The 4D-Model of Trauma-Related Dissociation: Validating a Novel Theoretical Framework Through an Attachment-Oriented Approach

A recent framework known as the 4D-Model of Trauma-related Dissociation (Frewen & Lanius, 2014) differentiates between symptoms of clinically significant distress based on whether the symptoms do or do not intrinsically exemplify trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC). Undergraduate students (n = 342) participated in an online survey and completed several measures assessing childhood experiences and psychological symptoms. Female PTSD patients (n = 25) completed similar measures before entering treatment. Within the student sample, NWC symptoms were endorsed as occurring more frequently than TRASC symptoms. On average, symptoms of NWC were more strongly intercorrelated than symptoms of TRASC. Symptoms of TRASC were more strongly correlated with Traumatic Dissociation Scale (TDS) total scores; however, this difference was not significant. The four dimensions of TRASC incremented over the four NWC dimensions in predicting total scores of the TDS, and the reverse was not true. NWC and TRASC symptoms were both weakly correlated with Dissociative Experiences Scale-Brief scores. Although symptoms of TRASC were more strongly correlated with CARTS scores, only the Body dimension (i.e., depersonalization) was significant. Support for the 4D-Model was not as strong within the patient sample. Symptoms of NWC were endorsed as occurring more frequently than TRASC symptoms. However, in contrast to the student sample, symptoms of NWC were not more highly intercorrelated than TRASC symptoms, TRASC symptoms were not correlated stronger with TDS total scores, and TRASC symptoms were not correlated stronger with CARTS subscale scores than were NWC symptoms. Limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed

The 4D-Model of Trauma-related Dissociation: An Empirical Test of a Novel Theoretical Framework

A recent framework known as the 4D-model of Trauma-related Dissociation (Frewen & Lanius, 2014) differentiates between symptoms of clinically significant distress based on whether the symptoms do or do not intrinsically exemplify trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC). Undergraduate students (n = 342) participated in an online survey and completed several measures assessing childhood experiences and psychological symptoms. Female PTSD patients (n = 25) completed similar measures before entering treatment. Within the student sample, NWC symptoms were endorsed as occurring more frequently than TRASC symptoms. Any two symptoms of NWC were not intercorrelated stronger than any two symptoms of TRASC; however, on average, symptoms of NWC were more strongly intercorrelated than symptoms of TRASC. Symptoms of TRASC were more strongly correlated with Traumatic Dissociation Scale (TDS) total scores; however, this difference was not significant. The four dimensions of TRASC incremented over the four NWC dimensions in predicting total scores of the TDS, and the reverse was not true. NWC and TRASC symptoms were both weakly correlated with Dissociative Experiences Scale-Brief scores. Although symptoms of TRASC were more strongly correlated with CARTS scores, only the Body dimension (i.e., depersonalization) was significant. Support for the 4D-Model was not as strong within the patient sample. Symptoms of NWC were endorsed as occurring more frequently than TRASC symptoms. However, in contrast to the student sample, symptoms of NWC were not more highly intercorrelated than TRASC symptoms, TRASC symptoms were not correlated stronger with TDS total scores, and TRASC symptoms were not correlated stronger with CARTS scale scores than were NWC symptoms. In general, the hypotheses and structure of the 4D-model were supported within the student sample, although some hypotheses had stronger support than did others. Evidence for the 4D-Model was not as strong within the PTSD patient sample. Limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed

Initial Development of the Reasons for Reckless and Destructive Behaviours Inventory: Expanding the Role of Dissociation in Self-Destructive Behaviours

Recent research has conceptualized self-destructive behaviours (SDB; e.g., self-injury) as being performed to serve specific functions; however, few measures exist that examine common functions across a range of SDB types. In addition, although dissociative experiences (e.g., depersonalization) are often endorsed by individuals who engage in SDB, measurement of these experiences as reasons for SDB are rarely assessed. In this thesis, we used a trauma-informed approach to evaluate motivations for SDB by initially developing the Reasons for Reckless and Destructive Behaviours Inventory (RRDI). Basic psychometric statistics of reliability, mean item-endorsement, convergent validity, and construct validity were performed across the scales of the RRDI. In addition, for the RRDI self-injury subsection, we evaluated the factor structure, sex invariance, and examined different profiles of individuals in terms of motivations for self-injury. This study has implications for research pertaining to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and motivational models of self-injury

Performance of PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG urinary biomarkers in prediction of biopsy outcome in the Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS).

BackgroundFor men on active surveillance for prostate cancer, biomarkers may improve prediction of reclassification to higher grade or volume cancer. This study examined the association of urinary PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG (T2:ERG) with biopsy-based reclassification.MethodsUrine was collected at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months in the multi-institutional Canary Prostate Active Surveillance Study (PASS), and PCA3 and T2:ERG levels were quantitated. Reclassification was an increase in Gleason score or ratio of biopsy cores with cancer to ≥34%. The association of biomarker scores, adjusted for common clinical variables, with short- and long-term reclassification was evaluated. Discriminatory capacity of models with clinical variables alone or with biomarkers was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and decision curve analysis (DCA).ResultsSeven hundred and eighty-two men contributed 2069 urine specimens. After adjusting for PSA, prostate size, and ratio of biopsy cores with cancer, PCA3 but not T2:ERG was associated with short-term reclassification at the first surveillance biopsy (OR = 1.3; 95% CI 1.0-1.7, p = 0.02). The addition of PCA3 to a model with clinical variables improved area under the curve from 0.743 to 0.753 and increased net benefit minimally. After adjusting for clinical variables, neither marker nor marker kinetics was associated with time to reclassification in subsequent biopsies.ConclusionsPCA3 but not T2:ERG was associated with cancer reclassification in the first surveillance biopsy but has negligible improvement over clinical variables alone in ROC or DCA analyses. Neither marker was associated with reclassification in subsequent biopsies

