Predicting violence in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

Background/Aim. Frequent expression of negative affects, hostility and violent behavior in individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were recognized long ago, and have been retrospectively well documented in war veterans with PTSD who were shown to have an elevated risk for violent behavior when compared to both veterans without PTSD and other psychiatric patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of clinical prediction of violence in combat veterans suffering from PTSD. Methods. The subjects of this study, 104 male combat veterans with PTSD were assessed with the Historical, Clinical and Risk Management 20 (HCR-20), a 20-item clinicianrated instrument for assessing the risks for violence, and their acts of violence during one-year follow-up period were registered based on bimonthly check-up interviews. Results. Our findings showed that the HCR-20, as an actuarial measure, had good internal consistency reliability (α = 0.82), excellent interrater reliability (Interaclass Correlation ICC = 0.85), as well as excellent predictive validity for acts of any violence, non-physical violence or physical violence in the follow-up period (AUC = 0.82-0.86). The HCR-20 also had good interrater reliability (Cohen's kappa = 0.74), and acceptable predictive accuracy for each outcome criterion (AUC = 0.73-0.79). Conclusion. The results of this research confirm that the HCR-20 may also be applied in prediction of violent behavior in the population of patients suffering from PTSD with reliability and validity comparable with the results of previous studies where this instrument was administered to other populations of psychiatric patients

Competitive trait anxiety and general self-esteem of athletes according to the sport type and gender

Traditionally, anxiety has been interpreted as a negative emotional state characterized by nervousness, worry, fret, uncertainty and vague fear which could have an adverse effect on sports achievement. On the other hand, sport type and its specific nature and demands, may also be connected with the level of state and trait anxiety. This study aimed to investigate potential differences in the competitive trait anxiety level and general self-esteem according to gender in sports of different contact level. The sample consisted of 1024 (590 males and 434 females) young athletes. Independent variables were sport contact level (non-contact, contact and collision sports) and gender. Dependent variables were measured by the adjusted versions of Sport Competition Anxiety Test and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Basic descriptive statistics was calculated for all the groups, and the differences between them were established using χ² test and MANOVA. The results suggest significant differences in trait competitive anxiety per sport type, gender and their interaction, and no differences in the general self-esteem level. The current study reveals that not only the intensity but also the intergroup relationship of a sport contact level (non-contact, contact and collision sports) is gender determined. These findings are important in psycho-diagnostic procedure and choosing appropriate coping strategies for athletes

Dynamic Approximate Vertex Cover and Maximum Matching

We consider the problem of maintaining a large matching or a small vertex cover in a dynamically changing graph. Each update to the graph is either an edge deletion or an edge insertion. We give the first randomized data structure that simultaneously achieves a constant approximation factor and handles a sequence of k updates in k. polylog(n) time. Previous data structures require a polynomial amount of computation per update. The starting point of our construction is a distributed algorithm of Parnas and Ron (Theor. Comput. Sci. 2007), which they designed for their sublinear-time approximation algorithm for the vertex cover size. This leads us to wonder whether there are other connections between sublinear algorithms and dynamic data structures.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant 0732334)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant 0728645)Marie Curie International (Reintegration Grant PIRG03-GA-2008-231077)Israel Science Foundation (Grant 1147/09)Israel Science Foundation (Grant 1675/09

Transition metal complexes with thiosemicarbazide-based ligands. Part 60. Reactions of copper(II) bromide with pyridoxal S-methylisothiosemicarbazone (PLITSC). Crystal structure of [Cu(PLITSC−H)H2O]Br•H2O

The synthesis and structural characterization of a square-planar copper(II) complex with pyridoxal S-methylisothiosemicarbazone (PLITSC) of the formula [Cu(PLITSC−H)H2O]Br•H2O (1) as the first Cu(II) complex with monoanionic form of this ligand were described. Complex 1 together with two previously synthesized complexes [Cu(PLITSC)Br2] (2) and [Cu(PLITSC)Br(MeOH)]Br (3) were characterized by elemental analysis, IR and electronic spectra and also by the methods of thermal analysis, conductometry and magnetochemistry. [Projekat Pokrajisnkog sekretarijata za nauku i tehnoloski razvoj Vojvodine i Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 172014

