The structure and content of the Munich-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI) for the assessment of DSM-IV symptoms, syndromes, and diagnoses is described along with findings from a ...test-retest reliability study. A sample of 60 community respondents were interviewed twice independently by trained interviewers with an average time interval of 38 days between investigations. Test-retest reliability was good for almost all specific DSM-IV core symptom questions and disorders examined, with kappa values ranging from fair for two diagnoses--bulimia (kappa 0.55) and generalized anxiety disorder (kappa 0.45)--to excellent (kappa above 0.72) for all other anxiety disorders and alcohol use disorders. Test-retest reliability for age of onset and time-related questions was fairly consistently high (intra-class correlation values of 0.79 or above), with one notable exception: the assessment of disorders with onset before puberty. We concluded that the M-CIDI is acceptable for respondents, efficient in terms of time needed for and ease of administration, and reliable in terms of consistency of findings over time periods of at least 1 month.
We demonstrate the feasibility of using a 3-dimensional gold microlattice with a periodic porous structure and independently tunable surface composition as a Li–O2 battery cathode. The structure ...provides a platform for studying electrochemical reactions in architected Li–O2 electrodes with large (300 μm) pore sizes. The lack of carbon and chemical binders in these Au microlattices enabled the investigation of chemical and morphological processes that occur on the surfaces of the microlattice during cycling. Li–O2 cells with Au microlattice cathodes were discharged in 0.5 M lithium-bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonamide (LiTFSI) in a 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME) electrolyte, with lithium metal foil as the anode. SEM analysis of microlattice cathodes after first discharge revealed the presence of toroidal-shaped 500–700 nm particles covering the surface of the electrode, which disappeared upon subsequent charging. Raman and FTIR spectroscopy analysis determined these particulates to be Li2O2. The morphology of discharge products evolved with cycling into micrometer-sized clusters of arranged “platelets”, with a higher amount of side reaction products such as Li2CO3 and LiOH. This work shows that properly designed 3-dimensional architected materials may provide a useful foundation for investigating fundamental surface electrochemistry while simultaneously enabling mechanical robustness and enhancing the surface area over a factor of 30 compared with a thin film with the same foot print.
Gender differences in prevalence rates of suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts as well as in risk factors for suicide attempts such as traumatic events and mental disorders were investigated in a ...random sample of 3021 adolescents aged 14-24 years.
The M-CIDI (Composite International Diagnostic Interview) was used to survey suicidal behaviour, DSM-IV lifetime diagnoses and traumatic events.
The female suicide attempters showed suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts significantly more often, and suicide attempts at a much younger age than the males. Furthermore, the females experienced sexual abuse much more often, and suffered significantly more often from anxiety disorders. The male suicide attempters showed higher rates of alcohol disorders and financial problems.
A higher rate of anxiety in female suicide attempters results probably as a consequence of sexual abuse, which in turn makes them more vulnerable than males for attempting suicide between the age of 14-17.
The removal of noxious particulate contaminants such as pollutants derived from particle-to-gas conversions from exposed skin is essential to avoid the permeation of potentially harmful substances ...into deeper skin layers via the stratum corneum or the skin appendages and their dispersion throughout the circulatory system. This study is aimed at evaluating the efficacy of using the silicone glycol polymer PEG-12 dimethicone and an absorbent textile material to remove fluorescing hydroxyethyl starch nanocapsules implemented as model contaminants from exposed porcine ear skin. Using laser scanning microscopy, it could be shown that while the application and subsequent removal of the absorbent textile material alone did not result in sufficient decontamination, the combined application with PEG-12 dimethicone almost completely eliminated the nanocapsules from the surface of the skin. By acting as a wetting agent, PEG-12 dimethicone enabled the transfer of the nanocapsules into a liquid phase which was taken up by the absorbent textile material. Only traces of fluorescence remained detectable in several skin furrows and follicular orifices, suggesting that the repeated implementation of the procedure may be necessary to achieve total skin surface decontamination.
