The effect of pre-treatment psychoeducation on eating disorder pathology among patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

Pre-treatment psychoeducation can be effective for bulimic groups, but little is known about its effect on patients with anorexia nervosa. This study investigated the impact of a pre-treatment psychoeducational intervention on outpatients with diagnoses of full or atypical anorexia nervosa (N = 54) or bulimia nervosa/atypical eating disorder at a normal weight (N = 43). Each attended a four-session psychoeducational group whilst awaiting outpatient treatment. They completed measures of eating and personality disorder pathology pre-intervention, repeating the measures of eating pathology post-intervention. Effectiveness was tested for each diagnostic group using intention-to-treat analyses. Results confirm that such psychoeducational groups reduce unhealthy eating attitudes among bulimic patients, regardless of initial levels of eating and personality pathology. In contrast, the groups were not effective for anorexia nervosa sufferers. Such groups should be considered routinely during waiting periods for bulimia nervosa treatment, but further research is needed to determine how to help anorexia nervosa patients at this stage

A phenomenological approach to the simulation of metabolism and proliferation dynamics of large tumour cell populations

A major goal of modern computational biology is to simulate the collective behaviour of large cell populations starting from the intricate web of molecular interactions occurring at the microscopic level. In this paper we describe a simplified model of cell metabolism, growth and proliferation, suitable for inclusion in a multicell simulator, now under development (Chignola R and Milotti E 2004 Physica A 338 261-6). Nutrients regulate the proliferation dynamics of tumor cells which adapt their behaviour to respond to changes in the biochemical composition of the environment. This modeling of nutrient metabolism and cell cycle at a mesoscopic scale level leads to a continuous flow of information between the two disparate spatiotemporal scales of molecular and cellular dynamics that can be simulated with modern computers and tested experimentally.Comment: 58 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, pdf onl

Teleportation, Braid Group and Temperley--Lieb Algebra

We explore algebraic and topological structures underlying the quantum teleportation phenomena by applying the braid group and Temperley--Lieb algebra. We realize the braid teleportation configuration, teleportation swapping and virtual braid representation in the standard description of the teleportation. We devise diagrammatic rules for quantum circuits involving maximally entangled states and apply them to three sorts of descriptions of the teleportation: the transfer operator, quantum measurements and characteristic equations, and further propose the Temperley--Lieb algebra under local unitary transformations to be a mathematical structure underlying the teleportation. We compare our diagrammatical approach with two known recipes to the quantum information flow: the teleportation topology and strongly compact closed category, in order to explain our diagrammatic rules to be a natural diagrammatic language for the teleportation.Comment: 33 pages, 19 figures, latex. The present article is a short version of the preprint, quant-ph/0601050, which includes details of calculation, more topics such as topological diagrammatical operations and entanglement swapping, and calls the Temperley--Lieb category for the collection of all the Temperley--Lieb algebra with physical operations like local unitary transformation

Radiative corrections to polarization observables in elastic electron-deuteron scattering in leptonic variables

The model--independent QED radiative corrections to polarization observables in elastic scattering of unpolarized and longitudinally--polarized electron beam by the deuteron target have been calculated in leptonic variables. The experimental setup when the deuteron target is arbitrarily polarized is considered and the procedure for applying derived results to the vector or tensor polarization of the recoil deuteron is discussed. The basis of the calculations consists of the account for all essential Feynman diagrams which results in the form of the Drell-Yan representation for the cross-section and use of the covariant parametrization of the deuteron polarization state. The numerical estimates of the radiative corrections are given for the case when event selection allows the undetected particles (photons and electron-positron pairs) and the restriction on the lost invariant mass is used.Comment: 43 pages,3 figures. To be published in ZhTEF. revised 14.02.2012. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:nucl-ex/0002003 by other author

From training to artisanal practice : rethinking choreographic relationships in modern dance

In the first part of the twentieth century early modern dancers created both a new art form and the forms of group social organisation that were its condition of possibility. This paper critically examines the balletic and disciplinary ‘training’ model of dancer formation and proposes that the assumption of training in dance can obscure other ways of understanding dance-making relationships and other values in early modern dance. An ‘artisanal’ mode of production and knowledge transmission based on a non-binary relationship between ‘master’ and apprentice and occurring in a quasi-domestic and personalised space of some intimacy is proposed as a more pertinent way to think the enabling conditions of modern dance creation

Factors contributing to posttraumatic growth and its buffering effect in adult chidren of cancer patients undergoing treatment

This study examined relationships among demographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables in adult children of cancer patients. Two hundred and fourteen participants completed measures of posttraumatic growth (PTG), distress, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, social support, and family functioning. Significant gender differences in all PTG dimensions were found, as well as associations among PTG, gender, parental dependency, distress, PTSD, and family functioning. Social support was not a mediator in the relationship between gender and PTG. Gender, education, disease duration, dependency, distress, and family flexibility predicted PTG. Finally, PTG had amoderating effect in the relationship between distress and PTSD/social support. These results may guide psychosocial interventions in this population.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT

Characteristics of Suicide Attempts in Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa: A Case–Control Study

Objective: Compared to other eating disorders, anorexia nervosa (AN) has the highest rates of completed suicide whereas suicide attempt rates are similar or lower than in bulimia nervosa (BN). Attempted suicide is a key predictor of suicide, thus this mismatch is intriguing. We sought to explore whether the clinical characteristics of suicidal acts differ between suicide attempters with AN, BN or without an eating disorders (ED). Method: Case-control study in a cohort of suicide attempters (n = 1563). Forty-four patients with AN and 71 with BN were compared with 235 non-ED attempters matched for sex, age and education, using interview measures of suicidal intent and severity. Results: AN patients were more likely to have made a serious attempt (OR = 3.4, 95 % CI 1.4–7.9), with a higher expectation of dying (OR = 3.7,95 % CI 1.1–13.5), and an increased risk of severity (OR = 3.4,95 % CI 1.2–9.6). BN patients did not differ from the control group. Clinical markers of the severity of ED were associated with the seriousness of the attempt. Conclusion: There are distinct features of suicide attempts in AN. This may explain the higher suicide rates in AN. Higher completed suicide rates in AN may be partially explained by AN patients ’ higher desire to die and their more severe and lethal attempts

Race/ethnicity, education, and treatment parameters as moderators and predictors of outcome in binge eating disorder.

Binge eating disorder (BED) is prevalent among individuals from minority racial/ethnic groups and among individuals with lower levels of education, yet the efficacy of psychosocial treatments for these groups has not been examined in adequately powered analyses. This study investigated the relative variance in treatment retention and post-treatment symptom levels accounted for by demographic, clinical, and treatment variables as moderators and predictors of outcome