Search results for: cognitive behavioural therapy

Authors: H. Akhloufi, M. Hulscher, J. M. Prins, I. H. Van Der Sijs, D. Melles, A. Verbon

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Background: A timely switch from intravenous to oral antibiotic therapy has many advantages, such as reduced incidence of IV-line related infections, a decreased hospital length of stay and less workload for healthcare professionals with equivalent patient safety. Additionally, numerous studies have demonstrated significant decreases in costs of a timely intravenous to oral antibiotic therapy switch, while maintaining efficacy and safety. However, a considerable variation in iv to oral antibiotic switch therapy criteria has been described in literature. Here, we report the development of a set of iv to oral switch criteria that are generally applicable in all hospitals. Material/methods: A RAND-modified Delphi procedure, which was composed of 3 rounds, was used. This Delphi procedure is a widely used structured process to develop consensus using multiple rounds of questionnaires within a qualified panel of selected experts. The international expert panel was multidisciplinary and composed out of clinical microbiologists, infectious disease consultants and clinical pharmacists. This panel of 19 experts appraised 6 major intravenous to oral antibiotic switch therapy criteria and operationalized these criteria using 41 measurable conditions extracted from the literature. The procedure to select a concise set of iv to oral switch criteria included 2 questionnaire rounds and a face-to-face meeting. Results: The procedure resulted in the selection of 16 measurable conditions, which operationalize 6 major intravenous to oral antibiotic switch therapy criteria. The following 6 major switch therapy criteria were selected: (1) Vital signs should be good or improving when bad. (2) Signs and symptoms related to the infection have to be resolved or improved. (3) The gastrointestinal tract has to be intact and functioning. (4) The oral route should not be compromised. (5) Absence of contra-indicated infections. (6) An oral variant of the antibiotic with good bioavailability has to exist. Conclusions: This systematic stepwise method which combined evidence and expert opinion resulted in a feasible set of 6 major intravenous to oral antibiotic switch therapy criteria operationalized by 16 measurable conditions. This set of early antibiotic iv to oral switch criteria can be used in daily practice in all adult hospital patients. Future use in audits and as rules in computer assisted decision support systems will lead to improvement of antimicrobial steward ship programs.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, antibiotic stewardship, intravenous to oral, switch therapy

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Authors: Erfan Izadpanah

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The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of the Trans-Cranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on cognitive flexibility and social decision-making in skilled, semi-skilled and novice football players. The present quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study was conducted on 60 randomly-selected subjects divided into trial and placebo groups (n=30 per group). The trial group received three 20-minute sessions of anodic stimulation at the intensity of 2 mA. The placebo group also received three sessions of sham anodic stimulation. Data were collected using the Wisconsin, Grant and Berg Card-Sorting Test (1948) and the ultimatum game and were then analyzed using the ANCOVA. The results showed significant differences between the skilled, semi-skilled and novice football players in the trial and placebo groups in terms of cognitive flexibility and social decision-making (P<0.01). TDCS appears to be able to improve cognitive flexibility and consequently social decision-making in football players and is recommended to sport psychologists and coaches as a useful intervention to increase cognitive flexibility and improve social decision-making in players.

Keywords: TDCS, cognitive flexibility, social decision-making, skilled, semi-skilled and novice football players

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Authors: Abeer N. Alshukairi, Abdulrahman A. Alrajhi, Abdulfattah W. Alamri, Adel F. Alothman

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We described the nosocomial transmission of a pre-XDR or an MDR case of pulmonary tuberculosis in a HIV negative health care worker in an area endemic for MDR & XDR tuberculosis. With inadequate therapy and non-compliance, his strain developed acquired resistance and he presented with extra-pulmonary XDR tuberculosis in the form of multi-focal osteomyelitis and encysted pleural effusion. He was cured after 2 years of therapy with various anti-tuberculous drugs in addition to interferon gamma.

Keywords: osteomyelitis, treatment, XDR tuberculosis, successful treatment

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Authors: Eleonora Sasso

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This paper takes as its starting point the notions of cognitive linguistics and lexical blending, and uses both these theoretical concepts to advance a new reading of Margaret Atwood’s latest writings, one which sees them as paramount literary examples of norm and usage in bilingual Canadian lexicography. Atwood’s prose seems to be imbued with Canadianisms and neologisms, lexical blends of zoomorphic forms, a kind of meeting-point between two conceptual structures which follow the principles of lexical economy and asyntactic relation. Atwood’s neologisms also attest to the undeniable impact on language exerted by Canada’s aboriginal peoples. This paper aims to track through these references and with the aid of the Eskimo-English dictionary look at the linguistic issues – attitudes to contaminations and hybridisations, questions of lexical blending in literary examples, etc – which they raise. Atwood’s fiction, whose cognitive linguistic strategy employs ‘the virtues of scissors and matches’, always strives to achieve isomorphism between word form and concept.