Allele frequencies of variants in Ultra Conserved Elements identify selective pressure on transcription factor binding

Ultra-conserved genes or elements (UCGs/UCEs) in the human genome are extreme examples of conservation. We characterized natural variations in 2884 UCEs and UCGs in two distinct populations ; Singaporean Chinese (n=280) and Italian (n=501) by using a pooled sample, targeted capture, sequencing approach. We identify, with high confidence, in these regions the abundance of rare SNVs (MAF<0.5%) of which 75% is not present in dbSNP137. UCEs association studies for complex human traits can use this information to model expected background variation and thus necessary power for association studies. By combining our data with 1000 Genome Project data, we show in three independent datasets that prevalent UCE variants (MAF>5%) are more often found in relatively less-conserved nucleotides within UCEs, compared to rare variants. Moreover, prevalent variants are less likely to overlap transcription factor binding site. Using SNPfold we found no significant influence of RNA secondary structure on UCE conservation. All together, these results suggest UCEs are not under selective pressure as a stretch of DNA but are under differential evolutionary pressure on the single nucleotide level

Fast evaluation of the adsorption energy of organic molecules on metals via graph neural networks

Modeling in heterogeneous catalysis requires the extensive evaluation of the energy of molecules adsorbed on surfaces. This is done via density functional theory but for large organic molecules it requires enormous computational time, compromising the viability of the approach. Here we present GAME-Net, a graph neural network to quickly evaluate the adsorption energy. GAME-Net is trained on a well-balanced chemically diverse dataset with C1–4 molecules with functional groups including N, O, S and C6–10 aromatic rings. The model yields a mean absolute error of 0.18 eV on the test set and is 6 orders of magnitude faster than density functional theory. Applied to biomass and plastics (up to 30 heteroatoms), adsorption energies are predicted with a mean absolute error of 0.016 eV per atom. The framework represents a tool for the fast screening of catalytic materials, particularly for systems that cannot be simulated by traditional methods

Relaksacija aorte pacova indukovana novosintetisanim orto-hlornim derivatom propafenona

The information on the inhibitory effect of propafenone in vascular smooth muscle is sparse. Propafenone acts through blockage of voltage-dependent cardiac Na+ channels, L-type Ca2+ channels, voltage-sensitive K+ (Kv) channels, as well as β-adrenergic receptors in the heart. The introduction of different chemical groups in the benzyl moiety of propafenone influences pharmacological properties of newly developed derivate of propafenone. Here we investigated the effect of new ortho-chloro derivate of propafenone (5OCl) on the vascular tone of precontracted rat aorta. 5OCl produced endothelium-independent relaxation of rat aorta. In order to test the involvement of different ion channels in 5OCl mechanism of action, antagonist of Na+, lidocaine, KV channels, 4-aminopyiridine (4-AP) and L-type Ca2+ channels, nifedipine were used. All tested antagonists of ion channels did not influence the relaxation of rat aorta induced by high a concentration of 5OCl (≥10 μM), but antagonized the relaxation induced by low concentrations of this propafenone derivate. Thus, 5OCl derivate has comparable potency and efficacy as propafenone. According to its interaction with lidocaine, 4-AP and nifedipine it seems that 5OCl partly shares the mechanism of action with propafenone. The mechanism of vasodilatation induced by high micromolar concentration of 5OCl is not defined and further investigations are necessary.Informacije o efektima propafenona na vaskularne glatke mišiće su oskudne. Propafenon blokira voltažno-zavisne Na+ kanale, Ca2+ kanale L-tipa, voltažno-senzitivne K+ (Kv) kanale i β-adrenergičke receptore u srcu. Uvođenje različitih hemijskih grupa u benzilni deo molekula propafenona utiče na promenu njegovih farmakoloških osobina. U ovoj studiji je ispitivan uticaj novog orto-hloro derivata (5OCl) propafenona na vaskularni tonus prekontrahovane aorte pacova. Orto hlorni derivat (5OCl) je izazvao endotel-nezavisnu relaksaciju aortnih prstenova. Da bi se ispitala uloga različitih jonskih kanala u ovoj relaksaciji, korišćeni su lidokain, (antagonist Na+ kanala), 4-aminopiridin (antagonist Kv kanala) i nifedipin (antagonist Ca2+ kanala L-tipa). Testirani antagonisti jonskih kanala nisu uticali na relaksaciju aorte pacova izazvanu visokom koncentracijom 5OCl (≥10 μM), ali su zato antagonizovali relaksaciju aorte koncentracijama 5OCl koje su bile manje od 10 μM. Prema tome, 5OCl derivat ima sličnu jačinu i efikasnost kao propafenon. Prema njegovoj interakciji sa lidokainom, 4-AP i nifedipinom može se reći da je mehanizam dejstva 5OCl sličan propafenonu. Mehanizam vazodilatacije 5OCl derivata u koncentracijama većim od 10 μM nije definisan i za to su potrebna dalja istraživanja

