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Background
Depression is one of the key factors contributing to difficulties in one’s ability to work, and serves as one of the major reasons why employees apply for psychotherapy and receive insurance subsidization of treatments. Hence, an increasing and growing number of studies rely on workability assessment scales as their primary outcome measure. The Work and Social Assessment Scale (WSAS) has been documented as one of the most psychometrically reliable and valid tools especially developed to assess workability and social functioning in patients with mental health problems. Yet, the application of the WSAS in Germany has been limited due to the paucity of a valid questionnaire in the German language. The objective of the present study was to translate the WSAS, as a brief and easy administrable tool into German and test its psychometric properties in a sample of adults with depression.
Methods
Two hundred seventy-seven patients (M = 48.3 years, SD = 11.1) with mild to moderately severe depression were recruited. A multistep translation from English into the German language was performed and the factorial validity, criterion validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, internal consistency, and floor and ceiling effects were examined.
Results
The confirmatory factor analysis results confirmed the one-factor structure of the WSAS. Significant correlations with the WHODAS 2–0 questionnaire, a measure of functionality, demonstrated good convergent validity. Significant correlations with depression and quality of life demonstrated good criterion validity. The WSAS also demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .89), and the absence of floor and ceiling effects indicated good sensitivity of the instrument.
Conclusions
The results of the present study demonstrated that the German version of the WSAS has good psychometric properties comparable to other international versions of this scale. The findings recommend a global assessment of psychosocial functioning with the sum score of the WSAS.
Background
Relatively little is known about protective factors and the emergence and maintenance of positive outcomes in the field of adolescents with chronic conditions. Therefore, the primary aim of the study is to acquire a deeper understanding of the dynamic process of resilience factors, coping strategies and psychosocial adjustment of adolescents living with chronic conditions.
Methods/design
We plan to consecutively recruit N = 450 adolescents (12–21 years) from three German patient registries for chronic conditions (type 1 diabetes, cystic fibrosis, or juvenile idiopathic arthritis). Based on screening for anxiety and depression, adolescents are assigned to two parallel groups – “inconspicuous” (PHQ-9 and GAD-7 < 7) vs. “conspicuous” (PHQ-9 or GAD-7 ≥ 7) – participating in a prospective online survey at baseline and 12-month follow-up. At two time points (T1, T2), we assess (1) intra- and interpersonal resiliency factors, (2) coping strategies, and (3) health-related quality of life, well-being, satisfaction with life, anxiety and depression. Using a cross-lagged panel design, we will examine the bidirectional longitudinal relations between resiliency factors and coping strategies, psychological adaptation, and psychosocial adjustment. To monitor Covid-19 pandemic effects, participants are also invited to take part in an intermediate online survey.
Discussion
The study will provide a deeper understanding of adaptive, potentially modifiable processes and will therefore help to develop novel, tailored interventions supporting a positive adaptation in youths with a chronic condition. These strategies should not only support those at risk but also promote the maintenance of a successful adaptation.
Trial registration
German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), no. DRKS00025125. Registered on May 17, 2021.
Background
The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a risk cluster for a number of secondary diseases. The implementation of prevention programs requires early detection of individuals at risk. However, access to health care providers is limited in structurally weak regions. Brandenburg, a rural federal state in Germany, has an especially high MetS prevalence and disease burden. This study aims to validate and test the feasibility of a setup for mobile diagnostics of MetS and its secondary diseases, to evaluate the MetS prevalence and its association with moderating factors in Brandenburg and to identify new ways of early prevention, while establishing a “Mobile Brandenburg Cohort” to reveal new causes and risk factors for MetS.
Methods
In a pilot study, setups for mobile diagnostics of MetS and secondary diseases will be developed and validated. A van will be equipped as an examination room using point-of-care blood analyzers and by mobilizing standard methods. In study part A, these mobile diagnostic units will be placed at different locations in Brandenburg to locally recruit 5000 participants aged 40-70 years. They will be examined for MetS and advice on nutrition and physical activity will be provided. Questionnaires will be used to evaluate sociodemographics, stress perception, and physical activity. In study part B, participants with MetS, but without known secondary diseases, will receive a detailed mobile medical examination, including MetS diagnostics, medical history, clinical examinations, and instrumental diagnostics for internal, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and cognitive disorders. Participants will receive advice on nutrition and an exercise program will be demonstrated on site. People unable to participate in these mobile examinations will be interviewed by telephone. If necessary, participants will be referred to general practitioners for further diagnosis.