Keywords: Atwood, Canadianisms, cognitive science, Eskimo/English dictionary

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Authors: Fadwa Chtioui

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Vital Pulp Therapy (VPT) is nowadays challenging the deep-rooted dogma of root canal treatment, being the only therapeutic option for permanent teeth diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis or carious pulp exposure. Histologic and clinical research has shown that compromised dental pulp can be treated without the full removal or excavation of all healthy pulp, and the outcome of the partial or full pulpotomy followed by a Tricalcium-Silicate-based dressing seems to show promising results in maintaining pulp vitality and preserving affected teeth in the long term. By reviewing recent advances in the techniques of VPT and their clinical effectiveness and safety in permanent teeth with irreversible Pulpitis, this work provides a new understanding of pulp pathophysiology and defense mechanisms and will reform dental practitioners' decision-making in treating irreversible pulpits from root canal therapy to vital pulp therapy by taking advantage of the biological effects of Tricalcium Silicate materials. Biography of presenting author: Fadwa Chitoui graduated from the school of Dental Medicine of Monastir, Tunisia, in 2015. After getting her DDS degree with honors, she earned her Postgraduate master's Degree in Endodontics and Restorative Dentistry from her Faculty. Since 2021, she has Started her own private and specialized practice based in the capital Tunis. She enjoys the sphere of associative life, worked with national and international associations, and got engaged in scientific dental research, whereby she tailored her passion for her field of specialty towards broadening her knowledge and ambitions, holding conferences and workshops nationally and internationally and publishing scientific articles in several journals.

Keywords: irreversible pulpitis, permanenet teeth, vital pulp therapy, pulpotomy

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Authors: Lauren Currell, Gemma Hurst

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Introduction: The present study experimentally investigated the impact of attractive Instagram images on female’s body image. It also examined whether physical appearance perfectionism and cognitive coping predicted body image following upward comparisons to idealised bodies on Instagram. Methods: One-hundred and fifty-eight females (mean age 24.35 years) were randomly assigned to an experimental (where they compared their bodies to those of Instagram models) or control condition (where they critiqued landscape painting). All participants completed measures on physical appearance perfectionism, cognitive coping, and pre- and post-measures of body image. Results: Comparing one’s body to idealised bodies on Instagram resulted in increased appearance and weight dissatisfaction and decreased confidence, compared to the control condition. Physical appearance perfectionism and cognitive coping both predicted body image outcomes for the experimental condition. Discussion: Clinical implications, such as the prevention and treatment of body dissatisfaction, are discussed. Strengths and limitations of the current study are also noted, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Keywords: perfectionism, cognitive coping, body image, social media

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Authors: Kathryn L. Duncan, Charles A. Kuntz, Alessandra C. Santamaria, James O. Simcock

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Access to megavoltage radiation therapy for small animals is limited in many locations around the world. This can preclude the use of palliative radiation therapy for the treatment of appendicular osteosarcoma in dogs. The objective of this study was to retrospectively assess the adverse effects and survival times of dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma that were treated with hypofractionated orthovoltage radiation therapy and adjunctive carboplatin chemotherapy administered via a single subcutaneous infusion. Medical records were reviewed retrospectively to identify client-owned dogs with spontaneously occurring appendicular osteosarcoma that was treated with palliative orthovoltage radiation therapy and a single subcutaneous infusion of carboplatin. Data recorded included signalment, tumour location, results of diagnostic imaging, haematologic and serum biochemical analyses, adverse effects of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, and survival times. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed, and log-rank analysis was used to determine the impact of specific patient variables on survival time. Twenty-three dogs were identified that met the inclusion criteria. Median survival time for dogs was 182 days. Eleven dogs had adverse haematologic effects, 3 had adverse gastrointestinal effects, 6 had adverse effects at the radiation site and 7 developed infections at the carboplatin infusion site. No statistically significant differences were identified in survival times based on sex, tumour location, development of infection, or pretreatment serum alkaline phosphatase. Median survival time and incidence of adverse effects were comparable to those previously reported in dogs undergoing palliative radiation therapy with megavoltage or cobalt radiation sources and conventional intravenous carboplatin chemotherapy. The use of orthovoltage palliative radiation therapy may be a reasonable alternative to megavoltage radiation in locations where access is limited.

Keywords: radiotherapy, veterinary oncology, chemotherapy, osteosarcoma

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Authors: Lauren A. Bailey, Amber R. Childs, Nicola C. James, Murray I. Duncan, Alexander Winkler, Warren M. Potts

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Changes in behaviour and physiology are the most important responses of marine life to anthropogenic impacts such as climate change and over-fishing. Behavioural changes (such as a shift in distribution or changes in phenology) can ensure that a species remains in an environment suited for its optimal physiological performance. However, if marine life is unable to shift their distribution, they are reliant on physiological adaptation (either by broadening their metabolic curves to tolerate a range of stressors or by shifting their metabolic curves to maximize their performance at extreme stressors). However, since there are links between fish physiology and behaviour, changes to either of these traits may have reciprocal interactions. This paper reviews the current knowledge of the links between the behaviour and physiology of fishes, discusses these in the context of exploitation and climate change, and makes recommendations for future research needs. The review revealed that our understanding of the links between fish behaviour and physiology is rudimentary. However, both are hypothesized to be linked to stress responses along the hypothalamic pituitary axis. The link between physiological capacity and behaviour is particularly important as both determine the response of an individual to a changing climate and are under selection by fisheries. While it appears that all types of capture fisheries are likely to reduce the adaptive potential of fished populations to climate stressors, angling, which is primarily associated with recreational fishing, may induce fission of natural populations by removing individuals with bold behavioural traits and potentially the physiological traits required to facilitate behavioural change. Future research should focus on assessing how the links between physiological capacity and behaviour influence catchability, the response to climate change drivers, and post-release recovery. The plasticity of phenotypic traits should be examined under a range of stressors of differing intensity in several species and life history stages. Future studies should also assess plasticity (fission or fusion) in the phenotypic structuring of social hierarchy and how this influences habitat selection. Ultimately, to fully understand how physiology is influenced by the selective processes driven by fisheries, long-term monitoring of the physiological and behavioural structure of fished populations, their fitness, and catch rates are required.

