Alcoholism and perceptions of family of origin

Theories regarding the etiology of alcoholism abound in the literature. Conceptualization of the disease has ranged from that of individual pathology to a symptom of family dysfunction. In the past, treatment providers have concentrated their efforts on treating the individual alcoholic while virtually ignoring issues regarding the adult alcoholic\u27s family of origin as well as problems found in the alcoholic\u27s nuclear family. More recently, theorists and therapists have begun looking at the impact of the family of origin on the development of alcoholism in certain individuals. Greater understanding of the disease has come to include examining not only the individual\u27s genetic predisposition to alcoholism, but environmental factors such as living with an alcoholic parent or being raised in a highly dysfunctional family. The purpose of this paper was to examine the possible relationship between structural dysfunctions in the family of origin and the development of alcoholism

An assistive technology design framework for ADHD

In this paper, we present a design framework for ADHD assistive technologies that aims to give researchers grounding in the background research on the condition, to provide a lingua franca, and to highlight potential research directions for HCI researchers within assistive technology. The design framework couples ADHD patient challenge areas to technological opportunities and it provides a set of practical design strategies for developing successful assistive technologies for people with ADHD. The framework is based on empirical studies, ADHD research, and related work on assistive technologies. We map existing assistive technologies and potential new research efforts to the framework concepts. This way we show how it is used to support and advance the research and development of novel assistive technologies for the ADHD domain

Changing Family Practices with Assistive Technology: MOBERO Improves Morning and Bedtime Routines for Children with ADHD

Families of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often report morning and bedtime routines to be stressful and frustrating. Through a design process involving domain professionals and families we designed MOBERO, a smartphone-based system that assists families in establishing healthy morning and bedtime routines with the aim to assist the child in becoming independent and lowering the parents’ frustration levels. In a two-week intervention with 13 children with ADHD and their families, MOBERO significantly improved children’s independence and reduced parents’ frustration levels. Additionally, use of MOBERO was associated with a 16.5% reduction in core ADHD symptoms and an 8.3% improvement in the child’s sleep habits, both measured by standardized questionnaires. Our study highlights the potential of assistive technologies to change the everyday practices of families of children with ADHD

An Hybrid Approach for Identification of Breast Cancer using Mammogram Images

Breast Cancer (BC) is the first among the cancer deaths in women all over the world. Mammography is broadly perceived as the best imaging methodology for the early location of BC. Mammography examination reduced the BC death in spite of increasing number of noticed malignancies during the last decade. Although it is the best reliable method for early location, it has several limitations. One essential viewpoint is that the exactness rate tends to diminishing when doctors' examined high volume of mammograms. This work mainly concentrates on identifying regions containing small clusters of micro calcifications to categorize the tissue as being regular or irregular. Potentially cancerous tissue is distinguished from normal tissue by analyzing features of a given region within a mammogram. Therefore, feature extraction and saliency play an important role in cancer detection

Below Canopy Meteorological Measurements at Three Florida Sites with Varying Tree Cover and Development

Residential demand for air conditioning is strongly impacted by the surrounding ambient air temperature. Research over several decades has documented the progressive impact of urban heat islands on summer temperatures in the built environment. However, less research has examined how the heat island is impacted by the more localized meteorological environment. How does suburban development and tree canopy cover impact micro-climates in a suburban environment? This has implications, both for preserving trees within recently constructed developments, as well as the potential impact of tree planting programs. To address this question, temperature measurements were made over a one year period at three Melbourne, Florida sites. The results showed a forested nature park of 19 hectares to be consistently cooler during both summer days and nights than a residential development of 9 hectares and density of 4.6 houses per hectare with an extensive tall tree canopy, which, in turn, was consistently cooler than a residential development of 37 hectares and density of 10.1 houses per hectare with very few trees. The average July air temperatures for the forested undeveloped site, residential site with trees, and residential site without bees measured at the project's main stations were 26.2.26.9 and 27.8" respectively at a 2.5-meter height and 26.7.27.0 and 27.7OC respectively at a 9-meter height. The 2.5-meter temperature differences were greater than 1°C between the two residential sites 93% of the time when both sites had wind speeds greater than 0.5 m/s. Secondary. remote temperature sensors grouped around the main stations in each of the three sites to account for spacial variability registered even larger temperature differences than sensors at the main stations. Mobile measurements were made on two summer days, with good agreement with the main stations. The mobile measurement made on a sunny day indicated significant localized warming at commercial sites adjacent to the residential development with trees

On the role of gallbladder emptying and incretin hormones for nutrient-mediated TSH suppression in patients with type 2 diabetes

Bile acids are possible candidate agents in newly identified pathways through which energy expenditure may be regulated. Preclinical studies suggest that bile acids activate the enzyme type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase, which deiodinates thyroxine (T(4)) to the biologically active triiodothyronine (T(3)). We aimed to evaluate the influence of bile acid exposure and incretin hormones on thyroid function parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroid hormones (total T(3) and free T(4)) were measured in plasma from two human studies: i) 75 g-oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and three isocaloric (500 kcal) and isovolaemic (350 ml) liquid meals with increasing fat content with concomitant ultrasonographic evaluation of gallbladder emptying in 15 patients with type 2 diabetes and 15 healthy age, gender and BMI-matched controls (meal-study) and ii) 50 g-OGTT and isoglycaemic intravenous glucose infusions (IIGI) alone or in combination with glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) and/or GLP2, in ten patients with type 2 diabetes (IIGI-study). In both studies, TSH levels declined (P<0.01) similarly following all meal and infusion stimuli. T(3) and T(4) concentrations did not change in response to any of the applied stimuli. TSH levels declined independently of the degree of gallbladder emptying (meal-study), route of nutrient administration and infusion of gut hormones. In conclusion, intestinal bile flow and i.v. infusions of the gut hormones, GIP, GLP1 and/or GLP2, do not seem to affect thyroid function parameters. Thus, the presence of a ‘gut–thyroid–pituitary’ axis seems questionable

Selfoscillations of Suspended Carbon Nanotubes with a Deflection Sensitive Resistance under Voltage Bias

We theoretically investigate the electro-mechanics of a Suspended Carbon Nanotube with a Deflection Sensitive Resistance subjected to a homogeneous Magnetic Field and a constant Voltage Bias. We show that, (with the exception of a singular case), for a sufficiently high magnetic field the time-independent state of charge transport through the nanotube becomes unstable to selfexcitations of the mechanical vibration accompanied by oscialltions in the voltage drop and current across the nanotube.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur