The Height of Reality: Using Virtual Reality Technology to Desensitize Acrophobia

<p>Virtual reality (VR) is a new up-and-coming technology on which to watch three dimensional films or play video games. However, the practical uses of virtual reality can spread much further than just media outputs. This research aims to explore one of the practical uses for virtual reality technology. VR has the potential to help patients living with psychological disorders, by reducing the anxiety that they experience to a more manageable level within a safe environment. This dissertation addresses the use of a virtual reality simulation to reduce the anxiety experienced by patients effected by acrophobia, known as the fear of heights. The preliminary research includes several in-depth interviews with psychologists and clinicians, as well as phobic patients to better understand the processes of gradual exposure rehabilitation. This method also determines how a virtual reality simulation may be effectively designed. The primary aim of this research is to build a VR simulation which will produce a conducive result in the anxiety levels of the participants’ mental health, within a familiar and comfortable environment. User-testing the simulation will further refine the program’s effectiveness. The outcome will be a program supported by existing virtual reality treatments for psychological disorders that ultimately reduces the anxiety experienced by participants.</p>

The Height of Reality: Using Virtual Reality Technology to Desensitize Acrophobia

<p>Virtual reality (VR) is a new up-and-coming technology on which to watch three dimensional films or play video games. However, the practical uses of virtual reality can spread much further than just media outputs. This research aims to explore one of the practical uses for virtual reality technology. VR has the potential to help patients living with psychological disorders, by reducing the anxiety that they experience to a more manageable level within a safe environment. This dissertation addresses the use of a virtual reality simulation to reduce the anxiety experienced by patients effected by acrophobia, known as the fear of heights. The preliminary research includes several in-depth interviews with psychologists and clinicians, as well as phobic patients to better understand the processes of gradual exposure rehabilitation. This method also determines how a virtual reality simulation may be effectively designed. The primary aim of this research is to build a VR simulation which will produce a conducive result in the anxiety levels of the participants’ mental health, within a familiar and comfortable environment. User-testing the simulation will further refine the program’s effectiveness. The outcome will be a program supported by existing virtual reality treatments for psychological disorders that ultimately reduces the anxiety experienced by participants.</p>

Synthetic Microbiomes on the Rise—Application in Deciphering the Role of Microbes in Host Health and Disease

The intestinal microbiota conveys significant benefits to host physiology. Although multiple chronic disorders have been associated with alterations in the intestinal microbiota composition and function, it is still unclear whether these changes are a cause or a consequence. Hence, to translate microbiome research into clinical application, it is necessary to provide a proof of causality of host–microbiota interactions. This is hampered by the complexity of the gut microbiome and many confounding factors. The application of gnotobiotic animal models associated with synthetic communities allows us to address the cause–effect relationship between the host and intestinal microbiota by reducing the microbiome complexity on a manageable level. In recent years, diverse bacterial communities were assembled to analyze the role of microorganisms in infectious, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases. In this review, we outline their application and features. Furthermore, we discuss the differences between human-derived and model-specific communities. Lastly, we highlight the necessity of generating novel synthetic communities to unravel the microbial role associated with specific health outcomes and disease phenotypes. This understanding is essential for the development of novel non-invasive targeted therapeutic strategies to control and modulate intestinal microbiota in health and disease.

Acacia pycnantha and gum arabic an alternative to antacids and proton pump inhibitors in the management of gastroesophageal and laryngopharyngeal reflux

ABSTRACT A case report is presented where a patient with long-term gastroesophageal reflux and recently diagnosed laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) underwent an 8-week treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). On discontinuation of the PPIs, symptoms of LPR remained and the patient’s reflux symptoms returned with increased severity. Consumption of acacia gum exudates from Acacia pycnantha resolved the LPR. Acacia pycnantha or gum arabic were both found to reduced reflux symptoms to a manageable level. An evaluation of the therapeutic effect of acacia gums using questionnaires to evaluate reflux symptoms, quality of life and global refluxogenic scores was undertaken. It was found acacia gums can be taken after the evening meal in the same way as antacids to manage reflux symptoms but with more sustained overnight relief.

