Targeting hyperarousal: Mantram Repetition Program for PTSD in US veterans.

Background: Hyperarousal appears to play an important role in the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, but current evidence-based treatments appear to address this symptom type less effectively than the other symptom clusters. The Mantram Repetition Program (MRP) is a meditation-based intervention that has previously been shown to improve symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and may be especially helpful for hyperarousal. If MRP is an effective tool for decreasing this often treatment-resistant symptom cluster, it may become an important clinical tool. Objective: The goal of this secondary analysis was to examine the effect of the MRP on hyperarousal and other PTSD symptom clusters and to examine hyperarousal as a mediator of treatment response. Method: Secondary analyses were conducted on data from a randomized controlled trial in which Veterans with PTSD (n = 173) were assigned to the MRP or a non-specific psychotherapy control and assessed pre-treatment, post-treatment and 8 weeks after treatment completion. The impact of the interventions on PTSD symptom clusters was examined, and time-lagged hierarchical linear modelling was applied to examine alternative mediation models. Results: All PTSD symptom clusters improved in both treatments. MRP led to greater reductions in hyperarousal at post-treatment (Hedge's g = 0.57) and follow-up (Hedge's g = 0.52), and in numbing at post-treatment (Hedge's g = 0.47). Hyperarousal mediated reductions in the composite of the other PTSD symptom clusters. Although the reverse model was significant as well, the effect was weaker in this direction. Conclusion: Interventions focused on the management of hyperarousal may play an important role in recovery from PTSD. The MRP appears efficacious in reducing hyperarousal, and thereby impacting other PTSD symptom clusters, as one pathway to facilitating recovery

Advances and visions in large-scale hydrological modelling: findings from the 11th Workshop on Large-Scale Hydrological Modelling

Large-scale hydrological modelling has become increasingly wide-spread during the last decade. An annual workshop series on large-scale hydrological modelling has provided, since 1997, a forum to the German-speaking community for discussing recent developments and achievements in this research area. In this paper we present the findings from the 2007 workshop which focused on advances and visions in large-scale hydrological modelling. We identify the state of the art, difficulties and research perspectives with respect to the themes "sensitivity of model results", "integrated modelling" and "coupling of processes in hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere". Some achievements in large-scale hydrological modelling during the last ten years are presented together with a selection of remaining challenges for the future

Review of the pharmacology and clinical studies of micafungin

Micafungin, like other members of the echinocandin class, has a unique mechanism of action that inhibits the synthesis of 1,3-β-D glucans in the fungal cell wall. It has been approved for treatment of esophageal candidiasis, invasive candidiasis including candidemia, and for prophylaxis of Candida infections in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Although efficacy and safety have also been demonstrated in pediatric populations, micafungin is approved for this indication in Europe and Japan, but not in the United States. It has demonstrated activity against Candida spp. including those that are azole-resistant as well as Aspergillus and a few other clinically important molds. It is administered intravenously as a once daily infusion and does not require dose adjustments for renal or moderate hepatic dysfunction. Its safety record, favorable tolerability profile, and few drug interactions make it an important agent for the treatment of invasive fungal infections

Simulation of underground gravity gradients from stochastic seismic fields

We present results obtained from a finite-element simulation of seismic displacement fields and of gravity gradients generated by those fields. The displacement field is constructed by a plane wave model with a 3D isotropic stochastic field and a 2D fundamental Rayleigh field. The plane wave model provides an accurate representation of stationary fields from distant sources. Underground gravity gradients are calculated as acceleration of a free test mass inside a cavity. The results are discussed in the context of gravity-gradient noise subtraction in third generation gravitational-wave detectors. Error analysis with respect to the density of the simulated grid leads to a derivation of an improved seismometer placement inside a 3D array which would be used in practice to monitor the seismic field.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figure

Direct Emission of multiple strange baryons in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions from the phase boundary

