scholarly journals Technical Parameters for Laser Acupuncture to Elicit Peripheral and Central Effects: State-of-the-Art and Short Guidelines Based on Results from the Medical University of Graz, the German Academy of Acupuncture, and the Scientific Literature

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Litscher ◽  
Gerhard Opitz

The scientific literature in the area of laser acupuncture is rather large; however, the actual mechanisms and effects have not yet been proven in detail. Since the early days of laser acupuncture, there are still many open questions concerning technical parameters of this innovative technique. In this paper, we report about the most important technical parameters (wavelength, output power, power density, energy density, dose range, and continuous or pulsed laser) for laser acupuncture and present quantitative results for optimal laser stimulation, which allow eliciting reproducible effects in the periphery and in the brain. There are several position statements on laser acupuncture and also several review articles in scientific literature concerning clinical effectiveness of laser acupuncture. For example, the Australian Medical Acupuncture College stated recently that “the optimal energy density for laser acupuncture and biostimulation, based on current clinical experience, is 4 J/cm2”. However, our results of previous research studies and of this paper clearly show that dose must be adjusted according to the individual responses.

Author(s):  
Hans-Jakob Steiger

AbstractConsiderable progress has been made over the past years to better understand the genetic nature and pathophysiology of brain AVM. For the actual review, a PubMed search was carried out regarding the embryology, inflammation, advanced imaging, and fluid dynamical modeling of brain AVM. Whole-genome sequencing clarified the genetic origin of sporadic and familial AVM to a large degree, although some open questions remain. Advanced MRI and DSA techniques allow for better segmentation of feeding arteries, nidus, and draining veins, as well as the deduction of hemodynamic parameters such as flow and pressure in the individual AVM compartments. Nonetheless, complete modeling of the intranidal flow structure by computed fluid dynamics (CFD) is not possible so far. Substantial progress has been made towards understanding the embryology of brain AVM. In contrast to arterial aneurysms, complete modeling of the intranidal flow and a thorough understanding of the mechanical properties of the AVM nidus are still lacking at the present time.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sander van der Linden ◽  
Jon Roozenbeek ◽  
Rakoen Maertens ◽  
Melisa Basol ◽  
Ondřej Kácha ◽  
...  

Abstract In recent years, interest in the psychology of fake news has rapidly increased. We outline the various interventions within psychological science aimed at countering the spread of fake news and misinformation online, focusing primarily on corrective (debunking) and pre-emptive (prebunking) approaches. We also offer a research agenda of open questions within the field of psychological science that relate to how and why fake news spreads and how best to counter it: the longevity of intervention effectiveness; the role of sources and source credibility; whether the sharing of fake news is best explained by the motivated cognition or the inattention accounts; and the complexities of developing psychometrically validated instruments to measure how interventions affect susceptibility to fake news at the individual level.


2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. David Baxter ◽  
Chris Bleakley ◽  
Suzanne McDonough

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diewertje Sluik ◽  
Martinette T. Streppel ◽  
Linde van Lee ◽  
Anouk Geelen ◽  
Edith J. M. Feskens

AbstractNutrient-rich food (NRF) index scores are dietary quality indices based on nutrient density. We studied the design aspects involved in the development and validation of NRF index scores, using the Dutch consumption data and guidelines as an example. We evaluated fifteen NRF index scores against the Dutch Healthy Diet Index (DHD-index), a measure of adherence to the Dutch dietary guidelines, and against energy density. The study population included 2106 adults from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 2007–2010. The index scores were composed of beneficial nutrients (protein, fibre, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals), nutrients to limit (saturated fat, sugar, Na) or a combination. Moreover, the influence of methodological decisions was studied, such as the choice of calculation basis (100 g or 100 kcal (418 kJ)). No large differences existed in the prediction of the DHD-index by the fifteen NRF index scores. The score that best predicted the DHD-index included nine beneficial nutrients and three nutrients to limit on a 100-kcal basis, the NRF9.3 with a model R2 of 0·34. The scores were quite robust with respect to sex, BMI and differences in calculation methods. The NRF index scores were correlated with energy density, but nutrient density better predicted the DHD-index than energy density. Consumption of vegetables, cereals and cereal products, and dairy products contributed most to the individual NRF9.3 scores. In conclusion, many methodological considerations underlie the development and evaluation of nutrient density models. These decisions may depend upon the purpose of the model, but should always be based upon scientific, objective and transparent criteria.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-268
Author(s):  
C. P. Darby

