TNTCR and increases the biological effect on the tumor while employing shorter treatment courses, as compared to only adapting fluence-maps and using a pre-determined treatment course length based on one-size-fits-all guidelines.

PET/CT and contrast enhanced CT in single vs. two separate sessions: a cost analysis study.

PubMed

Picchio, M; Mansueto, M; Crivellaro, C; Guerra, L; Marcelli, S; Arosio, M; Sironi, S; Gianolli, L; Grimaldi, A; Messa, C

2012-06-01

Aim of the study was to quantify the economic impact of PET/CT and contrast enhanced (c.e.) CT performed in a single session examination vs. stand-alone modalities in oncological patients. One-hundred-forty-five cancer patients referred to both PET/CT and c.e. CT, to either stage (N.=46) or re-stage (N.=99) the disease, were included. Seventy-two/145 performed both studies in a single session (innovative method) and 73/145 in two different sessions (traditional method). The cost-minimization analysis was performed by evaluating: 1) institutional costs, data obtained by hospital accountability (staff, medical materials, equipment maintenance and depreciation, departments utilities); 2) patients costs, data obtained by a specific survey provided to patients (travel, food, accommodation costs, productivity loss). Economic data analysis showed that the costs for innovative method was lower than those of traditional method, both for Institution (106 € less per test) and for patient (21 € less per patient). The loss of productivity for patient and caregivers resulted lower for the innovative method than the traditional method (3 work-hour less per person). PET/CT and c.e. CT performed in a single session is more cost-effective than stand-alone modalities, by reducing both Institutional and patients costs. These advantages are mainly due to lower Institutional cost (single procedure) and to lower cost related to travel and housing.

Worldwide Report, Arms Control

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-12-09

Pershing-2 Siting 12 Attempt to Forestall Accord 13 U.S. Avoids Discussing Numbers 14 PRAVDA on Nuclear Missile Withdrawal From Greece (Moscow PRAVDA...European states. At the last (June) session of the NATO Council, -Denmark and Greece reserved their positions on the point in the final document...MISSILE WITHDRAWAL FROM GREECE PM151515 Moscow PRAVDA in Russian 10 Nov 85 First Edition p 5 [Nikolay Miroshnik "Commentator’s Column": "Start Made

The time course of short-term hypertrophy in the absence of eccentric muscle damage.

PubMed

Stock, Matt S; Mota, Jacob A; DeFranco, Ryan N; Grue, Katherine A; Jacobo, A Unique; Chung, Eunhee; Moon, Jordan R; DeFreitas, Jason M; Beck, Travis W

2017-05-01

It has been proposed that the increase in skeletal muscle mass observed during the initial weeks of initiating a resistance training program is concomitant with eccentric muscle damage and edema. We examined the time course of muscle hypertrophy during 4 weeks of concentric-only resistance training. Thirteen untrained men performed unilateral concentric-only dumbbell curls and shoulder presses twice per week for 4 weeks. Sets of 8-12 repetitions were performed to failure, and training loads were increased during each session. Subjects consumed 500 ml of whole milk during training. Assessments of soreness, lean mass, echo intensity, muscle thickness, relaxed and flexed arm circumference, and isokinetic strength were performed every 72 or 96 h. Soreness, echo intensity, relaxed circumference, and peak torque data did not significantly change. Significant increases in lean mass, muscle thickness, and flexed circumference were observed within seven training sessions. Lean mass was elevated at tests #7 (+109.3 g, p = .002) and #8 (+116.1 g, p = .035), with eight different subjects showing changes above the minimal difference of 139.1 g. Muscle thickness was elevated at tests #6 (+0.23 cm, p = .004), #7 (+0.31 cm, p < .001), and #8 (+0.27 cm, p < .001), with ten subjects exceeding the minimal difference of 0.24 cm. There were no changes for the control arm. In individuals beginning a resistance training program, small but detectable increases in hypertrophy may occur in the absence of eccentric muscle damage within seven training sessions.

Swanson in U.S. Laboratory

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-09-02

ISS040-E-123259 (2 Sept. 2014) --- NASA astronaut Steve Swanson, Expedition 40 commander, prepares to set up the Portable Pulmonary Function System hardware for Sprint VO2max sessions in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. The Sprint experiment measures the effectiveness of high-intensity, low-volume exercise training in minimizing the loss of muscle mass and bone density that occurs during spaceflight.

Swanson in U.S. Laboratory

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-09-02

ISS040-E-123262 (2 Sept. 2014) --- NASA astronaut Steve Swanson, Expedition 40 commander, sets up the Portable Pulmonary Function System hardware for Sprint VO2max sessions in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station. The Sprint experiment measures the effectiveness of high-intensity, low-volume exercise training in minimizing the loss of muscle mass and bone density that occurs during spaceflight.

What We Can Learn from Military-Connected Families about Relocation and Transitions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Susan E.

2014-01-01

Summer brings camps, vacations, mentorships, internships, and special programs for many gifted children. With classes out of session in most U.S. schools, it is also prime time for families who are moving and hoping to minimize academic disruption. It's important for parents to know that gifted children may face their own academic and social and…

Effects of Different Types of Corrective Feedback on Receptive Skills in a Second Language: A Speech Perception Training Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Andrew H.; Lyster, Roy

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effects of different types of corrective feedback (CF) provided during second language (L2) speech perception training. One hundred Korean learners of L2 English, randomly assigned to five groups (n = 20 per group), participated in eight computer-assisted perception training sessions targeting two minimal pairs of…

Everything that New and Adjunct Business Faculty Members Should Ask about Teaching, but Don't Know Enough to Ask

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berschback, Rick

2010-01-01

This paper is a user-friendly manual designed to minimize the growing pains associated with college-level teaching. Specific topics include syllabus development, classroom teaching methods, proper use of the initial class session, and advice related to answering student questions. Many new and adjunct instructors are met with unexpected challenges…

Teaching about the Income Statement and Balance Sheet in a Beginning Business German Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudolf, Uwe

A review of business German textbooks reveals that few give significant attention to accounting terminology. Both German majors and business majors enrolled in business German need to be introduced to the balance sheet and income statement. It is possible to devote one or two class sessions to accounting by limiting content to a minimal but solid…

Algorithm for protecting light-trees in survivable mesh wavelength-division-multiplexing networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Hongbin; Li, Lemin; Yu, Hongfang

2006-12-01

Wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) technology is expected to facilitate bandwidth-intensive multicast applications such as high-definition television. A single fiber cut in a WDM mesh network, however, can disrupt the dissemination of information to several destinations on a light-tree based multicast session. Thus it is imperative to protect multicast sessions by reserving redundant resources. We propose a novel and efficient algorithm for protecting light-trees in survivable WDM mesh networks. The algorithm is called segment-based protection with sister node first (SSNF), whose basic idea is to protect a light-tree using a set of backup segments with a higher priority to protect the segments from a branch point to its children (sister nodes). The SSNF algorithm differs from the segment protection scheme proposed in the literature in how the segments are identified and protected. Our objective is to minimize the network resources used for protecting each primary light-tree such that the blocking probability can be minimized. To verify the effectiveness of the SSNF algorithm, we conduct extensive simulation experiments. The simulation results demonstrate that the SSNF algorithm outperforms existing algorithms for the same problem.

Standardization and Optimization of Computed Tomography Protocols to Achieve Low-Dose

PubMed Central

Chin, Cynthia; Cody, Dianna D.; Gupta, Rajiv; Hess, Christopher P.; Kalra, Mannudeep K.; Kofler, James M.; Krishnam, Mayil S.; Einstein, Andrew J.

2014-01-01

The increase in radiation exposure due to CT scans has been of growing concern in recent years. CT scanners differ in their capabilities and various indications require unique protocols, but there remains room for standardization and optimization. In this paper we summarize approaches to reduce dose, as discussed in lectures comprising the first session of the 2013 UCSF Virtual Symposium on Radiation Safety in Computed Tomography. The experience of scanning at low dose in different body regions, for both diagnostic and interventional CT procedures, is addressed. An essential primary step is justifying the medical need for each scan. General guiding principles for reducing dose include tailoring a scan to a patient, minimizing scan length, use of tube current modulation and minimizing tube current, minimizing-tube potential, iterative reconstruction, and periodic review of CT studies. Organized efforts for standardization have been spearheaded by professional societies such as the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. Finally, all team members should demonstrate an awareness of the importance of minimizing dose. PMID:24589403

Avoidance of urinary catheterization to minimize in-hospital complications after transcatheter aortic valve implantation: An observational study.

PubMed

Lauck, Sandra B; Kwon, Jae-Yung; Wood, David A; Baumbusch, Jennifer; Norekvål, Tone M; Htun, Nay; Stephenson, Leo; Webb, John G

2018-01-01

Contemporary transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) devices and approach present opportunities to review historical practices initially informed by early treatment development and cardiac surgery. The avoidance of urinary catheterization in the older TAVI population is a strategy to minimize in-hospital complications. The purpose of the study was to explore elimination-related complications following the phased implementation of a default strategy of avoiding urinary catheterization in patients undergoing transfemoral (TF) TAVI. We conducted an observational study using a retrospective chart review of patients treated between 2011 and 2013 to identify patient characteristics, peri-procedure details, in-hospital outcomes and elimination-related complications in patients who did or did not receive a peri-procedure indwelling catheter. Descriptive analyses were used to report differences between the groups; we conducted a regression analysis to explore the relationship between the practice of urinary catheterization and total procedure time. Of the 408 patients who underwent TF TAVR, 188 (46.1%) received a peri-procedure indwelling urinary catheter and 220 (53.9%) did not. There was no difference in in-hospital mortality (2.2%), disabling stroke (0.5%), or other major cardiac adverse events. The avoidance of a urinary catheter resulted in significantly lower rates of urinary tract infection requiring a new antibiotic regimen (1.4% versus 6.1%, p = 0.014), haematuria documented by medicine or nursing (3.7% versus 17.6%, p = 0.001), and the need for continuous bladder irrigation (2.7% versus 0%, p = 0.027). The avoidance of a urinary catheter may contribute to improved outcomes in patients undergoing TAVI. The intervention should be further evaluated within the broader study of minimalist TAVI.

Bariatric Surgery Candidates' Peer and Romantic Relationships and Associations with Health Behaviors.

PubMed

Pratt, Keeley J; Balk, Elizabeth K; Ferriby, Megan; Wallace, Lorraine; Noria, Sabrena; Needleman, Bradley

2016-11-01

The aim was to assess the romantic and peer relationships of bariatric surgery candidates and associations with health behaviors. Adults seeking bariatric surgery (N = 120) completed surveys addressing health behaviors and social relationships at information sessions. Analysis was done to compare male/female differences in peer and romantic relationships and associations with health behaviors. Previously published reference (REF) data on the Relationship Structures questionnaire was used for comparison, and to split our sample into those ≤ or > REF mean for relationship anxiety and avoidance. Our sample reported higher avoidance and lower anxiety in their close friendships and romantic relationships compared to the REF sample. Men in our sample had higher peer and romantic relationships avoidance compared to the REF sample and had significantly higher close friendship avoidance than women in our sample. Participants with lower anxiety in their romantic relationships (≤ REF) had higher uncontrolled eating and physical activity; those with more anxiety in their romantic relationships (> REF) had a higher BMI. Our findings highlight the potential influence that social relationships may have on health behaviors within the bariatric surgery population. Further investigation is warranted to explore male bariatric surgery candidates' relationships to inform understanding and intervention development.

Minimalism through intraoperative functional mapping.

PubMed

Berger, M S

1996-01-01

Intraoperative stimulation mapping may be used to avoid unnecessary risk to functional regions subserving language and sensori-motor pathways. Based on the data presented here, language localization is variable in the entire population, with only certainty existing for the inferior frontal region responsible for motor speech. Anatomical landmarks such as the anterior temporal tip for temporal lobe language sites and the posterior aspect of the lateral sphenoid wing for the frontal lobe language zones are unreliable in avoiding postoperative aphasias. Thus, individual mapping to identify essential language sites has the greatest likelihood of avoiding permanent deficits in naming, reading, and motor speech. In a similar approach, motor and sensory pathways from the cortex and underlying white matter may be reliably stimulated and mapped in both awake and asleep patients. Although these techniques require an additional operative time and equipment nominally priced, the result is often gratifying, as postoperative morbidity has been greatly reduced in the process of incorporating these surgical strategies. The patients quality of life is improved in terms of seizure control, with or without antiepileptic drugs. This avoids having to perform a second costly operative procedure, which is routinely done when extraoperative stimulation and recording is done via subdural grids. In addition, an aggressive tumor resection at the initial operation lengthens the time to tumor recurrence and often obviates the need for a subsequent reoperation. Thus, intraoperative functional mapping may be best alluded to as a surgical technique that results in "minimalism in the long term".

Assessing the interplay between the shoulders and low back during manual patient handling techniques in a nursing setting.

PubMed

Belbeck, Alicia; Cudlip, Alan C; Dickerson, Clark R

2014-01-01

The purpose of this research was to quantify shoulder demands during freestyle manual patient handling (MPH) tasks and determine whether approaches intended to prevent low back injury increased shoulder demands. Twenty females completed 5 MPH tasks found commonly in hospital settings before and after a training session using current workplace MPH guidelines. Most normalized muscle activity indices and ratings of perceived exertion decreased following training at both the low back and shoulders, but were more pronounced at the low back. There was little evidence to suggest that mechanical demands were transferred from the low back to the shoulders following the training session. The study generally supports continued use of the recommended MPH techniques, but indicates that several tasks generate high muscular demands and should be avoided if possible.

Typology of Couples Entering Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy: An Empirical Approach and Test of Predictive Validity on Treatment Response.

PubMed

Ladd, Benjamin O; McCrady, Barbara S

2016-01-01

This study aimed to examine whether classification of couples in which one partner has an alcohol problem is similar to that reported in the general couples literature. Typologies of couples seeking alcohol behavioral couple therapy (ABCT) were developed via hierarchical cluster analysis using behavioral codes of couple interactions during their first ABCT session. Four couples types based on in-session behavior were established reliably, labeled avoider, validator, hostile, and ambivalent-detached. These couple types resembled couples types found in previous research. Couple type was associated with baseline relationship satisfaction, but not alcohol use. Results suggest heterogeneity in couples with alcohol problems presenting to treatment; further study is needed to investigate the function of alcohol within these different types. © 2015 American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.

Pharmacy students' ability to identify plagiarism after an educational intervention.

PubMed

Degeeter, Michelle; Harris, Kira; Kehr, Heather; Ford, Carolyn; Lane, Daniel C; Nuzum, Donald S; Compton, Cynthia; Gibson, Whitney

2014-03-12

Objective. To determine if an educational intervention in a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree program increases pharmacy students' ability to identify plagiarism. Methods. First-year (P1), second-year (P2), and third-year (P3) pharmacy students attended an education session during which types of plagiarism and methods for avoiding plagiarism were reviewed. Students completed a preintervention assessment immediately prior to the session and a postintervention assessment the following semester to measure their ability. Results. Two hundred fifty-two students completed both preintervention and postintervention assessments. There was a 4% increase from preintervention to postintervention in assessment scores for the overall student sample (p<0.05). The mean change was greatest for P1 and P2 students (5% and 4.8%, respectively). Conclusion. An educational intervention about plagiarism can significantly improve students' ability to identify plagiarism.

Pharmacy Students’ Ability to Identify Plagiarism After an Educational Intervention

PubMed Central

Harris, Kira; Kehr, Heather; Ford, Carolyn; Lane, Daniel C.; Nuzum, Donald S.; Compton, Cynthia; Gibson, Whitney

2014-01-01

Objective. To determine if an educational intervention in a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree program increases pharmacy students’ ability to identify plagiarism. Methods. First-year (P1), second-year (P2), and third-year (P3) pharmacy students attended an education session during which types of plagiarism and methods for avoiding plagiarism were reviewed. Students completed a preintervention assessment immediately prior to the session and a postintervention assessment the following semester to measure their ability. Results. Two hundred fifty-two students completed both preintervention and postintervention assessments. There was a 4% increase from preintervention to postintervention in assessment scores for the overall student sample (p<0.05). The mean change was greatest for P1 and P2 students (5% and 4.8%, respectively). Conclusion. An educational intervention about plagiarism can significantly improve students’ ability to identify plagiarism. PMID:24672066

Tracking the deployment of the integrated metropolitan intelligent transportation systems infrastructure in the USA : FY 1997 results

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-01-01

The essence of effective environmental justice practice is summarized in three fundamental principles: (1) Avoid, minimize, or mitigate disproportionately high and adverse human health and environmental effects, including social and economic effects,...

Chemicals and wildlife

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeWitt, J.B.; Springer, P.F.

1957-01-01

Short paper that reviews some of the facts about effects of insecticides on wildlife and states principles that should be followed for maximum safety in treatment. These principles include minimal doses, good ground-to-plane control to avoid overdoses, and least possible pollution of water areas.

Chemicals and wildlife

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeWitt, J.B.; Springer, P.F.

1958-01-01

Short paper that reviews some of the facts about effects of insecticides on wildlife and states principles that should be followed for maximum safety in treatment. These principles include minimal doses, good ground-to-plane control to avoid overdoses, and least possible pollution of water areas.

Eco-logical : an ecosystem approach to developing transportation infrastructure projects in a changing environment

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-09-13

The development of infrastructure facilities can negatively impact critical habitat and essential ecosystems. There are a variety of techniques available to avoid, minimize, and mitigate negative impacts of existing infrastructure as well as future i...

Preventing Infectious Disease in Sports.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howe, Warren B.

2003-01-01

Preventing infectious disease in sports is fundamental to maintaining team effectiveness and helping athletes avoid the adverse effects of illness. Good hygiene, immunization, minimal exposure to specific diseases, and certain prophylactic measures are essential. Teammates, coaches, trainers, officials, healthcare providers, and community public…

Evaluating an in-home multicomponent cognitive behavioural programme to manage concerns about falls and associated activity avoidance in frail community-dwelling older people: Design of a randomised control trial [NCT01358032

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Concerns about falls are frequently reported by older people. These concerns can have serious consequences such as an increased risk of falls and the subsequent avoidance of activities. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of a multicomponent group programme to reduce concerns about falls. However, owing to health problems older people may not be able to attend a group programme. Therefore, we adapted the group approach to an individual in-home programme. Methods/Design A two-group randomised controlled trial has been developed to evaluate the in-home multicomponent cognitive behavioural programme to manage concerns about falls and associated activity avoidance in frail older people living in the community. Persons were eligible for study if they were 70 years of age or over, perceived their general health as fair or poor, had at least some concerns about falls and associated avoidance of activity. After screening for eligibility in a random sample of older people, eligible persons received a baseline assessment and were subsequently allocated to the intervention or control group. Persons assigned to the intervention group were invited to participate in the programme, while those assigned to the control group received care as usual. The programme consists of seven sessions, comprising three home visits and four telephone contacts. The sessions are aimed at instilling adaptive and realistic views about falls, as well as increasing activity and safe behaviour. An effect evaluation, a process evaluation and an economic evaluation are conducted. Follow-up measurements for the effect evaluation are carried out 5 and 12 months after the baseline measurement. The primary outcomes of the effect evaluation are concerns about falls and avoidance of activity as a result of these concerns. Other outcomes are disability and falls. The process evaluation measures: the population characteristics reached; protocol adherence by facilitators; protocol adherence by participants (engagement in exposure and homework); opinions about the programme of participants and facilitators; perceived benefits and achievements; and experienced barriers. The economic evaluation examines the impact on health-care utilisation, as well as related costs. Discussion A total number of 389 participants is included in the study. Final results are expected in 2012. Trial registration NCT01358032 PMID:21933436

Laser bonding with ICG-infused chitosan patches: preliminary experiences in suine dura mater and vocal folds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossi, Francesca; Matteini, Paolo; Ratto, Fulvio; Pini, Roberto; Iacoangeli, Maurizio; Giannoni, Luca; Fortuna, Damiano; Di Cicco, Emiliano; Corbara, Sylwia; Dallari, Stefano

2014-05-01

Laser bonding is a promising minimally invasive approach, emerging as a valid alternative to conventional suturing techniques. It shows widely demonstrated advantages in wound treatment: immediate closuring effect, minimal inflammatory response and scar formation, reduced healing time. This laser based technique can overcome the difficulties in working through narrow surgical corridors (e.g. the modern "key-hole" surgery as well as the endoscopy setting) or in thin tissues that are impossible to treat with staples and/or stitches. We recently proposed the use of chitosan matrices, stained with conventional chromophores, to be used in laser bonding of vascular tissue. In this work we propose the same procedure to perform laser bonding of vocal folds and dura mater repair. Laser bonding of vocal folds is proposed to avoid the development of adhesions (synechiae), after conventional or CO2 laser surgery. Laser bonding application in neurosurgery is proposed for the treatment of dural defects being the Cerebro Spinal Fluid leaks still a major issue. Vocal folds and dura mater were harvested from 9-months old porks and used in the experimental sessions within 4 hours after sacrifice. In vocal folds treatment, an IdocyanineGreen-infused chitosan patch was applied onto the anterior commissure, while the dura mater was previously incised and then bonded. A diode laser emitting at 810 nm, equipped with a 600 μm diameter optical fiber was used to weld the patch onto the tissue, by delivering single laser spots to induce local patch/tissue adhesion. The result is an immediate adhesion of the patch to the tissue. Standard histology was performed, in order to study the induced photothermal effect at the bonding sites. This preliminary experimental activity shows the advantages of the proposed technique in respect to standard surgery: simplification of the procedure; decreased foreign-body reaction; reduced inflammatory response; reduced operating times and better handling in depth.

Millimeter wave backscatter measurements in support of collision avoidance applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narayanan, Ram M.; Snuttjer, Brett R. J.

1997-11-01

Millimeter-wave short range radar systems have unique advantages in surface navigation applications, such as military vehicle mobility, aircraft landing assistance, and automotive collision avoidance. In collision avoidance applications, characterization of clutter due to terrain and roadside objects is necessary in order to maximize the signal-to-clutter ratio (SCR) and to minimize false alarms. The results of two types of radar cross section (RCS) measurements at 95 GHz are reported in this paper. The first set of measurements presents data on the normalized RCS (NRCS) as well as clutter distributions of various terrain types at low grazing angles of 5° and 7.5°. The second set of measurements presents RCS data and statistics on various types of roadside objects, such as metallic and wooden sign posts. These results are expected to be useful for designers of short-range millimeter-wave collision avoidance radar systems.

[Cognitive remediation therapy for children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa in France: an exploratory study].

PubMed

Asch, M; Esteves, J; De Hautecloque, D; Bargiacchi, A; Le Heuzey, M-F; Mouren, M-C; Doyen, C

2014-06-01

Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) seems to be increasingly interesting in the treatment of anorexia nervosa for adult patients. We attempted to apply this support to a group of young inpatients, initially to assess its feasibility and acceptability, and then to improve its content for therapeutic application and future research. Ten 12- to 17-year-old inpatients with primary DSM-IV diagnosis of anorexia nervosa participated in a 10-week intervention program with a one-hour group session of CRT per week. All 10 patients were assessed before the intervention and those who completed the 10 sessions were assessed after. Assessment included a clinical examination by a psychiatrist, a battery of clinical inventories, and set-shifting tests. Moreover, each patient wrote a letter providing feedback on the intervention for subsequent analysis. Only two patients completed all 10 sessions, the other eight who were discharged from the hospital in the meantime could not attend the sessions for practical reasons. After the 10 sessions, an improvement in BMI and in measured levels of some psychopathological symptoms was observed in our two patients. Most neuropsychological task performances were improved after cognitive remediation. Feedback from the 10 patients was generally positive. This preliminary investigation suggests that cognitive remediation therapy is acceptable and feasible in this population. Replication of these findings requires a larger sample, improvement of the trial design, more sensitive measures, and another training format to avoid loss of so many participants. Copyright © 2013 L’Encéphale, Paris. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Effects of blur and repeated testing on sensitivity estimates with frequency doubling perimetry.

PubMed

Artes, Paul H; Nicolela, Marcelo T; McCormick, Terry A; LeBlanc, Raymond P; Chauhan, Balwantray C

2003-02-01

To investigate the effect of blur and repeated testing on sensitivity with frequency doubling technology (FDT) perimetry. One eye of 12 patients with glaucoma (mean deviation [MD] mean, -2.5 dB, range +0.5 to -4.3 dB) and 11 normal control subjects underwent six consecutive tests with the FDT N30 threshold program in each of two sessions. In session 1, blur was induced by trial lenses (-6.00, -3.00, 0.00, +3.00, and +6.00 D, in random order). In session 2, only the effects of repeated testing were evaluated. The MD and pattern standard deviation (PSD) indices were evaluated as functions of blur and of test order. By correcting the data of session 1 for the reduction of sensitivity with repeated testing (session 2), the effect of blur on FDT sensitivities was established, and its clinical consequences evaluated on total- and pattern-deviation probability maps. FDT sensitivities decreased with blur (by <0.5 dB/D) and with repeated testing (by approximately 2 dB between the first and sixth tests). Blur and repeated testing independently led to larger numbers of locations with significant total and pattern deviation. Sensitivity reductions were similar in normal control subjects and patients with glaucoma, at central and peripheral test locations and at locations with high and low sensitivities. However, patients with glaucoma showed larger deterioration in the total-deviation-probability maps. To optimize the performance of the device, refractive errors should be corrected and immediate retesting avoided. Further research is needed to establish the cause of sensitivity loss with repeated FDT testing.

Minimum-Time and Vibration Avoidance Attitude Maneuver for Spacecraft with Torque and Momentum Limit Constraints in Redundant Reaction Wheel Configuration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ha, Kong Q.; Femiano, Michael D.; Mosier, Gary E.

2004-01-01

This viewgraph presentation presents an algorithm for trajectory control of a spacecraft that minimizes the time to perform slews, including settling, by avoiding reaction wheel torque and momentum limits that would excite flexible structural modes. This algorithm was validated by simulation during the design of the NGST 'Yardstick' (precursor to JWST). Performance verification of a reduced form for single-axis slews was carried out using the MIT Origins Testbed. It is currently baselined for use by TPF-Coronagraph.

Webcam delivery of the Camperdown Program for adolescents who stutter: a phase I trial.

