Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease affecting adults with disease onset averaging between 50-60 years of age. As neurons die, patients experience rapid physical and cognitive decline with death typically following 3-5 years after diagnosis. As there is currently no cure for disease and no treatment to prolong life expectancy, medical management is focused on quality of life. In addition to traditional medical treatments, medical professionals must also consider maximizing autonomy as a way to increase quality of life with a focus on relational and psychological factors. For patients in low-income urban neighborhoods, inequalities affecting agency should be evaluated as part of medical care to increase both autonomy and overall quality of life. / Urban Bioethics

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A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a method of communication that utilizes the scalp recorded electroencephalogram (EEG). A BCI requires no movement, making it a viable communication option for people who are severely disabled. Most BCI research has focused on improving BCI technology through advances in signal processing and paradigmatic manipulations. Research has recently begun to examine the influence of psychosocial factors on BCI performance. Examining psychosocial factors may be particularly important for disabled people who have several co-morbidities. The purpose of the current study is to examine the hypothesis that participants will be more motivated in a free spelling paradigm than in a copy spelling paradigm. Participants completed copy- and freespelling tasks, order was counterbalanced. Motivation was measured after each task. Preliminary data suggests an increase in motivation after the second task regardless of which task was performed second. No differences were observed in performance accuracy between the two tasks.

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology holds promise to restore the communication and control ability of individuals with severe motor disabilities (Wolpaw et al. 2002). An EEG-based BCI system that detects the P300 event-related potential (ERP) allows users to select items from a matrix consisting of letters, numbers, and function calls (after the method of Donchin et al., 2000) using brain signals rather than the brain’s normal output pathways of peripheral nerves and muscles. Our laboratory seeks to realize independent home use of P300-based BCI by severely disabled individuals. In an earlier study, we found that P300-based BCI performance (i.e., accurate classification) on test data was correlated with the test data and was not correlated with the training data (Mak et al. 2009). The present study set out

Social contact is an integral part of daily life. Its health-enhancing effects include reduced negative affective experiences of fear and anxiety, a phenomenon called social buffering. This dissertation studied different forms of social contact and their anxiety-buffering effects with diverse methodologies. The laboratory-based first study investigated minimal social contact in the context of pain relief learning. Results showed that the observed decreased autonomic and increased subjective fear responses following pain relief learning were independent of social influence. The minimalistic and controlled social setting may have prevented social buffering. Study 2 targeted social buffering in daily life using Ecological Momentary Assessment. We repeatedly assessed individuals’ state anxiety, related cardiovascular responses, and aspects of social interactions with smartphones and portable sensors on five days. Analyses of over 1,500 social contacts revealed gender-specific effects, e.g., heart rate-reducing effects of familiarity in women, but not men. Study 3 examined anxiety, loneliness, and related social factors in the absence of social contact due to social distancing. We constructed and validated a scale measuring state and trait loneliness and isolation, and analysed its link to mental health. Results include a social buffering-like relation of lower anxiety with more trait sociability and sense of belonging. In sum, the studies showed no fear reduction by minimal social contact, but buffering effects relating to social and personal factors in more complex social situations. Anxiety responses during daily social contacts were lower with more familiar or opposite-gender interaction partners. During limited social contact, lower anxiety related to inter-individual differences in sociability, social belonging, and loneliness. By taking research from lab to life, this dissertation underlined the diverse nature of social contact and its relevance to mental health. / Sozialer Kontakt ist ein wesentlicher Teil des Alltags. Zu seinen Effekten gehört die Minderung negativer affektiver Erfahrungen von Angst und Furcht („Social Buffering“). Diese Dissertation untersucht verschiedene Formen sozialen Kontakts und ihre angstmindernde Wirkung mit diversen Methoden. Studie 1 untersuchte minimalen sozialen Kontakt im Kontext von Pain Relief Learning im Labor. Die verringerten autonomen und erhöhten subjektiven Furchtreaktionen nach dem Pain Relief Learning waren unabhängig vom sozialen Einfluss. Das minimalistische und kontrollierte soziale Setting könnte Social Buffering verhindert haben. Studie 2 erfasste Social Buffering im Alltag mit Ecological Momentary Assessment. An fünf Tagen wurden wiederholt State Angst und kardiovaskuläre Reaktionen der ProbandInnen sowie Merkmale ihrer sozialen Interaktionen mit Smartphones und tragbaren Sensoren gemessen. Die Analyse der über 1500 sozialen Kontakte ergab geschlechtsspezifische Effekte, z. B. eine herzratenmindernde Wirkung von Vertrautheit bei Frauen, aber nicht bei Männern. Studie 3 untersuchte Angst, Einsamkeit und weitere soziale Faktoren bei abwesendem sozialen Kontakt durch Social Distancing. Wir konstruierten und validierten eine Skala zur Messung von State- und Trait-Einsamkeit und Isolation und prüften ihren Zusammenhang mit psychischer Gesundheit. Weniger Angst ging mit mehr Trait-Geselligkeit und Zugehörigkeitsgefühl einher. Somit zeigte sich keine Furchtminderung bei minimalem sozialen Kontakt, aber Social Buffering in komplexeren sozialen Situationen bedingt durch soziale und persönliche Faktoren. Angstreaktionen waren in Alltagsinteraktionen mit vertrauteren oder gegengeschlechtlichen Personen geringer. Bei begrenztem sozialen Kontakt ging geringere Angst mit Unterschieden in Geselligkeit, sozialer Zugehörigkeit und Einsamkeit einher. Durch Forschung in Labor und Leben unterstreicht diese Dissertation die Vielfältigkeit sozialer Kontakte und ihre Relevanz für psychische Gesundheit.

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3D models have been widely used in many areas since decades ago. When BIM (Building Information Modelling) and VR (Virtual Reality) become popular recent years, 3D model, as an essential part of it has been frequently asked or even required, which is both a challenge and opportunity to a surveying engineer.   Through investigation of three different alternatives to create 3D models: image based, terrestrial laser scanning based and airborne laser scanning based modelling, the author aims to help a surveying engineer to choose the proper method and tool. Workflows, costs and applications have been discussed for each approach and the results show that image based modeling is most time and cost efficient but with lower accuracy which is suitable for visualization while thanks to the high resolution of data capture, terrestrial laser scanning based modeling can be utilized for detailed as-built modeling or BIM. The weakness of such method is the high initial cost and much time demanded; for large area city modeling, the airborne laser scanning approach is the most efficient way with limitations of the low level of details and expensive equipment.   However, it should be critical to understand that there is no automatic way to reconstruct a controllable 3D object at present. Due to the limited accessibility of equipment, the photogrammetric 3D building reconstruction method is not included in this study and thus, a future study may continue with this method. 3D object may be converted to a format that can be used in BIM, such kind of format exchange can be an interesting topic for further study.

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The cerebellum was investigated in different mouse models for neurodegenerative diseases Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Cerebellar pathology was detected in SMA mouse models.