Search results for: novel treatment approaches

Authors: Ye Wang, Ickjai Lee

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Due to the widespread of mobile sensing, there is a strong need to handle trails of moving objects, trajectories. This paper proposes three visual analytic approaches for higher order information of trajectory data sets based on the higher order Voronoi diagram data structure. Proposed approaches reveal geometrical information, topological, and directional information. Experimental results demonstrate the applicability and usefulness of proposed three approaches.

Keywords: visual analytics, higher order information, trajectory datasets, spatio-temporal data

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Authors: Manely Ansary Mood, Farzaneh Aziizi, Mahmoud Akbarian

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This investigation included 130 cats diagnosed with FIP (Feb 2021-March 2022) in Iran, 74 with effusive FIP, and 56 with non-effusive FIP. The patients' initial dosage regime consisted of a subcutaneous injection of GS-441524 was 6-15mg/kg-every 24h (based on the wet or ocular and neurologic signs). The minimum treatment period was twelve weeks, extended in animals that still had abnormal lab values, clinical signs, and sonographic findings. The outcomes of the 130 cats that completed the duration of treatment (14 died, 116 cured) were checked and recorded. Clinical, sonographic, and laboratory responses were checked and compared on days 28, 56, and 83 of treatment. 2 of the 116 cured cats relapsed within observation days. At the time of this publication (May 2022), 114 of the studied patients remained healthy. We could conclude that GS-441524 appears to be an effective option for FIP treatment, and also, to the base of our knowledge, this is the first report for group treatment of infected cats of FIP with GS-441524 in Iran.

Keywords: FIP, cat, GS-441524, treatment

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Authors: Zumra Mehmedovic, Susan Luhrmann

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Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a debilitating mental health disorder for which there are very few available treatment options. Current research suggests that ketamine may be a safe and effective option for the treatment of TRD. Research utilizing a review of the literature was conducted to determine if ketamine in conjunction with antidepressants is more effective than antidepressants alone in the treatment of TRD. The literature consists of ten journal articles which include quantitative studies based on primary research. A critique of the literature was done to determine whether the findings are reliable, critiquing elements influencing the believability and robustness of the research. The research was based on the neuroplasticity theory of depression, hypothesizing that ketamine, in conjunction with antidepressants, will be more effective than antidepressants alone as they have different mechanisms of action. All the studies except one found ketamine in conjunction with antidepressants to be a more effective treatment than antidepressants alone in the treatment of TRD. Results of the studies indicate that ketamine is effective in treating TRD at various doses, settings, and routes of administration. Further research is necessary, though, to further explore and confirm the findings. Several gaps in literature were identified, including the optimal dose of ketamine, its long-term efficacy and safety, and effects of ketamine in repeated doses. The research topic is highly significant to advanced practice nursing, as based on the findings, ketamine can be utilized as a safe and effective treatment for TRD.

Keywords: ketamine, major depressive disorder, treatment-resistant depression, treatment

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Authors: Samira Karimi-Mansoub, Rahem Abri

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Currently, users expect high quality and personalized information from search results. To satisfy user’s needs, personalized approaches to web search have been proposed. These approaches can provide the most appropriate answer for user’s needs by using user context and incorporating information about query provided by combining search technologies. To carry out personalized web search, there is a need to make different techniques on whole of user search process. There are the number of possible deployment of personalized approaches such as personalized web search, personalized recommendation, personalized summarization and filtering systems and etc. but the common feature of all approaches in various domains is that user modeling is utilized to provide personalized information from the Web. So the most important work in personalized approaches is user model mining. User modeling applications and technologies can be used in various domains depending on how the user collected information may be extracted. In addition to, the used techniques to create user model is also different in each of these applications. Since in the previous studies, there was not a complete survey in this field, our purpose is to present a survey on applications and techniques of user modeling from the viewpoint of improvement in search results by considering the existing literature and researches.

Keywords: filtering systems, personalized web search, user modeling, user search behavior

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Authors: Lintle Mohase, Ninikoe Lebusa, Mpho Stephen Mafa