Discussion
The mobile diagnostics approach enables early detection of individuals at risk, and their targeted referral to local health care providers. Evaluation of the MetS prevalence, its relation to risk-increasing factors, and the “Mobile Brandenburg Cohort” create a unique database for further longitudinal studies on the implementation of home-based prevention programs to reduce mortality, especially in rural regions.
Trial registration
German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00022764; registered 07 October 2020—retrospectively registered.
Children’s physical fitness development and related moderating effects of age and sex are well documented, especially boys’ and girls’ divergence during puberty. The situation might be different during prepuberty. As girls mature approximately two years earlier than boys, we tested a possible convergence of performance with five tests representing four components of physical fitness in a large sample of 108,295 eight-year old third-graders. Within this single prepubertal year of life and irrespective of the test, performance increased linearly with chronological age, and boys outperformed girls to a larger extent in tests requiring muscle mass for successful performance. Tests differed in the magnitude of age effects (gains), but there was no evidence for an interaction between age and sex. Moreover, “physical fitness” of schools correlated at r = 0.48 with their age effect which might imply that "fit schools” promote larger gains; expected secular trends from 2011 to 2019 were replicated.
Exercise is known for its beneficial effects on preventing cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) in the general population. People living with the human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) are prone to sedentarism, thus raising their already elevated risk of developing CMDs in comparison to individuals without HIV. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine if exercise is associated with reduced risk of self-reported CMDs in a German HIV-positive sample (n = 446). Participants completed a self-report survey to assess exercise levels, date of HIV diagnosis, CD4 cell count, antiretroviral therapy, and CMDs. Participants were classified into exercising or sedentary conditions. Generalized linear models with Poisson regression were conducted to assess the prevalence ratio (PR) of PLWH reporting a CMD. Exercising PLWH were less likely to report a heart arrhythmia for every increase in exercise duration (PR: 0.20: 95% CI: 0.10–0.62, p < 0.01) and diabetes mellitus for every increase in exercise session per week (PR: 0.40: 95% CI: 0.10–1, p < 0.01). Exercise frequency and duration are associated with a decreased risk of reporting arrhythmia and diabetes mellitus in PLWH. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying exercise as a protective factor for CMDs in PLWH.
Tod und Krise
(2021)
Der Tod wird oftmals als größtmögliche menschliche Krise wahrgenommen. Doch wie definiert sich Krise im Kontext von Tod und Sterben? Dieser Frage geht der vorliegende Sammelband im zeitlichen Rahmen des langen 19. Jahrhunderts nach, welches sich durch zahlreiche Brüche und Veränderungen im Umgang mit dem Tod und den Verstorbenen auszeichnet.
Die Beiträge sind das Ergebnis eines gleichnamigen Symposiums im Jahr 2019. Aus interdisziplinärer Perspektive thematisieren Jungforscher:innen Bestattungspraktiken im Krieg und in Seuchenzeiten, setzen sich mit Innovationen im europäischen Bestattungswesen und mit den daraus resultierenden Spannungsverhältnissen auseinander. Sie problematisieren die Repräsentationsbedürfnisse des Adels im Zusammenhang mit dem Tod und untersuchen Erinnerungskulturen sowie das bewusste Verdrängen von Todeskontexten. Hierbei wird der Fokus auf die Akteur:innen gelegt, deren Intentionen und ihr konkretes Handeln. Krisen fungieren zum einen als Motor für neue Entwicklungen. Zum anderen verdeutlichen sie bisweilen eine erstaunliche Innovationsresistenz beim Umgang mit dem Tod. Eines aber zeichnet Krisen maßgeblich aus: sie zwingen die Betroffenen zu einer Entscheidung.
