bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
First In-Human Medical Imaging with a PASylated 89Zr-Labeled Anti-HER2 Fab-Fragment in a Patient with Metastatic Breast Cancer
Authors: Richter Antonia , Knorr Karina , Schlapschy Martin , Robu Stephanie , Morath Volker , Mendler Claudia , Yen Hsi-Yu , Steiger Katja , Kiechle Marion , Weber Wolfgang , Skerra Arne , Schwaiger Markus
Published: April 2020

Purpose

PASylation® offers the ability to systematically tune and optimize the pharmacokinetics of protein tracers for molecular imaging. Here we report the first clinical translation of a PASylated Fab fragment (89Zr∙Df-HER2-Fab-PAS200) for the molecular imaging of tumor-related HER2 expression.

Methods

A patient with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer received 37 MBq of 89Zr∙Df-HER2-Fab-PAS200 at a total mass dose of 70 μg. PET/CT was carried out 6, 24, and 45 h after injection, followed by image analysis of biodistribution, normal organ uptake, and lesion targeting.

Results

Images show a biodistribution typical for protein tracers, characterized by a prominent blood pool 6 h p.i., which decreased over time. Lesions were detectable as early as 24 h p.i. 89Zr∙Df-HER2-Fab-PAS200 was tolerated well.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that a PASylated Fab tracer shows appropriate blood clearance to allow sensitive visualization of small tumor lesions in a clinical setting.
The Importance of Genetic Factors in the Management of Spontaneous Pneumothorax
Authors: Matsumoto Kenki , Marciniak Stefan J.
Published: April 2020

Purpose of Review

Spontaneous pneumothoraces can be the presenting phenotype in a variety of different syndromic genetic conditions. Respiratory physicians therefore have the opportunity to diagnose and manage these patients early to prevent serious complications associated with these syndromes.

Recent Findings

The genetic syndromes that present with pneumothoraces can be split broadly between those resulting from defective extracellular matrix formation and those caused by defective tumour-suppressor pathways. When connective tissues are weakened, lifelong surveillance for arterial dilatation can be life-saving as surgical intervention is effective. Long-term aggressive treatment of blood pressure can also commence, although some controversy surrounds which drugs are most effective and precisely how these drugs modify disease progression. Rational treatments of syndromes in which tumour suppressor function is lost are being developed and, in some instances, can already be offered.

Careful clinical assessment of spontaneous pneumothorax may identify an underlying causal condition and facilitate life-saving intervention. Respiratory physicians must therefore be aware of these diseases and their diagnostic criteria.
Tourists’ use of Airbnb app for visiting a historical city
Authors: Nathan Robert Jeyakumar , Victor Vijay , Tan Melanie , Fekete-Farkas Maria
Published: April 2020

Airbnb is a home-sharing mobile platform that enables tourists and local hosts to connect. Airbnb mobile app allows hosts to list down the space available for rent and allow tourists to look for accommodations that are often more localized. Historical cities are often engaging tourists using traditional hotel reservation methods such as phone reservations or booking by travel agents, however, given digital disruption more local businesses are adopting technology in their business. This motivated the current study to assess the rate of peer-to-peer technology pervasiveness in historical city tourism, particularly for hotel booking using Airbnb app. This research investigates the factors that predict tourists’ behavioural intention to use Airbnb app when they travel to the historical city of Malacca in Malaysia by adopting the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model and by critically evaluating the exhaustiveness of the theory to measure tourists’ use of a mobile app. Partial Least Square analysis was used to test the research model, construct path model and to validate research hypotheses. The results from a sample of 200 tourists who visited and stayed in Malacca show that price value and social influence have high significant positive influence on their behavioural intention to use Airbnb app when booking accommodation in the historical city. In contrast, hedonic motivation and habit were found not significant, potentially due to the short-term and occasion-specific usage of Airbnb app not forming enjoyment in the process of usage, which raises concerns on applicability and relevance of UTAUT2 theory to measure user adoption of a mobile app for tourism. A peculiar finding in the study is the significant negative influence of facilitating condition to behavioural intention, for which we explain a plausible cause in the paper.
RBC Membrane Camouflaged Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles for Near-Infrared Photoacoustic Imaging and Photothermal Therapy
Authors: Zheng Dongye , Yu Peiwen , Wei Zuwu , Zhong Cheng , Wu Ming , Liu Xiaolong
Published: April 2020

Semiconducting conjugated polymer nanoparticles (SPNs) represent an emerging class of phototheranostic materials with great promise for cancer treatment. In this report, low-bandgap electron donor–acceptor (D–A)-conjugated SPNs with surface cloaked by red blood cell membrane (RBCM) are developed for highly effective photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy. The resulting RBCM-coated SPN (SPN@RBCM) displays remarkable near-infrared light absorption and good photostability, as well as high photothermal conversion efficiency for photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy. Particularly, due to the small size (< 5 nm), SPN@RBCM has the advantages of deep tumor penetration and rapid clearance from the body with no appreciable toxicity. The RBCM endows the SPNs with prolonged systematic circulation time, less reticuloendothelial system uptake and reduced immune-recognition, hence improving tumor accumulation after intravenous injection, which provides strong photoacoustic signals and exerts excellent photothermal therapeutic effects. Thus, this work provides a valuable paradigm for safe and highly efficient tumor photoacoustic imaging and photothermal therapy for further clinical translation.
Hierarchical Carbon Microtube@Nanotube Core–Shell Structure for High-Performance Oxygen Electrocatalysis and Zn–Air Battery
Authors: Xie Wenfu , Li Jianming , Song Yuke , Li Shijin , Li Jianbo , Shao Mingfei
Published: April 2020

