5,633 research outputs found
Validity, reliability, acceptability, and utility of the Social Inclusion Questionnaire User Experience (SInQUE): a clinical tool to facilitate social inclusion amongst people with severe mental health problems.
BACKGROUND: Individuals with severe mental health problems are at risk of social exclusion, which may complicate their recovery. Mental health and social care staff have, until now, had no valid or reliable way of assessing their clients' social inclusion. The Social Inclusion Questionnaire User Experience (SInQUE) was developed to address this. It assesses five domains: social integration; productivity; consumption; access to services; and political engagement, in the year prior to first psychiatric admission (T1) and the year prior to interview (T2) from which a total score at each time point can be calculated. AIMS: To establish the validity, reliability, and acceptability of the SInQUE in individuals with a broad range of psychiatric diagnoses receiving care from community mental health services and its utility for mental health staff. METHOD: Participants were 192 mental health service users with psychosis, personality disorder, or common mental disorder (e.g., depression, anxiety) who completed the SInQUE alongside other validated outcome measures. Test-retest reliability was assessed in a sub-sample of 30 participants and inter-rater reliability was assessed in 11 participants. SInQUE ratings of 28 participants were compared with those of a sibling with no experience of mental illness to account for shared socio-cultural factors. Acceptability and utility of the tool were assessed using completion rates and focus groups with staff. RESULTS: The SInQUE demonstrated acceptable convergent validity. The total score and the Social Integration domain score were strongly correlated with quality of life, both in the full sample and in the three diagnostic groups. Discriminant validity and test-retest reliability were established across all domains, although the test-retest reliability on scores for the Service Access and Political Engagement domains prior to first admission to hospital (T1) was lower than other domains. Inter-rater reliability was excellent for all domains at T1 and T2. CONCLUSIONS: The component of the SInQUE that assesses current social inclusion has good psychometric properties and can be recommended for use by mental health staff
The development of the forms of responding to self-critical thoughts Scale (FoReST)
Background: Self-critical thoughts are a feature of many mental health problems. Adopting a psychologically flexible response to thoughts has been highlighted as a key determinant of wellbeing. But, the measurement of psychological flexibility (PF) in relation to self-critical thoughts is under-developed. This paper reports on the development of the Forms of Responding to Self-Critical Thoughts Scale (FoReST).
Method: Study One involved the development and exploratory factor analysis of the FoReST in a convenience sample of 253 non-clinical adults. Study Two was a confirmatory factor analysis study of the FoReST in a sample of 110 University students. Study 3 explored the convergent and concurrent validity of the FoReST by examining associations with measures of similar constructs (PF, self-compassion, self-criticism) and relevant mental health measures (anxiety, depression, distress). Study 3 also explored the FoReSTâs incremental validity for predicting depression and anxiety levels beyond an established measure of self-critical thinking.
Results: In Study One, exploratory factor analysis produced a 9-item/2-factor solution (unworkable action and mindful acceptance). The measure demonstrated good internal consistency. In Study 2, the confirmatory factor analysis also indicated a 2-factor model (unworkable action and mindful acceptance) and overall internal consistency that was excellent. In Study Three, the FoReST demonstrated high convergent validity with similar measures, and good concurrent validity with mental health outcomes. Analyses also indicated good incremental validity for the FoReST for predicting HADS depression and anxiety scores.
Conclusions: The FoReST appears to be a psychometrically sound measure suitable for measuring change processes in third wave therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness-based Interventions and Compassion Focused therapy
On the Lack of a Soft X-Ray Excess from Clusters of Galaxies
A soft X-ray excess has been claimed to exist in and around a number of
galaxy clusters and this emission has been attributed to the warm-hot
intergalactic medium that may constitute most of the baryons in the local
universe. We have re-examined a study of the XMM-Newton observations on this
topic by Kaastra et al. (2003) and find that the X-ray excess (or deficit)
depends upon Galactic latitude and appears to be most closely related to the
surface brightness of the 1/4 keV emission, which is largely due to emission
from the Local hot bubble and the halo of the Milky Way. We suggest that the
presence of the soft X-ray excess is due to incorrect subtraction of the soft
X-ray background. An analysis is performed where we choose a 1/4 keV background
that is similar to the background near the cluster (and for similar HI column).