We must be aware that freedom from organic disease alone can not be our goal. The optimal functioning of the individual must be our aim, and that it occur in an environment conducive to a fuller life. We must be aware that man does not live by bread alone, nor by his antihypertensive pill alone. We must be citizens of the community, helping to make it a better place for the raising of our children, for a fuller educational opportunity, for the development of the arts and other cultural aspects which help raise man above the level of animal life. Thus, the making of a doctor almost begins at his mother's knee. Nurtured further by society and its educational and Cultural institutions, he is finally given a privilege by society, to act in a responsible way in furthering the health, both physical and mental, of those he calls his patients. (Delivered to medical students and faculty, School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, May 1976 by Mitchell I. Rubin, MD, Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics, State University of New York at Buffalo, and Consultant in Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina).


Author(s):  
Liudmyla Lemeshko

The relevance of the paper lies in the need of garment manufacture in highly qualified technical designers, who can apply their artistic, creative and art skills in practice and have knowledge not only about design, clothing technology but also about artistic courses aimed at developing artistic and creative competence. The paper aims to study the components of artistic and creative competence of clothing technical designers in the scientific literature and analyze the essence of this competence. Methods: a classic analysis of psycho-pedagogical, scientific and methodological literature, legal acts and documents, educational and methodical documents and proceedings of conferences to generalize conceptual approaches to solving the problem under study to reveal the essence of artistic and creative competence of clothing technical designers; generalization – to integrate and group different classifications of artistic and creative competence into an integral unity, which manifests itself in the ability of the individual to work effectively in the professional field to formulate relevant conclusions. Results. The paper studies and reveals the components of artistic and creative competence of clothing technical designers. Also, it contains a theoretical analysis of recent publications on the study of artistic, creative, as well as artistic and creative competences. The paper shows that artistic and creative competence plays a leading role in the structure of the professional competence of students majoring in Light Industry Technologies. Modelling and Design of Industrial Products (specialty No 182). This competence combines ... Conclusions: every type of competences plays a particular role in the professional development of specialists. The competences related to the specifics of artistic and creative activities are incredibly essential for future clothing technical designers. Artistic and creative competence plays an essential role in the general structure of multidimensional professional competence of future clothing technical designers and is rather multidisciplinary...


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1633-1639
Author(s):  
Zlatina Zheleva ◽  
Slavka Hristozova ◽  
Rumyana Stoyanova

Foreign language teaching to medical students depends on solving various institutional problems. In this sense, its effectiveness is a variable which influences the level of education at the university. Effectiveness of academic education depends on two groups of conditions- one is the purely material aspect- the place and conditions in which education takes place, the financial resources and the second one includes the psychoemotional aspect of training- the so-called didactic costs which include the physical and emotional efforts invested in the process of training both on the side of the lecturer and student. One of the ways to improve effectiveness is by restricting didactic costs- the less the psychoemotional tension and anxiety- the better results would a student achieve. Giving the student the opportunity to “manage his/her own manner of learning” and placing the student in the centre of the educational process would inevitably lead to increasing student motivation.Another mechanism to achieve effectiveness and quality of education is through activating the inner motivation of students to learn a foreign language. The latter is influenced by factors such as concentration, attention, a feeling of complete participation in the process of training, lack of fear of failure, assuming responsibility for the achieved results etc. A new aspect of contemporary learning success is differentiation in education, introduction of the individual, personal style of learning of each student. An appropriate instrument or tool in achieving motivation is for the learning process to follow and conform to the different learning styles of students. The individual learning style implies the individual preferences in perceiving and memorizing information. The aim of the present paper is to identify these styles in students from the Medical University – Plovdiv and thus to identify their satisfaction with foreign language learning. The survey was conducted in 2017 among 140 students from 16 countries. A written questionnaire and a psychological test were used to gather the data. Determinants for satisfaction were identifies as: the material setting and technological equipment, personal characteristics of the teacher and the microclimate in the student group. An adapted LSI (Learning Style Inventory) specifically adapted for Bulgaria which includes four types of approaches to the learning process- specific experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation was used. The results are distributed according to gender, specialty, year of studies and Kolb’s learning styles- divergent, assimilative, convergent and accommodative. The leading learning style according to our survey proves to be the convergent on with women having higher values (32,14%) than men (24,28%), next comes the assimilative learning style with men having higher value (17,14%) as opposed to women (14,28%). The accommodative is next – 5% of women and 3.57% men prefer this learning style and the least proffered one is the divergent one – 3,57% of women and 2,88% of men prefer it.