Zinc–air batteries (ZABs) hold tremendous promise for clean and efficient energy storage with the merits of high theoretical energy density and environmental friendliness. However, the performance of practical ZABs is still unsatisfactory because of the inevitably decreased activity of electrocatalysts when assembly into a thick electrode with high mass loading. Herein, we report a hierarchical electrocatalyst based on carbon microtube@nanotube core–shell nanostructure (CMT@CNT), which demonstrates superior electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction with a small potential gap of 0.678 V. Remarkably, when being employed as air–cathode in ZAB, the CMT@CNT presents an excellent performance with a high power density (160.6 mW cm−2), specific capacity (781.7 mAhg
Zn
−1
) as well as long cycle stability (117 h, 351 cycles). Moreover, the ZAB performance of CMT@CNT is maintained well even under high mass loading (3 mg cm−2, three times as much as traditional usage), which could afford high power density and energy density for advanced electronic equipment. We believe that this work is promising for the rational design of hierarchical structured electrocatalysts for advanced metal-air batteries.
Comparison of grouping algorithms to increase the sample size for statistical process control
Authors: Greipel Jonathan Simon , Nottenkämper Gina , Schmitt Robert Heinrich
Published: April 2020

In this study, we present and compare four grouping algorithms to combine samples from low volume production processes. This increases their sample sizes and enables the application of Statistical Process Control (SPC) to low volume production processes. To develop the grouping algorithms, we define different grouping criteria and a general grouping process. To identify which algorithm is optimal, we deduct following requirements on the algorithms from real production datasets: their ability to handle different amount of characteristics and sample sizes within each characteristic as well as being able to separate characteristics possessing distributions with different spreads and locations. To check the fulfillment of these requirements, we define two performance indices and conduct a full-factorial Design of Experiments. We achieve the performance indices for each algorithm by using simulations with artificial data incorporating the aforementioned requirements. One index rates the achieved group sizes and the other one the compactness within groups and the separation between groups. To validate the applicability of grouping algorithms within SPC, we apply real production data to the grouping algorithms and control charts. The result of this analysis shows that the grouping algorithm based on cluster analysis and splitting exceeds the other algorithms. In conclusion, the grouping algorithms enable the application of SPC to small sample sizes. This provides companies, which produce in low volumes, with new means of reducing scrap, generating process knowledge and increasing quality.
Advancements in the endoscopic treatment of pancreatic fluid collections
Authors: Li Jing , Yu Yang , Li Peng , Zhang Shu‐Tian
Published: April 2020

Endoscopic drainage of pancreatic fluid collections (PFCs) with fewer complications and less trauma has gradually replaced surgery or percutaneous drainage to become the first‐line treatment for PFCs. In recent years, the differential efficacy of various stent techniques to drain different types of PFCs has been controversial. This review summarizes the clinical applications of endoscopic ultrasound‐guided stent placement for PFCs drainage.
Just the Facts: Point-of-care ultrasound in the management of shoulder dislocations
Authors: Henneberry Ryan , Dahn Tara , Atkinson Paul
Published: April 2020

A 59-year-old man presents with left shoulder pain after falling while playing with his dog at the park. He drove himself to the emergency department (ED). He reports 5/10 pain and has reduced range of motion of the shoulder. His shoulder looks normal on exam and is not squared off. You wonder if he might have a posterior shoulder dislocation.
How Risk Perceptions, Not Evidence, Have Driven Harmful Policies on COVID-19
Authors: CHAKRABORTY Sweta
Published: April 2020

COVID-19 hits all of the cognitive triggers for how the lay public misjudges risk. Robust findings from the field of risk perception have identified unique characteristics of a risk that allow for greater attribution of frequency and probability than is likely to be aligned with the base-rate statistics of the risk. COVID-19 embodies these features. It is unfamiliar, invisible, dreaded, potentially endemic, involuntary, disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations such as the elderly and has the potential for widespread catastrophe. When risks with such characteristics emerge, it is imperative for there to be trust between those in governance and communication and the lay public in order to quell public fears. This is not the environment in which COVID-19 has emerged, potentially resulting in even greater perceptions of risk.
Bad Habits, or, Can Reflexivity Be Good Again?
Authors: Rangan Pooja
Published: April 2020

