Relationship Between Cognitive Distortions and Psychological and Behavioral Factors in a Family Medicine Outpatient Sample

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the frequency of cognitive distortions, as measured by the Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), and psychological and behavioral factors, as measured by the Millon Behavioral Medicine Diagnostic (MBMD), which includes negative health habits, psychiatric indications, coping styles, stress moderators, treatment prognostics, and management guide. The sample was selected from a heterogeneous adult family practice outpatient population. Participants meeting inclusion criteria presented for medical treatment or routine physical examinations. Results supported the reliability and validity of the lCD as an instrument measuring cognitive distortions. Cronbach\u27s Alpha for the Total ICD scale was .97, indicating excellent internal consistency and homogeneity of item content. The ICD proved to be an excellent measure for uncovering relationships between distorted thinking and psychological and behavioral health risks as measured by the MBMD. Of the 34 hypotheses in this study, 29 hypotheses demonstrated significant positive findings. Suggestions for future research and implication of the work are discussed

Detection of fixed points in spatiotemporal signals by clustering method

We present a method to determine fixed points in spatiotemporal signals. A 144-dimensioanl simulated signal, similar to a Kueppers-Lortz instability, is analyzed and its fixed points are reconstructed.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Nonoperative Management of Shoulder Instability

Non-operative management following a shoulder dislocation or subluxation remains a challenging and complex task. Accurate diagnosis of the condition, and shared decision-making regarding operative and non-operative management, as well as timing of return to play is required. This clinical concept paper introduces a shoulder instability framework that addresses these fundamental clinical dilemmas. Valid clinical prognostic tools which can predict recurrent shoulder instability are reviewed. The process of shared decision-making within the realm of shoulder instability is also presented. Finally, a framework for progressive rehabilitation that addresses deficits in motor control, strength, and endurance in scapula and shoulder musculature is presented to guide patients from an initial instability event, through to return to play

Glycerol confined in zeolitic imidazolate frameworks: The temperature-dependent cooperativity length scale of glassy freezing

In the present work, we employ broadband dielectric spectroscopy to study the molecular dynamics of the prototypical glass former glycerol confined in two microporous zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8 and ZIF-11) with well-defined pore diameters of 1.16 and 1.46 nm, respectively. The spectra reveal information on the modified alpha relaxation of the confined supercooled liquid, whose temperature dependence exhibits clear deviations from the typical super-Arrhenius temperature dependence of the bulk material, depending on temperature and pore size. This allows assigning well-defined cooperativity length scales of molecular motion to certain temperatures above the glass transition. We relate these and previous results on glycerol confined in other host systems to the temperature-dependent length scale deduced from nonlinear dielectric measurements. The combined experimental data can be consistently described by a critical divergence of this correlation length as expected within theoretical approaches assuming that the glass transition is due to an underlying phase transition.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures + Supplemental Material (4 pages, 6 figures). Final version as accepted for publicatio

Vascular endothelial growth factor production and regulation in rodent and human pituitary tumor cells in vitro

Angiogenesis, the formation of a new blood supply, is an essential step in tumorigenesis. Although vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known to be a very potent angiogenic factor in most solid tumors, little is known about its production and regulation in pituitary adenomas. We have investigated basal and stimulated VEGF production by rodent pituitary tumor cells (mouse corticotrope AtT20, rat lactosomatotrope GH3, mouse gonadotrope alpha T3-1 and mouse folliculostellate TtT/GF cells), and by hormone-inactive (27), corticotrope (9), lactotrope (3) and somatotrope (21) human pituitary adenoma cell cultures. All 4 pituitary cell lines secreted VEGF, which in the case of AtT20, GH3 and TtT/GF cells was inhibited by approximately 50% by dexamethasone. TtT/GF cells were the most responsive to the different stimuli used since basal values were augmented by pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide-38 (PACAP-38), interleukin-6 (IL-6), transforming growth factor-cc (TGF-a), IGF-I and the somatostatin analogue ocreotide. However, in GH3, AtT20 and aT3-1 cells, basal VEGF levels where not enhanced with any of the stimuli tested. The majority of the human adenomas tested (92%) basally secreted measurable VEGF which was inhibited by dexamethasone in most cases (84%). VEGF levels were increased in hormone inactive adenomas, somatotrope tumors and prolactinomas by TGF-alpha, PACAP-38, and 17 beta -estradiol, respectively. In conclusion, pituitary tumor cells are capable of producing VEGF which may be involved in tumoral angiogenesis. Our results concerning the suppression of VEGF by dexamethasone suggest that glucocorticoids may have anti-angiogenic properties and therefore therapeutic relevance for the treatment of pituitary adenomas

Mechanical Strength Degradation of Graphite Fiber Reinforced Thermoset Composites Due to Porosity

The mechanical strength of composite laminates is sensitive to the presence of porosity. Porosity in laminates is generally considered to be a random distribution of voids incurred during the manufacture process. Larger, interlaminar voids typically result from trapped air or moisture; smaller, intralaminar voids may occur between fibers due to improper wetting or the release of volatile gases during the cure cycle. Porosity has its greatest effects on matrix-dominated mechanical properties such as compressive strength, transverse tensile strength and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). Judd and Wright [1] have surveyed the existing data and made an appraisal of the effects of voids on the mechanical properties of composites. In a study of porosity in filament wound/CVD carbon-carbon composite [2], the transverse tensile strength was found to decrease exponentially with increasing porosity and followed an empirical equation often attributed to Ryshkewitch [3] and Duckworth [4]: σ = σmaxeBP (1) where σmax is the strength at zero porosity, P is the volume fraction of porosity, and B (a negative number) is an empirical constant that depends on pore size, shape, and orientation. More recently Yoshida et. al

Slip statistics of dislocation avalanches under different loading modes

Slowly compressed microcrystals deform via intermittent slip events, observed as displacement jumps or stress drops. Experiments often use one of two loading modes: an increasing applied stress (stress driven, soft), or a constant strain rate (strain driven, hard). In this work we experimentally test the influence of the deformation loading conditions on the scaling behavior of slip events. It is found that these common deformation modes strongly affect time series properties, but not the scaling behavior of the slip statistics when analyzed with a mean-field model. With increasing plastic strain, the slip events are found to be smaller and more frequent when strain driven, and the slip-size distributions obtained for both drives collapse onto the same scaling function with the same exponents. The experimental results agree with the predictions of the used mean-field model, linking the slip behavior under different loading modes