Current definitions of “transdiagnostic” in treatment development: A search for consensus

Research in psychopathology has identified psychological processes that are relevant across a range of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) mental disorders, and these efforts have begun to produce treatment principles and protocols that can be applied transdiagnostically. However, review of recent work suggests that there has been great variability in conceptions of the term “transdiagnostic” in the treatment development literature. We believe that there is value in arriving at a common understanding of the term “transdiagnostic.” The purpose of the current manuscript is to outline three principal ways in which the term “transdiagnostic” is currently used, to delineate treatment approaches that fall into these three categories, and to consider potential advantages and disadvantages of each approachFirst author draf

Assessing soil quality impacts after conversion of marginal cropland to productive conservation

Planting trees on poor quality cropland may yield some benefits for increasing soil organic carbon. Test plots in four parts of Iowa were examined to determine the level of benefits possible to achieve

Characterization of a Specificity Factor for an AAA+ ATPase Assembly of SspB Dimers with ssrA-Tagged Proteins and the ClpX Hexamer

AbstractSspB, a specificity factor for the ATP-dependent ClpXP protease, stimulates proteolysis of protein substrates bearing the ssrA degradation tag. The SspB protein is shown here to form a stable homodimer with two independent binding sites for ssrA-tagged proteins or peptides. SspB by itself binds to ClpX and stimulates the ATPase activity of this enzyme. In the presence of ATPγS, a ternary complex of SspB, GFP-ssrA, and the ClpX ATPase was sufficiently stable to isolate by gel-filtration or ion-exchange chromatography. This complex consists of one SspB dimer, two molecules of GFP-ssrA, and one ClpX hexamer. SspB dimers do not commit bound substrates to ClpXP degradation but increase the affinity and cooperativity of binding of ssrA-tagged substrates to ClpX, facilitating enhanced degradation at low substrate concentrations

Soil properties following reforestation or afforestation of marginal cropland

Aims Reforestation or afforestation of marginal agricultural lands offers opportunities to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC), improve the quality of degraded soils, and provide ecosystem services. The objectives of this study were to identify the extent and distribution of marginally productive cropland in the state of Iowa and to quantify the changes in SOC and relevant soil properties following tree planting. Methods A geographic information system (GIS) analysis was used to identify 1.05 million ha of marginal cropland within the state. Soil samples were collected from four locations with (\u3c51 yr-old) forest plantations and adjacent crop fields. Soil samples were analyzed for SOC, total nitrogen (TN), pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), ammonium acetateextractable K, Ca, Mg, and Na, and particle size. Results The forested soils had 30.0±5.1 % (mean ±standard error) more SOC than the tilled cropland. The average annual change in SOC following tree planting was estimated to be 0.56±0.05 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. Differences were observed in several soil properties but strong correlations with SOC content were only observed for bulk density and extractable Ca. Conclusions These results indicate that within 5 decades of tree planting on former cropland or pasture there was consistently and significantly greater SOC in soil beneath the trees

Soil properties following reforestation or afforestation of marginal cropland

Aims Reforestation or afforestation of marginal agricultural lands offers opportunities to sequester soil organic carbon (SOC), improve the quality of degraded soils, and provide ecosystem services. The objectives of this study were to identify the extent and distribution of marginally productive cropland in the state of Iowa and to quantify the changes in SOC and relevant soil properties following tree planting. Methods A geographic information system (GIS) analysis was used to identify 1.05 million ha of marginal cropland within the state. Soil samples were collected from four locations with (\u3c51 yr-old) forest plantations and adjacent crop fields. Soil samples were analyzed for SOC, total nitrogen (TN), pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), ammonium acetateextractable K, Ca, Mg, and Na, and particle size. Results The forested soils had 30.0±5.1 % (mean ±standard error) more SOC than the tilled cropland. The average annual change in SOC following tree planting was estimated to be 0.56±0.05 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. Differences were observed in several soil properties but strong correlations with SOC content were only observed for bulk density and extractable Ca. Conclusions These results indicate that within 5 decades of tree planting on former cropland or pasture there was consistently and significantly greater SOC in soil beneath the trees