In her response to the forum on Immediations: The Humanitarian Impulse in Documentary (Duke University Press, 2017), author Pooja Rangan takes up a range of issues that emerge in responses to her book by Rey Chow, Lucas Hilderbrand, Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, and Naomi Waltham-Smith. Rangan’s response revolves around the question: Has reflexivity become untimely? What is the role of reflexive critique in a time of existential crisis? In answering this question, Rangan argues that alongside a “non-naive commitment to a notion of the truth” (a topic that emerges in several of the responses as well as in recent literature on documentary), documentary scholars must pursue a radically uncynical commitment to reflexivity. Redefining reflexivity as a form of “restoration work” (Eli Clare) or “wake work” (Christina Sharpe), Rangan traces the shared investments of documentary critique and contemporary analyses of disability and Black existence.
NOTE ON FOURIER–STIELTJES COEFFICIENTS OF COIN-TOSSING MEASURES
Authors: GAO XIANG , WEN SHENGYOU
Published: April 2020

It is known that the Fourier–Stieltjes coefficients of a nonatomic coin-tossing measure may not vanish at infinity. However, we show that they could vanish at infinity along some integer subsequences, including the sequence ${\{b^{n}\}}_{n\geq 1}$ where $b$ is multiplicatively independent of 2 and the sequence given by the multiplicative semigroup generated by 3 and 5. The proof is based on elementary combinatorics and lower-bound estimates for linear forms in logarithms from transcendental number theory.
THE COMITÉ DE L'AFRIQUE FRANÇAISE, THE CHAD PLAN, AND THE ORIGINS OF FASHODA
Authors: ROBERTS TREVOR WYN
Published: April 2020

The Comité de l'Afrique française, founded in 1890, is often regarded as the epitome of colonial nationalism. On closer examination, however, the Comité and its signature policy, the Chad plan, can be shown to have acted as instruments of choice for financial and commercial lobbies with particular interests in the Congo. The Chad plan and its successor and complement, the Upper Nile policy, were primarily intended to advance the interests of King Leopold and his French sympathizers. The unavoidable clash with British strategic and commercial interests in the region that ensued helped to unleash the forces of nationalism and led, ineluctably, to the Fashoda crisis and the conquest of Chad.
Nonlinear force-free configurations in cylindrical geometry
Authors: Lyutikov Maxim
Published: April 2020

We find a new family of solutions for force-free magnetic structures in cylindrical geometry. These solutions have radial power-law dependence and are periodic but non-harmonic in the azimuthal direction; they generalize the vacuum

$z$

-independent potential fields to current-carrying configurations.
Can Political Institutions Commit Civil Disobedience?
Authors: Scheuerman William E.
Published: April 2020

A growing number of political activists and scholars defend the idea of state-based or political-institutional civil disobedience: they locate civil disobedience's agency in state rather than civil society–based actors. Diverging from older ideas of civil disobedience as directed against government, the concept of institutional disobedience raises tough questions its exponents have not yet fully answered. Civil disobedience has usually referred to politically motivated lawbreaking that is morally conscientious, nonviolent, and demonstrates basic respect for law. Because of the modern state's normatively ambivalent traits (e.g., its monopoly on legitimate coercion), political-institutional disobedience is incompatible with minimally acceptable interpretations of civil disobedience's core components. Political-institutional civil disobedience's advocates mischaracterize what they in fact are proposing, namely, disobedience to the law by individual state officials. Such offiical disobedience poses challenges distinct from and probably greater than civil society–based disobedience.
Psychiatry at the end of the 20th century
Authors: Heimann H
Published: April 2020

The political role psychiatry plays in mental health strategies in the 20th century is discussed as well as the dangers of abuse when totalitarian ideologies rule supreme. The author comments on positive developments in the sectors of applied psychiatry and psychotherapy after World War II and the implementation of uniform requirements for the classification of psychopathological disorders as well as their limitations. Psychiatry as a scientific discipline relies on two fundaments: the conclusions drawn from the collective, present and past experience of psychiatric medicine and the impulses given by neighbouring disciplines such as neurobiology, psychology and sociology. These influences are necessary for the advancement of psychiatry, but can be restrictive in that they lead to tunnel vision by giving simple explanations for mental disorders of complex or unknown etiology. A multidimensional approach is required for the elaboration of adequate therapies and research must avoid dogmatism and short-sightedness.
Differential social adjustment correlates of Axis I and Axis II psychopathology in anxiety and depressive disorders
Authors: Mauri M , Sarno N , Armani A , Rossi VM , Zambotto S , Cassano GB , Akiskal HS
Published: April 2020

The interest in social adjustment of psychiatric patients has increased since potent therapeutic strategies have become available, allowing patient treatment within their natural social habitat. DSM III has formally recognized the need to evaluate social variables for each patient, introducing Axis V into its multiaxial system. This is of particular relevance for personality disorders where the main pathology is manifested within the social context. In this study, 94 patients with a DSM III-R diagnosis of Panic Disorder, Major Depression, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder have been evaluated with PDE (Personality Disorders Examination) to detect the presence of DSM III personality disorders, and with SAS (Social Adjustment Scale) to assess social adjustment. Results have shown that both Axis I and Axis II diagnoses affect social adjustment, though in a slightly different manner.
Severity at baseline and onset of improvement in depression. Meta-analysis of imipramine and moclobemide versus placebo
Authors: Stassen HH , Angst J , Delini-Stula A
Published: April 2020

