12 research outputs found
Stress, sex and synapses: an exploration of stress-associated male/female differences in electrophysiological properties of corticotropin-releasing hormone neurons of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus
No full textActivation of the neuroendocrine stress response in response to challenge is coordinated by corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN). The stress responsiveness of the brain in general and this system in particular, is determined, in part, by intrinsic factors including genetic background, age and sex. There is little information on whether the sex of an animal, prior to increases in sex hormones during adolescence, impacts cellular and synaptic mechanisms responsible for regulating CRH neurons. I characterized the differences in synaptic transmission and postsynaptic firing characteristics in identified CRH neurons from p. 21-30 male and female mice. I noted a longer delay to first spike in female mice and tested the hypothesis that this was a consequence of the actions of circulating glucocorticoids. The data in this thesis demonstrate how intrinsic sex differences and stress can exert control over postsynaptic CRH neuron activity.indefinit
An Analysis of their Prose and Poems
No full textBei der Schaffung einer nationalen kulturellen Identität spielt Literatur eine maßgebliche Rolle, und dies gilt insbesondere für verhältnismäßig junge Nationen wie Amerika. Die amerikanischen Dichter T. S. Eliot und Robert Frost beteiligen sich in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts aktiv an der öffentlichen Diskussion um die Herausbildung einer eigenständigen amerikanischen kulturellen Identität, wobei sie auch die Rolle des Individuums innerhalb der Gesellschaft und die der Region innerhalb der Nation reflektieren. Die vorliegende Analyse ihrer Selbstaussagen und ausgewählter Gedichte untersucht, warum Eliot häufig als kosmopolitischer Europäer, Frost dagegen als regionaler amerikanischer Dichter wahrgenommen wird, und kommt zu dem Schluß, daß es gerade Eliot ist, der durch rigorose Abgrenzung die Vielfalt und Eigenheit der Kulturen bewahren will, während Frost das Fremde durch die Betonung inneramerikanischer Kontinuitäten zu assimilieren sucht. Dabei zeigt die in den Gedichten verwendete Bildersprache, daß der in der Region scheinbar "geborgene" Dichter Frost die in der Moderne stattfindende Entfremdung zwischen Mensch und Natur nicht aufzuheben vermag, während Eliot, dessen Stadtbeschreibungen das Bild von Amerika als nature's nation zu negieren scheinen, Naturlandschaften als positives Symbol verwendet und sich damit in eine amerikanische literarische Tradition einschreibt.The American poets T. S. Eliot and Robert Frost acknowledge and accept the role literature plays in the formation of a national identity. At the beginning of the 20th century they actively participate in ongoing discussions of American identity, which they link with more general thoughts about the individual in society and the region as part of a nation. Analyzing both their own comments as well as selected poems, this thesis examines why Eliot is often identified as the cosmopolitan European, whereas Frost is seen as a regional American author. It shows that it is Eliot who strives to preserve the diversity and individuality of separate cultures, whereas Frost tries to cope with the Other by assimilating it into what he defines to be continuities of American cultural traditions. And it is, in the end, Frost, who is not able to overcome the alienation between the individual and its surroundings, whereas Eliot, whose urban images seem to negate the idea of America as nature's nation, accepts and continues this American literary tradition by using images taken from nature as a positive symbol
Data At Your Fingertips: Wegmarken einer exzellenten und vertrauenswürdigen Datenlandschaft. EcoDM-Empfehlungen
No full textMit dem BMBF geförderten Verbundprojekt EcoDM (Förderkennzeichen 16DWWQP) wurde erforscht, welche Herausforderungen, Chancen und Hindernisse sich im Bereich des rasanten digitalen Datenwachstums ergeben und wie Rahmenbedingungen aussehen könnten, Daten systematisch und FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) nutzen und teilen zu können. Einen zentralen Teil der Untersuchung bildeten neben Landscape- und Gap-Analysen Leitfaden-gestützte Interviews mit Expert:innen aus den Bereichen Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft, Public Sector und Qualifikation. Basierend auf den Projektergebnissen wurden 31 bereichsübergreifende Empfehlungen zur Förderung des Teilens und Nachnutzens von Daten entwickelt, die in dieser Broschüre mit einem Begleitwort veröffentlicht werden
