Effect of cognitive behavioral group therapy on rehabilitation of community patients with schizophrenia:A short-term randomized control trial

BACKGROUND The efficacy of cognitive behavioral group therapy(CBGT)for cognitive dysfunction and negative symptoms of schizophrenia is established,but more evidence is required.AIM To assess the effectiveness of CBGT combined with mental health education as a treatment for schizophrenia compared with mental health education alone.METHODS In all,120 schizophrenia out-patients were randomized into CBGT combined with mental health education or single mental health education.The primary outcomes were positive and negative symptoms,cognitive function,excitatory factor,anxiety and depression symptom improvements on the positive and negative syndrome scale score.Secondary outcome measures included social function and drug compliance.RESULTS There were significant differences between CBGT combined with mental health education and single mental health education on measures of positive and negative symptoms,cognitive functions,excitatory factor,anxiety and depression symptoms,and social functions.No other significant difference in outcomes was observed.CONCLUSION CBGT combined with mental health education may be relevant beneficial treatment method in reducing symptoms,cognitive and social functions of patients with schizophrenia.

Hormonal therapy might be a better choice as maintenance treatment than capecitabine after response to first-line capecitabine-based combination chemotherapy for patients with hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative,metastatic breast cancer

Background:Both hormonal therapy(HT) and maintenance capecitabine monotherapy(MCT) have been shown to extend time to progression(TTP) in patients with metastatic breast cancer(MBC) after failure of taxanes and anthracycline?containing regimens.However,no clinical trials have directly compared the efficacy of MCT and HT after response to first?line capecitabine?based combination chemotherapy(FCCT) in patients with hormone receptor(HR)?positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)?negative breast cancer.Methods:We retrospectively analyzed the charts of 138 HR?positive and HER2?negative MBC patients who were in non?progression status after FCCT and who were treated between 2003 and 2012 at the Cancer Institute and Hospital,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences,in Beijing,China.The median number of first?line chemotherapy cycles was 6(range,4–8);combined agents included taxanes,vinorelbine,or gemcitabine.Of these 138 patients,79 received MCT,and 59 received HT.Single?agent capecitabine was administered at a dose of 1250 mg/m2 twice daily for 14 days,followed by a 7?day rest period,repeated every 3 weeks.Of the 59 patients who received HT,37 received aromatase inhibitors(AIs),8 received selective estrogen receptor modulators(SERMs),and 14 received goserelin plus either AIs or SERMs.We then compared the MCT group and HT group in terms of treatment efficacy.Results:With a median follow?up of 43 months,patients in the HT group had a much longer TTP than patients in the MCT group(13 vs.8 months,P ease?free surviv= 0.011).When TTP was adjusted for age,menopausal status,Karnofsky performance status score,disal,site of metastasis,number of metastatic sites,and response status after FCCT,extended TTP was still observed for patients in the HT group(hazard ratio:0.63;95% confidence interval:0.44–0.93;P = 0.020).We also observed a trend of overall survival advantage for patients in the HT group vs.patients in the MCT group,but the difference was not significant(43 vs.37 months,P tients in the MCT g= 0.400).In addition,patients in the HT group gen?erally tolerated the treatment well,whereas paroup experienced grades 3–4 adverse events,the most frequent of which were hand?foot syndrome(15.8%) and hematologic abnormalities(7.6%).Conclusion:For HR?positive and HER2?negative MBC patients,HT might be considered a treatment after response to FCCT but prior to MCT as a long?term administration.

Durable flame-retardant,smoke-suppressant,and thermal-insulating biomass polyurethane foam enabled by a green bio-based system

Bio-based polyurethane foam has attracted increasing attentions due to eco-friendliness and fossil feedstock issues.However,the inherent flammability limits its application in different fields.Herein,we demonstrate a green bio-based flame-retardant system to fabricate polyurethane foam composite with durable flame retardancy,smoke suppression,and thermal insulation property.In this system,the green bio-based polyol(VED)with good reactivity and compatibility plays a role of flame retardant and EG acts as a synergistic filler.As a result,the LOI value of foam composite increased to 30.5 vol.%and it achieved a V-0 rating in the UL-94 vertical burning test.Additionally,the peak heat release rate(pHRR)and the total smoke production(TSP)decreased by 66.1%and 63.4%,respectively.Furthermore,the foam composite maintained durable flame retardancy after accelerated thermal aging test,whose thermal-insulating property was maintained even after being treated in high-humidity environment with 85%R.H.for a week.This work provides a facile strategy for durable flame retardancy and long-term thermal insulation performance,and creates opportunities for the practical applications of bio-based foam composites.

Crosslinking Kinetics of Polyethylene with Small Amount of Peroxide and Its Influence on the Subsequent Crystallization Behaviors

Crosslinking reactions of high density polyethylene with low peroxide concentrations ranging from 0.1 wt% to 1.0 wt% at temperatures of 170, 180 and 190 ℃ were monitored by rheological measurements. A critical gel forms at the peroxide concentration of 0.2 wt%, where the transition from long chain branching generation to crosslinking network formation could occur. Rheokinetics of crosslinking can be fitted well by Ding-Leonov＇s model. The curing rate k2 at the earlier stage exhibits about 3 times acceleration per 10 ~C with increasing temperature, while the equilibrium modulus G＇ at the fully cured stage is almost independent of temperature. Influences of crosslinking on the subsequent crystallization behaviors were detected by DSC measurements. Above the critical gel concentration, crystallization is largely retarded as evidenced by the lower crystallization temperature Tc and crystallinity Xc due to the network formation. The secondary crystallization valley located at the temperature near 80 ℃ can be observed above the critical concentration, which becomes more evident with the increasing peroxide concentration and curing temperature. This phenomenon provides another evidence of crystallization retardation by the crosslinking network.