16,169 research outputs found
Feasibility of Narrative Exposure Therapy in an outpatient day treatment program for refugees: Improvement in symptoms and global functioning
Background âŻRefugees are at high risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Narrative exposure therapy (NET) is an evidence-based treatment of PTSD, designed for patients exposed to (multiple) traumatic events and recommended for patients with culturallyâŻdiverseâŻbackgrounds.âŻIn clinical practice, adherence to the NET-protocolâŻhas been challenged because of psychosocial complexities and comorbid disorders.⯠Objective:⯠The current study investigated the feasibility of NET embedded in an outpatient day treatment programme for refugees and examined reduction in PTSD symptoms and improvement of global functioningâŻas well asâŻcorrelates of change.⯠Method Participants were patients who consecutively entered an outpatient daytreatment programme from 2013-2017. The majority had a history of prior unsuccessful treatment. PTSD was assessed with the Clinically Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) before and after finishing NET. Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) was used to examine changes in functioning. Changes in PTSD scores and functioning were analyzed using paired t-tests and reliable change indices. Patients showing significant improvement were compared to those who did not, on patient and treatment characteristics, including sex, age, region of origin, childhood trauma and treatment duration and dosage of NET.⯠Results:⯠Of 97 patients, 76 (78.4%) completed NET. Completers had a longer residency and were more likely to have a partner. Significant reductions in PTSD symptoms and improvements in global functioning were observed. Twenty-eight percent showed reliable improvement with large effect sizes. Four patients did no longer meet the criteria for PTSD. No strong moderators for changes were found. Patients who did not improve more often had a history of childhood trauma. Conclusions NET embedded in an outpatient day treatment programme appears to be feasible. In those who improved, a substantial decline in symptoms and improvement of functioning were observed. The findings suggest that a socially supportive living environment enhances acceptability of trauma-focused treatment in refugees
On duality symmetry in perturbative quantum theory
Non-compact symmetries of extended 4d supergravities involve duality
rotations of vectors and thus are not manifest off-shell invariances in
standard "second-order" formulation. To study how such symmetries are realised
in the quantum theory we consider examples in 2 dimensions where vector-vector
duality is replaced by scalar-scalar one. Using a "doubled" formulation, where
fields and their momenta are treated on an equal footing and the duality
becomes a manifest symmetry of the action (at the expense of Lorentz symmetry),
we argue that the corresponding on-shell quantum effective action or S-matrix
are duality symmetric as well as Lorentz invariant. The simplest case of
discrete Z_2 duality corresponds to a symmetry of the S-matrix under flipping
the sign of the negative-chirality scalars in 2 dimensions or phase rotations
of chiral (definite-helicity) parts of vectors in 4 dimensions. We also briefly
discuss some 4d models and comment on implications of our analysis for extended
supergravities.Comment: 21 pages, Latex v2: comments and references added v3: references and
minor comments adde
In-depth investigation of the molecular pathogenesis of bladder cancer in a unique 26-year old patient with extensive multifocal disease: A case report
Background. The molecular characteristics and the clinical disease course of bladder cancer (BC) in young patients remain largely unresolved. All patients are monitored according to an intensive surveillance protocol and we aim to gain more insight into the molecular pathways of bladder tumors in young patients that could ultimately contribute to patient stratification, improve patient quality of life and reduce associated costs. We also determined whether a biomarker-based surveillance could be feasible. Case Presentation. We report a unique case of a 26-year-old Caucasian male with recurrent non-muscle invasive bladder tumors occurring at a high frequency and analyzed multiple tumors (maximal pTaG2) and urine samples of this patient. Analysis included FGFR3 mutation detection, FGFR3 and TP53 immunohistochemistry, mircosatellite analysis of markers on chromosomes 8, 9, 10, 11 and 17 and a genome wide single nucleotide polymorphism-array (SNP). All analyzed tumors contained a mutation in FGFR3 and were associated with FGFR3 overexpression. None of the tumors showed overexpression of TP53. We found a deletion on chromosome 9 in the primary tumor and this was confirmed by the SNP-array that showed regions of loss on chromosome 9. Detection of all recurrences was possible by urinary FGFR3 mutation analysis. Conclusions. Our findings would suggest that the BC disease course is determined by not only a patient's age, but also by the molecular characteristics of a tumor. This young patient contained typical genetic changes found in tumors of older patients and implies a clinical disease course comparable to older patients. We demonstrate that FGFR3 mutation analysis on voided urine is a simple non-invasive method and could serve as a feasible follow-up approach for this young patient presenting with an FGFR3 mutant tumor
Validating module network learning algorithms using simulated data
In recent years, several authors have used probabilistic graphical models to
learn expression modules and their regulatory programs from gene expression
data. Here, we demonstrate the use of the synthetic data generator SynTReN for
the purpose of testing and comparing module network learning algorithms. We
introduce a software package for learning module networks, called LeMoNe, which
incorporates a novel strategy for learning regulatory programs. Novelties
