Human Performance in Competitive and Collaborative Human-Machine Teams.

In the modern world, many important tasks have become too complex for a single unaided individual to manage. Teams conduct some safety-critical tasks to improve task performance and minimize the risk of error. These teams have traditionally consisted of human operators, yet, nowadays, artificial intelligence and machine systems are incorporated into team environments to improve performance and capacity.

Mental health at the COVID-19 frontline: An assessment of distress, fear, and coping among staff and attendees at screening clinics of rural/regional settings of Victoria, Australia.

Purpose: Research examining psychological well-being associated with COVID-19 in rural/regional Australia is limited. This study aimed to assess the extent of psychological distress, fear of COVID-19, and coping strategies among the attendees in COVID-19 screening clinics at 2 rural Victorian settings.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during July 2020 to February 2021 inclusive.

Nitroimidazole-refractory giardiasis: a growing problem requiring rational solutions.

Background: Giardia intestinalis is microaerophilic diarrhoea-causing protozoan common in countries with suboptimal sanitation. Standard treatment is with nitroimidazoles, but a growing number of refractory cases is being reported. Treatment failure has become increasingly prevalent in travellers who contract giardiasis in Asia.

Systematic review of the efficacy and safety of biological therapy for inflammatory conditions in HIV-infected individuals.

Biologic therapies are injectable immunomodulatory agents directed against specific immune cell or chemical targets. They have transformed the lives of HIV-uninfected individuals with severe inflammatory conditions including psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ulcerative colitis. The perceived increased infection risk associated with these agents means that HIV-infected individuals have not been included in randomised control trials of these drugs.

Agoraphobia With and Without Panic Disorder: A 20-Year Follow-up of Integrated Exposure and Psychodynamic Therapy.

The aim of the current study was to compare the 20-year outcome in panic disorder with agoraphobia (PD with AG) and agoraphobia without panic disorder (AG without PD) patients after inpatient psychological treatment. Of 53 eligible patients having completed a medication-free integrated exposure and psychodynamic treatment, 38 (71.7%)-25 PD with AG and 13 AG without PD patients-attended 20-year follow-up.

Predictors of short- and long-term avoidance in completers of inpatient group interventions for agoraphobia.

Background: Little is currently known about predictors of follow-up outcome of psychological treatment of agoraphobia. In this study, we wished to examine predictors of short- and long-term avoidance after inpatient group interventions for agoraphobia.

Methods: Ninety-six (68%) of 141 agoraphobic patients (74% women) who had completed treatment in two open and one randomized controlled trial (RCT) were followed up 13 to 21 years after start of treatment.

Cognitive and Guided Mastery Therapies for Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia: 18-Year Long-Term Outcome and Predictors of Long-Term Change.

Unlabelled: In this study, we wished to compare the long-term outcome of (medication-free) panic disorder with agoraphobia patients randomized to cognitive or guided mastery therapy. Thirty-one (67.4%) of 46 patients who had completed treatment were followed up about 18 years after end of treatment.

Staying Steady: a community-based exercise initiative for falls prevention.

Over the past decade falls in the older population have become a priority in government policy. There is good evidence to suggest that tailored exercise effectively reduces falls; however, much of this evidence takes the form of randomized controlled trials that do not reflect the diversity of clinical practice. In response to emerging evidence, a community falls prevention program, called Staying Steady, was developed targeting older people at risk of falls.

Exploring dance as a therapy for symptoms and social interaction in a dementia care unit.

Background: There have been many debates about the use of some atypical antipsychotic drugs in managing agitation in dementia care. Much research has also been carried out in the area of psychosocial interventions, which can include dance therapy.

Aim: To evaluate Wu Tao dance therapy as an intervention for dementia and assess its impact on agitation.

Pre-treatment predictors and in-treatment factors associated with change in avoidant and dependent personality disorder traits among patients with social phobia.

We examined changes in avoidant and dependent personality disorder dimensions, and pre-treatment and in-treatment factors associated with such changes in 77 patients, randomized to medication-free residential cognitive (CT) or residential interpersonal therapy for social phobia. Personality disorders and personality dimensions according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) were assessed at pre-treatment and at one-year post-treatment. Both treatments were associated with a decrease in avoidant and dependent personality dimensions; dependent dimension decreased more in CT.

The neurotensin agonist NT69L improves sensorimotor gating deficits in rats induced by a glutamatergic antagonist, but not by dopaminergic agonists.