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Wheat is an economically important cereal crop. However, the changing climatic conditions that intensify drought in production areas, and additional pest infestation, such as the Russian wheat aphid (RWA, Diuraphis noxia), severely hamper its production. Drought and pest management require an additional water supply through irrigation and applying inorganic nutrients (including silicon) as alternative strategies to mitigate the stress effects. Therefore, other approaches are needed to enhance wheat productivity during drought stress and aphid abundance. Two wheat cultivars were raised under greenhouse conditions, exposed to drought stress, and treated with silicon before infestation with the South African RWA biotype 2 (RWASA2). The morphological evaluations showed that severe drought or a combination of drought and infestation significantly reduced the plant height of wheat cultivars. Silicon treatment did not alleviate the growth reduction. The biochemical responses were measured using spectrophotometric assays with specific substrates. An evaluation of the enzyme activities associated with oxidative stress and defence responses indicated that drought stress increased NADPH oxidase activity, while silicon treatment significantly reduced it in drought-stressed and infested plants. At 48 and 72 hours sampling periods, a combination of silicon, drought and infestation treatment significantly increased peroxidase activity compared to drought and infestation treatment. The treatment also increased β-1,3-glucanase activity 72 hours after infestation. In addition, silicon and drought treatment increased glucose but reduced sucrose accumulation. Furthermore, silicon, drought, and infestation treatment combinations reduced the sucrose content. Finally, silicon significantly increased the trehalose content under severe drought and infestation, evident at 48 and 72-hour sampling periods. Our findings shed light on silicon’s ability to induce protective biochemical responses during drought and aphid infestation.

Keywords: drought, enzyme activity, silicon, soluble sugars, Russian wheat aphid, wheat

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Authors: G. L. Devnani, Shishir Sinha

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Natural fiber reinforced polymer composite is a very attractive area among the scientific community because of their low cost, eco-friendly and sustainable in nature. Among all advantages there are few issues which need to be addressed, those issues are the poor adhesion and compatibility between two opposite nature materials that is fiber and matrix and their relatively high water absorption. Therefore, natural fiber modifications are necessary to improve their adhesion with different matrices. Excellent properties could be achieved with the surface treatment of these natural fibers ultimately leads to property up-gradation of their reinforced composites with different polymer matrices. Lot of work is going on to improve the adhesion between reinforced fiber phase and polymer matrix phase to improve the properties of composites. Researchers have suggested various methods for natural fiber treatment like silane treatment, treatment with alkali, acetylation, acrylation, maleate coupling, etc. In this study a review is done on the different methods used for the surface treatment of natural fibers and what are the advance treatment methodologies for natural fiber surface treatment for property improvement of natural fiber reinforced polymer composites.

Keywords: composites, acetylation, natural fiber, surface treatment

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Authors: Mourad Ben Bennani

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Views of language and language learning have undergone a tremendous change over the last decades. Language is no longer seen as a set of structured rules. It is rather viewed as a tool of interaction and communication. This shift in views has resulted in change in viewing language learning, which gave birth to various approaches and methodologies of language teaching. Two of these approaches are content-based instruction and content and language integrated learning (CLIL). These are similar approaches which integrate content and foreign/second language learning through various methodologies and models as a result of different implementations around the world. This presentation deals with sociocultural view of CBI and CLIL. It also defines language and content as vital components of CBI and CLIL. Next it reviews the origins of CBI and the continuum perspectives and CLIL definitions and models featured in the literature. Finally it summarizes current aspects around research in program evaluation with a focus on the benefits and challenges of these innovative approaches for second language teaching.

Keywords: CBI, CLIL, CBI continuum, CLIL models

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Authors: Sun Tao, Lou Liang, Tan Xing Haw Marvin, Gu Yuandong Alex

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Patients with blood clots in their brains can experience problems with their vision or speech, seizures and general weakness. To treat blood clots, clinicians presently have two options. The first involves drug therapy to thin the blood and thus reduce the clot. The second choice is to invasively remove the clot using a plastic tube called a catheter. Both approaches carry a high risk of bleeding, and invasive procedures, such as catheter intervention, can also damage the blood vessel wall and cause infection. Ultrasonic treatment as a potential alternative therapy to break down clots is attracting growing interests due to the reduced adverse effects. To demonstrate the concept, in this investigation a microfabricated ultrasonic device was electrically packaged with printed circuit board to treat healthy human blood. The red blood cells could be broken down after 3-hour ultrasonic treatment.

Keywords: microfabrication, blood clot, ultrasonic thrombolysis device, ultrasonic device