Keywords: climate change, metabolic shifts, over-fishing, phenotypic plasticity, stress response

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Authors: Stephanie Elizabeth Talder

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Art therapy is a field that is growing exponentially with new groundbreaking discoveries that allow for embodying trauma and mental healing. Applied theatre and performance is a continuously growing and developing field that can help people who are struggling to work through traumatic experiences plaguing their life. By using performance, there is an ability to target sensitive topics in a manner that does not lead to re-traumatization. The use of theatre as a healing agent has been going on for centuries, with clear applications beginning in Greek theatre and tragedy. When working with complex mental illness, issues such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression can be managed and worked through. A central component of drama therapy is the connection to community and self. The ability to connect mind-body to stories as well as to other people allows for healing to occur. There is the opportunity for healing through emotional catharsis and community building. Applied theatre in connection to the medical field can allow for there to be a meaningful impact made on mental health. Though there is still a significant amount of progress to be made within the stigmatization of mental health problems, bringing in a varying option that allows for there to be movement and community building possesses a strong ability to impact people in a positive way.

Keywords: applied theatre, drama therapy, art therapy, performance, theatre

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Authors: Ayoub Alsarhan, Ahmed Otoom, Yousef Kilani, Abdel-Rahman al-GHuwairi

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Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have emerged recently to improve internet access and other networking services. WMNs provide network access to the clients and other networking functions such as routing, and packet forwarding. Spectrum scarcity is the main challenge that limits the performance of WMNs. Cognitive radio is proposed to solve spectrum scarcity problem. In this paper, we consider a cognitive wireless mesh network where unlicensed users (secondary users, SUs) can access free spectrum that is allocated to spectrum owners (primary users, PUs). Although considerable research has been conducted on spectrum allocation, spectrum assignment is still considered an important challenging problem. This problem can be solved using cognitive radio technology that allows SUs to intelligently locate free bands and access them without interfering with PUs. Our scheme considers several heuristics for spectrum allocation. These heuristics include: channel error rate, PUs activities, channel capacity and channel switching time. Performance evaluation of the proposed scheme shows that the scheme is able to allocate the unused spectrum for SUs efficiently.

Keywords: cognitive radio, dynamic spectrum access, spectrum management, spectrum sharing, wireless mesh networks

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Authors: Liudmila Garzanova, Lidia Ananyeva, Olga Koneva, Olga Ovsyannikova, Oxana Desinova, Mayya Starovoytova, Rushana Shayahmetova

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Objectives. Gastrointestinal involvement is one of the most common manifestations of systemic sclerosis (SSc). The aim of our study was to assess the frequency of gastrointestinal manifestations in SSc patients (pts) with interstitial lung disease (ILD) and their changes to rituximab (RTX) therapy. Methods. There were 103 pts with SSc in this study. The mean follow-up period was 12.6±10.7 months. The mean age was 47±12.9 years, females - 87 pts (84%), and the diffuse cutaneous subset of the disease 55 pts (53%). The mean disease duration was 6.2±5.5 years. All pts had ILD and were positive for ANA. 67% of them were positive for anti-topoisomerase-1. All patients received prednisolone at a dose of 11.3±4.5 mg/day, and immunosuppressants at inclusion received 47% of them. Pts received RTX due to the ineffectiveness of previous therapy for ILD. The cumulative mean dose of RTX was 1.7±0.6 grams. 90% of pts received omeprazole at a dose of 20-40 mg/day. Results. At inclusion, dysphagia was observed in 76 pts (74%), early satiety or vomiting in 32 pts (31%), and diarrhea in 20 pts (19%). We didn't observe any changes in gastrointestinal manifestation during RTX therapy. There was a decrease in the number of pts with dysphagia from 76 (74%) to 66 (64%), but it was insignificant. The number of pts with early satiety or vomiting and diarrhea didn't change. Conclusion. In our study, gastrointestinal involvement was observed in most of the pts with SSc-ILD. We didn't find any significant changes in gastrointestinal manifestations during RTX therapy. RXT does not worsen gastrointestinal manifestations in SSc-ILD.

Keywords: systemic sclerosis, dysphagia, rituximab, gastrointestinal manifestations

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Authors: Mochammad Indra Permana, Andhiani Sharfina Arnellya, Dika Pramita Destiani, Budhi Prihartanto

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Cardiovascular disease is the cause of the highest mortality rates in the world. The number of cardiovascular disease patients is increasing every year. Data obtained from World Health Organization (WHO) that 17,5 million people died from this disease. The condition of cardiovascular diseases such as atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, venous thromboembolism, and several other conditions need anticoagulant therapy. Results of the anticoagulant therapy are measured not only by the effectiveness of International Normalized Ratio (INR) value but also by the quality of life of the patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of life of patients on oral anticoagulant therapy in outpatient cardiac department Dr. Hasan Sadikin central general hospital, Bandung, Indonesia. This is a cross-sectional study with collecting data from the quality of life questionnaire and medical record of the patients. The results of this study showed that 28 patients (46,7%) had a good quality of life, 30 patients (50%) had a moderate quality of life, and 2 patients (3,3%) had a poor quality of life with no significant differences in quality of life based on age, gender, diagnosis, and duration of drug use.

