Discrepancies between patients' and partners' perceptions of unsupportive behavior in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The literature on chronic diseases indicates that partner support, as perceived by patients, contributes to well-being of patients in either a positive or a negative way. Previous studies indicated that patients' and partners' perceptions of unsupportive partner behavior are only moderately related. Our aim was (1) to investigate whether discrepancies between patients' and partners' perceptions of two types of unsupportive partner behavior-overprotection and protective buffering-were associated with the level of distress reported by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and (2) to evaluate whether the direction of the differences between patients' and partners' perceptions was associated with distress (i.e., whether patient distress was associated with greater patient or greater partner reports of unsupportive partner behavior). A cross-sectional study was performed using the data of a sample of 68 COPD patients and their spouses. Distress was assessed using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. Patients' and partners' perceptions of unsupportive partner behavior were assessed with a questionnaire measuring overprotection and protective buffering. Distress was independently associated with patients' perceptions of protective buffering and discrepancies in spouses' perceptions of overprotection. Regarding the direction of the discrepancy, we found that greater partner reports of overprotection as compared with patient reports were related to more distress in COPD patients. Our study showed that patients' distress was associated not only with patients' perceptions, but also with discrepancies between patients' and partners' perceptions of unsupportive partner behavior

De integratie van fiscale gegevens in het rijksbrede toezicht : Onderzoek naar een veilige haven voor de fiscale informatierijkdom

This research is based on the pressing question whether the task of the Tax Authorities, in strengthening the information position of other supervisors, can be reconciled with the statutory task of the Tax Authorities; a task that is based on the trust of citizens and companies. The framework wherein the sharing of tax data currently takes place falls short in guaranteeing the trust citizens and companies put in the Tax Authorities. There is neither a weighing up of the interests of citizens and companies, transparency or adequate legal protection. This gives supervisors the ability to have access to data without a statutory ground. This all without the knowledge of the citizens and companies which are involved. In this way, the trust of citizens and companies in the Tax Authorities will not improve. It may even obstruct the Tax Authorities in the performance of their tasks. Tax Authorities have a legal basis for sharing data. But the way Tax Authorities share data currently is not in accordance with the legal basis for sharing data. This does not imply that there is no possibility at all for the Tax Authorities to fulfill a role within the nationwide supervision. However, it does require a framework wherein both the weighing up of the interests of citizens and companies together with their positions are involved. So therefore the author has formulated some recommendations on how to achieve this

Mutual Information of Population Codes and Distance Measures in Probability Space

We studied the mutual information between a stimulus and a large system consisting of stochastic, statistically independent elements that respond to a stimulus. The Mutual Information (MI) of the system saturates exponentially with system size. A theory of the rate of saturation of the MI is developed. We show that this rate is controlled by a distance function between the response probabilities induced by different stimuli. This function, which we term the {\it Confusion Distance} between two probabilities, is related to the Renyi $\alpha$-Information.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, accepted to PR

A Narrative Review of Network Studies in Depression:What Different Methodological Approaches Tell Us About Depression

The network theory of psychopathology proposes that mental disorders arise from direct interactions between symptoms. This theory provides a promising framework to understand the development and maintenance of mental disorders such as depression. In this narrative review, we summarize the literature on network studies in the field of depression. Four methodological network approaches are distinguished: (i) studies focusing on symptoms at the macro-level vs. (ii) on momentary states at the micro-level, and (iii) studies based on cross-sectional vs. (iv) time-series (dynamic) data. Fifty-six studies were identified. We found that different methodological approaches to network theory yielded largely inconsistent findings on depression. Centrality is a notable exception: the majority of studies identified either positive affect or anhedonia as central nodes. To aid future research in this field, we outline a novel complementary network theory, the momentary affect dynamics (MAD) network theory, to understand the development of depression. Furthermore, we provide directions for future research and discuss if and how networks might be used in clinical practice. We conclude that more empirical network studies are needed to determine whether the network theory of psychopathology can indeed enhance our understanding of the underlying structure of depression and advance clinical treatment

White spot syndrome virus envelope protein VP28 is involved in the systemic infection of shrimp

AbstractWhite spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a large DNA virus infecting shrimp and other crustaceans. The virus particles contain at least five major virion proteins, of which three (VP26, VP24, and VP15) are present in the rod-shaped nucleocapsid and two (VP28 and VP19) reside in the envelope. The mode of entry and systemic infection of WSSV in the black tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, and the role of these proteins in these processes are not known. A specific polyclonal antibody was generated against the major envelope protein VP28 using a baculovirus expression vector system. The VP28 antiserum was able to neutralize WSSV infection of P. monodon in a concentration-dependent manner upon intramuscular injection. This result suggests that VP28 is located on the surface of the virus particle and is likely to play a key role in the initial steps of the systemic WSSV infection in shrimp

Vacuum structure of CP^N sigma models at theta=pi

We show that parity symmetry is not spontaneously broken in the CP^N sigma model for any value of N when the coefficient of the $\theta$--term becomes $\theta=\pi$ (mod $2\pi$). The result follows from a non-perturbative analysis of the nodal structure of the vacuum functional $\psi_0(z)$. The dynamical role of sphalerons turns out to be very important for the argument. The result introduces severe constraints on the possible critical behavior of the models at $\theta=\pi$ (mod $2\pi$).Comment: 8 pages, revtex, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Insights of Patients and Clinicians on the Promise of the Experience Sampling Method for Psychiatric Care

OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study aimed to map the relevance of the experience sampling method (ESM) for psychiatric practice and identify barriers and facilitators for implementation, as perceived by patients and clinicians. METHODS: Participants were 22 patients with various diagnoses and 21 clinicians (e.g., psychiatrists, psychologists) who participated in interviews or focus groups. Using Atlas.TI, the authors conducted qualitative thematic analysis to analyze the transcripts, resulting in four themes: applications, advantages, undesirable effects, and requirements for implementation of ESM in care. RESULTS: Clinicians and patients believed ESM could be relevant in every phase of care to increase patients' awareness, insight, and self-management; personalize interventions; and alert patients to rising symptoms. Further, ESM was expected to improve the patient-clinician relationship; lead to objective, personalized, reliable and visual data; and increase efficiency of care. However, participants warned against high assessment burden and potential symptom worsening. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides first evidence that the potential of ESM is recognized by both patients and clinicians. Key recommendations for optimal implementation of ESM in psychiatric care include flexible application of ESM, collaboration between patient and clinician, regular evaluation, awareness of negative reactivity, availability to patients with different psychiatric syndromes, and implementation by an interdisciplinary team of patients, clinicians, researchers, and information technology specialists