bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Erste Erfahrungen zur Implementierbarkeit einer internet-basierten Selbsthilfe zur Überbrückung der Wartezeit auf eine ambulante Psychotherapie
Authors: Fuhr Kristina , Fahse Bettina , Hautzinger Martin , Gulewitsch Marco
Published: January 2018

Einleitung Zahlreiche Studien belegen die Wirksamkeit von internet-basierten Selbsthilfeprogrammen. Allerdings bemühen sich nur wenige Untersuchungen um die Integration in die Versorgungssituation. Die vorliegende Arbeit untersuchte die Implementierbarkeit einer internet-basierten Intervention in die ambulante Versorgung von Personen mit depressiven Symptomen während der Wartezeit auf einen Psychotherapieplatz in einer psychotherapeutischen Hochschulambulanz.

Material und Methoden Die Teilnehmer auf der Warteliste für einen ambulanten Psychotherapieplatz wurden zufällig entweder einer Kontrollgruppe oder einer Interventionsgruppe, die einen Zugang zu dem internet-basierten Programm Deprexis während der Wartezeit bekam, zugeteilt. Die depressive Symptomatik wurde vor und nach der Wartezeit erfasst. Außerdem wurden Erwartungen der Teilnehmer erfragt und die Nutzungsdauer des Programms explorativ untersucht.

Ergebnisse Nur etwa die Hälfte der Personen, die über die Studie informiert wurden, bekundeten Interesse. Teilnehmer, die mit dem Programm Deprexis arbeiten konnten, nutzen im Schnitt nur die Hälfte der dargebotenen Themeneinheiten. In beiden Gruppen sank die depressive Symptomatik während der Wartezeit, die Verbesserung war jedoch nicht signifikant.

Diskussion Bei der Integration internet-basierter Interventionen in die Regelversorgung sollte zukünftig eine Anleitung und Begleitung durch einen Psychotherapeuten angedacht sowie Präferenzen der Teilnehmer berücksichtigt werden, um die Adhärenz und damit auch potentiell die Effektivität des Programms zu steigern.

Schlussfolgerungen Internet-basierte Selbsthilfeprogramme zur Überbrückung der Wartezeit auf einen Therapieplatz depressiver Patienten bedürfen der Betreuung („guidance“).
Beck Anxiety Inventory deutsch – Ein reliables, valides und praxisgeeignetes Instrument zur Messung klinischer Angst
Authors: Geissner Edgar , Huetteroth Anne
Published: January 2018

Außer dem Manual für die deutsche Version des Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) liegen für den deutschen Sprachraum keine Berichte zu den psychometrischen Eigenschaften des Verfahrens und dessen Tauglichkeit im klinischen Einsatz vor. Unser Anliegen bestand daher in der unabhängigen psychometrischen Überprüfung nebst Untersuchung als praxisgeeignetes klinisches Instrument. Die vorliegende Studie wurde mit stationären Angstpatienten einer psychosomatischen Klinik an 3 Stichproben – n=145, n=90, n=174 – durchgeführt. Zum Einsatz kam neben dem BAI die Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HamA) als Fremdratingverfahren, das State-Trait-Anxiety Inventory (STAI), die Angstskalen 5 und 7 der Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90) als konvergente Maße, Motivationsskalen (Handlungs- vs. Lageorientierung, die Skala Leistungsorientierung des Freiburger Persönlichkeits Inventars FPI) als divergente Maße sowie das Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) und ein Maß zur Therapiezielerreichung. Patienten wurden bei Aufnahme und bei Entlassung untersucht, ferner katamnestisch nach 6 Monaten. Für Unterstichproben lagen auch Daten zum Anmeldezeitpunkt vor, mithilfe derer der unspezifische Hoffnung-auf-Erfolg Effekt geprüft wurde. Alle Patienten erhielten eine ca. 6wöchige verhaltenstherapeutisch orientierte Therapie. Das deutsche BAI wird unidimensional eingesetzt, es ist ein homogenes, reliables (Retest nach 3 Tagen) Verfahren mit sehr guten Itemeigenschaften. Hinweise für eine gute konvergente bzw. divergente Validität liegen vor; allerdings wurden mittelhohe Zusammenhänge zwischen BAI und BDI II ermittelt. Krankheitsgruppen erzielten klar unterschiedliche Werte. Das Verfahren ist veränderungssensitiv für direkte therapeutische wie auch für unspezifische Effekte. Zielerreichungsratings gehen in charakteristischer Weise einher mit BAI-Werten. Somit ist das BAI ein psychometrisch gut abgesichertes, dabei kurzes und patientenfreundliches Verfahren für den aussagefähigen Einsatz in Klinik und Therapie.
Prävalenz und Phänomenologie fraglich psychotischer Symptome bei Borderline Persönlichkeitsstörungen
Authors: Schroeder Katrin , Schätzle Anja , Kowohl Pauline , Leske Lisa , Huber Christian , Schäfer Ingo
Published: January 2018

Hintergrund Eine Subgruppe von Patientinnen mit Borderline Persönlichkeitsstörung (BPS) berichtet von fraglich psychotischen Symptomen. Die Angaben zur Häufigkeit variieren beträchtlich (bis zu 50% Betroffene). Untersuchungen in Deutschland stehen bislang aus. Weiterhin sind die genaue Phänomenologie dieser Symptome und die Auswirkungen auf Suizidalität und Inanspruchnahme stationärer psychiatrischer Behandlung bisher unklar.