Meta-analysis of several double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, including 1277 patients, has been performed in order to compare the efficacy of moclobemide, a new reversible and selective MAO-A inhibitor (RIMA) and imipramine. The main interest of the analysis was to test the time course of improvement and the impact of the pre-defined outcome criteria (50% reduction of total HAMD score) on the response to treatment, if initial severity of depression and drop-outs due to inefficacy are taken into consideration. In order to analyze the interdependence of the severity of the disease and outcome, patient sample was subdivided into three HAMD (17 items) baseline score groups: low- (score ≤ 21), medium- (22-27) and high (≥ 28) scorers. We found that reliable assessment of the point in time at which a drug begins to show therapeutic effect in each individual is a critical factor in the determination of the time course of improvement. We defined therefore the onset of improvement as the time point of a significant decrease (20%) of HAMD baseline score without subsequent deterioration. The threshold for the distinction between a significant change and spontaneous fluctuations, or error variations due to instrument or observer, was the natural variability of the HAMD score during the first two observation days. The results of the analysis replicated our earlier findings and confirmed that in treatment responders the time course of improvement is identical under placebo and antidepressants. Neither the time-points of the onset of effect, nor the time-points at which a 50% decrease of HAMD was reached, differed between the groups. In particular, no treatment- Specific time lag showed up in the onset of action. The difference in efficacy between antidepressants and placebo was evident only in the total number of responders and non-responders. Moreover, onset of improvement within the first 10 days of treatment, which was observed in 40-50% of patients, was highly predictive of the final response to treatment. The rate of correctly predicted responders in our sample was 70% for all three treatment modalities. With respect to the severity of the disease, a slight shift towards earlier onset of improvement was found for more severe cases. This finding was true for placebo and drug responders hut there was no clear-cut other interdependence with the treatment outcome. Drop-out rales due to inefficacy were in this study similar under all treatments (20-24%) anil occurred mostly during the first two weeks of the trial (64-71%.).
Patient sampling in anxiety studies: factors influencing response rate
Authors: Rein W , Morselli PL
Published: April 2020

Today it appears that a general consensus exists concerning the methodological principles to be used in establishing the efficacy profile of a new drug in anxiety disorders, ie a double-blind, parallel group design testing different doses of the new drug versus placebo (Angst et al, 1993; Rickels, 1990), however there is also growing concern about increasingly high placebo response rates and important differences between countries in these trials. This seems to be true despite the fact that in recent years, selection criteria for diagnosis and severity of the disorders have become more clearly defined and more restrictive than in the past.

This situation increases the risk of false negative results in otherwise well designed clinical trials with new anxiolytic drugs and can incite pharmaceutical companies to abandon the further development of efficacious compounds even if they have potential advantages in terms of safety over the available products.
Practical issues in conducting multinational, multicenter trials managed by Contract Research Organisations
Authors: Placchi M
Published: April 2020

Large multinational, multicenter trials are increasingly being performed during Phase III of the clinical development of a psychotropic drug to demonstrate the efficacy of the new therapeutic agent in the shortest possible time. The testing of the new drug therapy under a common protocol, foreseeing the combination of clinical data collected across countries for a joint evaluation, is becoming more frequent in drug development. Usually, Sponsors use the services of Contract Research Organisations (CROs) to undertake and manage such large multinational, multicenter trials.

The Sponsor who is setting up large definitive CRO-managed studies with psychotropics may anticipate to encounter issues along the following lines: Psychiatric Practice, Organization and Logistics, Data Integration and Manpower.
A family interview study of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and major mood disorder: updated findings
Authors: Pope HG , Yurgelun-Todd D
Published: April 2020

Data from an ongoing family interview study suggest that schizoaffective probands - including even those with a very brief history of a major depressive or manic syndrome - display a high prevalence of major mood disorders in their first-degree relatives. In this respect, schizoaffective probands proved significantly different from ‘pure’ schizophrenic probands, but not significantly different from bipolar probands.
Symptomatic and diagnostic stability in schizophrenia: a one-year follow-up study
Authors: Dollfus S , Petit M , Menard JF , Lesieur P
Published: April 2020

The stability of symptomatology and of eleven schizophrenic diagnostic systems was studied in patients initially in an acute phase (group 1) compared to patients in a residual phase (group 2). The patients were evaluated over a period of 1 year with a standardized checklist and PANSS in both groups. The number of patients included by the Carpenter, Calego, 1CD9, New-Haven, Schneider and Vienne systems decreased significantly between admission and discharge in group 1, whereas no variation was observed in group 1 between discharge and one year later, or in group 2 over a period of 1 year. The instability of schizophrenic diagnostic systems such as New-Haven, Schneider and Vienne could be due to the variation of positive or general symptomatology. The number of patients included by Feighner or Langfeldt did not vary significantly between admission and discbarge in group 1, in spite of a significant decrease in symptomatology, probably because certain criteria, such as duration of illness, hindered the systems from changing. The results showed the importance of specifying in every study on schizophrenia the time of inclusion (admission, discharge) or the phase of illness (acute or residual phase).
Depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior among general population adolescents and young adults across Greece
Authors: Madianos MG , Gefou-Madianou D , Stefanis CN
Published: April 2020

