Validation of the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire and the Reasons for Living Inventory in an adult psychiatric inpatient sample.

This study investigated the factor structure of the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (ASIQ) and the Linehan Reasons for Living Inventory (LRFI) in a sample of 205 adult psychiatric inpatients. Confirmatory factor analyses provided moderate support for the construct validity of each instrument. Coefficient alphas for the ASIQ (.98) and LRFL (.93) were high. In addition, a range of different clinical cutoff points was derived for each instrument. Both instruments were also better than chance in differentiating between the suicide attempter and psychiatric control groups. High ASIQ and low LRFL scores were significantly associated with scores on selected Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Content scales. The analyses also indicated that only the ASIQ added to the symptoms of hopelessness and negative affect in differentiating between the suicide attempter and psychiatric control groups. Results suggest that both instruments may be useful screening tests for suicidal behavior in psychiatric long-term care inpatient samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suicide risk assessment in a college student population.

A group of 211 students at a midwestern university completed the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire (M. M. Linehan & S. L. Nielsen, 1981), Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (W. M. Reynolds, 1991a), Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale (I. Orbach et al., 1991), Beck Helplessness Scale (A. T. Beck, A. Weissman, D. Lester, & L. Trexler, 1974), and the Reasons for Living Inventory (M. M. Linehan, L. J. Goodstein, S. L. Nielsen, & J. A. Chiles, 1983) to determine if this group of commonly used self-report measures can distinguish between individuals with high and low levels of suicidal ideation and history of self-harmful behaviors. Exploratory principal-axis factor analysis resulted in an interpretable 2-factor solution accounting for 36.2% of the variance in suicidality. Support for convergent validity of the chosen measures was also found. It appears that rapid, accurate assessment of university student suicide risk is possible. Implications for reduction of suicide risk in this segment of the population are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Decellularised Human Umbilical Artery as a Vascular Graft Elicits Minimal Pro-Inflammatory Host Response Ex Vivo and In Vivo

Small diameter (<6 mm) vessel grafts still pose a challenge for scientists worldwide. Decellularised umbilical artery (dUA) remains promising as small diameter tissue engineered vascular graft (TEVG), yet their immunogenicity remains unknown. Herein, we evaluated the host immune responses, with a focus on the innate part, towards human dUA implantation in mice, and confirmed our findings in an ex vivo allogeneic human setup. Overall, we did not observe any differences in the number of circulating white blood cells nor the number of monocytes among three groups of mice (1) dUA patch; (2) Sham; and (3) Mock throughout the study (day −7 to 28). Likewise, we found no difference in systemic inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels between groups. However, a massive local remodelling response with M2 macrophages were observed in the dUA at day 28, whereas M1 macrophages were less frequent. Moreover, human monocytes from allogeneic individuals were differentiated into macrophages and exposed to lyophilised dUA to maximize an eventual M1 response. Yet, dUA did not elicit any immediate M1 response as determined by the absence of CCR7 and CXCL10. Together this suggests that human dUA elicits a minimal pro-inflammatory response further supporting its use as a TEVG in an allogeneic setup.     

Bacterial pathogen incidences in sludge from Swedish sewage treatment plants

This study surveyed the presence of bacterial pathogens in eight Swedish sewage treatment plants (STPs), with four different treatment methods, focusing on detection of zoonotic bacteria in raw and treated sludge. Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter coli and jejuni, Escherichia coli O157 and indicator bacteria were investigated. Samplings were performed from July 2000 to June 2002, resulting in 64 raw sludge samples and 69 treated sludge samples. The samples from raw sludge (67%) and treated sludge (55%) were positive for Salmonella; 49 different serotypes were detected. Restriction enzyme analysis and pulsed field gel electrophoresis of Salmonella serotypes indicated that Salmonella persists in STPs and that there is a continuous supply of new strains. There are differences in treatment methods concerning the reduction of pathogens and indicator bacteria. If spread on arable land, sludge increases the environmental load of pathogens; this increases the risk for spreading diseases to people and animals.     