Ziel der Arbeit Es erfolgte die Untersuchung der Prävalenzen und Phänomenologie der fraglich psychotischen Symptome. Assoziationen zwischen letzteren und Suizidalität sowie Inanspruchnahme stationärer psychiatrischer Behandlung wurden unter Berücksichtigung weiterer Einflussfaktoren überprüft.

Methodik Fraglich psychotische Symptome wurden bei 95 BPS-Patientinnen mit dem Strukturierten Klinischen Interview-I erhoben. Zur Überprüfung der Assoziationen zwischen diesen Symptomen und Suizidalität sowie Inanspruchnahme stationärer psychiatrischer Behandlung wurden Korrelations- und Regressionsanalysen berechnet. PTBS-Symptomatik, Ausprägung der BPS und Depressivität wurden berücksichtigt.

Ergebnisse 36% der Pat. berichteten von vielgestaltigen und langanhaltenden Wahrnehmungsveränderungen (WV) und 21% von ebensolchen Wahnvorstellungen. Die Anzahl der Suizidversuche war mit Wahnerleben, WV und Schwere der PTBS-Symptomatik, Ausprägung der BPS und Depressivität assoziiert. 25,8% der Varianz zur Vorhersage der Anzahl der Suizidversuche wurde durch Wahnerleben und PTBS-Symptomschwere erklärt. Für das Alter bei Ersthospitalisation zeigten sich weniger und für die Anzahl der Hospitalisationen keine Assoziationen.

Diskussion Fraglich psychotische Symptome sollten nicht trivialisiert werden, was möglicherweise durch die Nutzung von Begrifflichkeiten wie Pseudohalluzinationen oder vorübergehende paranoide Vorstellungen geschieht und können insbesondere mit Suizidalität assoziiert sein, wodurch das klinische Bild erschwert wird.
Analytical modelling for predicting the sound field of planar acoustic metasurface
Authors: Zhou Jie , Zhang Xin , Fang Yi
Published: January 2018

An analytical model is built to predict the acoustic fields of acoustic metasurfaces. The acoustic fields are investigated for a Gaussian sound beam incident on the acoustic metasurfaces. The Gaussian sound beam is decomposed into a set of discrete elementary plane waves. The diffraction caused by the acoustic metasurfaces can be obtained using this analytical model, which is validated with the numerical simulations for the different incident angles of the Gaussian sound beam. This model overcomes the limitation of the method based on the generalised Snell's law which can only predict the direction of a specific diffracted order. Actually, this analytical model can be also used to predict the sound fields of acoustic metasurfaces under any incident sound if its Fourier transforms exist. This conclusion is demonstrated by studying the sound field for a point sound source incident on the acoustic metasurface. The acoustic admittances of acoustic metasurfaces are required in the calculation of the analytical model. Therefore, a numerical method for obtaining the effective acoustic admittances is proposed for the structurally complex metasurfaces without the analytical expressions of material properties, such as equivalent density and sound speed.
Converging many-body correlation energies by means of sequence extrapolation
Authors: Segarra-Martí J. , Garavelli M. , Aquilante F.
Published: January 2018

We present an extrapolation scheme for the correlation energy in many-body theory that requires only a relatively small fraction of the orbitals spanning the virtual space but recovers nearly the whole dynamic correlation energy, independently of the single- or multi-reference nature of the problem. Applications to both ground-state chemistry and photochemistry are discussed that clearly show how such an extrapolation scheme can be used to overcome the scaling walls in ab initio quantum chemistry arising from the sheer number of molecular orbitals needed for very accurate calculations.
A highly stable monolithic enhancement cavity for second harmonic generation in the ultraviolet
Authors: Hannig S. , Mielke J. , Fenske J. A. , Misera M. , Beev N. , Ospelkaus C. , Schmidt P. O.
Published: January 2018

We present a highly stable bow-tie power enhancement cavity for critical second harmonic generation (SHG) into the UV using a Brewster-cut β-BaB2O4 (BBO) nonlinear crystal. The cavity geometry is suitable for all UV wavelengths reachable with BBO and can be modified to accommodate anti-reflection coated crystals, extending its applicability to the entire wavelength range accessible with non-linear frequency conversion. The cavity is length-stabilized using a fast general purpose digital PI controller based on the open source STEMlab 125-14 (formerly Red Pitaya) system acting on a mirror mounted on a fast piezo actuator. We observe 130 h uninterrupted operation without decay in output power at 313 nm. The robustness of the system has been confirmed by exposing it to accelerations of up to 1 g with less than 10% in-lock output power variations. Furthermore, the cavity can withstand 30 min of acceleration exposure at a level of 3 grms without substantial change in the SHG output power, demonstrating that the design is suitable for transportable setups.
Thermoreflectance imaging of electromigration evolution in asymmetric aluminum constrictions
Authors: Tian Hao , Ahn Woojin , Maize Kerry , Si Mengwei , Ye Peide , Alam Muhammad Ashraful , Shakouri Ali , Bermel Peter
Published: January 2018