EcoDM - Ökosystem Datenmanagement: Analysen - Empfehlungen - FAIRifizierung
No full textMit dem BMBF geförderten Verbundprojekt EcoDM (Förderkennzeichen 16DWWQP) wurde erforscht, welche Herausforderungen, Chancen und Hindernisse sich im Bereich des rasanten digitalen Datenwachstums ergeben und wie Rahmenbedingungen aussehen könnten, Daten systematisch und FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) nutzen und teilen zu können. Einen zentralen Teil der Untersuchung bildeten neben Landscape- und Gap-Analysen Leitfaden-gestützte Interviews mit Expert*innen aus den Bereichen Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft, Public Sector und Qualifizierung. Basierend auf den Projektergebnissen wurden Empfehlungen zur Förderung des Teilens und Nachnutzens von Daten entwickelt. Der vorliegende Report veröffentlicht die gesammelten Untersuchungsergebnisse gemeinsam mit den 31 abgeleiteten bereichsübergreifenden Empfehlungen und die Diskussion dieser Empfehlungen im Rahmen der RDA Deutschland Tagung 2022
A aderência à medicação em pacientes portadores de transtorno mental em uma unidade básica de saúde.
No full textTrabalho de Conclusão de Curso - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Curso de Medicina. Departamento de Saúde Pública
Effektivität und Effizienz von Online-Hilfesystemen in deutschen Universitäts-OPACs
No full textToday, almost always Online Public Access Catalogues (OPACs) are the only way to access library collections, but practical experience shows that users have problems dealing with electronic catalogues. The author therefore recommends that any good OPAC needs an elaborated online help system. The present master thesis surveys implemented online help systems in German university OPACs and gives a critical discussion. Beyond the variety of help texts, the author also includes help systems like spell check, search filters for results and recommender. On one hand, the analysis is based on a function-related classification of those help systems and on the other, the introduction of the terms effectiveness and efficiency serve as parameters to determine the usefulness of a help system. As a result, the author presents basic principles for an efficient help system that are based on the findings of this master thesis
Piloting Digital Navigators to Promote Acceptance and Engagement With Digital Mental Health Apps in German Outpatient Care: Protocol for a Multicenter, Single-Group, Observational, Mixed Methods Interventional Study (DigiNavi)
No full textBackgroundIn Germany, patients often have to wait several months for psychotherapeutic treatment. Digital therapeutics (DTx) offer a promising approach for timely mental health support, but their use remains limited. Digital navigators (DNs) are specially trained medical assistants who support other health care professionals (HCPs) in selecting and using DTx. This can improve digital health literacy, increase engagement, and reduce the burden on HCPs.
ObjectiveThe DigiNavi study is the first pilot study that aims to test the feasibility of implementing DNs in general practice and outpatient psychiatric care in Germany.
MethodsThis mixed methods study took place at six study sites (three psychiatric outpatient clinics, three general practices) in Germany. In the prestudy, patients and HCPs participated in semistructured interviews and focus groups concerning their acceptance and expectations of DNs (phase I). The Harvard Digital Navigator Training (HDNT) was adapted, and medical assistants were trained as DNs (phase II). During the intervention, 8 patients per site (N=48) diagnosed with a mental disorder were recruited via convenience sampling and supported by DNs in using DTx for mental health for 12 weeks (phase III). Patients’ (N=48) and HCPs’ (N=18) digital health literacy, digital and technical literacy, readiness and ability to change, and clinical symptom severity were assessed before and after 12 weeks of DTx prescription and support by DNs. Patient engagement with the DiGAs (usage duration and intensity) was measured after the intervention. Quantitative data were analyzed using a pre-post design. Finally, qualitative interviews were conducted with HCPs, patients, and DNs to explore their experiences with DNs, including perceived implementation barriers.