Keywords: anticoagulant, cardiovascular diseases, INR, quality of life

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Authors: Sonia David, Uma Warrier

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Background: Film therapy is the use of commercial or non-commercial films to enhance healing for therapeutic purposes. Objectives: The mixed-method study aims to evaluate the effect of film-based counseling on body image dissatisfaction among adolescents to precisely ascertain the cause of the alteration in body image dissatisfaction due to the said intervention. Method: The one group pre-test post-test research design study using inferential statistics and thematic analysis is based on a pre-test post-test design conducted on 44 school-going adolescents between 13 and 17. The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ- 34) was used as a pre-test and post-test measure. The film-based counseling intervention model was used through individual counseling sessions. The analysis involved paired sample t-test used to examine the data quantitatively, and thematic analysis was used to evaluate qualitative data. Findings: The results indicated that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test means. Since t(44)= 9.042 is significant at a 99% confidence level, it is ascertained that film-based counseling intervention reduces body image dissatisfaction. The five distinct themes from the thematic analysis are “acceptance, awareness, empowered to change, empathy, and reflective.” Novelty: The paper originally contributes to the repertoire of research on film therapy as a successful counseling intervention for addressing the challenges of body image dissatisfaction. This study also opens avenues for considering alteration of teaching pedagogy to include video-based learning in various subjects.

Keywords: body image dissatisfaction, adolescents, film-based counselling, film therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy

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Authors: Julia Wong, Hua Beng Lim, Petrina Goh, Johanna Foo, Caleb Ng, Nurul ‘Aqilah Bte Mohd Taufek

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Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) utilizes human-animal interaction to achieve specific therapeutic goals, and its efficacy has been demonstrated across various settings overseas. The use of AAT in Singapore, however, is still limited. Ang Mo Kio-Thye Hua Kwan (AMKH) is one of the first community hospitals in Singapore to use AAT to complement its occupational therapy services with elderly patients. This study explored the perspectives of AMKH’s occupational therapists (OTs) in relation to AAT to understand barriers and enablers in implementing and practising AAT. We also examined how OTs at-large across practice settings perceive AAT. A mixed method design was used. 64 OTs at-large participated in on online survey, and 7 AMKH OTs were interviewed individually via Zoom. Survey results were analysed with descriptive and Mann-Whitney U tests. Interviews were thematically analysed. AMKH OTs perceived various benefits of AAT articulated in overseas studies in domains such as motivation and participation, emotional, social interaction, sensory tactile stimulation, and cognition. Interestingly, this perception was also supported by 67% of OTs who had responded to the survey, even though most of the OTs who had participated in the survey had no experience in AAT. Despite the perceived benefits of AAT, both OTs from AMKH and those at-large articulated concerns on risks pertaining to AAT (e.g., allergies, unexpected animal behaviour, infections, etc). However, AMKH OTs shared several ways to mitigate these risks, demonstrating their ability to develop a safe program. For e.g., volunteers and their dogs must meet specific recruitment criteria, stringent protocols are used to screen and match dogs with patients, and there are strict exclusion criteria for patients participating in AAT. AMKH OTs’ experience suggests that additional skills and knowledge are required to implement AAT, therefore, healthcare institutions should first consider improving their staff training and risk mitigation knowledge before implementing AAT. They can also refer to AMKH’s AAT protocols and those found in overseas studies, but institutions must adapt the protocols to fit their institutional settings and patients’ profiles.

Keywords: animal-assisted therapy, dog-assisted therapy, occupational therapy, complementary therapy

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Authors: Fadzayi M.Maruza

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The conversation about diversity in the African academy focuses on the need for an international and ethnically diverse population of scholars and students. Operationalising the concept of cognitive diversity offers us an opportunity to broaden our conception of who can know and who can proclaim knowledge by availing new understandings of what knowledge is and how it is made. Limited attention is paid to the value of diversity generated by cognitive disabilities in the African academy. The inclusion of persons with minds labelled disabled in African academia requires an epistemology of disability to reform the still dominant notion of the expert and scholar as an able-bodied and hyper-rational in African academia. This review wants to explore how cognitive disabilities have been represented in higher education research in Africa or has the African academy reinforced ignorance by promoting an able-bodied academia. The review aims to tackle its exploratory objective by using Malcom Tights framework. The main questions this paper would focus on are: (I)What are the major disability themes and concerns discussed in the disability-related articles? (II)What are the major methods or methodologies used to address the topic in the papers? (III)What are the levels of analysis the papers focus on? (IV)How do higher education researchers define and represent cognitive disabilities in higher education research in Africa? To answer the exploratory questions that are aimed at mapping the disability-related higher education research landscape, Malcolm Tights’ framework is seen as most appropriate. In addition to a thematic categorization, that shall be made after reviewing of published empirical studies on disability in African higher education from the period 2010 – 2017. A synthesis of the findings and implications of African disability studies relating to students with cognitive disabilities in the African Academy will be provided using the categories suggested by Tight as a benchmark. Data for the proposed work shall be taken from well-reputed higher education journals between 2010 and 2017.Using the keyword ‘Disability’ in the titles, abstracts and keywords section of journal articles, a selection of disability-focused higher education articles shall be compiled for analysis regarding cognitive disability. It has to be noted as a limitation that the word Disability might not be sufficient to investigate the topic for there can be many more specific disabilities concerns the researchers would discuss. Therefore, the paper is only intended to give a bird’s eye view of cognitive disability in higher education research and therefore is not comprehensive. The paper is expected to shed some light for me, as a beginning researcher, and other researchers like myself as to what has been the focus of higher education researchers about cognitive disability in the African academy. Keywords: Cognitive diversity, cognitive disability, disability, higher education.

