Wirksamkeit eines spezifisch für Zwangsstörungen entwickelten stationären Gruppentherapiekonzepts bei gleichzeitiger Verhaltenstherapie und pharmakologischer Behandlung

Purpose: The goal of this treatment trial was to investigate the efficacy of an inpatient group therapy program specifically designed for patients suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD, ICD 10, F 42). Methods: In the experimental group (EG; n = 14) the specific group therapy was carried out in addition to individual cognitive-behavioral therapy, the control group (KG; n = 16) received non-specific group therapy in mixed patient-groups in addition to individual therapy. 7 patients (EG = 3, KG = 4) received also Selective Serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Y-BOCS, BDI, and STAI-X1 were performed pre- and post-treatment. Furthermore therapists' ratings and self ratings were taken. Results: At post-treatment both groups showed significant improvement of the symptomatology. For the EG the Y-BOCS mean was reduced from 23.64 to 11.35, for the KG from 23.81 to 12.81. The group comparison showed no significant differences (alpha = 0.05) in clinical measurements, therapists' and self ratings. However, there were significantly more responders (improvement >50%, Y-BOCS) in the EG and treatment duration was shorter by 15 days. Conclusions: Clinical outcome in the EG was not superior. However, the specific group therapy for OCD contributes to an economic and effective treatment

Relation of Gallbladder Motility to Viscosity and Composition of Gallbladder Bile in Patients with Cholesterol Gallstones

Background/Aims: Increased viscosity and supersaturation of cholesterol in gallbladder bile, as well as an impaired motility of the gallbladder, are considered to be important factors in the pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstones. However, the relation of these parameters has not yet been determined. Material and Methods: Bile viscosity (mPa.s) was measured by rotation viscosimetry and the composition of gallbladder bile was determined using standard methodology. Gallbladder motility was calculated as ejection fraction in percent of total volume 45 min after a test meal using ultrasonography in patients with gallstones prior to elective cholecystectomy. Results: The study included 35 patients with cholesterol gallstones. Viscosity of gallbladder bile ranged between 0.9 and 12.5 mPa.s (median 2.2 mPa.s) and an ejection fraction of the gallbladder of 55.4 +/- 18.3% (mean +/- SD) was determined. No significant correlation (r = 0.19, p < 0.2) between the 2 parameters could be calculated. Analysis of the composition of gallbladder bile revealed a positive correlation of all components to biliary viscosity but not to the motility of the gallbladder, with the exceptions of a negative correlation (r = 0.39, p < 0.02) between mucin concentration and the ejection fraction at 45 min after the test meal. Conclusions: The motility of the gallbladder appears to be unrelated to the viscosity of gallbladder bile or gallbladder bile composition. The negative correlation between the ejection fraction of the gallbladder and mucin concentration of gallbladder bile suggests that chronic inflammation of the gallbladder wall is associated with both an impaired motility of the gallbladder and increased mucin release into gallbladder bile. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Base

2,3-butanediol in experimental myocardial ischaemia in pigs

To investigate the role of 2,3-butanediol in myocardial ischaemia we analysed this compound in pig's myocardium and blood. Ischaemia was induced by ligation of a coronary artery. In the first study we found significantly higher levels of 2,3-butanediol in the homogenate of ischaemic myocardium than in non-ischaemic myocardium. The lactate concentration was also significantly elevated. In the second study, where ischaemia was similarly induced, and where reperfusion was achieved by re-opening the ligated coronary artery after 20 min, 2,3-butanediol in peripheral blood was found to increase significantly. In the pigs in which the coronary artery was not re-opened, the 2,3-butanediol level in peripheral blood was unchanged. We conclude that in pigs' anaerobic myocardia accumulation of 2,3-butanediol occurs; if the myocardium is reperfused this metabolite also appears in the bloo

How Combining Terrorism, Muslim, and Refugee Topics Drives Emotional Tone in Online News: A Six-Country Cross-Cultural Sentiment Analysis

This study looks into how the combination of Islam, refugees, and terrorism topics leads to text-internal changes in the emotional tone of news articles and how these vary across countries and media outlets. Using a multilingual human-validated sentiment analysis, we compare fear and pity in more than 560,000 articles from the most important online news sources in six countries (U.S., Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, and Lebanon). We observe that fear and pity work antagonistically—that is, the more articles in a particular topical category contain fear, the less pity they will feature. The coverage of refugees without mentioning terrorists and Muslims/Islam featured the lowest fear and highest pity levels of all topical categories studied here. However, when refugees were covered in combination with terrorism and/or Islam, fear increased and pity decreased in Christian-majority countries, whereas no such pattern appeared in Muslim-majority countries (Lebanon, Turkey). Variations in emotions are generally driven more by country-level differences than by the political alignment of individual outlets

High Refractive Index Materials of Iron Sulfides and Poly(ethylene oxide)

High refractive index composites of iron sulfides and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) have been prepared by co-precipitation from aqueous solution. Several reaction parameters were varied: inorganic reactants, reactant ratios, reaction temperatures, and reaction times. Selected samples were characterized with organic microelemental analysis, x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, DSC, and TEM. The nanocomposites with the highest refractive indices have been prepared using PEO, Mohr's salt, and H2S or NaHS. The analyses indicate that the iron sulfides in these materials consist of finely dispersed mackinawite and greigite ("amorphous” FeS) and, partially, also pyrite. The refractive indexes of the resulting composites are clearly above 2 at 632.8 and 1295 nm and can assume values between 2.5 and 2.

