Group Motivational Interviewing as a Psychotherapeutic Intervention for Dual Diagnosis Patients Living with a Psychotic Disorder: Critique of the Literature

Studies indicate that 50% of individuals living with a psychotic disorder also meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria for substance abuse disorder during their lifetime (Green, Drake, Brunette, & Noordsy, 2007; Thornton, Baker, Johnson, Kay-Lambkin, & Lewin, 2011). With such high rates of substance abuse among individuals living with a psychotic disorder the need for empirically based and salient psychotherapeutic interventions such a Motivational Interviewing (MI) cannot be overstated. MI is a person centered approach to psychotherapy that encourages behavior change through the resolution of ambivalence (Miller & Rollnick, 2002; Prochaska & Norcross, 2010). Dual diagnosis patients living with a psychotic present with needs that may make MI difficult to administer therefore, various MI techniques are restructured to better accommodate the multicultural needs of dually diagnosed individuals. The critique of seven studies found that modified MI techniques administered in a group format had a positive effect on reducing substance use and improving overall patient functioning for dually diagnosed patients living with a psychotic disorder. Studies indicate that 50% of individuals living with a psychotic disorder also meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria for substance abuse disorder during their lifetime (Green, Drake, Brunette, & Noordsy, 2007; Thornton, Baker, Johnson, Kay-Lambkin, & Lewin, 2011). With such high rates of substance abuse among individuals living with a psychotic disorder the need for empirically based and salient psychotherapeutic interventions such a Motivational Interviewing (MI) cannot be overstated. MI is a person centered approach to psychotherapy that encourages behavior change through the resolution of ambivalence (Miller & Rollnick, 2002; Prochaska & Norcross, 2010). Dual diagnosis patients living with a psychotic present with needs that may make MI difficult to administer therefore, various MI techniques are restructured to better accommodate the multicultural needs of dually diagnosed individuals. The critique of seven studies found that modified MI techniques administered in a group format had a positive effect on reducing substance use and improving overall patient functioning for dually diagnosed patients living with a psychotic disorder

Konzeption und Entwicklung eines Condition Monitoring Systems mit Low Cost Sensoren zur Überwachung von Roboterschwingungen

Im Rahmen dieser Veröffentlichung wird ein Konzept zur Erfassung des Schwingungsverhaltens von Industrierobotern mit Hilfe von Low Cost Sensoren vorgestellt. Durch dieses sollen die dynamischen Eigenschaften des Industrieroboters im gesamten Arbeitsraum untersucht werden. Die Roboterstruktur wird dazu durch eine speziell konstruierte Unwuchtscheibe angeregt. Das Messsystem besteht aus einem Beschleunigungssensor, einem Arduino-Mikrocontroller und einem eigens entwickelten Mess- und Auswerteprogramm in der Softwareumgebung MATLAB®. Die Validierung des Konzeptes erfolgt jeweils mit Messreihen an einem Kragbalken sowie an einem Industrieroboter durch den Vergleich mit einem Referenzmesssystem der Firma Brüel & Kjaer. Durch das entwickelte Low Cost Condition Monitoring System lassen sich die Anregungsfrequenzen und –amplituden mit hinreichender Genauigkeit erfassen und Rückschlüsse auf das Schwingungsverhalten des Industrieroboters ziehen

The European Hematology Association Roadmap for European Hematology Research: a consensus document

The European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research highlights major achievements in diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders and identifies the greatest unmet clinical and scientific needs in those areas to enable better funded, more focused European hematology research. Initiated by the EHA, around 300 experts contributed to the consensus document, which will help European policy makers, research funders, research organizations, researchers, and patient groups make better informed decisions on hematology research. It also aims to raise public awareness of the burden of blood disorders on European society, which purely in economic terms is estimated at €23 billion per year, a level of cost that is not matched in current European hematology research funding. In recent decades, hematology research has improved our fundamental understanding of the biology of blood disorders, and has improved diagnostics and treatments, sometimes in revolutionary ways. This progress highlights the potential of focused basic research programs such as this EHA Roadmap. The EHA Roadmap identifies nine ‘sections’ in hematology: normal hematopoiesis, malignant lymphoid and myeloid diseases, anemias and related diseases, platelet disorders, blood coagulation and hemostatic disorders, transfusion medicine, infections in hematology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These sections span 60 smaller groups of diseases or disorders. The EHA Roadmap identifies priorities and needs across the field of hematology, including those to develop targeted therapies based on genomic profiling and chemical biology, to eradicate minimal residual malignant disease, and to develop cellular immunotherapies, combination treatments, gene therapies, hematopoietic stem cell treatments, and treatments that are better tolerated by elderly patients

