App-Based Academic Interventions for Children With Autism

Technology, such as tablet/phone apps, robots, video games, and virtual reality, can be used to teach skills to autistic children. Research on technology supports for autistic youth often focus on social skills, a main part of an autism diagnosis. However, autistic children may also have academic challenges, and fewer studies have looked at how technology can teach academic skills to children with autism. We created three studies to look at how academic apps may benefit autistic children. In the first study, we reviewed studies that looked at how academic apps can increase the academic skills of children with autism. We only reviewed studies that included a single subject design (i.e., looks at a single case, such as a person or family, in-depth over time) because they are practical for disabilities that are uncommon and are often used in academic settings. Generally, treatments that used academic apps with autistic children increased their academic skills. In the second study, we tested an academic app for learning numbers and letters. We used a single subject design with five preschool children with either autism or a developmental delay. Most children who used the academic app in our study did not show gains in either numbers or letters. In the final study, we interviewed parents of autistic children and asked them about their experiences with academic apps. Parents talked about the pros, cons, and useful features of academic apps. They added ideas about how academic apps could be improved for their children with autism. Overall, academic apps generally appear to be useful for teaching academic skills to autistic children, and these studies helped us discover what may be missing in the current research along with future directions for new studies

Elektronisch überwachter Hausarrestvollzug: Ein Zukunftsmodell für den Anstaltsvollzug? : Eine rechtsvergleichende, empirische Studie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Rechtslage in Schweden

Auf der Suche nach Alternativen zum Freiheitsentzug bildet in neuerer Zeit der elektronisch überwachte Hausarrest einen Hoffnungsträger zur Entlastung der Justizvollzugsanstalten und zur Kostensenkung. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit dieser Thematik anhand einer vergleichenden kriminologischen Studie. Zunächst stellt die Studie Anwendungsbereiche, Technik, Entstehungsgeschichte und Verbreitung des Instruments vor. Anschließend wird die unterschiedliche Ausgangssituation zur elektronischen Überwachung in Schweden und in Deutschland nachgezeichnet. Der Schwerpunkt der Arbeit liegt auf der Auswertung von zwei schriftlichen Befragungen unter Praktikern aus Justiz und Vollzug in Schweden und Niedersachsen. Von dieser Analyse ausgehend befasst sich die Autorin unter Berücksichtigung des straftheoretischen Bezugsrahmens mit der Frage nach einer Anwendbarkeit der Option in Deutschland und entwickelt Anregungen für die Umsetzung eines Modells zum elektronisch überwachten Hausarrest

Relative timing jitter measurements with an indirect phase comparison method

We propose and demonstrate experimentally a method for the sensitive measurement of the relative timing jitter of two mode-locked lasers, which can be either free-running or timing-synchronized to a common reference oscillator. The method is based on the indirect comparison of the phases of two photodetector outputs, using a microwave oscillator, the noise of which does not affect the results, electronic mixers, and a sampling oscilloscope. We carefully analyze and experimentally demonstrate the potential of this method. Compared to phase detector methods, it has a broader scope of applications and a lower sensitivity to intensity noise. We also obtained data on the coupling of intensity to timing noise in photodetector

Explicit infiltration equations and the Lambert W-function

The Green and Ampt infiltration formula, as well as the Talsma and Parlange formula, are two-parameter equations that are both expressible in terms of Lambert W-functions. These representations are used to derive explicit, simple and accurate approximations for each case. The two infiltration formulas are limiting cases that can be deduced from an existing three-parameter infiltration equation, the third parameter allowing for interpolation between the limiting cases. Besides the limiting cases, there is another case for which the three-parameter infiltration equation yields an exact solution. The three- parameter equation can be solved by fixed-point iteration, a scheme which can be exploited to obtain a sequence of increasingly complex explicit infiltration equations. For routine use, a simple, explicit approximation to the three- parameter infiltration equation is derived. This approximation eliminates the need to iterate for most practical circumstances

Evaluating a Modular Decision Support Application For Colorectal Cancer Screening

BACKGROUND: There is a need for health information technology evaluation that goes beyond randomized controlled trials to include consideration of usability, cognition, feedback from representative users, and impact on efficiency, data quality, and clinical workflow. This article presents an evaluation illustrating one approach to this need using the Decision-Centered Design framework. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, through a Decision-Centered Design framework, the ability of the Screening and Surveillance App to support primary care clinicians in tracking and managing colorectal cancer testing. METHODS: We leveraged two evaluation formats, online and in-person, to obtain feedback from a range primary care clinicians and obtain comparative data. Both the online and in-person evaluations used mock patient data to simulate challenging patient scenarios. Primary care clinicians responded to a series of colorectal cancer-related questions about each patient and made recommendations for screening. We collected data on performance, perceived workload, and usability. Key elements of Decision-Centered Design include evaluation in the context of realistic, challenging scenarios and measures designed to explore impact on cognitive performance. RESULTS: Comparison of means revealed increases in accuracy, efficiency, and usability and decreases in perceived mental effort and workload when using the Screening and Surveillance App. CONCLUSION: The results speak to the benefits of using the Decision-Centered Design approach in the analysis, design, and evaluation of Health Information Technology. Furthermore, the Screening and Surveillance App shows promise for filling decision support gaps in current electronic health records

Pick your carats: nanoparticles of gold–silver–copper alloy produced in vivo

Abstract Engineered gold nanoparticle catalysts containing a mixture of metals enable enhanced specificity and reactivity. We report the synthesis by plants of mixed metal nanoparticles suggesting the possibility of using plants to produce catalysts of specific composition, perhaps even those difficult to synthesise by traditional methods. The nanoparticles contain Au, Ag and Cu as an alloy. The structure and composition are confirmed by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX)

Awareness and use of intertrochanteric osteotomies in current clinical practice. An international survey

Current literature shows that intertrochanteric osteotomies can produce excellent results in selected hip disorders in specific groups of patients. However, it appears that this surgical option is considered an historical one that has no role to play in modern practice. In order to examine current awareness of and views on intertrochanteric osteotomies among international hip surgeons, an online survey was carried out. The survey consisted of a set of questions regarding current clinical practice and awareness of osteotomies. The second part of the survey consisted of five clinical cases and sought to elicit views on preoperative radiological investigations and preferred (surgical) treatments. The results of our survey showed that most of these experts believe that intertrochanteric osteotomies should still be performed in selected cases. Only 56% perform intertrochanteric osteotomies themselves and of those, only 11% perform more than five per year. The responses to the cases show that about 30–40% recommend intertrochanteric osteotomies in young symptomatic patients. This survey shows that the role of intertrochanteric osteotomies is declining in clinical practice

Dynamics of Wetting Fronts in Porous Media

We propose a new phenomenological approach for describing the dynamics of wetting front propagation in porous media. Unlike traditional models, the proposed approach is based on dynamic nature of the relation between capillary pressure and medium saturation. We choose a modified phase-field model of solidification as a particular case of such dynamic relation. We show that in the traveling wave regime the results obtained from our approach reproduce those derived from the standard model of flow in porous media. In more general case, the proposed approach reveals the dependence of front dynamics upon the flow regime.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, revte