PubMed

Carey, Brenda; O'Brian, Sue; Onslow, Mark; Packman, Ann; Menzies, Ross

2012-07-01

This Phase I clinical trial explored the viability of webcam Internet delivery of the Camperdown Program for adolescents who stutter. Method and Procedure Participants were 3 adolescents ages 13, 15, and 16 years, with moderate-severe stuttering. Each was treated with the Camperdown Program delivered by webcam with no clinic attendance. Primary outcome measures were percentage of syllables stuttered and number of treatment sessions to maintenance. Secondary outcome measures were speech naturalness, situation avoidance, self-reported stuttering severity, and parent and adolescent satisfaction. Data were collected pre treatment and at 1 day, 6 months, and 12 months post entry to maintenance. Participants entered maintenance after means of 18 sessions and 11 clinician hours. Group mean reduction of stuttering from pre treatment to entry to maintenance was 83%, from pre treatment to 6 months post entry to maintenance was 93%, and from pre treatment to 12 months post entry to maintenance was 74%. Self-reported stuttering severity ratings confirmed these results. Post entry to maintenance speech naturalness for participants fell within the range of that of 3 matched controls. However, avoidance of speech situations showed no corresponding improvements for 2 of the participants. The service delivery model was efficacious and efficient. All of the participants and their parents also found it appealing. Results justify a Phase II trial of the delivery model.

Approach bias modification training and consumption: A review of the literature.

PubMed

Kakoschke, Naomi; Kemps, Eva; Tiggemann, Marika

2017-01-01

Recent theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence have suggested that biased cognitive processing is an important contributor to unhealthy behaviour. Approach bias modification is a novel intervention in which approach biases for appetitive cues are modified. The current review of the literature aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of modifying approach bias for harmful consumption behaviours, including alcohol use, cigarette smoking, and unhealthy eating. Relevant publications were identified through a search of four electronic databases (PsycINFO, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect and Scopus) that were conducted between October and December 2015. Eligibility criteria included the use of a human adult sample, at least one session of avoidance training, and an outcome measure related to the behaviour of interest. The fifteen identified publications (comprising 18 individual studies) were coded on a number of characteristics, including consumption behaviour, participants, task, training and control conditions, number of training sessions and trials, outcome measure, and results. The results generally showed positive effects of approach-avoidance training, including reduced consumption behaviour in the laboratory, lower relapse rates, and improvements in self-reported measures of behaviour. Importantly, all studies (with one exception) that reported favourable consumption outcomes also demonstrated successful reduction of the approach bias for appetitive cues. Thus, the current review concluded that approach bias modification is effective for reducing both approach bias and unhealthy consumption behaviour. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of structured support groups for pregnant South African women recently diagnosed HIV positive.

PubMed

Mundell, Jonathan P; Visser, Maretha J; Makin, Jennifer D; Kershaw, Trace S; Forsyth, Brian W C; Jeffery, Bridget; Sikkema, Kathleen J

2011-08-31

The authors of this study evaluated a structured 10-session psychosocial support group intervention for newly HIV-diagnosed pregnant South African women. Participants were expected to display increases in HIV disclosure, self-esteem, active coping and positive social support, and decreases in depression, avoidant coping, and negative social support. Three hundred sixty-one pregnant HIV-infected women were recruited from four antenatal clinics in Tshwane townships from April 2005 to September 2006. Using a quasi-experimental design, assessments were conducted at baseline and two and eight months post-intervention. A series of random effects regression analyses were conducted, with the three assessment points treated as a random effect of time. At both follow-ups, the rate of disclosure in the intervention group was significantly higher than that of the comparison group (p<0.001). Compared to the comparison group at the first follow-up, the intervention group displayed higher levels of active coping (t=2.68, p<0.05) and lower levels of avoidant coping (t=-2.02, p<0.05), and those who attended at least half of the intervention sessions exhibited improved self-esteem (t=2.11, p<0.05). Group interventions tailored for newly HIV positive pregnant women, implemented in resource-limited settings, may accelerate the process of adjusting to one's HIV status, but may not have sustainable benefits over time.

Possible End to an Endless Quest? Cognitive Bias Modification for Excessive Multiplayer Online Gamers.

PubMed

Rabinovitz, Sharon; Nagar, Maayan

2015-10-01

Cognitive biases have previously been recognized as key mechanisms that contribute to the development, maintenance, and relapse of addictive behaviors. The same mechanisms have been recently found in problematic computer gaming. The present study aims to investigate whether excessive massively multiplayer online role-playing gamers (EG) demonstrate an approach bias toward game-related cues compared to neutral stimuli; to test whether these automatic action tendencies can be implicitly modified in a single session training; and to test whether this training affects game urges and game-seeking behavior. EG (n=38) were randomly assigned to a condition in which they were implicitly trained to avoid or to approach gaming cues by pushing or pulling a joystick, using a computerized intervention (cognitive bias modification via the Approach Avoidance Task). EG demonstrated an approach bias for gaming cues compared with neutral, movie cues. Single session training significantly decreased automatic action tendencies to approach gaming cues. These effects occurred outside subjective awareness. Furthermore, approach bias retraining reduced subjective urges and intentions to play, as well as decreased game-seeking behavior. Retraining automatic processes may be beneficial in changing addictive impulses in EG. Yet, large-scale trials and long-term follow-up are warranted. The results extend the application of cognitive bias modification from substance use disorders to behavioral addictions, and specifically to Internet gaming disorder. Theoretical implications are discussed.

How do price minimizing behaviors impact smoking cessation? Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey.

PubMed

Licht, Andrea S; Hyland, Andrew J; O'Connor, Richard J; Chaloupka, Frank J; Borland, Ron; Fong, Geoffrey T; Nargis, Nigar; Cummings, K Michael

2011-05-01

This paper examines how price minimizing behaviors impact efforts to stop smoking. Data on 4,988 participants from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation (ITC) Four-Country Survey who were smokers at baseline (wave 5) and interviewed at a 1 year follow-up were used. We examined whether price minimizing behaviors at baseline predicted: (1) cessation, (2) quit attempts, and (3) successful quit attempts at one year follow up using multivariate logistic regression modeling. A subset analysis included 3,387 participants who were current smokers at waves 5 and 6 and were followed through wave 7 to explore effects of changing purchase patterns on cessation. Statistical tests for interaction were performed to examine the joint effect of SES and price/tax avoidance behaviors on cessation outcomes. Smokers who engaged in any price/tax avoidance behaviors were 28% less likely to report cessation. Persons using low/untaxed sources were less likely to quit at follow up, those purchasing cartons were less likely to make quit attempts and quit, and those using discount cigarettes were less likely to succeed, conditional on making attempts. Respondents who utilized multiple behaviors simultaneously were less likely to make quit attempts and to succeed. SES did not modify the effects of price minimizing behaviors on cessation outcomes. The data from this paper indicate that the availability of lower priced cigarette alternatives may attenuate public health efforts aimed at to reduce reducing smoking prevalence through price and tax increases among all SES groups.

Nitrate Leaching Management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Nitrate (NO3) leaching is a significant nitrogen (N) loss process for agriculture that must be managed to minimize NO3 enrichment of groundwater and surface waters. Managing NO3 leaching should involve the application of basic principles of understanding the site’s hydrologic cycle, avoiding excess ...

0-6762 : maximizing mitigation benefits-making a difference with strategic inter-resource agency planning.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-08-01

Transportation agencies do their best to avoid : and minimize any impacts to the environment, : but some impacts are unavoidable. : Compensatory mitigation is used to offset these : unavoidable impacts to the environment. Over : $3.3 billion is spent...

33 CFR 337.7 - Emergency actions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... measures to modify the emergency operation to reduce, avoid, or minimize adverse environmental impacts. If... DEFENSE PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 337.7 Emergency actions. After obtaining approval from the division..., as necessary, an environmental assessment, if this is practicable in view of the emergency situation...

33 CFR 337.7 - Emergency actions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... measures to modify the emergency operation to reduce, avoid, or minimize adverse environmental impacts. If... DEFENSE PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 337.7 Emergency actions. After obtaining approval from the division..., as necessary, an environmental assessment, if this is practicable in view of the emergency situation...

33 CFR 337.7 - Emergency actions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... measures to modify the emergency operation to reduce, avoid, or minimize adverse environmental impacts. If... DEFENSE PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 337.7 Emergency actions. After obtaining approval from the division..., as necessary, an environmental assessment, if this is practicable in view of the emergency situation...

33 CFR 337.7 - Emergency actions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... measures to modify the emergency operation to reduce, avoid, or minimize adverse environmental impacts. If... DEFENSE PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 337.7 Emergency actions. After obtaining approval from the division..., as necessary, an environmental assessment, if this is practicable in view of the emergency situation...

Avoid Age Discrimination.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernstein, Michael I.

1982-01-01

Steps a school board can take to minimize the risk of age discrimination suits include reviewing all written policies, forms, files, and collective bargaining agreements for age discriminatory items; preparing a detailed statistical analysis of the age of personnel; and reviewing reduction-in-force procedures. (Author/MLF)

Internet-Based Self-Help with Therapist Feedback and in Vivo Group Exposure for Social Phobia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andersson, Gerhard; Carlbring, Per; Holmstrom, Annelie; Sparthan, Elisabeth; Furmark, Tomas; Nilsson-Ihrfelt, Elisabeth; Buhrman, Monica; Ekselius, Lisa

2006-01-01

Sixty-four individuals with social phobia (social anxiety disorder) were assigned to a multimodal cognitive-behavioral treatment package or to a waiting list control group. Treatment consisted of a 9-week, Internet-delivered, self-help program that was combined with 2 group exposure sessions in real life and minimal therapist contact via e-mail.…

Time stamp in conditioned place avoidance can be set to different circadian phases.

PubMed

Cain, Sean W; McDonald, Robert J; Ralph, Martin R

2008-05-01

We have reported that the expression of conditioned place avoidance (CPA) in the golden hamster is regulated in a circadian pattern such that the preference is exhibited strongly at the circadian time of prior training but not at other circadian times [Cain, S. W., Chou, T., & Ralph, M. R. (2004a). Circadian modulation of performance on an aversion-based place learning task in hamsters. Behavioural Brain Research, 150(1-2), 201-205]. In that study, animals that were trained at a specific circadian time to discriminate between a "safe" context and one paired with foot shock, showed strong avoidance of the paired context at 24 and 48h following the last training session, and showed no avoidance at 32 and 40h following training. In the present study, we hypothesized that this "time stamp" effect is settable to any circadian phase. This was tested by training animals at one of two times of day (ZT13 or ZT4) and testing whether a time stamp would be observed, with avoidance occurring only when training and testing times match. Results confirmed our hypothesis, suggesting that the time stamp in the performance of learned tasks can be set to any circadian phase. Such an ability may allow animals in nature to predict the recurrence of 24h events, regardless of the time of day the event was encountered.

The hydration status of young female elite soccer players during an official tournament.

PubMed

Chapelle, Laurent; Tassignon, Bruno; Aerenhouts, Dirk; Mullie, Patrick; Clarys, Peter

2017-09-01

The hydration status of elite female soccer players is a concern, especially during high-volume training periods or tournaments. Furthermore, scientific literature on this topic is scarce to non-existent. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to evaluate the hydration status in elite youth female soccer players during an official tournament. The secondary aim was to identify a possible relationship between pre-training hydration status and fluid intake. Eighteen players were followed during eight consecutive days. Urine specific gravity was used to assess hydration status. Body weight was monitored before and after every training and match, whilst individual fluid intake was only registered during training. The players were informed about their hydration status on day 5. On days 1 to 4, the percentage of players who were at least minimally hypohydrated ranged between 44% and 78%. On day 5 (rest day), all the players were at least minimally hypohydrated. After the information session on day 5, the relative number of euhydrated players increased to 89% on both day 6 (training day) and day 7 (match day). On the final day (rest day), all players were either minimally hypohydrated or hypohydrated. Furthermore, a moderate and significant negative correlation (r=-0.44; N.=54; P=0.01) was found between fluid intake during and USG value before the training sessions. The data illustrates that the hydration status of this population of elite youth female soccer players may be suboptimal and is of substantial concern on rest days during this tournament under temperate conditions. Receiving personal advice about rehydration seems to have a positive effect.

Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Electrolysis and Eccentric Exercises for Subacromial Pain Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Trial

PubMed Central

Arias-Buría, José L.; Truyols-Domínguez, Sebastián; Valero-Alcaide, Raquel; Salom-Moreno, Jaime; Atín-Arratibel, María A.; Fernández-de-las-Peñas, César

2015-01-01

Objective. To compare effects of ultrasound- (US-) guided percutaneous electrolysis combined with an eccentric exercise program of the rotator cuff muscles in subacromial pain syndrome. Methods. Thirty-six patients were randomized and assigned into US-guided percutaneous electrolysis (n = 17) group or exercise (n = 19) group. Patients were asked to perform an eccentric exercise program of the rotator cuff muscles twice every day for 4 weeks. Participants assigned to US-guided percutaneous electrolysis group also received the application of galvanic current through acupuncture needle on each session once a week (total 4 sessions). Shoulder pain (NPRS) and disability (DASH) were assessed at baseline, after 2 sessions, and 1 week after the last session. Results. The ANOVA revealed significant Group∗Time interactions for shoulder pain and disability (all, P < 0.01): individuals receiving US-guided percutaneous electrolysis combined with the eccentric exercises experienced greater improvement than those receiving eccentric exercise alone. Conclusions. US-guided percutaneous electrolysis combined with eccentric exercises resulted in small better outcomes at short term compared to when only eccentric exercises were applied in subacromial pain syndrome. The effect was statistically and clinically significant for shoulder pain but below minimal clinical difference for function. Future studies should investigate the long-term effects and potential placebo effect of this intervention. PMID:26649058

Disclosing a dementia diagnosis: what do patients and family consider important?

PubMed

Mastwyk, Maree; Ames, David; Ellis, Kathryn A; Chiu, Edmond; Dow, Briony

2014-08-01

The literature available on the format of the feedback session following assessment of memory impairment is minimal. This study explored how this information should be presented from the perspective of patients and their families. Thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with memory clinic patients and their carer at the clinic visit that followed the feedback session, to ask: what they recalled, what they found helpful, and what they thought was the best way to disclose a diagnosis of dementia. A second interview was conducted with 14 patient/carer dyads at their next appointment. Recall of information from the feedback session was variable. Most respondents (76% of patients; 66% of carers) thought that a direct approach was best when informing the patient of a dementia diagnosis, and that both written information and compassion demonstrated by the doctor were helpful. Opinions on whether all the information should be given at once or in stages were divided. The current format of the feedback session needs revision to improve recall. Patients and their families want a direct approach to be used by a supportive and professional doctor with an opportunity to ask questions. They want the support of a family member or friend when they are told of their diagnosis and they would like a written summary to refer to afterwards.

The effect of multimodal and enriched feedback on SMR-BCI performance.

PubMed

Sollfrank, T; Ramsay, A; Perdikis, S; Williamson, J; Murray-Smith, R; Leeb, R; Millán, J D R; Kübler, A

2016-01-01

This study investigated the effect of multimodal (visual and auditory) continuous feedback with information about the uncertainty of the input signal on motor imagery based BCI performance. A liquid floating through a visualization of a funnel (funnel feedback) provided enriched visual or enriched multimodal feedback. In a between subject design 30 healthy SMR-BCI naive participants were provided with either conventional bar feedback (CB), or visual funnel feedback (UF), or multimodal (visual and auditory) funnel feedback (MF). Subjects were required to imagine left and right hand movement and were trained to control the SMR based BCI for five sessions on separate days. Feedback accuracy varied largely between participants. The MF feedback lead to a significantly better performance in session 1 as compared to the CB feedback and could significantly enhance motivation and minimize frustration in BCI use across the five training sessions. The present study demonstrates that the BCI funnel feedback allows participants to modulate sensorimotor EEG rhythms. Participants were able to control the BCI with the funnel feedback with better performance during the initial session and less frustration compared to the CB feedback. The multimodal funnel feedback provides an alternative to the conventional cursorbar feedback for training subjects to modulate their sensorimotor rhythms. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of clinical efficacy and safety of thermotherapy versus cryotherapy in treatment of skin warts: A randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Izadi Firouzabadi, Leila; Khamesipour, Ali; Ghandi, Narges; Hosseini, Hamed; Teymourpour, Amir; Firooz, Alireza

2018-01-01

The effect of thermotherapy in the treatment of skin warts in comparison to cryotherapy, as the standard conventional method, has remained uncertain. This study aimed to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of thermotherapy and cryotherapy in removing skin warts. This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 52 patients aged 18 years and over with ≤ 10 skin warts. The participants were randomly assigned into two groups to receive cryotherapy (every 2 to 3 weeks up to six sessions if required) or thermotherapy (one session). The patients in both groups were followed every 2 to 3 weeks for the first three months, and then three months after the last treatment session. The clearance rate was 79.2% in the thermotherapy group and 58.3% in the cryotherapy group with no significant difference (p = 0.212). The rate of scarring in the thermotherapy group was 20% (p = .018). A higher clearance rate was achieved in the thermotherapy group. However, this result was not statistically significant. There were some minimal post-treatment complications. Patients needed only one session of thermotherapy. Due to the risk of scarring, we suggest thermotherapy only as a suitable treatment method for palmoplantar warts. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Robust Ambiguity Estimation for an Automated Analysis of the Intensive Sessions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kareinen, Niko; Hobiger, Thomas; Haas, Rüdiger

2016-12-01

Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) is a unique space-geodetic technique that can directly determine the Earth's phase of rotation, namely UT1. The daily estimates of the difference between UT1 and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) are computed from one-hour long VLBI Intensive sessions. These sessions are essential for providing timely UT1 estimates for satellite navigation systems. To produce timely UT1 estimates, efforts have been made to completely automate the analysis of VLBI Intensive sessions. This requires automated processing of X- and S-band group delays. These data often contain an unknown number of integer ambiguities in the observed group delays. In an automated analysis with the c5++ software the standard approach in resolving the ambiguities is to perform a simplified parameter estimation using a least-squares adjustment (L2-norm minimization). We implement the robust L1-norm with an alternative estimation method in c5++. The implemented method is used to automatically estimate the ambiguities in VLBI Intensive sessions for the Kokee-Wettzell baseline. The results are compared to an analysis setup where the ambiguity estimation is computed using the L2-norm. Additionally, we investigate three alternative weighting strategies for the ambiguity estimation. The results show that in automated analysis the L1-norm resolves ambiguities better than the L2-norm. The use of the L1-norm leads to a significantly higher number of good quality UT1-UTC estimates with each of the three weighting strategies.

Water intake reverses dehydration associated impaired executive function in healthy young women.

PubMed

Stachenfeld, Nina S; Leone, Cheryl A; Mitchell, Ellen S; Freese, Eric; Harkness, Laura

2018-03-01

Healthy women do not always consume Recommended Daily Levels of fluid intake ad libitum. We hypothesized that 1) women lose≥1.0% BW during daily activities, 2) that mild body water loss impairs memory and executive function, 3) water intake to recommended daily levels will improve cognitive function. We tested 12 women (26±5yr, 22.5±2.6kg/m 2 BMI). Session 1 was a control (CON) session, during which subjects monitored their food and fluid intake (diary) and activity (Fitbit®). The next two sessions were applied in balanced order: dehydration (DEH) session, where subjects minimized drinking, and a euhydration (EUH) session, where subjects drank Recommended Daily Levels of fluid for their age and sex, or 2500ml/24h. We compared emotion, sensory perception and cognition with computer based visual analog tests and computer based cognitive tasks (Cogstate) at 5PM, i.e. baseline (BL) on the evening prior to the session, and at 7AM, 12PM, and 5PM during the session. Urine specific gravity (USG) was similar at BL across conditions (CON 1.013±0.002, DEH 1.015±0.002, EUH 1.014±0.002) and increased with dehydration (CON 1.011±0.003, DEH 1.021±0.002, EUH 1.010±0.002, P<0.05) by 5PM of the session. Uncontrolled fluid intake and physical activity were similar across sessions. The water challenges did not impact Detection, Identification, One-Card Learning, but EUH improved visual and working memory (Groton Maze Learning Test) errors: CON 40.1±11.1, DEH 40.5±10.1, EUH 33.9±10.9, P<0.05. Executive function [Set Shifting (SETS)] also improved under EUH, errors: BL 22.5±12.7 vs. 5PM 17.8±6.2, P<0.05. Mild dehydration caused deficits in visual and working memory and executive function in healthy young women. These deficits were reversed by drinking water to the European Food Safety Authority and Institute of Medicine requirements of 2.5l/day for adult women. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Initial experience with percutaneous selective embolization: A truly minimally invasive treatment of the adolescent varicocele with no risk of hydrocele development.

PubMed

Storm, Douglas W; Hogan, Mark J; Jayanthi, Venkata R

2010-12-01

Postoperative hydrocele development is a frustrating complication of varicocele surgical repair. To avoid this complication, we began to offer percutaneous embolization as a treatment option. We present our initial experience with this technique. A retrospective review of all patients who underwent percutaneous embolization and sclerotherapy of a varicocele at our institution was performed. There were 27 patients with a mean age of 16 years (range 13-19 years). Indications included pain (48%), varicocele size (30%) and persistent testicular asymmetry (22%). Four patients had experienced failure of a previous surgical repair. Follow-up data were available for 21 patients (mean 9 months). The varicocele resolved in 19 patients (91%) with no evidence of hydrocele formation in any of the boys. There was resolution of pain in all patients for whom this was the indication for the procedure. In the two failures, access to the lower spermatic vein was not possible owing to the number and tortuosity of the vessels. Percutaneous embolization and sclerotherapy represent a truly minimally invasive treatment with low morbidity, minimal pain and rapid recovery. In our early experience, since lymphatic channels are completely avoided, there appears to be no risk of hydrocele formation. Copyright © 2010 Journal of Pediatric Urology Company. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

23 CFR 777.9 - Mitigation of impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... IMPACTS TO WETLANDS AND NATURAL HABITAT § 777.9 Mitigation of impacts. (a) Actions eligible for Federal... wetlands or natural habitats. The following actions qualify for Federal-aid highway funding: (1) Avoidance and minimization of impacts to wetlands or natural habitats through realignment and special design...

23 CFR 777.9 - Mitigation of impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... IMPACTS TO WETLANDS AND NATURAL HABITAT § 777.9 Mitigation of impacts. (a) Actions eligible for Federal... wetlands or natural habitats. The following actions qualify for Federal-aid highway funding: (1) Avoidance and minimization of impacts to wetlands or natural habitats through realignment and special design...

23 CFR 777.9 - Mitigation of impacts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... IMPACTS TO WETLANDS AND NATURAL HABITAT § 777.9 Mitigation of impacts. (a) Actions eligible for Federal... wetlands or natural habitats. The following actions qualify for Federal-aid highway funding: (1) Avoidance and minimization of impacts to wetlands or natural habitats through realignment and special design...

44 CFR 10.4 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... means and measures are used to protect, restore, and enhance the quality of the environment, to avoid or minimize adverse environmental consequences, and to attain the objectives of: (1) Achieving use of the... approach that will ensure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences, and environmental...

44 CFR 10.4 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... means and measures are used to protect, restore, and enhance the quality of the environment, to avoid or minimize adverse environmental consequences, and to attain the objectives of: (1) Achieving use of the... approach that will ensure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences, and environmental...

Tuition Discounting without Tears

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Robert E.

2004-01-01

This paper contains a policy model for tuition discounting that avoids the major financial pitfalls encountered in the administration of institutional scholarships. The dual objective of maximizing the funded scholarship discount rate and minimizing the unfunded discount rate is explained. Marginal cost pricing is the accepted criterion for…

Global approaches to addressing biofuel-related invasive species risks and incorporation into U.S. laws and policies

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

Biofuels are being pursued for their potential greenhouse gas emissions benefits, among other reasons. In order to maximize productivity, avoid food-fuel conflicts, and minimize GHG emissions, many advanced biofuel feedstock crops, such as thos...

Force sensing of multiple-DOF cable-driven instruments for minimally invasive robotic surgery.

PubMed

He, Chao; Wang, Shuxin; Sang, Hongqiang; Li, Jinhua; Zhang, Linan

2014-09-01

Force sensing for robotic surgery is limited by the size of the instrument, friction and sterilization requirements. This paper presents a force-sensing instrument to avoid these restrictions. Operating forces were calculated according to cable tension. Mathematical models of the force-sensing system were established. A force-sensing instrument was designed and fabricated. A signal collection and processing system was constructed. The presented approach can avoid the constraints of space limits, sterilization requirements and friction introduced by the transmission parts behind the instrument wrist. Test results showed that the developed instrument has a 0.03 N signal noise, a 0.05 N drift, a 0.04 N resolution and a maximum error of 0.4 N. The validation experiment indicated that the operating and grasping forces can be effectively sensed. The developed force-sensing system can be used in minimally invasive robotic surgery to construct a force-feedback system. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Male adaptations to minimize sexual cannibalism during reproduction in the funnel-web spider Hololena curta.

PubMed

Xiao, Yong-Hong; Zunic-Kosi, Alenka; Zhang, Long-Wa; Prentice, Thomas R; McElfresh, J Steven; Chinta, Satya P; Zou, Yun-Fan; Millar, Jocelyn G

2015-12-01

Males of many spider species risk being attacked and cannibalized while searching for, courting, and mating with conspecific females. However, there are exceptions. We show that the funnel-web spider, Hololena curta, has 3 adaptations that minimize risk to males during courtship and mating, and enhance reproductive success. First, males detected chemical or tactile signals associated with webs of virgin females, and differentiated them from webs of mated females, enabling males to increase encounter rates with virgin females and avoid aggressive mated females. Second, males produced stereotyped vibrational signals during courting which induced female quiescence and suppressed female aggression. Third, when touched by males, sexually receptive females entered a cataleptic state, allowing males to safely approach and copulate. Because males can mate multiple times and the sex ratio in natural populations of H. curta is female biased, overall reproductive output is likely increased by males of this species avoiding sexual cannibalism. © 2015 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Eye-related pain induced by visually demanding computer work.