Electromigration (EM) is a phenomenon whereby the flow of current in metal wires moves the underlying atoms, potentially inducing electronic interconnect failures. The continued decrease in commercial lithographically defined feature sizes means that EM presents an increasing risk to the reliability of modern electronics. To mitigate these risks, it is important to look for novel mechanisms to extend lifetime without forfeiting miniaturization. Typically, only the overall increase in the interconnect resistance and failure voltage are characterized. However, if the current flows non-uniformly, spatially resolving the resulting hot spots during electromigration aging experiments may provide better insights into the fundamental mechanisms of this process. In this study, we focus on aluminum interconnects containing asymmetric reservoir and void pairs with contact pads on each end. Such reservoirs are potential candidates for self-healing. Thermoreflectance imaging was used to detect hot spots in electrical interconnects at risk of failure as the voltage was gradually increased. It reveals differential heating with increasing voltage for each polarity. We find that while current flow going from a constriction to a reservoir causes a break at the void, the identical structure with the opposite polarity can sustain higher current (J = 21 × 106 A/cm2) and more localized joule heating and yet is more stable. Ultimately, a break takes place at the contact pad where the current flows from narrow interconnect to larger pads. In summary, thermoreflectance imaging with submicron spatial resolution provides valuable information about localized electromigration evolution and the potential role of reservoirs to create more robust interconnects.
Exact eigenfunction amplitude distributions of integrable quantum billiards
Authors: Samajdar Rhine , Jain Sudhir R.
Published: January 2018

The exact probability distributions of the amplitudes of eigenfunctions, Ψ(x, y), of several integrable planar billiards are analytically calculated and shown to possess singularities at Ψ = 0; the nature of this singularity is shape-dependent. In particular, we prove that the distribution function for a rectangular quantum billiard is proportional to the complete elliptic integral, K(1 − Ψ2), and demonstrate its universality, modulo a weak dependence on quantum numbers. On the other hand, we study the low-lying states of nonseparable, integrable triangular billiards and find the distributions thereof to be described by the Meijer G-function or certain hypergeometric functions. Our analysis captures a marked departure from the Gaussian distributions for chaotic billiards in its survey of the fluctuations of the eigenfunctions about Ψ = 0.
Ultra-efficient modulation of BaTiO3 crystal thin film waveguide with a two-dimensional optic-electric field matching scheme
Authors: Luo Mengxi , Sun DeGui
Published: January 2018

For the BaTiO3 crystal thin-film waveguides, a new electro-optic (EO) modulating scheme of a two-dimensional (2D) matching method between the optical field of the lightwave working signal and the electric field of the microwave driving signal is investigated with an embedded device regime. In this 2D matching method, the two central parameters for determining the optical refractive index modulation (RIM) efficiency are (i) the overlap integral between optic and electric fields and (ii) the electric-field strength of the modulating signal, both of which are dependent of the allowable electrode gap. As a result, the higher the electric-field strength is created by the imposed drive voltage crossing the electrode gap, the higher an overlap integral is reached, and consequently, at the smallest allowable electrode gap of 4.5 μm, the usual maximum 65% overlap integral of the traditional co-planar waveguide (CPW) regime based one-dimensional (1D) matching method has been improved to 88%. Thus, for a given BaTiO3 crystal thin-film having EO coefficient r51 = 500 pm/V, when the birefringence values are −0.001 and −0.005, with the CPW device regime, the optical RIM efficiencies are 4.88 × 10−4/V and 1.83 × 10−4/V, respectively, while with the embedded regime based 2D EO matching scheme, the RIM efficiencies are improved to 8.84 × 10−4/V and 3.31 × 10−4/V, respectively, leading to the modulation efficiency improvement of 81% for any birefringence.
Improving the thermoelectric performance in Mg3+xSb1.5Bi0.49Te0.01 by reducing excess Mg
Authors: Imasato Kazuki , Ohno Saneyuki , Kang Stephen Dongmin , Snyder G. Jeffrey
Published: January 2018

The thermoelectric performance of Mg3+xSb1.5Bi0.49Te0.01 was improved by reducing the amount of excess Mg (x = 0.01-0.2). A 20% reduction in effective lattice thermal conductivity at 600 K was observed by decreasing the nominal x from 0.2 to 0.01 in Mg3+xSb1.5Bi0.49Te0.01, leading to a 20% improvement in the figure-of-merit zT. Since materials with different amounts of Mg have similar electronic properties, the enhancement is attributed primarily to the reduction in thermal conductivity. It is known that excess Mg is required to make n-type Mg3+xSb1.5Bi0.49Te0.01; however, too much excess Mg in the material increases the thermal conductivity and is therefore detrimental for the overall thermoelectric performance of the material.
Optical studies of native defects in π-conjugated donor–acceptor copolymers
Authors: Baniya Sangita , Khanal Dipak , Lafalce Evan , You Wei , Valy Vardeny Z.
Published: January 2018

We used multiple spectroscopies such as photoinduced absorption (PIA), magneto photoinduced absorption, and doping induced absorption for studying native defects in π-conjugated donor–acceptor copolymer chains of benzodithio-phene fluorinated benzotriazole. The PIA spectrum contains characteristic photoinduced absorption bands that are due to polarons and triplet exciton species, whose strengths have different dependencies on the modulation frequency, temperature, and laser excitation, as well as magnetic field response. We found that the native defects in the copolymer chains serve as efficient traps that ionize the photoexcited excitons, thereby generating charge carriers whose characteristic optical properties are similar, but not equal to those of intrachain polarons formed by doping. The native defects density is of the order of 1017 cm−3 indicating that most of the copolymer chains contain native defects upon synthesis; however, this does not preclude their used-for photovoltaic applications.
Comparison between the water activation effects by pulsed and sinusoidal helium plasma jets
Authors: Xu Han , Liu Dingxin , Xia Wenjie , Chen Chen , Wang Weitao , Liu Zhijie , Wang Xiaohua , Kong Michael G.
Published: January 2018

