Need and Perspectives of Internet-based Interventions for Common Specific language Disorders and Connected Specific Learning Disabilities in Childhood and Youth

AbstractIn the last century medical progress has substantially reduced the morbidity and mortality in somatic diseases. However there is a “new morbidity” with an increase of psychomotor developmental, learning, behavioral and mental disorders often with an initial onset in about 20% of childhood. A social gradient in terms of health inequalities is known. Reducing this new morbidity of child and adolescent health problems is a major public health priority. In this context alternative, complementary strategies for prevention or treatment are needed.At the example of expressive language disorder and consecutive risks in developing a specific reading and writing disability we would like to discuss in this survey potential future preventional perspectives

Development of a Pneumatic High Speed Nakajima Testing Device

Forming limit diagrams are an essential tool for describing the formability of sheet materials in the deep-drawing process. Here, the well known and frequently employed procedures are the Nakajima and the Marciniak-Tests. Whereas these procedures' standardisation is quite advanced in the quasi-static range, numerous different test procedures exist in the range of elevated forming speeds. In the first part of this work, an overview of the various procedures is given for generating forming limit diagrams in the high speed range. In the second part, a pneumatically operated testing device is introduced which was developed at the Institute for Material Science for performing Nakajima-Tests in the high speed range. Using this device, standard specimens can be dynamically formed according to the Nakajima-Test. The testing device is to be employed for scientifically exploring the deformation mechanisms operating at very high forming speeds. The testing device’s mode of functioning is demonstrated by means of forming discs of an EN AW-6082 aluminium alloy sheet. In doing this, the testing apparatus is mainly characterised by holding the testing conditions constant during the tests: This particularly concerns the velocity of the tool for forming the sheet discs

mut-7 of C. elegans, Required for Transposon Silencing and RNA Interference, Is a Homolog of Werner Syndrome Helicase and RNaseD

AbstractWhile all known natural isolates of C. elegans contain multiple copies of the Tc1 transposon, which are active in the soma, Tc1 transposition is fully silenced in the germline of many strains. We mutagenized one such silenced strain and isolated mutants in which Tc1 had been activated in the germline (“mutators”). Interestingly, many other transposons of unrelated sequence had also become active. Most of these mutants are resistant to RNA interference (RNAi). We found one of the mutated genes, mut-7, to encode a protein with homology to RNaseD. This provides support for the notion that RNAi works by dsRNA-directed, enzymatic RNA degradation. We propose a model in which MUT-7, guided by transposon-derived dsRNA, represses transposition by degrading transposon-specific messengers, thus preventing transposase production and transposition

Variation in Manduca sexta pollination-related floral traits and reproduction in a wild tobacco plant

Most flowering plants depend on animal pollination for successful sexual reproduction. Floral signals such as color, shape, and odor are crucial in establishing this (often mutualistic) interaction. Plant and pollinator phenotypes can vary temporally but also spatially, thus creating mosaic-like patterns of local adaptations. Here, we investigated natural variation in floral morphology, flower volatile emission, and phenology in four accessions of a self-compatible wild tobacco, Nicotiana attenuata, to assess how these traits match the sensory perception of a known pollinator, the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. These accessions differ in floral traits and also in their habitat altitudes. Based on habitat temperatures, the accession occurring at the highest altitude (California) is less likely to be visited by M. sexta, while the others (Arizona, Utah 1, and Utah 2) are known to receive M. sexta pollinations. The accessions varied significantly in flower morphologies, volatile emissions, flower opening, and phenology, traits likely important for M. sexta perception and floral handling. In wind tunnel assays, we assessed the seed set of emasculated flowers after M. sexta visitation and of natural selfed and hand-pollinated selfed flowers. After moth visitations, plants of two accessions (Arizona and Utah 2) produced more capsules than the other two, consistent with predictions that accessions co-occurring with M. sexta would benefit more from the pollination services of this moth. We quantified flower and capsule production in four accessions in a glasshouse assay without pollinators to assess the potential for self-pollination. The two Utah accessions set significantly more seeds after pollen supplementation compared with those of autonomous selfing flowers, suggesting a greater opportunistic benefit from efficient pollinators than the other two. Moreover, emasculated flowers of the accession with the most exposed stigma (Utah 2) produced the greatest seed set after M. sexta visitation. This study reveals intraspecific variation in pollination syndromes that illuminate the potential of a plant species to adapt to local pollinator communities, changing environments, and altered pollination networks

