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Objective Guided Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy ( ICBT) for panic disorder has been shown to be efficacious in several randomized controlled trials. However, the effectiveness of the treatment when delivered within routine psychiatric care has not been studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of ICBT for panic disorder within the context of routine psychiatric care. Method We conducted a cohort study investigating all patients ( n = 570) who had received guided ICBT for panic disorder between 2007 and 2012 in a routine care setting at an out-patient psychiatric clinic providing Internet-based treatment. The primary outcome measure was the Panic Disorder Severity Scale-Self-report ( PDSS- SR). Results Participants made large improvements from screening and pretreatment assessments to posttreatment (Cohen's d range on the PDSS- SR = 1.07-1.55). Improvements were sustained at 6-month follow-up. Conclusion This study suggests that ICBT for panic disorder is as effective when delivered in a routine care context as in the previously published randomized controlled trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burgers vectors of matrix dislocations in mullite have been determined by the defocus large-angle convergent beam electron diffraction technique. Vectors of the types [100], [010], [110] and [112] were identified. These Burgers vectors are discussed in relation to the open channels and the oxygen vacancy distribution in the mullite structure. It is suggested that a short-range ordering of oxygen vacancies may account for a Burgers vector of the type [112]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of a partial or full replacement of yttrium by ytterbium on the crystallization of an oxynitride B-phase parent glass with composition (e/o) 35Y/Yb:45Si:20Al:83O:17N has been investigated by thermal analysis, X-ray diffractometry and analytical transmission electron microscopy. Single B-phase formation was extended to higher temperatures by low ytterbium:yttrium ratios, while a full replacement resulted in a two-phase B- and J-phase glass–ceramic. The B-phase crystals took up a substantial range of composition that was dependent on the substitution level, and yttrium/ytterbium was always clearly anti-correlated with silicon. Some aluminum was accommodated in the dendritic J-phase crystals, and their yttrium/ytterbium content varied between 64 and 79 cation%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the intergranular microstructure of silicon nitride-based ceramics. The study showed that the intergranular microstructure of liquid phase sintered silicon nitride based ceramics is the result of the oxynitride liquid that forms during sintering. The incorporation of B-phase into the intergranular regions of silicon nitride ceramics were also considered in the study.

Nickel-catalysed multiwall carbon nanotubes synthesized by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition on a silicon substrate with acetylene and ammonia at 700 °C have been characterized by high-resolution and analytical transmission electron microscopy. The nucleation of the carbon nanotubes occurs as a consequence of the carburization and dusting of supported preformed nickel- and silicon-rich particles. This process yields disintegrated silicon-containing nickel particles dispersed in dome-shaped carbon islands adherent to the substrate. The particles act as catalysts for tube growth, resulting in aligned multiwall carbon nanotubes with a bamboo-like structure anchored to the dome-shaped carbon islands. The bottom part of the carbon islands contains bundles of graphene sheets orientated parallel to the substrate. The nanotubes are capped with fcc nickel particles containing dissolved silicon. Most of these particles have a conical shape orientated with a <110> direction along the tube growth axis, and with {110} and {111} planes as exposed faces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtype is believed to be involved in the regulation of neuronal growth, differentiation and synapse formation during the development of the human brain. In this study the expression of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor was investigated in human fetal brain and spinal cord of 5–11 weeks gestational age. Both the specific binding of [[sup 125]I]α-bungarotoxin to prenatal brain membranes and the expression of α7 mRNA were significantly higher in the pons, medulla oblongata, mesencephalon and spinal cord of 9–11 weeks gestational age compared with cerebellum, cortex and subcortical forebrain. A significant positive correlation between gestational age and the expression of α7␣mRNA was observed in all brain regions except cortex. A positive correlation was also observed between the gestational age and the [[sup 125]I]α-bungarotoxin binding in the pons, medulla oblongata, mesencephalon, and cerebellum. Consequently, a significant relationship between the α7 mRNA levels and the binding sites for [[sup 125]I]α-bungarotoxin was found in the fetal brain. The increasing levels of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor during the first trimester support the important role of nAChRs for the development of the central nervous system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]