Early Improvement in Eating Attitudes during Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Eating Disorders: The Impact of Personality Disorder Cognitions

Background: The personality disorders are commonly comorbid with the eating disorders. Personality disorder pathology is often suggested to impair the treatment of axis 1 disorders, including the eating disorders. Aims: This study examined whether personality disorder cognitions reduce the impact of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for eating disorders, in terms of treatment dropout and change in eating disorder attitudes in the early stages of treatment. Method: Participants were individuals with a diagnosed eating disorder, presenting for individual outpatient CBT. They completed measures of personality disorder cognitions and eating disorder attitudes at sessions one and six of CBT. Drop-out rates prior to session six were recorded. Results: CBT had a relatively rapid onset of action, with a significant reduction in eating disorder attitudes over the first six sessions. Eating disorder attitudes were most strongly associated with cognitions related to anxiety-based personality disorders (avoidant, obsessive-compulsive and dependent). Individuals who dropped out of treatment prematurely had significantly higher levels of dependent personality disorder cognitions than those who remained in treatment. For those who remained in treatment, higher levels of avoidant, histrionic and borderline personality disorder cognitions were associated with a greater change in global eating disorder attitudes. Conclusions: CBT's action and retention of patients might be improved by consideration of such personality disorder cognitions when formulating and treating the eating disorders

Effect of brain-stem lesions on conditioned responses of cats

The possibility was explored that certain central brain-stem areas might be critical for the performance of conditioned reflexes. In 6 cats, large bilateral electrolytic lesions were placed in the medial diencephalon or mesencephalon and subsequently defined by histology. A tone served as conditional stimulus and foot-shock as unconditional stimulus. The EEG, respiration, and the EMG of the conditioned limb were recorded. Persistent low voltage, fast activity consistently reappeared in the EEG in 7 to 10 days and was seen even after destruction of over 100 mm3 of the mesencephalon, including the reticular formation. Conditioned reflexes usually appeared only when such faster EEG patterns were present. Conditioned reflexes and discrimination between tones could occur, however, during relatively high voltage, slow activity in the cortical areas sampled. Extensive lesions essentially transecting the ascending reticular system or destroying the posterior hypothalamus did not preclude conditioning. In contrast, one animal could not be retrained when lesions were in the mamillary area. It is concluded that the medial mesencephalic systems are not essential for this type of conditioning and that, if any essential system does exist, it is located in the region of the mamillary bodies, field H1 of Forel, center median, and the habenulopeduncular tract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32452/1/0000535.pd

Electrocortical reactions associated with conditioned flexion reflexes

Cats with permanently implanted cortical electrodes were drugged with bulbocapnine and the EEG recorded continuously during the formation of flexion conditioned reflexes (CR). The drug has no readily detectable effect on rate of conditioning and usually produces such slow EEG patterns that electrocortical arousal reactions are well demarcated. Arousal reactions to a tonal conditional stimulus (CS) given alone soon cease to occur, but become more frequent as the CS is paired with an unavoidable shock to the leg 25-50 times a day over several days. In all cases the EEG reactions attain a high level of consistency before the first respiratory or flexion CRs appear, almost invariably accompany them, and can survive for some time after these somatic CRs are fully extinguished. There is a tendency, however, for the EEG arousal response to diminish with overtraining despite continuation of somatic CRs and shock reinforcement, and in certain instances somatic CRs can occur during relatively slow electrocortical activity. There was no evidence that the somatic CRs correlated with any localization of electrocortical reactions or alterations of cortical evoked potentials.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32489/1/0000575.pd

Mechanically-Deployed Hypersonic Decelerator and Conformal Ablator Technologies for Mars Missions

The concept of a mechanically deployable hypersonic decelerator, developed initially for high mass (~40 MT) human Mars missions, is currently funded by OCT for technology maturation. The ADEPT (Adaptive, Deployable Entry and Placement Technology) project has broad, game-changing applicability to in situ science missions to Venus, Mars, and the Outer Planets. Combined with maturation of conformal ablator technology (another current OCT investment), the two technologies provide unique low mass mission enabling capabilities otherwise not achievable by current rigid aeroshell or by inflatables. If this abstract is accepted, we will present results that illustrate the mission enabling capabilities of the mechanically deployable architecture for: (1) robotic Mars (Discovery or New Frontiers class) in the near term; (2) alternate approaches to landing MSL-class payloads, without the need for supersonic parachute or lifting entry, in the mid-term; and (3) Heavy mass and human missions to Mars in the long term

Oligonucleotide ligation assay detects HIV drug resistance associated with virologic failure among antiretroviral-naive adults in Kenya

Background: Transmitted drug resistance (TDR) is increasing in some areas of Africa. Detection of TDR may predict virologic failure of first-line non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART). We evaluated the utility of a relatively inexpensive oligonucleotide ligation assay (OLA) to detect clinically relevant TDR at time of ART initiation. Methods: Pre-ART plasmas from ART-naive Kenyans initiating an NNRTI-based fixed-dose combination ART in a randomized adherence trial conducted in 2006 were retrospectively analyzed by OLA for mutations conferring resistance to NNRTI (K103N, Y181C, and G190A) and lamivudine (M184V). Post-ART plasmas were analyzed for virologic failure (≥1,000 copies/mL) at 6 month intervals over 18-month follow-up. Pre-ART plasmas of those with virologic failure were evaluated for drug resistance by consensus and 454-pyrosequencing. Results: Among 386 participants, TDR was detected by OLA in 3.89% [95% Confidence Interval (CI), 2.19-6.33], and was associated with a 10-fold higher rate of virologic failure [Hazard Ratio (HR), 10.39; 95% CI, 3.23-32.41; p Conclusions: Detection of TDR by a point mutation assay may prevent use of sub-optimal ART