Comparing online and face-to-face student counselling: what therapeutic goals are identified and what are the implications for educational providers?

Online counselling is increasingly being used as an alternative to face-to-face student counselling. Using an exploratory mixed methods design, this project investigates the practice by examining the types of therapeutic goals that 11 to 25 year olds identify online in routine practice. These goals are then compared to goals identified in equivalent school and community-based counselling services. 1,137 online goals (expressed by 504 young people) and 221 face-to-face goals (expressed by 220 young people) were analysed for key themes using grounded theory techniques. This analysis identified three core categories (1) Intrapersonal Goals, (2) Interpersonal Goals, and (3) Intrapersonal Goals directly related to others. Further statistical analysis of these themes indicated that online and face-to-face services appear to be being used in different ways by students. These differences are discussed alongside the implications for professionals working in educational settings

Microscopic image classification using sparsity in a transform domain and Bayesian learning

Some biomedical images show a large quantity of different junctions and sharp corners. It is possible to classify several types of biomedical images in a region covariance approach. Cancer cell line images are divided into small blocks and covariance matrices of image blocks are computed. Eigen-values of the covariance matrices are used as classification parameters in a Bayesian framework using the sparsity of the parameters in a transform domain. The efficiency of the proposed method over classification using standard Support Vector Machines (SVM) is demonstrated on biomedical image data. © 2011 EURASIP

A multiplication-free framework for signal processing and applications in biomedical image analysis

A new framework for signal processing is introduced based on a novel vector product definition that permits a multiplier-free implementation. First a new product of two real numbers is defined as the sum of their absolute values, with the sign determined by product of the hard-limited numbers. This new product of real numbers is used to define a similar product of vectors in RN. The new vector product of two identical vectors reduces to a scaled version of the l1 norm of the vector. The main advantage of this framework is that it yields multiplication-free computationally efficient algorithms for performing some important tasks in signal processing. An application to the problem of cancer cell line image classification is presented that uses the notion of a co-difference matrix that is analogous to a covariance matrix except that the vector products are based on our new proposed framework. Results show the effectiveness of this approach when the proposed co-difference matrix is compared with a covariance matrix. © 2013 IEEE

Quantification of fractional flow reserve based on angiographic image data

Coronary angiography provides excellent visualization of coronary arteries, but has limitations in assessing the clinical significance of a coronary stenosis. Fractional flow reserve (FFR) has been shown to be reliable in discerning stenoses responsible for inducible ischemia. The purpose of this study is to validate a technique for FFR quantification using angiographic image data. The study was carried out on 10 anesthetized, closed-chest swine using angioplasty balloon catheters to produce partial occlusion. Angiography based FFR was calculated from an angiographically measured ratio of coronary blood flow to arterial lumen volume. Pressure-based FFR was measured from a ratio of distal coronary pressure to aortic pressure. Pressure-wire measurements of FFR (FFRP) correlated linearly with angiographic volume-derived measurements of FFR (FFRV) according to the equation: FFRP = 0.41 FFRV + 0.52 (P-value < 0.001). The correlation coefficient and standard error of estimate were 0.85 and 0.07, respectively. This is the first study to provide an angiographic method to quantify FFR in swine. Angiographic FFR can potentially provide an assessment of the physiological severity of a coronary stenosis during routine diagnostic cardiac catheterization without a need to cross a stenosis with a pressure-wire

Do antibiotic-impregnated shunts in hydrocephalus therapy reduce the risk of infection? An observational study in 258 patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Shunt infection in hydrocephalus patients is a severe, even life-threatening complication. Antibiotic-impregnated shunts (AIS) have been developed in an attempt to reduce rate of shunt infection. The study was performed to analyze if AIS can diminish the rate of shunt infection. The pathogenic nature of shunt infection in patients with AIS systems and those without antibiotic impregnated shunts (non-AIS) was compared.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Over a period of 24 months in the Department of Neurosurgery at University Hospital of Tübingen shunt surgery was performed in 258 patients. In 86 patients AIS systems were implanted. Shunt catheters were commercially impregnated with clindamycin and rifampicin. Analysis of the clinical data included sex, age, classification of hydrocephalus, shunt types and risk factors for shunt infection [age (< 1 year and > 80 years), prematurely born patients, external ventricular drainage, former shunt infection, former systemic infection, disturbance of consciousness, former radiation-/chemotherapy]. Infection rates and underlying bacterial pathogens of patients with AIS were compared to patients with implanted non-AIS systems (172 patients).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>AIS and non-AIS patients did not differ in sex, etiology of hydrocephalus and the shunt type. In the AIS group 72 out of 86 patients had at least one risk factor (83.7 %), compared to 126 patients in the non-AIS group (73.3 %). There was no significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.0629; Fisher's exact test). In patients with no risk factors, only one patient with non-AIS suffered from shunt infection. In patients with one or more risk factors the rate for shunt infection was 7.14 % in patients with non-AIS and 6.94 % in patients with AIS. Former shunt infection (p = 0.0124) was related to higher risk for shunt infection. The use of AIS had therefore no significant advantage (p = 0.8611; multiple logistic regression).</p> <p>Significantly related to a shunt infection was the number of shunt surgeries. 190 interventions in the AIS group (2.21 interventions per patient) and 408 in the non-AIS group (2.37 interventions per patient) had been performed (p = 0.3063; Wilcoxon). There was no shunt infection in the group of patients on whom only one shunt surgery was performed. In patients with at least two shunt surgeries the infection rate was 9%. The infection rate in AIS patients was 5/52 (9.6 %) and in the non-AIS 10/114 (8.77 %), (p = 1.0; Fisher's exact test). Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most frequent pathogen for shunt infection. Fourteen out of 15 infections occurred within the first 6 months of surgery. The most frequent pathogen for shunt infection was S. epidermidis. No toxic or allergic complications were seen using the AIS shunt systems. The presented data show a remarkably low infection rate of 5.8 % in the non-AIS group compared to other studies which demonstrated a significant decrease in the infection rate by AIS.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>AIS did not significantly reduce shunt infection in hydrocephalus patients in the presented study. In the AIS group three patients suffered from shunt infections caused by skin ulceration or neurosurgical procedures with exposure of the cerebrospinal liquor after shunt implantation. AIS was not developed to prevent infection in such cases, therefore an advantage of AIS can not be excluded. In view of the presented data and the small number of reported studies a prospective randomized multicenter study is required.</p