Comparisons between pulsed and sinusoidal plasma jets have been extensively reported for the discharge characteristics and gaseous reactive species, but rarely for the aqueous reactive species in water solutions treated by the two types of plasma jets. This motivates us to compare the concentrations of aqueous reactive species induced by a pulsed and a sinusoidal plasma jet, since it is widely reported that these aqueous reactive species play a crucial role in various plasma biomedical applications. Experimental results show that the aqueous H2O2, OH/O2−, and O2−/ONOO− induced by the pulsed plasma jet have higher concentrations, and the proportional difference increases with the discharge power. However, the emission intensities of OH(A) and O(3p5P) are higher for the sinusoidal plasma jet, which may be attributed to its higher gas temperature since more water vapor could participate in the plasma. In addition, the efficiency of bacterial inactivation induced by the pulsed plasma jet is higher than that for the sinusoidal plasma jet, in accordance with the concentration relation of aqueous reactive species for the two types of plasma jets.
Insulator-semiconductor interface fixed charges in AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor devices with Al2O3 or AlTiO gate dielectrics
Authors: Le Son Phuong , Nguyen Duong Dai , Suzuki Toshi-kazu
Published: January 2018

We have investigated insulator-semiconductor interface fixed charges in AlGaN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) devices with Al2O3 or AlTiO (an alloy of Al2O3 and TiO2) gate dielectrics obtained by atomic layer deposition on AlGaN. Analyzing insulator-thickness dependences of threshold voltages for the MIS devices, we evaluated positive interface fixed charges, whose density at the AlTiO/AlGaN interface is significantly lower than that at the Al2O3/AlGaN interface. This and a higher dielectric constant of AlTiO lead to rather shallower threshold voltages for the AlTiO gate dielectric than for Al2O3. The lower interface fixed charge density also leads to the fact that the two-dimensional electron concentration is a decreasing function of the insulator thickness for AlTiO, whereas being an increasing function for Al2O3. Moreover, we discuss the relationship between the interface fixed charges and interface states. From the conductance method, it is shown that the interface state densities are very similar at the Al2O3/AlGaN and AlTiO/AlGaN interfaces. Therefore, we consider that the lower AlTiO/AlGaN interface fixed charge density is not owing to electrons trapped at deep interface states compensating the positive fixed charges and can be attributed to a lower density of oxygen-related interface donors.
Ethical leadership
Authors: Sheer Vivian C. , Liu Shuang , Huang Lei
Published: January 2018

Mainstream ethical leadership studies largely adoptBrown, Trevino, and Harrison’s (2005)conceptualization and operationalization. Ethical leadership has been found to predict positive individual and organizational outcomes. An examination of the mainstream literature reveals several weaknesses that include the lack of a well-developed theoretical framework, the marginalized role of communication in leadership processes, and a low correspondence between conceptualization and operationalization. In addition to these weaknesses, Chinese ethical leadership studies meet additional challenges regarding the relative impacts of universality and cultural specificity. The Chinese literature consists of empirical research adopting the mainstream Western ethical leadership construct, point-of-view articles stressing Chinese cultural roots, and research considering both universal and cultural characteristics. This paper argues that future development in Chinese ethical leadership research can begin by conceiving a construct model that denotes communication as a key leadership behavior, explicates the relative importance of universal versus cultural influences, and defines key cultural components.
Advertising appeals and Malaysian culture norms
Authors: Raza Syed Hassan , Abu Bakar Hassan , Mohamad Bahtiar
Published: January 2018

The ongoing development of the strategic communication research in the area of the advertising calls for the development and validation of the measurement instruments that can address the indulgence of the advertising appeals in a specific cultural context. Therefore, the present study examines and validate advertising appeals by considering the norms based on the GLOBE nine cultural dimensions in Malaysian context. The analysis involved data from 10 advertising expert for content validation, followed by 10 advertising expert rating and ranking of the scale of its relevance and clarity to assess the item-level content validation. The results provided to support the impact of cultural norms are substantial for Malaysian advertising, which are identified from content validation procedure.
Towards measuring internal crisis communication
Authors: Adamu Adamu Abbas , Mohamad Bahtiar Bin , Abdul Rahman Nik Adzrieman Bin
Published: January 2018

Researchers are often faced with challenges of measurements for the phenomena of their interest. Progress in such situation can only be done through developing new measurements. Therefore, grounded on the pool of items generated from previous literature, this study takes a qualitative approach to develop a valid measure for internal crisis communication following two stage of Churchill’s seminal theory. This study used semi-structured in-depth interviews for collecting data with a sample of 12 informants who are employees of an electric distribution company in Nigeria. The findings of this study indicated that the new internal crisis communication measure improved the quality of communication between management and employee during crisis. This study could provide policy makers, regulators, managers, and government on how to improve the crisis management among stakeholders. Also, the study is significant to the literature particularly in developing economy on crisis management that is lacking. Further study could look at internal stakeholders during crisis in other sectors.
Inclusive ethnographies
Authors: Szabó Tamás Péter , Troyer Robert A.
Published: January 2018