‘We Ought to Be Professionals’: Strategies of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation of Emergency Medical Services Professionals in Confrontation With the Death of a Newborn in Simulated Task

Managing one’s own and others’ emotions is a necessary part of emergency medical services (EMS) professionals’ work. For that reason, we explored their emotion regulation strategies in a simulated task which focused these skills. Short semistructured interviews were conducted with 48 EMS professionals immediately after completing the task. They described their experience during this task as distressing on a manageable level. Emergent emotion regulation strategies are largely in line with established theoretical frameworks, but their specification is unique and offers new insights. Focusing on the task along with emotional distancing is a crucial combination employed by many EMS professionals. Pre-existing cognitive frames also help with processing of emotional stimuli. Among interpersonal strategies, allowing the relatives of a deceased child to cope with their grief was the most typical reaction. However, attempts to distract them or positively reframe their situation were also present, along with few other strategies.

Effective Handling of COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences and Lessons from the Perspective of South Korea

The ongoing pandemic (i.e., novel corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19)) is a major crisis that humanity is facing across the globe. In response to COVID-19, every country has designed and enforced various mechanisms to control its spread, and save their citizens from this deadly disease. Besides the general containment strategies, the use of technology and person-specific data collection and processing also vary from country to country. In this brief case report, we describe the measures that South Korea (SK) has adopted in order to curb the spread of COVID-19, and the success of SK in keeping the cases at a manageable level since the start of this pandemic until present via extensive use of technology. Specifically, we describe the data collected to control this pandemic, technical framework in place to ensure co-ordination with different authorities, containment strategies, and major breakthrough SK achieved when sporadic clusters emerged throughout the nation. With this brief overview, we aim to update the research community about the unprecedented efforts SK made, utilizing previous pandemic experiences, and the successful results they have obtained so far amid this pandemic, leveraging technology.

Effectiveness of integrated Aedes albopictus management in southern Switzerland

Background The exotic invasive tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, appeared in southern Switzerland in 2003. The spread of the mosquito has been surveyed constantly since then, and an integrated vector management (IVM) has been implemented to control its numbers. The control measures focus on the aquatic phase of the mosquito with removal of breeding sites and applications of larvicides in public areas whereas private areas are reached through extensive public information campaigns. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of the IVM. Methods Since all the municipalities with Ae. albopictus in southern Switzerland are currently implementing the IVM, Italian municipalities just across the Swiss-Italian border, where Ae. albopictus is present but no coordinated intervention programme is in place, served as control. Ovitraps and adult female traps were used to measure mosquito abundance in 2019. Generalised mixed-effects models were used to model the numbers of Ae. albopictus eggs and adult females collected. These numbers of Ae. albopictus eggs were compared to the numbers of eggs collected in 2012 and 2013 in a previous assessment of the IVM, using a hurdle model. Results Mean numbers of Ae. albopictus eggs and adult females in 2019 were consistently higher in the municipalities not following an IVM programme. In these municipalities, there were about four times (3.8) more eggs than in the municipalities implementing an IVM programme. Also, the numbers of eggs and adult females increased steadily from the beginning of the Ae. albopictus reproductive season, reaching a peak in August. In contrast, the increase in numbers of Ae. albopictus was much more contained in the municipalities implementing an IVM programme, without reaching an evident peak. Comparison with data from 2012 and 2013 indicates that the gap between intervention and non-intervention areas may have almost doubled in the past 6 years. Conclusions The results of the survey strongly support the efficacy of the IVM programme implemented in southern Switzerland compared to municipalities without defined control measures. With the constant implementation of an IVM, it appears possible to contain the numbers of Ae. albopictus at a manageable level, reducing the nuisance for the human population and the risk of arbovirus epidemics. Graphical Abstract