An imbalance between different neurotransmitter systems is involved in the pathophysiological processes underlying schizophrenia. Since the neurotensin (NT) system modulates the activity of several of these neurotransmitters, drugs acting upon the NT system may act as novel antipsychotic drugs. This hypothesis is supported by studies with NT in animal models.

Selective 5HT2A and 5HT6 receptor antagonists promote sleep in rats.

Study Objectives: Serotonin (5-HT) has long been implicated in the control of sleep and wakefulness. This study evaluated the hypnotic efficacy of the 5-HT6 antagonist RO4368554 (RO) and the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist MDL100907 (MDL) relative to zolpidem.

Design: A randomized, repeated-measures design was utilized in which Wistar rats received intraperitoneal injections of RO (1.

Mechanisms of change in cognitive therapy for panic disorder with agoraphobia.

The purpose of this study was to test the predictions of an integrated cognitive and behavioral model of agoraphobic avoidance in patients with chronic panic disorder and agoraphobia during the process of observed therapeutic change. Treatment was residential with the majority (n=165, 88%) receiving cognitive therapy, while the remaining 23 (12%) received guided mastery therapy. The results of latent variable path modeling of the changes occurring over the course of this treatment suggested that the anxiety elicited by bodily sensations influenced catastrophic beliefs, which, in turn, increased avoidance.

Effects of the novel 5-HT(6) receptor antagonist RO4368554 in rat models for cognition and sensorimotor gating.

Serotonin(6) (5-HT(6)) receptors are almost exclusively located in the central nervous system. High expression in the hippocampus, nucleus accumbens and striatum is consistent with a potential role in cognition and psychosis. The availability of potent, selective and brain-penetrating 5-HT(6) antagonists such as RO4368554 allows further characterization of the role of the 5-HT(6) receptor in these processes.

Therapists' emotional reactions to patients as a mediator in cognitive behavioural treatment of panic disorder with agoraphobia.

The aims of this study were to examine whether therapists' emotional reactions to their patients mediate the effect of personality disorders and interpersonal problem behaviours on the outcome of treatment, focusing on an Axis I disorder; and whether therapists' reactions mediate the effect of personality disorders on the course of interpersonal problems. Therapists completed a checklist of emotional reactions to individual patients after the end of residential cognitive or guided mastery therapy for 46 inpatients with panic disorder with agoraphobia. The severity of DSM-III-R personality disorder was related to therapists' insecurity feelings, but not to interest and anger.

The dimensionality of dependent personality disorder.

The criteria for dependent personality disorder (DPD) in DSM-IV appear to fall into two categories: dependent and attachment behaviors. The relevance of this division was evaluated in a sample of 182 patients admitted to a national Norwegian psychiatric hospital. Principal Components Analysis of all items belonging to the most frequent personality diagnoses revealed six components.

Sympathetic reactivity in agoraphobic patients with and without personality disorders.

Objective: To compare sympathetic activity in agoraphobic patients with and without personality disorders before and after 11 weeks inpatient treatment.

Methods: Agoraphobic patients (n=38), 84% with panic disorder and 47% with personality disorders underwent cold pressure test (CPT), mental stress test (MST), and a specific anxiety test (SAT). Psychological assessments were done by the Bodily Sensations Questionnaire (BSQ), the Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire (ACQ), Spielberger STAI-1 and -2, and a Stress Test Anxiety (STA) questionnaire.

Effects of cannabinoid receptor ligands on psychosis-relevant behavior models in the rat.

Rationale: Marijuana is known to have psychotropic effects in humans. In this study, we used rat models of sensorimotor gating, hyperactivity and stereotypy to explore whether CB(1) receptor stimulation or blockade induces behavioral changes consistent with psychotomimetic or antipsychotic agents, respectively.

Objectives: We determined whether (a) the cannabinoid agonist CP 55940 decreased pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) as might be expected from a psychotomimetic agent, and (b) the selective CB(1) receptor antagonist, SR 141716A, had any effect on PPI on its own or following disruptions by psychotomimetic agents.

Contribution of alpha(2) receptor subtypes to nerve injury-induced pain and its regulation by dexmedetomidine.

There is evidence that noradrenaline contributes to the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain produced by trauma to a peripheral nerve. It is, however, unclear which subtype(s) of alpha adrenergic receptors (AR) may be involved. In addition to pro-nociceptive actions of AR stimulation, alpha(2) AR agonists produce antinociceptive effects.