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Authors: B. Sayaheen

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The translator’s competence is one of the topics that has received a great deal of research in the field of translation studies because such competencies are still debatable and not yet agreed upon. Besides, scholars tackle this topic from different points of view. Approaches to teaching these competencies have gone through some developments. This paper aims at investigating these developments, exploring the major turning points and shifts in the developments of teaching methods in translator training. The significance of these turning points and the external or internal causes will also be discussed. Based on the past and present status of teaching approaches in translator training, this paper tries to predict the future of these approaches. This paper is mainly concerned with developments of teaching approaches in the West since the 1980s to the present. The reason behind choosing this specific period is not because translator training started in the 1980s but because most criticism of the teacher-centered approach started at that time. The implications of this research stem from the fact that it identifies the turning points and the causes that led teachers to adopt student-centered approaches rather than teacher-centered approaches and then to incorporate technology and the Internet in translator training. These reasons were classified as external or internal reasons. Translation programs in the West and in other cultures can benefit from this study. Translation programs in the West can notice that teaching translation is geared toward incorporating more technologies. If these programs already use technology and the Internet to teach translation, they might benefit from the assumed future direction of teaching translation. On the other hand, some non-Western countries, and to be specific some professors, are still applying the teacher-centered approach. Moreover, these programs should include technology and the Internet in their teaching approaches to meet the drastic changes in the translation process, which seems to rely more on software and technologies to accomplish the translator’s tasks. Finally, translator training has borrowed many of its approaches from other disciplines, mainly language teaching. The teaching approaches in translator training have gone through some developments, from teacher-centered to student-centered and then toward the integration of technologies and the Internet. Both internal and external causes have played a crucial role in these developments. These borrowed approaches should be comprehensively evaluated in order to see if they achieve the goals of translator training. Such evaluation may lead us to come up with new teaching approaches developed specifically for translator training. While considering these methods and designing new approaches, we need to keep an eye on the future needs of the market.

Keywords: turning points, developments, translator training, market, The West

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Authors: Revoti Prasad Bora, Saurabh Yadav, Nikita Katyal

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In the context of educational data mining, the use case of extracting information from images containing both text and diagrams is of high importance. Hence, document analysis requires the extraction of diagrams from such images and processes the text and diagrams separately. To the author’s best knowledge, none among plenty of approaches for extracting tables, figures, etc., suffice the need for real-time processing with high accuracy as needed in multiple applications. In the education domain, diagrams can be of varied characteristics viz. line-based i.e. geometric diagrams, chemical bonds, mathematical formulas, etc. There are two broad categories of approaches that try to solve similar problems viz. traditional computer vision based approaches and deep learning approaches. The traditional computer vision based approaches mainly leverage connected components and distance transform based processing and hence perform well in very limited scenarios. The existing deep learning approaches either leverage YOLO or faster-RCNN architectures. These approaches suffer from a performance-accuracy tradeoff. This paper proposes a U-Net based architecture that formulates the diagram extraction as a segmentation problem. The proposed method provides similar accuracy with a much faster extraction time as compared to the mentioned state-of-the-art approaches. Further, the segmentation mask in this approach allows the extraction of diagrams of irregular shapes.

Keywords: computer vision, deep-learning, educational data mining, faster-RCNN, figure extraction, image segmentation, real-time document analysis, text extraction, U-Net, YOLO

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Authors: Evelyn Smith, Susan Simpson

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Background: Eating disorder (ED) treatment is complicated by high rates of chronicity, comorbidity, complex personality traits and client dropout. Given these complexities, Schema Therapy (ST) has been identified as a suitable treatment option. The study primarily aims to evaluate the efficacy of group ST for the treatment of EDs. The study further evaluated the effectiveness of ST in reducing schemas and improving quality of life. Method: Participant suitability was ascertained using the Eating Disorder Examination. Following this, participants attended 90-minute weekly group sessions over 25 weeks. Groups consisted of six to eight participants and were facilitated by two psychologists, at least one of who is trained in ST. Measures were completed at pre, mid and post-treatment. Measures assessed ED symptoms, cognitive schemas, schema mode presentations, quality of life, self-compassion and psychological distress. Results: As predicted, measures of ED symptoms were significantly reduced following treatment. No significant changes were observed in early maladaptive schema severity; however, reductions in schema modes were observed. Participants did not report improvements in general quality of life measures following treatment, though improvement in psychological well-being was observed. Discussion: Overall, the findings from the current study support the use of group ST for the treatment of EDs. It is expected that lengthier treatment is needed for the reduction in schema severity. Given participant dropout was considerably low, this has important treatment implications for the suitability of ST for the treatment of EDs.

Keywords: eating disorders, schema therapy, treatment, quality of life

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Authors: Nisarg A. Patel, Hiren B. Patel

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Quantum cryptography is described as a point-to-point secure key generation technology that has emerged in recent times in providing absolute security. Researchers have started studying new innovative approaches to exploit the security of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) for a large-scale communication system. A number of approaches and models for utilization of QKD for secure communication have been developed. The uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics created a new paradigm for QKD. One of the approaches for use of QKD involved network fashioned security. The main goal was point-to-point Quantum network that exploited QKD technology for end-to-end network security via high speed QKD. Other approaches and models equipped with QKD in network fashion are introduced in the literature as. A different approach that this paper deals with is using QKD in existing protocols, which are widely used on the Internet to enhance security with main objective of unconditional security. Our work is towards the analysis of the QKD in Mobile ad-hoc network (MANET).