People perceive sentences more favourably after hearing or reading them many times. A prominent approach in linguistic theory argues that these types of exposure effects (satiation effects) show direct evidence of a generative approach to linguistic knowledge: only some sentences improve under repeated exposure, and which sentences do improve can be predicted by a model of linguistic competence that yields natural syntactic classes. However, replications of the original findings have been inconsistent, and it remains unclear whether satiation effects can be reliably induced in an experimental setting at all. Here we report four findings regarding satiation effects in wh-questions across German and English. First, the effects pertain to zone of well-formedness rather than syntactic class: all intermediate ratings, including calibrated fillers, increase at the beginning of the experimental session regardless of syntactic construction. Second, though there is satiation, ratings asymptote below maximum acceptability. Third, these effects are consistent across judgments of superiority effects in English and German. Fourth, wh-questions appear to show similar profiles in English and German, despite these languages being traditionally considered to differ strongly in whether they show effects on movement: violations of the superiority condition can be modulated to a similar degree in both languages by manipulating subject-object initiality and animacy congruency of the wh-phrase. We improve on classic satiation methods by distinguishing between two crucial tests, namely whether exposure selectively targets certain grammatical constructions or whether there is a general repeated exposure effect. We conclude that exposure effects can be reliably induced in rating experiments but exposure does not appear to selectively target certain grammatical constructions. Instead, they appear to be a phenomenon of intermediate gradient judgments.
Non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) are far more emissive than their fullerene-based counterparts. Here, we study the spectral properties of photocurrent generation and recombination of the blend of the donor polymer PM6 with the NFA Y6. We find that the radiative recombination of free charges is almost entirely due to the re-occupation and decay of Y6 singlet excitons, but that this pathway contributes less than 1% to the total recombination. As such, the open-circuit voltage of the PM6:Y6 blend is determined by the energetics and kinetics of the charge-transfer (CT) state. Moreover, we find that no information on the energetics of the CT state manifold can be gained from the low-energy tail of the photovoltaic external quantum efficiency spectrum, which is dominated by the excitation spectrum of the Y6 exciton. We, finally, estimate the charge-separated state to lie only 120 meV below the Y6 singlet exciton energy, meaning that this blend indeed represents a high-efficiency system with a low energetic offset.
Background
Recent research emphasized the role of inflammatory processes in the pathophysiology of depression. Theories hypothesizes that life events (LE) can affect the immune system and trigger depressive symptoms. LE are also considered as one of the best predictors for the onset and course of depressive disorders.
Methods
Observational study across three treatment settings: n=208 depressive patients (75.5%f, M 46.6 y) were examined on depression (BDI-II), life events (ILE) and inflammatory markers (IL-6, CRP, fibrinogen, ICAM-1, TNF-alpha, E-selectin) at baseline (t0), 5-week(t1) and 5-month(t2) follow-up. Effects and interactions were analyzed with regression models.
Results
LE were associated with depressive symptoms at t0 (beta=.209; p=.002) and both follow-ups. Except for CRP, which was linked to depression symptoms at t2 (betai=-.190; p=.032), there were no effects of inflammatory markers on depressive symptoms. At t1, an interaction between CRP and LE in total (beta=-.249; p=.041) was found as well as for LE in the past five years (beta=-.122; p=.027). Similar interactions were found between cumulative LE and ICAM-1 (beta=-.197; p=.003) and IL-6 (beta=-.425; p=.001).
Conclusion
The cumulative burden of LE effects symptoms and treatment outcome in depressive patients. There is some evidence that inflammatory marker may have long-term effects on treatment outcome as they seem to weaken the determining relation between LE and depression.
PC2P
(2021)
Motivation:
Prediction of protein complexes from protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks is an important problem in systems biology, as they control different cellular functions. The existing solutions employ algorithms for network community detection that identify dense subgraphs in PPI networks. However, gold standards in yeast and human indicate that protein complexes can also induce sparse subgraphs, introducing further challenges in protein complex prediction.
