Comparison of original and revised reinforcement sensitivity theory in clinically-stable schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients

ABSTRACT Introduction: The study of personality can help explicate the pathology of psychological disorders. To this end,our study compared the profile of factors from the original (o) and revised (r) reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) of personality in schizophrenia (SC), bipolar disorder (BD) patients, both compared with healthy controls(HC). Method: 34 SC patients, 52 BD patients, and 72 matched HC completed: Yang Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), BAS/BIS scale, and the Jackson-5 scale. Data were analyzed by chi square, independent t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Results: SC patients had lower o-BIS, r-BIS and o-BAS, and r-BAS scores than the BD and HC groups. Compared to HC, SC and BD patients had higher Freeze and Fight scores. Depression in SC was significantly higher than other two groups; and in BD it was higher than HC. Conclusion: SC, BD, and HC differ on both o-RST and r-RST; however, the more nuanced knowledge from r-RST may be helpful in the diagnosis, etiology and psychotherapy. Keywords: Original reinforcement sensitivity theory Revised reinforcement sensitivity theory Behavioral brain systems Schizophrenia Bipolar disorde

Preliminary test of group acceptance and commitment therapy on obsessive-compulsive disorder for patients on optimal dose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of adding group acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to adults diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who were already on an optimal dose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Forty-six Iranian women, on SSRIs, were randomized to group ACT + SSRI or continued SSRI conditions. SSRI dosages stayed stable during the study. Assessments included the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID-I), Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Self report (Y-BOCS-SR), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS), and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II). The results showed significant reductions on the Y-BOCS-SR and BDI-II in both conditions at posttreatment with significantly greater reductions in the ACT + SSRI condition at follow-up. The RRS and AAQ-II saw significant improvements in the ACT + SSRI condition at posttreatment and follow-up compared to the SSRI condition. Results provide cross-cultural support for group ACT as a treatment for OCD and as a successful adjunct to SSRI treatment. © 201

Evaluation of Emotional Intelligence and Job Satisfaction in Employees of Kashan Hospitals

Background: Job satisfaction and emotional intelligence are two important variables in organizational behavioral studies, and are key factors in promoting the efficiency of organizations. Objectives: The present study was conducted in order to determine the job satisfaction and emotional intelligence of employees of Kashan hospitals in 2011. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 121 employees of Kashan hospitals who were selected using random stratified method. In this study, Bar-on emotional intelligence and job satisfaction questionnaires were used. The data were analyzed using statistical methods such as odds ratio, Chi-square and Fisher's exact test. Results: The majority of employees (76%) had moderate emotional intelligence while 88.2% of them had moderate job satisfaction. In this study, there were no significant relations between emotional intelligence and variables such as sex, education, and marital and job status (P > 0.05) but significant relations were found between the age and emotional intelligence (P = 0.01). Furthermore, there was no significant relation between job satisfaction and demographic variables. Moreover, no significant relation was found between the emotional intelligence and job satisfaction (P > 0.05). Conclusions: As the majority of the staff had average level of job satisfaction and emotional intelligence and others were lower than average, it seems necessary for authorities to explore the reasons for job dissatisfaction to prevent job burnout, depression and developing a sense of helplessness in the staff. It is also recommended to hold educational workshops for the staff especially who are younger than 40 years to promote their emotional intelligence

The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Relapse, Anxiety, and Depression in Patients With Opioid Dependence Under Methadone Maintenance Treatment: A Pilot Study

Background and Objective: Patients under methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) are susceptible to several complications including mental disturbances and risk of relapse. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of tDCS on relapse, depression, and anxiety of opioid-dependent patients under methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Methods: It was a randomized-clinical trial that conducted among 27 male patients referred to the outpatient addiction clinic of Ibn-e-Sina psychiatric hospital in Mashhad from July 2018 to May 2019. Participants were allocated to two treatment groups including intervention and sham groups. The intervention group received seven sessions of tDCS, in the F3 (cathode) and F4 (anode) areas of the brain, each one lasts 20 min, in two consecutive weeks. Depression, anxiety, and stress scale-21 (DASS-21) were measured before, during, and after the intervention in patients under MMT. Relapse on the morphine, cannabis, and methamphetamine was screened by urine dipstick tests of morphine, cannabis, and methamphetamine. Results: Depression, anxiety, and stress of participants were significantly reduced in the intervention group compared with the control after the seventh session of tDCS (P < 0.001, P=0.01, and P=0.01, respectively). In addition, the relapse rate showed no significant changes between the two groups (P=0.33). Conclusion: Overall, our study demonstrated that depression, anxiety, and stress of participants were significantly reduced after the seventh session of tDCS, but did not affect on the relapse rate. Therefore, it can be applied as a safe and effective technique to relieve mental disorder among receiving MMT. Clinical Trial Registration: http://www.irct.ir, identifier IRCT20180604039979N1. © Copyright © 2020 Sadeghi Bimorgh, Omidi, Ghoreishi, Rezaei Ardani, Ghaderi and Banafshe