The authors conducted a home survey investigating the prevalence of self-reported symptoms of depression, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts among a probability nationwide sample of 1316 adolescents aged 12-17 and 1114 young adults aged 18-24. Depressive symptoms were detected by the use of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale. 20.3% of adolescents and 35.7% of young adults were characterized as being depressed. Similar differences between the two age groups in the prevalence rates of suicidal ideation and attempts were observed. Suicide attempters of both age groups reported a higher number of depressive symptoms compared with the non attempters. Characteristics that distinguished the suicide attempters from the total sample were low rates of school attendance, use of substances, previous psychiatric help-seeking and additional mental health problems in families.
Schizophrenia and symptomatic trans-sexualism: two case reports
Authors: de Cuypere G
Published: April 2020

Schizophrenics with “symptomatic trans-sexualism” may present themselves with the request for sex reassignment surgery. Two case reports illustrate that DSM III-R diagnosis for trans-sexualism offers insufficient guidelines for therapy management. The relation between schizophrenia and trans-sexualism is discussed.
Influence of psychoanalytical training on professional performance in a sample of French speaking psychotherapists
Authors: Dazord A , Gerin P , Davis JD , Davis ML , Aapro N , Thurin J
Published: April 2020

This study is part of a more extensive research conducted by a group of scientists from different countries, who have joined forces to conduct an international study on the development of the therapist, and to develop a novel instrument for therapists, the “Development of Psychotherapists’ Common Core Questionnaire” (CCQ). We report here the results based on the answers of a French-speaking sample to this questionnaire. Data were analyzed using univariate (non parametric tests) and multivariate analyses (Principal Component Analysis and Multiple Correspondence Analysis). The perceived effects of psychoanalytical training were examined. The therapists’ own perception on their current skills and the type of difficulties they experienced were very similar, whether or not they had received psychoanalytical training. However, striking and significant differences in coping strategies were observed between the two groups.
The relationship between “chronic hallucinatory psychosis” (CHP) and schizophrenia
Authors: Dollfus S , Petit M , Menard JF
Published: April 2020

Chronic Hallucinatory Psychosis (CHP) is typically a French disease entity initially described by G Ballet (1911) and whose diagnostic criteria were established by Pull (1987). This diagnosis is not used in English and German literature. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between Pull's criteria for CHP and the criteria for schizophrenia defined by 14 different diagnostic systems and schizoaffective disorders. Seventy-two non-affective psychotic patients (34 men, 38 women), aged 20 to 84, in exacerbated or stabilized phase, were interviewed by the same investigator (SD). The patient distribution between the diagnoses in the different diagnostic systems was carried out using a computerized 208-item checklist. The main results indicated that the definite CHP diagnosis was significantly related to the Catego S + (C = 0.52; P < 0.01), New-Haven, (C = 0.40; P < 0.05) and Schneider (C = 0.54; P < 0.001) systems for schizophrenia and with the depressive-schizoaffective disorder (C =0.39; P < 0.05) in the RDC system. The probable CHP diagnosis was significantly linked with the same systems and with the probable RDC (C = 0.39; P < 0.05) for schizophrenia. These results emphasize that in 13 out of the 14 diagnostic systems, schizophrenic and schizoaffective disorders overlapped with CHP in the French diagnostic system. Among these systems, four schizophrenic diagnoses were significantly linked to CHP. In contrast, the Bleuler system for schizophrenia was not related to CHP at all.
ICD-10: A field study in a Danish child psychiatric unit
Authors: Hove Thomsen P , Jørgensen J , Jørgen Nedergaard N
Published: April 2020

Nine raters applied ICD-10 diagnoses on 36 Danish child and adolescent psychiatric patients by screening their case records and using the DCR of ICD-10. The highest inter-rater agreement was obtained In the group of adolescent patients, the lowest was observed in emotional disorders in children. The comments on ICD-10 were generally positive but we support the creation of a category for the borderline children, and for the non-hyperactive children with attention deficit disorder.
Use of light therapy in German psychiatric hospitals
Authors: Kasper S , Ruhrmann S , Neumann S , Möller HJ
Published: April 2020

In order to determine the usage pattern of light therapy (LT), we performed a survey of all psychiatric hospitals in Germany in 1992. Our data reveal that 13% of all psychiatric hospitals perform LT and another 7% indicate their interest in this treatment. Stratification into different treatment facilities demonstrates that 57% of the psychiatric university hospitals use LT. The usage of LT started in Germany in 1982 and there was a sharp rise from 1987 onwards. The majority of hospitals (89% of those hospitals which use LT) use LT successfully for the treatment of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and its subsyndromal form followed by non-SAD depression (68%). LT is used as monotherapy in 71% of SAD patients compared with 34% in non-SAD depression.
Measuring patient response biases by means of a new self-rated questionnaire evaluating severity of depression
Authors: Brébion J , Smith M , Allilaire JF
Published: April 2020

