Search

The effectiveness of interventions for internalizing disorders in children and adolescents was studied using a review and meta-analysis of published single-case research. Databases and other resources were searched for quantitative single-case studies in youth with anxiety, depressive, and posttraumatic stress disorders. Raw data from individual cases were aggregated and analyzed by means of multilevel meta-analytic models. Outcome variables were symptom severity assessed across baseline and treatment phases of the studies, and diagnostic status at post- and follow-up treatment. Single-case studies were rated for quality. We identified 71 studies including 321 cases (Mage = 10.66 years; 55% female). The mean quality of the studies was rated as below average, although there were considerable differences between the studies. Overall, positive within-person changes during the treatment phase in comparison to the baseline phase were found. In addition, positive changes in the diagnostic status were observed at post- and follow-up treatment. Yet high variability in treatment effects was found between cases and studies. This meta-analysis harvests the knowledge from published single-case research in youth-internalizing disorders and illustrates how within-person information from single-case studies can be summarized to explore the generalizability of the results from this type of research. The results emphasize the importance of keeping account of individual variability in providing and investigating youth interventions.

Introduction: In randomized trials, mostly group-level treatment effects of repeated cross-sectional measures are analyzed. However, substantial heterogeneity regarding individual symptom profiles and variability of treatment effects are often neglected, particularly over the long-term course.Objective: Ratings of depression severity over 104 weeks of follow-up after yearlong acute and continuation treatment with the Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) or Supportive Psychotherapy (SP) were investigated to cluster intraindividual trajectories and identify risk and protective factors. Methods: Longitudinal cluster analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis were conducted to group intraindividual long-term trajectories from one of the largest psychotherapy trials in early-onset chronic depression.Results: Two-year post-treatment trajectories of N=176 patients with early-onset chronic depression were clustered into four groups. Only 16.5% of patients remitted (Cluster 1), while the majority continued to experience subthreshold (35.8% Cluster 2) or major depressive symptoms (47.7% Cluster 3-4). Patients previously treated with the CBASP had a 45% lower risk of experiencing major depressive symptoms (Cluster 3) than patients in the SP group (RR=0.55, 95% CI=0.31 to 0.97, p=.03). Further treatment in the health care system during follow-up, especially psychological outpatient treatment, reduced depression severity. Comorbid disorders or childhood emotional/physical abuse had detrimental effects.Conclusion: Despite significant effects in favor of acute treatment with CBASP compared to SP, the majority of patients experienced subthreshold or major depressive symptoms over two years of follow-up. This calls for a long-term perspective with innovative treatment approaches such as the sequential model or modular psychotherapy.

Due to their likelihood for experiencing a number of traumatic events, refugee minors have an increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, the prevalence of PTSD in refugee children varies widely between studies, and it remains somewhat unclear what factors increase children's risk of PTSD. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of PTSD in a clinical outpatient sample of refugee minors, and to evaluate the association of different risk factors with a PTSD diagnosis. N = 417 refugee minors were recruited from an outpatient clinical center in Hamburg, Germany. The median age was 15.4 years and 74.6% of the minors were male. As part of the standard diagnostic process, their social history and a potential PTSD diagnosis using the Module K of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents (MINI-KID) was assessed. The predictive value of age, gender, number of interpersonal traumatic events, un-/accompanied status, presence of family member in the host country, flight duration, residence status, and time since arrival in the host country were investigated using logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of PTSD among the young refugee patients was 61.6%. Significant predictors of a PTSD diagnosis were number of interpersonal traumatic life events, age, residence status, and time since arrival in the host country. The prediction model explained 33.8% of variance of the outcome with the number of interpersonal traumatic events having the largest contribution (20.8%). The high prevalence of PTSD among refugee minors in outpatient care emphasizes the need to establish appropriate care structures and train specialists in the treatment of PTSD.

Background: The network approach to psychopathology, which assesses associations between individual symptoms, has recently been applied to evaluate treatments for mental disorders. While various options for conducting a network analysis in intervention research exist, no structured guidelines have been established yet. To gain an overview and evaluate the potential of different analytic options, we conducted a systematic review on these studies. Methods: We systematically searched the literature with combining terms on network analysis, mental health problems, and intervention studies. Studies were included if they constructed a symptom network, analysed data that was collected before, during or after a treatment for mental disorders, and yielded information about the treatment effect. Information on sample characteristics, the intervention, the research design, the estimated networks, the statistical analyses, and open science practices were extracted. Results: Across the 56 included studies, network analyses varied widely. About half of the studies estimated cross-sectional networks without a treatment node, e.g., for different treatment groups separately or for a single group before, and after treatment. About 20% of the studies analysed cross-sectional networks including a treatment node and a third of the studies estimated longitudinal networks. Studies differed on how networks were estimated, which network parameters were calculated, and which statistical tests were applied. Conclusion: This review highlighted that many different analytic options exist when applying the network approach to intervention research. As the potential of the network approach depends on the applied methodologies, the analytic choices need to be further investigated and structured guidelines need to be developed.

