The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that approximately 1 in 54 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (CDC, 2020). The prevalence of individuals diagnosed with or at-risk for ASD has increased over the past two decades (Baio et al., 2018). Impairments in social functioning, a central feature of ASD, have widespread effects on the lives and opportunities of individuals with this disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). As a result, individuals with ASD are less satisfied with opportunities for social inclusion, physical well-being, and interpersonal relationships compared to individuals with intellectual disabilities (Arias et al., 2018). Technology-aided intervention may be used to reduce some of the barriers limiting access to social skills intervention. In particular, the technology-aided intervention can provide a highly motivating medium for the rehearsal of skills in a safe, controlled, and self-paced manner (Parsons & Beardon, 2000), allow for treatment programs to be implemented with high precision and fidelity with less variability, and reduce the cost of the intervention and other accessibility barriers (Ploog et al., 2013). VR has been studied extensively in training social skills for individuals diagnosed with ASD. With the flexibility and projected effectiveness that VR offers, it can provide more opportunities to learn and practice strategies for recognizing daily challenges that involve forming social relationships and related reasoning with more flexibility. VR provides a safer platform for people with ASD rather than practicing the social skill with actual people in a class or a group, it can be an excellent precursor for teaching these skills. There exists sufficient literature to provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of VR-based SST relevant for OT practice. However, the gap between the existing literature and method to integrate it in OT practice restrains OT practitioners to adopt and integrate VR in practice. Lack of comprehensive training designed specifically for OT practitioners to educate about the methods to implement, VR system selection for the priority population, and the theoretical base for implementation and use are some common barriers to using VR. To this end, this program is designed to empower OT practitioners to become efficient and confident in using this technology for addressing social skills deficits related to ASD. This is a professional development program to be delivered based on theory-driven approaches. The program is comprised of a training workshop accompanied by a hands-on practice element to provide OT practitioners with the avenue to learn, practice, and evaluate their current practices and knowledge regarding VR. Acquiring this training in using VR-based approaches will not only prepare therapists to confidently provide just the right challenge to the clients with autism according to their needs but also enhance the scope of individual OT practice.

Our current data demonstrate that besides the known risk factors, including apical aneurysm, reduced left ventricular longitudinal systolic function (MAPSE) and advanced diastolic dysfunction, Right ventricular dysfunction as determined by reduced tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) or right ventricular fractional area change (RV_FAC) is independently associated with left ventricular thrombus formation in acute anterior myocardial infarction patients, especially in the setting of anterior myocardial infarction without the formation of an apical aneurysm. This study suggests that besides left ventricular abnormalities, right ventricular dysfunction likewise contributes LVT formation in patients with acute anterior myocardial infarction. / Unsere aktuellen Daten zeigen, dass neben den bekannten Risikofaktoren, einschließlich des apikalen Aneurysmas, der verminderten linksventrikulären longitudinalen systolischen Funktion (MAPSE) und der fortgeschrittenen diastolischen Dysfunktion, die durch reduzierte TAPSE oder RV_FAC bestimmte rechtsventrikuläre Dysfunktion unabhängig mit der Thrombusbildung in linkem Ventrikel bei Patienten nach dem akuten Vorderwandinfarkt, insbesondere bei denen ohne apikales Aneurysma assoziert ist. Diese Studie legt nahe, dass neben linksventrikulärer Dysfunktion die rechtsventrikuläre Dysfunktion ebenfalls zur linksventrikulären Thombusbildung bei Patienten mit akutem anteriorem Myokardinfarkt beiträgt.

The present paper summarizes the results of an application initiated within the framework of 35 years celebration of diplomatic relations between Germany and Vietnam. Within this context, the Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) and the Academy of Managers for Construction and Cities (AMC) jointly organized in 2010 a series of four thematic workshops. The one-day events have had similar structures and focused on main subjects of interest in the water sectors of both countries. In Vietnam, the workshops took place in Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Nha Trang and Vung Tau. Best practice examples about conceptualization, operation and maintenance of municipal water works provided an insight view into the challenges currently faced by the water service providers. TUD and AMC, together with their German and Vietnamese partners, addressed these issues by organizing the consecutive workshops under the umbrella of Vietnamese Water Supply and Sewerage Association (VWSA) and in coordination with the German Water Partnership (GWP). / Bài báo trình bày tóm tắt các kết quả của một đề xuất trong khuôn khổ kỷ niệm 35 năm quan hệ ngoại giao giữa CHLB Đức và Việt Nam. Theo đó, Trường Đại học Tổng hợp Kỹ Thuật Dresden (TUD) và Học viện Quản lý Xây dựng và Đô thị (AMC) đã phối hợp tổ chức một chuỗi bốn hội thảo chuyên đề trong năm 2010. Mỗi hội thảo thực hiện trong một ngày chương trình giống nhau và tập trung vào các chủ đề chính mà cả hai quốc gia đều quan tâm trong lĩnh vực nước. Phía Việt Nam, các hội thảo được tổ chức ở các thành phố Hà Nội, Hải Phòng, Nha Trang và Vũng Tàu. Nhiều bài thuyết trình về khái niệm hóa, vận hành và bảo dưỡng các công trình cấp nước đô thị đã thảo luận sâu về những thách thức mà các dịch vụ cấp nước đang gặp phải. TUD và AMC, kết hợp với các đối tác CHLB Đức và Việt Nam, đã ghi nhận các vấn đề phát sinh thông qua việc tổ chức nhiều hội thảo liên tục dưới sự bảo trợ của Hiệp hội Cấp thoát nước Việt Nam (VWSA) và Hiệp hội nước CHLB Đức (GWP).

Unintentional encounters between robots and humans will increase in the future and require concepts for communicating the robots’ internal states. Auditory displays can be used to convey the relevant information to people who share public spaces with social robots. Based on data gathered in a participatory design workshop with robot experts, a layer based approach for real-time generated audio feedback is introduced, where the information to be displayed is mapped to certain audio parameters. First exploratory sound designs were created and evaluated in an online study. The results show which audio parameter mappings should be examined further to display certain internal states, like e.g. mapping amplitude modulation to the robot’s speed or enhancing alarm frequencies for indicating urgent tasks. Features such as speed, urgency and large size were correctly identified in more than 50% of evaluations, while information about the robot’s interactivity or its small size were not comprehensible to the participants. / Oavsiktliga möten mellan robotar och människor kommer öka i framtiden vilket kräver koncept för att kommunicera robotarnas inre tillstånd. Ljuddisplayer kan användas för att förmedla relevant information till människor som delar offentliga utrymmen med sociala robotar. Baserat på data som samlats in i en deltagande designworkshop med robottexperter introduceras ett lagerbaserat tillvägagångssätt för realtidsgenererad ljudåterkoppling, där den information som ska visas mappas till vissa ljudparametrar. Explorativa ljuddesigns skapades och utvärderades i en online-studie. Resultaten visar vilka ljudparametrar som bör undersökas ytterligare för att visa vissa interna tillstånd, som t.ex. att mappa amplitudmodulering till robotens hastighet eller att förbättra larmfrekvenser för att indikera brådskande ärenden. Egenskaper som hastighet, brådska och stor storlek identifierades korrekt i mer än 50 % av utvärderingarna, men information om robotens interaktivitet och lilla storlek var svårbegriplig för deltagarna.

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