Accelerated molecular dynamics study to compare the thermostability of and α-amylase.

The thermostability of enzymes plays a significant role in the starch hydrolysis process in the industry. The structural difference between thermostable α-amylase (BLA) and thermolabile α-amylase (ANA) is interesting to be explored. This work aimed to study the thermostability-determining factor of BLA as compared to a non-thermostable enzyme, ANA, using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation at a high temperature.

Fear and Anxiety in COVID-19: Preexisting Anxiety Disorders.

The general population has experienced a significant elevation in fear and anxiety during COVID-19 both as a direct result of the virus but also due to measures taken to prevent it spreading, such as the need to stay inside and increase hand-washing. Lockdown has been used in many/most countries to prevent widespread infection. The advice and imposed actions are necessary to prevent the virus from spreading, but they might exacerbate the problems experienced by people with a preexisting anxiety-related disorder.

Cognitive therapy for compulsive checking in obsessive-compulsive disorder: A pilot trial.

We evaluated a novel, empirically-based cognitive therapy for compulsive checking - a common form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Twelve adults completed 12 sessions of the therapy. Significant reductions in checking-related symptoms were found pre- to post-treatment, and pre-treatment to 6-month follow-up (moderate to large effect sizes).

Molecular dynamics study to improve the substrate adsorption of R64 alpha-amylase by designing a new surface binding site.

Carbohydrate binding module (CBM) and surface binding site (SBS) are two important parts of amylase which respond to the raw starch digestion. They are related to the enzyme ability to adsorb and to catalyze the starch hydrolysis. However, starch processing is still expensive due to the high temperature in the gelatinization step.

The Importance of Surface-Binding Site towards Starch-Adsorptivity Level in -Amylase: A Review on Structural Point of View.

Starch is a polymeric carbohydrate composed of glucose. As a source of energy, starch can be degraded by various amylolytic enzymes, including -amylase. In a large-scale industry, starch processing cost is still expensive due to the requirement of high temperature during the gelatinization step.

Computational Model of the Effect of a Surface-Binding Site on the R64 α-Amylase to the Substrate Adsorption.

α-Amylase is one of the important enzymes in the starch-processing industry. However, starch processing requires high temperature, thus resulting in high cost. The high adsorptivity of α-amylase to the substrate allows this enzyme to digest the starch at a lower temperature.

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Important developments took place during the past decade. Two major nationwide treatment/training programmes were initiated: IAPT and the US Army Resiliency Program. Work on the psychological immune system presages a major advance in scientific knowledge.

Invited essay: Cognitive influences on the psychological immune system.

The construct of the psychological immune system is described and analysed. The direct and indirect cognitive influences on the system are discussed, and the implications of adding a cognitive construal to the influential model of a behavioural immune system are considered. The psychological immune system has two main properties: defensive and healing.

The evolution of behaviour therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy.

The historical background of the development of behaviour therapy is described. It was based on the prevailing behaviourist psychology and constituted a fundamentally different approach to the causes and treatment of psychological disorders. It had a cold reception and the idea of treating the behaviour of neurotic and other patients was regarded as absurd.

Imagery in mental contamination.

Background: Intrusive imagery is experienced in a number of anxiety disorders, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Imagery is particularly relevant to mental contamination, where unwanted intrusive images are hypothesized to evoke feelings of dirtiness and urges to wash (Rachman, 2006).

Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the nature of imagery associated with mental contamination.

The spontaneous decay and persistence of mental contamination: an experimental analysis.

Background And Objectives: It has recently been identified that feelings of contamination can arise in the absence of physical contact with a stimulus. This concept, known as 'mental contamination' has particular relevance to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in which compulsive cleaning is a common symptom presentation. Experimental studies have begun to examine the psychopathology of mental contamination.

The spread of mental contamination.

Background And Objectives: Fear of contamination can be evoked following physical contact with a dirty, harmful or polluted item, person, or place (contact contamination) or in the absence of physical contact with a contaminant (mental contamination). The spread of contact contamination does not degrade over successive degrees of removal from the contaminated source. However, to date, the spread of mental contamination has not been empirically investigated.