In ethnographically oriented linguistic landscape studies, social spaces are
studied in co-operation with research participants, many times through mobile
encounters such as walking. Talking, walking, photographing and video recording
as well as writing the fieldwork diary are activities that result in the
accumulation of heterogeneous, multimodal corpora. We analyze data from a
Hungarian school ethnography project to reconstruct fieldwork encounters and
analyze embodiment, the handling of devices (e.g. the photo camera) and verbal
interaction in exploratory, participant-led walking tours. Our analysis shows
that situated practices of embodied conduct and verbal interaction blur the
boundaries between observation and observers, and thus LL research is not only
about space- and place-making and sense-making routines, but the fieldwork
encounters are also transformative and contribute to space- and place-making
themselves. Our findings provide insight for ethnographic researchers and enrich
the already robust qualitative and quantitative strategies employed in the
field.
Genre and metacultural displays
Authors: Järlehed Johan
Published: January 2018

This paper argues that studies of the LL could merit from a more detailed social semiotic examination of particular sign-genres. It describes genre as normative system open to change, on the one hand, and as complex historical and cultural configurations of semiotic resources and affordances, on the other. Based on illustrative analysis of how the discursive interaction of ‘pride’ and ‘profit’ is affecting Galician and Basque street-name signing, the paper makes the following points: (1) genre depends on discourse, and discourse depends on genre; (2) particular materializations of a genre actualize distinct resources and highlight different affordances; (3) detailed and contextualized analysis of determined sign genres can reveal ideological layering in the LL; (4) when a genre is taken ‘out of place’ or is recontextualized, its typical repertoire of resources is rearranged and new affordances emerge.
“When you speak to a police officer and (call them)du”
Authors: Blood Rosalind
Published: January 2018

This study examines the development of pragmatic awareness of the German second person pronoun system by Australian study-abroad participants during a six-week language course in Germany. Data includes oral pre- and post- Language Awareness Interviews, semi-structured interviews and participant observation. Students displayed a greater awareness of the German address system and showed a growing confidence and sophistication in justifying their choices of address forms as well as an increased reliance on information acquired from native and expert speakers throughout their stay in Germany. Interview data and field notes indicate that students were socialised into second language (L2) practices of address term use by way of explicit correction from L2 speech community members on incorrect use of address forms. Such correction appears to have influenced their pragmatic development. The study supports previous research stating that even short stays abroad can encourage improvement in language features that are difficult to acquire in the classroom (Hassall, 2013) and shows why this is particularly beneficial in the context of German Studies due to the preference for direct and explicit speech in the German speech community.
“Hold the phone!”
Authors: Marks Annie
Published: January 2018

The initial paradigm of Video Relay Service (VRS) in the United States viewed interpreters as merely conduits for telephone communication; however, this paradigm has begun to shift. Recent research suggests that VRS interpreters are actively involved in coordinating interpreted interaction (Marks 2015;Warnicke and Plejert 2012,2016). This study aims add to the body of VRS research by analyzing features of turn management in ASL-English video relay interpreted calls. These features of turn management are grouped into two categories: techniques and strategies. Techniques denote acts that are performed in addition to the rendition, and strategies refer to instances of turn management that are embedded within renditions. Results show that VRS interpreters employ a variety of turn management techniques and strategies, especially in cases of overlapping talk between Deaf and hearing callers. The findings presented are relevant to the shifting paradigm of VRS interpreter work and training.
Why is that creature grunting?
Authors: Costal Tomás
Published: January 2018

Video games today are highly complex audiovisual products. Their nature is not
only multisemiotic but also interactive. Their potential audience has certain
expectations and, especially in the case of digital blockbusters, final users
need the advantage of knowledge and the force of numbers. A faux
pas in design, continuity or playability will most likely be
conducive to social media outrage, and will see official apologies be released
presently. Conversely, accessibility shortcomings rarely or never have the same
impact.

The present study puts forward the advantages of including Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH) in
popular video games and offers an in-depth analysis of a selection of recent
multimedia titles. Drawing on the work of Bernal Merino (2015), O’Hagan
and Mangiron (2013) and Trabattoni (2014) on the special characteristics of video games, the
main elements around which they are structured and the aspects that determine
their success or failure, the author will endeavour to advance a convincing
argument in favour of the introduction of SDH subtitling conventions.
Development and validation of a high-resolution mapping platform to
aid in the public awareness of radiological hazards
Authors: Martin Peter G , Connor Dean , Payton Oliver D , Leal-Olloqui Macarena , Keatley Anya C , Scott Thomas B
Published: January 2018

The distribution, quantification and exposure-related effects of radiation in the
environment, arising from both natural and anthropogenic sources, is of great
(and growing) concern for global populations. Recent events at the Fukushima
Daiichi Nuclear Plant (FDNPP) have further highlighted the importance of
developing radiation mapping technologies that not only contribute to the
continued assessment of contamination, but can serve as an educational tool for
members of the public regarding both its behaviour and extent. With an even
greater number of people possessing smart-phone technology, a lightweight and
portable ‘connected system’ has been developed to demonstrate to
users the calibrated radioactive dose rate in an area, viewable in real-time
through a dedicated phone application. As well as allowing for system users to
be alerted where variations in dose rate are experienced, the combined results
from multiple systems are viewable through a custom-built desktop
application—permitting the output obtained via any number of units to be
similarly displayed in real-time. A successful initial trialling of the system
is described at a former tin mine in Cornwall (south-west England)—known
to exhibit low, but identifiable radiation anomalies in discrete areas.
Additional applications outside of its educational usage are also discussed.
Computational drug repositioning using low-rank matrix approximation and randomized algorithms
Authors: Luo Huimin , Li Min , Wang Shaokai , Liu Quan , Li Yaohang , Wang Jianxin
Published: January 2018