GC-MS vs. GC-MS-MS analysis of pentacyclic terpanes in crude oils from Libya and Serbia - A comparison of two methods

The values of parameters calculated from distribution and abundance of the selected pentacyclic terpanes in crude oils from Libya and Serbia, which were originally derived from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were compared with results of quantification based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-mass spectrometry (GC-MS-MS). The parameters analyzed are the most often used terpane source and maturity parameters, which were applied to a large sample set of 70 oils, originating from five oil fields. The aim of the paper was to investigate to which extent the measurements of the selected parameters by these two instrumental techniques agree and to determine the influence of differences between parameter values on geochemical interpretation. For that purpose two methods, concordance correlation coefficient and mean-difference plot were used. The obtained results indicate that calculation of C(27)18 alpha(H)-22,29,30-trisnorneohopane/(C(27)18 alpha(H)-22,29,30-trisnorneohopane +C(27)17 alpha(H)-22,29,30-trisnorhopane), C(29)18 alpha(H)-30-norneohopane/C(29)17 alpha(H) 21 beta(H)-30-norhopane and C(29)17 alpha(H)21 beta(H)-30-norhopane/ C(30)17 alpha(H)21 beta(H)-hopane ratios either by GC-MS or GC-MS-MS do not significantly influence interpretation. On the other hand, the determination of C(30)17 beta(H)21 alpha(H)-moretane/C(30)17 alpha(H)21 beta(H)-hopane ratio, gammacerane index and oleanane index by GC-MS vs. GC-MS-MS could notably affect interpretation. These differences can be explained by the co-elution and the peak overlapping in GC-MS but also by better separation, higher precision and better selectivity of the GC-MS-MS. Deviation of the almost all studied parameters from the line of equality was similar for the oils from the same oil field but some differences were observed for the oils from different oil fields. Therefore, when GC-MS-MS results are to be used in organic geochemical interpretations, a regional calibration of GC-MS vs. GC-MS-MS relationship for each petroleum system is highly recommended

Frustrated hierarchical synchronization and emergent complexity in the human connectome network

The spontaneous emergence of coherent behavior through synchronization plays a key role in neural function, and its anomalies often lie at the basis of pathologies. Here we employ a parsimonious (mesoscopic) approach to study analytically and computationally the synchronization (Kuramoto) dynamics on the actual human-brain connectome network. We elucidate the existence of a so-far-uncovered intermediate phase, placed between the standard synchronous and asynchronous phases, i.e. between order and disorder. This novel phase stems from the hierarchical modular organization of the connectome. Where one would expect a hierarchical synchronization process, we show that the interplay between structural bottlenecks and quenched intrinsic frequency heterogeneities at many different scales, gives rise to frustrated synchronization, metastability, and chimera-like states, resulting in a very rich and complex phenomenology. We uncover the origin of the dynamic freezing behind these features by using spectral graph theory and discuss how the emerging complex synchronization patterns relate to the need for the brain to access –in a robust though flexible way– a large variety of functional attractors and dynamical repertoires without ad hoc fine-tuning to a critical pointWe acknowledge financial support from J. de Andalucía, grant P09-FQM-4682 and we thank O. Sporns for providing us access to the human connectome data