PubMed

Thorud, Hanne-Mari Schiøtz; Helland, Magne; Aarås, Arne; Kvikstad, Tor Martin; Lindberg, Lars Göran; Horgen, Gunnar

2012-04-01

Eye strain during visually demanding computer work may include glare and increased squinting. The latter may be related to elevated tension in the orbicularis oculi muscle and development of muscle pain. The aim of the study was to investigate the development of discomfort symptoms in relation to muscle activity and muscle blood flow in the orbicularis oculi muscle during computer work with visual strain. A group of healthy young adults with normal vision was randomly selected. Eye-related symptoms were recorded during a 2-h working session on a laptop. The participants were exposed to visual stressors such as glare and small font. Muscle load and blood flow were measured by electromyography and photoplethysmography, respectively. During 2 h of visually demanding computer work, there was a significant increase in the following symptoms: eye-related pain and tiredness, blurred vision, itchiness, gritty eyes, photophobia, dry eyes, and tearing eyes. Muscle load in orbicularis oculi was significantly increased above baseline and stable at 1 to 1.5% maximal voluntary contraction during the working sessions. Orbicularis oculi muscle blood flow increased significantly during the first part of the working sessions before returning to baseline. There were significant positive correlations between eye-related tiredness and orbicularis oculi muscle load and eye-related pain and muscle blood flow. Subjects who developed eye-related pain showed elevated orbicularis oculi muscle blood flow during computer work, but no differences in muscle load, compared with subjects with minimal pain symptoms. Eyestrain during visually demanding computer work is related to the orbicularis oculi muscle. Muscle pain development during demanding, low-force exercise is associated with increased muscle blood flow, possible secondary to different muscle activity pattern, and/or increased mental stress level in subjects experiencing pain compared with subjects with minimal pain.

Timing of nicotine lozenge administration to minimize trigger induced craving and withdrawal symptoms.

PubMed

Kotlyar, Michael; Lindgren, Bruce R; Vuchetich, John P; Le, Chap; Mills, Anne M; Amiot, Elizabeth; Hatsukami, Dorothy K

2017-08-01

Smokers are often advised to use nicotine lozenge when craving or withdrawal symptoms occur. This may be too late to prevent lapses. This study assessed if nicotine lozenge use prior to a common smoking trigger can minimize trigger induced increases in craving and withdrawal symptoms. Eighty-four smokers completed two laboratory sessions in random order. At one session, nicotine lozenge was given immediately after a stressor (to approximate current recommended use - i.e., after craving and withdrawal symptoms occur); at the other session subjects were randomized to receive nicotine lozenge at time points ranging from immediately to 30min prior to the stressor. Withdrawal symptoms and urge to smoke were measured using the Minnesota Nicotine Withdrawal Scale and the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU). Relative to receiving lozenge after the stressor, a smaller increase in pre-stressor to post-stressor withdrawal symptom scores occurred when lozenge was used immediately (p=0.03) and 10min prior (p=0.044) to the stressor. Results were similar for factors 1 and 2 of the QSU when lozenge was used immediately prior to the stressor (p<0.03) and for factor 1 of the QSU when lozenge was used 10min prior to the stressor (p=0.028). Absolute levels of post-stressor withdrawal symptom and urge to smoke severity were lower when lozenge was given prior to versus after a stressor. Administering the nicotine lozenge prior to a smoking trigger can decrease trigger induced craving and withdrawal symptoms. Future studies are needed to determine if such use would increase cessation rates. Clinicaltrials.gov # NCT01522963. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reliability of dynamometric passive properties of the pelvic floor muscles in postmenopausal women with stress urinary incontinence.

PubMed

Morin, Mélanie; Gravel, Denis; Bourbonnais, Daniel; Dumoulin, Chantale; Ouellet, Stéphane

2008-01-01

The passive properties of the pelvic floor muscles (PFM) might play a role in stress urinary incontinence (SUI) pathophysiology. To investigate the test-retest reliability of the dynamometric passive properties of the PFM in postmenopausal SUI women. Thirty-two SUI postmenopausal women were convened to two sessions 2 weeks apart. In each session, the measurements were repeated twice. The pelvic floor musculature was evaluated in four different conditions: (1) forces recorded at minimal aperture (initial passive resistance); (2) passive resistance at maximal aperture; (3) five lengthening and shortening cycles (Forces and passive elastic stiffness (PES) were evaluated at different vaginal apertures. Hysteresis was also calculated.); (4) Percentage of passive resistance loss after 1 min of sustained stretching was computed. The generalizability theory was used to calculate two reliability estimates, the dependability indices (Phi) and the standard error of measurement (SEM), for one session involving one measurement or the mean of two measurements. Overall, the reliability of the passive properties was good with indices of dependability of 0.75-0.93. The SEMs for forces and PES were 0.24-0.67 N and 0.03-0.10 N/mm, respectively, for mean, maximal and 20-mm apertures, representing an error between 13% and 23%. Passive forces at minimal aperture showed lower reliability (Phi = 0.51-0.57) compared with other vaginal openings. The aperture at a common force of 0.5 N was the only parameter demonstrating a poor reliability (Phi = 0.35). This new approach for assessing PFM passive properties showed enough reliability for highly recommending its inclusion in the PFM assessment of SUI postmenopausal women. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Time estimation as a secondary task to measure workload. [attention sharing effect on operator performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, S. G.

1975-01-01

Variation in the length of time productions and verbal estimates of duration was investigated to determine the influence of concurrent activity on operator time perception. The length of 10-, 20-, and 30-sec intervals produced while performing six different compensatory tracking tasks was significantly longer, 23% on the average, than those produced while performing no other task. Verbal estimates of session duration, taken at the end of each of 27 experimental sessions, reflected a parallel increase in subjective underestimation of the passage of time as the difficulty of the task performed increased. These data suggest that estimates of duration made while performing a manual control task provide stable and sensitive measures of the workload imposed by the primary task, with minimal interference.

Achieving Speaker Gender Equity at the American Society for Microbiology General Meeting.

PubMed

Casadevall, Arturo

2015-08-04

In 2015, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) General Meeting essentially achieved gender equity, with 48.5% of the oral presentations being given by women. The mechanisms associated with increased female participation were (i) making the Program Committee aware of gender statistics, (ii) increasing female representation among session convener teams, and (iii) direct instruction to try to avoid all-male sessions. The experience with the ASM General Meeting shows that it is possible to increase the participation of female speakers in a relatively short time and suggests concrete steps that may be taken to achieve this at other meetings. Public speaking is very important for academic advancement in science. Historically women have been underrepresented as speakers in many scientific meetings. This article describes concrete steps that were associated with achieving gender equity at a major meeting. Copyright © 2015 Casadevall.

Psychological therapy for psychogenic amnesia: Successful treatment in a single case study.

PubMed

Cassel, Anneli; Humphreys, Kate

2016-01-01

Psychogenic amnesia is widely understood to be a memory impairment of psychological origin that occurs as a response to severe stress. However, there is a paucity of evidence regarding the effectiveness of psychological therapy approaches in the treatment of this disorder. The current article describes a single case, "Ben", who was treated with formulation-driven psychological therapy using techniques drawn from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for psychogenic amnesia. Before treatment, Ben exhibited isolated retrograde and anterograde memory impairments. He received 12 therapy sessions that targeted experiential avoidance followed by two review sessions, six weeks and five months later. Ben's retrograde and anterograde memory impairments improved following therapy to return to within the "average" to "superior" ranges, which were maintained at follow-up. Further experimental single case study designs and larger group studies are required to advance the understanding of the effectiveness and efficacy of psychological therapy for psychogenic amnesia.

Analysis of Realized Volatility for Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takaishi, Tetsuya; Watanabe, Toshiaki

2016-04-01

We calculate realized volatility of the Nikkei Stock Average (Nikkei225) Index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and investigate the return dynamics. To avoid the bias on the realized volatility from the non-trading hours issue we calculate realized volatility separately in the two trading sessions, i.e. morning and afternoon, of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and find that the microstructure noise decreases the realized volatility at small sampling frequency. Using realized volatility as a proxy of the integrated volatility we standardize returns in the morning and afternoon sessions and investigate the normality of the standardized returns by calculating variance, kurtosis and 6th moment. We find that variance, kurtosis and 6th moment are consistent with those of the standard normal distribution, which indicates that the return dynamics of the Nikkei Stock Average are well described by a Gaussian random process with time-varying volatility.

COLLISION AVOIDANCE TRAINING USING A DRIVING SIMULATOR IN DRIVERS WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE: A PILOT STUDY

PubMed Central

Dawson, Jeffrey D.; Rizzo, Matthew; Anderson, Steven W.; Dastrup, Elizabeth; Uc, Ergun Y.

2011-01-01

Summary Parkinson’s disease (PD) impairs driving performance, and simulator studies have shown increased crashes compared to controls. In this pilot study, eight drivers with PD participated in three drive sessions with multiple simulator intersections of varying visibility and traffic load, where an incurring vehicle posed a crash risk. Over the course of the three sessions (once every 1–2 weeks), we observed reduction in crashes (p=0.059) and reaction times (p=0.006) to the vehicle incursion. These findings suggest that our simulator training program is feasible and potentially useful in drivers with PD. Future research questions include transfer of training to different driving tasks, duration of benefit, and the effect on long term real life outcomes in comparison to a standard intervention (e.g., driver education class) in a randomized trial. PMID:24273752

Session: Bat ecology related to wind development and lessons learned about impacts on bats from wind development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, Greg; Kunz, Thomas

This session at the Wind Energy and Birds/Bats workshop consisted of two paper presentations followed by a discussion/question and answer period. It was the first of the sessions to shift the focus to the issue of wind energy development's impacts specifically to bats. The presentations discussed lessons that have been learned regarding direct and indirect impacts on bats and strategies planned to address such issues. Presenters addressed what the existing science demonstrates about land-based wind turbine impacts on bats, including: mortality, avoidance, direct habitat impacts, species and numbers killed, per turbine rates/per MW generated, and impacts on threatened and endangeredmore » species. They discussed whether there is sufficient data for wind turbines and bat impacts for projects in the eastern US, especially on ridge tops. Finally, the subject of offshore impacts on bats was briefly addressed, including what lessons have been learned in Europe and how these can be applied in the U S. Paper one, by Greg Johnson, was titled ''A Review of Bat Impacts at Wind Farms in the US''. Paper two, by Thomas Kunz, was titled ''Wind Power: Bats and Wind Turbines''.« less

Enhanced smartcard-based password-authenticated key agreement using extended chaotic maps.

PubMed

Lee, Tian-Fu; Hsiao, Chia-Hung; Hwang, Shi-Han; Lin, Tsung-Hung

2017-01-01

A smartcard based password-authenticated key agreement scheme enables a legal user to log in to a remote authentication server and access remote services through public networks using a weak password and a smart card. Lin recently presented an improved chaotic maps-based password-authenticated key agreement scheme that used smartcards to eliminate the weaknesses of the scheme of Guo and Chang, which does not provide strong user anonymity and violates session key security. However, the improved scheme of Lin does not exhibit the freshness property and the validity of messages so it still fails to withstand denial-of-service and privileged-insider attacks. Additionally, a single malicious participant can predetermine the session key such that the improved scheme does not exhibit the contributory property of key agreements. This investigation discusses these weaknesses and proposes an enhanced smartcard-based password-authenticated key agreement scheme that utilizes extended chaotic maps. The session security of this enhanced scheme is based on the extended chaotic map-based Diffie-Hellman problem, and is proven in the real-or-random and the sequence of games models. Moreover, the enhanced scheme ensures the freshness of communicating messages by appending timestamps, and thereby avoids the weaknesses in previous schemes.

Reducing sexual risk with practice of periodic secondary abstinence.

PubMed

Haglund, Kristin

2008-01-01

Test a novel intervention to help sexually experienced girls increase abstinence behaviors and attitudes. A quasi-experimental repeated measures design using qualitative and quantitative data. Two alternative public schools. Thirty-three females whose mean age was 16 and who were 79% African American participated. Most (79%) had experienced a pregnancy. A 6 session, weekly, interactive intervention was delivered. Data were collected at baseline, last session, and at 5 and 7 month follow-ups. Measured outcomes related to abstinence included participants' reasons, behaviors, stages of change, and attitudes. The most common reason for abstinence was not wanting to have sex. At each postintervention data collection point, most participants (greater than or equal to 74%) reported that they had purposefully avoided sex. Duration of consecutive days of abstinence increased although only significantly at 5 month follow-up. Abstinence behaviors increased with the largest change from first to last session. Stage of change advanced from preparation to action by 7 month follow-up. Attitudes toward abstinence became more favorable. Effective sexual risk reduction interventions are critically needed to promote safety. Nurses may assist young women to decrease their sexual risks by teaching them to practice periodic abstinence.

Enhanced smartcard-based password-authenticated key agreement using extended chaotic maps

PubMed Central

Lee, Tian-Fu; Hsiao, Chia-Hung; Hwang, Shi-Han

2017-01-01

A smartcard based password-authenticated key agreement scheme enables a legal user to log in to a remote authentication server and access remote services through public networks using a weak password and a smart card. Lin recently presented an improved chaotic maps-based password-authenticated key agreement scheme that used smartcards to eliminate the weaknesses of the scheme of Guo and Chang, which does not provide strong user anonymity and violates session key security. However, the improved scheme of Lin does not exhibit the freshness property and the validity of messages so it still fails to withstand denial-of-service and privileged-insider attacks. Additionally, a single malicious participant can predetermine the session key such that the improved scheme does not exhibit the contributory property of key agreements. This investigation discusses these weaknesses and proposes an enhanced smartcard-based password-authenticated key agreement scheme that utilizes extended chaotic maps. The session security of this enhanced scheme is based on the extended chaotic map-based Diffie-Hellman problem, and is proven in the real-or-random and the sequence of games models. Moreover, the enhanced scheme ensures the freshness of communicating messages by appending timestamps, and thereby avoids the weaknesses in previous schemes. PMID:28759615

Longitudinal Recovery and Reduced Costs After 120 Sessions of Locomotor Training for Motor Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury.

PubMed

Morrison, Sarah A; Lorenz, Douglas; Eskay, Carol P; Forrest, Gail F; Basso, D Michele

2018-03-01

To determine the impact of long-term, body weight-supported locomotor training after chronic, incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI), and to estimate the health care costs related to lost recovery potential and preventable secondary complications that may have occurred because of visit limits imposed by insurers. Prospective observational cohort with longitudinal follow-up. Eight outpatient rehabilitation centers that participate in the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation NeuroRecovery Network (NRN). Individuals with motor incomplete chronic SCI (American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale C or D; N=69; 0.1-45y after SCI) who completed at least 120 NRN physical therapy sessions. Manually assisted locomotor training (LT) in a body weight-supported treadmill environment, overground standing and stepping activities, and community integration tasks. International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury motor and sensory scores, orthostatic hypotension, bowel/bladder/sexual function, Spinal Cord Injury Functional Ambulation Inventory (SCI-FAI), Berg Balance Scale, Modified Functional Reach, 10-m walk test, and 6-minute walk test. Longitudinal outcome measure collection occurred every 20 treatments and at 6- to 12-month follow-up after discharge from therapy. Significant improvement occurred for upper and lower motor strength, functional activities, psychological arousal, sensation of bowel movement, and SCI-FAI community ambulation. Extended training enabled minimal detectable changes at 60, 80, 100, and 120 sessions. After detectable change occurred, it was sustained through 120 sessions and continued 6 to 12 months after treatment. Delivering at least 120 sessions of LT improves recovery from incomplete chronic SCI. Because walking reduces rehospitalization, LT delivered beyond the average 20-session insurance limit can reduce rehospitalizations and long-term health costs. Copyright © 2018 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Weight change among people randomized to minimal intervention control groups in weight loss trials.

PubMed

Johns, David J; Hartmann-Boyce, Jamie; Jebb, Susan A; Aveyard, Paul

2016-04-01

Evidence on the effectiveness of behavioral weight management programs often comes from uncontrolled program evaluations. These frequently make the assumption that, without intervention, people will gain weight. The aim of this study was to use data from minimal intervention control groups in randomized controlled trials to examine the evidence for this assumption and the effect of frequency of weighing on weight change. Data were extracted from minimal intervention control arms in a systematic review of multicomponent behavioral weight management programs. Two reviewers classified control arms into three categories based on intensity of minimal intervention and calculated 12-month mean weight change using baseline observation carried forward. Meta-regression was conducted in STATA v12. Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria, twenty-nine of which had usable data, representing 5,963 participants allocated to control arms. Control arms were categorized according to intensity, as offering leaflets only, a single session of advice, or more than one session of advice from someone without specialist skills in supporting weight loss. Mean weight change at 12 months across all categories was -0.8 kg (95% CI -1.1 to -0.4). In an unadjusted model, increasing intensity by moving up a category was associated with an additional weight loss of -0.53 kg (95% CI -0.96 to -0.09). Also in an unadjusted model, each additional weigh-in was associated with a weight change of -0.42 kg (95% CI -0.81 to -0.03). However, when both variables were placed in the same model, neither intervention category nor number of weigh-ins was associated with weight change. Uncontrolled evaluations of weight loss programs should assume that, in the absence of intervention, their population would weigh up to a kilogram on average less than baseline at the end of the first year of follow-up. © 2016 The Authors Obesity published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Obesity Society (TOS).

Continuous place avoidance task reveals differences in spatial navigation in male and female rats.

PubMed

Cimadevilla, J M; Fenton, A A; Bures, J

2000-01-01

A new place navigation test was used to estimate the spatial orientation abilities of male and female rats. Animals had to avoid a room frame defined area on a rotating arena, entering of which was punished by mild footshock, i.e. rats had to avoid the same place in the room but different parts of the floor, which was rotated through the punished zone. Because of the rotation of the arena (one revolution per min), animals could not rely on intramaze cues and only extramaze landmarks could be used for accurate navigation. During 8 consecutive days rats were exposed to daily 40-min sessions, consisting of 20-min acquisition and 20-min extinction (shock discontinued). The position of the punished sector centered around one of the four mutually perpendicular azimuths was daily changed in a predetermined sequence. The results showed no male female differences during acquisition and better performance of males during extinction. The performance of females was not affected by estral cycle-related hormonal changes. The findings are discussed in the light of controversial results of research into sex differences in spatial abilities.

Avoiding Obstructions in Aiming a High-Gain Antenna

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edmonds, Karina

2006-01-01

The High Gain Antenna Pointing and Obstruction Avoidance software performs computations for pointing a Mars Rover high-gain antenna for communication with Earth while (1) avoiding line-of-sight obstructions (the Martian terrain and other parts of the Rover) that would block communication and (2) taking account of limits in ranges of motion of antenna gimbals and of kinematic singularities in gimbal mechanisms. The software uses simplified geometric models of obstructions and of the trajectory of the Earth in the Martian sky(see figure). It treats all obstructions according to a generalized approach, computing and continually updating the time remaining before interception of each obstruction. In cases in which the gimbal-mechanism design allows two aiming solutions, the algorithm chooses the solution that provides the longest obstruction-free Earth-tracking time. If the communication session continues until an obstruction is encountered in the current pointing solution and the other solution is now unobstructed, then the algorithm automatically switches to the other position. This software also notifies communication- managing software to cease transmission during the switch to the unobstructed position, resuming it when the switch is complete.

A multi-faceted workplace intervention targeting low back pain was effective for physical work demands and maladaptive pain behaviours, but not for work ability and sickness absence: Stepped wedge cluster randomised trial.

PubMed

Rasmussen, Charlotte Diana Nørregaard; Holtermann, Andreas; Jørgensen, Marie Birk; Ørberg, Anders; Mortensen, Ole Steen; Søgaard, Karen

2016-08-01

The aims of this study were to test whether a multi-faceted intervention effective for low back pain was effective for physical capacity, work demands, maladaptive pain behaviours, work ability and sickness absence due to low back pain. A stepped wedge cluster randomised, controlled trial with 594 nurses' aides was conducted. The intervention lasted 12 weeks and consisted of physical training (12 sessions), cognitive behavioural training (two sessions) and participatory ergonomics (five sessions). Occupational lifting, fear avoidance, physical exertion, muscle strength, support from management, work ability and sickness absence due to low back pain were measured every 3 months. Before and after the intervention we measured physical capacity, kinesiophobia and need for recovery. Linear mixed models adjusted for baseline values of the outcome were used to estimate the effect. Significant reduction in occupational lifting (-0.35 (95% confidence interval -0.61 to -0.08)), and improvement in two measures of fear avoidance ((-0.75 (95% confidence interval -1.05 to -0.45) and -0.45 (95% confidence interval -0.80 to -0.11)) were found for the intervention group compared to the control. There were no significant effects on physical exertion, muscle strength, support from management, work ability or sickness absence due to low back pain. After the intervention, significant increased physical capacity and improvements in kinesiophobia were found, but no change in need for recovery. CONCLUSIONS THE INTERVENTION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY EFFECTIVE FOR PHYSICAL WORK DEMANDS AND MALADAPTIVE PAIN BEHAVIOURS, BUT NOT FOR WORK ABILITY AND SICKNESS ABSENCE DUE TO LOW BACK PAIN TO IMPROVE WORK ABILITY OR REDUCE SICKNESS ABSENCE DUE TO LOW BACK PAIN MORE SPECIFIC INTERVENTIONS SHOULD PROBABLY BE DEVELOPED. © 2016 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

Assisting persons with multiple disabilities to move through simple occupational activities with automatic prompting.

PubMed

Lancioni, Giulio E; Singh, Nirbhay N; O'Reilly, Mark F; Sigafoos, Jeff; Oliva, Doretta; Campodonico, Francesca; Groeneweg, Jop

2008-01-01

The present study assessed the possibility of assisting four persons with multiple disabilities to move through and perform simple occupational activities arranged within a room with the help of automatic prompting. The study involved two multiple probe designs across participants. The first multiple probe concerned the two participants with blindness or minimal vision and deafness, who received air blowing as a prompt. The second multiple probe concerned the two participants with blindness and typical hearing who received a voice calling as a prompt. Initially, all participants had baseline sessions. Then intervention started with the first participant of each dyad. When their performance was consolidated, new baseline and intervention occurred with the second participant of each dyad. Finally, all four participants were exposed to a second intervention phase, in which the number of activities per session doubled (i.e., from 8 to 16). Data showed that all four participants: (a) learned to move across and perform the activities available with the help of automatic prompting and (b) remained highly successful through the second intervention phase when the sessions were extended. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Annual Science and Engineering Technology Conference Presentations (8th)

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-04-19

Technology 11:30 am Wrap Up & Adjourn 12:00 pm BUFFET LUNCHEON Session III: Army Future Combat System (Brigade Combat Team) (FCS(BCT)) Program The Future...acquisitions by firms from other nations. Non UK/Canada transactions accounted for 58% of all CFIUS filings. 19 Outline • Industrial Policy • Emerging...requirements are accounted for Document and model the component Minimize inter-component dependencies Support rapid, affordable technology

Dissertations and Theses Roles Highlighted at Annual Meeting Session. California State University System's Thesis in Master's Degree Programs Discussed.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanford, Serena W.

1987-01-01

The role of the thesis in graduate education at the 19 campuses of the California State University (CSU) was surveyed. It was found that a minimal number of disciplines at CSU restrict the choice of culminating the degree with the thesis. Only 15% of the programs systemwide force the thesis. The comprehensive examination was as popular as the…

Frontiers of Engineering: Reports on Leading-Edge Engineering from the 2008 Symposium

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-07-07

article, we review recent progress on a highly 61 ROLL PRINTING OF CRYSTALliNE NANOWIRES efficient, scalable approach for the ordered, unifonn...NATIONAL ACADEMIES Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self...target delivery of a therapy to a particular physiological system, minimizing systemic side effects. Talks in the session provided an overview of

The olfactory hole-board test in rats: a new paradigm to study aversion and preferences to odors

PubMed Central

Wernecke, Kerstin E. A.; Fendt, Markus

2015-01-01

Odors of biological relevance (e.g., predator odors, sex odors) are known to effectively influence basic survival needs of rodents such as anti-predatory defensiveness and mating behaviors. Research focused on the effects of these odors on rats’ behavior mostly includes multi-trial paradigms where animals experience single odor exposures in subsequent, separated experimental sessions. In the present study, we introduce a modification of the olfactory hole-board test that allows studying the effects of different odors on rats’ behavior within single trials. First, we demonstrated that the corner holes of the hole-board were preferentially visited by rats. The placement of different odors under the corner holes changed this hole preference. We showed that holes with carnivore urine samples were avoided, while corner holes with female rat urine samples were preferred. Furthermore, corner holes with urine samples from a carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore were differentially visited indicating that rats can discriminate these odors. To test whether anxiolytic treatment specifically modulates the avoidance of carnivore urine holes, we treated rats with buspirone. Buspirone treatment completely abolished the avoidance of carnivore urine holes. Taken together, our findings indicate that the olfactory hole-board test is a valuable tool for measuring avoidance and preference responses to biologically relevant odors. PMID:26379516

Coping strategies of pregnant women following unexpected ultrasound results, Alexandria, Egypt.

PubMed

Shata, Zeinab N; Abdullah, Hager M; Nossier, Samia A

2016-06-01

Receiving a diagnosis of a potential fetal anomaly causes severe stress to a pregnant woman. Little is known about the coping strategies used by these women, especially in Egypt. This study explored the coping strategies used by women following unexpected findings in routine antenatal ultrasound scan in Alexandria, Egypt. A mixed method (convergent parallel) quantitative and qualitative approach was used to target pregnant women at 20-32 weeks of gestation. The quantitative study included 93 women, whereas the qualitative one included a purposively chosen subsample of 30 women representing diverse diagnoses. A 10-item questionnaire was used in the quantitative part to assess active, avoidant, and negative coping strategies. In the qualitative part, coping was assessed by analyzing the transcripts of women's experiences. Although women used equal numbers of avoidant and active strategies (3.34±0.56 vs. 3.30±0.73, Z=0.273, P=0.78), the reported effectiveness of active strategies ranked higher than that of the avoidant ones (χ=54.64, P<0.001). Women with an education level up to high school or higher perceived high effectiveness of active and/or avoidant strategies compared with women with less education (χ=4.087, P<0.05). Women concurrently used more than one coping strategy. The effectiveness of active strategies was higher than that of the avoidant ones. The educational level was the only factor associated with perceived high effectiveness of active and/or avoidant strategies. Helping future mothers acquire active coping skills through counseling sessions and support groups are recommended.