Motivation

Computational drug repositioning is an important and efficient approach towards identifying novel treatments for diseases in drug discovery. The emergence of large-scale, heterogeneous biological and biomedical datasets has provided an unprecedented opportunity for developing computational drug repositioning methods. The drug repositioning problem can be modeled as a recommendation system that recommends novel treatments based on known drug–disease associations. The formulation under this recommendation system is matrix completion, assuming that the hidden factors contributing to drug–disease associations are highly correlated and thus the corresponding data matrix is low-rank. Under this assumption, the matrix completion algorithm fills out the unknown entries in the drug–disease matrix by constructing a low-rank matrix approximation, where new drug–disease associations having not been validated can be screened.

Results

In this work, we propose a drug repositioning recommendation system (DRRS) to predict novel drug indications by integrating related data sources and validated information of drugs and diseases. Firstly, we construct a heterogeneous drug–disease interaction network by integrating drug–drug, disease–disease and drug–disease networks. The heterogeneous network is represented by a large drug–disease adjacency matrix, whose entries include drug pairs, disease pairs, known drug–disease interaction pairs and unknown drug–disease pairs. Then, we adopt a fast Singular Value Thresholding (SVT) algorithm to complete the drug–disease adjacency matrix with predicted scores for unknown drug–disease pairs. The comprehensive experimental results show that DRRS improves the prediction accuracy compared with the other state-of-the-art approaches. In addition, case studies for several selected drugs further demonstrate the practical usefulness of the proposed method.

Availability and implementation

http://bioinformatics.csu.edu.cn/resources/softs/DrugRepositioning/DRRS/index.html

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
pepKalc: scalable and comprehensive calculation of electrostatic interactions in random coil polypeptides
Authors: Tamiola Kamil , Scheek Ruud M , van der Meulen Pieter , Mulder Frans A A
Published: January 2018

Motivation

Polypeptide sequence length is the single dominant factor hampering the effectiveness of currently available software tools for de novo calculation of amino acid-specific protonation constants in disordered polypeptides.

Results

We have developed pepKalc, a robust simulation software for the comprehensive evaluation of protein electrostatics in unfolded states. Our software completely removes the limitations of the previously reported Monte-Carlo approaches in the computation of protein electrostatics by using a hybrid approach that effectively combines exact and mean-field calculations to rapidly obtain accurate results. Paired with a modern architecture GPU, pepKalc is capable of evaluating protonation behavior for an arbitrary-size polypeptide in a sub-second time regime.

Availability and implementation

http://protein-nmr.org and https://github.com/PeptoneInc/pepkalc
Spatial patterns of large jellyfish Chrysaora plocamia blooms in the Northern Humboldt Upwelling System in relation to biological drivers and climate
Authors: Quiñones Javier , Chiaverano Luciano M , Ayón Patricia , Adams Grant D , Mianzan Hermes W , Acha E Marcelo
Published: January 2018

In the Northern Humboldt Upwelling System (NHUS), one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, the large jellyfish Chrysaora plocamia exhibits high inter-annual variability in population size, often resulting in massive blooms. In this study, we examined the geographic patterns C. plocamia in the NHUS and their spatial overlap with ichthyoplankton, zooplankton, and chlorophyll a concentration (Chl a) during two El Niño (EN) years (1982–1983 and 1986–1987), and a neutral year (2014). During EN years, the spatial extent of C. plocamia medusae was larger than in the neutral year. In 1982–1983, medusae were concentrated mainly in the central-southern and southern regions of Peru, where they were associated with zooplankton, sardine larvae, and Chl a. In 1986–1987, medusae occurred in the northern and southern regions and spatially overlapped with sardine larvae and Chl a, and with zooplankton and anchoveta larvae, respectively. In 2014, medusae occurred mainly in the northern region, where they were associated with zooplankton, Chl a, and anchoveta eggs and larvae. Our results indicate strong EN effects on the distribution and abundance of C. plocamia, which can have consequences for zooplankton and ichthyoplankton abundance, as well as fisheries, in the NHUS.
Prospective Tractography-Based Targeting for Improved Safety of Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy
Authors: Krishna Vibhor , Sammartino Francesco , Agrawal Punit , Changizi Barbara K , Bourekas Eric , Knopp Michael V , Rezai Ali
Published: January 2018

BACKGROUND

Focused ultrasound thalamotomy (FUS-T) was recently approved for the treatment of refractory essential tremor (ET). Despite its noninvasive approach, FUS-T reinitiated concerns about the adverse effects and long-term efficacy after lesioning.

OBJECTIVE

To prospectively assess the outcomes of FUS-T in 10 ET patients using tractography-based targeting of the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM).

METHODS

VIM was identified at the intercommissural plane based on its neighboring tracts: the pyramidal tract and medial lemniscus. FUS-T was performed at the center of tractography-defined VIM. Tremor outcomes, at baseline and 3 mo, were assessed independently by the Tremor Research Group. We analyzed targeting coordinates, clinical outcomes, and adverse events. The FUS-T lesion location was analyzed in relation to unbiased thalamic parcellation using probabilisitic tractography. Quantitative diffusion-weighted imaging changes were also studied in fiber tracts of interest.