Keywords: cryptography, networking, quantum, encryption and decryption

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Authors: Kiyoumars Roushangar, Shabnam Mirheidarian

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This study proposes metamodel approaches as a new intelligent technique for the explicit formulation of friction factors of water conveyance structures. For this purpose, experimental data of a movable bed flume with dune bed form were used. Analyzing the result clears the high capability of metamodel approaches (MNE= 0.05, R= 0.92) as a powerful tool for optimizing and explicit simulation of Manning's roughness coefficients of water conveyance structures compared to other nonlinear approaches.

Keywords: intelligent techniques, explicit simulation, roughness coefficient, water conveyance structure

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Authors: Nilda San Miguel, Elymar Pascual

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The main focus of this study is exploring the effective approaches in teaching Mathematics that is being applied in public schools, s.y. 2018-2019. This research was written as connected output to the district-wide School Learning Action Cell (DISLAC) on Math teaching approaches which was recently conducted in Victoria, Laguna. Fifty-four math teachers coming from 17 schools in Victoria became the respondents of this study. Qualitative method of doing research was applied. Teachers’ responses to the following concerns were gathered, analyzed and interpreted: (1) evaluation of the recently conducted DISLAC, (2) status of the use of different approaches, (3) perception on the effective use of approaches, (4) preference of approach to explore in classroom sessions, (5) factors affecting the choice of approach, (6) difficulties encountered, (7) and perceived benefit to learners. Results showed that the conduct of DISLAC was very highly satisfactory (mean 4.41). Teachers looked at collaborative approach as very highly effective (mean 4.74). Fifty-two percent of the teachers is using collaborative approach, 17% constructivist, 11% integrative, 11% inquiry-based, and 9% reflective. Reflective approach was chosen to be explored by most of the respondents (29%) in future sessions. The difficulties encountered by teachers in using the different approaches are: (1) learners’ difficulty in following instructions, (2) lack of focus, (3) lack of willingness and cooperation, (4) teachers’ lack of mastery in using different approaches, and (5) lack of time of doing visual aids because of time mismanagement. Teachers deemed the use of various teaching approaches can help the learners to have (1) mastery of competency, (2) increased communication, (3) improved confidence, (4) facility in comprehension, and (5) better academic output. The result obtained from this study can be used as an input for SLACs. Recommendations at the end of the study were given to school/district heads and future researchers.

Keywords: approaches, collaborative, constructivism, inquiry-based, integrative, reflective

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Authors: Fathia Elmenghawi

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The transformation of cities under colonial rule has received a great deal of scholarly work. Colonizers interpret their colonies differently and many urban and planning approaches can be traced. This paper focuses on the colonial approaches of urban expansion in the city of Tripoli, Libya during two colonial periods, the late Ottomans and the Italians, from the 1830s to 1940s. Both had perceived their approaches to the city’s expansion as means of practicing dominance over the colonized under the disguise of facilitating the process of modernization of the city. This research uses a historical method that based on archival documents such as maps, photos, and publications to uncover the planning practices followed by the two colonizers. The findings indicate that despite the similar intentions that both colonizers had when they expanded the city, one striking difference was distinguished, which is how the Ottomans and the Italians planned to treat the Walled City as, respectively, either a context for expansion or as merely remains to marginalize.

Keywords: colonial urban planning, Italian colonization, Ottoman provinces, walled city

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Authors: Chigbo Ikechukwu Emmanuel

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Microalgae can be used for tertiary treatment of wastewater due to their capacity to assimilate nutrients. The pH increase which is mediated by the growing algae also induces phosphorus precipitation and ammonia stripping to the air, and may in addition act disinfecting on the wastewater. Domestic wastewater is ideal for algal growth since it contains high concentrations of all necessary nutrients. The growth limiting factor is rather light, especially at higher latitudes. The most important operational factors for successful wastewater treatment with microalgae are depth, turbulence and hydraulic retention time.

Keywords: microalgae, wastewater treatment, phosphorus, nitrogen, light, operation, ponds, growth

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Authors: Spencer Jay Knafelc