EP-1122: Use of a dynamic thorax phantom for radiation dose determination of a floating target in Extracranial Stereotactic RT

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Research of the power plant operational states with block structure

In this article the research technique block structure power plant operational states is offered. As an example the operating power plant of OOO Siberian Generation Company with block structure of turbogenerators connection is considered. The choice of the operating power plant has allowed to receive to carry out the analysis real long and emergency states. The offered technique of states identification and the analysis can be used for power plant of other structure after the corresponding correction

Review of Causes of Maternal Deaths in Botswana in 2010

Background. In Botswana the maternal mortality ratio in 2010 was 163 per 100 000 live births. It is a priority to reduce this ratio to meet Millennium Development Goal 5 target of 21 per 100 000 live births. Objective. To investigate the underlying circumstances of maternal deaths in Botswana. Method. Fifty-six case notes from the 80 reported maternal deaths in 2010 were reviewed. Five clinicians reviewed each case independently and then together to achieve a consensus on diagnosis and underlying cause(s) of death. Results. Sixty-six percent of deaths occurred in Botswana’s two referral hospitals. Cases in which death had direct obstetric causes were fewer than cases in which cause of death was indirect. The main direct causes were haemorrhage (39%), hypertension (22%), and pregnancy-related sepsis (13%). Thirty-six (64%) deaths were in HIV-positive women, of whom 21 (58%) were receiving antiretroviral (ARV) therapy. Nineteen (34%) deaths were attributable to HIV, including 4 from complications of ARVs. Twenty-nine (52%) deaths were in the postnatal period, 19 (66%) of these in the first week. Case-note review revealed several opportunities for improved quality of care: better teamwork, communication and supportive supervision of health professionals; earlier recognition of the seriousness of complication(s) with more aggressive case-management; joint management between HIV and obstetric clinicians; screening for, and treatment of, opportunistic infections throughout the antenatal to postnatal periods; and better supply management of medications, fluids, blood for transfusion and laboratory tests. Conclusion. Integrating HIV management into maternal healthcare is essential to reduce maternal deaths in the region, alongside greater efforts to improve quality of care to avoid direct and indirect causes of death

Characterization and Simulation of High-Speed-Deformation-Processes

The combination of the processes deep drawing and electromagnetic pulse forming is a promising way to cope with the ever higher complexity of new sheet metal designs. A cooperation between the Institute of Materials Science (IW) of the Leibniz Universität Hannover and the Institute of Applied Mechanics (IFAM) of the RWTH Aachen is investigating these processes both experimental and in simulation. Aim is the characterization of the combined process. Therefore the material properties of the investigated aluminum alloy EN AW 6082 T6 have to be determined quasi-static as well as at high speed. These properties are then used as a basic for the simulations. Anisotropic behaviors as well as dynamic hardening effects are investigated in the quasi-static state. Several experiments for analyzing "Bauschinger" respectively "Ratcheting effects" have been conducted resulting in a new measuring set-up for thin sheets. For the determination of high speed forming limit diagrams a novel testing device on the basis of the Nakajima-test has been developed allowing for strain rates of approximately 10^3 s^-1. Both testing methods are described in this paper; the results are then used to adapt the simulation models for the combined processes. The high speed deformation process is simulated by means of finite elements using a material model developed at the IFAM. The finite strain constitutive model combines nonlinear kinematic and isotropic hardening and is derived in a thermodynamic setting. It is based on the multiplicative split of the deformation gradient in the context of hyperelasticity. The kinematic hardening component represents a continuum extension of the classical rheological model of Armstrong-Frederick kinematic hardening which is widely adopted as capable of representing the above metal hardening effects. To prevent locking of the simulated thin sheets a new eight-node solid-shell finite element based on reduced integration with hourglass stabilization developed at IFAM has been used. With these features it was possible to simulate the Bauschinger effect obtained by the previous experiments

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