The European Hematology Association Roadmap for European Hematology Research. A Consensus Document

Abstract The European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research highlights major achievements in diagnosis and treatment of blood disorders and identifies the greatest unmet clinical and scientific needs in those areas to enable better funded, more focused European hematology research. Initiated by the EHA, around 300 experts contributed to the consensus document, which will help European policy makers, research funders, research organizations, researchers, and patient groups make better informed decisions on hematology research. It also aims to raise public awareness of the burden of blood disorders on European society, which purely in economic terms is estimated at Euro 23 billion per year, a level of cost that is not matched in current European hematology research funding. In recent decades, hematology research has improved our fundamental understanding of the biology of blood disorders, and has improved diagnostics and treatments, sometimes in revolutionary ways. This progress highlights the potential of focused basic research programs such as this EHA Roadmap. The EHA Roadmap identifies nine sections in hematology: normal hematopoiesis, malignant lymphoid and myeloid diseases, anemias and related diseases, platelet disorders, blood coagulation and hemostatic disorders, transfusion medicine, infections in hematology, and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These sections span 60 smaller groups of diseases or disorders. The EHA Roadmap identifies priorities and needs across the field of hematology, including those to develop targeted therapies based on genomic profiling and chemical biology, to eradicate minimal residual malignant disease, and to develop cellular immunotherapies, combination treatments, gene therapies, hematopoietic stem cell treatments, and treatments that are better tolerated by elderly patients. Received December 15, 2015. Accepted January 27, 2016. Copyright © 2016, Ferrata Storti Foundatio

Evaluation of Plant and Fungal Extracts for Their Potential Antigingivitis and Anticaries Activity

The link between diet and health has lead to the promotion of functional foods which can enhance health. In this study, the oral health benefits of a number of food homogenates and high molecular mass and low molecular mass fractions were investigated. A comprehensive range of assays were performed to assess the action of these foods on the development of gingivitis and caries using bacterial species associated with these diseases. Both antigingivitis and anticaries effects were investigated by assays examining the prevention of biofilm formation and coaggregation, disruption of preexisting biofilms, and the foods' antibacterial effects. Assays investigating interactions with gingival epithelial cells and cytokine production were carried out to assess the foods' anti- gingivitis properties. Anti-caries properties such as interactions with hydroxyapatite, disruption of signal transduction, and the inhibition of acid production were investigated. The mushroom and chicory homogenates and low molecular mass fractions show promise as anti-caries and anti-gingivitis agents, and further testing and clinical trials will need to be performed to evaluate their true effectiveness in humans

Off-Axis Response Measurement of the Sounding of the Atmosphere Using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) Telescope

The Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) instrument is a 10-channel earth limb-viewing sensor that measures atmospheric emissions in the spectral range of 1.27 μm to 16.9 μm. SABER is part of NASA’s Thermosphere-Ionosphere-Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) mission, which was successfully launched in December 2001. Uncommon among limb-viewing sensors, SABER employs an on-axis telescope design with reimaging optics to allow for an intermediate field stop and a Lyot stop. Additional stray light protection is achieved by an innovative inner Lyot stop, which is placed conjugate to the secondary obscuration and support structure. Presented in this paper is the off-axis response of SABER as measured in the Terrestrial Black Hole off-axis scatter facility at the Space Dynamics Laboratory. The measurement was made at visible wavelengths; thus, the response is only representative of SABER’s short wavelength channels. The measurement validated the stray light design and complemented the APART software model, which predicts that mirror scatter is the dominant stray light mechanism at short wavelengths. In addition, estimates of the mirror bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) were made. The off-axis response measurement indicates that SABER is an exceptional stray light suppression telescope

The EHA research roadmap: anemias

In 2016, the European Hematology Association (EHA) published the EHA Roadmap for European Hematology Research1 aiming to highlight achievements in the diagnostics and treatment of blood disorders, and to better inform European policy makers and other stakeholders about the urgent clinical and scientific needs and priorities in the field of hematology. Each section was coordinated by one to two section editors who were leading international experts in the field. In the five years that have followed, advances in the field of hematology have been plentiful. As such, EHA is pleased to present an updated Research Roadmap, now including eleven sections, each of which will be published separately. The updated EHA Research Roadmap identifies the most urgent priorities in hematology research and clinical science, therefore supporting a more informed, focused, and ideally a more funded future for European hematology research. The eleven EHA Research Roadmap sections include Normal Hematopoiesis; Malignant Lymphoid Diseases; Malignant Myeloid Diseases; Anemias and Related Diseases; Platelet Disorders; Blood Coagulation and Hemostatic Disorders; Transfusion Medicine; Infections in Hematology; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; CAR-T and Other Cellbased Immune Therapies; and Gene Therap