2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 169-189
Author(s):  
Theresa Fritz ◽  
Wolfgang Burr

Zusammenfassung Empirische Untersuchungen zur Gründungslandschaft der deutschen Energiewirtschaft sind in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur bisher unterrepräsentiert. Im Zuge einer explorativen Darstellung von deutschen Energie-Startups wird zu Beginn ein Überblick über die Gründungsbereiche, die Gründungsteams sowie die finanzielle Lage von 126 deutschen Energie-Startups gegeben. Mithilfe einer Regressionsanalyse werden im nächsten Schritt die Einflüsse von Humankapital und technologischen Ressourcen auf die Akquise von Finanzierungsmitteln überprüft. Im Rahmen der Auswertung kann ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen der Anzahl der Gründer, den individuellen Fähigkeiten der Teammitglieder sowie der Anzahl der Patente und Gebrauchsmuster auf die Akquise von Finanzierungsmitteln nachgewiesen werden. Dies legt den Schluss nahe, dass die Kombination der beiden Ressourcen Humankapital und technologisches Kapital den Aufbau von Kompetenz bei der Finanzierungsmittelakquise auf organisationaler Ebene begünstigen und zum Wachstum des Startups beitragen können. Abstract Empirical studies on the start-up landscape of the German energy industry have so far been underrepresented in the scientific literature. In the course of an exploratory presentation of German energy start-ups, an overview of the start-up areas, the founding teams and the financial situation of 126 German energy start-ups is given at the beginning. In the next step, a regression analysis is used to examine the influence of human capital and technological resources on the acquisition of funding. As part of the evaluation, a significant relationship between the number of founders, the individual skills of the team members and the number of patents and utility models on the acquisition of funding can be demonstrated. This suggests that the combination of the two resources human capital and technological capital can facilitate the development of skills in the acquisition of funding at the organizational level and contribute to the growth of the start-up.


Author(s):  
Daniel Oro

Complex social animal groups behave as self-organized, single structures: they feed together, they defend against predators together, they escape from perturbations and disperse and migrate together and they share information. It is modestly evident that many individuals sharing information about their environment may be more successful in coping with perturbations than solitary individuals gathering information on their own. The group exists for and by means of all the individuals, and these exist for and by means of the group. Social groups have emergent properties that cannot be easily explained by either selection or self-organization. Yet, sociality has been shaped by the two forces. How sociality has evolved by selection is puzzling also because it confronts the benefits of the group versus the benefits of the individual, which is a historically debated theme. There are many other open questions about sociality that I have explored in this book. But in the end, the process that has fascinated me the most is social copying. Despite the sophisticated mechanisms evolved in increasing information in social groups—which has culminated in humans with language and technological interconnections—it is impressive how a simple behaviour such as social copying has maintained its strength when individuals make any kind of decisions, from insignificant to transcendent....


Vision ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasad ◽  
Mishra

Attentional selection in humans is mostly determined by what is important to them or by the saliency of the objects around them. How our visual and attentional system manage these various sources of attentional capture is one of the most intensely debated issues in cognitive psychology. Along with the traditional dichotomy of goal-driven and stimulus-driven theories, newer frameworks such as reward learning and selection history have been proposed as well to understand how a stimulus captures attention. However, surprisingly little is known about the different forms of attentional control by information that is not consciously accessible to us. In this article, we will review several studies that have examined attentional capture by subliminal cues. We will specifically focus on spatial cuing studies that have shown through response times and eye movements that subliminal cues can affect attentional selection. A majority of these studies have argued that attentional capture by subliminal cues is entirely automatic and stimulus-driven. We will evaluate their claims of automaticity and contrast them with a few other studies that have suggested that orienting to unconscious cues proceeds in a manner that is contingent with the top-down goals of the individual. Resolving this debate has consequences for understanding the depths and the limits of unconscious processing. It has implications for general theories of attentional selection as well. In this review, we aim to provide the current status of research in this domain and point out open questions and future directions.


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