Traditional Healing in Uganda: A Statistical Analysis of Treatments by a Group of Traditional Healers

In a project of ethnomedical research the two authors – working as psychotherapists in Switzerland – were visiting a group of traditional healers in the Mpigi District of Uganda. One aim was to look for a cross-cultural understanding of psychological problems, another was to investigate the efficiency of traditional healing and its integration in the public health system. The data of 978 subjects (37.9% males, 47.7% females and 14.4% families) treated in 2007 were analyzed with special respect to the outcome. Three overlapping categories (spiritual, connecting, physical/medical) were used for the definition of the patients problems and their received treatments. No significant differences could be found between males and females, but between singles and families. Singles had more spiritual problems and treatments whereas families had more connecting problems and treatments. 38.7% of the sample had physical problems and 28.3% were sent to medical treatment. The positive outcome rate of the whole sample was very high: 53.4% had recovered, 34.8% improved and only 11.9% were unchanged

Atypisches Erythema induratum Bazin bei tuberkulöser Osteomyelitis

Zusammenfassung: Hauttuberkulosen können sich mit sehr unterschiedlichen klinischen Bildern manifestieren und damit die Diagnosestellung erschweren. Wir stellen den Fall einer 79-jährigen Patientin vor, mit einer atypischen Präsentation eines Erythema induratum Bazin (EIB) am Oberkörper und einer tuberkulösen Osteomyelitis des Olekranon links. Aus den Biopsien der EIB-Knoten konnte M.tuberculosis kulturell nachgewiesen werden. Das widerspricht der klassischen Vorstellung, dass das EIB als Folge einer Hypersensitivitätsreaktion auf Mykobakterien entsteht, und unterstützt die Hypothese, dass das EIB auch durch eine hämatogene oder lymphogene Streuung von lebenden M.tuberculosis entstehen kan

Augmented Reality in Higher Education: Considerations for a Future-Oriented Teacher Education

Augmented Reality (AR) ist eine Technologie zur Ergänzung und Überlagerung der realen Welt mit virtuellen Informationen. Hierzu stehen verschiedene Technologien zur Verfügung. Zu diesen zählen nebst Smartphones auch Smartbrillen, Head-Mounted Displays und weitere Geräte. In den letzten Jahren erfuhr AR im Bildungsbereich vermehrt Beachtung. Obwohl die Anzahl an Projekten und Publikationen hierzu inzwischen immens gestiegen ist, bestehen immer noch Forschungslücken in Bezug auf generelle didaktische Aspekte von AR im Unterricht sowie zur Lehrpersonenbildung. Dies ist ein bedeutendes Defizit, da Lehrpersonen der entscheidende Faktor für eine hochgradige Integration digitaler Medien in den schulischen Unterricht darstellen und damit die Digitalisierung der Volksschule konkret beeinflussen. Der Beitrag widmet sich deshalb diesem Thema und beschäftigt sich mit dem Lehren und Lernen mit AR-Anwendungen im Rahmen der Lehrpersonenbildung. Es wird vorerst eine Begriffsklärung sowie ein Überblick über die zentralen Erkenntnisse zu AR im Bildungsbereich erarbeitet und erläutert, welches Potenzial und welche Herausforderungen der Technologie zugeschrieben werden. Darauf aufbauend werden didaktische Überlegungen und konkrete Bildungsziele für den Einsatz von AR in der Lehrpersonenbildung dargelegt. Der Beitrag soll damit eine anregende Grundlage bieten, um den Einsatz von AR in der Lehrpersonenbildung zu reflektieren und weiterzuentwickeln.Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that supplements and overlays the real world with virtual information. Various technologies are available for this purpose. These include smartphones, smart glasses, head-mounted displays, and other devices. In recent years, AR has received increased attention in the field of education. Although the number of projects and publications has increased considerably, there are still research gaps regarding didactic aspects of AR in teaching in general and in the field of teacher education. This is a crucial shortcoming, as teachers are the decisive factor for a high level of integration of digital media into school teaching and thus have a substantial influence on the digitisation of public schools. This article is therefore dedicated to this topic and deals with teaching and learning with AR applications in the context of teacher education. Initially, a clarification of concepts and an overview of the central findings on AR in education will be provided and the potential and challenges attributed to the technology will be outlined. Building on this, didactic considerations and concrete educational goals for the use of AR in teacher education are illustrated. The article is intended to provide a stimulating basis for reflecting on and further developing the use of AR in teacher education