Keywords: cognitive disability, cognitive diversity, disability, higher education

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Authors: Elnaz Alimi, Keriakoula Andriopoulos, Sam Boyer, Weronika Zuczek

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Occupational therapists can use coaching strategies to guide parents in providing therapy for their children with developmental disabilities. Evidence from various fields has shown increased parental self-efficacy and positive child outcomes as benefits of home and community-based parent coaching models. A literature review was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of parent coaching interventions delivered in home and community settings for children with developmental disabilities ages 0-12, on a variety of parent and child outcomes. CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO, PubMed, OTseeker were used as databases. The inclusion criteria consisted of: children with developmental disabilities ages 0-12 and their parents, parent coaching models conducted in the home and community, and parent and child outcomes. Studies were excluded if they were in a language other than English and published before 2000. Results showed that parent coaching interventions led to more positive therapy outcomes in child behaviors and symptoms related to their diagnosis or disorder. Additionally, coaching strategies had positive effects on parental satisfaction with therapy, parental self-efficacy, and family dynamics. Findings revealed decreased parental stress and improved parent-child relationships. Further research on parent coaching could involve studying the feasibility of coaching within occupational therapy specifically, incorporating cultural elements into coaching, qualitative studies on parental satisfaction with coaching, and measuring the quality of life outcomes for the whole family.

Keywords: coaching model, developmental disabilities, occupational therapy, pediatrics

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Authors: Antoni Ivanov, Nikolay Dandanov, Nicole Christoff, Vladimir Poulkov

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Spectrum underutilization has made cognitive radio a promising technology both for current and future telecommunications. This is due to the ability to exploit the unused spectrum in the bands dedicated to other wireless communication systems, and thus, increase their occupancy. The essential function, which allows the cognitive radio device to perceive the occupancy of the spectrum, is spectrum sensing. In this paper, the performance of modern adaptations of the four most widely used spectrum sensing techniques namely, energy detection (ED), cyclostationary feature detection (CSFD), matched filter (MF) and eigenvalues-based detection (EBD) is compared. The implementation has been accomplished through the PlutoSDR hardware platform and the GNU Radio software package in very low Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) conditions. The optimal detection performance of the examined methods in a realistic implementation-oriented model is found for the common relevant parameters (number of observed samples, sensing time and required probability of false alarm).

Keywords: cognitive radio, dynamic spectrum access, GNU Radio, spectrum sensing

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Authors: Bahareh Yazdanparast Chaharmahali

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The study showed effect of low power laser therapy on knee range of motion (flexion and extension), resting angle of knee joint, knee circumference and rating of delayed onset muscle soreness induced pain, 24 and 48 hours after eccentric training of knee flexor muscle (hamstring muscle). We investigate the effects of pulsed ultrasound on swelling, relaxed, flexion and extension knee angle and pain. 20 volunteers among girl students of college voluntary participated in this research. After eccentric training, subjects were randomly divided into two groups, control and laser therapy. In day 1 and in order to induce delayed onset muscle soreness, subjects eccentrically trained their knee flexor muscles. In day 2, subjects were randomly divided into two groups: control and low power laser therapy. 24 and 48 hours after eccentric training. Variables (knee flexion and extension, srang of motion, resting knee joint angle and knee circumferences) were measured and analyzed. Data are reported as means ± standard error (SE) and repeated measured was used to assess differences within groups. Methods of treatment (low power laser therapy) have significant effects on delayed onset muscle soreness markers. 24 and 48 hours after training a significant difference was observed between mean pains of 2 groups. This difference was significant between low power laser therapy and C groups. The Bonferroni post hock is significant. Low power laser therapy trophy as used in this study did significantly diminish the effects of delayed – onset muscle soreness on swelling, relaxed – knee extension and flexion angle.

Keywords: creatine kinase, DOMS, eccentric training, low power laser

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Authors: Parker Murray, Marci Johnson, Tyson S. Burnham, Alina K. Fong, Mark D. Allen, Bruce McIff

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Purpose: Pathological dysregulation of Neurovascular Coupling (NVC) caused by mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is the predominant source of chronic post-concussion syndrome (PCS) symptomology. fNCI has the ability to localize dysregulation in NVC by measuring blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signaling during the performance of fMRI-adapted neuropsychological evaluations. With fNCI, 57 brain areas consistently affected by concussion were identified as PCS neural markers, which were validated on large samples of concussion patients and healthy controls. These neuromarkers provide the basis for a computation of PCS severity which is referred to as the Severity Index Score (SIS). The SIS has proven valuable in making pre-treatment decisions, monitoring treatment efficiency, and assessing long-term stability of outcomes. Methods and Materials: After being scanned while performing various cognitive tasks, 476 concussed patients received an SIS score based on the neural dysregulation of the 57 previously identified brain regions. These scans provide an objective measurement of attentional, subcortical, visual processing, language processing, and executive functioning abilities, which were used as biomarkers for post-concussive neural dysregulation. Initial SIS scores were used to develop individualized therapy incorporating cognitive, occupational, and neuromuscular modalities. These scores were also used to establish pre-treatment benchmarks and measure post-treatment improvement. Results: Changes in SIS were calculated in percent change from pre- to post-treatment. Patients showed a mean improvement of 76.5 percent (σ= 23.3), and 75.7 percent of patients showed at least 60 percent improvement. Longitudinal reassessment of 24 of the patients, measured an average of 7.6 months post-treatment, shows that SIS improvement is maintained and improved, with an average of 90.6 percent improvement from their original scan. Conclusions: fNCI provides a reliable measurement of NVC allowing for identification of concussion pathology. Additionally, fNCI derived SIS scores direct tailored therapy to restore NVC, subsequently resolving chronic PCS resulting from mTBI.