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Some mental health practitioners and theorists have suggested that we approach remedying psychological problems by centering and intervening upon patients’ narrations. Such theorists and their corresponding therapeutic approaches see persons as narrators of their lives, where the stories they tell constitute and reflect their sense-making of the world. Psychological problems, according to these approaches to therapy, are often the result of problematic narratives. The solution is the construction of more salubrious narratives through therapy. There is trouble lurking within the history of these narrative approaches. These thinkers tend to denigrate the importance of truth, insisting that narratives are not to be thought of as aiming at truth, and thus the truth of our self-narratives is not important. There are multiple motivations for the tendency to eschew truth’s importance within the tradition of narrative approaches to therapy. The most plausible and interesting motivation comes from the observation that, in general, all dominant approaches to therapy are equally effective. The theoretical commitments of each approach are quite different and are often ostensibly incompatible (psychodynamic therapists see psychological problems as resulting from unconscious conflict and repressed desires, Cognitive-Behavioral approaches see them as resulting from distorted cognitions). This strongly suggests that there must be some cases in which therapeutic efficacy does not depend on truth and that insisting that patient’s therapeutic narratives be true in all instances is a mistake. Lewis’ solution is to suggest that narratives are metaphors. Lewis’ account appreciates that there are many ways to tell a story and that many different approaches to mental health treatment can be appropriate without committing us to any contradictions, providing us with an ostensibly coherent way to treat narratives as non-literal, instead of seeing them as tools that can be more or less apt. Here, it is argued that Lewis’ metaphor approach fails. Narratives do not have the right kind of structure to be metaphors. Still, another way to understand Lewis’ view might be that self-narratives, especially when articulated in the language of any specific approach, should not be taken literally. This is an idea at the core of the narrative theorists’ tendency to eschew the importance of the ordinary understanding of truth. This very tendency will be critiqued. The view defended in this paper more accurately captures the nature of self-narratives. The truth of one’s self-narrative is important. Not only do people care about having the right conception of their abilities, who they are, and the way the world is, but self-narratives are composed of beliefs, and the nature of belief is to aim at truth. This view also allows the recognition of the importance of developing accurate representations of oneself and reality for one’s psychological well-being. It is also argued that in many cases, truth factors in as a mechanism of change over the course of therapy. Therapeutic benefit can be achieved by coming to have a better understanding of the nature of oneself and the world. Finally, the view defended here allows for the recognition of the nature of the tension between values: truth and efficacy. It is better to recognize this tension and develop strategies to navigate it as opposed to insisting that it doesn’t exist.

Keywords: philosophy, narrative, psychotherapy, truth

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Authors: Seyed-Ali Sadegh-Zadeh, Kaveh Kavianpour, Hamed Atashbar, Elham Heidari, Saeed Shiry Ghidary, Amir M. Hajiyavand

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Evaluation metrics play a critical role in assessing the performance of machine learning models. In this review paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of performance measurement approaches for machine learning models. For each category, we discuss the most widely used metrics, including their mathematical formulations and interpretation. Additionally, we provide a comparative analysis of performance measurement approaches for metric combinations. Our review paper aims to provide researchers and practitioners with a better understanding of performance measurement approaches and to aid in the selection of appropriate evaluation metrics for their specific applications.

Keywords: evaluation metrics, performance measurement, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, model robustness and stability, comparative analysis

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Authors: Saeed Delara, Kendra MacKay

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Varying methodologies are considered for pile design for both Russian and Western approaches. Although both approaches rely on toe and side frictional resistances, different calculation methods are proposed to estimate pile capacity. The Western approach relies on compactness (internal friction angle) of soil for cohesionless soils and undrained shear strength for cohesive soils. The Russian approach relies on grain size for cohesionless soils and liquidity index for cohesive soils. Though most recommended methods in the Western approaches are relatively simple methods to predict pile settlement, the Russian approach provides a detailed method to estimate single pile and pile group settlement. Details to calculate pile axial capacity and settlement using the Russian and Western approaches are discussed and compared against field test results.

Keywords: pile capacity, pile settlement, Russian approach, western approach

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Authors: Shraddha Acharya, Sharad Kumar Sharma, Ratna Bhattarai, Bhagwan Maharjan, Deepak Dahal, Serpahine Kaminsa

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Background: Drug-resistant (DR) tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a threat in Nepal, with an estimated 2800 new cases every year. The treatment of DR-TB with second line TB drugs is complex and takes longer time with comparatively lower treatment success rate than drug-susceptible TB. Delay in treatment initiation for DR-TB patients might further result in unfavorable treatment outcomes and increased transmission. This study thus aims to determine median time taken to initiate second-line treatment among Rifampicin Resistant (RR) diagnosed TB patients and to assess the proportion of treatment delays among various type of DR-TB cases. Method: A retrospective cohort study was done using national routine electronic data (DRTB and TB Laboratory Patient Tracking System-DHIS2) on drug resistant tuberculosis patients between January 2020 and December 2022. The time taken for treatment initiation was computed as– days from first diagnosis as RR TB through Xpert MTB/Rif test to enrollment on second-line treatment. The treatment delay (>7 days after diagnosis) was calculated. Results: Among total RR TB cases (N=954) diagnosed via Xpert nationwide, 61.4% were enrolled under shorter-treatment regimen (STR), 33.0% under longer treatment regimen (LTR), 5.1% for Pre-extensively drug resistant TB (Pre-XDR) and 0.4% for Extensively drug resistant TB (XDR) treatment. Among these cases, it was found that the median time from diagnosis to treatment initiation was 6 days (IQR:2-15.8). The median time was 5 days (IQR:2.0-13.3) among STR, 6 days (IQR:3.0-15.0) among LTR, 30 days (IQR:5.5-66.8) among Pre-XDR and 4 days (IQR:2.5-9.0) among XDR TB cases. The overall treatment delay (>7 days after diagnosis) was observed in 42.4% of the patients, among which, cases enrolled under Pre-XDR contributed substantially to treatment delay (72.0%), followed by LTR (43.6%), STR (39.1%) and XDR (33.3%). Conclusion: Timely diagnosis and prompt treatment initiation remain fundamental focus of the National TB program. The findings of the study, however suggest gaps in timeliness of treatment initiation for the drug-resistant TB patients, which could bring adverse treatment outcomes. Moreover, there is an alarming delay in second line treatment initiation for the Pre-XDR TB patients. Therefore, this study generates evidence to identify existing gaps in treatment initiation and highlights need for formulating specific policies and intervention in creating effective linkage between the RR TB diagnosis and enrollment on second line TB treatment with intensified efforts from health providers for follow-ups and expansion of more decentralized, adequate, and accessible diagnostic and treatment services for DR-TB, especially Pre-XDR TB cases, due to the observed long treatment delays.