Results:
To address this issue, we formalize protein complexes as biclique spanned subgraphs, which include both sparse and dense subgraphs. We then cast the problem of protein complex prediction as a network partitioning into biclique spanned subgraphs with removal of minimum number of edges, called coherent partition. Since finding a coherent partition is a computationally intractable problem, we devise a parameter-free greedy approximation algorithm, termed Protein Complexes from Coherent Partition (PC2P), based on key properties of biclique spanned subgraphs. Through comparison with nine contenders, we demonstrate that PC2P: (i) successfully identifies modular structure in networks, as a prerequisite for protein complex prediction, (ii) outperforms the existing solutions with respect to a composite score of five performance measures on 75% and 100% of the analyzed PPI networks and gold standards in yeast and human, respectively, and (iii,iv) does not compromise GO semantic similarity and enrichment score of the predicted protein complexes. Therefore, our study demonstrates that clustering of networks in terms of biclique spanned subgraphs is a promising framework for detection of complexes in PPI networks.
Background
The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a risk cluster for a number of secondary diseases. The implementation of prevention programs requires early detection of individuals at risk. However, access to health care providers is limited in structurally weak regions. Brandenburg, a rural federal state in Germany, has an especially high MetS prevalence and disease burden. This study aims to validate and test the feasibility of a setup for mobile diagnostics of MetS and its secondary diseases, to evaluate the MetS prevalence and its association with moderating factors in Brandenburg and to identify new ways of early prevention, while establishing a “Mobile Brandenburg Cohort” to reveal new causes and risk factors for MetS.
Methods
In a pilot study, setups for mobile diagnostics of MetS and secondary diseases will be developed and validated. A van will be equipped as an examination room using point-of-care blood analyzers and by mobilizing standard methods. In study part A, these mobile diagnostic units will be placed at different locations in Brandenburg to locally recruit 5000 participants aged 40-70 years. They will be examined for MetS and advice on nutrition and physical activity will be provided. Questionnaires will be used to evaluate sociodemographics, stress perception, and physical activity. In study part B, participants with MetS, but without known secondary diseases, will receive a detailed mobile medical examination, including MetS diagnostics, medical history, clinical examinations, and instrumental diagnostics for internal, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and cognitive disorders. Participants will receive advice on nutrition and an exercise program will be demonstrated on site. People unable to participate in these mobile examinations will be interviewed by telephone. If necessary, participants will be referred to general practitioners for further diagnosis.
Discussion
The mobile diagnostics approach enables early detection of individuals at risk, and their targeted referral to local health care providers. Evaluation of the MetS prevalence, its relation to risk-increasing factors, and the “Mobile Brandenburg Cohort” create a unique database for further longitudinal studies on the implementation of home-based prevention programs to reduce mortality, especially in rural regions.
Trial registration
German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS00022764; registered 07 October 2020—retrospectively registered.
Previous studies (Hyona, Yan, & Vainio, 2018; Yan et al., 2014) have demonstrated that in morphologically rich languages a word's morphological status is processed parafoveally to be used in modulating saccadic programming in reading. In the present parafoveal preview study conducted in Finnish, we examined the exact nature of this effect by comparing reading of morphologically complex words (a stem + two suffixes) to that of monomorphemic words. In the preview-change condition, the final 3-4 letters were replaced with other letters making the target word a pseudoword; for suffixed words, the word stem remained intact but the suffix information was unavailable; for monomorphemic words, only part of the stem was parafoveally available. Three alternative predictions were put forth. According to the first alternative, the morphological effect in initial fixation location is due to parafoveally perceiving the suffix as a highly frequent letter cluster and then adjusting the saccade program to land closer to the word beginning for suffixed than monomorphemic words. The second alternative, the processing difficulty hypothesis, assumes a morphological complexity effect: suffixed words are more complex than monomorphemic words. Therefore, the attentional window is narrower and the saccade is shorter. The third alternative posits that the effect reflects parafoveal access to the word's stem. The results for the initial fixation location and fixation durations were consistent with the parafoveal stem-access view.
Toll-like receptor (TLR) can trigger an immune response against virus including SARS-CoV-2. TLR expression/distribution is varying in mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) depending on their culture environments. Here, to explore the effect of periodic thermomechanical cues on TLRs, thermally controlled shape-memory polymer sheets with programmable actuation capacity were created. The proportion of MSCs expressing SARS-CoV-2-associated TLRs was increased upon stimulation. The TLR4/7 colocalization was promoted and retained in the endoplasmic reticula. The TLR redistribution was driven by myosin-mediated F-actin assembly. These results highlight the potential of boosting the immunity for combating COVID-19 via thermomechanical preconditioning of MSCs.