include the use of a bottom-up Bayesian hierarchical clustering to construct
the regulatory programs, and the use of a conditional entropy measure to assign
regulators to the regulation program nodes. Using SynTReN data, we test the
performance of LeMoNe in a completely controlled situation and assess the
effect of the methodological changes we made with respect to an existing
software package, namely Genomica. Additionally, we assess the effect of
various parameters, such as the size of the data set and the amount of noise,
on the inference performance. Overall, application of Genomica and LeMoNe to
simulated data sets gave comparable results. However, LeMoNe offers some
advantages, one of them being that the learning process is considerably faster
for larger data sets. Additionally, we show that the location of the regulators
in the LeMoNe regulation programs and their conditional entropy may be used to
prioritize regulators for functional validation, and that the combination of
the bottom-up clustering strategy with the conditional entropy-based assignment
of regulators improves the handling of missing or hidden regulators.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures + 2 pages, 2 figures supplementary informatio
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Performance of photon reconstruction and identification with the CMS detector in proton-proton collisions at âs = 8 TeV
A description is provided of the performance of the CMS detector for photon reconstruction and identification in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 8 TeV at the CERN LHC. Details are given on the reconstruction of photons from energy deposits in the electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) and the extraction of photon energy estimates. The reconstruction of electron tracks from photons that convert to electrons in the CMS tracker is also described, as is the optimization of the photon energy reconstruction and its accurate modelling in simulation, in the analysis of the Higgs boson decay into two photons. In the barrel section of the ECAL, an energy resolution of about 1% is achieved for unconverted or late-converting photons from Hγγ decays. Different photon identification methods are discussed and their corresponding selection efficiencies in data are compared with those found in simulated events
An intracellular pH gradient in the anammox bacterium Kuenenia stuttgartiensis as evaluated by 31P NMR
The cytoplasm of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria consists of three compartments separated by membranes. It has been suggested that a proton motive force may be generated over the membrane of the innermost compartment, the âanammoxosomeâ. 31PÂ nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was employed to investigate intracellular pH differences in the anammox bacterium Kuenenia stuttgartiensis. With in vivo NMR, spectra were recorded of active, highly concentrated suspensions of K. stuttgartiensis in a wide-bore NMR tube. At different external pH values, two stable and distinct phosphate peaks were apparent in the recorded spectra. These peaks were equivalent with pH values of 7.3 and 6.3 and suggested the presence of a proton motive force over an intracytoplasmic membrane in K.âstuttgartiensis. This study provides for the second timeâafter discovery of acidocalcisome-like compartments in Agrobacterium tumefaciensâevidence for an intracytoplasmic pH gradient in a chemotrophic prokaryotic cell
Gamma-rays from millisecond pulsars in Globular Clusters
Globular clusters (GCs) with their ages of the order of several billion years
contain many final products of evolution of stars such as: neutron stars, white
dwarfs and probably also black holes. These compact objects can be at present
responsible for the acceleration of particles to relativistic energies.
Therefore, gamma-ray emission is expected from GCs as a result of radiation
processes occurring either in the inner magnetosperes of millisecond pulsars or
in the vicinity of accreting neutron stars and white dwarfs or as a result of
interaction of particles leaving the compact objects with the strong radiation
field within the GC. Recently, GeV gamma-ray emission has been detected from
several GCs by the new satellite observatory Fermi. Also Cherenkov telescopes
reported interesting upper limits at the TeV energies which start to constrain
the content of GCs. We review the results of these gamma-ray observations in
the context of recent scenarios for their origin.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, will be published in Astrophysics and Space
Science Series (Springer), eds. N. Rea and D.F. Torre
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Search for decays of stopped long-lived particles produced in proton-proton collisions at [Formula: see text].
A search has been performed for long-lived particles that could have come to rest within the CMS detector, using the time intervals between LHC beam crossings. The existence of such particles could be deduced from observation of their decays via energy deposits in the CMS calorimeter appearing at times that are well separated from any proton-proton collisions. Using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 18.6[Formula: see text] of 8[Formula: see text] proton-proton collisions, and a search interval corresponding to 281 h of trigger livetime, 10 events are observed, with a background prediction of [Formula: see text] events. Limits are presented at 95 % confidence level on gluino and top squark production, for over 13 orders of magnitude in the mean proper lifetime of the stopped particle. Assuming a cloud model of R-hadron interactions, a gluino with mass [Formula: see text]1000[Formula: see text] and a top squark with mass [Formula: see text]525[Formula: see text] are excluded, for lifetimes between 1 [Formula: see text]s and 1000[Formula: see text]. These results are the most stringent constraints on stopped particles to date
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