The role of comorbidity as a risk for suicide attempts is investigated in a random sample of 3021 young adults aged 14-24 years. The M-CIDI, a fully standardized and modified version of the Composite ...International Diagnostic Interview, was used for the assessment of various DSM-IV lifetime and 12-month diagnoses as well as suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Of all suicide attempters, 91% had at least one mental disorder, 79% were comorbid or multimorbid respectively and 45% had four or more diagnoses (only 5% in the total sample reached such high levels of comorbidity). Suicide attempters with more than three diagnoses were 18 times more likely (OR = 18.4) to attempt suicide than subjects with no diagnosis. Regarding specific diagnoses, multivariate comorbidity analyses indicated the highest risk for suicide attempt in those suffering from anxiety disorder (OR = 4.3), particularly posttraumatic stress disorder followed by substance disorder (OR = 2.2) and depressive disorder (OR = 2.1). Comorbidity, especially when anxiety disorders are involved, increases the risk for suicide attempts considerably more than any other individual DSM-IV diagnoses.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether siblings of patients with eating disorders show a more disturbed eating behavior and a higher proneness to associated psychological ...characteristics than controls.
84 patients with eating disorders of an outpatient clinic, their siblings (n=84) and a control group (n=84) with an age range 14-34 for the total sample were evaluated using the Eating Disorder Inventory-2.
There was no significant difference between the siblings and the controls in disturbed eating behavior.
The existence of an eating disorder in patients does not seem to be related to the development of eating disturbed behavior in their siblings.
Comorbidity is a well-established phenomenon in depressive disorders, and it is widely agreed that the majority of depressive disorders examined in both primary care and the general population are ...not "pure." This article reviews comorbidity findings in general population and primary care surveys. The implications of comorbid depressive disorders are discussed in terms of their presentation and recognition in primary care, patterns of course and outcome, and associated impairments and disabilities. Data from a World Health Organization study, conducted in primary health clinics in 15 countries, demonstrate that 62% of all depressive cases also suffer from at least one other current mental disorder and that the primary reason for patient visits is rarely of a psychological nature, with the majority of attendees complaining primarily of somatic symptoms (41%), pains (37%), and fatigue and sleep problems (12%). Similar results are presented from 2 recent large representative population surveys, the National Comorbidity Survey and the Early Developmental Stages of Psychopathology Study. The implications of such comorbidity are viewed from various perspectives: the form of depressive presentations in primary care, the recognition of depression in health care, and health services utilization, impairments and disabilities, and course and outcome.
Single-day, high-dose systemic antiviral drugs are effective in the treatment of labial herpes (herpes labialis HL). Aciclovir Lauriad® mucoadhesive buccal tablet (ABT) is an innovative drug delivery ...system providing high and prolonged exposure to aciclovir in the oral cavity, supporting its evaluation as a single low dose in HL.
In this multicenter double-blind placebo-controlled patient-initiated trial, 775 patients with recurrent HL were randomly assigned to either a single application of ABT 50 mg or a matching placebo as soon as prodromal symptoms occurred. The primary endpoint was the time to healing (TTH) of primary vesicular lesion (modified intention-to-treat population). Other endpoints included incidence of blocked episodes, duration of herpes episodes, and incidence and time to next recurrence evaluated during a 9-month follow-up period (intention-to-treat population).
With ABT 50 mg, median TTH of primary vesicular lesion was reduced (7 days vs 7.3 days, P=.015), the incidence of blocked herpes episodes was increased by 24.2% (34.9% vs 28.1%; P=.042), and the median duration of herpes episodes was reduced (5.6 days vs 6.4 days, P=.003). During the 9-month follow-up period, recurrence of herpes lesions was less frequent (64.2% vs 73.6%; P=.027) and delayed (205 days vs 165 days, P=.041) in the ABT 50 mg. Both treatments were safe.
A single application of ABT improves all endpoints of HL and might modify its clinical course in decreasing the incidence and delaying the onset of the next recurrence.
After reviewing currently available diagnostic assessment instruments for substance use disorders this paper describes the format and structure of the Munich-Composite International Diagnostic ...Interview (M-CIDI) substance disorder section. In addition, the test-retest reliability of diagnoses and criteria for nicotine, alcohol, illegal and prescription drugs, is reported. Findings obtained in community sample of adolescents and young adults indicate that the substance section is acceptable for almost all types of respondents, efficient in terms of time and ease of administration as well as reliable in terms of consistency of findings over time. The test-retest reliability over a period of an average of 1 month, as examined by two independent interviewers indicates good-to-excellent kappa values for all substance disorders assessed, with significant kappa values ranging between 0.55 for drug abuse and 0.83 for alcohol abuse. There was also fairly consistently high agreement for the assessment of single DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for abuse and dependence as well as the M-CIDI quantity-frequency and time-related questions. To conclude, although – unlike previous studies – this study was conducted in a community sample and not in patients and used considerably longer time intervals of more than a month between investigations, our M-CIDI reliability findings are at least as high as those from previous studies.
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