Three-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Bone Models of the Hip Joint Using Deep Learning: Dynamic Simulation of Hip Impingement for Diagnosis of Intra- and Extra-articular Hip Impingement

Background: Dynamic 3-dimensional (3D) simulation of hip impingement enables better understanding of complex hip deformities in young adult patients with femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Deep learning algorithms may improve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) segmentation. Purpose: (1) To evaluate the accuracy of 3D models created using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for fully automatic MRI bone segmentation of the hip joint, (2) to correlate hip range of motion (ROM) between manual and automatic segmentation, and (3) to compare location of hip impingement in 3D models created using automatic bone segmentation in patients with FAI. Study Design: Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 3. Methods: The authors retrospectively reviewed 31 hip MRI scans from 26 symptomatic patients (mean age, 27 years) with hip pain due to FAI. All patients had matched computed tomography (CT) and MRI scans of the pelvis and the knee. CT- and MRI-based osseous 3D models of the hip joint of the same patients were compared (MRI: T1 volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination high-resolution sequence; 0.8 mm3 isovoxel). CNNs were used to develop fully automatic bone segmentation of the hip joint, and the 3D models created using this method were compared with manual segmentation of CT- and MRI-based 3D models. Impingement-free ROM and location of hip impingement were calculated using previously validated collision detection software. Results: The difference between the CT- and MRI-based 3D models was <1 mm, and the difference between fully automatic and manual segmentation of MRI-based 3D models was <1 mm. The correlation of automatic and manual MRI-based 3D models was excellent and significant for impingement-free ROM (r = 0.995; P < .001), flexion (r = 0.953; P < .001), and internal rotation at 90° of flexion (r = 0.982; P < .001). The correlation for impingement-free flexion between automatic MRI-based 3D models and CT-based 3D models was 0.953 (P < .001). The location of impingement was not significantly different between manual and automatic segmentation of MRI-based 3D models, and the location of extra-articular hip impingement was not different between CT- and MRI-based 3D models. Conclusion: CNN can potentially be used in clinical practice to provide rapid and accurate 3D MRI hip joint models for young patients. The created models can be used for simulation of impingement during diagnosis of intra- and extra-articular hip impingement to enable radiation-free and patient-specific surgical planning for hip arthroscopy and open hip preservation surgery

Social Phobia in an Italian region: do Italian studies show lower frequencies than community surveys conducted in other European countries?

BACKGROUND: The lifetime prevalence of Social Phobia (SP) in European countries other than Italy has been estimated to range from 3.5% to 16.0%. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of SP in Sardinia (Italy) in order to verify the evidence of a lower frequency of SP in Italy observed in previous studies (from 1.0% to 3.1%). METHODS: A randomised cross sample of 1040 subjects, living in Cagliari, in rural areas, and in a mining district in Sardinia were interviewed using a Simplified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDIS). Diagnoses were made according to the 10(th )International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). RESULTS: Lifetime prevalence of SP was 2.2% (males: 1.5%, females: 2.8%) whereas 6-month prevalence resulted in 1.5% (males: 0.9%, females: 2.1%). Mean age at onset was 16.2 ± 9.3 years. A statistically significant association was found with Depressive Episode, Dysthymia and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The study is consistent with findings reported in several previous studies of a lower prevalence of SP in Italy. Furthermore, the results confirm the fact that SP, due to its early onset, might constitute an ideal target for early treatment aimed at preventing both the accumulation of social disabilities and impairments caused by anxiety and avoidance behaviour, as well as the onset of more serious, associated complications in later stages of the illness

Doll Play narratives about starting school in children of socially anxious mothers, and their relation to subsequent child school-based anxiety

Background: Child social anxiety is common, and predicts later emotional and academic impairment. Offspring of socially anxious mothers are at increased risk. It is important to establish whether individual vulnerability to disorder can be identified in young children. Method: The responses of 4.5 year-old children of mothers with social phobia (N = 62) and non-anxious mothers (N = 60) were compared, two months before school entry, using a Doll Play (DP) procedure focused on the social challenge of starting school. DP responses were examined in relation to teacher reports of anxious-depressed symptoms and social worries at the end of the child’s first school term. The role of earlier child behavioral inhibition and attachment, assessed at 14 months, was also considered. Results: Compared to children of non-anxious mothers, children of mothers with social phobia were significantly more likely to give anxiously negative responses in their school DP (OR = 2.57). In turn, negative DP predicted teacher reported anxious-depressed and social worry problems. There were no effects of infant behavioral inhibition or attachment. Conclusion: Vulnerability in young children at risk of anxiety can be identified using Doll Play narratives

