226 research outputs found
Enhancing assertive community treatment with cognitive behavioral social skills training for schizophrenia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
BackgroundSchizophrenia leads to profound disability in everyday functioning (e.g., difficulty finding and maintaining employment, housing, and personal relationships). Medications can effectively reduce positive symptoms (e.g., hallucinations and delusions), but they do not meaningfully improve daily life functioning. Psychosocial evidence-based practices (EBPs) improve functioning, but these EBPs are not available to most people with schizophrenia. The field must close the research and service delivery gap by adapting EBPs for schizophrenia to facilitate widespread implementation in community settings. Our hybrid effectiveness and implementation study represents an initiative to bridge this divide. In this study we will test whether an existing EBP (i.e., Cognitive Behavioral Social Skills Training (CBSST)) modified to work in practice settings (i.e., Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams) commonly available to persons with schizophrenia results in better consumer outcomes. We will also identify key factors relevant to developing future CBSST implementation strategies.Methods/designFor the effectiveness study component, persons with schizophrenia will be recruited from existing publicly funded ACT teams operating in community settings. Participants will be randomized to one of the 2 treatments (ACT alone or ACT + Adapted CBSST) and followed longitudinally for 18 months with assessments every 18 weeks after baseline (5 in total). The primary outcome domain is psychosocial functioning (e.g., everyday living skills and activities related to employment, education, and housing) as measured by self-report, testing, and observation. Additional outcome domains of interest include mediators of change in functioning, symptoms, and quality of services. Primary analyses will be conducted using linear mixed-effects models for continuous data. The implementation study component consists of a structured, mixed qualitative-quantitative methodology (i.e., Concept Mapping) to characterize and assess the implementation experience from multiple stakeholder perspectives in order to inform future implementation initiatives.DiscussionAdapting CBSST to fit into the ACT service delivery context found throughout the United States creates an opportunity to substantially increase the number of persons with schizophrenia who could have access to and benefit from EBPs. As part of the implementation learning process training materials and treatment workbooks have been revised to promote easier use of CBSST in the context of brief community-based ACT visits.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02254733 . Date of registration: 25 April 2014
Fully flexible analysis of behavioural sequences based on parametric survival models with frailtiesâA tutorial
Recent automated systems allow collecting continuous data on individual animals with high accuracy over a long time. During this time, animals can be traced across different (discrete) types of behavioural states, with the duration in each state being known. Nevertheless, analyses of such sequences of states or behaviours may prove difficult. Classic Markov-chain methods have limitations in respect to incorporating âmemoryâ (effects of past states), the duration in the states and accounting for dependencies. Dependencies occur in many data sets, where, for example a variety of individuals from different groups are observed and/or when an experiment is divided in different crossover treatment phases. So-called parametric survival analysis with frailties can incorporate aforementioned aspects in one coherent model. The time spent in a specific state (performing a specific behaviour) can be modelled in dependence of the subsequent state (transition probabilities) while incorporating how these transitions are influenced by experimental treatments. In addition, prior states can be used as predictor variables (accounting for past behaviour). Finally, random effects can be included to account for dependencies according to, for example individual identity, group/farm/laboratory or experimental period. Using interactions between random and fixed effects, the within- and between-subject variability of the transition probabilities can be estimated to indicate variation between and consistency within individual subjects (individuality and personality). Moreover, relative hazards describing transitions from one state to several potential follow-up states can be estimated. Behavioural sequences and their modulation by experimental situations can be studied accordingly. Using two exemplary data sets, the data type and structure adequate for parametric survival analysis are introduced and advice is given on how to specify and run such models. Overall, parametric survival analysis with frailties presents a modern and versatile approach that can revive sequential analysis. This will facilitate more detailed use of behavioural data and accordingly detect more subtle aspects of behaviour.Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100016238Bundesamt fĂŒr Lebensmittelsicherheit und VeterinĂ€rwesen
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100006454Peer Reviewe
Effects of the anti-sucking device «SuckStop MĂŒller» on calf behavior.