Keywords: drug-resistant, tuberculosis, treatment initiation, Nepal, treatment delay

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Authors: Samuel Capintero, Ole H. Petersen

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This paper examines the utilization of public-private partnerships for the building and operation of wastewater treatment plants. Our research focuses on risk allocation in this kind of projects. Our analysis builds on more than hundred wastewater treatment plants built and operated through PPP projects in Aragon (Spain). The paper illustrates the consequences of an inadequate management of construction risk and an unsuitable transfer of demand risk in wastewater treatment plants. It also shows that the involvement of many public bodies at local, regional and national level further increases the complexity of this kind of projects and make time delays more likely.

Keywords: wastewater, treatment plants, PPP, construction

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Authors: Fleura Shkëmbi, Sevim Mustafa, Naim Fanaj

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Hypnosis, often known as cognitive therapy, is a sort of mind-body psychotherapy. A professional and certified hypnotist or hypnotherapist guides the patient into this extreme level of focus and relaxation during the session by utilizing verbal cues, repetition, and imagery. In recent years, hypnotherapy has gained popularity in the treatment of a variety of disorders, including anxiety and particular phobias. The term "phobia" is commonly used to define fear of a certain trigger. When faced with potentially hazardous situations, the brain naturally experiences dread. While a little dread here and there may keep us safe, phobias can drastically reduce our quality of life. In summary, persons who suffer from anxiety are considered to see particular environmental situations as dangerous, but those who do not suffer from anxiety do not. Hypnosis is essential in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Hypnosis can help patients minimize their anxiety symptoms. This broad concept has aided in the development of models and therapies for anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, hypochondria, and obsessional disorders. Hypnosis techniques are supposed to be attentive and mental pictures, which is conceivable; this is why they're associated with improved working memory and visuospatial abilities. In this sense, the purpose of this study is to determine how effectively specific therapeutic methods perform in treating persons with anxiety and phobias. In addition to cognitive-behavioral therapy and other therapies, the approaches emphasized the use of therapeutic hypnosis. This study looks at the use of hypnosis and related psychotherapy procedures in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Following a discussion of the evolution of hypnosis as a therapeutic tool, neurobiological research is used to demonstrate the influence of hypnosis on the change of perception in the brain. The use of hypnosis in the treatment of phobias, stressful situations, and posttraumatic stress disorder is examined, as well as similarities between the hypnotic state and dissociative reactions to trauma. Through an extensive literature evaluation, this study will introduce hypnotherapy procedures that result in more successful anxiety and phobia treatment.

Keywords: anxiety, hypnosis, hypnotherapy, phobia, technique, state

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Authors: Teodora Mocan, Lucian Mocan, Cornel Iancu, Flaviu A. Tabaran, Bartos Dana, Matea Cristian

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Antimicrobial resistance, which threatens the efficacy of the existing antibiotics represents a worldwide public health issue. At the current time, vancomycin is the only responsive treatment although has significant cytotoxicity, is partially effective and it is poorly retained by infected tissues. From a clinical point of view, attractive alternative approaches for treating such Meticillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) strains would be using agents that cause physical damage to the bacteria. Modular nanopharmaceuticals systems are being designed to address all of these multifunctional capabilities for the ideal bacterial treatment, with the ability to mix and match appropriate functions. Here we present a novel method of selective laser photothermal ablation of MRSA bacteria mediated by gold nanoparticles bound to PBP antibody against PBP protein located on the MRSA surface.