Assessing donor-to-donor variability in human intestinal organoid cultures

Donor-to-donor variability in primary human organoid cultures has not been well characterized. As these cultures contain multiple cell types, there is greater concern that variability could lead to increased noise. In this work we investigated donor-to-donor variability in human gut adult stem cell (ASC) organoids. We examined intestinal developmental pathways during culture differentiation in ileum- and colon-derived cultures established from multiple donors, showing that differentiation patterns were consistent among cultures. This finding indicates that donor-to-donor variability in this system remains at a manageable level. Intestinal metabolic activity was evaluated by targeted analysis of central carbon metabolites and by analyzing hormone production patterns. Both experiments demonstrated similar metabolic functions among donors. Importantly, this activity reflected intestinal biology, indicating that these ASC organoid cultures are appropriate for studying metabolic processes. This work establishes a framework for generating high confidence data using human primary cultures through thorough characterization of variability.

An Integrative Review of Self-efficacy: what Factors Enhance and Impair it?

This paper studies and analyzes self-efficacy with previous empirical research to find out and understand the factors that influence the strengthening and weakening of self-efficacy. The analysis that the authors conducted include the fields of education, health, leadership, and psychology. The sample articles for this study were academic papers obtained from the Google Scholar search engine and other sources including Sage, Routledge (Taylor & Francis), Elsevier, Springer, Eric, and Scopus. The author uses an integrated review method, a total of 20 papers were analyzed. This study has two conclusions, namely (1) factors such as feelings of fair treatment, well-organized activities, programs designed according to participant characteristics, stress at a manageable level of thinking, appropriate load, sense of expectation, and good experience, can increase self-efficacy, (2) on the contrary, feelings of discrimination, many problems that are difficult to overcome, lack of support, and a burdensome environment can damage self-efficacy

Solving Dual Casing Zonal Isolation with the Deployment of a New Well Abandonment System. Rock-to-Rock Barriers Sets for Major Operators

The Plug and Abandonment (P&A) requirement stipulates a permanent barrier to be placed for restoring the cap rock during well abandonment. For a single casing, section milling has been successfully implemented and widely used for a number of years. For a dual casing string, this becomes particularly challenging when both casing strings are cemented. Conventional techniques require milling the entire inner casing from the top of cement followed by section milling the outer casing. This could require milling up thousands of feet on of the inner string and is not a cost-efficient solution. The service company has been heavily involved in a number of P&A campaigns, where the requirement was to come up with a solution for dual casing section milling. This paper discusses the design, technology, field runs and best practices developed to overcome this operational and economic challenge and save rig time in P&A operations. The challenge was to design a robust section mill that can drift through the inner casing restriction and expand to a high ratio to mill the outer casing. It was equally critical to manage shock and vibrations during the milling operation, ensure stability and, competitive ROP without incurring tool damage. To solve the operational and economic challenges, a unique system was developed to reduce the rig time. The system is a combination of the newly engineered high-ratio hydraulic section mill, with a 180% expansion ratio and a precisely oriented hydraulic stabilizer below it. This creates a unique 6-point stabilization system that helps to maintain the dynamic loads and vibrations to a manageable level. The system allows for a dual casing section window in few trips as compared to conventional techniques. In the first run, a window in the inner casing is milled by a section mill. During the second run, the High-Expansion Ratio Section Mill (HRSM) is run through the restriction, and mill the entire casing. A high ratio under reamer can be included in the bottom hole assembly to clean the section and expose the formation prior to the cementing operation. This completes achieving a rock-to-rock barrier in a dual cemented casing application. The new HRSM system has so far been 100% successful on the five challenging jobs completed in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, resulted in significant rig-time savings along with the added benefits of fewer trips and less swarf at the surface. Two sizes have been developed and tested for 7"x9-5/8" and 9-5/8"x13-3/8" applications. The success during the early jobs is largely due to the robustness of the mill design, proper pre-job planning, meticulous execution, and implementation of key learnings from in-house and prior field tests.