In contrast to the common conception that the interfacial energy-level alignment is affixed once the interface is formed, we demonstrate that heterojunctions between organic semiconductors and metal-halide perovskites exhibit huge energy-level realignment during photoexcitation. Importantly, the photoinduced level shifts occur in the organic component, including the first molecular layer in direct contact with the perovskite. This is caused by charge-carrier accumulation within the organic semiconductor under illumination and the weak electronic coupling between the junction components.
Lee and Schwarz (L&S) suggest that separation is the grounded procedure underlying cleansing effects in different psychological domains. Here, we interpret L&S's account from a hierarchical view of cognition that considers the influence of physical properties and sensorimotor constraints on mental representations. This approach allows theoretical integration and generalization of L&S's account to the domain of formal quantitative reasoning.
Organic solar cells (OSC) nowadays match their inorganic competitors in terms of current production but lag behind with regards to their open-circuit voltage loss and fill-factor, with state-of-the-art OSCs rarely displaying fill-factor of 80% and above. The fill-factor of transport-limited solar cells, including organic photovoltaic devices, is affected by material and device-specific parameters, whose combination is represented in terms of the established figures of merit, such as theta and alpha. Herein, it is demonstrated that these figures of merit are closely related to the long-range carrier drift and diffusion lengths. Further, a simple approach is presented to devise these characteristic lengths using steady-state photoconductance measurements. This yields a straightforward way of determining theta and alpha in complete cells and under operating conditions. This approach is applied to a variety of photovoltaic devices-including the high efficiency nonfullerene acceptor blends-and show that the diffusion length of the free carriers provides a good correlation with the fill-factor. It is, finally, concluded that most state-of-the-art organic solar cells exhibit a sufficiently large drift length to guarantee efficient charge extraction at short circuit, but that they still suffer from too small diffusion lengths of photogenerated carriers limiting their fill factor.
Objective:
Therapist competence is considered essential for the success of psychotherapy. Feedback is an intervention which has the potential to improve therapist competence. The present study investigated whether competence feedback leads to an improvement of therapist competence and patient outcome.
Method:
Sixty-seven master-level clinical trainees were randomly assigned to either a competence feedback group (CFG) or a control group (CG). Patients with a diagnosis of major depression (N = 114) were randomly assigned to CFG or CG. Treatment included 20 individual sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In CFG, therapists received, parallel to the treatment, five competence feedbacks, based on videotaped therapy sessions. Independent raters assessed therapist competence with the Cognitive Therapy Scale (CTS) and provided the competence feedback. Patient outcome was evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and therapeutic alliance (Helping Alliance Questionnaire [HAQ]) from both therapist's (HAQ-T) and patient's (HAQ-P) perspective were evaluated after each of the 20 sessions.
Results:
(a) Therapist competence (CTS) increased significantly more for CFG than CG. (b) Depression (BDI-II) decreased significantly across sessions for both groups, but without evidence for a group-differential benefit for the CFG. (c) Therapeutic alliance (HAQ-T/P) increased significantly across sessions for both groups from both perspectives, but without group differences. (d) There is a positive effect of BDI-II on CTS at the beginning and a negative effect of CTS on BDI-II at the end of therapy.
Conclusion:
Competence feedback improves therapists' independently rated competence, but there is no evidence that competence feedback in CBT leads to better outcome.
What is the public health significance of this article? This study suggests the substantial value of systematic competence feedback for improving therapist competence in the psychotherapy of depression. No significant effect of competence feedback on the reduction of reported depressive symptoms was found.
Hintergrund. Personen, die mit der chronischen Erkrankung HIV leben (PWH), müssen ihr Leben lang die sog. antiretrovirale Therapie (ART) einnehmen, um einen Ausbruch der Erkrankung in das Vollbild AIDS (Akquiriertes Immun-Defizienz-Syndrom) zu vermeiden. Gleichzeitig ist die ART und HIV selbst assoziiert mit dem Auftreten zusätzlicher Erkrankungen (Komorbiditäten) kardiovaskulärer oder psychologischer Natur. Die Prävalenz von Komorbiditäten und schlechter Lebensqualität ist im Vergleich zu HIV-negativen Personen deutlich höher.
