One-year follow-up of family versus child CBT for anxiety disorders: Exploring the roles of child age and parental intrusiveness.

ObjectiveTo compare the relative long-term benefit of family-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (FCBT) and child-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) for child anxiety disorders at a 1-year follow-up.MethodThirty-five children (6-13 years old) randomly assigned to 12-16 sessions of family-focused CBT (FCBT) or child-focused CBT (CCBT) participated in a 1-year follow-up assessment. Independent evaluators, parents, and children rated anxiety and parental intrusiveness. All were blind to treatment condition and study hypotheses.ResultsChildren assigned to FCBT had lower anxiety scores than children assigned to CCBT on follow-up diagnostician- and parent-report scores, but not child-report scores. Exploratory analyses suggested the advantage of FCBT over CCBT may have been evident more for early adolescents than for younger children and that reductions in parental intrusiveness may have mediated the treatment effect.ConclusionFCBT may yield a stronger treatment effect than CCBT that lasts for at least 1 year, although the lack of consistency across informants necessitates a circumspect view of the findings. The potential moderating and mediating effects considered in this study offer interesting avenues for further study

Deep Halpha imagery of the Eridanus shells

A deep \ha image of interlocking filamentary arcs of nebulosity has been obtained with a wide-field ($\approx$ 30\degree diameter) narrow-band filter camera combined with a CCD as a detector. The resultant mosaic of images, extending to a galactic latitude of 65$^{o}$, has been corrected for field distortions and had galactic coordinates superimposed on it to permit accurate correlations with the most recent H{\sc i} (21 cm), X-ray (0.75 kev) and FIR (IRAS 100 $\mu$m) maps. Furthermore, an upper limit of 0.13 arcsec/yr to the expansion proper motion of the primary 25\degree long nebulous arc has been obtained by comparing a recent \ha image obtained with the San Pedro Martir telescope of its filamentary edge with that on a POSS E plate obtained in 1951. It is concluded that these filamentary arcs are the superimposed images of separate shells (driven by supernova explosions and/or stellar winds) rather than the edges of a single `superbubble' stretching from Barnard's Arc (and the Orion Nebula) to these high galactic latitudes. The proper motion measurement argues against the primary \ha emitting arc being associated with the giant radio loop (Loop 2) except in extraordinary circumstances.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for MNRAS publicatio

An exploration of the relationship of chemical and physical parameters in the micromechanical characterisation of the apparent interfacial strength in glass fibre epoxy systems

This paper focuses on the cure shrinkage and the thermomechanical properties of an amine cured epoxy resin system and its adhesion to glass fibre. The fibre-matrix interfacial shear strength (IFSS) was characterized using the microbond test over a range of test temperatures and a range of amine:epoxy ratios. The apparent IFSS in this glass-epoxy system was shown to be strongly dependent on the testing temperature and the matrix stoichiometry. High levels of cure shrinkage were measured in the IFSS microdroplets which resulted in internal stresses causing significant levels of droplet deformation. The results presented here can be interpreted as providing further support for the hypothesis that a significant fraction of the interfacial stress transfer capability in epoxy composites can be attributed to a combination of residual radial compressive stress and static friction at the fibre-matrix interface

Disruption and bactericidal indices depicted in polygonal graphs to show multiple outcome effects of root canal irrigant supplements on single and dual species biofilms

Objectives: The aims of this study were to (1) investigate the relative time-dependent disruption and bactericidal effects of detergent-type surfactants on single- or dual-species biofilms of root canal isolates and (2) to examine the utility of polygonal graphs for depiction of biofilm disruption and cell killing. Materials and methods: Single-species biofilms of Streptococcus sanguinis, Enterococcus faecalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis were grown on nitro-cellulose membranes for 72 h and immersed in Tween®80, cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB), and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) for 1-, 5- or 10-min (n = 3 per test). The number of viable and non-viable bacteria “disrupted” from the biofilm and those “remaining-attached” was determined using a viability stain in conjunction with fluorescence microscopy. The data were analysed using non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test with 5% significance level. Results: Gram-negative obligate anaerobes were more susceptible to cell removal than gram-positive facultative anaerobes. The majority of cells were disrupted after 1-min of exposure; however, the extent varied according to the agent and species. CTAB and SDS were more effective than Tween 80™ at disrupting biofilms and killing cells but all agents failed to achieve 100% disruption/kill. Conclusions: Biofilm disruption and cell viability were influenced by the species, the test agent and the duration of exposure. CTAB and SDS were more effective in biofilm disruption than Tween 80™. Graphical depiction of biofilm disruption- and viability-outcomes provides an alternative means of simultaneously visualising and analysing relative efficacy in different domains. Clinical relevance: Surfactants were not as effective at biofilm disruption as NaOCl but may be added to other non-disruptive antibacterial agents to enhance this property

Good practices for 68Ga radiopharmaceutical production

Background: The radiometal gallium-68 (Ga-68) is increasingly used in diagnostic positron emission tomography (PET), with Ga-68-labeled radiopharmaceuticals developed as potential higher-resolution imaging alternatives to traditional Tc-99m agents. In precision medicine, PET applications of Ga-68 are widespread, with Ga-68 radiolabeled to a variety of radiotracers that evaluate perfusion and organ function, and target specific biomarkers found on tumor lesions such as prostate-specific membrane antigen, somatostatin, fibroblast activation protein, bombesin, and melanocortin. Main body: These Ga-68 radiopharmaceuticals include agents such as [Ga-68]Ga-macroaggregated albumin for myocardial perfusion evaluation, [Ga-68]Ga-PLED for assessing renal function, [Ga-68]Ga-t-butyl-HBED for assessing liver function, and [Ga-68]Ga-PSMA for tumor imaging. The short half-life, favourable nuclear decay properties, ease of radiolabeling, and convenient availability through germanium-68 (Ge-68) generators and cyclotron production routes strongly positions Ga-68 for continued growth in clinical deployment. This progress motivates the development of a set of common guidelines and standards for the Ga-68 radiopharmaceutical community, and recommendations for centers interested in establishing Ga-68 radiopharmaceutical production. Conclusion: This review outlines important aspects of Ga-68 radiopharmacy, including Ga-68 production routes using a Ge-68/Ga-68 generator or medical cyclotron, standardized Ga-68 radiolabeling methods, quality control procedures for clinical Ga-68 radiopharmaceuticals, and suggested best practices for centers with established or upcoming Ga-68 radiopharmaceutical production. Finally, an outlook on Ga-68 radiopharmaceuticals is presented to highlight potential challenges and opportunities facing the community