A systematic review of techniques and effects of self-help interventions for tinnitus: application of taxonomies from health psychology

Objective: Self-help interventions are followed by people independently with minimal or no therapist contact. This review aims to assess the effectiveness of self-help interventions for adults with chronic tinnitus and systematically identify the self-help techniques used. Design: Systematic review and application of health psychology taxonomies. Electronic database searches were conducted, supplemented by citation searching and hand-searching of key journals. Prospective controlled trials, which used measures of tinnitus distress, functional management, anxiety, depression, and quality of life, were included. Michie et al’s behaviour change techniques (BCTs) taxonomy and Taylor et al’s PRISMS taxonomy of self-management components were applied to describe interventions. Study sample: Five studies were included, providing low-to-moderate levels of evidence. Results: Randomized controlled trial studies were too few and heterogeneous for meta-analysis to be performed. Studies comparing self-help interventions to therapist-guided interventions and assessing non tinnitus-specific psychosocial outcomes and functional management were lacking. Fifteen BCTs and eight self-management components were identified across interventions. Conclusions: A lack of high-quality and homogeneous studies meant that confident conclusions could not be drawn regarding the efficacy of self-help interventions for tinnitus. Better reporting and categorization of intervention techniques is needed for replication in research and practice and to facilitate understanding of intervention mechanisms

Gabapentin for tinnitus: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: The main aim of this study was to assess the effect of gabapentin on tinnitus via a systematic review. METHOD: An electronic search of literature as well as a hand search were conducted. Only double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that met all of the inclusion criteria were included in this review. The Cochrane Collaboration tool for risk of bias assessment was used to investigate the validity of the included studies. Meta-analysis was not appropriate due to inadequate details in reporting the data in the included studies. Hence, qualitative synthesis and interpretation of the data were carried out. RESULTS: Two studies that met the inclusion criteria were included in the review. Fourteen studies were excluded. There were substantive within-study clinical heterogeneities with regard to the baseline tinnitus handicap scores, duration of tinnitus, and severity of hearing loss in the included double-blind RCTs. CONCLUSION: The authors of both studies reported that gabapentin was not superior to placebo in their primary outcomes. However, following the assessment of risk of bias and within-study clinical heterogeneities, this review concludes that there is insufficient evidence regarding the effect of gabapentin on tinnitus

Comics Telling Refugee Stories

This chapter begins with an indicative survey of comics responding to the current ‘refugee crisis’. The comics in question adopt one of two distinct and established approaches. The first is reportage, usually featuring the author/creator as a central device, while the second re-works and renders testimony in visual form. In their different ways, both contribute to a wider repertoire of positive and sympathetic representations of refugees, offering a counter-point to hostile media and political discourse, often by a focus on the stories of individuals. Mobilizing compassion and moral responses through personal stories of hardship, trauma, tenacity, and survival has long been a tactic of reformist agendas and humanitarian advocacy. By their qualitative difference from dominant forms of factual discourse, comics offer certain advantages. They may also circumvent certain problems associated with photographic representations of suffering. Such comics can nevertheless run the risk of re-producing established victim tropes, and just as with other forms of representation, human-interest angles carry the potential to obscure political dimensions. In an attempt to consider and situate these concerns, the analysis considers the various positions and relations that constitute ‘refugee comics’: subjects, readers, creators, (im)materiality, and circulation

A comprehensive overview of radioguided surgery using gamma detection probe technology

The concept of radioguided surgery, which was first developed some 60 years ago, involves the use of a radiation detection probe system for the intraoperative detection of radionuclides. The use of gamma detection probe technology in radioguided surgery has tremendously expanded and has evolved into what is now considered an established discipline within the practice of surgery, revolutionizing the surgical management of many malignancies, including breast cancer, melanoma, and colorectal cancer, as well as the surgical management of parathyroid disease. The impact of radioguided surgery on the surgical management of cancer patients includes providing vital and real-time information to the surgeon regarding the location and extent of disease, as well as regarding the assessment of surgical resection margins. Additionally, it has allowed the surgeon to minimize the surgical invasiveness of many diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, while still maintaining maximum benefit to the cancer patient. In the current review, we have attempted to comprehensively evaluate the history, technical aspects, and clinical applications of radioguided surgery using gamma detection probe technology

Modeling and Experimental Verification of an Unconventional 9-Phase Asymmetric Winding PM Motor Dedicated to Electric Traction Applications

Multi-phase permanent magnet motors are becoming popular in various applications such as high power traction which require low cogging and torque ripple, and reduced noise and vibration. This paper presents the development process of a full order detailed mathematical model for an unconventional nine-phase permanent magnet (PM) motor with asymmetric AC windings. The phase inductances are calculated based on the individual winding functions. Using these parameters, electrical equations for each phase based on the voltages and flux linkages are generated. These equations are transformed into an arbitrary reference frame and the torque equations are developed for the 9-phase motor. A Matlab-Simulink model is then developed for the proposed nine-phase PM motor based on the developed dynamic equations. Finally, the model is validated with the finite element analysis and laboratory testing of the prototype motor. It is shown that the developed mathematical model can be used for such complex asymmetric winding multi-phase PM motors

Partial discharge behavior on solid- air interfaces at AC stress condition

Partial discharge (PD) is one of the major factors that damage dielectric materials in medium and high voltage components. Therefore, partial discharge evaluation is generally used to observe the status of electrical insulation in high and medium voltage components used in the performance appreciation of an insulation system. In this work, partial discharge behavior on solid- air interfaces has been investigated commonly characterized as surface discharge. The investigation was performed by PD measurement as well as by adequate modelling for different insulating materials as the Natural Rubber (NR), Silicone Rubber (SiR), Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer Rubber (EPDM) and High- Density Polyethylene (HDPE). Through modeling the partial discharge process, a better conception of the phenomenon may be achieved. The model of different homogeneous insulating materials has developed using Finite Element Analysis (COMSOL) software in parallel with MATLAB programming function. The results of the study indicate that the repetition rate and the peak apparent charge increased with the insulating material relative permittivity increase while the inception voltage does not change significantly