Methoden. Es wurden zwei Metaanalysen zu sportlicher Betätigung, PWH und (1) kardiovaskulären und (2) psychologischen Parametern sowie eine Querschnittsstudie (HIBES-Studie, HIV-Begleiterkrankungen und Sport) durchgeführt. Für die Auswertung der metaanalytischen Daten wurde der Review Manager 5.3, für die Auswertung der Daten der HIBES-Studie das Analyseprogramm „R“ verwendet. In den Metaanalysen wurden, neben den Hauptanalysen verschiedener Parameter, erstmals spezifische Subgruppenanalysen durchgeführt. Die HIBES-Studie untersuchte Unterschiede zwischen kumulativen (2-3 verschiedenen Sportarten pro Woche) und einfachen (eine Sportart pro Woche) Freizeitsport und analysiert die Zusammenhänge von Parametern des Freizeitsports (Trainingshäufigkeit, -Minuten und –Intensität), Komorbiditäten und der Lebensqualität.
Ergebnisse. Ausdauer- und Krafttraining haben einen mittel-starken bis starken positiven Effekt auf die maximale Sauerstoffaufnahme (SMD= 0.66, p< .00001), den 6-Minuten-Walk-Test (6MWT) (SMD= 0.59, p= .02), die maximale Watt Zahl (SMD= 0.80, p= .009). Kein Effekt wurde bei der maximalen Herzfrequenz und dem systolischen sowie diastolischen Blutdruck gefunden. Subgruppenanalysen zu ≥3 Einheiten/Woche, ≥150 Min./Woche ergaben hohe Effektstärken in der maximalen Watt Zahl und 6MWT. Ausdauer- und Krafttraining zusammen mit Yoga haben einen starken Effekt auf Symptome der Depression (SMD= -0.84, p= .02) und Angststörungen (SMD= -1.23, p= .04). Die Subanalyse der Depression zu professioneller Supervision und sportlicher Betätigung wiesen einen sehr starken Effekt (SMD= -1.40, p= .03). Die HIBES-Studie wies ein sehr differenziertes Bild im Sportverhalten von PWH in Deutschland auf. 49% der Teilnehmer übten mehr als eine Sportart pro Woche aus. Es wurden keine Unterschiede zwischen kumuliertem (CTE) und einfachem Sport (STE) in der Lebensqualität gefunden. Die Freizeitsportparameter (Häufigkeiten/Woche, Minuten/Woche, Intensität/Woche) waren in der CTE-Gruppe deutlich höher als in der STE-Gruppe. Trainingsminuten und die -Intensität zeigten beim Vorhandensein einer Komorbidität einen großen Zusammenhang mit der Lebensqualität. Die Minuten und die Intensität des durchgeführten Sportes zeigten einen prädiktiven Zusammenhang mit der Lebensqualität.
Konklusion: Sportliche Betätigung verbessert die maximale Sauerstoffaufnahme und Symptome der Depression und Angststörungen. Die Aussagekraft der Subanalysen ist aufgrund der geringen Studienzahl, vorsichtig zu interpretieren. Erhöhte Trainingsparameter finden sich eher bei PWH, die mehr als eine Sportart pro Woche treiben. Daher kann kumulierter Sport als mediierender Faktor zur Steigerung der Lebensqualität interpretiert werden; zumindest bei PWH mit einer psychologischen Komorbidität.
Background
Depression is one of the key factors contributing to difficulties in one’s ability to work, and serves as one of the major reasons why employees apply for psychotherapy and receive insurance subsidization of treatments. Hence, an increasing and growing number of studies rely on workability assessment scales as their primary outcome measure. The Work and Social Assessment Scale (WSAS) has been documented as one of the most psychometrically reliable and valid tools especially developed to assess workability and social functioning in patients with mental health problems. Yet, the application of the WSAS in Germany has been limited due to the paucity of a valid questionnaire in the German language. The objective of the present study was to translate the WSAS, as a brief and easy administrable tool into German and test its psychometric properties in a sample of adults with depression.
