Can pesticide acute toxicity for bumblebees be derived from honeybee LD50 values?

contribution to session II Bumblebees and other bee specie

Evaluating Animal-Assisted Interventions:An Empirical Illustration of Differences between Outcome Measures

Multiple authors have called for strong empirical evaluations to strengthen the foundation of Animal-Assisted Interventions. Carefully choosing the outcome measures of these studies is important, as choosing the wrong outcomes may lead to a failure to detect effects. The current study therefore compares and contrasts the use of several outcome measures, to assess the effect of an equine-assisted intervention for a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder: (1) a semi-structured interview with both parents, specifically designed for children with cognitive disabilities, (2) a general screening instrument filled out by both parents separately, which can be used to assess children’s psycho-social problems, and (3) systematic observations of social and communication skills during the equine-assisted sessions. All instruments indicated an improvement in the participant’s social and communication skills. We found differences between the interview and questionnaires with regard to parents’ perception of aggression regulation and interacting with peers. Differences with regard to parental reports and observations were found for play development and anxiety. The observations provided a detailed view of the child’s development during the intervention, which yielded an interesting hypothesis in terms of the current dose–response discussion in AAI for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Напрями та шляхи вдосконалення матеріально-технічного забезпечення підприємств АПК регіону

Background The growing number of web-based psychological treatments, based on textual communication, generates a wealth of data that can contribute to knowledge of online and face-to-face treatments. We investigated whether clients language use predicted treatment outcomes and adherence in Master Your Mood (MYM), an online group course for young adults with depressive symptoms. Methods Among 234 participants from a randomised controlled trial of MYM, we tested whether their word use on course application forms predicted baseline levels of depression, anxiety and mastery, or subsequent treatment adherence. We then analysed chat session transcripts of course completers (n=67) to investigate whether word use changes predicted changes in treatment outcomes. Results Depression improvement was predicted by increasing use of 'discrepancy words' during treatment (e.g. should). At baseline, more discrepancy words predicted higher mastery level. Adherence was predicted by more words used at application, more social words and fewer discrepancy words. Limitations Many variables were included, increasing the chance of coincidental results. This risk was constrained by examining only those word categories that have been investigated in relation to depression or adherence. Conclusions This is the first study to link word use during treatment to outcomes of treatment that has proven to be effective in an RCT. The results suggest that paying attention to the length of problem articulation at application and to 'discrepancy words' may be wise, as these seem to be psychological markers. To expand knowledge of word use as psychological marker, research on web-based treatment should include text analysis. © 2014 The Authors

Spectroscopic photoacoustic imaging of radiofrequency ablation in the left atrium

Catheter-based radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation has long-term success in 60-70% of cases. A better assessment of lesion quality, depth, and continuity could improve the procedure’s outcome. We investigate here photoacoustic contrast between ablated and healthy atrial-wall tissue in vitro in wavelengths spanning from 410 nm to 1000 nm. We studied single-and multi-wavelength imaging of ablation lesions and we demonstrate that a two-wavelength technique yields precise detection of lesions, achieving a diagnostic accuracy of 97%. We compare this with a best single-wavelength (640 nm) analysis that correctly identifies 82% of lesions. We discuss the origin of relevant spectroscopic features and perspectives for translation to clinical imaging

Langmuir probe measurements in an expanding magnetized plasma

Langmuir probe measurements were performed in magnetized expanding plasmas of different compns. Under the assumption that a function fitted to results in argon is valid in other plasmas, it is possible to study the influence of the magnetic field in nitrogen and hydrogen plasmas. The electron d. in nitrogen can be increased by a factor of 10 by the application of a magnetic field of 4.5 mT. In hydrogen the d. can be increased by a factor of 100 by a magnetic field of 20 mT. The dominant ionic species in the magnetized nitrogen and hydrogen plasmas is the at. ion (N+ and H+, resp.). [on SciFinder (R)

The development of a glucose prediction model in critically ill patients

Purpose: The aim of the current study is to develop a prediction model for glucose levels applicable for all patients admitted to the ICU with an expected ICU stay of at least 24 h. This model will be incorporated in a closed-loop glucose system to continuously and automatically control glucose values. Methods: Data from a previous single-center randomized controlled study was used. All patients received a FreeStyle Navigator II subcutaneous CGM system from Abbott during their ICU stay. The total dataset was randomly divided into a training set and a validation set. A glucose prediction model was developed based on historical glucose data. Accuracy of the prediction model was determined using the Mean Squared Difference (MSD), the Mean Absolute Difference (MAD) and a Clarke Error Grid (CEG). Results: The dataset included 94 ICU patients with a total of 134,673 glucose measurements points that were used for modelling. MSD was 0.410 +/- 0.495 for the model, the MAD was 5.19 +/- 2.63 and in the CEG 99.8% of the data points were in the clinically acceptable regions. Conclusion: In this study a glucose prediction model for ICU patients is developed. This study shows that it is possible to accurately predict a patient's glucose 30 min ahead based on historical glucose data. This is the first step in the development of a closed-loop glucose system. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved