Interventions to facilitate return to work in adults with adjustment disorders

BACKGROUND: Adjustment disorders are a frequent cause of sick leave and various interventions have been developed to expedite the return to work (RTW) of individuals on sick leave due to adjustment disorders. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of interventions facilitating RTW for workers with acute or chronic adjustment disorders. SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Depression, Anxiety and Neurosis Review Group's Specialised Register (CCDANCTR) to October 2011; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) to Issue 4, 2011; MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and ISI Web of Science, all years to February 2011; the WHO trials portal (ICTRP) and ClinicalTrials.gov in March 2011. We also screened reference lists of included studies and relevant reviews. SELECTION CRITERIA: We selected randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to facilitate RTW of workers with adjustment disorders compared to no or other treatment. Eligible interventions were pharmacological interventions, psychological interventions (such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and problem solving therapy), relaxation techniques, exercise programmes, employee assistance programmes or combinations of these interventions. The primary outcomes were time to partial and time to full RTW, and secondary outcomes were severity of symptoms of adjustment disorder, work functioning, generic functional status (i.e. the overall functional capabilities of an individual, such as physical functioning, social function, general mental health) and quality of life. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors independently selected studies, assessed risk of bias and extracted data. We pooled studies that we deemed sufficiently clinically homogeneous in different comparison groups, and assessed the overall quality of the evidence using the GRADE approach. MAIN RESULTS: We included nine studies reporting on 10 psychological interventions and one combined intervention. The studies included 1546 participants. No RCTs were found of pharmacological interventions, exercise programmes or employee assistance programmes. We assessed seven studies as having low risk of bias and the studies that were pooled together were comparable. For those who received no treatment, compared with CBT, the assumed time to partial and full RTW was 88 and 252 days respectively. Based on two studies with a total of 159 participants, moderate-quality evidence showed that CBT had similar results for time (measured in days) until partial RTW compared to no treatment at one-year follow-up (mean difference (MD) -8.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) -23.26 to 5.71). We found low-quality evidence of similar results for CBT and no treatment on the reduction of days until full RTW at one-year follow-up (MD -35.73, 95% CI -113.15 to 41.69) (one study with 105 participants included in the analysis). Based on moderate-quality evidence, problem solving therapy (PST) significantly reduced time until partial RTW at one-year follow-up compared to non-guideline based care (MD -17.00, 95% CI -26.48 to -7.52) (one study with 192 participants clustered among 33 treatment providers included in the analysis), but we found moderate-quality evidence of no significant effect on reducing days until full RTW at one-year follow-up (MD -17.73, 95% CI -37.35 to 1.90) (two studies with 342 participants included in the analysis). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: We found moderate-quality evidence that CBT did not significantly reduce time until partial RTW and low-quality evidence that it did not significantly reduce time to full RTW compared with no treatment. Moderate-quality evidence showed that PST significantly enhanced partial RTW at one-year follow-up compared to non-guideline based care but did not significantly enhance time to full RTW at one-year follow-up. An important limitation was the small number of studies included in the meta-analyses and the small number of participants, which lowered the power of the analyses

An optimized power allocation algorithm for cognitive radio NOMA communication

The primary objective of cognitive radio network is to effectively utilize the unused spectrum bands. In cognitive radio networks, spectrum sharing between primary and secondary users is accomplished using either underlay or interweave cognitive radio approach. Non orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) is the proven technology in the present wireless developments, which allows the coexistence of multiple users in the same orthogonal block. The new paradigm cognitive radio NOMA (CR-NOMA) is one of the potential solutions to fulfill the demands of future wireless communication. This paper emphasizes on practical implementation of NOMA in cognitive radio networks to enhance the spectral efficiency. The goal is to increase the throughput of the secondary users satisfying the quality of service (QOS) requirements of primary users. To achieve this, we have presented the optimized power allocation strategy for underlay downlink scenario to support the simultaneous transmission of primary and secondary users. Furthermore, we have proposed QOS based power allocation scheme for CR-NOMA interweave model to support the coexistence of multiple secondary networks. Also, the changes adopted in implementing superposition coding (SC) and successive interference cancellation (SIC) for CR-NOMA are highlighted. Finally, simulation results validate the mathematical expressions that are derived for power allocation coefficient and outage probability

meV resolution in laser-assisted energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy

The electronic, optical, and magnetic properties of quantum solids are determined by their low-energy (< 100 meV) many-body excitations. Dynamical characterization and manipulation of such excitations relies on tools that combine nm-spatial, fs-temporal, and meV-spectral resolution. Currently, phonons and collective plasmon resonances can be imaged in nanostructures with sub-nm and 10s meV space/energy resolution using state-of-the-art energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (TEM), but only under static conditions, while fs-resolved measurements are common but lack spatial or energy resolution. Here, we demonstrate a new method of spectrally resolved photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (SRPINEM) that allows us to obtain nm-fs-resolved maps of nanoparticle plasmons with an energy resolution determined by the laser linewidth (20 meV in this work), and not limited by electron beam and spectrometer energy spreading. This technique can be extended to any optically-accessible low-energy mode, thus pushing TEM to a previously inaccessible spectral domain with an unprecedented combination of space, energy and temporal resolution.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

Dynamics of broken symmetry nodal and anti-nodal excitations in Bi_{2} Sr_{2} CaCu_{2} O_{8+\delta} probed by polarized femtosecond spectroscopy

The dynamics of excitations with different symmetry is investigated in the superconducting (SC) and normal state of the high-temperature superconductor Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8+\delta}$ (Bi2212) using optical pump-probe (Pp) experiments with different light polarizations at different doping levels. The observation of distinct selection rules for SC excitations, present in A$_{{\rm 1g}}$ and B$_{{\rm 1g}}$ symmetries, and for the PG excitations, present in A$_{{\rm 1g}}$ and B$_{{\rm 2g}}$ symmetries, by the probe and absence of any dependence on the pump beam polarization leads to the unequivocal conclusion of the existence of a spontaneous spatial symmetry breaking in the pseudogap (PG) state

Na+/K+ -ATPase regulates tight junction formation and function during mouse preimplantation development.

