The Therapeutic Process As a Predictor of Change in Patients' Important Relationships During Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy.

Components of the therapeutic process have been shown to be moderately strong predictors of change in patients' global interpersonal functioning during therapy. The authors sought to extend this research by examining how the therapeutic process in time-limited dynamic psychotherapy related to change in patients' perceptions of a specific relationship as rated by the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior. Results showed that ratings of therapist warmth at Session 3 predicted increased warmth and decreased hostility in patient behavior at posttreatment. Therapist warmth at Session 16 was predictive of a decrease in submissive behavior by patients toward their significant other. The importance of the association between the therapeutic process and patients' important interpersonal relationships is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological impact of benign breast biopsy: A longitudinal, comparative study.

The impact of benign breast biopsy (BBB) on distress and perceptions of risk for breast cancer (BC) was examined. Interviews were conducted with 100 women shortly after notification of biopsy results and 4 and 8 months post-BBB. Compared with matched healthy comparison (HC) women without BBB, the BBB group evidenced greater BC-specific distress at baseline. BC-specific distress declined after BBB, remaining elevated relative to the HC group at the 8-month follow-up. Dispositional (optimism, informational coping style), demographic (education), clinical (family history of BC), and cognitive (BC risk perception) variables were associated with baseline levels of BC-specific distress or persistence of distress. Results support the monitoring process model (S. M. Miller, 1995) and the cognitive social health information processing model (S. M. Miller, Y. Shoda, & K. Hurley, 1996). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An Overview of the Latest Metabolomics Studies on Atopic Eczema with New Directions for Study

Atopic eczema (AE) is an inflammatory skin disorder affecting approximately 20% of children worldwide and early onset can lead to asthma and allergies. Currently, the mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Metabolomics, the analysis of small molecules in the skin produced by the host and microbes, opens a window to observe the mechanisms of the disease which then may lead to new drug targets for AE treatment. Here, we review the latest advances in AE metabolomics, highlighting both the lipid and non-lipid molecules, along with reviewing the metabolites currently known to reside in the skin.     

Localized Heat Therapy Improves Mitochondrial Respiratory Capacity but Not Fatty Acid Oxidation

AIM: Mild heat stress can improve mitochondrial respiratory capacity in skeletal muscle. However, long-term heat interventions are scarce, and the effects of heat therapy need to be understood in the context of the adaptations which follow the more complex combination of stimuli from exercise training. The purpose of this work was to compare the effects of 6 weeks of localized heat therapy on human skeletal muscle mitochondria to single-leg interval training. METHODS: Thirty-five subjects were assigned to receive sham therapy, short-wave diathermy heat therapy, or single-leg interval exercise training, localized to the quadriceps muscles of the right leg. All interventions took place 3 times per week. Muscle biopsies were performed at baseline, and after 3 and 6 weeks of intervention. Mitochondrial respiratory capacity was assessed on permeabilized muscle fibers via high-resolution respirometry. RESULTS: The primary finding of this work was that heat therapy and exercise training significantly improved mitochondrial respiratory capacity by 24.8 ± 6.2% and 27.9 ± 8.7%, respectively (p < 0.05). Fatty acid oxidation and citrate synthase activity were also increased following exercise training by 29.5 ± 6.8% and 19.0 ± 7.4%, respectively (p < 0.05). However, contrary to our hypothesis, heat therapy did not increase fatty acid oxidation or citrate synthase activity. CONCLUSION: Six weeks of muscle-localized heat therapy significantly improves mitochondrial respiratory capacity, comparable to exercise training. However, unlike exercise, heat does not improve fatty acid oxidation capacity.     

Adults' strategies for simple addition and multiplication: Verbal self-reports and the operand recognition paradigm.