We present here a new instrument of measurement for systematic biases in patient response style when evaluating severity of depression, in the form of a self-rated questionnaire derived from the MMPI containing 37 items rating depressive severity (DSS), 15 items of the L scale, 27 items of the K scale, and 51 items of the F scale, making a total of 130 yes-no items. The scores of these 4 scales allow an estimation not only of depressive severity, but also of the attitude of the subject towards his own style of symptom reporting: “defense” and desire to appear “normal”, or on the contrary tendency towards exaggeration. In a population of 66 depressives, this instrument was correlated with the MADRS depression rating scale (P < 0.0001), which shows its sensitivity to depressive severity. The F scale and Gough’s index (F-K) were also shown to be correlated with MADRS scores. This self-rated questionnaire constitutes a clinical instrument that is simple and practical both to administer and to correct.
The relationship between obsessive-compulsive personality and obsessive-compulsive disorder: data obtained by the Personality Disorder Examination
Authors: Cassano D , Del Buono G , Catapano F
Published: April 2020

We administered the Personality Disorder Examination (PDE) to 31 patients meeting DSM III criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and to an age-and sex-matched healthy control group. Seventeen patients (54.8%) and four controls (12.9%) met criteria for one or more DSM III Axis II diagnoses. The most frequent Axis II diagnoses in patients were avoidant, passive-aggressive and compulsive personality disorder. Compulsive personality disorder was diagnosed in 6 OCD patients (19.3%). The prevalence of this disorder did not change according to sex, age of onset or duration of OCD, and severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Quantitative EEG findings in patients with subcortical vascular encephalopathy
Authors: Primavera A , Novello P
Published: April 2020

To characterize the neurophysiological profile of patients with Subcortical Vascular Encephalopathy (SVE) we compared the quantified electroencephalogram (qEEG) of 15 consecutive patients, demented and non-demented, with leukoaraiosis and multiple lacunar infarcts on tomographic scan and magnetic resonance investigation, with those of 30 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and 30 controls. The investigation was carried out using an EEG fast Fourier transform program, and the data obtained were transformed into mean frequency (MF), calculated in the left occipital derivation, and in percent difference (PD), calculated in eight derivations. The data obtained were compared with the scores of the mini-mental state examination (MMS). The results demonstrate that the patients with SVE displayed a different qEEG pattern in comparison with AD patients and controls, with a prevalence of EEG slowing in frontal derivations, and with good correlation between PD values and MMS scores. The qEEG may detect subtle and/or early changes in patients with SVE. The use of adequate spectral parameters may give valuable data for a better classification of dementia syndromes.
Prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in a high-school students population
Authors: Angelopoulos N , Economou M
Published: April 2020

The purpose of the present study was to examine the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression reported by high-school students of a Greek provincial town. One thousand and eighty students (587 males and 497 females) of the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades completed among other psychometric instruments, the DSSI/sAD (Delusions Symptoms States Inventory/states of Anxiety and Depression) an inventory measuring symptoms of anxiety and depression. On the anxiety scale 24.5% of males and 56.4% of the females reported scores above the cut-off point, whereas 10.3% of males and 30.9% of females were very high scorers. On the depression scale, 33.4% of males and 60.6% of females reported scores above the cut-off point, whereas 13.9% of the boys and 31.1% of girls reported very high scores. Both boys and girls reported more elevated scores on the depression scale but the sex differences were more pronounced on the anxiety scale particularly in the group of high scorers. A weak positive relationship between age and dysthymic symptoms was detected in females. The findings encourage discussion on topics regarding not only the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in adolescence, but also the gender differences detected, the relationship between age and mood disorders in adolescence, the degree of diagnostic certainty of the self-report instrument used and the possible meaning of the low, medium, and high scores reported by the participants. It is proposed that data of this kind may be of some value in future comparative studies regarding small European cities.
Efficacy of clozapine in treatment-resistant psychosis and neuroleptic sensitivity: results of the Dutch open multi-center project
Authors: Verhoeven WMA , Doesburg WH , Snoej R , Rutgers AJMP , van Dongen PHM
Published: April 2020

In an open multi-center study, 57 schizophrenic patients were treated with clozapine for indications of treatment-resistant psychosis or severe extrapyramidal side-effects caused by conventional neuroleptics. In 58% of the patients a clinical relevant improvement, expressed as percentage reduction of at least 50 from baseline BPRS scores was observed. With respect to extrapyramidal side-effects, a marked reduction was found upon treatment with clozapine. No major side-effects occurred, particularly agranulocytosis. It was concluded that clozapine is a potent antipsychotic agent that can be used safely when treatment is accompanied by frequent clinical and hematological monitoring.
Cross-cultural validity of the Sensation Seeking Scale: development of a French abbreviated form
Authors: Carton S , Jouvent R , Widlöcher D
Published: April 2020