Deconfinement transition and string tensions in SU(4) Yang-Mills Theory

We present results from numerical lattice calculations of SU(4) Yang-Mills theory. This work has two goals: to determine the order of the finite temperature deconfinement transition on an $N_t = 6$ lattice and to study the string tensions between static charges in the irreducible representations of SU(4). Motivated by Pisarski and Tytgat's argument that a second-order SU($\infty$) deconfinement transition would explain some features of the SU(3) and QCD transitions, we confirm older results on a coarser, $N_t = 4$, lattice. We see a clear two-phase coexistence signal, characteristic of a first-order transition, at $8/g^2 = 10.79$ on a $6\times 20^3$ lattice, on which we also compute a latent heat of $\Delta\epsilon\approx 0.6 \epsilon_{SB}$. Computing Polyakov loop correlation functions we calculate the string tension at finite temperature in the confined phase between fundamental charges, $\sigma_1$, between diquark charges, $\sigma_2$, and between adjoint charges $\sigma_4$. We find that $1 < \sigma_2/\sigma_1 < 2$, and our result for the adjoint string tension $\sigma_4$ is consistent with string breaking.Comment: 10 pages with included figures. For version 2: New calculation and discussion of latent heat added; 2 new figures and 1 new table. Typo in abstract corrected for v3. To appear in Physical Review

Fish and chips: Various methodologies demonstrate utility of a 16,006-gene salmonid microarray

BACKGROUND: We have developed and fabricated a salmonid microarray containing cDNAs representing 16,006 genes. The genes spotted on the array have been stringently selected from Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout expressed sequence tag (EST) databases. The EST databases presently contain over 300,000 sequences from over 175 salmonid cDNA libraries derived from a wide variety of tissues and different developmental stages. In order to evaluate the utility of the microarray, a number of hybridization techniques and screening methods have been developed and tested. RESULTS: We have analyzed and evaluated the utility of a microarray containing 16,006 (16K) salmonid cDNAs in a variety of potential experimental settings. We quantified the amount of transcriptome binding that occurred in cross-species, organ complexity and intraspecific variation hybridization studies. We also developed a methodology to rapidly identify and confirm the contents of a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library containing Atlantic salmon genomic DNA. CONCLUSION: We validate and demonstrate the usefulness of the 16K microarray over a wide range of teleosts, even for transcriptome targets from species distantly related to salmonids. We show the potential of the use of the microarray in a variety of experimental settings through hybridization studies that examine the binding of targets derived from different organs and tissues. Intraspecific variation in transcriptome expression is evaluated and discussed. Finally, BAC hybridizations are demonstrated as a rapid and accurate means to identify gene content

Resilience to Stress and Disturbance, and Resistance to Bromus tectorum L. Invasion in Cold Desert Shrublands of Western North America

Alien grass invasions in arid and semi-arid ecosystems are resulting in grass–fire cycles and ecosystem-level transformations that severely diminish ecosystem services. Our capacity to address the rapid and complex changes occurring in these ecosystems can be enhanced by developing an understanding of the environmental factors and ecosystem attributes that determine resilience of native ecosystems to stress and disturbance, and resistance to invasion. Cold desert shrublands occur over strong environmental gradients and exhibit significant differences in resilience and resistance. They provide an excellent opportunity to increase our understanding of these concepts. Herein, we examine a series of linked questions about (a) ecosystem attributes that determine resilience and resistance along environmental gradients, (b) effects of disturbances like livestock grazing and altered fire regimes and of stressors like rapid climate change, rising CO2, and N deposition on resilience and resistance, and (c) interacting effects of resilience and resistance on ecosystems with different environmental conditions. We conclude by providing strategies for the use of resilience and resistance concepts in a management context. At ecological site scales, state and transition models are used to illustrate how differences in resilience and resistance influence potential alternative vegetation states, transitions among states, and thresholds. At landscape scales management strategies based on resilience and resistance—protection, prevention, restoration, and monitoring and adaptive management—are used to determine priority management areas and appropriate actions

Open source Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) chemistry modelling for hypersonic flows

An open source implementation of chemistry modelling for the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is presented. Following the recent work of Bird [1] an approach known as the quantum kinetic (Q-K) method has been adopted to describe chemical reactions in a 5-species air model using DSMC procedures based on microscopic gas information. The Q-K technique has been implemented within the framework of the dsmcFoam code, a derivative of the open source CFD code OpenFOAM. Results for vibrational relaxation, dissociation and exchange reaction rates for an adiabatic bath demonstrate the success of the Q-K model when compared with analytical solutions for both inert and reacting conditions. A comparison is also made between the Q-K and total collision energy (TCE) chemistry approaches for a hypersonic flow benchmark case

Implicit and explicit body representations

Several forms of perception require that sensory information be referenced to representations of the size and shape of the body. This requirement is especially acute in somatosensation in which the main receptor surface (i.e., the skin) is itself coextensive with the body. In this paper I will review recent research investigating the body representations underlying somatosensory information processing, including abilities such as tactile localisation, tactile size perception, and position sense. These representations show remarkably large and stereotyped distortions of represented body size and shape. Intriguingly, these distortions appear to mirror distortions characteristic of somatosensory maps, though in attenuated form. In contrast, when asked to make overt judgments about perceived body form, participants are generally quite accurate. This pattern of results suggests that higher-level somatosensory processing relies on a class of implicit body representation, distinct from the conscious body image. I discuss the implications of these results for understanding the nature of body representation and the factors which influence it