Covert Reorganization of Implicit Task Representations by Slow Wave Sleep

There is evidence that slow wave sleep (SWS) promotes the consolidation of memories that are subserved by mediotemporal- and hippocampo-cortical neural networks. In contrast to implicit memories, explicit memories are accompanied by conscious (attentive and controlled) processing. Awareness at pre-sleep encoding has been recognized as critical for the off-line memory consolidation. The present study elucidated the role of task-dependent cortical activation guided by attentional control at pre-sleep encoding for the consolidation of hippocampus-dependent memories during sleep.A task with a hidden regularity was used (Number Reduction Task, NRT), in which the responses that can be implicitly predicted by the hidden regularity activate hippocampo-cortical networks more strongly than responses that cannot be predicted. Task performance was evaluated before and after early-night sleep, rich in SWS, and late-night sleep, rich in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. In implicit conditions, slow cortical potentials (SPs) were analyzed to reflect the amount of controlled processing and the localization of activated neural task representations.During implicit learning before sleep, the amount of controlled processing did not differ between unpredictable and predictable responses, nor between early- and late-night sleep groups. A topographic re-distribution of SPs indicating a spatial reorganization occurred only after early, not after late sleep, and only for predictable responses. These SP changes correlated with the amount of SWS and were covert because off-line RT decrease did not differentiate response types or sleep groups.It is concluded that SWS promotes the neural reorganization of task representations that rely on the hippocampal system despite absence of conscious access to these representations.Original neurophysiologic evidence is provided for the role of SWS in the consolidation of memories encoded with hippocampo-cortical interaction before sleep. It is demonstrated that this SWS-mediated mechanism does not depend critically on explicitness at learning nor on the amount of controlled executive processing during pre-sleep encoding

H1-antihistamines for chronic spontaneous urticaria: An abridged Cochrane Systematic Review

Background Chronic spontaneous urticaria is characterized by recurrent itchy wheals. First-line management is with H1-antihistamines. Objective We sought to conduct a Cochrane Review of H1-antihistamines in the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria. Methods A systematic search of major databases for randomized controlled trials was conducted. Results We included 73 studies with 9759 participants; 34 studies provided outcome data for 23 comparisons. Compared with placebo, cetirizine 10 mg daily in the short and intermediate term (RR 2.72; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.51-4.91) led to complete suppression of urticaria. Levocetirizine 20 mg daily was effective for short-term use (RR 20.87; 95% CI 1.37-317.60) as was 5 mg for intermediate-term use (RR 52.88; 95% CI 3.31-843.81). Desloratadine 20 mg was effective for the short term (RR 15.97; 95% CI 1.04-245.04) as was 5 mg in the intermediate term (RR 37.00; 95% CI 2.31-593.70). There was no evidence to suggest difference in adverse event rates between treatments. Limitations Some methodological limitations were observed. Few studies for each comparison reported outcome data that could be incorporated in meta-analyses. Conclusions At standard doses, several antihistamines are effective and safe in complete suppression of chronic spontaneous urticaria. Research on long-term treatment using standardized outcome measures and quality of life scores is needed

Rest Boosts the Long-term Retention of Spatial Associative and Temporal Order Information

People retain more new verbal episodic information for at least 7 days if they rest for a few minutes after learning than if they attend to new information. It is hypothesized that rest allows for superior consolidation of new memories. In rodents, rest periods promote hippocampal replay of a recently travelled route, and this replay is thought to be critical for memory consolidation and subsequent spatial navigation. If rest boosts human memory by promoting hippocampal replay/consolidation, then the beneficial effect of rest should extend to complex (hippocampal) memory tasks, for example, tasks probing associations and sequences. We investigated this question via a virtual reality route memory task. Healthy young participants learned two routes to a 100% criterion. One route was followed by a 10‐min rest and the other by a 10‐min spot the difference game. For each learned route, participants performed four delayed spatial memory tests probing: (i) associative (landmark‐direction) memory, (ii) cognitive map formation, (iii) temporal (landmark) order memory, and (iv) route memory. Tests were repeated after 7 days to determine any long‐term effects. No effect of rest was detected in the route memory or cognitive map tests, most likely due to ceiling and floor effects, respectively. Rest did, however, boost retention in the associative memory and temporal order memory tests, and this boost remained for at least 7 days. We therefore demonstrate that the benefit of rest extends to (spatial) associative and temporal order memory in humans. We hypothesise that rest allows superior consolidation/hippocampal replay of novel information pertaining to a recently learned route, thus boosting new memories over the long term