Research applied to the early embryo is required to effectively treat human infertility and to understand the primary mechanisms controlling development to the blastocyst stage. The present study investigated whether the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase regulates tight junction formation and function during blastocyst formation. To investigate this hypothesis, three experimental series were conducted. The first experiments defined the optimal dose and treatment time intervals for ouabain (a potent and specific inhibitor of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase) treatment. The results demonstrated that mouse embryos maintained a normal development to the blastocyst stage following a 6-h ouabain treatment. The second experiments investigated the effects of ouabain treatment on the distribution of ZO-1 and occludin (tight junction associated proteins). Ouabain treatment (up to 6 h) or culture in K(+)-free medium (up to 6 h) resulted in the appearance of a discontinuous ZO-1 protein distribution and a loss of occludin immunofluorescence. The third set of experiments examined the influence of ouabain treatment on tight junction function. Ouabain treatment or culture in K(+)-free medium affected tight junction permeability as indicated by an increase in the proportion of treated embryos accumulating both 4 kDa and 40 kDa fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran into their blastocyst cavities. The results indicate that the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase is a potent regulator of tight junction formation and function during mouse preimplantation development

From attosecond to zeptosecond coherent control of free-electron wave functions using semi-infinite light fields

Light-electron interaction in empty space is the seminal ingredient for free-electron lasers and also for controlling electron beams to dynamically investigate materials and molecules. Pushing the coherent control of free electrons by light to unexplored timescales, below the attosecond, would enable unprecedented applications in light-assisted electron quantum circuits and diagnostics at extremely small timescales, such as those governing intramolecular electronic motion and nuclear phenomena. We experimentally demonstrate attosecond coherent manipulation of the electron wave function in a transmission electron microscope, and show that it can be pushed down to the zeptosecond regime with existing technology. We make a relativistic pulsed electron beam interact in free space with an appropriately synthesized semi-infinite light field generated by two femtosecond laser pulses reflected at the surface of a mirror and delayed by fractions of the optical cycle. The amplitude and phase of the resulting coherent oscillations of the electron states in energymomentum space are mapped via momentum-resolved ultrafast electron energy-loss spectroscopy. The experimental results are in full agreement with our theoretical framework for light-electron interaction, which predicts access to the zeptosecond timescale by combining semi-infinite X-ray fields with free electrons.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure

Systemic acquired resistance in soybean is regulated by two proteins, Orthologous to Arabidopsis NPR1

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is induced in non-inoculated leaves following infection with certain pathogenic strains. SAR is effective against many pathogens. Salicylic acid (SA) is a signaling molecule of the SAR pathway. The development of SAR is associated with the induction of pathogenesis related (<it>PR</it>) genes. Arabidopsis <it>non-expressor </it>of <it>PR1 </it>(<it>NPR1</it>) is a regulatory gene of the SA signal pathway <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr><abbr bid="B2">2</abbr><abbr bid="B3">3</abbr></abbrgrp>. SAR in soybean was first reported following infection with <it>Colletotrichum trancatum </it>that causes anthracnose disease. We investigated if SAR in soybean is regulated by a pathway, similar to the one characterized in Arabidopsis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pathogenesis-related gene <it>GmPR1 </it>is induced following treatment of soybean plants with the SAR inducer, 2,6-dichloroisonicotinic acid (INA) or infection with the oomycete pathogen, <it>Phytophthora sojae</it>. In <it>P. sojae</it>-infected plants, SAR was induced against the bacterial pathogen, <it>Pseudomonas syringae </it>pv. glycinea. Soybean <it>GmNPR1-1 </it>and <it>GmNPR1-2 </it>genes showed high identities to Arabidopsis <it>NPR1</it>. They showed similar expression patterns among the organs, studied in this investigation. <it>GmNPR1-1 </it>and <it>GmNPR1-2 </it>are the only soybean homologues of <it>NPR1</it>and are located in homoeologous regions. In <it>GmNPR1-1 </it>and <it>GmNPR1-2 </it>transformed Arabidopsis <it>npr1-1 </it>mutant plants, SAR markers: (i) <it>PR-1 </it>was induced following INA treatment and (ii) <it>BGL2 </it>following infection with <it>Pseudomonas syringae </it>pv. tomato (<it>Pst</it>), and SAR was induced following <it>Pst </it>infection. Of the five cysteine residues, Cys⁸², Cys¹⁵⁰, Cys¹⁵⁵, Cys¹⁶⁰, and Cys²¹⁶involved in oligomer-monomer transition in NPR1, Cys²¹⁶ in GmNPR1-1 and GmNPR1-2 proteins was substituted to Ser and Leu, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Complementation analyses in Arabidopsis <it>npr1-1 </it>mutants revealed that homoeologous <it>GmNPR1-1 </it>and <it>GmNPR1-2 </it>genes are orthologous to Arabidopsis <it>NPR1</it>. Therefore, SAR pathway in soybean is most likely regulated by <it>GmNPR1 </it>genes. Substitution of Cys²¹⁶residue, essential for oligomer-monomer transition of Arabidopsis NPR1, with Ser and Leu residues in GmNPR1-1 and GmNPR1-2, respectively, suggested that there may be differences between the regulatory mechanisms of GmNPR1 and Arabidopsis NPR proteins.</p