Protocols and strategies to use emergency psychology in the face of an emergency: A systematic review

Background: Trauma survivors are at a high risk of developing mental health problems. Hence, mental help in the form of emergency psychology has to be availed in the aftermath of a traumatizing event. When studied in-depth, emergency psychology comprises protocols, strategies, and techniques that establish it as an interventional activity. Objective: The main of this review is to analyze how emergency psychology services are provided to people, to verify to what extent these interventions are homogeneous in the delivery methods and consequently, facilitate the creation of relevant measures. Consequently, the general view of emergency psychology is reviewed and analyzed to identify the protocols, guidelines, and strategies used. Methods: A search was done on the ScienceDirect, APA PsycINFO, Emerald, and Scopus databases for articles published from 1st January 2017 to 1st April 2022. The reference lists of the identified studies were also screened. Results: After the non-duplicate articles were removed and after filtering the articles according to inclusion criteria, 20 articles were included for the thematic analysis: nine research articles, 10 case study reports, and one randomized controlled trial (RCT). During the analysis, different aspects of emergency psychology were categorized: Responders, Crisis Management and Structure, and types of psychological interventions. This categorization led to the identification of protocols, guidelines, and strategies that can be placed in a sequence to give a general direction of how an emergency psychology intervention is supposed to be carried out. Conclusions: The adopted protocols, guidelines and strategies may vary from one disaster management to another but the main goal will always remain the same

Serious games and eating behaviors: A systematic review of the last 5 years (2018–2022)

Background: Serious game intervention has emerged over the years as a popular strategy for solving the problem of unhealthy eating behavior. This has prompted several scholars to explore its significant impact on eating behaviors, identifying its positive effect on nutritional knowledge and eating behaviors. However, since this research field is yet nascent, an update in knowledge is required to further inform the real-world practice as an alternative intervention for instating healthy eating behavior. Therefore, this current research utilized a systematic review method to reveal the latest state of this concept of a serious game and eating behavior, to identify the position of the literature and shed light on under-researched and emerging areas by recommending future investigations. Method: To achieve the object of this research, four electronic databases- Science Direct, Web of Science (WoS), APA PsyclNFO, and Emerald- were searched using predefined keywords (search string) relating to the review topic. A total of 15,107 results were retrieved from the databases. After title, abstract, and full-text screening, 15 studies were included following inclusion criteria. Key findings: The result of this research demonstrated that various designs of serious games comprise an effective intervention for changing eating behavior in both children and adults and addressed the risks of childhood obesity and overweight. The findings also show that the design of the games is co-designed by different specialists such as a nutritionist, psychologist and developer, among others, as either single or multiple players. The effectiveness of the games was attributed to behavior techniques (BT), cognitive theories (CT), and socio-cognitive theories (SCT) of behavior change technique (BCT), incorporating an element of implicit learning in serious games. Feedback and reward were the most reported influencing strategies and self-reporting the evaluation approach. Conclusion: This research contributed significantly to the body of knowledge in the field of serious games as the most recent review of evidence in the research area. Evidence from 93.33% of the included studies confirmed the effectiveness of serious games in addressing eating behavior. This study concludes that serious games are an effective intervention for improving healthy eating behavior and decreasing unhealthy eating behavior and that various elements of behavior change techniques are essential components of implicit nutritional learning through the games. In addition, it is concluded that the risk of childhood obesity and overweight can be reduced or prevented by leveraging the strength of these games. The need for future research in this field was also pointed out by this study

Degradasi Lapisan Aluminida Pada Paduan Intermetalik 2-Ti3Al / -TiAl Akibat Oksidasi Siklik

Two-phase inter-metallic alloy 2-Ti3Al/-TiAl is developed to operated at high temperature in oxidative environment. However its oxidation rate can not be tolerated due to formation of TiO2 which is not protective. If the alloy is used in gas turbine that often have thermal cycle, it will cause cracking and flaking oxide crust. Coating is correct solution to improve properties of this alloy so that it can be used at high temperature. By enriching the material surface with significant amount of Al element there will be a formation of Al2O3 protective oxide. The method applied to get formation of Al2O3 is the pack cementation. This study discusses of characteristic coating and oxide crust formation at two-phase inter-metallic alloy of 2-Ti3Al/-TiAl from pack aluminizing proces