This study presents the principal component analysis of Zuckerman’s Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS form IV - 72 items). The results of the analysis of the French form support the existence of the four distinct dimensions of sensation seeking identified by Zuckerman, and replicated in a large number of studies. On the basis of this structure, an abbreviated form of the scale (40 items) has been constructed. It ressembles Zuckerman’s SSS form V. Attention is drawn to items that do not load significantly on the expected factor. The shorter form should be more useful in following-up research on sensation seeking in psychopathology.
Antidepressive effects of the selective MAO-inhibitor brofaromine:an open trial
Authors: Verhoeven WMA
Published: April 2020

In an open prospective study, the antidepressive effects of the selective and reversible MAO-A inhibitor, brofaromine, were investigated in nine endogenous depressed patients, who had failed to respond to cyclic antidepressants. In three patients a clinically relevant improvement was observed, although for the total group, no statistically significant treatment effect could be demonstrated. In two subjects, postural hypotension and sleep disturbances occurred temporarily.
The assessment of agoraphobic attitudes
Authors: Faravelli C , Paterniti S
Published: April 2020

The Phobic Attitude Scale (PAS) is a new 15-item inventory designed to assess sub-clinical agoraphobic attitudes as well as the severity of pathological avoidance. Its psychometric properties have been examined in three groups of subjects: 41 outpatients suffering from DSM III-R Panic Disorder, with or without agoraphobia, 62 healthy controls and 12 mixed psychiatric patients.The instrument proved to be simple and easy to use. PD patients scored significantly higher than healthy controls, with mixed psychiatric cases showing intermediate values. The Test-Retest procedure gave rise to satisfactory kappa coefficients (0.25 to 1) and the internal consistency was good (Cronbach alpha = 0.86). Factor analysis produced three factors: “crowded and social situations”,“enclosed and open spaces/riding situations” and “simple phobia”.
Dysmorphophohia: clinical features and outcome with behavior therapy
Authors: Gomez-Perez JC , Marks IM , Gutierrez-Fisac JL
Published: April 2020

This case note sludy examined the clinical features and outcome of 30 patients with dysmorphophohia (perhaps (he largest series so far) who had behavioural (exposure) therapy. Method: The clinical Features and treatment outcome on standard contemporary measures were reviewed. Results: All palienls had social avoidance and dysmorphophohia, with abnormal beliefs, often of delusional intensity. For up lo 1-12 months follow-up after exposure, most patients improved in avoidance, work and social adjustment, and in beliefs even if these had initially been delusional. Gains were less than after exposure therapy for non-dysmorphophobic problems such as agoraphobia, specific phobia, social phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCT)). Conclusions: The importance of separating delusional from delusional dysmorphophohia can be questioned. Exposure therapy appeared useful for dysmorphophohia, but this must be confirmed in a controlled trial and in patients who attend dermatology, plastic surgery and general psychiatric clinics.
Bipolar disorder, cycloid psychosis and schizophrenia: a study using “lifetime” psychopathology ratings, factor analysis and canonical variate analysis
Authors: Brockington IF , Roper A , Buckley M , Copas J , Andrade C , Wigg P , Farmer A , Kaufman C , Hawley R , Meltzer HY
Published: April 2020

In an empirical study on the classification of the psychoses, 302 patients were rated using the Longitudinal Psychopathology Schedule. The data were condensed by factor analysis, which yielded 10 factors - mania and schizomania, depression and suicidal activity, and 6 factors concerned with psychotic symptoms (verbal hallucinosis/passivity, delusion formation, defect symptoms, social decline, cycloid symptomatology and a factor loading depressive auditory hallucinations and visual hallucinations). Provisional diagnostic groups were obtained using DSM III. Discriminant function analyses showed that the only clearly distinct diagnostic group was bipolar disorder, and this was true for various definitions. Canonical variate analyses were performed using 3- and 4-criterion groups. These showed that a group corresponding approximately to cycloid psychosis also met criteria for being a distinct group. The most detailed examination pf the data, using 4-criterion groups and serial reclassification, suggested that the psychoses might fall into 5 groups - bipolar disorder, cycloid psychosis, depression, defect states and schizoaffective depression.
Cortical dysfunction and schizophrenic deficit. Preliminary findings with the delayed reaction paradigm
Authors: Partiot A , Jouvent R , Dubois B , Verin M , Montreuil M , Agid Y , Widlocher D
Published: April 2020

Performance of patients with schizophrenia (n = 15) was compared to that of patients with vascular ischemic lesions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (n= 10) and to age-matched controls (n= 15) in delayed reaction tasks known to be specific markers of the functions of the frontal lobe. The performance of patients with schizophrenia was similar to that of patients with prefrontal lesions in the delayed response task (DR) and the spatial discrimination-reversal task (SD and RV) but not in the delayed alternation task (DA) in which they performed as well as controls. The behavioural profile of responses in delayed reaction tasks for the schizophrenic patients was identical to that of patients with basal ganglia lesions reported in a previous study. These results suggest that in some patients with schizophrenia, a frontal lobe deficit could be indirectly induced by a dysfunction of the basal ganglia. This problem could be due either to the pathological process itself or to the effect of the neuroleptic treatment.
Treatment of drug-resistant chronic schizophrenics with an association of neuroleptics and the calcium antagonist nimodipine
Authors: Brambilla F , Gessa GL , Sciascia A , Latina A , Maggioni M , Perna GP , Bondiolotti GP , Picotti G
Published: April 2020

