Implementation of Educational-Interactive-Psychiatric Management Software for Patients with Bipolar Disorder.

Background: Bipolar disorder is considered a psychiatric disease without any effective screening questionnaire to monitor and manage Iranian patients. This study aims to implement a researcher-made questionnaire in the form of educational interactive software for better management of patients with bipolar disorder and prevent further complications. Methods: The present cross-sectional study evaluated the efficacy of psychoeducational-interactive-therapeutic software for patients with bipolar disorder, which is a network-based software providing a researcher-made questionnaire in a planned manner. This software can predict the occurrence of future bipolar episodes for each patient by using artificial intelligence algorithms after the occurrence of two mood episodes as the training phase. The patients with bipolar disorder were asked to use the software for a year and their mood episodes were compared before and after using the software. We evaluate the reliability of the questionnaires in the software with internal consistency using alpha Cronbach test and test-retest analysis. Face validity and content validity were also evaluated. Results: The content validity index of the instrument was 93%, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the whole questionnaire was 0.955. Also, the ICC coefficient for this questionnaire is above 0.70, and the correlation coefficient of the answers in all constructs of the questionnaire is more than 0.8. Thirty male patients with bipolar disorder who experienced four episodes of mood swings per year experienced an average of 2 mood episodes per year following the use of this software. Conclusion: Our Psychoeducational-interactive-therapeutic software is the first Persian language software based on artificial intelligence to monitor clinical symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder, which uses a standard questionnaire to predict the incidence of episodes of depression and mania in these patients.

Friends, Family, and Food: Development of a Food Allergy Intervention, F3-App, for Children.

Objective: Despite a marked increase in the prevalence of pediatric IgE-mediated food allergy (FA) in recent decades, there is a dearth of age-appropriate management education and support tools for youth with FA. The purpose of this report is to detail our methods for intervention design and refinement of an interactive educational software program for school-aged children with FA. Methods: Development of the "Friends, Family and Food Application (F3-App)" employed an iterative, user-centered design approach with input from children with FA, their caregivers, and other key experts. Phase 1 (Prototype Development/Pilot Evaluation) involved family input on key themes and educational messages, development of a prototype, and pilot testing. Phase 2 (Full F3-App Development/Open Trial) included refinement and expansion of the prototype per advisory panel and end-user recommendations, followed by an open trial with additional iterative refinement. Results: Acceptability and credibility of the F3-App were rated highly by most participants. Relatively few technical challenges arose with F3-App installation or use. Follow up interviews with children and caregivers suggested that the F3-App was generally well-received, families found the content useful, and that it prompted family discussion about the child's FA management. Conclusions: User input is critical to developing family-friendly software to support management of pediatric chronic conditions. Interactive educational software can be a useful channel for children to practice skills and build confidence in disease self-management and to facilitate family communication regarding the stresses of FA management. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05111938.

TEMGYM Basic: transmission electron microscopy simulation software for teaching and training of microscope operation.

An interactive simulation of a transmission electron microscope (TEM) called TEMGYM Basic is developed here, which enables users to understand how to operate and control an electron beam without the need to access an instrument. TEMGYM Basic allows users to familiarize themselves with alignment procedures offline, reducing the time and money required to become a proficient TEM operator. In addition to teaching the basics of electron beam alignments, the software enables users to create bespoke microscope configurations and develop an understanding of how to operate the configurations without sitting at a microscope. TEMGYM Basic also creates static ray diagram figures for a given lens configuration. The available components include apertures, lenses, quadrupoles, deflectors and biprisms. The software design uses first-order ray transfer matrices to calculate ray paths through each electron microscope component, and the program is developed entirely in Python to facilitate compatibility with machine-learning packages for future exploration of automated control.

3dSpAn: An interactive software for 3D segmentation and analysis of dendritic spines.

Three-dimensional segmentation and analysis of dendritic spine morphology involve two major challenges: 1) how to segment individual spines from the dendrites and 2) how to quantitatively assess the morphology of individual spines. To address these two issues, we developed software called 3dSpAn (3-dimensional Spine Analysis), based on implementing a previously published method, 3D multi-scale opening algorithm in shared intensity space. 3dSpAn consists of four modules: a) Preprocessing and Region of Interest (ROI) selection, b) Intensity thresholding and seed selection, c) Multi-scale segmentation, and d) Quantitative morphological feature extraction. In this article, we present the results of segmentation and morphological analysis for different observation methods and conditions, including in vitro and ex vivo imaging with confocal microscopy, and in vivo observations using high-resolution two-photon microscopy. In particular, we focus on software usage, the influence of adjustable parameters on the obtained results, user reproducibility, accuracy analysis, and also include a qualitative comparison with a commercial benchmark. 3dSpAn software is freely available for non-commercial use at www.3dSpAn.org .

Eight Recommendations to Promote Effective Study Habits for Biology Students Enrolled in Online Courses.

To achieve meaningful learning experiences in online classrooms, students must become self-regulated learners through the development of effective study habits. Currently, there is no set of recommendations to promote study habits in online biology learning environments. To fill gaps in our understanding, a working group associated with a research coordination network (Equity and Diversity in Undergraduate STEM, EDU-STEM) convened virtually in June 2021. We identify student barriers to self-regulated learning in online environments and present eight practical recommendations to help biology educators and biology education researchers apply and advance evidence-based study habits in online courses. As higher education institutions continue to offer online learning opportunities, we hope this essay equips instructors with the knowledge and tools to promote student success in online biology coursework.

How can we augment the few that remain? Using stable population dynamics to aid reintroduction planning of an iteroparous species.

Restoration of depleted populations is an important method in biological conservation. Reintroduction strategies frequently aim to restore stable, increasing, self-sustaining populations. Knowledge of asymptotic system dynamics may provide advantage in selecting reintroduction strategies. We introduce interactive software that is designed to identify strategies for release of females that are immediately aligned with stable population dynamics from species represented by 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-stage life history strategies. The software allows managers to input a matrix of interest, the desired number of breeding females, and the desired management timeline, and calls upon stable population theory to give release strategies that are in concert with both stable population status and the management goals. We demonstrate how the software can aid in assessing various strategies ahead of a hypothetical restoration. For the purpose of demonstration of the tool only, we use published vital rates of an ungulate species, but remark that the selection of species for demonstration is not central to the use of this tool. Adaption of this tool to real-life restorations of any 2-, 3-, 4-, or 5-stage iteroparous species may aid in understanding how to minimize undesirable recovery complications that may naturally arise from transient population dynamics. The software is freely available at: https//cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/tools/stapopd.

Another look at the eigenvalues of a population matrix model.

Population matrix models are important tools in resource management, in part because they are used to calculate the finite rate of growth ("dominant eigenvalue"). But understanding how a population matrix model converts life history traits into the finite rate of growth can be tricky. We introduce interactive software ("IsoPOPd") that uses the characteristic equation to display how vital rates (survival and fertility) contribute to the finite rate of growth. Higher-order interactions among vital rates complicate the linkage between a management intervention and a population's growth rate. We illustrate the use of the software for investigating the consequences of three management interventions in a 3-stage model of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). The software is applicable to any species with 2- or 3-stages, but the mathematical concepts underlying the software are applicable to a population matrix model of any size. The IsoPOPd software is available at: https://cwhl.vet.cornell.edu/tools/isopopd.