Advances in the cognitive behavioural treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder.

The aim of this paper is to highlight key advances in the cognitive-behavioural treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder over the course of Professor Lars Göran Öst's illustrious career. The paper will focus on three specific areas of interest: the treatment of obsessions, compulsive checking, and the fear of contamination. It will also highlight recent advances concerning the broader need to ensure that treatment is acceptable.

Health anxiety disorders: a cognitive construal.

The features of severe health anxiety, intense and persistent anxiety about one's present and future health, are described. In common with other anxiety disorders such as GAD, PTSD and OCD, the core of HAD is distressing, uncontrollable anxiety, and is classifiable as an Anxiety Disorder, Health Anxiety Disorder (HAD). The cognitive construal of HAD proposes that health anxiety is caused by catastrophic misinterpretations of the significance of sensations and/or changes in bodily functions and appearance (such as swellings, pain, loss of energy, dizzy spells).

It's the feeling inside my head: a qualitative analysis of mental contamination in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: It was recently proposed that feelings of dirtiness and pollution can arise in the absence of physical contact with a contaminant. At present, there is limited data regarding the qualitative features of this construct of "mental contamination", although it is hypothesized to be particularly relevant to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), where compulsive washing in response to contamination fear is a common symptom presentation (Rachman, 2006).

Aims And Method: The aim of this research was to explore the qualitative features of mental contamination in 20 people with contamination-based OCD, using a semi-structured interview.

Mental contamination: the perpetrator effect.

In order to test the proposition that imagining carrying out an unacceptable non-consensual act can evoke contamination-related feelings in the perpetrator, 4 connected experiments were carried out involving male students. The effects of the experimental procedure were enhanced by the introduction of a theme of betrayal which boosted the feelings of contamination and urges to wash. The non-consensual scenarios were followed by substantial increases in negative emotions, notably shame, disgust and guilt, and these increases were boosted over successive enhancements of the procedure.

Reducing contamination by exposure plus safety behaviour.

Background And Objectives: It has been proposed that the judicious use of safety behaviour can facilitate improvements in the acceptability of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). It was decided to explore the possibility of facilitating CBT by introducing a form of safety behaviour. We sought to assess the degree to which Exposure plus Safety Behaviour (E + SB) is an effective intervention for contamination fears.

Betrayal: a psychological analysis.

Betrayal is the sense of being harmed by the intentional actions or omissions of a trusted person. The most common forms of betrayal are harmful disclosures of confidential information, disloyalty, infidelity, dishonesty. They can be traumatic and cause considerable distress.

Treatment of obsessions: a randomized controlled trial.

This study tested Rachman's cognitive behavioral method for treating obsessions not accompanied by prominent overt compulsions. The cognitive behavioral treatment was compared to waitlist control and an active and credible comparison of stress management training (SMT). Of the 73 adults who were randomized, 67 completed treatment, and 58 were available for one-year follow-up.

Separating hoarding from OCD.

There is confusion about the status of excessive hoarding. In particular, there is an unresolved question about whether or not it is a manifestation of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). There are some definite similarities between 'compulsive' hoarding and OCD, but they are outweighed by the differences between them.

Psychological treatment of anxiety: the evolution of behavior therapy and cognitive behavior therapy.

The development of evidence-based treatments for anxiety disorders is a major achievement of clinical psychology, and cognitive behavior therapy is the best-established and most widely used method. The first form of this therapy, behavior therapy, was a combination of Pavlovian and Behavioristic ideas and methods and was particularly successful in reducing fears. The infusion of cognitive ideas in the late 1970s generated the wider and more flexible cognitive behavior therapy that independent agencies in the United States and United Kingdom now recommend as the treatment of choice for most of the anxiety disorders.

Safety behaviour: a reconsideration.

There is ample evidence that the use of safety behaviour can interfere with the progress of therapy, particularly if exposure is involved. As a result, it is widely asserted that safety behaviour is anti-therapeutic. However, an unqualified rejection of safety behaviour should be reconsidered because we now have theoretical justification, experimental evidence and clinical observations showing that the judicious use of safety behaviour, especially in the early stages of treatment, can be facilitative.