RESULTS

The tractography coordinates were more anterior than the standard. Intraoperatively, therapeutic sonications at the tractography target improved tremor (>50% improvement) without motor or sensory side effects. Sustained improvement in tremor was observed at 3 mo (tremor score: 18.3 ± 6.9 vs 8.1 ± 4.4, P = .001). No motor weakness and sensory deficits after FUS-T were observed during 6-mo follow-up. Ataxia was observed in 3 patients. FUS-T lesions overlapped with the VIM parcellated with probablisitic tractography. Significant microstructural changes were observed in the white matter connecting VIM with cerebellum and motor cortex.

CONCLUSION

This is the first report of prospective VIM targeting with tractography for FUS-T. These results suggest that tractography-guided targeting is safe and has satisfactory short-term clinical outcomes.
A set of experimentally validated, mutually orthogonal primers for combinatorially specifying genetic components
Authors: Subramanian Subu K , Russ William P , Ranganathan Rama
Published: January 2018

The design and synthesis of novel genes and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences is a central technique in synthetic biology. Current methods of high throughput gene synthesis use pooled oligonucleotides obtained from custom-designed DNA microarray chips, and rely on orthogonal (non-interacting) polymerase chain reaction primers to specifically de-multiplex, by amplification, the precise subset of oligonucleotides necessary to assemble a full length gene. The availability of a large validated set of mutually orthogonal primers is therefore a crucial reagent for high-throughput gene synthesis. Here, we present a set of 166 20-nucleotide primers that are experimentally verified to be non-interacting, capable of specifying 13 695 unique genes. These primers represent a valuable resource to the synthetic biology community for specifying genetic components that can be assembled through a scalable and modular architecture.
An Exploration of Emergency Physicians’ Attitudes Toward Patients With Substance Use Disorder
Authors: Mendiola Cecelia Kathleen , Galetto Giorgio , Fingerhood Michael
Published: January 2018

Objectives:

Much is known about some healthcare professionals’ attitudes toward patients with substance use disorders, but few studies have specifically looked at emergency department (ED) physicians. Individuals with substance use disorders are more likely to be people who chronically, frequently use the ED, and thus ED physicians are in a unique position to provide early identification and intervention for people struggling with addiction. The purpose of this study was to understand ED physicians’ attitudes toward patients with substance use disorder with the aim of decreasing stigma and improving the care of ED patients with substance use disorder.

Methods:

An anonymous Qualtrics survey was emailed to 115 emergency physicians in the Johns Hopkins Health System. The survey contained (1) demographics and (2) the medical condition regard scale, http://links.lww.com/JAM/A67. Participants were offered a $10 Amazon gift card to complete the survey.

Results:

The response rate was 50% (n = 58) and the completion rate was 43% (n = 50). Physicians had lower regard for patients with substance use disorders than other medical conditions with behavioral components. Of note, 54% of respondents indicated that they at least “somewhat agree” that they “prefer not to work with patients with substance use who have pain.”

Conclusions:

A significant portion of our study population had low regard for patients with substance use. Future research is needed to determine significant contributing factors and develop interventions to mitigate negative attitudes among ED physicians toward patients with substance use disorder.
Effect of Epidural Infusion Bolus Delivery Rate on the Duration of Labor Analgesia
Authors: Lange Elizabeth M. S. , Wong Cynthia A. , Fitzgerald Paul C. , Davila Wilmer F. , Rao Suman , McCarthy Robert J. , Toledo Paloma
Published: January 2018

Background

Programmed intermittent boluses of local anesthetic have been shown to be superior to continuous infusions for maintenance of labor analgesia. High-rate epidural boluses increase delivery pressure at the catheter orifice and may improve drug distribution in the epidural space. We hypothesized that high-rate drug delivery would improve labor analgesia and reduce the requirement for provider-administered supplemental boluses for breakthrough pain.

Methods

Nulliparous women with a singleton pregnancy at a cervical dilation of less than or equal to 5 cm at request for neuraxial analgesia were eligible for this superiority-design, double-blind, randomized controlled trial. Neuraxial analgesia was initiated with intrathecal fentanyl 25 μg. The maintenance epidural solution was bupivacaine 0.625 mg/ml with fentanyl 1.95 μg/ml. Programmed (every 60 min) intermittent boluses (10 ml) and patient controlled bolus (5 ml bolus, lockout interval: 10 min) were administered at a rate of 100 ml/h (low-rate) or 300 ml/h (high-rate). The primary outcome was percentage of patients requiring provider-administered supplemental bolus analgesia.

Results

One hundred eight women were randomized to the low- and 102 to the high-rate group. Provider-administered supplemental bolus doses were requested by 44 of 108 (40.7%) in the low- and 37 of 102 (36.3%) in the high-rate group (difference –4.4%; 95% CI of the difference, –18.5 to 9.1%; P = 0.67). Patient requested/delivered epidural bolus ratio and the hourly bupivacaine consumption were not different between groups. No subject had an adverse event.

