Previous research has produced conflicting findings on whether or not patients with subclinical or manifest obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) share an attentional bias for anxiety-related material. ...In the present study, 35 OCD patients were compared with 20 healthy controls on their performance in an emotional Stroop paradigm. Nine different stimulus conditions were compiled, including sets for depression-related and anxiety-related words as well as stimuli from two constructs with a potential relevance for the pathogenesis and maintenance of OCD symptomatology: responsibility and conscientiousness. Patients did not show enhanced interference for any of the conditions. Syndrome subtype and severity, avoidance and speed of information processing did not moderate results. The present study concurs with most prior research that OCD patients display no interference effect for
general threat words. It deserves further consideration, that emotional interference effects in OCD as seen in other anxiety disorders occur when using idiosyncratic word material with a direct relation to the individual’s primary concerns.
The forces delivered by aligners during torquing have still not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to measure the forces delivered to an upper central incisor during torquing with three ...different materials of the same thickness, and to describe the biomechanical principles of torquing with aligners. Five identical appliances were manufactured from each of three materials, all with a thickness of 1.0 mm (Ideal Clear®, Erkodur®, and Biolon®). An upper central incisor, as part of the measuring device, was torqued in defined steps in the vestibular and palatal directions with the respective appliance in place. For statistical analysis, the resulting forces, Fx (forces acting in the palatal and facial directions) and Fz (intrusive force as a side-effect) at a displacement of ±0.15 and ±0.8 mm from the tooth at the gingival margin were calculated. The mean Fx forces for ±0.15 mm displacement ranged from -1.89 N standard deviation (SD) 0.48 to 0.11 N (SD 0.1). The mean Fz forces were between -0.97 N (SD 0.57) and -0.07 N (SD 0.22). The highest intrusive forces were measured during palatal displacement of the measuring tooth. An influence of direction of displacement on the levels of force was observed, especially for Fz at the greater displacement of ±0.8 mm. In relation to the intended amount of root movement during torquing, aligners tend to 'lift up' and therefore no effective force couple can be established for further root control. The force delivery properties are also influenced by the material used and the shape of the tooth.
Sputter deposited alumina thin films were investigated with regard to their performance as high-temperature electrical insulators. A target application of such dielectric films is in metal pressure ...sensor cells intended for high-temperature operation. The leakage behavior of sputtered alumina films was investigated by analyzing the temperature-dependence of the I-V characteristics of alumina films deposited on silicon and Haynes 230 substrates. Silicon substrates were used to analyze the leakage behavior under optimally controlled substrate conditions. Haynes 230, a nickel-based superalloy, was used as a substrate material to simulate conditions expected in a high-temperature metal pressure cell. In order to compare the dielectric performance under conditions of closely similar substrate quality, the topography of the Haynes 230 substrates was improved by applying a lapping process. From our results, we derive an estimate of the maximum operating temperature of metal pressure sensor cells.
Background: Alexithymia as a predictor of treatment outcome in psychotherapy has often been discussed but rarely evaluated in prospective studies. The present study evaluated the absolute and ...relative stability of alexithymia in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and the predictive value of alexithymia for the outcome of treatment. Methods: We conducted a prospective study with 42 inpatients receiving intensive, multimodal cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Patients were assessed for alexithymia at pre- and post-treatment with the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), for obsessive-compulsive symptoms and depression with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) and the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Results: OCD and comorbid depression showed a highly significant symptom-reduction from pre- to post-treatment while no absolute changes in the TAS-20 total scores and its factors 1 and 3 occurred. Only factor 2 scores decreased significantly, but with a smaller effect size than the effect sizes for the changes in Y-BOCS and HDRS. Alexithymia scores at pre-treatment correlated significantly with alexithymia scores at the end of treatment, indicating its relative stability. In the linear regression analyses, no variables were identified that predicted significantly the outcome of treatment. Conclusions: Our findings support the view that alexithymia is a stable personality trait rather than a state-dependent phenomenon in obsessive-compulsive patients. Alexithymia scores do not predict response to multimodal CBT in OCD. It might be an effect of CBT that patients could at least partly regain or newly learn the capability to describe their feelings.
The Yale–Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) is a widely used instrument to assess obsessive–compulsive symptomatology. The present study provides evidence that the Y-BOCS is best represented ...by a three-dimensional model comprising
severity of obsessions (factor 1),
severity of compulsions (factor 2) and
resistance to symptoms (factor 3). On the basis of exploratory factor analysis, this structure was found for both baseline (
n=109) and discharge ratings (
n=68) following a multimodal cognitive–behavioral intervention. The factor solution remained essentially unchanged when two optional items (items 1b and 6b) were dropped from analysis. The three-factor structure was replicated with confirmatory factor analysis and showed better fit than previously proposed single- and two-factor models. For future research, we propose a new Y-BOCS scoring algorithm that takes this factor structure into account. A further result was that resistance significantly declined in response to cognitive–behavioral intervention, whereas drug treatment alone did not seem to moderate this variable according to previous research conducted by Kim et al.
Psychiatry Research 51 (1994) 203–211.
Previous research has suggested that the presence of schizotypal personality disorder may represent a risk factor for treatment failure in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Relying on a ...dimensional approach, the present study investigated whether the predictive importance of schizotypal personality is shared by all of its features to the same extent or whether it is confined to a subset of symptoms. Fifty-three patients underwent multi-modal cognitive–behavioral therapy with or without adjunctive antidepressive medication. Therapy response was defined as a 35% decline of the Y-BOCS total score. At baseline assessment, patients were asked to fill out the schizotypal personality questionnaire, the perceptual aberration scale and the Beck depression inventory. Stepwise regression analysis and group comparisons conducted with the schizotypal and depression scales revealed that elevated scores in the positive schizotypal scales, especially perceptual aberrations, were highly predictive for treatment failure. Responders to treatment and non-responders did not significantly differ on other variables or on scores in two scales which measured response biases. The study provides evidence that positive schizotypal symptoms are antecendents for treatment failure in OCD. It needs to be evaluated whether these at-risk individuals benefit from additional intervention, such as the adminstration of low-dose atypical neuroleptics and specifically tailored behavorial intervention.
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