Nimodipine was administered at the daily dose of 90 mg po, for 30 days, to ten chronic undifferentiated schizophrenics, eight men and two women, aged 31-35 years, maintained on previously longlasting neuroleptic treatments. In five patients, a placebo period of 15 days preceded the administration of the drug. Monitoring of psychiatric symptomatology by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) revealed significant nimodipine-induced improvement. However, the Andreasen Rating Scale for Positive Symptoms (SAPS) showed favourable effects only in the five patients who had not received placebo, while in the others both SAPS and the Andreasen Rating Scale for Negative Symptoms (SANS) showed no significant effect of therapy. The Tardive Dyskinesia Scale revealed no improvements of neurological symptoms after either placebo or drug treatment. Measurement of plasma MHPG concentrations revealed no significant changes induced by either placebo or nimodipine, while HVA plasma levels showed a trend toward decrease, and prolactin a trend toward increase, after nimodipine.
Effects of tianeptine on behavioural and neurochemical responses to immobilization stress
Authors: Curzon G , Datla KP
Published: April 2020

The novel antidepressant drug tianeptine had an antidepressant-like effect on a rat model of depression based on the deficit in open field activity observed on the day after 2 h immobilization. Thus, tianeptine (10 mg/kg ip) given 2 h after the end of the immobilization period led to the deficit being opposed. Similar results were obtained using rats previously given 10 mg/kg of the drug per day for 13 days and a final dose 2 h after the end of immobilization. Other workers have found that tianeptine attenuates stress-induced activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. Possible relationships between these findings are discussed together with the paradoxical co-existence of the antidepressant properties of tianeptine with its ability to decrease the availability of 5-HT to receptors.
Effect of tianeptine on neuroendocrine, enzyme and behavioral responses to restraint stress in male rats
Authors: Fontanges R , Mimouni J , de Grieve X , Picard J , Pugeat M , Bange C
Published: April 2020

The effects of the novel antidepressant tianeptine, after acute or chronic administration, were compared in normal and restraint-stressed (30 min or 2 h) Wistar rats. Tianeptine, at the dose of 10 mg/kg, did not exert any effect in non-stressed rats. However, in animals restrained for 30 min, tianeptine reduced the increase of circulating ACTH and β-endorphin levels without modification of corticosterone. Moreover, it antagonized the deficit of vertical exploratory activity in an open field. In rats restrained for 2 hours, a single injection of tianeptine suppressed the stress-induced increase of TAT hepatic activity and moderately attenuated the deficit of activity in the open field. This effect was less marked and not statistically significant after chronic treatment.
Efficacy of tianeptine in the treatment of major depression and depressed bipolar disorders. Illustration of the interest of surveillance of a European multicentre double-blind study in progress: tianeptine versus placebo and imipramine
Authors: Staner L , Mendlewicz J
Published: April 2020

In the course of the international development of tianeptine (T), depressed patients were recruited by 15 centres from Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland in a double-blind parallel group study versus placebo (P) and imipramine (I). Efficacy and safety of tianeptine are evaluated in the treatment of major depressions (single episode or recurrent) and depressed bipolar disorders. The initial severity of the depression is controlled by a MADRS score equal to or greater than 25. Rapid placebo responded are excluded during a placebo pre-inclusion period (duration: 1 week). After an increasing daily dose period (3 days), depressed patients are treated, until the 14th day (D14), at a constant daily dose (T: 37.5 mg; I: 150 mg; P: 3 capsules). After D14 and until the end of the 6th week, a flexible dosage can be used in accordance with the therapeutic efficacy and/or the potential adverse events (T: 25–50 mg; I: 100–200 mg; P: 2–4 capsules). The antidepressant efficacy is regularly evaluated by rating scales (MADRS, HSCL). Anxiety linked to depression is evaluated by the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale. The safety is controlled by clinical examination, laboratory parameters and a check-list of side-effects. Preliminary results are presented and discussed showing the interest of surveillance of trials in progress.
Why Derek Parfit had reasons to accept the Repugnant Conclusion
Authors: Tännsjö Torbjörn
Published: April 2020

Total views imply what Derek Parfit has called ‘the repugnant conclusion’. There are several strategies aimed at debunking the intuition that this implication is repugnant. In particular, it goes away when we consider the principle of unrestricted instantiation, according to which any instantiation of the repugnant conclusion must appear repugnant if we should be warranted in relying on it as evidence against total theories. However, there are instantiations of the conclusion where it doesn't seem to be at all repugnant. Hence there is nothing repugnant about the repugnant conclusion as such. The faults with total views have nothing to do with large numbers or with the conclusion as such. It is possible, if you like, to correct these putative faults even if you adopt some total view (different from utilitarianism).