1,222 research outputs found
Predictors of course and outcome in hypochondriasis after cognitive-behavioral treatment
Background. Predictors of treatment outcome were evaluated in a clinical sample suffering from hypochondriasis. Methods: The sample consisted of 96 patients with hypochondriacal disorder according to DSM-IV or high syndrome scores on the Illness Attitude Scales (IAS) or Whiteley Index (WI). After intense inpatient cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT), 60% of the patients were classified as responders because of substantial improvements or recovery from hypochondriacal symptomatology. Results: Non-responders were characterized by a higher degree of pre-treatment hypochondriasis, more somatization symptoms and general psychopathology (SCL-90R), more dysfunctional cognitions related to bodily functioning, higher levels of psychosocial impairments, and more utilization of the health care system as indicated by the number of hospital days and costs for inpatient treatments and medication. No predictive value was found for sociodemographic variables, comorbidity with other mental disorders and chronicity. Multiple linear regression showed that pre-treatment variables significantly predicted IAS scores at post-treatment (R-2 = 0.59), changes during treatment (0.10), IAS scores at follow-up two years later (0.41) and changes between baseline and follow-up (0.25). Conclusions: The results demonstrate the relevance of various psychopathological variables and health care utilization as important indicators for outcome and further course of clinical hypochondriasis. Copyright (C) 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel
Cognitive behavior therapy in panic disorder and comorbid major depression - A naturalistic study
Background: There is a lack of evidence about the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapies (CBT) in settings of routine clinical care as well as in the treatment of panic and comorbid disorders. Methods: We investigated a group-oriented CBT approach for 80 patients with panic disorder including 35 patients with current comorbid major depression. Assessments took place 6 months before treatment, at the beginning and end of treatment, and 1 year later. Structured interviews and multiple clinical self-rating scales were used. Results: Panic patients with comorbid major depression showed higher anxiety-specific and nonspecific pathology. The most striking benefits were in reducing avoidance behavior, while improvements concerning catastrophic beliefs were smaller, but still significant. For most self-rating scale results, patients with and without comorbid depression improved to a comparable degree. However, the end-state functioning of patients with panic disorder and current comorbid depression at admission is significantly lower than for patients with panic disorder alone, Conclusions: The results point to the necessity to develop and improve treatment approaches for patients with comorbidity of panic disorder and current major depression. Copyright (C) 2000 S.Karger AG, Basel
A model for the force stretching double-stranded chain molecules
We modify and extend the recently developed statistical mechanical model for
predicting the thermodynamic properties of chain molecules having noncovalent
double-stranded conformations, as in RNA or ssDNA, and sheets in
protein, by including the constant force stretching at one end of molecules as
in a typical single-molecule experiment. The conformations of double-stranded
regions of the chain are calculated based on polymer graph-theoretic approach
[S-J. Chen and K. A. Dill, J. Chem. Phys. {\bf109}, 4602(1998)], while the
unpaired single-stranded regions are treated as self-avoiding walks. Sequence
dependence and excluded volume interaction are taken into account explicitly.
Two classes of conformations, hairpin and RNA secondary structure are explored.
For the hairpin conformations, all possible end-to-end distances corresponding
to the different types of double-stranded regions are enumerated exactly. For
the RNA secondary structure conformations, a new recursive formula
incorporating the secondary structure and end-to-end distribution has been
derived. Using the model, we investigate the extension-force curves, contact
and population distributions and re-entering phenomena, respectively. we find
that the force stretching homogeneous chains of hairpin and secondary structure
conformations are very different: the unfolding of hairpins is two-state, while
unfolding the latter is one-state. In addition, re-entering transitions only
present in hairpin conformations, but are not observed in secondary structure
conformations.Comment: 19 pages, 28 figure
Mechanically induced helix-coil transition in biopolymer networks
The quasi-equilibrium evolution of the helical fraction occurring in a
biopolymer network (gelatin gel) under an applied stress has been investigated
by observing modulation in its optical activity. Its variation with the imposed
chain extension is distinctly non-monotonic and corresponds to the transition
of initially coiled strands to induced left-handed helices. The experimental
results are in qualitative agreement with theoretical predictions of helices
induced on chain extension. This new effect of mechanically stimulated
helix-coil transition has been studied further as a function of the elastic
properties of the polymer network: crosslink density and network aging
Effects of Eye-phase in DNA unzipping
The onset of an "eye-phase" and its role during the DNA unzipping is studied
when a force is applied to the interior of the chain. The directionality of the
hydrogen bond introduced here shows oscillations in force-extension curve
similar to a "saw-tooth" kind of oscillations seen in the protein unfolding
experiments. The effects of intermediates (hairpins) and stacking energies on
the melting profile have also been discussed.Comment: RevTeX v4, 9 pages with 7 eps figure
Periodically driven stochastic un- and refolding transitions of biopolymers
Mechanical single molecule experiments probe the energy profile of
biomolecules. We show that in the case of a profile with two minima (like
folded/unfolded) periodic driving leads to a stochastic resonance-like
phenomenon. We demonstrate that the analysis of such data can be used to
extract four basic parameters of such a transition and discuss the statistical
requirements of the data acquisition. As advantages of the proposed scheme, a
polymeric linker is explicitly included and thermal fluctuations within each
well need not to be resolved.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to EP
Force induced stretched state: Effects of temperature
A model of self avoiding walks with suitable constraint has been developed to
study the effect of temperature on a single stranded DNA (ssDNA) in the
constant force ensemble. Our exact calculations for small chains show that the
extension (reaction co-ordinate) may increase or decrease with the temperature
depending upon the applied force. The simple model developed here which
incorporates semi-microscopic details of base direction provide an explanation
of the force induced transitions in ssDNA as observed in experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 8 figures, RevTex
Multiple passages of light through an absorption inhomogeneity in optical imaging of turbid media
The multiple passages of light through an absorption inhomogeneity of finite
size deep within a turbid medium is analyzed for optical imaging using the
``self-energy'' diagram. The nonlinear correction becomes more important for an
inhomogeneity of a larger size and with greater contrast in absorption with
respect to the host background. The nonlinear correction factor agrees well
with that from Monte Carlo simulations for CW light. The correction is about
in near infrared for an absorption inhomogeneity with the typical
optical properties found in tissues and of size of five times the transport
mean free path.Comment: 3 figure
Who Dreams of Badges? Gendered Self-Concept and Policing Career Aspirations
NIJ’s Policing Research Plan (2017-2022) highlights the need to understand factors that attract diverse candidates. We explored whether college students had ever considered policing and found men were significantly more likely than women to contemplate policing careers. Further, we found higher levels of masculinity were associated with greater odds of policing aspirations; the relationship between gender and aspirations was fully mediated by masculine self-concept. Although men typically reported higher masculinity scores, within-gender analyses indicated that masculinity was important for both men and women. Our findings suggest the continued association of masculinity with policing may undercut efforts to recruit a representative workforce
Structure and pressure drop of real and virtual metal wire meshes
An efficient mathematical model to virtually generate woven metal wire meshes is
presented. The accuracy of this model is verified by the comparison of virtual structures with three-dimensional
images of real meshes, which are produced via computer tomography. Virtual structures
are generated for three types of metal wire meshes using only easy to measure parameters. For these
geometries the velocity-dependent pressure drop is simulated and compared with measurements
performed by the GKD - Gebr. Kufferath AG. The simulation results lie within the tolerances of
the measurements. The generation of the structures and the numerical simulations were done at
GKD using the Fraunhofer GeoDict software
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