The Effect of Approach/Avoidance Training on Alcohol Consumption Is Mediated by Change in Alcohol Action Tendency

PubMed Central

Sharbanee, Jason M.; Hu, Litje; Stritzke, Werner G. K.; Wiers, Reinout W.; Rinck, Mike; MacLeod, Colin

2014-01-01

Training people to respond to alcohol images by making avoidance joystick movements can affect subsequent alcohol consumption, and has shown initial efficacy as a treatment adjunct. However, the mechanisms that underlie the training’s efficacy are unknown. The present study aimed to determine 1) whether the training’s effect is mediated by a change in action tendency or a change in selective attention, and 2) whether the training’s effect is moderated by individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC). Three groups of social drinkers (total N = 74) completed either approach-alcohol training, avoid-alcohol training or a sham-training on the Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT). Participants’ WMC was assessed prior to training, while their alcohol-related action tendency and selective attention were assessed before and after the training on the recently developed Selective-Attention/Action Tendency Task (SA/ATT), before finally completing an alcohol taste-test. There was no significant main effect of approach/avoidance training on alcohol consumption during the taste-test. However, there was a significant indirect effect of training on alcohol consumption mediated by a change in action tendency, but no indirect effect mediated by a change in selective attention. There was inconsistent evidence of WMC moderating training efficacy, with moderation found only for the effect of approach-alcohol training on the AAT but not on the SA/ATT. Thus approach/avoidance training affects alcohol consumption specifically by changing the underlying action tendency. Multiple training sessions may be required in order to observe more substantive changes in drinking behaviour. PMID:24465750

40 CFR 141.71 - Criteria for avoiding filtration.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS Filtration and Disinfection § 141.71... water. (2) The public water system must maintain a watershed control program which minimizes the... determine whether the watershed control program is adequate to meet this goal. The adequacy of a program to...

14 CFR 1216.200 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Management; and, (h) Establish internal management controls to monitor NASA actions to assure compliance with... Wetlands Management § 1216.200 Scope. This subpart 1216.2 prescribes procedures to: (a) Avoid long- and... practicable alternative; (c) Reduce the risk of flood loss; (d) Minimize the impact of floods on human health...

An Eye on Prevention.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Mike

2000-01-01

Discusses the types of washroom fixtures and locker room equipment that can help minimize and discourage student mischief. Topics include germ control by avoiding the use of tile grout and substituting epoxy paint, using phenolic toilet-stall partitions to reduce vandalism, and using expanded metal lockers to control locker odor. (GR)

38 CFR 200.4 - Implementation of NEPA and related authorities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... exclusions, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements. (2) The Master Planner, is..., minimizing potential impacts in an effort to avoid a higher level of NEPA documentation. The scope of an... significant effects on public health, safety, or the environment. (B) Reasonable likelihood of significant...

38 CFR 200.4 - Implementation of NEPA and related authorities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... exclusions, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements. (2) The Master Planner, is..., minimizing potential impacts in an effort to avoid a higher level of NEPA documentation. The scope of an... significant effects on public health, safety, or the environment. (B) Reasonable likelihood of significant...

38 CFR 200.4 - Implementation of NEPA and related authorities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... exclusions, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements. (2) The Master Planner, is..., minimizing potential impacts in an effort to avoid a higher level of NEPA documentation. The scope of an... significant effects on public health, safety, or the environment. (B) Reasonable likelihood of significant...

Pulsed ultraviolet light reduces immunoglobulin E binding to atlantic white shrimp (litopenaeus setiferus).

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

To date, the only effective method to prevent allergic reactions to shellfish is complete avoidance; however, if processing methods could be employed to minimize shellfish allergens before products reach consumers, illness could be substantially lessened. Pulsed ultraviolet light (PUV), a novel food...

Software-assisted post-interventional assessment of radiofrequency ablation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rieder, Christian; Geisler, Benjamin; Bruners, Philipp; Isfort, Peter; Na, Hong-Sik; Mahnken, Andreas H.; Hahn, Horst K.

2014-03-01

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is becoming a standard procedure for minimally invasive tumor treatment in clinical practice. Due to its common technical procedure, low complication rate, and low cost, RFA has become an alternative to surgical resection in the liver. To evaluate the therapy success of RFA, thorough follow-up imaging is essential. Conventionally, shape, size, and position of tumor and coagulation are visually compared in a side-by-side manner using pre- and post-interventional images. To objectify the verification of the treatment success, a novel software assistant allowing for fast and accurate comparison of tumor and coagulation is proposed. In this work, the clinical value of the proposed assessment software is evaluated. In a retrospective clinical study, 39 cases of hepatic tumor ablation are evaluated using the prototype software and conventional image comparison by four radiologists with different levels of experience. The cases are randomized and evaluated in two sessions to avoid any recall-bias. Self-confidence of correct diagnosis (local recurrence vs. no local recurrence) on a six-point scale is given for each case by the radiologists. Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values as well as receiver operating curves are calculated for both methods. It is shown that the software-assisted method allows physicians to correctly identify local tumor recurrence with a higher percentage than the conventional method (sensitivity: 0.6 vs. 0.35), whereas the percentage of correctly identified successful ablations is slightly reduced (specificity: 0.83 vs. 0.89).

Pathogen evolution under host avoidance plasticity.

PubMed

McLeod, David V; Day, Troy

2015-09-07

Host resistance consists of defences that limit pathogen burden, and can be classified as either adaptations targeting recovery from infection or those focused upon infection avoidance. Conventional theory treats avoidance as a fixed strategy which does not vary from one interaction to the next. However, there is increasing empirical evidence that many avoidance strategies are triggered by external stimuli, and thus should be treated as phenotypically plastic responses. Here, we consider the implications of avoidance plasticity for host-pathogen coevolution. We uncover a number of predictions challenging current theory. First, in the absence of pathogen trade-offs, plasticity can restrain pathogen evolution; moreover, the pathogen exploits conditions in which the host would otherwise invest less in resistance, causing resistance escalation. Second, when transmission trades off with pathogen-induced mortality, plasticity encourages avirulence, resulting in a superior fitness outcome for both host and pathogen. Third, plasticity ensures the sterilizing effect of pathogens has consequences for pathogen evolution. When pathogens castrate hosts, selection forces them to minimize mortality virulence; moreover, when transmission trades off with sterility alone, resistance plasticity is sufficient to prevent pathogens from evolving to fully castrate. © 2015 The Author(s).

Obstacle avoidance system with sonar sensing and fuzzy logic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiang, Wen-chuan; Kelkar, Nikhal; Hall, Ernest L.

1997-09-01

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) have many potential applications in manufacturing, medicine, space and defense. The purpose of this paper is to describe exploratory research on the design of an obstacle avoidance system using sonar sensors for a modular autonomous mobile robot controller. The advantages of a modular system are related to portability and the fact that any vehicle can become autonomous with minimal modifications. A mobile robot test-bed has been constructed using a golf cart base. The obstacle avoidance system is based on a micro-controller interfaced with multiple ultrasonic transducers. This micro-controller independently handles all timing and distance calculations and sends a distance measurement back to the computer via the serial line. This design yields a portable independent system. Testing of these systems has been done in the lab as well as on an outside test track with positive results that show that at five mph the vehicle can follow a line and at the same time avoid obstacles. This design, in its modularity, creates a portable autonomous obstacle avoidance controller applicable for any mobile vehicle with only minor adaptations.

Stability of Einstein static universe in gravity theory with a non-minimal derivative coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Qihong; Wu, Puxun; Yu, Hongwei

2018-01-01

The emergent mechanism provides a possible way to resolve the big-bang singularity problem by assuming that our universe originates from the Einstein static (ES) state. Thus, the existence of a stable ES solution becomes a very crucial prerequisite for the emergent scenario. In this paper, we study the stability of an ES universe in gravity theory with a non-minimal coupling between the kinetic term of a scalar field and the Einstein tensor. We find that the ES solution is stable under both scalar and tensor perturbations when the model parameters satisfy certain conditions, which indicates that the big-bang singularity can be avoided successfully by the emergent mechanism in the non-minimally kinetic coupled gravity.

Protein intake during training sessions has no effect on performance and recovery during a strenuous training camp for elite cyclists.

PubMed

Hansen, Mette; Bangsbo, Jens; Jensen, Jørgen; Krause-Jensen, Matilde; Bibby, Bo Martin; Sollie, Ove; Hall, Ulrika Andersson; Madsen, Klavs

2016-01-01

Training camps for top-class endurance athletes place high physiological demands on the body. Focus on optimizing recovery between training sessions is necessary to minimize the risk of injuries and improve adaptations to the training stimuli. Carbohydrate supplementation during sessions is generally accepted as being beneficial to aid performance and recovery, whereas the effect of protein supplementation and timing is less well understood. We studied the effects of protein ingestion during training sessions on performance and recovery of elite cyclists during a strenuous training camp. In a randomized, double-blinded study, 18 elite cyclists consumed either a whey protein hydrolysate-carbohydrate beverage (PRO-CHO, 14 g protein/h and 69 g CHO/h) or an isocaloric carbohydrate beverage (CHO, 84 g/h) during each training session for six days (25-29 h cycling in total). Diet and training were standardized and supervised. The diet was energy balanced and contained 1.7 g protein/kg/day. A 10-s peak power test and a 5-min all-out performance test were conducted before and after the first training session and repeated at day 6 of the camp. Blood and saliva samples were collected in the morning after overnight fasting during the week and analyzed for biochemical markers of muscle damage, stress, and immune function. In both groups, 5-min all-out performance was reduced after the first training session and at day 6 compared to before the first training session, with no difference between groups. Peak power in the sprint test did not change significantly between tests or between groups. In addition, changes in markers for muscle damage, stress, and immune function were not significantly influenced by treatment. Intake of protein combined with carbohydrate during cycling at a training camp for top cyclists did not result in marked performance benefits compared to intake of carbohydrates when a recovery drink containing adequate protein and carbohydrate was ingested immediately after each training session in both groups. These findings suggest that the addition of protein to a carbohydrate supplement consumed during exercise does not improve recovery or performance in elite cyclists despite high demands of daily exhaustive sessions during a one-week training camp.

Evaluation of Learning Associated with Multiple Exposures to Computerized Dynamic Posturography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dean, S. Lance; Paloski, William H.; Taylor, Laura C.; Vanya, Robert D.; Feiveson, Alan H.; Wood, Scott J.

2009-01-01

Computerized dynamic posturography has been used to quantitatively assess the time course of functional sensorimotor recovery after exposure to spaceflight or to groundbased analogs such as head-down bed rest. An assessment of balance recovery may be confounded as subjects develop new strategies through repeated exposures to test paradigms. The purpose of this control study was to characterize the learning effects of sensory organization and motor control tests across multiple sessions. METHODS: Twenty-eight healthy subjects were tested over four sessions. To examine the effects of between-session interval, subjects were assigned to one of four groups in which the interval between the 1 st and 2nd sessions was 7 (+/- 1) days, 14 (+/-1) days, 28 (+/-2) days, or 56 (+/-3) days. The interval between remaining sessions was 28 (+/-4) days. Peak-to-peak anterior-posterior sway was measured during standard Sensory Organization Tests (SOTs) using either fixed or unstable sway-referenced support with eyes open, eyes closed, or sway-referenced vision. Sway was also measured during modified SOTs using eyes-closed conditions with either static or dynamic head tilts. Postural recovery to unexpected support surface perturbations (translations or rotations) was measured during Motor Control Tests. The test order was block randomized across subjects. RESULTS: The learning effects varied with test condition. There were no measurable differences with a stable support surface. The more challenging conditions (unstable support surface with and without head tilts) led to greater differences and took more trials to stabilize. The effect of time interval between the first two sessions was negligible across conditions. Evidence suggested that learning carried across similar conditions (such as unstable support SOTs). DISCUSSION: Familiarization session and/or trials are recommended to minimize learning effects when characterizing functional recovery after exposure to altered sensory environments. The number of practice trials required depends on task difficulty and similarity across conditions. Learning statement: This presentation will review the learning effects of computerized d

Smoking Topography Characteristics of Very Low Nicotine Content Cigarettes, With and Without Nicotine Replacement, in Smokers With Schizophrenia and Controls

PubMed Central

Cassidy, Rachel N.; Miller, Mollie E.

2016-01-01

Introduction: Reducing the nicotine content of cigarettes to a minimally addictive level has been proposed as a regulatory strategy for reducing tobacco dependence. However, smokers with schizophrenia (SS) may be prone to changing their smoking topography in efforts to compensate for the reduction in nicotine content. The aims of this study were to compare smoking topography characteristics of usual-brand and very low nicotine content (VLNC) cigarettes in SS and control smokers without psychiatric illness (CS), and to determine whether nicotine replacement reversed any changes in topography produced by VLNC cigarettes. Methods: Using a within-subjects, counter-balanced design, SS (n = 27) and CS (n = 23) smoked usual brand cigarettes, VLNC cigarettes while wearing placebo patches (VLNC + PLA), or VLNC cigarettes while wearing transdermal nicotine patches totaling 42mg (VLNC + NIC) during 5-hour ad libitum smoking sessions. Cigarettes were smoked through topography measurement devices. Results: Across conditions, SS smoked more puffs per session and per cigarette, had higher cigarette volumes, and had shorter inter-puff intervals than CS (Ps < .01). During VLNC cigarette sessions, puff duration increased and time between puffs decreased, but participants smoked fewer puffs, resulting in a net decrease in cigarette and total session volume (Ps < .001). There were no significant interactions between group and condition. Conclusions: These findings indicate that acute use of VLNC cigarettes does not increase intensity of smoking in SS, and support the feasibility of a nicotine reduction policy. Implications: Reducing the nicotine in cigarettes to a minimally addictive level has been proposed as a means of reducing tobacco dependence. However, smokers, particularly those with schizophrenia (SS) may alter their puffing in an attempt to extract more nicotine from VLNC cigarettes. This study compared smoking topography of usual brand versus VLNC cigarettes, combined with placebo or transdermal nicotine patches, in SS and controls. Although some changes in topography were indicative of compensatory smoking, total puffs and total cigarette volume were reduced with VLNC cigarettes, indicating that acute VLNC cigarette use does not increase smoking in SS. PMID:26995794

Implementing AORN recommended practices for electrosurgery.

PubMed

Spruce, Lisa; Braswell, Melanie L

2012-03-01

Technology is constantly changing, and it is important for perioperative nurses to stay current on new products and technologies in the perioperative setting. AORN's "Recommended practices for electrosurgery" addresses safety standards that all perioperative personnel should follow to minimize risks to both patients and staff members during the use of electrosurgical devices. Recommendations include how to select electrosurgical units and accessories for purchase, how to minimize the potential for patient and staff member injuries, what precautions to take during minimally invasive surgery, and how to avoid surgical smoke hazards. The recommendations also address education/competency, documentation, policies and procedures, and quality assurance/performance improvement. Perioperative nurses should consider the use of checklists and safety posters to remind staff members of the dangers of electrosurgery and the steps to take to minimize the risks for injury. Copyright © 2012 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The repeated bout effect of typical lower body strength training sessions on sub-maximal running performance and hormonal response.

PubMed

Doma, Kenji; Schumann, Moritz; Sinclair, Wade H; Leicht, Anthony S; Deakin, Glen B; Häkkinen, Keijo

2015-08-01

This study examined the effects of two typical strength training sessions performed 1 week apart (i.e. repeated bout effect) on sub-maximal running performance and hormonal. Fourteen resistance-untrained men (age 24.0 ± 3.9 years; height 1.83 ± 0.11 m; body mass 77.4 ± 14.0 kg; VOpeak 48.1 ± 6.1 M kg(-1) min(-1)) undertook two bouts of high-intensity strength training sessions (i.e. six-repetition maximum). Creatine kinase (CK), delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), counter-movement jump (CMJ) as well as concentrations of serum testosterone, cortisol and testosterone/cortisol ratio (T/C) were examined prior to and immediately post, 24 (T24) and 48 (T48) h post each strength training bout. Sub-maximal running performance was also conducted at T24 and T48 of each bout. When measures were compared between bouts at T48, the degree of elevation in CK (-58.4 ± 55.6 %) and DOMS (-31.43 ± 42.9 %) and acute reduction in CMJ measures (4.1 ± 5.4 %) were attenuated (p < 0.05) following the second bout. Cortisol was increased until T24 (p < 0.05) although there were no differences between bouts and no differences were found for testosterone and T/C ratio (p > 0.05). Sub-maximal running performance was impaired until T24, although changes were not attenuated following the second bout. The initial bout appeared to provide protection against a number of muscle damage indicators suggesting a greater need for recovery following the initial session of typical lower body resistance exercises in resistance-untrained men although sub-maximal running should be avoided following the first two sessions.

Reverse lactate threshold: a novel single-session approach to reliable high-resolution estimation of the anaerobic threshold.

PubMed

Dotan, Raffy

2012-06-01

The multisession maximal lactate steady-state (MLSS) test is the gold standard for anaerobic threshold (AnT) estimation. However, it is highly impractical, requires high fitness level, and suffers additional shortcomings. Existing single-session AnT-estimating tests are of compromised validity, reliability, and resolution. The presented reverse lactate threshold test (RLT) is a single-session, AnT-estimating test, aimed at avoiding the pitfalls of existing tests. It is based on the novel concept of identifying blood lactate's maximal appearance-disappearance equilibrium by approaching the AnT from higher, rather than from lower exercise intensities. Rowing, cycling, and running case data (4 recreational and competitive athletes, male and female, aged 17-39 y) are presented. Subjects performed the RLT test and, on a separate session, a single 30-min MLSS-type verification test at the RLT-determined intensity. The RLT and its MLSS verification exhibited exceptional agreement at 0.5% discrepancy or better. The RLT's training sensitivity was demonstrated by a case of 2.5-mo training regimen following which the RLT's 15-W improvement was fully MLSS-verified. The RLT's test-retest reliability was examined in 10 trained and untrained subjects. Test 2 differed from test 1 by only 0.3% with an intraclass correlation of 0.997. The data suggest RLT to accurately and reliably estimate AnT (as represented by MLSS verification) with high resolution and in distinctly different sports and to be sensitive to training adaptations. Compared with MLSS, the single-session RLT is highly practical and its lower fitness requirements make it applicable to athletes and untrained individuals alike. Further research is needed to establish RLT's validity and accuracy in larger samples.

Lambda network having 2.sup.m-1 nodes in each of m stages with each node coupled to four other nodes for bidirectional routing of data packets between nodes

DOEpatents

Napolitano, Jr., Leonard M.

1995-01-01

The Lambda network is a single stage, packet-switched interprocessor communication network for a distributed memory, parallel processor computer. Its design arises from the desired network characteristics of minimizing mean and maximum packet transfer time, local routing, expandability, deadlock avoidance, and fault tolerance. The network is based on fixed degree nodes and has mean and maximum packet transfer distances where n is the number of processors. The routing method is detailed, as are methods for expandability, deadlock avoidance, and fault tolerance.

Pain management in knee surgery.

PubMed

Ginsberg, B

2001-01-01

Thus Jefferson says, "The art of life is the art of avoiding pain." How can we possibly avoid pain either physical or psychological throughout our life span? Perhaps it is more realistic to do our best to minimize pain or manage it effectively. Managing pain throughout the preoperative and postoperative periods is achievable, but we are not always doing an adequate job. The focus of this article is to provide an opportunity to look at using appropriate medications, treatment approaches, and timing for the orthopaedic patient. The concepts of preemptive analgesia and around-the-clock (ATC) dosing are discussed.

Can artificial neural networks be used to predict the origin of ozone episodes?

PubMed

Fontes, T; Silva, L M; Silva, M P; Barros, N; Carvalho, A C

2014-08-01

Tropospheric ozone is a secondary pollutant having a negative impact on health and environment. To control and minimize such impact the European Community established regulations to promote a clean air all over Europe. However, when an episode is related with natural mechanisms as Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchanges (STE), the benefits of an action plan to minimize precursor emissions are inefficient. Therefore, this work aims to develop a tool to identify the sources of ozone episodes in order to minimize misclassification and thus avoid the implementation of inappropriate air quality plans. For this purpose, an artificial neural network model - the Multilayer Perceptron - is used as a binary classifier of the source of an ozone episode. Long data series, between 2001 and 2010, considering the ozone precursors, (7)Be activity and meteorological conditions were used. With this model, 2-7% of a mean error was achieved, which is considered as a good generalization. Accuracy measures for imbalanced data are also discussed. The MCC values show a good performance of the model (0.65-0.92). Precision and F1-measure indicate that the model specifies a little better the rare class. Thus, the results demonstrate that such a tool can be used to help authorities in the management of ozone, namely when its thresholds are exceeded due natural causes, as the above mentioned STE. Therefore, the resources used to implement an action plan to minimize ozone precursors could be better managed avoiding the implementation of inappropriate measures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How Do Price Minimizing Behaviors Impact Smoking Cessation? Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey

PubMed Central

Licht, Andrea S.; Hyland, Andrew J.; O’Connor, Richard J.; Chaloupka, Frank J.; Borland, Ron; Fong, Geoffrey T.; Nargis, Nigar; Cummings, K. Michael

2011-01-01

This paper examines how price minimizing behaviors impact efforts to stop smoking. Data on 4,988 participants from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation (ITC) Four-Country Survey who were smokers at baseline (wave 5) and interviewed at a 1 year follow-up were used. We examined whether price minimizing behaviors at baseline predicted: (1) cessation, (2) quit attempts, and (3) successful quit attempts at one year follow up using multivariate logistic regression modeling. A subset analysis included 3,387 participants who were current smokers at waves 5 and 6 and were followed through wave 7 to explore effects of changing purchase patterns on cessation. Statistical tests for interaction were performed to examine the joint effect of SES and price/tax avoidance behaviors on cessation outcomes. Smokers who engaged in any price/tax avoidance behaviors were 28% less likely to report cessation. Persons using low/untaxed sources were less likely to quit at follow up, those purchasing cartons were less likely to make quit attempts and quit, and those using discount cigarettes were less likely to succeed, conditional on making attempts. Respondents who utilized multiple behaviors simultaneously were less likely to make quit attempts and to succeed. SES did not modify the effects of price minimizing behaviors on cessation outcomes. The data from this paper indicate that the availability of lower priced cigarette alternatives may attenuate public health efforts aimed at to reduce reducing smoking prevalence through price and tax increases among all SES groups. PMID:21655144

Voice Register in Mon: Acoustics and Electroglottography

PubMed Central

Abramson, Arthur S.; Tiede, Mark K.; Luangthongkum, Theraphan

2016-01-01

Mon is spoken in villages in Thailand and Myanmar. The dialect of Ban Nakhonchum, Thailand has two voice registers, modal and breathy; these phonation types, along with other phonetic properties, distinguish minimal pairs. Four native speakers of this dialect recorded repetitions of 14 randomized words (seven minimal pairs) for acoustic analysis. We used a subset of these pairs in a listening test to verify the perceptual robustness of the register distinction. Acoustic analysis found significant differences in noise component, spectral slope, and fundamental frequency. In a subsequent session four speakers were also recorded using electroglottography (EGG), which showed systematic differences in the contact quotient (CQ). The salience of these properties in maintaining the register distinction is discussed in the context of possible tonogenesis for this language. PMID:26636544

40 CFR 49.126 - Rule for limiting fugitive particulate matter emissions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., and other surfaces that can create airborne dust. (iii) Full or partial enclosure of materials... particulate matter from becoming airborne. (iv) Implementation of good housekeeping practices to avoid or minimize the accumulation of dusty materials that have the potential to become airborne, and the prompt...

30 CFR 780.35 - Disposal of excess spoil.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the operation has been designed to minimize, to the extent possible, the volume of excess spoil that... authority, that the designed maximum cumulative volume of all proposed excess spoil fills within the permit... and related environmental values. You must design the operation to avoid placement of excess spoil in...

30 CFR 784.19 - Disposal of excess spoil.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the operation has been designed to minimize, to the extent possible, the volume of excess spoil that... authority, that the designed maximum cumulative volume of all proposed excess spoil fills within the permit... and related environmental values. You must design the operation to avoid placement of excess spoil in...

30 CFR 780.35 - Disposal of excess spoil.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... the operation has been designed to minimize, to the extent possible, the volume of excess spoil that... authority, that the designed maximum cumulative volume of all proposed excess spoil fills within the permit... and related environmental values. You must design the operation to avoid placement of excess spoil in...

30 CFR 780.35 - Disposal of excess spoil.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... the operation has been designed to minimize, to the extent possible, the volume of excess spoil that... authority, that the designed maximum cumulative volume of all proposed excess spoil fills within the permit... and related environmental values. You must design the operation to avoid placement of excess spoil in...

30 CFR 784.19 - Disposal of excess spoil.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... the operation has been designed to minimize, to the extent possible, the volume of excess spoil that... authority, that the designed maximum cumulative volume of all proposed excess spoil fills within the permit... and related environmental values. You must design the operation to avoid placement of excess spoil in...

30 CFR 784.19 - Disposal of excess spoil.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... the operation has been designed to minimize, to the extent possible, the volume of excess spoil that... authority, that the designed maximum cumulative volume of all proposed excess spoil fills within the permit... and related environmental values. You must design the operation to avoid placement of excess spoil in...

28 CFR 91.51 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... affect the quality of the human environment. (4) Use the NEPA process to identify and assess reasonable alternatives to proposed actions that will avoid or minimize adverse effects of these actions upon the quality of the human environment. (5) Use all practicable means to restore and enhance the quality of the...

28 CFR 91.51 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... affect the quality of the human environment. (4) Use the NEPA process to identify and assess reasonable alternatives to proposed actions that will avoid or minimize adverse effects of these actions upon the quality of the human environment. (5) Use all practicable means to restore and enhance the quality of the...

28 CFR 91.51 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... affect the quality of the human environment. (4) Use the NEPA process to identify and assess reasonable alternatives to proposed actions that will avoid or minimize adverse effects of these actions upon the quality of the human environment. (5) Use all practicable means to restore and enhance the quality of the...