Conclusions

Labor analgesia quality, assessed by need for provider- and patient-administered supplemental analgesia and hourly bupivacaine consumption was not improved by high-rate epidural bolus administration.
Postoperative Inflammation After Endoscopic Cyclophotocoagulation: Racial Distribution and Effect on Outcomes
Authors: Edmiston Anna M. , SooHoo Jeffrey R. , Seibold Leonard K. , Kahook Malik Y. , Palestine Alan G. , Pantcheva Mina B.
Published: January 2018

Purpose:

To assess the prevalence of postoperative anterior chamber reaction or persistent anterior uveitis (PAU) by race and its effect on intraocular pressure (IOP) and visual acuity (VA) after combined phacoemulsification and endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation (ECP) in primary open-angle glaucoma.

Patients and Methods:

A retrospective analysis of all patients with primary open-angle glaucoma who underwent combined phacoemulsification cataract extraction with ECP from January 1, 2007 to October 31, 2015. VA, IOP, presence of anterior chamber cells, steroid treatment, and number of IOP lowering drops were analyzed preoperatively and up to 3 months postoperatively. Patients were categorized according to self-reported race. PAU was treated according to severity and presence of symptoms.

Results:

Two hundred twenty-three eyes met the inclusion criteria. PAU was present in 22.4% of eyes. PAU was significantly correlated with race, particularly African American race. PAU was also associated with a lack of improvement in inflammation at week 1 compared with day 1 postoperatively. However, there was no significant difference in VA, IOP, or reduction of IOP lowering drops in those with or without PAU. When comparing African Americans to whites, PAU and its treatment were not associated with a difference in IOP reduction at 3 months.

Conclusions:

PAU is common after combined phacoemulsification and ECP and is significantly correlated with race. Although PAU may require prolonged postoperative treatment, our data does not support poorer VA or IOP outcomes.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of genetic risk factors for neuropathic pain
Authors: Veluchamy Abirami , Hébert Harry L. , Meng Weihua , Palmer Colin N.A. , Smith Blair H.
Published: January 2018

Neuropathic pain (NP) is an increasingly common chronic pain state and a major health burden, affecting approximately 7% to 10% of the general population. Emerging evidence suggests that genetic factors could partially explain individual susceptibility to NP and the estimated heritability in twins is 37%. The aim of this study was to systematically review and summarize the studies in humans that have investigated the influence of genetic factors associated with NP. We conducted a comprehensive literature search and performed meta-analyses of all the potential genetic variants associated with NP. We reviewed 29 full-text articles and identified 28 genes that were significantly associated with NP, mainly involved in neurotransmission, immune response, and metabolism. Genetic variants in HLA genes, COMT, OPRM1, TNFA, IL6, and GCH1, were found to have an association with NP in more than one study. In the meta-analysis, polymorphisms in HLA-DRB1*13 (odds ratio [OR], 2.96; confidence interval [CI], 1.93-4.56), HLA-DRB1*04 (OR, 1.40; CI, 1.02-1.93), HLA-DQB1*03 (OR, 2.86; CI, 1.57-5.21), HLA-A*33 (OR, 2.32; CI, 1.42-3.80), and HLA-B*44 (OR, 3.17; CI, 2.22-4.55) were associated with significantly increased risk of developing NP, whereas HLA-A*02 (OR, 0.64; CI, 0.47-0.87) conferred reduced risk and neither rs1799971 in OPRM1 (OR, 0.55; CI, 0.27-1.11) nor rs4680 in COMT (OR, 0.95; CI, 0.81-1.13) were significantly associated with NP. These findings demonstrate an important and specific contribution of genetic factors to the risk of developing NP. However, large-scale replication studies are required to validate these candidate genes. Our review also highlights the need for genome-wide association studies with consistent case definition to elucidate the genetic architecture underpinning NP.
Individuals with Unilateral Transtibial Amputation and Lower Activity Levels Walk More Quickly when Using a Hydraulically Articulating Versus Rigidly Attached Prosthetic Ankle-Foot Device
Authors: Barnett Cleveland T. , Brown Olivia H. , Bisele Maria , Brown Marcus J. , De Asha Alan R. , Strutzenberger Gerda
Published: January 2018

Introduction

Prosthetic ankle-foot devices incorporating a hydraulic articulation between the pylon and prosthetic foot have been shown to be beneficial to the gait of more active individuals with unilateral transtibial amputation (UTA). However, the functional benefits of using hydraulic ankle-foot devices to less active individuals with UTA are yet to be determined. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects on gait performance of using a non-energy-storage-and-return foot with a hydraulic attachment compared with an identical rigidly attached foot during overground walking in less active individuals with UTA.

Materials and Methods

Kinematic and kinetic data were recorded while five individuals with UTA, deemed K2 activity level by their prescribing physician, performed two-minute walk tests (2MWTs) and 10 overground gait trials in two conditions: using a hydraulically articulating ankle-foot device (HYD) and using a rigidly attached ankle-foot device (RIG).

Results

Walking speed during the 2MWT was increased by 6.5% on average in the HYD (1.07 m/second) condition compared with the RIG (1.01 m/second) condition (Cohen d = 0.4). Participants displayed more symmetrical interlimb loading (d = 0.8), increased minimum forward center of pressure velocity (d = 0.8), increased peak shank rotational velocity (d = 1.0), and decreased prosthetic energy efficiency (d = 0.7) when using the HYD compared with the RIG device.

Conclusions

Individuals with lower activity levels walk faster and therefore further when using a foot with a hydraulically articulating attachment in comparison with a rigid attachment. A reduced braking effect in early stance phase as a result of the action of the hydraulic component present in the articulating attachment partially explains the improvement in walking performance.