Obsessive-compulsive disorder in the community: 12-month prevalence, comorbidity and impairment

Background: Although subthreshold conditions are associated with impairment in numerous disorders, research on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) below the diagnostic threshold of DSM-IV in the general population is limited. Purpose: To estimate the DSM-IV 12-month prevalence, comorbidity and impairment of OCD, subthreshold OCD (i.e., fulfilling some but not all core DSM-IV criteria), and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) (i.e., endorsement of OCS without fulfilling any core DSM-IV criteria) in a general population sample. Methods: Data from the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey-Mental Health Supplement (N=4181, age 18-65years), based on the standardized diagnostic Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Results: The 12-month prevalence of OCD was 0.7%, subthreshold OCD was 4.5%, and OCS was 8.3%. Subjects in all three groups showed higher comorbidity (odds ratios [ORs]≥3.3), compared to those without OCS. The OCD, subthreshold OCD and OCS were all associated with increased odds of substance abuse/dependence-, mood-, anxiety- and somatoform disorders, with especially strong associations with possible psychotic disorder (ORs≥4.1) and bipolar disorders (ORs≥4.7). Participants in all three groups showed higher impairment (ORs≥3.1) and health-care utilization (ORs≥2.4), compared to those without OCS, even after controlling for covariates. Conclusions: Individuals with subthreshold OCD and OCS, not currently captured by DSM-IV OCD criteria, nevertheless show substantial comorbidity, impairment and health-care utilization. This should be taken into account in future conceptualization and classification of OCD and clinical car

Analysis of ligation and DNA binding by Escherichia coli DNA ligase (LigA).

NAD+-dependent DNA ligases are essential enzymes in bacteria, with the most widely studied of this class of enzymes being LigA from Escherichia coli. NAD+-dependent DNA ligases comprise several discrete structural domains, including a BRCT domain at the C-terminus that is highly-conserved in this group of proteins. The over-expression and purification of various fragments of E. coli LigA allowed the investigation of the different domains in DNA-binding and ligation by this enzyme. Compared to the full-length protein, the deletion of the BRCT domain from LigA reduced in vitro ligation activity by 3-fold and also reduced DNA binding. Using an E. coli strain harbouring a temperature-sensitive mutation of ligA, the over-expression of protein with its BRCT domain deleted enabled growth at the non-permissive temperature. In gel-mobility shift experiments, the isolated BRCT domain bound DNA in a stable manner and to a wider range of DNA molecules compared to full LigA. Thus, the BRCT domain of E. coli LigA can bind DNA, but it is not essential for DNA nick-joining activity in vitro or in vivo

Modeling the Compton Camera Response for Extended Voxel Sources

The analysis and interpretation of coincidence events in a Compton camera requires the comparison of the expected rates of observed events from sources with various emission rates, energy spectra and spatial distributions. Radioactive source distributions are often represented by the activity distributed among numerous voxels; each voxel having uniform internal activity and spectra within a cube. In this paper a mathematical model is constructed that predicts the expected rate of coincident Compton events from the rate of emissions from a single voxel source. This detailed model incorporates (1) the finite voxel size, (2) the blurring of the “Compton cone” by the limitations of energy resolution in the detectors and (3) the uncertainty in the Compton cone-axis due to the limited spatial resolution and ‘lever-arm’ separation between the coincident interactions. The resultant rates can be used to generate the system response matrix for source reconstruction and, therefore, are directly applicable in list-mode MLEM source reconstruction algorithms

An international multicenter retrospective analysis of patients with extranodal marginal zone lymphoma and histologically confirmed central nervous system and dural involvement

Marginal zone lymphoma of the central nervous system (CNS MZL) is rare. The clinical features, treatment, and prognosis are not well characterized. We performed a multicenter retrospective study of CNS MZL. Twenty-six patients were identified: half with primary and half with secondary CNS involvement. The median age was 59 years (range 26-78), 62% female and 79% with ECOG performance status ≤ 1. The most common disease site was the dura (50%). Treatment was determined by the treating physician and varied substantially. After a median follow up of 1.9 years, the estimated 2-year progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 59% and 80%, respectively. Secondary CNS MZL was associated with 2-year OS of 58%. CNS MZL is rare, but relative to other forms of CNS lymphoma, outcomes appear favorable, particularly among the subset of patients with dural presentation and primary CNS presentation

Extinction of cue-evoked drug-seeking relies on degrading hierarchical instrumental expectancies

There has long been need for a behavioural intervention that attenuates cue-evoked drug-seeking, but the optimal method remains obscure. To address this, we report three approaches to extinguish cue-evoked drug-seeking measured in a Pavlovian to instrumental transfer design, in non-treatment seeking adult smokers and alcohol drinkers. The results showed that the ability of a drug stimulus to transfer control over a separately trained drug-seeking response was not affected by the stimulus undergoing Pavlovian extinction training in experiment 1, but was abolished by the stimulus undergoing discriminative extinction training in experiment 2, and was abolished by explicit verbal instructions stating that the stimulus did not signal a more effective response-drug contingency in experiment 3. These data suggest that cue-evoked drug-seeking is mediated by a propositional hierarchical instrumental expectancy that the drug-seeking response is more likely to be rewarded in that stimulus. Methods which degraded this hierarchical expectancy were effective in the laboratory, and so may have therapeutic potential

International Capital Markets and Informal Dollar Standards in the CIS and East Asia

Although most CIS and East Asian countries are de jure classified as free floaters, they de facto pursue (tight) dollar pegs. This paper emphasizes dollar denomination of shortterm and long-term payment flows as reasons for exchange rate stabilization. Based on the analysis of ‚competitive depreciations' and ‚competitive appreciations‘ among the CIS and East Asian currencies it is argued that the adherence to a common external anchor currency enhances macroeconomic stability. Finally, the potential of euro and ruble (CIS) as well as yen and yuan (East Asia) to challenge the dollar as anchor currencies in the respective regions is explored