Does comorbid substance use disorder exacerbate borderline personality features? A comparison of borderline personality disorder individuals with vs. without current substance dependence.

There is compelling evidence that comorbid borderline personality disorder (BPD) negatively impact the clinical courses and outcomes of substance use disorders (SUD). Conversely, there is little evidence that concurrent SUD exacerbates the clinical characteristics of BPD. Thus, this study sought to examine whether the presence of current substance dependence among BPD patients would be associated with stronger BPD-relevant personality traits and behavioral characteristics. Female BPD patients without (BOR; n = 37) or with current substance dependence (BSUD; n = 19), and female non-BPD/SUD controls (CON; n = 48) were compared with respect to impulsivity, affective lability, affective intensity, externalizing behaviors, and self-harming/suicidal tendencies, taking into consideration their comorbid mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and antisocial personality disorder. Results indicated that both BOR and BSUD groups scored higher than CON in most of the measures, but BOR and BSUD failed to reveal significant group differences especially when the influence of comorbid psychopathology was removed. The overall pattern of findings remained identical even when comparing BPD patients with versus without the diagnosis of lifetime substance dependence. Our results do not support the notion that BPD individuals with SUD display more severe BPD features than individuals with BPD alone. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hemorheologic effects of vasodilation in essential hypertension

Arterial hypertension is often associated with plasma volume contraction and hemoconcentration, which negatively affect the vascular flow resistance and microcirculation. Since some antihypertensive drugs can affect blood rheology, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether acute and long-term arterial vasodilation with cadralazine influences rheologic parameters in essential hypertension. Twelve patients with unsatisfactorily controlled essential hypertension were studied. In the acute double-blind phase of the study the patients were allocated to treatment with either cadralazine or placebo. Intraarterial blood pressure, cardiac output (dye dilution), and blood rheology (viscosity, hematocrit) were registered before and after the first dose of cadralazine. Then 9 patients (3 dropouts) were treated with cadralazine and placebo during two four-week crossover periods and continued with cadralazine medication during the eight-week open phase of the study. Blood pressure and blood hemoglobin were followed during long-term treatment. A single oral dose of cadralazine caused vasodilation (total peripheral resistance index decreased from 45 to 33 U x m2, P < 0.05), which was accompanied by hemodilution (hematocrit declined from 46.9% to 42.5%, P < 0.05) and a blood viscosity reduction of more than 10%. Viscosity of 45% suspension of erythrocytes in plasma was also reduced, suggesting a possible modification of the microrheologic factors. The changes in total peripheral resistance correlated negatively with the changes in hematocrit. An antihypertensive effect of cadralazine was still observed during the chronic phase of the study, which was not accompanied by hemodilution. It is concluded that arterial vasodilation with cadralazine reduces flow resistance in the circulatory system in hypertension and has acute rheologic effects that disappear during chronic medication.     

Bücherschau

Ohne Zusammenfassung VDI     

Modeling and in-situ observation of mechanical resonances in single, vertically-oriented carbon nanofibers

In this paper, we have analyzed mechanical resonances in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) based on single, vertically-oriented tubes for their potential application in high-frequency, high-Q, miniaturized resonators. The nano-electro-mechanical (NEM) resonators were modeled using a commercially available finite-element-simulator, where the electro-mechanical coupling of the CNT to an incoming AC signal on a probe in close proximity was examined. The modeling results confirmed that the mechanical resonance was maximized when the frequency of the input signal was equal to the first order harmonic of the CNT. An investigation of the resonance frequency was also performed for various geometrical parameters of our unique three-dimensional (3D) NEMS architecture. Finally, in-situ observations of mechanical resonance in single, vertically oriented tubes is also reported, where such measurements were conducted inside a scanning-electron-microscope. This work suggests that our vertically oriented tubes are potentially well-suited for resonator applications, such as filter banks in communication systems or for mass sensing applications.