We discuss a model for the space-time evolution of ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions which employs relativistic hydrodynamics within one region of the forward light-cone, and microscopic transport theory (i.e. UrQMD) in the complement. Our initial condition consists of a quark-gluon plasma which expands hydrodynamically and hadronizes. After hadronization the solution eventually changes from expansion in local equilibrium to free streaming, as determined selfconsistently by the interaction rates between the hadrons and the local expansion rate. We show that in such a scenario the inverse slopes of the $m_T$-spectra of multiple strange baryons ($\Xi$, $\Omega$) are practically unaffected by the purely hadronic stage of the reaction, while the flow of $p$'s and $\Lambda$'s increases. Moreover, we find that the rather ``soft'' transverse expansion at RHIC energies (due to a first-order phase transition) is not washed out by strong rescattering in the hadronic stage. The earlier kinetic freeze-out as compared to SPS-energies results in similar inverse slopes (of the $m_T$-spectra of the hadrons in the final state) at RHIC and SPS energies.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, statistics for Omegas improved, slight revision of the manuscript (expansion of hadronization volume more emphasized, pi-Omega scattering is discussed very briefly

Holocene Earthquakes and Late Pleistocene Slip-Rate Estimates on the Wassuk Range Fault Zone, Nevada

The Wassuk Range fault zone is an 80‐km‐long, east‐dipping, high‐angle normal fault that flanks the eastern margin of the Wassuk Range in central Nevada. Observations from two alluvial fan systems truncated by the fault yield information on the vertical slip rate and Holocene earthquake history along the range front. At the apex of the Rose Creek alluvial fan, radiocarbon dating of offset stratigraphy exposed in two fault trenches shows that multiple earthquakes resulted in 7.0 m of vertical offset along the fault since ∼9400 cal B.P. These data yield a Holocene vertical slip rate of 0.7±0.1  mm/yr. The south trench exposure records at least two faulting events since ∼9400 cal B.P., with the most recent displacement postdating ∼2810 cal B.P. The north trench exposure records an ∼1  m offset between ∼610 cal B.P. and A.D. ∼1850, a 1.3‐m minimum offset prior to ∼1460 cal B.P., and one earlier undated earthquake of a similar size. Variations in stratigraphy and limited datable material preclude a unique correlation of paleoevents between the two trenches. Approximately 25 km north, the range‐front fault has truncated and uplifted a remnant of the Penrod Canyon fan by \u3e40  m since the surface was deposited ∼113  ka, based on cosmogenic dating of two large boulders. These data allow an estimate of the minimum late Pleistocene vertical slip rate at \u3e0.3–0.4  mm/yr for the Wassuk Range fault zone

Holocene Earthquakes and Late Pleistocene Slip Rate Estimates on the Wassuk Range Fault Zone, Nevada, USA

The Wassuk Range fault zone is an 80‐km‐long, east‐dipping, high‐angle normal fault that flanks the eastern margin of the Wassuk Range in central Nevada. Observations from two alluvial fan systems truncated by the fault yield information on the vertical slip rate and Holocene earthquake history along the range front. At the apex of the Rose Creek alluvial fan, radiocarbon dating of offset stratigraphy exposed in two fault trenches shows that multiple earthquakes resulted in 7.0 m of vertical offset along the fault since ∼9400 cal B.P. These data yield a Holocene vertical slip rate of 0.7±0.1  mm/yr. The south trench exposure records at least two faulting events since ∼9400 cal B.P., with the most recent displacement postdating ∼2810 cal B.P. The north trench exposure records an ∼1  m offset between ∼610 cal B.P. and A.D. ∼1850, a 1.3‐m minimum offset prior to ∼1460 cal B.P., and one earlier undated earthquake of a similar size. Variations in stratigraphy and limited datable material preclude a unique correlation of paleoevents between the two trenches. Approximately 25 km north, the range‐front fault has truncated and uplifted a remnant of the Penrod Canyon fan by \u3e40  m since the surface was deposited ∼113  ka, based on cosmogenic dating of two large boulders. These data allow an estimate of the minimum late Pleistocene vertical slip rate at \u3e0.3–0.4  mm/yr for the Wassuk Range fault zone