Treating depressive disorders with the unified protocol: A preliminary randomized evaluation.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine the efficacy of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders (UP) for individuals diagnosed with a depressive disorder. METHOD: Participants included 44 adults who met criteria for major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, or another specified depressive disorder according to the Anxiety Disorder Interview Schedule (ADIS). These individuals represent a subset of patients from a larger clinical trial comparing the UP to single-disorder protocols (SDPs) for discrete anxiety disorders and a waitlist control (WLC) condition (Barlow et al., 2017); inclusion criteria for the parent study required participants to have a principal anxiety disorder. RESULTS: Significant reductions in depressive symptoms were observed within the UP condition across clinician-rated and self-report measures of depression from baseline to post-treatment, as well as to the 12-month follow-up assessment. Compared to the WLC group, individuals in the UP condition demonstrated significantly lower levels on our continuous, clinician-rated measure of depressive symptoms at post-treatment. There were no differences between the UP and SDP conditions on depressive symptoms at post-treatment or at the 12-month follow-up timepoint. CONCLUSIONS: In this exploratory set of analyses, the UP evidenced efficacy for reduction of depressive symptoms, adding to the growing support for its utility in treating depression.R01 MH090053 - NIMH NIH HHSAccepted manuscrip

Direct DME synthesis on CZZ/H-FER from variable CO2_{2}/CO syngas feeds

Catalyst systems for the conversion of synthesis gas, which are tolerant to fluctuating CO/CO$_{2}$ gas compositions, have great potential for process-technical applications, related to the expected changes in the supply of synthesis gas. Copper-based catalysts usually used in the synthesis of methanol play an important role in this context. We investigated the productivity characteristics for their application in direct dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis as a function of the CO$_{2}$/CO$_{x}$ ratio over the complete range from 0 to 1. For this purpose, we compared an industrial Cu/ZnO/Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$ methanol catalyst with a self-developed Cu/ZnO/ZrO$_{2}$ catalyst prepared by a continuous coprecipitation approach. For DME synthesis, catalysts were combined with two commercial dehydration catalysts, H-FER 20 and γ-Al$_{2}$O$_{3}$, respectively. Using a standard testing procedure, we determined the productivity characteristics in a temperature range between 483 K and 523 K in a fixed bed reactor. The combination of Cu/ZnO/ZrO$_{2}$ and H-FER 20 provided the highest DME productivity with up to 1017 g$_{DME}$ (kg$_{Cu}$ h)$^{-1}$ at 523 K, 50 bar and 36 000 ml$_{N}$ (g h)$^{-1}$ and achieved DME productivities higher than 689 g$_{DME}$ (kg$_{Cu}$ h)$^{-1}$ at all investigated CO$_{2}$/CO$_{x}$ ratios under the mentioned conditions. With the use of Cu/ZnO/ZrO$_{2}$//H-FER 20 a promising operating range between CO$_{2}$/CO$_{x}$ 0.47 and 0.8 was found where CO as well as CO$_{2}$ can be converted with high DME selectivity. First results on the long-term stability of the system Cu/ZnO/ZrO$_{2}$//H-FER 20 showed an overall reduction of 27.0% over 545 h time on stream and 14.6% between 200 h and 545 h under variable feed conditions with a consistently high DME selectivity

Electron Photodetachment from Aqueous Anions. II. Ionic Strength Effect on Geminate Recombination Dynamics and Quantum Yield for Hydrated Electron

In concentrated solutions of NaClO4 and Na2SO4, the quantum yield for free electron generated by detachment from photoexcited anions (such as I-, OH-, ClO^4-, and [SO3]^2-) linearly decreases by 6-12% per 1 M ionic strength. In 9 M sodium perchlorate solution, this quantum yield decreases by roughly an order of magnitude. Ultrafast kinetic studies of 200 nm photon induced electron detachment from Br-, HO- and [SO3]^2- suggest that the prompt yield of thermalized electron does not change in these solutions; rather, the ionic strength effect originates in more efficient recombination of geminate pairs. Within the framework of the recently proposed mean force potential (MFP) model of charge separation dynamics in such photosystems, the observed changes are interpreted as an increase in the short-range attractive potential between the geminate partners. Association of sodium cation(s) with the electron and the parent anion is suggested as the most likely cause for the observed modification of the MFP. Electron thermalization kinetics suggest that the cation associated with the parent anion (by ion pairing and/or ionic atmosphere interaction) is passed to the detached electron in the course of the photoreaction. The precise atomic-level mechanism for the ionic strength effect is presently unclear; any further advance is likely to require the development of an adequate quantum molecular dynamics model.Comment: 40 pages, 10 figures + supplement 2 pages, 9 figures; will be submitted, in a modified form, to J. Phys. Chem