DA white dwarfs from the LSS-GAC survey DR1: the preliminary luminosity and mass functions and formation rate

Modern large-scale surveys have allowed the identification of large numbers of white dwarfs. However, these surveys are subject to complicated target selection algorithms, which make it almost impossible to quantify to what extent the observational biases affect the observed populations. The LAMOST (Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope) Spectroscopic Survey of the Galactic anti-center (LSS-GAC) follows a well-defined set of criteria for selecting targets for observations. This advantage over previous surveys has been fully exploited here to identify a small yet well-characterised magnitude-limited sample of hydrogen-rich (DA) white dwarfs. We derive preliminary LSS-GAC DA white dwarf luminosity and mass functions. The space density and average formation rate of DA white dwarfs we derive are 0.83+/-0.16 x 10^{-3} pc^{-3} and 5.42 +/- 0.08 x 10^{-13} pc^{-3} yr^{-1}, respectively. Additionally, using an existing Monte Carlo population synthesis code we simulate the population of single DA white dwarfs in the Galactic anti-center, under various assumptions. The synthetic populations are passed through the LSS-GAC selection criteria, taking into account all possible observational biases. This allows us to perform a meaningful comparison of the observed and simulated distributions. We find that the LSS-GAC set of criteria is highly efficient in selecting white dwarfs for spectroscopic observations (80-85 per cent) and that, overall, our simulations reproduce well the observed luminosity function. However, they fail at reproducing an excess of massive white dwarfs present in the observed mass function. A plausible explanation for this is that a sizable fraction of massive white dwarfs in the Galaxy are the product of white dwarf-white dwarf mergers.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures and 5 tables. Accepted for publication by MNRA

LAMINITE EM PORCAS DESCARTADAS PROVENIENTES DE GRANJAS COMERCIAIS DE SUÍNOS DO SUL DO BRASIL

Although laminitis has been reported in pigs, distal phalanx rotation detected by radiography has not been described yet in this species. Accordingly, this paper describes three cases of laminitis in sows from a Brazilian commercial swine unit, and a preliminary study on laminitis in culled sows from a slaughterhouse, based on radiographic evaluation. A farrow-to-finish unit located in a central swine production area in southern Brazil showed a history of locomotor alterations in sows. Three lame sows were selected for examination. They displayed typical clinical signs of laminitis. Their feet were radiographed, and all three showed distal phalanx deviation in at least one digit. In order to find out the possibility of laminitis occurrence in other farms, thirteen hind and five front feet from lame sows were collected in a slaughterhouse, and radiographed in lateromedial position. Eleven sows (61%) showed distal phalanx rotation of the third or the fourth digit, whereas eight of them (44%) showed this alteration in both digits. Osteolysis in five sows (28%) and periosteal proliferation in another four sows (11%) were observed. In conclusion, laminitis with distal phalanx rotation is present in Brazilian herds, and radiographic analysis may be an important diagnosis tool for the disease in vivo or at slaughterhouses.Embora a laminite tenha sido relatada em suínos, a rotação de falange distal detectada por radiografia ainda não foi descrita nessa espécie. O presente trabalho descreve três casos de laminite em porcas provenientes de uma granja comercial de suínos bem como relata um estudo preliminar sobre laminite em porcas de descarte em abatedouro, baseado em avaliações radiográficas. Uma granja de ciclo completo localizada em uma área de exploração suinícola do sul do Brasil mostrou histórico de alterações locomotoras em porcas. Três porcas com claudicação foram selecionadas para exame. Elas apresentavam sinais clínicos típicos de laminite. Seus membros foram radiografados e todas apresentaram rotação de falange distal em pelo menos um dígito. Para verificar a presença de laminite em outros rebanhos da região, treze membros pélvico e cinco membros torácicos de matrizes suínas foram colhidos em um abatedouro e radiografados em posição latero-medial. Onze porcas (61%) mostraram rotação de falange distal no terceiro ou no quarto dígito, enquanto oito delas (44%) mostraram essa alteração em ambos os dígitos. Foram observadas osteólises em cinco (28%) porcas e proliferação periosteal em quatro porcas (11%). Em conclusão, a laminite está presente em rebanhos suínos brasileiros, e a análise radiográfica constitui-se em uma importante ferramenta para o diagnóstico da doença in vivo ou em abatedouros

Algorithm engineering for optimal alignment of protein structure distance matrices

Protein structural alignment is an important problem in computational biology. In this paper, we present first successes on provably optimal pairwise alignment of protein inter-residue distance matrices, using the popular Dali scoring function. We introduce the structural alignment problem formally, which enables us to express a variety of scoring functions used in previous work as special cases in a unified framework. Further, we propose the first mathematical model for computing optimal structural alignments based on dense inter-residue distance matrices. We therefore reformulate the problem as a special graph problem and give a tight integer linear programming model. We then present algorithm engineering techniques to handle the huge integer linear programs of real-life distance matrix alignment problems. Applying these techniques, we can compute provably optimal Dali alignments for the very first time

Suizidprävention: Vorgehensweisen und Wirksamkeit

According to official statistics every year 11,000 persons in Germany die from suicide. 20 years ago nearly 19,000 suicides were registered. What are the causes for this decrease? Do suicide preventive measures contribute to the reduction of suicide rates? Different universal prevention strategies ( e. g. restriction of access to means) and selective approaches ( programs for special high-risk groups; e. g. patients after attempted suicide) are presented and discussed regarding their preventive value. In most cases it is hardly possible to scientifically prove the efficacy of suicide prevention strategies. Neither the role of psychosocial interventions nor the impact of psychotropic agents can be sufficiently quantified. Due to various methodological reasons ( e. g. small sample sizes and the lack of randomization), interpretation of the data is difficult. In terms of a comprehensive approach of suicide prevention a combination of different activities should be most adequate in the long run