Estimation of coronary artery hyperemic blood flow based on arterial lumen volume using angiographic images

The purpose of this study is to develop a method to estimate the hyperemic blood flow in a coronary artery using the sum of the distal lumen volumes in a swine animal model. The limitations of visually assessing coronary artery disease are well known. These limitations are particularly important in intermediate coronary lesions where it is difficult to determine whether a particular lesion is the cause of ischemia. Therefore, a functional measure of stenosis severity is needed using angiographic image data. Coronary arteriography was performed in 10 swine (Yorkshire, 25–35 kg) after power injection of contrast material into the left main coronary artery. A densitometry technique was used to quantify regional flow and lumen volume in vivo after inducing hyperemia. Additionally, 3 swine hearts were casted and imaged post-mortem using cone-beam CT to obtain the lumen volume and the arterial length of corresponding coronary arteries. Using densitometry, the results showed that the stem hyperemic flow (Q) and the associated crown lumen volume (V) were related by Q = 159.08 V3/4 (r = 0.98, SEE = 10.59 ml/min). The stem hyperemic flow and the associated crown length (L) using cone-beam CT were related by Q = 2.89 L (r = 0.99, SEE = 8.72 ml/min). These results indicate that measured arterial branch lengths or lumen volumes can potentially be used to predict the expected hyperemic flow in an arterial tree. This, in conjunction with measured hyperemic flow in the presence of a stenosis, could be used to predict fractional flow reserve based entirely on angiographic data

Nutraceutical agents with anti-inflammatory properties prevent dietary saturated-fat induced disturbances in blood-brain barrier function in wild-type mice

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that disturbances in the blood–brain barrier (BBB) may be pivotal to the pathogenesis and pathology of vascular-based neurodegenerative disorders. Studies suggest that heightened systemic and central inflammations are associated with BBB dysfunction. This study investigated the effect of the anti-inflammatory nutraceuticals garlic extract-aged (GEA), alpha lipoic acid (ALA), niacin, and nicotinamide (NA) in a murine dietary-induced model of BBB dysfunction. Methods: C57BL/6 mice were fed a diet enriched in saturated fatty acids (SFA, 40% fat of total energy) for nine months to induce systemic inflammation and BBB disturbances. Nutraceutical treatment groups included the provision of either GEA, ALA, niacin or NA in the positive control SFA-group and in low-fat fed controls. Brain parenchymal extravasation of plasma derived immunoglobulin G (IgG) and large macromolecules (apolipoprotein (apo) B lipoproteins) measured by quantitative immunofluorescent microscopy, were used as markers of disturbed BBB integrity. Parenchymal glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were considered in the context of surrogate markers of neurovascular inflammation and oxidative stress. Total anti-oxidant status and glutathione reductase activity were determined in plasma.Results: Brain parenchymal abundance of IgG and apoB lipoproteins was markedly exaggerated in mice maintained on the SFA diet concomitant with significantly increased GFAP and COX-2, and reduced systemic antioxidative status. The nutraceutical GEA, ALA, niacin, and NA completely prevented the SFA-induced disturbances of BBB and normalized the measures of neurovascular inflammation and oxidative stress. Conclusions: The anti-inflammatory nutraceutical agents GEA, ALA, niacin, or NA are potent inhibitors of dietary fat-induced disturbances of BBB induced by systemic inflammations

Hybrid method for selection of the optimal process of leachate treatment in waste treatment and valorization plants or landfills

“The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10098-014-0834-4”Leachate from waste landfill or treatment plants is a very complex and highly contaminated liquid effluent. In its composition, it is found dissolved organic matter, inorganic salts, heavy metals, and other xenobiotic organic compounds, so it can be toxic, carcinogenic, and capable of inducing a potential risk to biota and humans. European law does not allow such leachate to leave the premises without being depolluted. There are many procedures that enable debugging, always combining different techniques. Choosing the best method to use in each case is a complex decision, as it depends on many tangible and intangible factors that must be weighed to achieve a balance between technical, cost, and environmental sustainability. 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