28 CFR 91.51 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... affect the quality of the human environment. (4) Use the NEPA process to identify and assess reasonable alternatives to proposed actions that will avoid or minimize adverse effects of these actions upon the quality of the human environment. (5) Use all practicable means to restore and enhance the quality of the...

28 CFR 91.51 - Policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... affect the quality of the human environment. (4) Use the NEPA process to identify and assess reasonable alternatives to proposed actions that will avoid or minimize adverse effects of these actions upon the quality of the human environment. (5) Use all practicable means to restore and enhance the quality of the...

Apparent agency: how can hospitals combat the appearance?

PubMed

Barrett, R A; O'Neill, C R

1988-05-01

This article examines one of the newer theories of liability which courts are using to hold hospitals liable for the negligence of their physicians. The authors suggest possible ways in which a hospital, including its medical record department, can attempt to avoid, or at least minimize, this liability risk.

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Perceived Importance of Conversational Constraints.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Min-Sun

1994-01-01

Investigates how cultural groups differ in the relative importance they attach to conversational constraints. Suggests that the perceived importance of clarity is higher in the more individualistic cultures but that the perceived importance of avoiding hurting the hearer's feelings and of minimizing imposition is higher in the more collectivistic…

36 CFR 800.6 - Resolution of adverse effects.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Resolution of adverse effects... PROTECTION OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES The section 106 Process § 800.6 Resolution of adverse effects. (a) Continue... the undertaking that could avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects on historic properties. (1...

Safe School Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connecticut State Dept. of Education, Hartford. Div. of Educational Administration.

This handbook is designed to assist persons who are concerned with preventing or minimizing property damage to schools through vandalism, arson, and theft, and with avoiding bodily injuries in and around school buildings. Many of the suggestions, while directed at the planning of new buildings, can be adapted to lessen the incidence of vandalism…

Online Plagiarism Training Falls Short in Biology Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holt, Emily A.; Fagerheim, Britt; Durham, Susan

2014-01-01

Online plagiarism tutorials are increasingly popular in higher education, as faculty and staff try to curb the plagiarism epidemic. Yet no research has validated the efficacy of such tools in minimizing plagiarism in the sciences. Our study compared three plagiarism-avoidance training regimens (i.e., no training, online tutorial, or homework…

Habitat use and avoidance by foraging red-cockaded woodpeckers in east Texas

Treesearch

John N. Macey; D. Brent Burt; Daniel Saenz; Richard N. Conner

2016-01-01

Picoides borealis (Red-cockaded Woodpecker) is an endangered bird endemic to the Pinus (pine) ecosystems of the southeastern US. Mature pine savannahs with a minimal midstory and lush herbaceous groundcover represent high-quality habitat. This study examines the foraging-habitat patterns of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in East...

Use of a GIS-based model of habitat cores and landscape corridors for the Virginia Department of Transportation's project planning and environmental scoping.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-01-01

As important habitats are being lost to human development, transportation agencies are facing increased expectations that their road projects avoid or minimize further habitat destruction and adverse effects on wildlife populations. Wildlife linkage ...

32 CFR 989.21 - Record of decision (ROD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.21 Record of decision (ROD). (a) The proponent and the EPF... all the major factors the agency weighed in making its decision, including essential considerations of... avoid, minimize, or mitigate environmental impacts and, if not, explain why not. [64 FR 38129, July 15...

32 CFR 989.21 - Record of decision (ROD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.21 Record of decision (ROD). (a) The proponent and the EPF... all the major factors the agency weighed in making its decision, including essential considerations of... avoid, minimize, or mitigate environmental impacts and, if not, explain why not. [64 FR 38129, July 15...

32 CFR 989.21 - Record of decision (ROD).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.21 Record of decision (ROD). (a) The proponent and the EPF... all the major factors the agency weighed in making its decision, including essential considerations of... avoid, minimize, or mitigate environmental impacts and, if not, explain why not. [64 FR 38129, July 15...

30 CFR 784.19 - Disposal of excess spoil.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... the operation has been designed to minimize, to the extent possible, the volume of excess spoil that... authority, that the designed maximum cumulative volume of all proposed excess spoil fills within the permit... and related environmental values. You must design the operation to avoid placement of excess spoil in...

30 CFR 780.35 - Disposal of excess spoil.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... the operation has been designed to minimize, to the extent possible, the volume of excess spoil that... authority, that the designed maximum cumulative volume of all proposed excess spoil fills within the permit... and related environmental values. You must design the operation to avoid placement of excess spoil in...

30 CFR 780.35 - Disposal of excess spoil.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... the operation has been designed to minimize, to the extent possible, the volume of excess spoil that... authority, that the designed maximum cumulative volume of all proposed excess spoil fills within the permit... and related environmental values. You must design the operation to avoid placement of excess spoil in...

30 CFR 784.19 - Disposal of excess spoil.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... the operation has been designed to minimize, to the extent possible, the volume of excess spoil that... authority, that the designed maximum cumulative volume of all proposed excess spoil fills within the permit... and related environmental values. You must design the operation to avoid placement of excess spoil in...

77 FR 73289 - Hazardous Substances and Articles; Administration and Enforcement Regulations: Revisions to...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-10

... recommends this approach to manufacturers who are labeling substances to indicate a hazard. Accordingly, the... test animals. Additionally, the routine use of topical anesthetics, systemic analgesics, and humane..., systemic analgesics, and humane endpoints to avoid or minimize pain and distress in ocular safety testing...

14 CFR 1216.200 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... wetlands; (f) Develop an integrated process to involve the public in the floodplain and wetlands management... Management § 1216.200 Scope. This subpart 1216.2 prescribes procedures to: (a) Avoid long- and short-term... alternative; (c) Reduce the risk of flood loss; (d) Minimize the impact of floods on human health, safety and...

Schools Get Smart about Energy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoff, Randy

2011-01-01

Regardless of size or community served, school districts across California and the nation face one common challenge--a reduction in funding. Becoming more efficient in managing precious taxpayer dollars has become the highest priority for districts in order to minimize or avoid staff reductions or the elimination of student programs. Dozens of…

Conscientiousness, Health, and Aging: The Life Course of Personality Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shanahan, Michael J.; Hill, Patrick L.; Roberts, Brent W.; Eccles, Jacquelynne; Friedman, Howard S.

2014-01-01

The Conscientiousness (C) of the self and significant others influences health by way of mediational chains involving socioeconomic attainment, the avoidance and neutralization of stressors, the promotion of health behaviors and the minimization of risk behaviors, and the management of symptoms and diseases. Yet, meta-analyses reveal that these…

Developing and Using Ada Parts in Real-Time Embedded Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-04-27

ARCHTECTURAL DESIGN Guideline #3-a: Avoid duplication of data types packages. Guideline #3-b: Minimize variant proliferation. Concentrate on developing a...of SOFTWARE REUSE DEVELOPING and USING ADA PARTS in RTE APPUCATIONS ARCHTECTURAL DESIGN Table 5-10 illustrates the use of this more strongly data typed

Progress and prospects for an FI relevant point design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Key, M; Amendt, P; Bellei, C

The physics issues involved in scaling from sub ignition to high gain fast ignition are discussed. Successful point designs must collimate the electrons and minimize the stand off distance to avoid multi mega-joule ignition energies. Collimating B field configurations are identified and some initial designs are explored.

76 FR 28060 - Regional Habitat Conservation Plan, Hays County, TX

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-13

... alternative features the acquisition of a modestly sized, pre-determined preserve system and limits the amount... under Alternative B, this alternative involves a conservation program that utilizes a pre-determined..., adaptive management, and other strategies designed to avoid and minimize harm to the covered species and...

Staying the Course: Vital U.S. Interests on the African Continent

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-13

much needed agricultural development. On the continent in which desertification has its greatest impact,11 taking action to minimize avoidable stress on... Desertification Home Page at ―Regions-Africa,‖ http://www.unccd.int (accessed March 12, 2012). 12 Gianluca Rampolla, ―Transforming Risks into Cooperation

30 CFR 282.13 - Suspension of production or other operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... environmental evaluation to define mitigation measures to avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts. (5... deposits (in areas leased or not leased), to the National security or defense, or to the marine, coastal.... 282.13 Section 282.13 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF...

30 CFR 282.13 - Suspension of production or other operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... environmental evaluation to define mitigation measures to avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts. (5... deposits (in areas leased or not leased), to the National security or defense, or to the marine, coastal.... 282.13 Section 282.13 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF...

30 CFR 282.13 - Suspension of production or other operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... environmental evaluation to define mitigation measures to avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts. (5... deposits (in areas leased or not leased), to the National security or defense, or to the marine, coastal.... 282.13 Section 282.13 Mineral Resources BUREAU OF SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF...

Rest Interval Required for Power Training With Power Load in the Bench Press Throw Exercise.

PubMed

Hernández Davó, Jose L; Solana, Rafael Sabido; Sarabia Marín, Jose M; Fernández Fernández, Jaime; Moya Ramón, Manuel

2016-05-01

This study aimed to test the influence of various rest interval (RI) durations used between sets on power output performance and physiological and perceptual variables during a strength training session using 40% of the 1 repetition maximum (1RM) in the bench press throw exercise. Thirty-one college students (18 males and 13 females) took part in the study. The experimental protocol consists of 5 sets of 8 repetitions of the bench press throw exercise with a load representing 40% of 1RM. Subjects performed the experimental protocol on 3 different occasions, differing by the RI between sets (1, 2, or 3 minutes). During the sessions, power data (mean power and peak power), physiological (lactate concentration [La]) and perceptual (rating of perceived exertion) variables were measured. In addition, delayed onset muscular soreness was reported 24 and 48 hours after the training session. One-way repeated-measures analysis of variance showed that 1-minute RI entailed higher power decreases and greater increases in values of physiological and perceptual variables compared with both 2- and 3-minute RIs. Nevertheless, no differences were found between 2- and 3-minute RIs. Therefore, this study showed that, when training with 40% of 1RM in the bench press throw exercise, a 2-minute RI between sets can be enough to avoid significant decreases in power output. Consequently, training sessions' duration could be reduced without causing excessive fatigue, allowing additional time to focus on other conditioning priorities.

A Contextual Approach to Experiential Avoidance and Social Anxiety: Evidence from an Experimental Interaction and Daily Interactions of People with Social Anxiety Disorder

PubMed Central

Kashdan, Todd B.; Goodman, Fallon R.; Machell, Kyla A.; Kleiman, Evan M.; Monfort, Samuel S.; Ciarrochi, Joseph; Nezlek, John B.

2014-01-01

Experiential avoidance, the tendency to avoid internal, unwanted thoughts and feelings, is hypothesized to be a risk factor for social anxiety. Existing studies of experiential avoidance rely on trait measures with minimal contextual consideration. In two studies, we examined the association between experiential avoidance and anxiety within real-world social interactions. In the first study, we examined the effect of experiential avoidance on social anxiety in everyday life. For two weeks, 37 participants with Social Anxiety Disorder [SAD] and 38 healthy controls provided reports of experiential avoidance and social anxiety symptoms during face-to-face social interactions. Results showed that momentary experiential avoidance was positively related to anxiety symptoms during social interactions and this effect was stronger among people with SAD. People low in EA showed greater sensitivity to the level of situational threat than high EA people. In the second study, we facilitated an initial encounter between strangers. Unlike Study 1, we experimentally created a social situation where there was either an opportunity for intimacy (self-disclosure conversation) or no such opportunity (small-talk conversation). Results showed that greater experiential avoidance during the self-disclosure conversation temporally preceded increases in social anxiety for the remainder of the interaction; no such effect was found in the small-talk conversation. Our findings provide insight into the association between experiential avoidance on social anxiety in laboratory and naturalistic settings, and demonstrate that the effect of EA depends upon level of social threat and opportunity. PMID:24749634

Socio-Economic Variation in Price Minimizing Behaviors: Findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey

PubMed Central

Licht, Andrea S.; Hyland, Andrew J.; O’Connor, Richard J.; Chaloupka, Frank J.; Borland, Ron; Fong, Geoffrey T.; Nargis, Nigar; Cummings, K. Michael

2011-01-01

This paper examines how socio-economic status (SES) modifies how smokers adjust to changes in the price of tobacco products through utilization of multiple price minimizing techniques. Data come from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation (ITC) Four Country Survey, nationally representative samples of adult smokers and includes respondents from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Cross-sectional analyses were completed among 8,243 respondents (7,038 current smokers) from the survey wave conducted between October 2006 and February 2007. Analyses examined predictors of purchasing from low/untaxed sources, using discount cigarettes or roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco, purchasing cigarettes in cartons, and engaging in high levels of price and tax avoidance at last purchase. All analyses tested for interactions with SES and were weighted to account for changing and under-represented demographics. Relatively high levels of price and tax avoidance behaviors were present; 8% reported buying from low or untaxed source; 36% used discount or generic brands, 13.5% used RYO tobacco, 29% reported purchasing cartons, and 63% reported using at least one of these high price avoidance behaviors. Respondents categorized as having low SES were approximately 26% less likely to report using low or untaxed sources and 43% less likely to purchase tobacco by the carton. However, respondents with low SES were 85% more likely to report using discount brands/RYO compared to participants with higher SES. Overall, lower SES smokers were 25% more likely to engage in at least one or more tax avoidance behaviors compared to their higher SES counterparts. Price and tax avoidance behaviors are relatively common among smokers of all SES strata, but strategies differed with higher SES groups more likely to report traveling to a low-tax location to avoid paying higher prices, purchase duty free tobacco, and purchase by cartons instead of packs all of which were less commonly reported by low SES smokers. Because of the strategies lower SES respondents are more likely to use, reducing price differentials between discount and premium brands may have a greater impact on them, potentially increasing the likelihood of quitting. PMID:21318026

Socio-economic variation in price minimizing behaviors: findings from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Four Country Survey.

PubMed

Licht, Andrea S; Hyland, Andrew J; O'Connor, Richard J; Chaloupka, Frank J; Borland, Ron; Fong, Geoffrey T; Nargis, Nigar; Cummings, K Michael

2011-01-01

This paper examines how socio-economic status (SES) modifies how smokers adjust to changes in the price of tobacco products through utilization of multiple price minimizing techniques. Data come from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation (ITC) Four Country Survey, nationally representative samples of adult smokers and includes respondents from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Cross-sectional analyses were completed among 8,243 respondents (7,038 current smokers) from the survey wave conducted between October 2006 and February 2007. Analyses examined predictors of purchasing from low/untaxed sources, using discount cigarettes or roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco, purchasing cigarettes in cartons, and engaging in high levels of price and tax avoidance at last purchase. All analyses tested for interactions with SES and were weighted to account for changing and under-represented demographics. Relatively high levels of price and tax avoidance behaviors were present; 8% reported buying from low or untaxed source; 36% used discount or generic brands, 13.5% used RYO tobacco, 29% reported purchasing cartons, and 63% reported using at least one of these high price avoidance behaviors. Respondents categorized as having low SES were approximately 26% less likely to report using low or untaxed sources and 43% less likely to purchase tobacco by the carton. However, respondents with low SES were 85% more likely to report using discount brands/RYO compared to participants with higher SES. Overall, lower SES smokers were 25% more likely to engage in at least one or more tax avoidance behaviors compared to their higher SES counterparts. Price and tax avoidance behaviors are relatively common among smokers of all SES strata, but strategies differed with higher SES groups more likely to report traveling to a low-tax location to avoid paying higher prices, purchase duty free tobacco, and purchase by cartons instead of packs all of which were less commonly reported by low SES smokers. Because of the strategies lower SES respondents are more likely to use, reducing price differentials between discount and premium brands may have a greater impact on them, potentially increasing the likelihood of quitting.

When avoiding unpleasant emotions might not be such a bad thing: verbal-autonomic response dissociation and midlife conjugal bereavement.

PubMed

Bonanno, G A; Keltner, D; Holen, A; Horowitz, M J

1995-11-01

It has been widely assumed that emotional avoidance during bereavement leads to either prolonged grief, delayed grief, or delayed somatic symptoms. To test this view, as well as a contrasting adaptive hypothesis, emotional avoidance was measured 6 months after a conjugal loss as negative verbal-autonomic response dissociation (low self-rated negative emotion coupled with heightened cardiovascular activity) and compared with grief measured at 6 and 14 months. The negative dissociation score evidenced reliability and validity but did not evidence the assumed link to severe grief. Rather, consistent with the adaptive hypothesis, negative dissociation at 6 months was associated with minimal grief symptoms across 14 months. Negative dissociation scores were also linked to initially high levels of somatic symptoms, which dropped to a low level by 14 months. Possible explanations for the initial cost and long-term adaptive quality of emotional avoidance during bereavement, as well as implications and limitations of the findings, are discussed.

Effects of novel tacrine-related cholinesterase inhibitors in the reversal of 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate-induced cognitive deficit in rats--Is there a potential for Alzheimer's disease treatment?

PubMed

Misik, Jan; Korabecny, Jan; Nepovimova, Eugenie; Kracmarova, Alzbeta; Kassa, Jiri

2016-01-26

Inhibitors of cholinesterase are important drugs for therapy of Alzheimer's disease and the search for new modifications is extensive, including dual inhibitors or multi-target hybrid compounds. The aim of the present study was a preliminary evaluation of pro-cognitive effects of newly-developed 7-MEOTA-donepezil like hybrids (compounds no. 1 and 2) and N-alkylated tacrine derivatives (compounds no. 3 and 4) using an animal model of pharmacologically-induced cognitive deficit. Male Wistar rats were subjected to tests of learning and memory in a water maze and step-through passive avoidance task. Cognitive impairment was induced by 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB, 2mgkg(-1)), administered intraperitoneally 1h before training sessions. Cholinesterase inhibitors were administered as a single therapeutic dose following the QNB at 30min at the following dose rates; 1 (25.6mgkg(-1)), 2 (12.3mgkg(-1)), 3 (5.7mgkg(-1)), 4 (5.2mgkg(-1)). The decrease in total path within the 10-swim session (water maze), the preference for target quadrant (water maze) and the entrance latency (passive avoidance) were taken as indicators of learning ability in rats. The effects of novel compounds were compared to that of standards tacrine (5.2mgkg(-1)) and donepezil (2.65mgkg(-1)). QNB significantly impaired spatial navigation as well as fear learning. Generally, the performance of rats was improved when treated with novel inhibitors and this effect reached efficiency of standard donepezil at selected doses. There was a significant improvement in the groups treated with compounds 2 and 3 in all behavioral tasks. The rest of the novel compounds succeed in the passive avoidance test. In summary, the potential of novel inhibitors (especially compounds 2 and 3) was proved and further detailed evaluation of these compounds as potential drugs for Alzheimer's disease treatment is proposed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Time of Day and Sleep Deprivation on Motorcycle-Driving Performance

PubMed Central

Bougard, Clément; Espié, Stéphane; Larnaudie, Bruno; Moussay, Sébastien; Davenne, Damien

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether motorcycle handling capabilities – measured by means of the efficiency of emergency manoeuvres – were dependent on prior sleep deprivation and time of day. Twelve male participants voluntarily took part in four test sessions, starting at 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 6 p.m., following a night either with or without sleep. Each test session comprised temperature and sleepiness measurements, before three different types of motorcycling tests were initiated: (1) stability in straight ahead riding at low speed (in “slow motion” mode and in “brakes and clutch” mode), (2) emergency braking and (3) crash avoidance tasks performed at 20 kph and 40 kph. The results indicate that motorcycle control at low speed depends on time of day, with an improvement in performance throughout the day. Emergency braking performance is affected at both speeds by time of day, with poorer performance (longer total stopping distance, reaction time and braking distance) in the morning, and also by sleep deprivation, from measurements obtained at 40 kph (incorrect initial speed). Except for a tendency observed after the sleepless night to deviate from the initial speed, it seems that crash avoidance capabilities are quite unaffected by the two disturbance factors. Consequently, some motorcycle handling capabilities (stability at low speed and emergency braking) change in the same way as the diurnal fluctuation observed in body temperature and sleepiness, whereas for others (crash avoidance) the participants were able to maintain their initial performance level despite the high levels of sleepiness recorded after a sleepless night. Motorcycle riders have to be aware that their handling capabilities are limited in the early morning and/or after sleep deprivation. Both these situations can increase the risk of falls and of being involved in a road accident. PMID:22761881

Feasibility and Safety of a Virtual Reality Dodgeball Intervention for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial

PubMed Central

Thomas, James S.; France, Christopher R.; Applegate, Megan E.; Leitkam, Samuel T.; Walkowski, Stevan

2016-01-01

Whereas the fear-avoidance model of chronic low back pain (CLBP) posits a generic avoidance of movement that is perceived as threatening, we have repeatedly shown that individuals with high fear and CLBP specifically avoid flexion of the lumbar spine. Accordingly, we developed a virtual dodgeball intervention designed to elicit graded increases in lumbar spine flexion while reducing expectations of fear and harm by engaging participants in a competitive game that is both entertaining and distracting. We recruited 52 participants (48% female) with CLBP and high fear of movement and randomized them to either a game group (n=26) or a control group (n=26). All participants completed a pregame baseline and a follow up assessment (4–6 days later) of lumbar spine motion and expectations of pain and harm during standardized reaches to high (easier), middle, and low (hardest to reach) targets. For three consecutive days, participants in the game group completed 15 minutes of virtual dodgeball between baseline and follow up. For the standardized reaching tests, there were no significant effects of group on changes in lumbar spine flexion, expected pain, or expected harm. However, virtual dodgeball was effective at increasing lumbar flexion within and across gameplay sessions. Participants reported strong positive endorsement of the game, no increases in medication use, pain, or disability, and no adverse events. Although these findings indicate that very brief exposure to this game did not translate to significant changes outside the game environment, this was not surprising given that graded exposure therapy for fear of movement among individuals with low back pain typically last 8–12 sessions. Given the demonstration of safety, feasibility and ability to encourage lumbar flexion within gameplay, these findings provide support for a clinical trial wherein the treatment dose is more consistent with traditional graded-exposure approaches to CLBP. PMID:27616607

One session treatment for pediatric blood-injection-injury phobia: A controlled multiple baseline trial.

PubMed

Oar, Ella L; Farrell, Lara J; Waters, Allison M; Conlon, Elizabeth G; Ollendick, Thomas H

2015-10-01

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a modified One Session Treatment (OST), which included an e-therapy homework maintenance program over 4 weeks for Blood-Injection-Injury (BII) phobia in children and adolescents. Using a single case, non-concurrent multiple-baseline design, 24 children and adolescents (8-18 years; 7 males, 17 females) with a primary diagnosis of BII phobia were randomly assigned to a one, two or three week baseline prior to receiving OST. Primary outcome measures included diagnostic severity, diagnostic status, and child and parent fear ratings. Secondary outcome measures included avoidance during behavioural avoidance tasks (BAT), global functioning and self and parent reported anxiety, fear and depression. Efficacy was assessed at post-treatment, 1-month, and 3-month follow-up. BII symptoms and diagnostic severity remained relatively stable during the baseline periods and then significantly improved following implementation of the intervention. Treatment response was supported by changes across multiple measures, including child, parent and independent clinician ratings. At post-treatment 8 of the 24 (33.33%) children were BII diagnosis free. Treatment gains improved at follow-ups with 14 (58.33%) children diagnosis free at 1-month follow-up and 15 (62.5%) diagnosis free at 3-month follow-up. Preliminary findings support the effectiveness of a modified OST approach for BII phobic youth with treatment outcomes improving over follow-up intervals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

D-cycloserine enhances generalization of fear extinction in children.

PubMed

Byrne, Simon P; Rapee, Ronald M; Richardson, Rick; Malhi, Gin S; Jones, Michael; Hudson, Jennifer L

2015-06-01

For exposure therapy to be successful, it is essential that fear extinction learning extends beyond the treatment setting. D-cycloserine (DCS) may facilitate treatment gains by increasing generalization of extinction learning, however, its effects have not been tested in children. We examined whether DCS enhanced generalization of fear extinction learning across different stimuli and contexts among children with specific phobias. The study was a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized controlled trial among dog or spider phobic children aged 6-14. Participants ingested either 50 mg of DCS (n = 18) or placebo (n = 17) before receiving a single prolonged exposure session to their feared stimulus. Return of fear was examined 1 week later to a different stimulus (a different dog or spider), presented in both the original treatment context and an alternate context. Avoidance and fear were measured with Behavior Approach Tests (BATs), where the child was asked to increase proximity to the stimulus while reporting their fear level. There were no differences in BAT performance between groups during the exposure session or when a new stimulus was later presented in the treatment context. However, when the new stimulus was presented in a different context, relative to placebo, the DCS group showed less avoidance (P = .03) and less increase in fear (P = .04) with moderate effect sizes. DCS enabled children to better retain their fear extinction learning. This new learning generalized to different stimuli and contexts. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Physical Therapist Treatment of Patients in the Neurological Intensive Care Unit: Description of Practice

PubMed Central

Nordon-Craft, Amy; Malone, Daniel; Luby, Darcie M.; Schenkman, Margaret; Moss, Marc

2015-01-01

Background Although studies have established the safety and feasibility of physical therapy in the critical care setting, minimal information about physical therapist practice in the neurological intensive care unit (NICU) is available. Objective This study describes physical therapists' treatment of people admitted to a NICU. Design People admitted to the NICU with a diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage, subdural hematoma, intracranial hemorrhage, or trauma were retrospectively studied. Methods Data on patient demographics, use of mechanical ventilation, and intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring were collected. For each physical therapy session, the length of the session, the location (NICU or post-NICU setting), and the presence of mechanical ventilation or ICP monitoring were recorded. Data on safety parameters, including vital sign response, falls, and dislodgement of lines, were collected. Results Over 1 year, 180 people were admitted to the NICU; 86 were evaluated by a physical therapist, for a total of 293 physical therapy sessions in the NICU (n=132) or post-NICU setting (n=161). Only one session (0.3%) was stopped, secondary to an increase in ICP. The first physical therapy session occurred on NICU day 3.0 (25%–75% interquartile range=2.0–6.0). Patients received a median of 3.4 sessions per week (25%–75% interquartile range=1.8–5.9). Patients with mechanical ventilation received less frequent physical therapy sessions than those without mechanical ventilation. Patients with ICP monitoring received less frequent sessions than those without ICP monitoring. However, after multivariate analysis, only the admission Glasgow Coma Score was independently associated with physical therapy frequency in the NICU. Patients were more likely to stand, transfer, and walk in the post-NICU setting than in the NICU. Limitations The results are limited by the retrospective, single-center nature of the study. There is inherent bias of evaluating only those patients who had physical therapy, and therapists were unable to completely adjust for the severity of illness of a given patient. Conclusions Physical therapy was performed safely in the NICU. Patients who required invasive support received less frequent physical therapy. PMID:25655880

Employee and family assistance video counseling program: a post launch retrospective comparison with in-person counseling outcomes.