INTRODUCTION
When cross-sucking persists beyond calf-hood, it represents an important problem in dairy heifers and cows. It can cause teat injuries and severe mastitis and lead to significant economic losses. The «SuckStop MĂŒller,» a novel anti-sucking device, is designed to give the calf a negative feedback when cross-sucking on a conspecific. The aim of this study was to assess whether wearing a SuckStop would result in behavioral changes other than cross-sucking and thus, impair welfare in the short- and longer-term. Sixteen group-housed calves were observed in groups of four on five days, before and after fitting the SuckStop: day -2, day -1, day 0, day 1, and day 9. Maintenance behaviors (e.g., feeding, drinking, lying) were recorded using instantaneous scan sampling. In addition, the frequency of contact behaviors (e.g., exploring the feeding fence, touching own body) was recorded by means of continuous focal animal observations. Contact behaviors were classified as «impaired» or «normal» depending on whether or not the calf flinched in response to the contact. Finally, the number of visits to the milk and concentrate feeders was extracted from the computer-controlled feeding system. Fitting a SuckStop resulted in a higher proportion of observations spent lying and less exploration behavior on day 0 and day 1 than on day -2, day -1, and day 9. On day 0 and day 1, 6,3â% of exploration behaviors were classified as impaired, compared to 0,4â% (day -2, day -1) before and 0,2â% (day 9) after fitting the SuckStop. On day 9, all calves had superficial ulcerations on the nasal septum. In four calves, these ulcerations were moderately severe, whereas all other calves had slight ulcerations. In summary, the calves habituated quickly to this novel anti-sucking device. Follow-up studies are necessary to assess the long-term relevance of tissue alterations in the nasal septum for calf welfare as well as the effect of the SuckStop on cross-sucking behavior
Photospheric and chromospheric activity in four young solar-type stars
We present a photometric and spectroscopic study of four G-K dwarfs, namely
HD 166, epsilon Eri, chi1 Ori and kappa1 Cet. In three cases, we find a clear
spatial association between photospheric and chromospheric active regions. For
chi1 Ori we do not find appreciable variations of photospheric temperature, and
chromospheric Halpha emission. We applied a spot/plage model to the observed
rotational modulation of temperature and flux to derive spot/plage parameters
and to reconstruct a rough three-dimensional map of the outer atmosphere of
kappa1 Cet, HD 166 and epsilon Eri.Comment: 12 pages, 3 tables, 9 figures. Submitted to Ap
Measurement of the Surface Gravity of Boo
Direct angular size measurements of the G0IV subgiant Boo from the
Palomar Testbed Interferometer are presented, with limb-darkened angular size
of mas, which indicate a linear
radius of . A bolometric flux estimate of erg cms is computed, which indicates
an effective temperature of K and luminosity of for this object. Similar data are established for a check
star, HD 121860. The Boo results are compared to, and confirm, similar
parameters established by the {\it MOST} asteroseismology satellite. In
conjunction with the mass estimate from the {\it MOST} investigation, a surface
gravity of [cm s] is established for
Boo.Comment: To appear in March 1, 2007 ApJ v657 n
The night-sky at the Calar Alto Observatory
We present a characterization of the main properties of the night-sky at the
Calar Alto observatory for the time period between 2004 and 2007. We use
optical spectrophotometric data, photometric calibrated images taken in
moonless observing periods, together with the observing conditions regularly
monitored at the observatory, such as atmospheric extinction and seeing. We
derive, for the first time, the typical moonless night-sky optical spectrum for
the observatory. The spectrum shows a strong contamination by different
pollution lines, in particular from Mercury lines, which contribution to the
sky-brightness in the different bands is of the order of ~0.09 mag, ~0.16 mag
and ~0.10 mag in B, V and R respectively. The zenith-corrected values of the
moonless night-sky surface brightness are 22.39, 22.86, 22.01, 21.36 and 19.25
mag arcsec^-2 in U, B, V, R and I, which indicates that Calar Alto is a
particularly dark site for optical observations up to the I-band. The fraction
of astronomical useful nights at the observatory is ~70%, with a ~30% of
photometric nights. The typical extinction at the observatory is k_V~0.15 mag
in the Winter season, with little dispersion. In summer the extinction has a
wider range of values, although it does not reach the extreme peaks observed at
other sites. The median seeing for the last two years (2005-6) was ~0.90",
being smaller in the Summer (~0.87") than in the Winter (~0.96"). We conclude
in general that after 26 years of operations Calar Alto is still a good
astronomical site, being a natural candidate for future large aperture optical
telescopes.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publishing in the Publications of
Astronomical Society of the Pacific (PASP
2-Chlorodeoxyadenosine (2-CDA) therapy in previously untreated patients with follicular stage III-IV non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
The occultation events of the Herbig Ae/Be star V1247 Ori
Aims: I study new deep (DeltaV ~ 1.20-1.65 mag) occultation events of the
delta Scuti, Herbig Ae/Be star V1247 Ori in the Ori OB1 b association. Methods:
I use the V-band ASAS light curve of V1247 Ori, which covers the last nine
years, together with photometric data in the near-ultraviolet, visible, near-,
and far-infrared taken from the literature. I carry out a periodogram analysis
of the "cleaned" light curve and construct the spectral energy distribution of
the star. Results: The star V1247 Ori is interesting for the study of the UX
Orionis phenomenon, in which Herbig Ae/Be stars are occulted by their
protoplanetary discs, for three reasons: brightness (V ~ 9.85 mag), large
infrared excess at 20-100 mum (F_60 ~ 10 Jy), and photometric stability out of
occultation (sigma(V) ~ 0.02 mag), which may help to determine the location and
spatial structure of the occulting disc clumps.Comment: A&A Letters, in pres
The accuracy of stellar atmospheric parameter determinations: a case study with HD 32115 and HD 37594
We present detailed parameter determinations of two chemically normal late
A-type stars, HD 32115 and HD 37594, to uncover the reasons behind large
discrepancies between two previous analyses of these stars performed with a
semi-automatic procedure and a "classical" analysis. Our study is based on high
resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra obtained at the McDonald Observatory.
Our method is based on the simultaneous use of all available observables:
multicolor photometry, pressure-sensitive magnesium lines, metallic lines and
Balmer line profiles. Our final set of fundamental parameters fits, within the
error bars, all available observables. It differs from the published results
obtained with a semi-automatic procedure. A direct comparison between our new
observational material and the spectra previously used by other authors shows
that the quality of the data is not the origin of the discrepancies. As the two
stars require a substantial macroturbulence velocity to fit the line profiles,
we concluded that neglecting this additional broadening in the semi-automatic
analysis is one origin of discrepancy. The use of FeI excitation equilibrium
and of the Fe ionisation equilibrium, to derive effective temperature and
surface gravity, respectively, neglecting all other indicators leads to a
systematically erroneously high effective temperature. We deduce that the
results obtained using only one parameter indicator might be biased and that
those results need to be cautiously taken when performing further detailed
analyses, such as modelling of the asteroseismic frequencies or characterising
transiting exoplanets.Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRA
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