ResultsThe study received funding in July 2024. The prestudy including 35 participants was conducted from August to October 2024. HDNT adaptation and DN training were conducted from October to December 2024. Recruitment and quantitative baseline data collection started in December 2024, and 48 participants were enrolled by the end of March 2025. The intervention study ended in June 2025. Result dissemination and the development of strategies for the long-term implementation of DNs into the German health care system are planned until September 2025. We hypothesize that the provision of support by DNs will enhance patients’ and HCP’ digital and technical literacy, patient engagement with DiGAs, and readiness and ability to change. In addition, patients’ mental health is expected to improve after the end of the intervention.
ConclusionsThis is the first study to examine the feasibility and effects of DNs in German health care. The study will provide significant insights into the acceptability and feasibility of human-facilitated competency development for mental health apps in multiprofessional health care teams and their patients. The successful implementation of DNs can promote the use of DTx in Germany and thus enhance access to and the provision of health care for individuals affected by a mental disorder.
Trial RegistrationGerman Clinical Trial Register DRKS00034327; https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00034327; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06575582; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06575582
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/6765
Self-correcting Bayesian target tracking
No full textThe copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the authorAbstract
Visual tracking, a building block for many applications, has challenges such as occlusions,illumination changes, background clutter and variable motion dynamics that may degrade the
tracking performance and are likely to cause failures. In this thesis, we propose Track-Evaluate-Correct framework (self-correlation) for existing trackers in order to achieve a robust tracking.
For a tracker in the framework, we embed an evaluation block to check the status of tracking quality and a correction block to avoid upcoming failures or to recover from failures. We present a generic representation and formulation of the self-correcting tracking for Bayesian trackers using a Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN). The self-correcting tracking is done similarly to a selfaware
system where parameters are tuned in the model or different models are fused or selected in a piece-wise way in order to deal with tracking challenges and failures. In the DBN model
representation, the parameter tuning, fusion and model selection are done based on evaluation and correction variables that correspond to the evaluation and correction, respectively. The inferences
of variables in the DBN model are used to explain the operation of self-correcting tracking. The specific contributions under the generic self-correcting framework are correlation-based selfcorrecting
tracking for an extended object with model points and tracker-level fusion as described below.
For improving the probabilistic tracking of extended object with a set of model points, we use Track-Evaluate-Correct framework in order to achieve self-correcting tracking. The framework
combines the tracker with an on-line performance measure and a correction technique. We correlate model point trajectories to improve on-line the accuracy of a failed or an uncertain tracker. A model point tracker gets assistance from neighbouring trackers whenever degradation in its
performance is detected using the on-line performance measure. The correction of the model point state is based on the correlation information from the states of other trackers. Partial Least
Square regression is used to model the correlation of point tracker states from short windowed trajectories adaptively. Experimental results on data obtained from optical motion capture systems show the improvement in tracking performance of the proposed framework compared to the
baseline tracker and other state-of-the-art trackers. The proposed framework allows appropriate re-initialisation of local trackers to recover from failures that are caused by clutter and missed
detections in the motion capture data.
Finally, we propose a tracker-level fusion framework to obtain self-correcting tracking. The
fusion framework combines trackers addressing different tracking challenges to improve the
overall performance. As a novelty of the proposed framework, we include an online performance measure to identify the track quality level of each tracker to guide the fusion. The trackers
in the framework assist each other based on appropriate mixing of the prior states. Moreover, the track quality level is used to update the target appearance model. We demonstrate the framework
with two Bayesian trackers on video sequences with various challenges and show its robustness
compared to the independent use of the trackers used in the framework, and also compared to
other state-of-the-art trackers. The appropriate online performance measure based appearance
model update and prior mixing on trackers allows the proposed framework to deal with tracking
challenges