PubMed

Veder, Barbara; Pope, Stan; Mani, Michèle; Beaudoin, Kelly; Ritchie, Janice

2014-01-01

Access to technologically mediated information and services under the umbrella of mental and physical health has become increasingly available to clients via Internet modalities, according to a recent study. In May 2010, video counseling was added to the counseling services offered through the Employee and Family Assistance Program at Shepell·fgi as a pilot project with a full operational launch in September 2011. The objective of this study was to conduct a retrospective post launch examination of the video counseling service through an analysis of the reported clinical outcomes of video and in-person counseling modalities. A chronological sample of 68 video counseling (VC) cases and 68 in-person (IP) cases were collected from a pool of client clinical files closed in 2012. To minimize the variables impacting the study and maintain as much clinical continuity as possible, the IP and the VC clients must have attended clinical sessions with any one of six counselors who provided both the VC and the IP services. The study compared the two counseling modalities along the following data points (see glossary of terms): (1) client demographic profiles (eg, age, gender, whether the sessions involved individuals or conjoint sessions with couples or families, etc), (2) presenting issue, (3) average session hours, (4) client rating of session helpfulness, (5) rates of goal completion, (6) client withdrawal rates, (7) no show and late cancellation rates, and (8) pre/post client self-assessment. Specific to VC, we examined client geographic location. Data analysis demonstrates that the VC and the IP showed a similar representation of presenting issues with nearly identical outcomes for client ratings of session helpfulness, rates of goal completion, pre/post client self-assessment, average session duration, and client geographic location. There were no statistically significant differences in the rates of withdrawal from counseling, no shows, and late cancellations between the VC and the IP counseling. The statistical analysis of the data was done on SPSS statistical software using 2-sample and pairwise comparison t tests at a 95% level of significance. Based on the study, VC and IP show similar outcomes in terms of client rating of session and goal attainment.

Motivational Interviewing Support for a Behavioral Health Internet Intervention for Drivers with Type 1 Diabetes

PubMed Central

Ingersoll, Karen S.; Banton, Thomas; Gorlin, Eugenia; Vajda, Karen; Singh, Harsimran; Peterson, Ninoska; Gonder-Frederick, Linda; Cox, Daniel J.

2015-01-01

While Internet interventions can improve health behaviors, their impact is limited by program adherence. Supporting program adherence through telephone counseling may be useful, but there have been few direct tests of the impact of support. We describe a Telephone Motivational Interviewing (MI) intervention targeting adherence to an Internet intervention for drivers with Type 1 Diabetes, DD.com, and compare completion of intervention benchmarks by those randomized to DD.com plus MI vs. DD.com only. The goal of the pre-intervention MI session was to increase the participant's motivation to complete the Internet intervention and all its assignments, while the goal of the post-treatment MI session was to plan for maintaining changes made during the intervention. Sessions were semi-structured and partially scripted to maximize consistency. MI Fidelity was coded using a standard coding system, the MITI. We examined the effects of MI support vs. no support on number of days from enrollment to program benchmarks. Results show that MI sessions were provided with good fidelity. Users who received MI support completed some program benchmarks such as Core 4 (t176 df= -2.25; p<.03) and 11 of 12 monthly driving diaries significantly sooner, but support did not significantly affect time to intervention completion (t177 df= -1.69; p<. 10) or rates of completion. These data suggest that there is little benefit to therapist guidance for Internet interventions including automated email prompts and other automated minimal supports, but that a booster MI session may enhance collection of follow-up data. PMID:25774342

Pedagogical sensemaking or "doing school": In well-designed workshop sessions, facilitation makes the difference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olmstead, Alice; Turpen, Chandra

2017-12-01

Although physics education researchers often use workshops to promote instructional change in higher education, little research has been done to investigate workshop design. Initial evidence suggests that many workshop sessions focus primarily on raising faculty's awareness of research-based instructional strategies, a fairly straightforward goal that has been largely met. However, increasing faculty's awareness of existing strategies alone has somewhat limited benefits. We argue that workshop leaders should also aim to cultivate faculty's ability and motivation to engage in pedagogical sensemaking, i.e., the pursuit of robust pedagogical logic based on observations and interpretations of classroom events. This goal is likely more challenging to achieve, and thus presents a greater need for research. In this paper, we pursue in situ, qualitative analysis of two parallel workshop sessions that seem to have the potential to support ambitious outcomes. We demonstrate how faculty may engage in aspects of pedagogical sensemaking, such as using observations of student behavior to support their arguments. We also show how faculty may instead seem to engage in interactions reminiscent of students "doing school," such as evaluating instruction based on "correctness" alone. We also show how differences in workshop facilitation seemed to contribute to faculty engaging in pedagogical sensemaking in one session only. These differences include (i) strictly enforcing session rules versus gently navigating faculty's incoming expectations, (ii) highlighting the workshop leaders' expertise versus working to minimize power differentials, and (iii) emphasizing the benefits of adoption of a prescribed strategy versus encouraging faculty to reason about possible adaptations. We consider the implications of this analysis for future research and workshop design.

Physical therapy as an adjunctive treatment for severe osteoarthritis in a Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis).

PubMed

Wolfe, Tammy Culpepper; Stringer, Elizabeth; Krauss, Sue; Trout, Tim

2015-03-01

This case report describes a new physical therapy technique, specifically the Wolfe Kinetic Technique, as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of severe osteoarthritis in a 20-yr-old Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). This animal was managed with oral analgesics for 3 yr with fair to minimal response over time. Due to worsening of lameness and mobility, physical therapy was initiated. Ten treatment sessions were administered at 1-wk intervals. Within 1 mo the Komodo dragon exhibited marked improvement in gait and function, increased responsiveness to his environment, and increased mobility which continued to improve over the subsequent sessions. Although outcomes could not be measured by standardized objective measures, this study provides a reference for treatment of future cases and a foundation for future research substantiating treatment practices in animal physical therapy.

Magnetic nanoparticles-based acoustical detection and hyperthermic treatment of cancer, in vitro and in vivo studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shoval, Asaf; Tepper, Michal; Tikochkiy, Jenny; Gur, Leah Ben; Markovich, Gil; Keisari, Yona; Gannot, Israel

2016-07-01

This paper describes a minimally invasive method for detection and growth inhibition of tumors that utilizes the unique properties of super paramagnetic nanoparticles. To demonstrate the feasibility of this method, dimercaptosuccinic acid-coated magnetite nanoparticles were successfully fabricated and used. Those nanoparticles were simultaneously used for magnetoacoustic detection of tumors and for specific hyperthermia treatment in C57BL/J mice injected with Lewis lung carcinoma cells. The in vivo acoustic signal attributed to the nanoparticles was 4.4 dB, while the single session hyperthermia treatment caused a reduction of 50% in tumor growing rate. In addition, a thermography-based method was applied to monitor the efficacy of the hyperthermia treatment. The presented method has the potential to revolutionize current cancer treatment by enabling diagnosis and treatment under real-time feedback in one session.

Treating university students with social phobia and public speaking fears: Internet delivered self-help with or without live group exposure sessions.

PubMed

Tillfors, Maria; Carlbring, Per; Furmark, Tomas; Lewenhaupt, Susanne; Spak, Maria; Eriksson, Anna; Westling, Bengt E; Andersson, Gerhard

2008-01-01

This study investigated the efficacy of an Internet-based self-help program with minimal therapist contact via e-mail for Swedish university students with social phobia and public speaking fears. The main objective was to test if the Internet-based self-help program would be more effective if five live group exposure sessions were added. Thirty-eight students meeting the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edition criteria for social phobia were randomized into two different treatment groups: Internet delivered cognitive behavior therapy combined with five group exposure sessions (ICBT+ exp) or the Internet program alone (ICBT). Results were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis. Both treatment groups showed significant improvement from pre- to post-test, and from pre-test to 1-year follow-up, on all measured dimensions (social anxiety, general anxiety, depression levels, and quality of life). For both the groups, the average within-group effect sizes for the primary social anxiety scales, expressed as Cohen's d, were comparable to those seen in traditionally administered cognitive behavioral therapy both at post-test and at 1- year follow-up. The results suggest that the Internet-based self-help program on its own is efficient in the treatment of university students with social phobia. Adding group exposure sessions did not improve the outcome significantly. Copyright 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

An Automated Motion Detection and Reward System for Animal Training.

PubMed

Miller, Brad; Lim, Audrey N; Heidbreder, Arnold F; Black, Kevin J

2015-12-04

A variety of approaches has been used to minimize head movement during functional brain imaging studies in awake laboratory animals. Many laboratories expend substantial effort and time training animals to remain essentially motionless during such studies. We could not locate an "off-the-shelf" automated training system that suited our needs.  We developed a time- and labor-saving automated system to train animals to hold still for extended periods of time. The system uses a personal computer and modest external hardware to provide stimulus cues, monitor movement using commercial video surveillance components, and dispense rewards. A custom computer program automatically increases the motionless duration required for rewards based on performance during the training session but allows changes during sessions. This system was used to train cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) for awake neuroimaging studies using positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The automated system saved the trainer substantial time, presented stimuli and rewards in a highly consistent manner, and automatically documented training sessions. We have limited data to prove the training system's success, drawn from the automated records during training sessions, but we believe others may find it useful. The system can be adapted to a range of behavioral training/recording activities for research or commercial applications, and the software is freely available for non-commercial use.

A Couple-Based Communication Intervention for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Survivors and Their Caregiving Partners: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Change in Process Measures.

PubMed

Langer, Shelby L; Porter, Laura S; Romano, Joan M; Todd, Michael W; Lee, Stephanie J

2018-05-14

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) poses significant challenges for recipients and their caregiving partners. Couples may refrain from talking about treatment-related fears and concerns to minimize distress. This single-group, pre-post study examined feasibility and acceptability of an intervention designed to optimize communication between HCT patients and partners; it also assessed change in process measures. Couples met with a therapist 5 times to learn skills for disclosing illness-related thoughts and feelings and responding supportively to one another. The extent to which participants disclosed thoughts, feelings, and information during the session and felt supported was assessed at the close of each session. Forty of 89 eligible couples consented (45%). Thirty couples commenced intervention 1-month post-transplant; 26 of these completed all sessions (87%) and 27 completed follow-up (90%). Ratings of self-disclosure and feeling supported by one's partner increased linearly across intervention sessions among both patients and caregivers (all P ≥ .01). Ratings of satisfaction with the intervention were high. HCT couples can be recruited and retained for this intervention. They found it acceptable and were amenable to skills training. A randomized trial is needed to test efficacy and to identify moderators of treatment response. Copyright © 2018 The American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimizing Immunosuppressive Regimens Among Living-Donor Renal Transplant Recipients.

PubMed

Bakr, Mohamed Adel; Nagib, Ayman Maher; Gheith, Osama Ashry; Hamdy, Ahmed Farouk; Refaie, Ayman Fathi; Donia, Ahmed Farouk; Neamatalla, Ahmed Hassan; Eldahshan, Khaled Farouk; Denewar, Ahmed Abdelfattah; Abbas, Mohamed Hamed; Mostafa, Amany Ismail; Ghoneim, Mohamed Ahmed

2017-02-01

We review different immunosuppressant protocols used for living-donor kidney transplant recipients at our center. Many prospective randomized studies from our center have been reported between March 1976 and 2016, with more than 2700 renal transplant procedures conducted. The first study was a prospective randomized trial of azathioprine versus cyclosporine. The second study compared triple therapy (prednisolone + azathioprine + cyclosporine) versus conventional therapy (prednisolone + azathioprine). The third study was a cost-saving study, in which 100 patients received ketoconazole along with the triple regimen. Another trial demonstrated the advantages of a microemulsion form of cyclosporine. A subsequent trial compared calcineurin inhibitor minimization versus avoidance protocols. Rescue therapies were carried out to intensify immunosuppressive regimens after repeated rejection. In addition, steroid-free regimens were evaluated during both short- and long-term treatment. A recent trial reported a step-forward avoidance protocol with a calcineurin inhibitor and a steroid-free regimen, whereas another current study is the TRANSFORM one. The rationale behind antibody therapy was tho roughly evaluated among living-donor renal trans plant recipients with different agents, including basiliximab, daclizumab, antithymocyte globulin, and alemtuzumab. Earlier studies have demonstrated the efficacy of conventional regimens without induction therapy, especially in longer follow-up. The standard triple therapy has emerged with intensified immunosuppressive and lowered dose of each drug, especially cyclosporine. In minimization studies, no significant differences were encountered regarding patient and graft survival, even in the long-term. Steroid avoidance was safe and effective. Calcineurin inhibitors and steroid-free regimens have shown comparable patient and graft survival. Induction therapy has lowered the incidence and severity of acute rejection. A better 5-year graft survival and less posttransplant complications have been achieved with steroid avoidance after induction with basiliximab. Induction therapy did not affect graft and patient survival rates despite lowered incidence and severity of acute rejections.

Treatment of co-occurring food avoidance and alcohol use disorder in an adult: Possible avoidant restrictive food intake disorder?

PubMed

Steen, Eloisa; Wade, Tracey D

2018-04-01

This case report details the presentation and treatment of a 42-year-old male self-presenting for treatment who reported having been a restrictive eater since childhood; since adolescence he had failed to meet appropriate nutritional intake with one meal at night followed by around 10-20 standard alcoholic drinks. Ten sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy were offered emphasizing the need to adhere to regular eating patterns in conjunction with significant reduction of binge drinking. At the end of treatment, and 1-month follow-up, improvements in nutritional intake and alcohol intake were observed, accompanied by improvements in depression, anxiety, and stress. However, excessive alcohol intake had reoccurred at 3-month follow-up, accompanied by increases in negative affect and impairment due to eating, indicating that longer-term therapy may be required for this group of people. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Minor foot amputations in diabetic foot syndrome].

PubMed

Biehl, C; Eckhard, M; Szalay, G; Heiss, C

2016-10-01

The treatment strategy for diabetic foot syndrome must take into account protective sensibility of the foot, open wounds, infection status, and the rules of septic bone surgery. Interventions are classified as elective, prophylactic, curative, or emergency. Amputations in the forefoot and midfoot region are performed as ray amputations (including metatarsal), which can often be carried out as "inner" amputations. Gentle tissue treatment mandatory because of greater risk of revision with re-amputation compared to classical amputation. Good demarcation of infection, acute osteomyelitis, osteolytic lesions, neurotropic ulcer, arterial and venous blood flow to the other toes, gangrene of other toes with metatarsal affection. Arterial occlusive disease, infection of neighboring areas, avoidable amputations, poorly healing ulcers on the lower leg. Primary dorsal approach; minimal incisional distance (5 cm) to minimize skin necrosis risk. Atraumatic preparation, minimize hemostasis to not compromise the borderline perfusion situation. In amputations, plantar skin preparation and longer seams placed as dorsal as possible, either disarticulated and maintain cartilage, or round the cortical metatarsal bone after resection. Diabetes control. Braun splint, mobilization in a shoe with forefoot decompression and hindfoot support, physiotherapy. Antibiotics based on resistance testing. If no complications, dressing change on postoperative day 1. Optimal wound drainage by lowering foot several times a day; drainage removal after 12-24 h. Insoles and footwear optimization. Amputations require continued attention and if necessary treatment to avoid sequelae. Insufficient treatment associated with recurrent ulceration and altered anatomy.

Minimally invasive extravesical ureteral reimplantation for vesicoureteral reflux.

PubMed

Chen, Hsiao-Wen; Lin, Ghi-Jen; Lai, Ching-Horng; Chu, Sheng-Hsien; Chuang, Cheng-Keng

2002-04-01

We designed a new extravesical ureteral reimplantation technique with a minimally invasive approach from skin to ureterovesical junction with less perivesical tissue manipulation to avoid extensive bladder denervation. Between July 1996 and December 2000, 37 boys and 52 girls 1.2 to 10.8 years old (mean age plus or minus standard deviation 3.8 +/- 2.5) (113 ureters) were treated with minimally invasive extravesical ureteral reimplantation. Vesicoureteral reflux was graded I to V in 8, 12, 43, 29 and 21 cases, respectively. The technique involves an approximately 10 to 15 mm. incision passing through the small triangular gap of the aponeurosis of the external abdominal oblique muscle and transversalis fascia to the point of the ureterovesical junction. The surgical field was exposed with mini-retractors and fine dissecting instruments were used to avoid unnecessary tissue manipulation. At postoperative followup 1 patient had persistent grade II reflux and 2 had moderate hydronephrosis and hydroureter, which resolved after 18 months. No patient returned due to voiding inefficiency or for pain control after discharge from the outpatient setting. This new technique can be easily used for vesicoureteral reflux with the advantages of simple intervention for surgeons, especially those with inguinal herniorrhaphy and antireflux surgery experience, and less wound discomfort for patients. The whole procedure can be performed on an outpatient basis. However, the decision to use this technique should be based on individual consideration.

Flight Crew Health Stabilization Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, Smith L.

2010-01-01

This document establishes the policy and procedures for the HSP and is authorized through the Director, Johnson Space Center (JSC). This document delineates the medical operations requirements for the HSP. The HSP goals are accomplished through an awareness campaign and procedures such as limiting access to flight crewmembers, medical screening, and controlling flight crewmember activities. NASA's Human Space Flight Program uses strategic risk mitigation to achieve mission success while protecting crew health and safety. Infectious diseases can compromise crew health and mission success, especially in the immediate preflight period. The primary purpose of the Flight Crew Health Stabilization Program (HSP) is to mitigate the risk of occurrence of infectious disease among astronaut flight crews in the immediate preflight period. Infectious diseases are contracted through direct person-to-person contact, and through contact with infectious material in the environment. The HSP establishes several controls to minimize crew exposure to infectious agents. The HSP provides a quarantine environment for the crew that minimizes contact with potentially infectious material. The HSP also limits the number of individuals who come in close contact with the crew. The infection-carrying potential of these primary contacts (PCs) is minimized by educating them in ways to avoid infections and avoiding contact with the crew if they are or may be sick. The transmission of some infectious diseases can be greatly curtailed by vaccinations. PCs are strongly encouraged to maintain updated vaccinations.

Surgical approaches for atrial fibrillation.

PubMed

Schouchoff, Barbara

2007-01-01

The Cox Maze procedure, a cardiac intervention that was developed by James Cox, MD, was first performed in 1988 to surgically cure atrial fibrillation. Over the years, changes in techniques of the classic maze were made, culminating in the Cox Maze III procedure, the Gold Standard. Modifications in the original procedure included simplifying the procedure to a minimally invasive approach. As a result of some of these modifications, the initial maze-like series of surgical atrial incisions has been reduced with the use of alternate energy sources that create hyperthermic lesion lines of conduction block that isolate and interrupt the abnormal impulses. The minimize, a minimally invasive thorascopic approach, can be performed off pump, thus avoiding a median sternotomy and cardiopulmonary bypass and cardioplegic arrest intraoperatively and ensuring a shorter, less painful recovery.

Airborne Collision Detection and Avoidance for Small UAS Sense and Avoid Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahawneh, Laith Rasmi

The increasing demand to integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace is motivated by the rapid growth of the UAS industry, especially small UAS weighing less than 55 pounds. Their use however has been limited by the Federal Aviation Administration regulations due to collision risk they pose, safety and regulatory concerns. Therefore, before civil aviation authorities can approve routine UAS flight operations, UAS must be equipped with sense-and-avoid technology comparable to the see-and-avoid requirements for manned aircraft. The sense-and-avoid problem includes several important aspects including regulatory and system-level requirements, design specifications and performance standards, intruder detecting and tracking, collision risk assessment, and finally path planning and collision avoidance. In this dissertation, our primary focus is on developing an collision detection, risk assessment and avoidance framework that is computationally affordable and suitable to run on-board small UAS. To begin with, we address the minimum sensing range for the sense-and-avoid (SAA) system. We present an approximate close form analytical solution to compute the minimum sensing range to safely avoid an imminent collision. The approach is then demonstrated using a radar sensor prototype that achieves the required minimum sensing range. In the area of collision risk assessment and collision prediction, we present two approaches to estimate the collision risk of an encounter scenario. The first is a deterministic approach similar to those been developed for Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance (TCAS) in manned aviation. We extend the approach to account for uncertainties of state estimates by deriving an analytic expression to propagate the error variance using Taylor series approximation. To address unanticipated intruders maneuvers, we propose an innovative probabilistic approach to quantify likely intruder trajectories and estimate the probability of collision risk using the uncorrelated encounter model (UEM) developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory. We evaluate the proposed approach using Monte Carlo simulations and compare the performance with linearly extrapolated collision detection logic. For the path planning and collision avoidance part, we present multiple reactive path planning algorithms. We first propose a collision avoidance algorithm based on a simulated chain that responds to a virtual force field produced by encountering intruders. The key feature of the proposed approach is to model the future motion of both the intruder and the ownship using a chain of waypoints that are equally spaced in time. This timing information is used to continuously re-plan paths that minimize the probability of collision. Second, we present an innovative collision avoidance logic using an ownship centered coordinate system. The technique builds a graph in the local-level frame and uses the Dijkstra's algorithm to find the least cost path. An advantage of this approach is that collision avoidance is inherently a local phenomenon and can be more naturally represented in the local coordinates than the global coordinates. Finally, we propose a two step path planner for ground-based SAA systems. In the first step, an initial suboptimal path is generated using A* search. In the second step, using the A* solution as an initial condition, a chain of unit masses connected by springs and dampers evolves in a simulated force field. The chain is described by a set of ordinary differential equations that is driven by virtual forces to find the steady-state equilibrium. The simulation results show that the proposed approach produces collision-free plans while minimizing the path length. To move towards a deployable system, we apply collision detection and avoidance techniques to a variety of simulation and sensor modalities including camera, radar and ADS-B along with suitable tracking schemes. Keywords: unmanned aircraft system, small UAS, sense and avoid, minimum sensing range, airborne collision detection and avoidance, collision detection, collision risk assessment, collision avoidance, conflict detection, conflict avoidance, path planning.

Identifying attentional bias and emotional response after appearance-related stimuli exposure.

PubMed

Cho, Ara; Kwak, Soo-Min; Lee, Jang-Han

2013-01-01

The effect of media images has been regarded as a significant variable in the construction or in the activation of body images. Individuals who have a negative body image use avoidance coping strategies to minimize damage to their body image. We identified attentional biases and negative emotional responses following exposure to body stimuli. Female university students were divided into two groups based on their use of avoidance coping strategies (high-level group: high avoidance [HA]; low-group: low avoidance [LA]), and were assigned to two different conditions (exposure to thin body pictures, ET, and exposure to oversized body pictures, EO). Results showed that the HA group paid more attention to slim bodies and reported more negative emotions than the LA group, and that the EO had more negative effects than the ET. We suggest that HAs may attend more to slim bodies as a way of avoiding overweight bodies, influenced by social pressure, and in the search for a compensation of a positive emotional balance. However, attentional bias toward slim bodies can cause an upward comparison process, leading to increased body dissatisfaction, which is the main factor in the development of eating disorders (EDs). Therefore, altering avoidance coping strategies should be considered for people at risk of EDs.

Effects of the novel compound aniracetam (Ro 13-5057) upon impaired learning and memory in rodents.

PubMed

Cumin, R; Bandle, E F; Gamzu, E; Haefely, W E

1982-01-01

The effect of aniracetam (Ro 13-5057, 1-anisoyl-2-pyrrolidinone) was studied on various forms of experimentally impaired cognitive functions (learning and memory) in rodents and produced the following effects: (1) almost complete prevention of the incapacity to learn a discrete escape response in rats exposed to sublethal hypercapnia immediately before the acquisition session; (2) partial (rats) or complete (mice) prevention of the scopolamine-induced short-term amnesia for a passive avoidance task; (3) complete protection against amnesia for a passive avoidance task in rats submitted to electroconvulsive shock immediately after avoidance acquisition; (4) prevention of the long-term retention- or retrieval-deficit for a passive avoidance task induced in rats and mice by chloramphenicol or cycloheximide administered immediately after acquisition; (5) reversal, when administered as late as 1 h before the retention test, of the deficit in retention or retrieval of a passive avoidance task induced by cycloheximide injected 2 days previously; (6) prevention of the deficit in the retrieval of an active avoidance task induced in mice by subconvulsant electroshock or hypercapnia applied immediately before retrieval testing (24 h after acquisition). These improvements or normalizations of impaired cognitive functions were seen at oral aniracetam doses of 10-100 mg/kg. Generally, the dose-response curves were bell-shaped. The mechanisms underlying the activity of aniracetam and its 'therapeutic window' are unknown. Piracetam, another pyrrolidinone derivative was used for comparison. It was active only in six of nine tests and had about one-tenth the potency of aniracetam. The results indicate that aniracetam improves cognitive functions which are impaired by different procedure and in different phases of the learning and memory process.

Testing Bilingual Educational Methods: A Plea to End the Language-Mixing Taboo

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antón, Eneko; Thierry, Guillaume; Goborov, Alexander; Anasagasti, Jon; Duñabeitia, Jon Andoni

2016-01-01

Language mixing in a given class is often avoided in bilingual education because of the generally held belief that "one subject" should be taught in only "one language" and "one person" should stick to "one language" in order to minimize confusion. Here, we compared the effects of mixing two languages and…

No Place to Play: Current Employee Privacy Rights in Social Networking Sites

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Genova, Gina L.

2009-01-01

Employers have legitimate business interests in monitoring workplace Internet use: to minimize legal exposure, to increase productivity, and to avoid proprietary information loss. Since employees arguably have no expectation of privacy in their work on employers' computers, there are few grounds for complaint if they are disciplined for straying…

IATA for skin sensitization potential – 1 out of 2 or 2 out of 3? (ESCD meeting)

EPA Science Inventory

To meet EU regulatory requirements and to avoid or minimize animal testing, there is a need for non-animal methods to assess skin sensitization potential. Given the complexity of the skin sensitization endpoint, there is an expectation that integrated testing and assessment appro...