Keywords: MRSA, laser, nanoparticle, antibody

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Authors: Priscila M. Lima, Corine A. P. de Almeida, Muriele R. de Lima, Fernando J. C. Magalhães Filho

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This work characterized the preliminary treatment in WWTPs in the state of Mato Grosso Do Sul (Brazil) and analyzed aspects of operation and maintenance of solid waste retained, and was evaluated the interference of this step in treatment efficiency beyond the relationship between solid waste generation with rainfall and seasonality in the region of each WTPs. The results shown that the standard setting in the preliminary treatment consists of grid along with Sand Trap, followed by Parshall that is used in 94.12% of WWTPs analyzed, and in 5.88% of WWTPs it was added the air-lift to the Sand Trap. Was concluded that the influence of rainfall, flow and seasonality associated with the rate of waste generation in the preliminary treatment, had little relation to the operation and maintenance of the primary treatment. But in some cases, precipitation data showed increased rainfall converging with increased flow and solid waste generation.

Keywords: pretreatment, sewage, solid waste, wastewater

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Authors: C. Pearcy, C. Rees

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Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and exposure and response prevention (ERP) are currently the most efficacious treatments for Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Many clients, however, remain symptomatic following treatment. As a result, refusal of treatment, withdrawal from treatment, and partial adherence to treatment are common amongst ERP. Such limitations have caused few professionals to actually engage in ERP therapy, which has warranted the exploration of alternative treatments. This study evaluated an online self-help treatment program for OCD (the OCD Doctor Online); a 4-week Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) program which has implemented strategies from Wells’ Metacognitive model of OCD. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether an online self-help treatment using MCT would reduce symptoms of OCD, reduce unhelpful metacognitions and improve quality of life. Treatment effectiveness was assessed using a case series methodology in 3 consecutively referred individuals. At post-treatment, all participants showed reductions in unhelpful metacognitive beliefs (MCQ-30) and improvements in quality of life (Q-LES-Q), which were maintained through to 4 week follow-up. Two of the three participants showed reductions in OCD symptomology (OCI-R), which were further reduced at 4-week follow-up. The present study suggests that internet-based self-help treatment may be an effective means of delivering MCT to adults with OCD.

Keywords: internet-based, metacognitive therapy, obsessive-compulsive disorder, self-help

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Authors: Mehves Isiklar Ekici, Ceyda Tuna Kirsaclioglu, Zarife Kuloglu, Aydan Kansu

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Malnutrition is an important cause of morbidity and mortality as it accounts for 45% of child deaths under the age of 5 worldwide. Therefore, early recognition and effective treatment of failure to thrive and malnutrition are important. In this study, it was aimed to retrospectively evaluate the nutritional support treatment approaches (nutrition education and diet enrichment / use of enteral nutrition products) applied in children followed up with growth failure without underlying organic causes, and to compare the efficacy of nutritional support treatments. In this study, children aged 1 month to 18 years diagnosed with growth failure who were followed up for at least 12 months between January 2011 and February 2020, were included. Anthropometric measurements at baseline and during follow-up, type of nutritional support therapy and treatment compliance were evaluated based on the retrospective records. 119 children (median age:3.2, 69 girls) were included in the study. Nutrition education and dietary enrichment were provided to 28% of the patients (Group 1). In addition to dietary education and recommendations, enteral nutrition supplements was given in 78% of them (Group 2). Compliance to the treatment rates of the patients in Group 1 and Group 2 were not significantly different at both 6th and 12th month controls. At the end of the follow up children who comply with the treatment in Group 1 had significant increase in weight for age z scores (-1.74 vs 0.05, respectively, p=0.019) and body mass index z scores (-1.47 vs -0.53, respectively, p=0.034) compared with baseline measurements. Similar to Group 1, in Group 2 children with treatment compliance, had a significant increase in weight for age z scores (-2.24 vs. -0.54, respectively, p=0.00) and body mass index z scores (-2.27 vs. -1.06, respectively, p=0.00) compared with baseline measurements. The rate of patients with severe malnutrition decreased from 15% to 12%, for moderate malnutrition decreased from 54% to 33%. Moreover, it was observed that this decrease in the rate of patients with both severe and moderate malnutrition was more prominent in patients under 3 years of age. Although there was a significant increase in anthropometric measurements with treatment in both groups, there was no significant difference in between two groups terms of change in anthropometric measurements (p>0.05), therefore effectiveness. Failure to thrive and malnutrition in infancy and childhood cause health problems that can affect adult life. To conclude, nutritional education - dietary enrichment. recommendations and use of enteral nutrition supplements were both proven beneficial in this study. Researchers are willing to underline that the most important part of the treatment is to include the family to the process to ensure the treatment compliance.