The efficacy of aripiprazole versus risperidone as augmentation therapy in treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder: A double blind clinical trial

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is the fourth common psychiatric disorder. Among the anxiety disorders, OCD has the least therapeutic response and 40-60 of OCD patients do not satisfactorily respond to the first-line standard treatment known as treatment-resistant OCD. One of the best therapeutic strategies is the augmentation therapy, which is adding antipsychotics to the standard treatment (SSRIs). Objectives: In this study, the efficacy of risperidone and aripiprazole was compared as an augmentation therapy. Methods: In this double blind randomized clinical trial, 100 patients with treatment-resistant OCD were diagnosed based on the DSM-IV-TR and were followed for twelve weeks. The patients were randomly divided into two groups of aripiprazole and risperidone and received an average daily dose of 5 mg and 1.5 mg for twelve weeks, respectively. The efficacy of treatment was measured and compared by the Yale-brown obsessive compulsive scale (Y-BOCS) at 4, 8 and 12 weeks. Results: The mean Y-BOCS score of patients in risperidone and aripiprazole groups were 25.26 ± 4.17 and 25.02 ± 4.46; respectively and had no significant difference (P = 0.79) at the beginning of the trial. At the end of the study (12th week) it was changed for the risperidone and aripiprazole groups to 20.00 ± 4.45 and 16.24 ± 4.41, respectively (P &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, there was a significant decreasing trend of Y-BOCS scores in both groups, which was demonstrated by the repeated measurement analysis (P &lt; 00.1). Conclusions: It was found that both aripiprazole and risperidone could be effective in treatment of treatment-resistant OCD patients. However, aripiprazole showed a higher efficacy compared to risperidone. © 2016, Author(s)

Plasma-arc-flow technology for sustainable treatment of high-impact fluid waste. A graphene-based material for industrial-wastewater purification

The research presented aimed to address the treatment of fluid waste with significant environmental impact by utilizing plasma technology, specifically plasma arc flow (PAF). The goal was to develop a novel purification material based on graphene for industrial applications and to optimize the treatment process. Analysis and monitoring of a submerged arc plasma reactor were the main goals of this research. This entailed a careful examination of the incoming wastewater that needed to be treated with the goal of identifying its precise composition characteristics with the relative tolerances needed for the reactions that were to follow in the reactor. The focus of the analysis was on input-parameter optimization, production of characteristic curves, and analysis of the factors affecting hydrogen evolution in syngas. Additionally, the study investigated how to determine the best viscosity for a particular input matrix by carrying out an evaluation study. The effects of this parameter were thought to be reduced by preheating the incoming wastewater through heat recovery. The long-term objective of the research is to create filters that can purify the water used and produced in gasification processes as well as to characterize the fixed reside from the gasifier for potential conversion into graphene-based material. In addition, this work acknowledges that additional experiments are required to validate its purifying capacity on wastewater produced by various industrial processes. Moreover, the inclusion of plans to model the evolution of hydrogen in PAF using the CHEMCAD software® and defining guidelines for optimizing parameters for enhanced energy efficiency showcased the research’s ambition to expand and refine its scope. Finding the best plant solutions that can significantly reduce electricity consumption is the ultimate goal. In summary, the study demonstrated significant advancement in the analysis and optimization of fluid-waste treatment with high environmental impact through the use of plasma technology, specifically PAF. A thorough and forward-looking approach was demonstrated by the use of modeling software, experimental studies, and plans for future research. The potential creation of graphene-based filters and the use of the fixed residue as a useful material further highlight the innovativeness of this research