We find that the soft X-ray excess largely disappears using our background
subtraction and conclude that these soft X-ray excesses are not associated with
the target clusters. We also show that the detections of "redshifted" O VII
lines claimed by Kaastra et al. (2003) are correlated with solar system charge
exchange emission suggesting that they are not extragalactic either.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Function of caspase-14 in trophoblast differentiation
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Within the human placenta, the cytotrophoblast consists of a proliferative pool of progenitor cells which differentiate to replenish the overlying continuous, multi-nucleated syncytiotrophoblast, which forms the barrier between the maternal and fetal tissues. Disruption to trophoblast differentiation and function may result in impaired fetal development and preeclampsia. Caspase-14 expression is limited to barrier forming tissues. It promotes keratinocyte differentiation by cleaving profilaggrin to stabilise keratin intermediate filaments, and indirectly providing hydration and UV protection. However its role in the trophoblast remains unexplored.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using RNA Interference the reaction of control and differentiating trophoblastic BeWo cells to suppressed caspase-14 was examined for genes pertaining to hormonal, cell cycle and cytoskeletal pathways.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Transcription of hCG, KLF4 and cytokeratin-18 were increased following caspase-14 suppression suggesting a role for caspase-14 in inhibiting their pathways. Furthermore, hCG, KLF4 and cytokeratin-18 protein levels were disrupted.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Since expression of these molecules is normally increased with trophoblast differentiation, our results imply that caspase-14 inhibits trophoblast differentiation. This is the first functional study of this unusual member of the caspase family in the trophoblast, where it has a different function than in the epidermis. This knowledge of the molecular underpinnings of trophoblast differentiation may instruct future therapies of trophoblast disease.</p
Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropy Window Functions Revisited
The primary results of most observations of cosmic microwave background (CMB)
anisotropy are estimates of the angular power spectrum averaged through some
broad band, called band-powers. These estimates are in turn what are used to
produce constraints on cosmological parameters due to all CMB observations.
Essential to this estimation of cosmological parameters is the calculation of
the expected band-power for a given experiment, given a theoretical power
spectrum. Here we derive the "band power" window function which should be used
for this calculation, and point out that it is not equivalent to the window
function used to calculate the variance. This important distinction has been
absent from much of the literature: the variance window function is often used
as the band-power window function. We discuss the validity of this assumed
equivalence, the role of window functions for experiments that constrain the
power in {\it multiple} bands, and summarize a prescription for reporting
experimental results. The analysis methods detailed here are applied in a
companion paper to three years of data from the Medium Scale Anisotropy
Measurement.Comment: 5 pages, 1 included .eps figure, PRD in press---final published
versio
Speech rhythm: a metaphor?
Is speech rhythmic? In the absence of evidence for a traditional view that languages strive to coordinate either syllables or stress-feet with regular time intervals, we consider the alternative that languages exhibit contrastive rhythm subsisting merely in the alternation of stronger and weaker elements. This is initially plausible, particularly for languages with a steep âprominence gradientâ, i.e. a large disparity between stronger and weaker elements; but we point out that alternation is poorly achieved even by a âstress-timedâ language such as English, and, historically, languages have conspicuously failed to adopt simple phonological remedies that would ensure alternation. Languages seem more concerned to allow âsyntagmatic contrastâ between successive units and to use durational effects to support linguistic functions than to facilitate rhythm. Furthermore, some languages (e.g. Tamil, Korean) lack the lexical prominence which would most straightforwardly underpin prominence alternation. We conclude that speech is not incontestibly rhythmic, and may even be antirhythmic. However, its linguistic structure and patterning allow the metaphorical extension of rhythm in varying degrees and in different ways depending on the language, and that it is this analogical process which allows speech to be matched to external rhythms
Hardness as a Spectral Peak Estimator for Gamma-Ray Bursts
Simple hardness ratios are found to be a good estimator for the spectral peak
energy in Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). Specifically, a high correlation strength is
