Optimism and pessimism in the general population: Psychometric properties of the Life Orientation Test (LOT-R).

: The Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) is often used to assess dispositional optimism. The aims of this study were to test psychometric properties of the LOT-R, to provide normative scores, and to test the association between optimism and several psychological, sociodemographic, and behavioral factors. : A randomly selected German general population community sample with an age range of 18-80 years ( = 9,711) was surveyed.

Psychometric analysis of the brief symptom inventory 18 (BSI-18) in a representative German sample.

Background: The BSI-18 contains the three six-item scales somatization, depression, and anxiety as well as the Global Severity Index (GSI), including all 18 items. The BSI-18 is the latest and shortest of the multidimensional versions of the Symptom-Checklist 90-R, but its psychometric properties have not been sufficiently clarified yet.

Methods: Based on a representative sample of N = 2516 participants (aged 14-94 years), detailed psychometric analyses were carried out.

Symptom change trajectories during inpatient psychotherapy in routine care and their associations with long-term outcomes.

This study examined symptom change trajectories during inpatient psychotherapy and the association of these changes with long-term outcomes. In an observational multicenter study, weekly measurements of symptom severity were performed during inpatient treatment and 6 months after discharge. The symptom severity was measured using the 18-item scale of the Hamburg Modules for the Assessment of Psychosocial Health.

Interference screw fixation of free tendon grafts: significant time-dependent decrease of the initial contact forces.

Purpose: Interference screw fixation of tendon grafts is a common practice in ACL surgery. Tissues like tendons and bone show a complex viscoelastic behaviour, which could affect the contact forces in interference screw fixation. These effects are not well investigated, especially over prolonged periods of time.

Assessment of vision-related quality of life in patients with central retinal artery occlusion.

Background: Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a major cause for severe visual impairment. Its effect on vision-related quality of life has not yet been determined. The purpose of the present study was thus to assess vision-related quality of life in patients with CRAO using the 39-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire.

Degradation of the drug diclofenac in water by sonolysis in presence of catalysts.

Diclofenac, as one of the most popular antiphlogistics, is produced in great quantities. Nowadays this drug is ubiquitously present in the aquatic environment due to its resistance to biodegradation. Degradation by ultrasonic irradiation is a possibility to eliminate diclofenac from water without the addition of chemicals.

Development of Healthy Cities networks in Europe.

The Healthy Cities network in Europe was inspired by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion when it was launched in 1987. The networking process was initiated by the WHO Regional Office for Europe, but developed its own dynamics in different European countries during a time marked by fundamental political transformations in many of the countries of Eastern Europe. The networks then connected with the 'Local Agenda 21' and the 'Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign' to create a new and broader programmatic agenda at the local level.

Switching from cyclosporine to tacrolimus leads to improved disease-specific quality of life in patients after kidney transplantation.

Background: Advances in transplantation medicine are linked to improved efficacy of immunosuppressive agents. At the same time, these agents endanger medical success by side effects that may impair survival and quality of life (QOL). This study examined whether conversion to tacrolimus-based immunosuppression due to cyclosporine-related side effects improved.

Disease-specific quality of life in Turkish patients after successful kidney transplantation.

To investigate disease-specific quality of life (QOL) in Turkish patients after successful kidney transplantation, the End-Stage Renal Disease Symptom Checklist Transplantation Module (ESRD-SCL-TM), a multidimensional questionnaire measuring disease-specific QOL, was translated and administered to a sample of successfully transplanted patients. Intercultural differences between Turkish and German patients as well as the influence of demographic (age, gender) and clinical (duration of graft function, living versus cadaver transplantation) data in the Turkish patients were evaluated by multivariate analyses of variance, and correlative techniques. The 152 investigated Turkish patients, including 106 (69.

EQUIPATH-an equilibrial path tracing routine for the use with the program package GAUSSIAN94.

The present article deals with the numerical details important for a successful implementation of the equilibrial path tracing procedure EQUIPATH. The results of an application to the RHF/6-31G(d) potential energy surface of butane are reported and discussed. Sixteen saddle points and several valley-ridge inflection points have been located.