Keywords: concussion, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), neurovascular coupling (NVC), post-concussion syndrome (PCS)

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Authors: Schnell Zsuzsanna

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Background: The interpretation of written texts, language processing in the visual domain, in other words, atypical reading abilities, also known as dyslexia, is an ever-growing phenomenon in today’s societies and educational communities. The much-researched problem affects cognitive abilities and, coupled with normal intelligence normally manifests difficulties in the differentiation of sounds and orthography and in the holistic processing of written words. The factors of susceptibility are varied: social, cognitive psychological, and linguistic factors interact with each other. Methods: The research will explain the psycholinguistics of dyslexia on the basis of several empirical experiments and demonstrate how domain-general abilities of inhibition, retrieval from the mental lexicon, priming, phonological processing, and visual modality transfer affect successful language processing and interpretation. Interpretation of visual stimuli is hindered, and the problem seems to be embedded in a sociocultural, psycholinguistic, and cognitive background. This makes the picture even more complex, suggesting that the understanding and resolving of the issues of dyslexia has to be interdisciplinary, aided by several disciplines in the field of humanities and social sciences, and should be researched from an empirical approach, where the practical, educational corollaries can be analyzed on an applied basis. Aim and applicability: The lecture sheds light on the applied, cognitive aspects of interpretation, social cognitive traits of language processing, the mental underpinnings of cognitive interpretation strategies in different languages (namely, Hungarian and English), offering solutions with a few applied techniques for success in foreign language learning that can be useful advice for the developers of testing methodologies and measures across ESL teaching and testing platforms.

Keywords: dyslexia, social cognition, transparency, modalities

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Authors: Ghada M. El-Kassas, Maged A. El Wakeel, Salwa R. El-Zayat

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Background: Environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) is asymptomatic villous atrophy of the small bowel that is prevalent in the developing world and is associated with altered intestinal function and integrity. Evidence has suggested that supplementary omega-3 might ameliorate this damage by reducing gastrointestinal inflammation and may also benefit cognitive development. Objective: We tested whether omega-3 supplementation improves intestinal integrity, growth, and cognitive function in stunted children predicted to have EED. Methodology: 100 Egyptian stunted children aged 1-5 years and 100 age and gender-matched normal children as controls. At the primary phase of the study, we assessed anthropometric measures and fecal markers such as myeloperoxidase (MPO), neopterin (NEO), and alpha-1-anti-trypsin (AAT) (as predictors of EED). Cognitive development was assessed (Bayley or Wechsler scores). Oral n-3 (omega-3) LC-PUFA at a dosage of 500 mg/d was supplemented to all cases and followed up for 6 months after which the 2ry phase of the study included the previous clinical, laboratory and cognitive assessment. Results: Fecal inflammatory markers were significantly higher in cases compared to controls. (MPO), (NEO) and (AAT) showed a significant decline in cases at the end of the 2ry phase (P < 0.001 for all). Omega-3 supplementation resulted also in a significant increase in mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) (P < 0.01), weight for age z-score, and skinfold thicknesses (P< 0.05 for both). Cases showed significant improvement of cognitive function at phase 2 of the study. Conclusions: Omega-3 supplementation successfully improved intestinal inflammatory state related to EED. Also, some improvement of anthropometric and cognitive parameters showed obvious improvement with omega-3 supplementation.

Keywords: cognitive functions, EED, omega-3, stunting

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Authors: Mosab kh. A. A. Bashir, E. Mohamed-Ahmed

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The aim of the study is to compare the results of the external exposure and the range of the dose spread by the patients, hospitalized in two different groups of 3-5 d receiving radioiodine therapy because of thyroid cancer, and one of group were giving the local diuretic plant (barley) as local juice. The control group was 28 patients they were isolated as international precautions after taken I-131 capsule 100 mCi, and their external exposure was recorded day by day after first 24 hrs. and the distance for external measurement was 1 m at the abdominal level. The mean of external exposure values of patients at fourth day were 30.24±12.92 µSv h−1. The second group after taking I-131 capsule 100 mCi we were given barley juice (250 mL) after every meal three times on day and their external exposure was recorded day by day after first 24 hrs. The mean of external exposure values of patients of this group at third day was 26.92±9.89 (14-55) µSv h−1. It was observed that the external exposure from the second group clearly decreased to low levels which contributed to the decrease in patient dose and also to the decrease in the exposure from the patient to his/her family.

