An evaluation of two clinically-derived treatments for technophobia

Technology is ubiquitous in our occupational, educational and leisure lives. A fear of interacting with technology can therefore have a major impact on the quality of an individual’s life. This is particularly salient within education as an inability to maximise the benefits of technology may limit academic achievement and subsequent opportunities in life. The severity of the anxiety induced by technology has lead to a plethora of research into the prevalence of ‘technophobia’. This term may have clinical relevance and has been found to be comparable in severity to more traditional phobias [Thorpe, S. J. &; Brosnan, M. (in press). Does computer anxiety reach levels which conform to DSM IV criteria for specific phobia? Computers in Human Behavior]. This paper presents two studies examining the effect of clinically-derived treatments upon levels of anxiety induced by technology. Study 1 was a 10-week selective desensitisation programme with 16 participants (eight computer anxious, eight non-anxious). Over this period computer anxiety and coping cognitions were significantly improved in the computer anxious group and become comparable to those of the matched non-anxious controls. Study 2 was a single treatment session for anxiety. Thirty individuals identified as anxious were assigned to either a one-session treatment (n = 9) or non-treatment (n = 21) group. Initially, both groups were significantly more anxious than the non-anxious control group (n = 59). Subsequent testing established that over the period of an academic year the reduction in anxiety was three times greater in the treated group than the non-treated group such that by the end of the year the treated group no longer differed from the control group, whereas the non-treated group remained significantly more anxious. The implications and limitations of the studies are discussed.     

Influence of pH on the permeability of p-toluidine and aminopyrine through shed snake skin as a model membrane

The influence of pH on the permeability of p-toluidine (pKa, 5.3) and aminopyrine (pKa, 5.0) through shed snake skin as a model membrane was studied. The pH was adjusted to several values, and the solubility of the drugs in each donor was measured. Flux rates and permeability coefficients were calculated from the steady-state penetration portions. The flux rates of p-toluidine decreased as the pH value in the donor solution increased. On the other hand, the flux rates of aminopyrine were constant at any pH value. The permeability coefficients of each drug increased as the pH value in the donor solution increased. The partition coefficients (octanol/buffer) of each drug were dependent on the molecular fraction of un-ionized species. From these results, it is suggested that ionized species of p-toluidine transports through shed snake skin, but the ionized species of aminopyrine does not.     

Nomophobia: Dependency on virtual environments or social phobia?

Background

The increasing use of new technologies and virtual communication involving personal computers (PCs), tablets and mobile phones are causing changes in individuals’ daily habits and behavior. We report the case of an individual with social phobia who developed a dependency on communication through virtual environments (i.e., nomophobia), and used a PC as a form of relating to the outside world to reduce stress and to avoid direct social relations. Nomophobia refers to the discomfort or anxiety caused by the non-availability of a mobile phone, PC or any another virtual communication device. Social phobia is described as an anxiety disorder of chronic evolution.

Objective

To study nomophobia as a manifest behavior that might serve as an indication of a possible anxiety disorder.

Methodology

The treatment consisted of the use of medication, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and the application of evaluation tools (interviews, scales, inventories and questionnaires).

Results

The individual responded satisfactorily to medication and CBT treatment, which reduced his time using the PC and increased his exposure to real-life situations.

Conclusion

Nomophobic behavior produces changes in daily habits and can reveal other aspects to be investigated, such as the presence of comorbid mental disorders.     

模仿贪吃蛇模式的英语造句游戏的实现

在少儿英语教学中,连词造句是一种重要的教学形式。为提高学生的学习兴趣,模仿贪吃蛇游戏,采用JavaScfipt脚本语言,开发了基于web的吃单词造句的教学游戏,取得了较好的教学效果。     

乳腺MRI图像肿块分割的分段比较与方法研究

计算机辅助诊断通过对乳腺磁共振成像( MRI)中肿块区域的自动分割和测量为医生提供定量的诊断依据。对分割过程中不同阶段的多种算法进行实验对比,以此探索更具稳定性和准确性的分割方案：空间模糊C均值( sFCM)聚类算法在肿块的初始定位中具有抗噪声能力和稳定性强的优点,而GVF snake模型在精细分割中对局部轮廓具有较好的收敛性;结合两种算法,并运用MRI序列帧间灰度分布相似、肿块位置/形状相近的原理,最终提高整个序列的分割精度与稳定性。     

An efficient steering control formulation for the articulated body mobile robot “KR-II”

This paper introduces an efficient steering control method for the articulated body mobile robot Koryu-II (KR-II). KR-II is a real robot, composed of six cylindrical segments linked in series and has a long snake-like appearance. The main issue on KR-II's steering control is, given from a remote human operator the velocity and orientation commands for the foremost segment, to automatically generate joint commands for all the following segments, such that they follow the foremost segment's trajectory. The derived method is based on a trajectory planning scheme in the inertial reference frame, and is feasible for real time computation. It also presents good energy efficiency and trajectory tracking performance characteristics, and can be extended for KR-II's W-Shaped Configuration steering control, which augments the lateral stability of the robot, essential for locomotion over uneven terrain. The validity of these methods are verified by experiments on the mechanical model KR-II.     

一种改进的snake算法在人脸检测定位中的应用

在基于彩色图像中的人脸检测的人脸定位问题上,针对snake算法受能量函数的初始状态影响大等缺点,提出了一种改进的snake算法。引入目标图像的质心和目标的最大拉长度作为优先信息确定snake的初始状态,很好地弥补了snake算法的不足。同时减小了搜索的范围,降低了复杂程度,增加了实时性,定位效果也得到大大的提高。     

Snake模型在医学图像分割中的应用

基于Snake模型的图像分割技术是比较成功的研究领域,也是近年来图像处理领域研究的热点之一。Snake模型将基于图像本身的底层的视觉属性和人们先验知识结合起来,针对各种图像的不同特点,从高层和底层两个方面约束图像分割的过程。通过对Snake模型的基本原理及其几种改进的概括研究,阐述了Snake模型在图像分割中的一些应用方法。     

Morbidity of DSM-IV Axis I disorders in patients with noncardiac chest pain: Psychiatric morbidity linked with increased pain and health care utilization.

The present study examined current and lifetime psychiatric morbidity, chest pain, and health care utilization in 229 patients with noncardiac chest pain (NCCP), angina-like pain in the absence of cardiac etiology. Diagnostic interview findings based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) revealed a psychiatrically heterogeneous sample of whom 44% had a current Axis I psychiatric disorder. A total of 41% were diagnosed with a current anxiety disorder, and 13% were diagnosed with a mood disorder. Overall, 75% of patients had an Axis I clinical or subclinical disorder. Lifetime diagnoses of anxiety (55%) and mood disorders (44%) were also prevalent, including major depressive disorder (41%), social phobia (25%), and panic disorder (22%). Patients with an Axis I disorder reported more frequent and more painful chest pain compared with those without an Axis I disorder. Presence of an Axis I disorder was associated with increased life interference and health care utilization. Findings reveal that varied DSM-IV Axis I psychiatric disorders are prevalent among patients with NCCP, and this psychiatric morbidity is associated with a less favorable NCCP presentation. Implications for early identification of psychiatric disorders are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)