18 CFR 380.12 - Environmental reports for Natural Gas Act applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... how the project would be located or designed to avoid or minimize adverse effects to the resources or... route or site and the reasons for rejecting it. Provide comparative tables showing the differences in... affect reliability, and what procedures and design features have been used to reduce potential hazards...

18 CFR 380.12 - Environmental reports for Natural Gas Act applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... how the project would be located or designed to avoid or minimize adverse effects to the resources or... route or site and the reasons for rejecting it. Provide comparative tables showing the differences in... affect reliability, and what procedures and design features have been used to reduce potential hazards...

18 CFR 380.12 - Environmental reports for Natural Gas Act applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... how the project would be located or designed to avoid or minimize adverse effects to the resources or... route or site and the reasons for rejecting it. Provide comparative tables showing the differences in... affect reliability, and what procedures and design features have been used to reduce potential hazards...

18 CFR 380.12 - Environmental reports for Natural Gas Act applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... how the project would be located or designed to avoid or minimize adverse effects to the resources or... route or site and the reasons for rejecting it. Provide comparative tables showing the differences in... affect reliability, and what procedures and design features have been used to reduce potential hazards...

18 CFR 380.12 - Environmental reports for Natural Gas Act applications.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... how the project would be located or designed to avoid or minimize adverse effects to the resources or... route or site and the reasons for rejecting it. Provide comparative tables showing the differences in... affect reliability, and what procedures and design features have been used to reduce potential hazards...

Loving without Spoiling: And 100 Other Timeless Tips for Raising Terrific Kids.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samalin, Nancy

Noting that raising well-behaved, considerate children requires learning how to balance firm discipline with equal doses of love and humor, this book provides parents with effective and realistic solutions to countless parenting challenges. The strategies are organized into the following categories: (1) "Avoid Power Struggles"; (2) "Minimize Daily…

32 CFR 651.29 - Determining when to use a CX (screening criteria).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... action has not been segmented to meet the definition of a CX. Segmentation can occur when an action is... action can be too narrowly defined, minimizing potential impacts in an effort to avoid a higher level of... formal Clean Air Act conformity determination is required. (8) Reasonable likelihood of violating any...

Minimizing Bias When Assessing Student Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinke, Pamela; Fitch, Peggy

2017-01-01

Bias is part of the human condition and becoming aware of how to avoid bias will help to ensure greater accuracy in the work of assessment. In this paper the authors discuss three different theoretical frameworks that can be applied when assessing student work for cognitive skills such as critical thinking and problem solving. Each of the…

The New Sexuality Education Curriculum for Queensland Primary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldman, Juliette D. G.

2010-01-01

A departmental review of education curricula in Queensland, Australia has found that minimal or no learning about sexuality education takes place. Its public schools and teachers are able to avoid or not fulfil their obligations regarding the teaching of sexuality education and reproductive health to children and young people. This lacuna in…

23 CFR 630.1106 - Policy and procedures for work zone safety management.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... established in accordance with 23 CFR 630.1006, shall include the consideration and management of road user...; Exposure Control Measures to avoid or minimize worker exposure to motorized traffic and road user exposure... road users. (b) Agency processes, procedures, and/or guidance should be based on consideration of...

High char yield epoxy curing agents

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Delvigs, P.; Serafini, T. T.; Vanucci, R. D.

1981-01-01

Class of imide-amine curing agents preserves structural integrity, prevents fiber release, and is fully compatible with conventional epoxy resins; agents do not detract from composite properties while greatly reducing char yield. Materials utilizing curing are used in aerospace, automotive, and other structural components where deterioration must be minimized and fiber release avoided in event of fire.

40 CFR 63.456 - Affirmative defense for violation of emission standards during malfunction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... violation: (i) Was caused by a sudden, infrequent, and unavoidable failure of air pollution control...; and (iii) Did not stem from any activity or event that could have been foreseen and avoided, or... were taken to minimize the impact of the violation on ambient air quality, the environment and human...

40 CFR 63.456 - Affirmative defense for violation of emission standards during malfunction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... violation: (i) Was caused by a sudden, infrequent, and unavoidable failure of air pollution control...; and (iii) Did not stem from any activity or event that could have been foreseen and avoided, or... were taken to minimize the impact of the violation on ambient air quality, the environment and human...

76 FR 69758 - Draft Environmental Assessment, Incidental Take Plan, and Application for an Incidental Take...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-09

... local governments. DATES: Comment Period: To ensure consideration, we must receive your written comments... describes the proposed action and possible alternatives, and analyzes the effects of the alternatives on the... avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures) and other alternatives in the draft EA are adequate to...

Mechanism problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riedel, J. K.

1972-01-01

It is pointed out that too frequently during the design and development of mechanisms, problems occur that could have been avoided if the right question had been asked before, rather than after, the fact. Several typical problems, drawn from actual experience, are discussed and analyzed. The lessons learned are used to generate various suggestions for minimizing mistakes in mechanism design.

Corrosion avoidance with new wood preservatives

Treesearch

Samuel L. Zelinka; Douglas R. Rammer

2007-01-01

This article focuses on considerations that need to be made when choosing products, other than stainless steel, to minimize corrosion of metals in contact with treated wood. With so many ?corrosion-resistant? alternative products on the market, it is important to know the fundamental principles of corrosion protection to make informed decisions when designing...

Cognitive Load Theory and the Acquisition of Complex Cognitive Skills in the Elderly: Towards an Integrative Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Gerven, Pascal W. M.; Paas, Fred G. W. C.; Van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G.; Schmidt, Henk G.

2000-01-01

Cognitive load (CL) theory suggests minimizing extraneous CL and maximizing germane CL in order not to overload working memory. Instructional design for older adults should therefore include goal-free problems, worked examples, and different modalities and avoid splitting attention and including redundant information. (SK)

IATA for skin sensitization potential – 1 out of 2 or 2 out of 3? (ASCCT meeting)

EPA Science Inventory

To meet EU regulatory requirements and to avoid or minimize animal testing, there is a need for non-animal methods to assess skin sensitization potential. Given the complexity of the skin sensitization endpoint, there is an expectation that integrated testing and assessment appro...

Defending A+: how to maintain a high credit rating during a facilities overhaul.

PubMed

Ollie, Ed; Kolb-Collier, Deborah; Clay, Scott

2007-11-01

To defend its strong credit rating, New Hanover Regional Medical Center: Demonstrated a clear and cohesive vision. Improved short-term financial performance. Developed robust financial projections. Avoided reliance on a "build it and they will come" strategy. Managed construction cost risks. Minimized construction disruption. Anticipated financial market concerns and questions

Coping with Racism: What Works and Doesn't Work for Black Women?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Lindsey M.; Donovan, Roxanne A.; Roemer, Lizabeth

2010-01-01

Perceived racial discrimination (PRD) has deleterious effects on Black Americans. However, there is minimal empirical research on the influence of gender and coping on the relationship between PRD and mental health. This study posited that coping style (i.e., problem-focused coping and avoidant coping) would moderate the relationship between PRD…

Unnecessary roughness? Testing the hypothesis that predators destined for molecular gut-content analysis must be hand-collected to avoid cross-contamination

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Molecular gut-content analysis enables direct detection of arthropod predation with minimal disruption of on-going ecosystem processes. Mass-collection methods, such as sweep-netting, vacuum sampling, and foliage beating, could lead to regurgitation or even rupturing of predators along with uneaten ...

Reliability and validity of a treatment adherence measure for child psychiatric rehabilitation.

PubMed

Williams, Nathaniel J; Green, Philip

2012-09-01

Treatment adherence, defined as the degree to which practitioners implemented prescribed program principles and activities and avoided proscribed activities, has been an area of growing interest in mental health services for children with severe emotional and behavioral disorders. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of a treatment adherence measure for child psychiatric rehabilitation (CPSR). Parents of children receiving CPSR (n = 79) or psychotherapy (n = 27) completed the Children's Psychosocial Rehabilitation Treatment Adherence Measure (CTAM) and a measure of 2-week session impact. Psychiatric rehabilitation (PSR) supervisors identified PSR practitioners with reputations for high or low adherence to the model. The CTAM's discriminant validity was assessed by using known-groups procedures and predictive validity by examining its relationship to 2-week session impact. The CTAM demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = .92), discriminant validity (p = .002, d = .72; p = .021, d = .59), and predictive validity (B = 2.24, SE = .31, p < .001), accounting for 28% of the child-level variance in 2-week session impact. Findings suggest the CTAM is a reliable and valid measure of treatment adherence for CPSR programs with a skill-teaching focus. Providers and agencies should take steps to enhance treatment adherence because it may be an important predictor of children's short-term response to CPSR. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Change Strategies and Associated Implementation Challenges: An Analysis of Online Counselling Sessions.

PubMed

Rodda, Simone N; Hing, Nerilee; Hodgins, David C; Cheetham, Alison; Dickins, Marissa; Lubman, Dan I

2017-09-01

Self-change is the most frequent way people limit or reduce gambling involvement and often the first choice of people experiencing gambling-related problems. Less well known is the range of change strategies gamblers use and how these are selected, initiated or maintained. This study examined change strategies discussed in counselling transcripts from 149 clients who accessed a national online gambling help service in Australia. Using thematic analysis, we identified the presence of six change strategies; cash control and financial management, social support, avoiding or limiting gambling, alternative activities, changing thoughts and beliefs, and self-assessment and monitoring. Four implementation issues were also identified; a mismatch between need and strategy selection or maintenance; importance and readiness versus the cost of implementation; poor or unplanned transitions between strategies; and failure to review the helpfulness of strategies resulting in premature abandonment or unhelpful prolonged application. This study is the first to identify change strategies discussed in online counselling sessions. This study suggests change strategies are frequently discussed in online counselling sessions and we identified multiple new actions associated with change strategies that had not previously been identified. However, multiple implementation issues were identified and further work is required to determine the helpfulness of change strategies in terms of their selection, initiation and maintenance.

Family Welfare Reform Act. Hearings on H.R. 1720 To Replace the Existing AFDC Program with a New Family Support Program...before the Subcommittee on Public Assistance and Unemployment Compensation of the Committee on Ways and Means. House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, First Session (March 30; April 1, 1987).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Ways and Means.

These hearings concern proposed legislation to replace Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with a new family support program. The new program would emphasize work, child support, and need-based family support supplements. Families would be assisted in obtaining education, training, and employment in order to avoid long-term dependence…

Lambda network having 2{sup m{minus}1} nodes in each of m stages with each node coupled to four other nodes for bidirectional routing of data packets between nodes

DOEpatents

Napolitano, L.M. Jr.

1995-11-28

The Lambda network is a single stage, packet-switched interprocessor communication network for a distributed memory, parallel processor computer. Its design arises from the desired network characteristics of minimizing mean and maximum packet transfer time, local routing, expandability, deadlock avoidance, and fault tolerance. The network is based on fixed degree nodes and has mean and maximum packet transfer distances where n is the number of processors. The routing method is detailed, as are methods for expandability, deadlock avoidance, and fault tolerance. 14 figs.

The care of a child with multiple trauma and severe anemia who was a Jehovah's Witness.

PubMed

Digieri, Luciana Andrea; Pistelli, Ivan Pollastrini; de Carvalho, Cid Eduardo

2006-06-01

Jehovah's Witness followers do not accept blood derived transfusions and available methods for avoiding transfusion have been used with degrees of success, demonstrating that the probability of death after trauma in these patients may not be significantly different from religious groups. In this report, we describe the case of a child victim of a multiple trauma with severe anemia due to blood loss, whose family would not authorize blood transfusion because of their Jehovah's Witness faith. We discuss the current indications for restricting transfusion, as well as highlighting new tools that contribute to the success of minimizing blood loss, thus avoiding transfusion.

Transforaminal Percutaneous Endoscopic Discectomy using Transforaminal Endoscopic Spine System technique: Pitfalls that a beginner should avoid

PubMed Central

Kapetanakis, Stylianos; Gkasdaris, Grigorios; Angoules, Antonios G; Givissis, Panagiotis

2017-01-01

Transforaminal Percutaneous Endoscopic Discectomy (TPED) is a minimally invasive technique mainly used for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation from a lateral approach. Performed under local anesthesia, TPED has been proven to be a safe and effective technique which has been also associated with shorter rehabilitation period, reduced blood loss, trauma, and scar tissue compared to conventional procedures. However, the procedure should be performed by a spine surgeon experienced in the specific technique and capable of recognizing or avoiding various challenging conditions. In this review, pitfalls that a novice surgeon has to be mindful of, are reported and analyzed. PMID:29312845

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Aerobraking Daily Operations and Collision Avoidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, Stacia M.; You, Tung-Han; Halsell, C. Allen; Bhat, Ramachand S.; Demcak, Stuart W.; Graat, Eric J.; Higa, Earl S.; Highsmith, Dolan E.; Mottinger, Neil A.; Jah, Moriba K.

2007-01-01

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reached Mars on March 10, 2006 and performed a Mars orbit insertion maneuver of 1 km/s to enter into a large elliptical orbit. Three weeks later, aerobraking operations began and lasted about five months. Aerobraking utilized the atmospheric drag to reduce the large elliptical orbit into a smaller, near circular orbit. At the time of MRO aerobraking, there were three other operational spacecraft orbiting Mars and the navigation team had to minimize the possibility of a collision. This paper describes the daily operations of the MRO navigation team during this time as well as the collision avoidance strategy development and implementation.

High thresholds for avoidance of sonar by free-ranging long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas).

PubMed

Antunes, R; Kvadsheim, P H; Lam, F P A; Tyack, P L; Thomas, L; Wensveen, P J; Miller, P J O

2014-06-15

The potential effects of exposing marine mammals to military sonar is a current concern. Dose-response relationships are useful for predicting potential environmental impacts of specific operations. To reveal behavioral response thresholds of exposure to sonar, we conducted 18 exposure/control approaches to 6 long-finned pilot whales. Source level and proximity of sonar transmitting one of two frequency bands (1-2 kHz and 6-7 kHz) were increased during exposure sessions. The 2-dimensional movement tracks were analyzed using a changepoint method to identify the avoidance response thresholds which were used to estimate dose-response relationships. No support for an effect of sonar frequency or previous exposures on the probability of response was found. Estimated response thresholds at which 50% of population show avoidance (SPLmax=170 dB re 1 μPa, SELcum=173 dB re 1 μPa(2) s) were higher than previously found for other cetaceans. The US Navy currently uses a generic dose-response relationship to predict the responses of cetaceans to naval active sonar, which has been found to underestimate behavioural impacts on killer whales and beaked whales. The navy curve appears to match more closely our results with long-finned pilot whales, though it might underestimate the probability of avoidance for pilot-whales at long distances from sonar sources. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome. A single-case experimental design across 13 subjects.

PubMed

Boersma, Katja; Ljótsson, Brjánn; Edebol-Carlman, Hanna; Schrooten, Martien; Linton, Steven J; Brummer, Robert J

2016-11-01

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a highly prevalent disorder with a significant impact on quality of life. The presence of psychological symptoms in IBS patients such as catastrophic worry and behavioral avoidance suggests the possible efficacy of cognitive behavioral interventions. Exposure-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has proven to be a promising approach but has only been investigated in a few studies and mainly via the Internet. Therefore, the aims of this study were to extend and replicate previous findings and to evaluate whether an individual, face-to-face, exposure-based CBT leads to improvement in gastrointestinal symptoms, pain catastrophizing, avoidance behavior and quality of life in IBS patients. Thirteen patients with IBS according to Rome III criteria participated in a single-case experimental study using a five-week baseline and a subsequent twelve-session intervention phase focusing on psycho-education, mindfulness and in vivo exposure. Standardized measurement of gastrointestinal symptoms, pain catastrophizing, avoidance behavior and quality of life was conducted weekly during baseline as well as intervention phase and at six-month follow-up. Results showed that over 70% of patients improved significantly on gastrointestinal symptoms, pain catastrophizing, and quality of life. Effects on avoidance behavior were modest. These results strengthen and extend earlier findings and provide further support for the efficacy of exposure-based strategies for IBS.

Improving the performance of minimizers and winnowing schemes

PubMed Central

Marçais, Guillaume; Pellow, David; Bork, Daniel; Orenstein, Yaron; Shamir, Ron; Kingsford, Carl

2017-01-01

Abstract Motivation: The minimizers scheme is a method for selecting k-mers from sequences. It is used in many bioinformatics software tools to bin comparable sequences or to sample a sequence in a deterministic fashion at approximately regular intervals, in order to reduce memory consumption and processing time. Although very useful, the minimizers selection procedure has undesirable behaviors (e.g. too many k-mers are selected when processing certain sequences). Some of these problems were already known to the authors of the minimizers technique, and the natural lexicographic ordering of k-mers used by minimizers was recognized as their origin. Many software tools using minimizers employ ad hoc variations of the lexicographic order to alleviate those issues. Results: We provide an in-depth analysis of the effect of k-mer ordering on the performance of the minimizers technique. By using small universal hitting sets (a recently defined concept), we show how to significantly improve the performance of minimizers and avoid some of its worse behaviors. Based on these results, we encourage bioinformatics software developers to use an ordering based on a universal hitting set or, if not possible, a randomized ordering, rather than the lexicographic order. This analysis also settles negatively a conjecture (by Schleimer et al.) on the expected density of minimizers in a random sequence. Availability and Implementation: The software used for this analysis is available on GitHub: https://github.com/gmarcais/minimizers.git. Contact: gmarcais@cs.cmu.edu or carlk@cs.cmu.edu PMID:28881970

3-D Displays Perceptual Research and Applications to Military Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-09-30

physical button on the corresponding face of the response cube as fast as possible, while minimizing errors. Each observer served for six sessions...orientation, and this resulted in the fast flat reaction time function. The Rotat±nal Strategy: As can be seen from Figure 3, the 24 stimulus cube...instead of the TOP key, these two responses should show the fast , flat response time functions associated with use of the spatial strategy, whereas the

Virtual reality body motion induced navigational controllers and their effects on simulator sickness and pathfinding.

PubMed

Aldaba, Cassandra N; White, Paul J; Byagowi, Ahmad; Moussavi, Zahra

2017-07-01

Virtual reality (VR) navigation is usually constrained by plausible simulator sickness (SS) and intuitive user interaction. The paper reports on the use of four different degrees of body motion induced navigational VR controllers, a TiltChair, omni-directional treadmill, a manual wheelchair joystick (VRNChair), and a joystick in relation to a participant's SS occurrence and a controller's intuitive utilization. Twenty young adult participants utilized all controllers to navigate through the same VR task environment in separate sessions. Throughout the sessions, SS occurrence was measured from a severity score by a standard SS questionnaire and from body sway by a center of pressure path length with eyes opened and closed. SS occurrence did not significantly differ among the controllers. However, time spent in VR significantly contributed to SS occurrence; hence, a few breaks to minimize SS should be interjected throughout a VR task. For all task trials, we recorded the participant's travel trajectories to investigate each controller's intuitive utilization from a computed traversed distance. Shorter traversed distances indicated that participants intuitively utilized the TiltChair with a slower speed; while longer traversed distances indicated participants struggled to utilize the omni-directional treadmill with a unnaturalistic stimulation of gait. Therefore, VR navigation should use technologies best suited for the intended age group that minimizes SS, and produces intuitive interactions for the participants.

Mobile app self-care versus in-office care for stress reduction: a cost minimization analysis.

PubMed

Luxton, David D; Hansen, Ryan N; Stanfill, Katherine

2014-12-01

We calculated the cost of providing stress reduction care with a mobile phone app (Breathe2Relax) in comparison with normal in-person care, the standard method for managing stress in military and civilian populations. We conducted a cost-minimization analysis. The total cost to the military healthcare system of treating 1000 patients with the app was $106,397. Treating 1000 patients with in-office care cost $68,820. Treatment using the app became less expensive than in-office treatment at approximately 1600 users. From the perspective of the civilian healthcare system, treatment using the app became less expensive than in-office treatment at approximately 1500 users. An online tool was used to obtain data about the number of app downloads and usage sessions. A total of 47,000 users had accessed the app for 10-30 min sessions in the 2.5 years since the release of the app. Assuming that all 47,000 users were military beneficiaries, the savings to the military healthcare system would be $2.7 million; if the 47,000 users were civilian, the savings to the civilian healthcare system would be $2.9 million. Because of the large number of potential users, the total societal savings resulting from self-care using the app may be considerable. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Effects of imprint training procedure at birth on the reactions of foals at age six months.

PubMed

Williams, J L; Friend, T H; Collins, M N; Toscano, M J; Sisto-Burt, A; Nevill, C H

2003-03-01

While imprint training procedures have been promoted in popular magazines, they have received limited scientific investigation. To determine the effects of a neonatal imprint training procedure on 6-month-old foals and to determine if any one session had a greater effect than others. Foals (n = 131) were divided into the following treatments: no imprint training, imprint training at birth, 12, 24 and 48 h after birth or imprint training only at birth, 12, 24, 48, or 72 h after birth. Foals then received minimal human handling until they were tested at 6 months. During training, time to complete exposure to the stimulus was significant for only 2 of 6 stimuli. Percentage change in baseline heart rate was significant for only 2 of 10 stimuli. These 4 effects were randomly spread across treatments. Neither the number of imprint training sessions (0, 1, or 4) nor the timing of imprint training sessions (none, birth, 12, 24, 48, or 72 h after birth) influenced the foal's behaviour at 6 months of age. In this study, imprint training did not result in better behaved, less reactive foals.

Prediction of P300 BCI Aptitude in Severe Motor Impairment

PubMed Central

Halder, Sebastian; Ruf, Carolin Anne; Furdea, Adrian; Pasqualotto, Emanuele; De Massari, Daniele; van der Heiden, Linda; Bogdan, Martin; Rosenstiel, Wolfgang; Birbaumer, Niels; Kübler, Andrea; Matuz, Tamara

2013-01-01

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) provide a non-muscular communication channel for persons with severe motor impairments. Previous studies have shown that the aptitude with which a BCI can be controlled varies from person to person. A reliable predictor of performance could facilitate selection of a suitable BCI paradigm. Eleven severely motor impaired participants performed three sessions of a P300 BCI web browsing task. Before each session auditory oddball data were collected to predict the BCI aptitude of the participants exhibited in the current session. We found a strong relationship of early positive and negative potentials around 200 ms (elicited with the auditory oddball task) with performance. The amplitude of the P2 (r  =  −0.77) and of the N2 (r  =  −0.86) had the strongest correlations. Aptitude prediction using an auditory oddball was successful. The finding that the N2 amplitude is a stronger predictor of performance than P3 amplitude was reproduced after initially showing this effect with a healthy sample of BCI users. This will reduce strain on the end-users by minimizing the time needed to find suitable paradigms and inspire new approaches to improve performance. PMID:24204597

Efficient realization of 3D joint inversion of seismic and magnetotelluric data with cross gradient structure constraint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, H.; Zhang, H.; Gao, J.

2016-12-01

Seismic and magnetotelluric (MT) imaging methods are generally used to characterize subsurface structures at various scales. The two methods are complementary to each other and the integration of them is helpful for more reliably determining the resistivity and velocity models of the target region. Because of the difficulty in finding empirical relationship between resistivity and velocity parameters, Gallardo and Meju [2003] proposed a joint inversion method enforcing resistivity and velocity models consistent in structure, which is realized by minimizing cross gradients between two models. However, it is extremely challenging to combine two different inversion systems together along with the cross gradient constraints. For this reason, Gallardo [2007] proposed a joint inversion scheme that decouples the seismic and MT inversion systems by iteratively performing seismic and MT inversions as well as cross gradient minimization separately. This scheme avoids the complexity of combining two different systems together but it suffers the issue of balancing between data fitting and structure constraint. In this study, we have developed a new joint inversion scheme that avoids the problem encountered by the scheme of Gallardo [2007]. In the new scheme, seismic and MT inversions are still separately performed but the cross gradient minimization is also constrained by model perturbations from separate inversions. In this way, the new scheme still avoids the complexity of combining two different systems together and at the same time the balance between data fitting and structure consistency constraint can be enforced. We have tested our joint inversion algorithm for both 2D and 3D cases. Synthetic tests show that joint inversion better reconstructed the velocity and resistivity models than separate inversions. Compared to separate inversions, joint inversion can remove artifacts in the resistivity model and can improve the resolution for deeper resistivity structures. We will also show results applying the new joint seismic and MT inversion scheme to southwest China, where several MT profiles are available and earthquakes are very active.

Synchrony-Desynchrony in the Tripartite Model of Fear: Predicting Treatment Outcome in Clinically Phobic Children

PubMed Central

Allen, Kristy Benoit; Allen, Ben; Austin, Kristin E.; Waldron, Jonathan C.; Ollendick, Thomas H.

2015-01-01

The tripartite model of fear posits that the fear response entails three loosely coupled components: subjective distress, behavioral avoidance, and physiological arousal. The concept of synchrony vs. desynchrony describes the degree to which changes in the activation of these components vary together (synchrony), independently, or inversely (both forms of desynchrony) over time. The present study assessed synchronony-desynchrony and its relationship to treatment outcome in a sample of 98 children with specific phobias both prior to and 1 week after receiving one-session treatment, a 3 hour cognitive-behavioral intervention. The results suggest an overall pattern of desynchronous change whereby youth improved on behavioral avoidance and subjective distress following treatment, but their level of cardiovascular reactivity remained stable. However, we found evidence that synchronous change on the behavioral avoidance and subjective distress components was related to better treatment outcome, whereas desynchronous change on these components was related to poorer treatment outcome. These findings suggest that a fuller understanding of the three response systems and their interrelations in phobic youth may assist us in the assessment and treatment of these disorders, potentially leading to a more person-centered approach and eventually to enhanced treatment outcomes. PMID:26073497

Effect of harmane, an endogenous β-carboline, on learning and memory in rats.