Methods
Two hundred seventy-seven patients (M = 48.3 years, SD = 11.1) with mild to moderately severe depression were recruited. A multistep translation from English into the German language was performed and the factorial validity, criterion validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, internal consistency, and floor and ceiling effects were examined.
Results
The confirmatory factor analysis results confirmed the one-factor structure of the WSAS. Significant correlations with the WHODAS 2–0 questionnaire, a measure of functionality, demonstrated good convergent validity. Significant correlations with depression and quality of life demonstrated good criterion validity. The WSAS also demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .89), and the absence of floor and ceiling effects indicated good sensitivity of the instrument.
Conclusions
The results of the present study demonstrated that the German version of the WSAS has good psychometric properties comparable to other international versions of this scale. The findings recommend a global assessment of psychosocial functioning with the sum score of the WSAS.
Data privacy is a very important issue. Especially in fields like medicine, it is paramount to abide by the existing privacy regulations to preserve patients' anonymity. However, data is required for research and training machine learning models that could help gain insight into complex correlations or personalised treatments that may otherwise stay undiscovered. Those models generally scale with the amount of data available, but the current situation often prohibits building large databases across sites. So it would be beneficial to be able to combine similar or related data from different sites all over the world while still preserving data privacy. Federated learning has been proposed as a solution for this, because it relies on the sharing of machine learning models, instead of the raw data itself. That means private data never leaves the site or device it was collected on. Federated learning is an emerging research area, and many domains have been identified for the application of those methods. This systematic literature review provides an extensive look at the concept of and research into federated learning and its applicability for confidential healthcare datasets.
Sequential data assimilation of the stochastic SEIR epidemic model for regional COVID-19 dynamics
(2021)
Newly emerging pandemics like COVID-19 call for predictive models to implement precisely tuned responses to limit their deep impact on society. Standard epidemic models provide a theoretically well-founded dynamical description of disease incidence. For COVID-19 with infectiousness peaking before and at symptom onset, the SEIR model explains the hidden build-up of exposed individuals which creates challenges for containment strategies. However, spatial heterogeneity raises questions about the adequacy of modeling epidemic outbreaks on the level of a whole country. Here, we show that by applying sequential data assimilation to the stochastic SEIR epidemic model, we can capture the dynamic behavior of outbreaks on a regional level. Regional modeling, with relatively low numbers of infected and demographic noise, accounts for both spatial heterogeneity and stochasticity. Based on adapted models, short-term predictions can be achieved. Thus, with the help of these sequential data assimilation methods, more realistic epidemic models are within reach.
Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a standard geophysical technique used to image near-surface structures in sedimentary environments. In such environments, GPR data acquisition and processing are increasingly following 3D strategies. However, the processed GPR data volumes are typically still interpreted using selected 2D slices and manual concepts such as GPR facies analyses. In seismic volume interpretation, the application of (semi-)automated and reproducible approaches such as 3D attribute analyses as well as the production of attribute-based facies models are common practices today. In contrast, the field of 3D GPR attribute analyses and corresponding facies models is largely untapped. We have developed and applied a workflow to produce 3D attribute-based GPR facies models comprising the dominant sedimentary reflection patterns in a GPR volume, which images complex sandy structures on the dune island of Spiekeroog (Northern Germany). After presenting our field site and details regarding our data acquisition and processing, we calculate and filter 3D texture attributes to generate a database comprising the dominant texture features of our GPR data. Then, we perform a dimensionality reduction of this database to obtain meta texture attributes, which we analyze and integrate using composite imaging and (also considering additional geometric information) fuzzy c-means cluster analysis resulting in a classified GPR facies model. Considering our facies model and a corresponding GPR facies chart, we interpret our GPR data set in terms of near-surface sedimentary units, the corresponding depositional environments, and the recent formation history at our field site. Thus, we demonstrate the potential of our workflow, which represents a novel and clear strategy to perform a more objective and consistent interpretation of 3D GPR data collected across different sedimentary environments.