Robot Assistive Therapy Strategies for Children with Autism

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a category of neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities. Social robots offer clinicians new ways to interact and work with people with ASD. Robot-Assisted Training (RAT) is a growing body of research in HRI, which studies how robots can assist and enhance human skills during a task-centred interaction. RAT systems have a wide range of application for children with ASD. Aims: In a pilot RCT with an experimental group and a control group, research aims will be: to assess group differences in repetitive and maladaptive behaviours (RMBs), affective states and performance tasks across sessions and within each group; to assess the perception of family relationships between two groups before and post robot interaction; to develop a robotic app capable to run Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM), a test typically used to measure general human intelligence and to compare the accuracy of the robot to capture the data with that run by psychologists. Material and Methods: Patients with mild or moderate level of ASD will be enrolled in the study which will last 3 years. The sample size is: 60 patients (30 patients will be located in the experimental group and 30 patients will be located in the control group) indicated by an evaluation of the estimated enrolment time. Inclusion criteria will be the following: eligibility of children confirmed using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule −2; age ≥ 7 years; clinician judgment during a clinical psychology evaluation; written parental consent approved by the local ethical committee. The study will be conducted over 10 weeks for each participant, with the pretest and post test conducted during the first and last weeks of the study. The training will be provided over the intermediate eight weeks, with one session provided each week, for a total of 8 sessions. Baseline and follow-up evaluation include: socioeconomic status of families will be assessed using the Hollingshead scale; Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) will be used to screen the communication skills and social functioning in children with ASD; Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, 2nd edition (VABS) will be used to assess the capabilities of children in dealing with everyday life; severity and variety of children’s ripetitive behaviours will be also assessed using Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R). Moreover, the perception of family relationships assessment will be run by Portfolio for the validation of parental acceptance and refusal (PARENTS). Expected Results: 1) improbe communication skills; 2) reduced repetitive and maladaptive behaviors; 3) more positive perception of family relationships; 4) improved performance. Conclusions: Robot-Assisted Training aims to train and enhance user (physical or cognitive) skills, through the interaction, and not assist users to complete a task thus a target is to enhance user performance by providing personalized and targeted assistance towards maximizing training and learning effects. Robotics systems can be used to manage therapy sessions, gather and analyse data and like interactions with the patient and generate useful information in the form of reports and graphs, thus are a powerful tool for the therapist to check patient’s progress and facilitate diagnosis

Evaporation/decomposition behavior of 1-Butyl-3-Methylimidazolium Chloride (BMImCL) investigated through effusion and thermal analysis techniques

The evaporation/decomposition behavior of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BMImCl) was studied with various techniques, such as thermogravimetry (TG), Knudsen effusion mass loss (KEML), and Knudsen effusion mass spectrometry (KEMS), in order to investigate the competition between the simple evaporation of the liquid as gaseous ion pairs (NIP: neutral ion pair) and the thermal decomposition releasing volatile species. TG/DSC experiments were carried out from 293 to 823 K under both He and N2 flowing atmospheres on BMImCl as well as on BMImNTf2 (NTf2: bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide). Both ionic liquids were found undergoing a single step of mass loss in the temperature range investigated. However, while the BMImNTf2 mass loss was found to occur in different temperature ranges, depending on the inert gas used, the TG curves of BMImCl under helium and nitrogen flow were practically superimposable, thus suggesting the occurrence of thermal decomposition. Furthermore, KEML experiments on BMImCl (in the range between 398 and 481 K) indicated a clear dependence of the unit area mass loss rate on the effusion hole diameter, an effect not observed for the ILs with NTf2 anion. Finally, KEMS measurements in the 416–474 K range allowed us to identify the most abundant species in the vapor phase, which resulted in methyl chloride, butylimidazole, butyl chloride, and methylimidazole, which most probably formed from the decomposition of the liquid

Total Digestible Nutrient of Diet Containing PUFA- Concentrate Supplemented with Yeast and Curcuma Xanthorrhiza Roxb for Dairy Goat

Penelitian ini didisain untuk mengevaluasi kecernaan nutrisi, dinyatakan dalam TDN, dari ransum yang mengandung PUFA konsentrat yang disuplementasi yeast dan Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb pada kambing perah. Dua puluh ekor kambing Peranakan Ettawah (PE) pada fase laktasi akhir dialokasikan kedalam 6 perlakuan dengan Rancangan Acak Kelompok. Perlakuan tersebut adalah: PD0: PUFA-diet tanpa suplemen, PDA: dengan Asifit, PDY: dengan 0,5% yeast, PDC: dengan 2% curcuma, dan PDM: dengan 0,5% yeast + 2% curcuma. Ransum- PUFA terdiri atas 80% PUFA- konsentrat sebagai ransum dasar dan 20% rumput gajah. Sumber PUFA terdiri atas jagung giling sangrai, tepung kedelai sangrai, dan minyak jagung. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa konsumsi DM, OM, CP, CF, NFE, ADF, dan GE tidak terpengaruh oleh perlakuan. Namun, EE dan NDF antarperlakuan berbeda signifikan (P<0.05), sedang Ca dan P berbeda sangat signifikan (P<0.01). Kandungan nutrisi yang tinggi (DM, OM, CP, EE, CF, NDF, and GE) ditemukan di feces pada kambing dengan perlakuan Curcuma (PDC), konsekuensinya adalah kecernaan nutrisinya secara signifikan (P<0.05) atau sangat signifikan (P<0.01) terendah. Total digestible nutrient (TDN) dari PDY dan PDM secara signifikan tinggi (79,89% dan 79,37%) disbanding ransum lainnya, terendah pada PDC (69,94%). Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa yeast atau ragi dengan konsentrasi 1,8 108cfu/d baik disuplementasikan tunggal atau dikombinasi dengan 2% Curcuma dapat dikatakan sebagai kandungan yang tepat untuk memperbaiki kecernaan nutrisi pada kambing perah dengan laktasi akhir pada penelitian ini