Keywords: enteral nutrition supplements, failure to thrive, malnutrition, nutritional education

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Authors: Kasra Afsahi, Maryam Soheilifar, S. Hossein Hosseini

Abstract:

Background: There is growing evidence that Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA) can be a consequence of Covid-19 infection. Understanding novel treatment approaches are important in optimizing patient outcomes. Case: This case explores the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in the treatment of a 23-year-old COVID-positive female presenting with left hemiparesis in August 2020. Imaging showed right globus pallidus, thalamus, and internal capsule ischemic stroke. Conventional rehabilitation was started two weeks later, with virtual reality (VR) included. This game-based virtual reality (VR) technology developed for stroke patients was based on upper extremity exercises and functions for stroke. Physical examination showed left hemiparesis with muscle strength 3/5 in the upper extremity and 4/5 in the lower extremity. The range of motion of the shoulder was 90-100 degrees. The speech exam showed a mild decrease in fluency. Mild lower lip dynamic asymmetry was seen. Babinski was positive on the left. Gait speed was decreased (75 steps per minute). Intervention: Our game-based VR system was developed based on upper extremity physiotherapy exercises for post-stroke patients to increase the active, voluntary movement of the upper extremity joints and improve the function. The conventional program was initiated with active exercises, shoulder sanding for joint ROMs, walking shoulder, shoulder wheel, and combination movements of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints, alternative flexion-extension, pronation-supination movements, Pegboard and Purdo pegboard exercises. Also, fine movements included smart gloves, biofeedback, finger ladder, and writing. The difficulty of the game increased at each stage of the practice with progress in patient performances. Outcome: After 6 weeks of treatment, gait and speech were normal and upper extremity strength was improved to near normal status. No adverse effects were noted. Conclusion: This case suggests that VR is a useful tool in the treatment of a patient with covid-19 related CVA. The safety of newly developed instruments for such cases provides new approaches to improve the therapeutic outcomes and prognosis as well as increased satisfaction rate among patients.

Keywords: covid-19, stroke, virtual reality, rehabilitation

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Donald Kushon, Jyoti Pillai

Abstract:

Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizure Disorder (PNES) is a challenging clinical problem for the neurologist. This study explores the benefits of on-site collaboration between psychiatry and neurology in the management of PNES. A 3 month period at a university hospital seizure clinic is described detailing specific management approaches taken as a result of this collaboration. This study describes four areas of interest: (1. After the video EEG results confirm the diagnosis of PNES, the presentation of the diagnosis of PNES to the patient. (2. The identification of co-morbid psychiatric illness (3. Treatment with specific psychotherapeutic interventions (including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and psychopharmacologic interventions (primarily SSRIs) and (4. Preliminary treatment outcomes.

Keywords: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), psychogenic non-epileptic seizure disorder (PNES), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), video electroencephalogram (VEEG)

Procedia PDF Downloads 289

Authors: M. Hadji, A. Haddad, Y. Hadji

Abstract:

The effects of boronizing treatment on the friction coefficient and wear behavior of 0.35 Vf TiC- Ti3 SiC2 composite were investigated. In order to modity the surface properties of Ti3SiC2, boronizing treatment was carried out through powder pack cementation in the 1150-1350 °C temperature range. After boronizing treatment, one mixture layer, composed of TiB2 and SiC, forms on the surface of Ti3SiC2. The growth of the coating is processed by inward diffusion of Boron and obeys a linear rule. The Boronizing treatment increases the hardness of Ti3SiC2 from 6 GPa to 13 GPa. In the pin-on-disc test, i twas found that the material undergoes a steady-state coefficient of friction of around 0.8 and 0.45 in case of Ti3SiC2/Al2O3 tribocouple under 7N load for the non treated and the boronized samples, respectively. The wear resistance of Ti3SiC2 underAl2O3 ball sliding has been significantly improved, which indicated that the boronizing treatment is a promising surface modification way of Ti3SiC2.

Keywords: MAX phase, wearing, friction, boronizing

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Authors: Ju Hyun Won, Seok Hong Min, Tae Kwon Ha

Abstract:

Phase equilibria of AZ91D Mg alloys for nonflammable use, containing Ca and Y, were carried out by using FactSage® and FTLite database, which revealed that solid solution treatment, could be performed at temperatures from 400 to 450 °C. Solid solution treatment of AZ91D Mg alloy without Ca and Y was successfully conducted at 420 °C and supersaturated microstructure with all beta phase resolved into matrix was obtained. In the case of AZ91D Mg alloy with some Ca and Y, however, a little amount of intermetallic particles were observed after solid solution treatment. After solid solution treatment, each alloy was annealed at temperatures of 180 and 200 °C for time intervals from 1 min to 48 hrs and hardness of each condition was measured by micro-Vickers method. Peak aging conditions were deduced as at the temperature of 200 °C for 10 hrs.

Keywords: Mg alloy, AZ91D, nonflammable alloy, phase equilibrium, peak aging

Procedia PDF Downloads 401