Keywords: local diuretic juice, therapy, radiation medicine, diuretic plant

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Authors: Chrysovalanto Sofia Karatosidi, Dimitra Iordanoglou

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The overlap of leadership skills with personality traits, beliefs, values, and the integration of cognitive abilities, analytical and critical thinking skills into leadership competencies raises the need to segregate further and investigate them. Hence, the domains of cognitive functions that contribute to leadership effectiveness should also be identified. Organizational cognitive neuroscience and neuroleadership can shed light on the study of these critical leadership skills. As the first part of our research, this pilot study aims to explore the relationships between higher-order cognitive functions (executive functions), trait emotional intelligence (EI), personality, and general cognitive ability in leadership. Twenty-six graduate and postgraduate students were assessed on neuropsychological tests that measure important aspects of executive functions (EF) and completed self-reported questionnaires about trait EI, personality, leadership styles, and leadership effectiveness. Specifically, we examined four core EF—fluency (phonemic and semantic), information updating and monitoring, working memory, and inhibition of prepotent responses. Leadership effectiveness was positively associated with phonemic fluency (PF), which involves mental flexibility, in turn, an increasingly important ability for future leaders in this rapidly changing world. Transformational leadership was positively associated with trait EI, extraversion, and openness to experience, a result that is following previous findings. The relationship between specific EF constructs and leadership effectiveness emphasizes the role of higher-order cognitive functions in the field of leadership as an individual difference. EF brings a new perspective into leadership literature by providing a direct, non-invasive, scientifically-valid connection between brain function and leadership behavior.

Keywords: cognitive neuroscience, emotional intelligence, executive functions, leadership

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Authors: Zakaria Mowafy Emam Mowafy, Hamed Abd Allah Hamed, Marwa Mahmoud Abd-Elmotalb, Andrew Anis Fakhray Mosaad

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The purpose of this paper is to determine the efficacy of polarized light therapy for chemotherapy-treated cancer patients who have oral mucositis. Methods of evaluation are the measurement of the WHO oral mucositis scale and the common toxicity criteria scale. Methods: Thirty cancer patients receiving chemotherapy (males and females) who had oral mucositis and ulceration pain, and their ages ranged from 30 to 55 years, were divided into two groups. Group (A), composed of 15 patients, received the Bioptron light therapy (BLT) in addition to the routine medical care of oral mucositis. Group (B) received only the routine medical care of oral mucositis; the duration of the BLT application was 10 minutes applied daily for 30 days. Results and conclusion: Results showed that the application of the BLT had valuable healing effects on oral mucositis in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, as evidenced by the high decreases of the WHO oral mucositis scale and the common toxicity criteria scale.

Keywords: Bioptron light therapy, oral mucositis, WHO oral mucositis scale, common toxicity criteria scale

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Authors: Jinfeng Zhang, Chun-Sing Lee

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The use of different nanocarriers for delivering hydrophobic pharmaceutical agents to tumor sites has garnered major attention. Despite the merits of these nanocarriers, further studies are needed for improving their drug loading capacities (typically less than 10%) and reducing their potential systemic toxicity. So development of alternative self-carried nanodrug delivery strategies without using any inert carriers is highly desirable. In this study, we developed a self-carried theranostic curcumin (Cur) nanodrug for highly effective cancer therapy in vitro and in vivo with real-time monitoring of drug release. With a biocompatible C18PMH-PEG functionalization, the Cur nanoparticles (NPs) showed excellent dispersibility and outstanding stability in physiological environment, with drug loading capacity higher than 78 wt.%. Both confocal microscopy and flow cytometry confirmed the cellular fluorescent “OFF-ON” activation and real-time monitoring of Cur molecule release, showing its potential for cancer diagnosis. In vitro and in vivo experiments clearly show that therapeutic efficacy of the PEGylated Cur NPs is much better than that of free Cur. This self-carried theranostic strategy with real-time monitoring of drug release may open a new way for simultaneous cancer therapy and diagnosis.

Keywords: drug delivery, in vitro and in vivo cancer therapy, real-time monitoring, self-carried

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Authors: Ramesh Chandra Patra, Ajay P. Gautam, Patitapaban Mohanty

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Headache disorders are one of the 10 most disabling conditions for men and women. Headache that originated from upper cervical spine and refereed to the one side of the head and/or face is known as cervicogenic headache (CH) which constitute15% to 20% among all the headaches. In our best knowledge manual therapy is often advocated for managing CH, but very little focus given on muscle system although it is a musculoskeletal disorder. In this study, 75 patients with CH were selected and divided into two groups Group A: Manual therapy and Group B: dry needling along with manual therapy group. Assessment was done using NPRS (0-10) for pain, wide spread pressure pain threshold using an algometer at the beginning and end of the study. There is a consistent reduction in pain and tenderness in both the group but significant improvement was shown in combined group. Outcome of the study has explored that the effectiveness of dry needling along with Mulligan is more beneficial in patients with cervicogenic headaches.

Keywords: cervicogenic headaches, dry needling, NPRS, pressure point threshold

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Authors: Prashant Das, Tushar Singh, Virendra Byadwal

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The present study attempted to understand the role of cognitive flexibility and employee engagement in predicting employees’ turnover intentions. Employee turnover is a significant problem that many organizations are facing these days. Employee turnover is not only extremely expensive for the employer but also results in poor production levels. In developing countries like India, organizations once believed to have most stable employees, are facing major turnover problems. One such organization is banking organizations. Due to globalization, banks are now changing their work scenarios under which the employees have many different roles to perform. Cognitive flexibility which refers to an individual’s ability to shift cognitive sets and to adapt to one’s changing environment, thus seems to be an important factor that are responsible for the employee turnover in organizations. It is hypothesized that those with higher cognitive flexibility would be more able to adapt to the changing work demands of the organizations and thus would show less turnover intentions. Another factor that seems to be important in predicting turnover is employee engagement. Kahn referred to engagement in terms of the harnessing of organization members’ selves to their work roles [by which they] employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances. Studies have shown a strong relationship between employee engagement and turnover intentions. Those with higher engagement with their jobs have found to show low turnover intentions. This study thus hypothesizes that employees with higher engagement will show lower levels of turnover intentions. A total of 150 bank employees (75 from private and 75 from public) participated in this study. They were administered Cognitive Flexibility Scale, Gallup Questionnaire and Intention to Stay Questionnaire along with another questionnaire asking for their demographic details. Results of the study revealed that employees with higher levels of cognitive flexibility and employee engagement show lover levels of turnover intentions. However, the effect is more prominent in case of employees of private banks. Demographic characteristics such as level of the employee and years of engagement in the current job have also been found to be influencing the relationship between cognitive flexibility, employee engagement and turnover intentions. Results of the study are interpreted in accordance to the prevalent literature and theoretical positions.