PubMed

Celikyurt, Ipek Komsuoglu; Utkan, Tijen; Gocmez, Semil Selcen; Hudson, Alan; Aricioglu, Feyza

2013-01-01

Our aim was to investigate the effects of acute harmane administration upon learning and memory performance of rats using the three-panel runway paradigm and passive avoidance test. Male rats received harmane (2.5, 5, and 7.5mg/kg, i.p.) or saline 30 min. before each session of experiments. In the three panel runway paradigm, harmane did not affect the number of errors and latency in reference memory. The effect of harmane on the errors of working memory was significantly higher following the doses of 5mg/kg and 7.5mg/kg. The latency was changed significantly at only 7.5mg/kg in comparison to control group. Animals were given pre-training injection of harmane in the passive avoidance test in order to determine the learning function. Harmane treatment decreased the retention latency significantly and dose dependently, which indicates an impairment in learning. In this study, harmane impaired working memory in three panel runway test and learning in passive avoidance test. As an endogenous bioactive molecule, harmane might have a critical role in the modulation of learning and memory functions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Impulsivity moderates the effect of approach bias modification on healthy food consumption.

PubMed

Kakoschke, Naomi; Kemps, Eva; Tiggemann, Marika

2017-10-01

The study aimed to modify approach bias for healthy and unhealthy food and to determine its effect on subsequent food consumption. In addition, we investigated the potential moderating role of impulsivity in the effect of approach bias re-training on food consumption. Participants were 200 undergraduate women (17-26 years) who were randomly allocated to one of five conditions of an approach-avoidance task varying in the training of an approach bias for healthy food, unhealthy food, and non-food cues in a single session of 10 min. Outcome variables were approach bias for healthy and unhealthy food and the proportion of healthy relative to unhealthy snack food consumed. As predicted, approach bias for healthy food significantly increased in the 'avoid unhealthy food/approach healthy food' condition. Importantly, the effect of training on snack consumption was moderated by trait impulsivity. Participants high in impulsivity consumed a greater proportion of healthy snack food following the 'avoid unhealthy food/approach healthy food' training. This finding supports the suggestion that automatic processing of appetitive cues has a greater influence on consumption behaviour in individuals with poor self-regulatory control. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

FI schedules and persistence at gambling in the U.K. betting office.

PubMed Central

Dickerson, M G

1979-01-01

This study reports on the direct observations of customers in two U.K. betting offices gambling on horse and dog races. These observations revealed that bets were more frequently placed in the last minutes just prior to the start (the OFF), and that this was caused by high-frequency gamblers (customers who had eight or more bets in a session) consistently placing their bets in the last two minutes prior to the OFF. Low-frequency gamblers (three or fewer bets/session) avoided this time period placing their bets earlier, or after the OFF, i.e., on a later race. It was argued that the betting behavior of the "gamblers" could not be explained either in terms of "skillful betting" or solely in terms of variable ratio schedules but was more adequately accounted for in terms of an interval schedule. It was further suggested that time-based schedules might be of heuristic value in generally understanding persistence at gambling while losing. PMID:511799

Communicating about death and dying: Developing training for staff working in services for people with intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Tuffrey-Wijne, Irene; Rose, Tracey; Grant, Robert; Wijne, Astrid

2017-11-01

Many people with intellectual disabilities are affected by death, yet conversations about death are often avoided by staff working with them. This study aimed to assess staff training needs and to develop, trial and evaluate a training course on communicating about death and dying. (i) Semi-structured interviews with 20 staff in residential/supported living services to establish training needs; (ii) three-one-day courses were attended by 114 staff and evaluated through questionnaires. The course consisted of World Café sessions, presentations and feedback by people with intellectual disabilities, and an expert teaching session. Staff fear, cultural influences and inexperience with death-related conversations were major communication barriers. Evaluation of the course was overwhelmingly positive. Intellectual disabilities services must have clear staff training strategies around death, dying and communication. More work is needed to assess the resource implications and impact on practice of different training methods and other support strategies. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A pilot analysis of the psychological themes found during the CARING at Columbia--Music Therapy program with refugee adolescents from North Korea.

PubMed

Choi, Carolyn Mi Hwan

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the psychological themes found during the modified CARING at Columbia-Music Therapy (CAC-MT) program with refugee adolescents from North Korea. Nine students attending an alternative school participated in this study. Academically, students belong to an equivalent middle school level. Students participated in a music therapy program comprised of 25 sessions. A multiple case analysis was conducted to gather qualitative results. Students were found to be exposed to various psychosocially stressful life situations such as lack of social support system, family separation, academic difficulty, and economic hardship throughout their adaptation process to their new country. There were 5 common psychological themes--avoidance, distrust, loneliness, feelings of loss, and fear--found among the refugee students over the course of the CAC-MT treatment. For future research, studies with a larger sample size and differing types of session structure should be conducted to closely examine the effects of this program on refugee adolescents.

Investigating the feasibility and acceptability of health psychology-informed obesity training for medical students.

PubMed

Chisholm, Anna; Hart, Jo; Mann, Karen; Perry, Mark; Duthie, Harriet; Rezvani, Leila; Peters, Sarah

2016-01-01

Health psychologists have succeeded in identifying theory-congruent behaviour change techniques (BCTs) to prevent and reduce lifestyle-related illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, cancers and diabetes. Obesity management discussions between doctors and patients can be challenging and are often avoided. Despite a clear training need, it is unknown how best to tailor BCT research findings to inform obesity-management training for future healthcare professionals. The primary objective of this descriptive study was to gather information on the feasibility and acceptability of delivering and evaluating health psychology-informed obesity training to UK medical students. Medical students (n = 41) attended an obesity management session delivered by GP tutors. Sessions were audio-recorded to enable fidelity checks. Acceptability of training was explored qualitatively. Tutors consistently delivered training according to the intervention protocol; and students and tutors found the training highly acceptable. This psychology-informed training can be delivered successfully by GP tutors and further research is warranted to explore its efficacy.

Disease effects on lobster fisheries, ecology, and culture: overview of DAO Special 6.

PubMed

Behringer, Donald C; Butler, Mark J; Stentiford, Grant D

2012-08-27

Lobsters are prized by commercial and recreational fishermen worldwide, and their populations are therefore buffeted by fishery practices. But lobsters also remain integral members of their benthic communities where predator-prey relationships, competitive interactions, and host-pathogen dynamics push and pull at their population dynamics. Although lobsters have few reported pathogens and parasites relative to other decapod crustaceans, the rise of diseases with consequences for lobster fisheries and aquaculture has spotlighted the importance of disease for lobster biology, population dynamics and ecology. Researchers, managers, and fishers thus increasingly recognize the need to understand lobster pathogens and parasites so they can be managed proactively and their impacts minimized where possible. At the 2011 International Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management a special session on lobster diseases was convened and this special issue of Diseases of Aquatic Organisms highlights those proceedings with a suite of articles focused on diseases discussed during that session.

How Stable Is Coping in Patients with Neuropsychiatric Symptoms after Acquired Brain Injury? Changes in Coping Styles and Their Predictors in the Chronic Phase.

PubMed

Wolters Gregório, Gisela; Ponds, Rudolf W H M; Smeets, Sanne M J; Jonker, Frank; Pouwels, Climmy G J G; van Heugten, Caroline M

2016-04-01

The objective of the study was to examine changes in coping and their predictors in patients in the chronic phase after an acquired brain injury with prominent neuropsychiatric symptoms. Patients with brain injury were recruited from consecutive admissions to the outpatient clinics of four mental health centers in the Netherlands. Patients received psychoeducation and/or one or more individual treatment sessions that were not targeting coping styles. Forty-two patients and thirty-two significant others participated. Patients reported a significantly greater use of passive and avoidance coping than both the general population and patients with brain injury without neuropsychiatric symptoms. There were statistically significant increases in avoidance coping between T1 and T2 (t = 2.0; p < 0.05). Less neuropsychiatric symptoms at T1 were associated with increases in avoidance coping, and more neuropsychiatric symptoms were associated with decreases in avoidance coping (β = -3.3; p < 0.001). Patients' underestimation of their deficits at T1 was associated with greater increases in active coping (β = -2.33; p < 0.05) than were patients' accurate estimation and overestimation of deficits at T1. Self-reported executive functioning at T1 was not associated with changes in coping. In conclusion, avoidance coping increased in the chronic phase after brain injury. The changes in coping could partially be explained by the level of neuropsychiatric symptoms and the level of self-awareness but not by self-reported executive functioning, which should be considered in treatment programs.

Effect of Retraining Approach-Avoidance Tendencies on an Exercise Task: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Cheval, Boris; Sarrazin, Philippe; Pelletier, Luc; Friese, Malte

2016-12-01

Promoting regular physical activity (PA) and lessening sedentary behaviors (SB) constitute a public health priority. Recent evidence suggests that PA and SB are not only related to reflective processes (eg, behavioral intentions), but also to impulsive approach-avoidance tendencies (IAAT). This study aims to test the effect of a computerized IAAT intervention on an exercise task. Participants (N = 115) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental conditions, in which they were either trained to approach PA and avoid SB (ApPA-AvSB condition), to approach SB and avoid PA (ApSB-AvPA condition), or to approach and avoid PA and SB equally often (active control condition). The main outcome variable was the time spent carrying out a moderate intensity exercise task. IAAT toward PA decreased in the ApSB-AvPA condition, tended to increase in the ApPA-AvSB condition, and remained stable in the control condition. Most importantly, the ApPA-AvSB manipulation led to more time spent exercising than the ApSB-AvPA condition. Sensitivity analyses excluding individuals who were highly physically active further revealed that participants in the ApPA-AvSB condition spent more time exercising than participants in the control condition. These findings provide preliminary evidence that a single intervention session can successfully change impulsive approach tendencies toward PA and can increase the time devoted to an exercise task, especially among individuals who need to be more physically active. Potential implications for health behavior theories and behavior change interventions are outlined.

A multi-site proof-of-concept investigation of computerized approach-avoidance training in adolescent cannabis users.

PubMed

Jacobus, Joanna; Taylor, Charles T; Gray, Kevin M; Meredith, Lindsay R; Porter, Anna M; Li, Irene; Castro, Norma; Squeglia, Lindsay M

2018-06-01

Few effective treatment options exist for cannabis-using youth. This pilot study aimed to test Approach-Avoidance Training to reduce cannabis use with non-treatment-seeking adolescents. Eighty cannabis-using non-treatment-seeking adolescents (average age 19) were recruited from San Diego, California and Charleston, South Carolina, and randomized to complete either six sessions of Cannabis Approach-Avoidance Task Training (CAAT-training) designed to reduce automatic approach biases for cannabis cues or CAAT-sham training. Change in two primary outcome variables was examined: 1) cannabis approach bias and 2) percent cannabis use days over study enrollment. Change in percent alcohol use days over study enrollment was explored as a secondary outcome. A mixed models repeated measures analysis confirmed the group by time interaction effect for approach bias failed to reach statistical significance (p = .06). Significant group by time interaction effects (ps < 0.05) predicted percent days of cannabis and alcohol use over study enrollment. Participants randomized to the avoid cannabis condition (CAAT-training) reported 7% fewer days of cannabis use compared to 0% change for sham; unexpectedly, those in the avoid cannabis condition reported 10% percent more alcohol use days compared to 3% more for sham. Computerized cognitive bias modification paradigms may have utility in reducing adolescent cannabis use. Future work should consider developing a paradigm that addresses both cannabis and alcohol, as well as alternative computerized approaches for coping with addictive behavior in conjunction with bias modification. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The efficacy of imagery rescripting (IR) for social phobia: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Lee, Seung Won; Kwon, Jung-Hye

2013-12-01

There is a need for brief effective treatment of social phobia and Imagery Rescripting (IR) is a potential candidate. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of IR preceded by cognitive restructuring as a stand-alone brief treatment using a randomized controlled design. Twenty-three individuals with social phobia were randomly assigned to an IR group or to a control group. Participants in the IR group were provided with one session of imagery interviewing and two sessions of cognitive restructuring and Imagery Rescripting. Those in the control group had one session of clinical interviewing and two sessions of supportive therapy. Outcome measures including the Korean version of the social avoidance and distress scale (K-SADS) were administered before and after treatment, and at three-month follow-up. The short version of the Questionnaire upon Mental Imagery and the Traumatic Experience Scale were also administered before treatment. Participants in the IR group improved significantly on K-SADS and other outcome measures, compared to the control group. The beneficial effects of IR were maintained at three-month follow-up. It was also found that mental imagery ability and the severity of the traumatic experience did not moderate the outcome of IR. Further studies are needed to replicate the findings of our study using a large sample. The efficacy of IR as a stand-alone brief treatment was demonstrated for social phobia. The findings indicate that IR could be utilized as a cost-effective intervention for social phobia. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vertigo in downhill mountain biking and road cycling.

PubMed

Lion, Alexis; Vibert, Dominique; Bosser, Gilles; Gauchard, Gérome C; Perrin, Philippe P

2016-01-01

Vertigo has been described after the practice of mountain bike. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of vertigo following competitions or training sessions of downhill mountain biking (DMB) or road cycling (RC). One hundred and two DMB riders, 79 road cyclists and 73 control participants filled in a survey intended to evaluate the prevalence of vertigo in daily living activities and following competitions or training sessions. Vertigo causal factors (crashes, head trauma, fatigue, characteristics of the path/road ridden) were recorded. DMB riders and road cyclists did not report more vertigo during daily living activities than controls. But DMB riders older than 30 had more risk to report vertigo than age-matched road cyclists (OR: 5.06, 95% CI: 1.23-20.62). Road cyclists aged between 20 and 29 were 2.59-fold (95% CI: 1.06-6.27) more likely to report vertigo than controls. After competitions and training sessions, DMB riders were 2.33-fold (95% CI: 1.22-4.41) more likely to report vertigo than road cyclists. Vertigo causal factors were crash with head trauma in DMB riders and fatigue in road cyclists. Vertigo during daily living activities may be of concern for cyclists, particularly older DMB riders. The accumulation of impacts (crashes, vibrations) during the career of a DMB rider may generate micro-traumatisms of the central nervous system and/or peripheral vestibular structures, particularly the otolith organs. In RC, the pathophysiological mechanisms generating vertigo might be effort-related disturbance of homeostasis. To avoid injuries, DMB riders should be aware that vertigo may occur at the end of training sessions or competitions.

Human Adolescent Phase Response Curves to Bright White Light.

PubMed

Crowley, Stephanie J; Eastman, Charmane I

2017-08-01

Older adolescents are particularly vulnerable to circadian misalignment and sleep restriction, primarily due to early school start times. Light can shift the circadian system and could help attenuate circadian misalignment; however, a phase response curve (PRC) to determine the optimal time for receiving light and avoiding light is not available for adolescents. We constructed light PRCs for late pubertal to postpubertal adolescents aged 14 to 17 years. Participants completed 2 counterbalanced 5-day laboratory sessions after 8 or 9 days of scheduled sleep at home. Each session included phase assessments to measure the dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) before and after 3 days of free-running through an ultradian light-dark (wake-sleep) cycle (2 h dim [~20 lux] light, 2 h dark). In one session, intermittent bright white light (~5000 lux; four 20-min exposures) was alternated with 10 min of dim room light once per day for 3 consecutive days. The time of light varied among participants to cover the 24-h day. For each individual, the phase shift to bright light was corrected for the free-run derived from the other laboratory session with no bright light. One PRC showed phase shifts in response to light start time relative to the DLMO and another relative to home sleep. Phase delay shifts occurred around the hours corresponding to home bedtime. Phase advances occurred during the hours surrounding wake time and later in the afternoon. The transition from delays to advances occurred at the midpoint of home sleep. The adolescent PRCs presented here provide a valuable tool to time bright light in adolescents.

Patterns of harm reduction service utilization and HIV incidence among people who inject drugs in Ukraine: A two-part latent profile analysis.

PubMed

Ompad, Danielle C; Wang, Jiayu; Dumchev, Konstantin; Barska, Julia; Samko, Maria; Zeziulin, Oleksandr; Saliuk, Tetiana; Varetska, Olga; DeHovitz, Jack

2017-05-01

Program utilization patterns are described within a large network of harm reduction service providers in Ukraine. The relationship between utilization patterns and HIV incidence is determined among people who inject drugs (PWID) controlling for oblast-level HIV incidence and treatment/syringe coverage. Data were extracted from the network's monitoring and evaluation database (January 2011-September 2014, n=327,758 clients). Latent profile analysis was used to determine harm reduction utilization patterns using the number of HIV tests received annually and the number of condoms, syringes, and services (i.e., information and counseling sessions) received monthly over a year. Cox proportional hazards regression determined the relations between HIV seroconversion and utilization class membership. In the final 4-class model, class 1 (34.0% of clients) received 0.1 HIV tests, 1.3 syringes, 0.6 condom and minimal counseling and information sessions per month; class 2 (33.6%) received 8.6 syringes, 3.2 condoms, and 0.5 HIV tests and counseling and information sessions; class 3 (19.1%) received 1 HIV test, 11.9 syringes, 4.3 condoms, and 0.7 information and counseling sessions; class 4 (13.3%) received 1 HIV test, 26.1 syringes, 10.3 condoms, and 1.8 information and 1.9 counseling sessions. Class 4 clients had significantly decreased risk for HIV seroconversion as compared to those in class 1 after controlling for oblast-level characteristics. Injection drug use continues to be a major mode of HIV transmission in Ukraine, making evaluation of harm reduction efforts in reducing HIV incidence among PWID critical. These analyses suggest that receiving more syringes and condoms decreased risk of HIV. Scaling up HIV testing and harm reduction services is warranted. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Occupational Therapy Treatment to Improve Upper Extremity Function in Individuals with Early Systemic Sclerosis: A Pilot Study.

PubMed

Murphy, Susan L; Barber, Mary; Homer, Kristen; Dodge, Carole; Cutter, Gary; Khanna, Dinesh

2018-01-30

To determine feasibility and preliminary effects of an occupational therapy treatment to improve upper extremity (UE) function in patients with early systemic sclerosis (SSc) who have UE contractures. A one-arm pilot clinical rehabilitation trial was conducted at a university health system. Participants with SSc and ≥ 1 UE contracture (n = 21) participated in a total of 8 weekly in-person occupational therapy sessions. The therapy consisted of thermal modalities, tissue mobilization, and UE mobility. Between sessions, participants were instructed to complete UE home exercises. Feasibility was measured by percent enrollment and session attendance and duration. The primary outcome measure was the QuickDASH, secondary and exploratory outcomes included PROMIS physical function, objective UE measures, and skin thickening. Linear mixed models were performed to determine treatment effects on primary and secondary outcomes. Fifty percent (24/48) of potentially eligible participants were interested. Of those, 88% (21/24) enrolled; and nineteen out of 21 (91%) completed all sessions. The mean (SD) age was 47.9 years (± 16.1); 100% had diffuse SSc, and mean disease duration was 3.1 years. At 8 weeks, participants reported statistically significant improvement on QuickDASH and PROMIS physical function measures (p =.0012 and p = .004). Forty-seven and 53% percent of the sample achieved improvements that exceeded minimally important differences. In-person treatment sessions were feasible for individuals with SSc and demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements on UE and physical function. Future studies need to examine effects against a control condition and examine durability of treatment effects. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Comparing Recalibration Strategies for Electroencephalography-Based Decoders of Movement Intention in Neurological Patients with Motor Disability.

PubMed

López-Larraz, Eduardo; Ibáñez, Jaime; Trincado-Alonso, Fernando; Monge-Pereira, Esther; Pons, José Luis; Montesano, Luis

2017-12-17

Motor rehabilitation based on the association of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and proprioceptive feedback has been demonstrated as a feasible therapy for patients with paralysis. To promote long-lasting motor recovery, these interventions have to be carried out across several weeks or even months. The success of these therapies partly relies on the performance of the system decoding movement intentions, which normally has to be recalibrated to deal with the nonstationarities of the cortical activity. Minimizing the recalibration times is important to reduce the setup preparation and maximize the effective therapy time. To date, a systematic analysis of the effect of recalibration strategies in EEG-driven interfaces for motor rehabilitation has not yet been performed. Data from patients with stroke (4 patients, 8 sessions) and spinal cord injury (SCI) (4 patients, 5 sessions) undergoing two different paradigms (self-paced and cue-guided, respectively) are used to study the performance of the EEG-based classification of motor intentions. Four calibration schemes are compared, considering different combinations of training datasets from previous and/or the validated session. The results show significant differences in classifier performances in terms of the true and false positives (TPs) and (FPs). Combining training data from previous sessions with data from the validation session provides the best compromise between the amount of data needed for calibration and the classifier performance. With this scheme, the average true (false) positive rates obtained are 85.3% (17.3%) and 72.9% (30.3%) for the self-paced and the cue-guided protocols, respectively. These results suggest that the use of optimal recalibration schemes for EEG-based classifiers of motor intentions leads to enhanced performances of these technologies, while not requiring long calibration phases prior to starting the intervention.

Outcome of a session of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy before endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for problematic and large common bile duct stones

PubMed Central

Tao, Tao; Zhang, Ming; Zhang, Qi-Jie; Li, Liang; Li, Tao; Zhu, Xiao; Li, Ming-Dong; Li, Gui-Hua; Sun, Shu-Xia

2017-01-01

AIM To compare the efficacy of a session of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) before endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) vs ERCP only for problematic and large common bile duct (CBD) stones. METHODS Adult patients with CBD stones for whom initial ERCP was unsuccessful because of the large size of CBD stones were identified. The patients were randomized into two groups, an “ESWL + ERCP group” and an “ERCP-only” group. For ESWL + ERCP cases, ESWL was performed prior to ERCP. Clearance of the CBD, complications related to the ESWL/ERCP procedure, frequency of mechanical lithotripsy use and duration of the ERCP procedure were evaluated in both groups. RESULTS There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups. A session of ESWL before ERCP compared with ERCP only resulted in similar outcomes in terms of successful stone removal within the first treatment session (74.2% vs 71.0%, P = 0.135), but a higher clearance rate within the second treatment session (84.4% vs 51.6%, P = 0.018) and total stone clearance (96.0% vs 86.0%, P = 0.029). Moreover, ESWL prior to ERCP not only reduced ERCP procedure time (43 ± 21 min vs 59 ± 28 min, P = 0.034) and the rate of mechanical lithotripsy use (20% vs 30%, P = 0.025), but also raised the clearance rate of extremely large stones (80.0% vs 40.0%, P = 0.016). Post-ERCP complications were similar for the two groups. CONCLUSION Based on the higher rate of successful stone removal and minimal complications, ESWL prior to ERCP appears to be a safe and effective treatment for the endoscopic removal of problematic and large CBD stones. PMID:28785149

Energy expenditure during an exercise training session for cardiac patients.

PubMed

Santa-Clara, Helena; Melo, Xavier; Willi, Romina; Pinto, Rita; Santos, Vanessa; Almeida, José P; Martins, Rodrigo; Clijsen, Ron; Mendes, Miguel; Fernhall, Bo

2018-03-01

Increasing energy expenditure (EE) in cardiac patients remains a challenge. Exercise approaches in cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention programs (CR/SP) have consistently resulted in minimal weight loss, due in part to the low exercise-related EE. The purpose of this study was to measure the EE among patients participating in a routine exercise session of Phase III maintenance CR/SP, where a recreational activity was introduced. Twelve overweight/obese male patients with coronary artery disease (aged 62.6 ± 8.5 years) had their total EE measured during a combined aerobic (circuit workout (ACW) and recreational activity) and resistance training (RT) session using a portable gas analyzer. Subjects were instructed to exercise at 60%-70% of heart rate reserve. Activity EE was calculated from total EE and resting EE. The duration of the session was 75.3 ± 1.5 min, of which 59.7 ± 8.8 min were above moderate intensity (3-6 METs). Activity EE was 309 ± 76 kcal, concurring to a total EE of 457 ± 80 kcal (3.9 ± 0.8 METs-h). ACW, recreational activity, and RT fulfilled 34.4% ± 6.4%, 25.0% ± 5.3%, and 14.2% ± 2.7% of the activity EE, respectively. Absolute intensities (METs) were significantly different between the RT (3.9 ± 1.0) and the ACW (6.9 ± 1.8) and recreational activity (5.9 ± 0.8). In conclusion, a combined aerobic and resistance training following standard exercise prescription practices, coupled with a recreational activity, is an effective tool to promote exercise above moderate intensity in male coronary artery disease patients. Clinicians can adopt concepts from recreational activity to develop CR/SP sessions.

Using financial incentives to promote physical activity in American Indian adolescents: A randomized controlled trial

PubMed Central

Chadwick, Jennifer Q.; Cannady, Tamela K.; Branam, Dannielle E.; Wharton, David F.; Tullier, Mary A.; Thompson, David M.; Copeland, Kenneth C.

2018-01-01

American Indians (AI) have high prevalence of diabetes in youth and may benefit from increasing physical activity as a strategy to improve metabolic health. We tested whether financial incentives would elicit greater frequency and/or duration of exercise in AI youth at high risk for developing diabetes. Overweight/obese AI boys and girls, 11–20 years old, were instructed to exercise on 3 days/week for 48 weeks at a tribal wellness center. The program was divided into three, 16-week-long phases to test different financial incentive strategies. Within each phase participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups that received different payments for exercise. Phase 1 was designed to test whether the size of the incentive would affect exercise frequency. In Phase 1, the number of exercise sessions did not differ between the group receiving a modest fixed-value payment per exercise session and the group receiving enhanced incentives to exercise more frequently (26 ± 3 versus 28 ± 2 sessions, respectively, p = 0.568). In Phase 2, the provision of an enhanced financial incentive to increase exercise duration resulted longer sessions, as the incentivized and standard payment groups exercised 38 ± 2 versus 29 ± 1 minutes per session (p = 0.002), respectively. In Phase 3, the effect of reducing the incentives on maintenance of exercise behaviors was inconclusive due to high participant withdrawal. Aerobic fitness increased 10% during Phase 1 but was unchanged thereafter. Insulin sensitivity and body composition were unchanged during the study. In conclusion, enhanced financial incentives increased the duration of exercise sessions, but had minimal effects on exercise participation. These results indicate that financial incentives hold promise in motivating previously sedentary, overweight/obese adolescents to exercise longer, but motivating them to sustain an exercise program remains the major challenge. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01848353. PMID:29856832