Evaluation of corneal higher order aberrations in normal topographic patterns

Purpose: This study reports the characteristics of corneal higher order aberrations (HOAs) in eyes with normal topographic pattern using the Pentacam scheimpflug system. Methods: In this prospective, observational, comparative study, 165 eyes of 97 patients separated into five groups based on corneal topographic patterns were enrolled. All eyes received a comprehensive ophthalmologic examination including corneal tomographic analysis with the Pentacam system. Keratometry, corneal cylinder, and corneal aberrometric data were recorded and analyzed. Root mean square values (RMS) were calculated for corneal HOAs up to the 6th order, total coma, total trefoil, total spherical aberration, total tetrafoil, and higher order astigmatism. Evaluation of these data to discriminate between the five groups was assessed using the analysis of variance test by Generalized Estimation Equation Linear Model. Results: Corneal HOAs were found to be significantly higher for Asymmetric Bow Tie and Irregular groups than other groups (p = &lt;0.001). RMS of total coma aberration (Z3-1, Z31, Z5-1, Z51) were significantly greater in the Asymmetric Bow Tie pattern than others, and RMS of total Spherical aberration (Z40, Z60) was significantly higher in the Irregular pattern than other groups (p = &lt;0.001). The results of our study demonstrate that a tendency toward significant higher values of trefoil, tetrafoil, and higher order astigmatism in Irregular pattern (all p &lt; 0.05). Significantly higher amounts of 3rd order RMS in Asymmetric Bow Tie group and 4th to 6th order RMS in Irregular pattern group were other outcomes of our study (p = &lt;0.001). Conclusions: Based on results in this study, there were a good correlation between corneal topographic pattern and corneal HOAs in normal eyes. These results indicate that the corneal HOAs values are largely determined by the topographic patterns. A larger sample size would perhaps have been beneficial to yield in more accurate outcomes. © 2016 Iranian Society of Ophthalmology

Effect of vitamin E on chemotherapy-induced mucositis and neutropenia in leukemic patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation

Aim: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of oral vitamin E on mucositis and neutropenia in patients with leukemia. Methods: This was a randomized double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial of 60 patients with leukemia (acute lymphoblastic, acute myelogenous leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia) who were consecutive recipients of allogenic bone marrow transplantation (BMT), randomly assigned to receive 400 mg vitamin E twice daily (supplemented group) or placebo (control). The incidence and severity of mucositis and the mean duration of neutropenia were compared. Results: The mean duration of neutropenia and the incidence of the mucositis between the two groups was the same (P = 1.0). The difference between the placebo group and mucositis grade 1 (P = 0.31), grade 2 (P = 0.25), grade 3 (P = 0.93) and grade 4 (P = 0.32) was not statistically significant. Moreover the variables of age, sex, BMI and underlying disease had no effect. Conclusion: In this study supplementation with oral vitamin E had no effect on mucositis and neutropenia in patients with leukemia who were recipients of allogenic BMT. More interventional trials are warranted. © 2007 The Authors; Journal Compilation © Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd

Defining alternative recovery strategies for reuse: An analysis of multiple case studies under the reuse umbrella

This study focuses on the role of the reuse recovery approach and its strategies in the circular economy through a product design lens. While the circular economy has been widely discussed, not all recovery strategies have been thoroughly investigated and understood alike. This research differentiates between reuse and other recovery strategies and defines three distinct opportunities under the ‘reuse umbrella’ – reuse, cascade and relink. For each opportunity, possible sub-opportunities are identified and elaborated. Through a multiple case study analysis, the sub-opportunities are elaborated with a "Design for X" approach into eight different strategies of reuse, including design for direct reuse, reconfiguration, material cascading, repurposing, component reuse, creative reuse, material reclamation and adaptive reuse. The research emphasises that the appropriateness of a reuse strategy depends on various aspects such as the context, users, industries, and material flows. Also, this study stresses the importance of reuse in promoting circular product development and consumption, providing valuable implications for businesses and designers.The research project received financial backing from the UKRI National Interdisciplinary Circular Economy Research programme (NICER

Cooperation in a transboundary river basin: a large-scale socio-hydrological model of the Eastern Nile

While conflict-and-cooperation phenomena in transboundary basins have been widely studied, much less work has been devoted to representing the process interactions in a quantitative way. This paper identifies the main factors in the riparian countries' willingness to cooperate in the Eastern Nile River basin, involving Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt, from 1983 to 2016. We propose a quantitative model of the willingness to cooperate at the national and river basin scales. Our results suggest that relative political stability and foreign direct investment can explain Ethiopia's decreasing willingness to cooperate between 2009 and 2016. Further, we show that the 2008 food crisis may account for Sudan recovering its willingness to cooperate with Ethiopia. Long-term lack of trust among the riparian countries may have reduced basin-wide cooperation. While the proposed model has some limitations regarding model assumptions and parameters, it does provide a quantitative representation of the evolution of cooperation pathways among the riparian countries, which can be used to explore the effects of changes in future dam operation and other management decisions on the emergence of conflict and cooperation in the basin