Keywords: cognitive flexibility, employee engagement, organization, turnover intentions

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Authors: Leja Salciute

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Mental health difficulties are one of the reasons for abnormal feeding behaviour. This is especially evident in a crisis situation. Abnormal feeding behaviour occurs when individuals use food as a method to provide relief for these negative emotions. The study aimed to discover an association between emotional regulation, mental health difficulties and disruption in feeding behaviours in the UK in times of crisis. A mixed-methods design was used. Abnormal feeding behaviour was measured using the Binge Eating Disorder Screener-7, SCOFF scale, Crisis impact scale, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and demographics. The sample comprised 342 participants with a history of excessive overeating. The participants (male= 198, female= 141 and other= 3) came from the general population and they were aged 16 and over. Participants ranged in age from 16 to 89. Findings from the survey concluded that difficulties with emotion regulation were found to be associated with abnormal feeding behaviours. Mental health difficulties correlated significantly with changes in individuals’ lives, such as work or routines. Individuals differed in their abnormal feeding behaviour in terms of their age, that is, younger individuals showed less struggle with their eating patterns while older individuals faced greater struggles with their abnormal feeding behaviour. Emotion regulation significantly influenced abnormal feeding behaviour. Results from qualitative data suggest four common themes that were identified: demonstration of gratitude, negative emotions, disruptions to social life, and financial loss. For example, participants developed and gained an awareness of being grateful for the simple things in life even when participants experienced hardships. The results also suggested that emotional eating acted like a sedative that allowed the participant to run away from their painful reality. Crisis situation negatively affected relationships among participants and induced negativity related to social interaction. Finally, the respondents highlighted that the presence of uncertainty made it hard to plan ahead and look forward to the future. Although respondents experienced negative emotions and financial losses, some of them still managed to allocate time for themselves and enjoy their time off during crisis. However, majority of respondents referred to their inability to control their external circumstances and turned to and relied upon food overconsumption instead. This had a negative effect on their mental health and presented disruptions in feeding behaviour. It was recommended for individuals in times of crisis to seek psychological support in the form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

Keywords: binge eating, maladaptive eating behaviours, mental health, negative emotions in crisis

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Authors: Francisca Alves, Diana Figueiredo, Paula Vagos, Luiza Lima, Maria do Céu Salvador, Daniel Rijo

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In recent years, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of numerous anxiety disorders, including social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, limited evidence exists on its therapeutic gains for adolescents with SAD. The current work presents a weekly 10-session manualized online ACT approach to adolescent SAD, being the first study to do so in a clinical sample of adolescents. The intervention ACT@TeenSAD addresses the six proposed processes of psychological inflexibility (i.e., experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, lack of values clarity, unworkable action, dominance of the conceptualized past and future, attachment to the conceptualized self) in social situations relevant to adolescents (e.g., doing a presentation). It is organized into four modules. The first module explores the role of psychological (in)flexibility in SAD (session 1 and 2), addressing psychoeducation (i.e., functioning of the mind) according to ACT, the development of an individualized model, and creative hopelessness. The second module focuses on the foundation of psychological flexibility (session 3, 4, and 5), specifically on the development and practice of strategies to promote clarification of values, contact with the present moment, the observing self, defusion, and acceptance. The third module encompasses psychological flexibility in action (sessions 6, 7, 8, and 9), encouraging committed action based on values in social situations relevant to the adolescents. The fourth modules’ focus is the revision of gains and relapse prevention (session 10). This intervention further includes two booster sessions after therapy has ended (3 and 6-month follow-up) that aim to review the continued practice of learned abilities and to plan for their future application to potentially anxious social events. As part of an ongoing clinical trial, the intervention will be assessed on its feasibility with adolescents diagnosed with SAD and on its therapeutic efficacy based on a longitudinal design including pretreatment, posttreatment, 3 and 6-month follow-up. If promising, findings may support the online delivery of ACT interventions for SAD, contributing to increased treatment availability to adolescents. This availability of an effective therapeutic approach will be helpful not only in relation to adolescents who face obstacles (e.g., distance) when attending to face-to-face sessions but also particularly to adolescents with SAD, who are usually more reluctant to look for specialized treatment in public or private health facilities.

Keywords: acceptance and commitment therapy, social anxiety disorder, adolescence, manualized online approach

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Authors: Fanqiang Kong, Jindong Zhang, Daiyin Zhu

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Space-time adaptive processing (STAP) techniques have been motivated as a key enabling technology for advanced airborne radar applications. In this paper, the notion of cognitive radar is extended to STAP technique, and cognitive STAP is discussed. The principle for improving signal-to-clutter ratio (SCNR) based on slow-time coding is given, and the corresponding optimization algorithm based on cyclic and power-like algorithms is presented. Numerical examples show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: space-time adaptive processing (STAP), airborne radar, signal-to-clutter ratio, slow-time coding

Procedia PDF Downloads 273