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Zusammenfassung Der Einfluss dertion gathering, or patient education). We conducted a systematic review including publications from 2000 to 2015 to gather further empirical support. Methods: A systematic review was carried out (with information drawn mainly from Medline, Embase, Cochrane, PsychLit, and Psyndex) to identify RCTs as well as controlled and uncontrolled studies in clinical adult samples. Studies with psychiatric samples and psychologicalpsychotherapeutic interventions were excluded. Results: A total of 17 RCTs, 17 controlled studies, and 8 qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria. The quality of the RCTs and controlled studies was satisfying. In the doctor-patient relationship (building), 60% of the studies showed a positive effect on objective health parameters. Information gathering and provision (patient education) were the most investigated domains with unequivocally positive effects. Communication (skills) showed improved results and enabled treatment-related emotions and behavior. Two studies included an economical evaluation with reduced healthcare costs. Conclusions: A systematic review revealed different domains of the doctor-patient relationship and communication with convincing effects regarding different objective and subjective health outcomes.

The impact of endometriosis on life quality in our study was considerably less than in other studies but equivalent to other chronic medical conditions. It could be shown that endometriosis is influenced by biopsychosocial variables. However, the elevated presence of anxiety and depressive symptoms indicates the need of psychosomatic treatment of affective disorders to prevent manifestation.

Structural glasses formed by quenching a melt possess a population of soft quasilocalized excitations -often called 'soft spots' -that are believed to play a key role in various thermodynamic, transport and mechanical phenomena. Under a narrow set of circumstances, quasilocalized excitations assume the form of vibrational (normal) modes, that are readily obtained by a harmonic analysis of the multi-dimensional potential energy. In general, however, direct access to the population of quasilocalized modes via harmonic analysis is hindered by hybridizations with other low-energy excitations, e.g. phonons. In this series of papers we re-introduce and investigate the statistical-mechanical properties of a class of low-energy quasilocalized modes -coined here nonlinear quasilocalized excitations (NQEs) -that are defined via an anharmonic (nonlinear) analysis of the potential energy landscape of a glass, and do not hybridize with other low-energy excitations. In this first paper, we review the theoretical framework that embeds a micromechanical definition of NQEs. We demonstrate how harmonic quasilocalized modes hybridize with other soft excitations, whereas NQEs properly represent soft spots without hybridization. We show that NQEs' energies converge to the energies of the softest, non-hybridized harmonic quasilocalized modes, cementing their status as true representatives of soft spots in structural glasses. Finally, we perform a statistical analysis of the mechanical properties of NQEs, which results in a prediction for the distribution of potential energy barriers that surround typical inherent states of structural glasses, as well as a prediction for the distribution of local strain thresholds to plastic instability. arXiv:1912.10930v1 [cond-mat.soft]

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Purpose The sino-nasal outcomes test-22 (SNOT-22) represents the reference questionnaire to assess patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). As weak correlations between objective CRS parameters and SNOT-22 total score have been observed, factor analyses have aimed to identify underlying factorial structures. However, ambiguous factor loadings and problematic item-domain assignments have resulted. Moreover, such factor analyses have mainly been performed in non-European CRS patients, while European data remain sparse. This study thus sought to address these issues. Methods Principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed from SNOT-22 questionnaires completed by European CRS patients. Goodness of fit, internal consistencies, and factor loadings were calculated. Item-domain assignment was based on statistical grounds and clinical meaningfulness. Additionally, this study investigated correlations between SNOT-22 domains and external reference criteria, including Lund–Mackay score, Lund–Naclerio score and the brief symptom inventory 18 (BSI-18). Results One hundred and thirty-four European CRS patients were included. Principal component analysis proposed four SNOT-22 domains (“ nasal symptoms ”, “ otologic symptoms ”, “ sleep symptoms ”, “ emotional symptoms ”), which explained 63.6% of variance. Observed item-domain-assignment differed from previously proposed item-domain assignments. All factor loadings were > 0.5, except “cough” (0.42) and “facial pain or pressure” (0.49). For confirmatory factor analysis, satisfactory goodness of fit (RMSEA = 0.66; CFI = 0.92; TLI = 0.90) and internal consistencies (Cronbach-α: total score = 0.93; domains = 0.75–0.91) were observed. Significant positive correlations were found between the “ nasal symptoms ” domain and both the Lund–Mackay score ( r = 0.48; p < 0.001) and the Lund–Naclerio score ( r = 0.27, p < 0.01). Significant positive correlations were also identified between “ emotional symptoms ” and BSI-18 total score ( r = 0.64, p < 0.001). Conclusions Principal component analysis performed for SNOT-22 questionnaires completed by European CRS patients indicated a different item-domain-assignment than previously reported. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested acceptable and clinically plausible psychometric properties for the resulting factorial structure. Significant correlations between the “ nasal symptoms ” and the “ emotional symptoms ” domains were observed with objective CRS parameters. The resulting factorial structure with different item-domain assignments may ...

Plastic deformation in amorphous solids is known to be carried by stress-induced localized rearrangements of a few tens of particles, accompanied by the conversion of elastic energy to heat. Despite their central role in determining how glasses yield and break, the search for a simple and generally applicable definition of the precursors of those plastic rearrangements-the so-called shear transformation zones (STZs)-is still ongoing. Here we present a simple definition of STZs-based solely on the harmonic approximation of a glass's energy. We explain why and demonstrate directly that our proposed definition of plasticity carriers in amorphous solids is more broadly applicable compared to anharmonic definitions put forward previously. Finally, we offer an open-source library that analyzes low-lying STZs in computer glasses and in laboratory materials such as dense colloidal suspensions for which the harmonic approximation is accessible. Our results constitute a physically motivated methodological advancement towards characterizing mechanical disorder in glasses, and understanding how they yield.