found between the peak in the spectrum of BATSE GRBs, \epo, and
the hardness of GRBs, \hr, as defined by the fluences in channels 3 and 4,
divided by the combined fluences in channels 1 and 2 of the BATSE Large Area
Detectors. The correlation is independent of the type of the burst, whether
Long-duration GRB (LGRB) or Short-duration (SGRB) and remains almost linear
over the wide range of the BATSE energy window (20-2000 KeV). Based on Bayes
theorem and Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques, we also present multivariate
analyses of the observational data while accounting for data truncation and
sample-incompleteness. Prediction intervals for the proposed \hrep ~relation
are derived. Results and further simulations are used to compute \epo
estimates for nearly the entire BATSE catalog: 2130 GRBs. These results may be
useful for investigating the cosmological utility of the spectral peak in GRBs
intrinsic luminosity estimates.Comment: MNRAS submitted, Some technical side analyses removed or reduced
following the referee's review, 68 pages, 13 figure
Stellar Companions to Stars with Planets
A combination of high-resolution and wide-field imaging reveals two binary
stars and one triple star system among the sample of the first 11 stars with
planets detected by radial velocity variations. High resolution speckle or
adaptive optics (AO) data probe subarcsecond scales down to the diffraction
limit of the Keck 10-m or Lick 3-m, and direct images or AO images are
sensitive to a wider field, extending to 10" or 38", depending upon the camera.
One of the binary systems -- HD 114762 -- was not previously known to be a
spatially resolved multiple system; additional data taken with the combination
of Keck adaptive optics and NIRSPEC are used to characterize the new companion.
The second binary system -- Tau Boo -- was a known multiple with two
conflicting orbital solutions; the current data will help constrain the
discrepant estimates of periastron time and separation. Another target -- 16
Cyg B -- was a known common proper motion binary, but the current data resolve
a new third component, close to the wide companion 16 Cyg A. Both the HD 114762
and 16 Cyg B systems harbor planets in eccentric orbits, while the Tau Boo
binary contains an extremely close planet in a tidally-circularized orbit.
Although the sample is currently small, the proportion of binary systems is
comparable to that measured in the field over a similar separation range.
Incorporating the null result from another companion search project lowers the
overall fraction of planets in binary systems, but the detections in our survey
reveal that planets can form in binaries separated by less than 50 AU.Comment: 5 Tables, 16 Figures. ApJ, accepte
Radio emission models of Colliding-Wind Binary Systems
We present calculations of the spatial and spectral distribution of the radio
emission from a wide WR+OB colliding-wind binary system based on
high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations and solutions to the radiative
transfer equation. We account for both thermal and synchrotron radio emission,
free-free absorption in both the unshocked stellar wind envelopes and the
shocked gas, synchrotron self-absorption, and the Razin effect. The
applicability of these calculations to modelling radio images and spectra of
colliding-wind systems is demonstrated with models of the radio emission from
the wide WR+OB binary WR147. Its synchrotron spectrum follows a power-law
between 5 and 15 GHz but turns down to below this at lower and higher
frequencies. We find that while free-free opacity from the circum-binary
stellar winds can potentially account for the low-frequency turnover, models
that also include a combination of synchrotron self-absorption and Razin effect
are favoured. We argue that the high-frequency turn down is a consequence of
inverse-Compton cooling. We present our resulting spectra and intensity
distributions, along with simulated MERLIN observations of these intensity
distributions. From these we argue that the inclination of the WR147 system to
the plane of the sky is low. We summarise by considering extensions of the
current model that are important for models of the emission from closer
colliding wind binaries, in particular the dramatically varying radio emission
of WR140.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figures; Accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics, July 8,
200
project: III. Gas mass fraction shape in high redshift clusters
We study the gas mass fraction, behavior in
project. The typical shape of high redshift galaxy
clusters follows the global shape inferred at low redshift quite well. This
result is consistent with the gravitational instability picture leading to self
similar structures for both the dark and baryonic matter. However, the mean
XMM$ clusters, the apparent gas
fraction at the virial radius is consistent with a non-evolving universal value
in a high matter density model and not with a concordance.Comment: Accepted, A&A, in pres
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