Accurate measurement of cognitive strategies is important in diverse areas of psychological research. Strategy self-reports are a common measure, but C. Thevenot, M. Fanget, and M. Fayol (2007) proposed a more objective method to distinguish different strategies in the context of mental arithmetic. In their operand recognition paradigm, speed of recognition memory for problem operands after solving a problem indexes strategy (e.g., direct memory retrieval vs. a procedural strategy). Here, in 2 experiments, operand recognition time was the same following simple addition or multiplication, but, consistent with a wide variety of previous research, strategy reports indicated much greater use of procedures (e.g., counting) for addition than multiplication. Operation, problem size (e.g., 2 + 3 vs. 8 + 9), and operand format (digits vs. words) had interactive effects on reported procedure use that were not reflected in recognition performance. Regression analyses suggested that recognition time was influenced at least as much by the relative difficulty of the preceding problem as by the strategy used. The findings indicate that the operand recognition paradigm is not a reliable substitute for strategy reports and highlight the potential impact of difficulty-related carryover effects in sequential cognitive tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metropolitan DWDM: a dynamically configurable ring for the KomNetfield trial in Berlin

We present the system concept of a dynamically configurable all-optical add/drop multiplexer for metropolitan wavelength division multiplex rings using dense channel spacing (DWDM). We first outline the essential network requirements. Subsequently, an optical system concept is presented that meets these requirements. In the network elements, innovative all-optical switching technology is employed. Tunable fiber Bragg gratings that perform routing functions by wavelength filtering are discussed in more detail. The system is laboratory-tested. It has been installed in Berlin for a multi-vendor field trial within the German research program “KomNet.” Three optical add/drop multiplexers form a dynamically configurable Metro DWDM ring. Metro DWDM accommodates high bandwidths: a metropolitan ring that provides 0.8 terabit/s ring capacity has been demonstrated. Furthermore, Metro DWDM can provide optically transparent channels enabling the transport of various data formats simultaneously, e.g., SONET/SDH and Gigabit Ethernet. Conversion to a standard format becomes obsolete. The all-optical add/drop multiplexer (OADM) presented provides both manual and dynamic configuration. The system concept of the OADM is developed starting with basic metropolitan DWDM network requirements. The features of the DWDM ring are described, followed by a presentation of the system concept of the flexible OADM. Our focus is on dynamic configuration techniques. Since tunable fiber Bragg gratings are promising components for dynamic optical channel switching, this technology is treated in more detail     

100-Gb/s 2/sup 7/-1 and 54-Gb/s 2/sup 11/-1 PRBS generators in SiGe bipolar technology

This paper presents two monolithic pseudorandom bit sequence (PRBS) generators. One circuit uses a seven-stage shift register operating with a half-rate clock and provides output signals up to 100 Gb/s. The second circuit contains an eleven-stage shift register operating with a full-rate clock up to 54 Gb/s. Both PRBS generators provide a wide range of data rates down to below 1 Gb/s simply by changing the frequency of the external clock signal without the need of any further adjustments. The integrated circuits provide a trigger output which can be switched between eye and pattern display. Furthermore, they contain additional circuitry to guarantee automatic start after power-on. The circuits are manufactured in a 200-GHz f/sub T/ SiGe bipolar technology. They each have a chip size of 900/spl times/700 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ and consume 1.5 and 1.9 W, respectively.     

Design of an Auger-Suppressed Unipolar HgCdTe NBνN Photodetector

A unipolar mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) NBνN infrared (IR) device architecture is analyzed by physics-based numerical device simulations. The device structure is predicted to suppress Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) and Auger generation–recombination (G–R) processes, while also providing a simplified fabrication process by eliminating p-type doping requirements. The performance characteristics of mid- and long-wavelength infrared (MWIR: λ _c?=?5?μm; LWIR: λ _c?=?12?μm) NBνN devices are calculated and compared with those of nBn and double-layer planar heterostructure (DLPH) devices. Theoretical dark current density (J _dark) values of the MWIR and LWIR NBνN devices are lower by an order of magnitude or more for temperatures between 50?K and 225?K. Calculated peak detectivity (D ^*) values of 6.01?× 10¹⁴?cm?Hz^0.5/W to 2.36?×?10¹⁰?cm?Hz^0.5/W for temperatures from 95?K to 225?K, and 2.37?×?10¹⁴?cm?Hz^0.5/W to 2.27?×?10¹¹?cm?Hz^0.5/W for temperatures from 50?K to 95?K are observed for MWIR and LWIR NBνN structures, respectively. A component of the NBνN structure, embodied in a unipolar MWIR nBn device, is also fabricated to experimentally demonstrate selective carrier extraction.