Total Digestible Nutrient of Diet Containing PUFA- Concentrate Supplemented with Yeast and Curcuma Xanthorrhiza Roxb for Dairy Goat

Penelitian ini didisain untuk mengevaluasi kecernaan nutrisi, dinyatakan dalam TDN, dari ransum yang mengandung PUFA konsentrat yang disuplementasi yeast dan Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb pada kambing perah. Dua puluh ekor kambing Peranakan Ettawah (PE) pada fase laktasi akhir dialokasikan kedalam 6 perlakuan dengan Rancangan Acak Kelompok. Perlakuan tersebut adalah: PD0: PUFA-diet tanpa suplemen, PDA: dengan Asifit, PDY: dengan 0,5% yeast, PDC: dengan 2% curcuma, dan PDM: dengan 0,5% yeast + 2% curcuma. Ransum- PUFA terdiri atas 80% PUFA- konsentrat sebagai ransum dasar dan 20% rumput gajah. Sumber PUFA terdiri atas jagung giling sangrai, tepung kedelai sangrai, dan minyak jagung. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa konsumsi DM, OM, CP, CF, NFE, ADF, dan GE tidak terpengaruh oleh perlakuan. Namun, EE dan NDF antarperlakuan berbeda signifikan (P<0.05), sedang Ca dan P berbeda sangat signifikan (P<0.01). Kandungan nutrisi yang tinggi (DM, OM, CP, EE, CF, NDF, and GE) ditemukan di feces pada kambing dengan perlakuan Curcuma (PDC), konsekuensinya adalah kecernaan nutrisinya secara signifikan (P<0.05) atau sangat signifikan (P<0.01) terendah. Total digestible nutrient (TDN) dari PDY dan PDM secara signifikan tinggi (79,89% dan 79,37%) disbanding ransum lainnya, terendah pada PDC (69,94%). Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa yeast atau ragi dengan konsentrasi 1,8 108cfu/d baik disuplementasikan tunggal atau dikombinasi dengan 2% Curcuma dapat dikatakan sebagai kandungan yang tepat untuk memperbaiki kecernaan nutrisi pada kambing perah dengan laktasi akhir pada penelitian ini

Evaluation of Aerosol-cloud Interaction in the GISS Model E Using ARM Observations

Observations from the US Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program are used to evaluate the ability of the NASA GISS ModelE global climate model in reproducing observed interactions between aerosols and clouds. Included in the evaluation are comparisons of basic meteorology and aerosol properties, droplet activation, effective radius parameterizations, and surface-based evaluations of aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI). Differences between the simulated and observed ACI are generally large, but these differences may result partially from vertical distribution of aerosol in the model, rather than the representation of physical processes governing the interactions between aerosols and clouds. Compared to the current observations, the ModelE often features elevated droplet concentrations for a given aerosol concentration, indicating that the activation parameterizations used may be too aggressive. Additionally, parameterizations for effective radius commonly used in models were tested using ARM observations, and there was no clear superior parameterization for the cases reviewed here. This lack of consensus is demonstrated to result in potentially large, statistically significant differences to surface radiative budgets, should one parameterization be chosen over another

A Project to Promote English Learning in Primary School: “An English Island®” E-learning Platform

The present study was aimed to investigate English learning as second language, in school, in first, second and third graders of twelve classes randomly assigned to a control or an experimental group. Children in the latter are exposed during English school teaching to the method “An English Island®” and to its platform activities. The method “An English Island®” offers a variety of strategies for teaching English in primary school, an innovative digital tool that promotes teaching/learning English language’s communicative approach, lead students to become familiar with the language in a sort of continuous, inclusive workout, in which everyone participates and talks. English skills as well as cognitive abilities are tested in both groups at the beginning and at the end of the school year with the aim to compare control and experimental classes in both a longitudinal and a cross-sectional design