Background: In recent years, many adolescents have fled their home countries due to war and human rights violations, consequently experiencing various traumatic events and putting them at risk of developing mental health problems. The symptomatology of refugee youth was shown to be multifaceted and often falling outside of traditional diagnoses. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the symptomatology of this patient group by assessing the network structure of a wide range of symptoms. Further, we assessed clinicians’ perceptions of symptoms relations in order to evaluate the clinical validity of the empirical network. Methods: Empirical data on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression and other trauma symptoms from N = 366 refugee youth were collected during the routine diagnostic process of an outpatient centre for refugee youth in Germany. Additionally, four clinicians of this outpatient centre were asked how they perceive symptom relations in their patients using a newly developed tool. Separate networks were constructed based on 1) empirical symptom data and 2) clinicians’ perceived symptom relations (PSR). Results: Both the network based on empirical data and the network based on clinicians’ PSR showed that symptoms of PTSD and depression related most strongly within each respective cluster (connected mainly via sleeping problems), externalizing symptoms were somewhat related to PTSD symptoms and intrusions were central. Some differences were found within the clinicians’ PSR as well as between the PSR and the empirical network. Still, the general PSR-network structure showed a moderate to good fit to the empirical data. Conclusion: Our results suggest that sleeping problems and intrusions play a central role in the symptomatology of refugee children, which has tentative implications for diagnostics and treatment. Further, externalizing symptoms might be an indicator for PTSD-symptoms. Finally, using clinicians’ PSR for network construction offered a promising possibility to gain information on symptom networks and their clinical validity., HIGHLIGHTS Symptom networks were investigated to understand better refugee youth’s symptomatology. Intrusions were central; PTSD and depression symptoms related mainly to symptoms in their own domain. Despite differences, clinicians’ perceptions showed moderate fit to the empirical data.

One of the presentations from the First Online Session leading up to the Dutch National Open Science Festival in 2021: 'The Open Science Use Case Awards'on July 2nd 2020. The publication ‘A Collection of Open Science Use Cases can be found here:https://zenodo.org/record/3903257

Objective Observed associations between maternal prenatal stress and children’s socioemotional development have varied widely in the literature. The objective of the current study was to provide a synthesis of studies examining maternal prenatal anxiety and depression and the socioemotional development of their children. Method Eligible studies through to February 2018 were identified using a comprehensive search strategy. Included studies examined the association between maternal prenatal depression or anxiety and the future development of their children’s socioemotional development (eg, difficult temperament, behavioral dysregulation) up to 18 years later. Two independent coders extracted all relevant data. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to derive mean effect sizes and test for potential moderators. Results A total of 71 studies met full inclusion criteria for data analysis. The weighted average effect size for the association between prenatal stress and child socioemotional problems was as follows: odds ratio (OR) = 1.66 (95% CI = 1.54−1.79). Effect sizes were stronger for depression (OR = 1.79; 95% CI = 1.61−1.99) compared to anxiety (OR = 1.50; 95% CI = 1.36−1.64). Moderator analyses indicated that effect sizes were stronger when depression was more severe and when socio-demographic risk was heightened. Conclusion Findings suggest that maternal prenatal stress is associated with offspring socioemotional development, with the effect size for prenatal depression being more robust than for anxiety. Mitigating stress and mental health difficulties in mothers during pregnancy may be an effective strategy for reducing offspring behavioral difficulties, especially in groups with social disadvantage and greater severity of mental health difficulties.

Structures and properties of N-alkylated oxoporphyrinogens are presented with an emphasis on their potential application as optical and electrochemical anion sensors, as an electron acceptor in donor-acceptor conjugates, or as a platform to build novel supramolecular donor-acceptor assemblies. Competitive electron transfer from singlet excited zinc porphyrin to either OxP or C60, probed by various time-resolved spectroscopic techniques, in the supramolecular donor-acceptor assemblies was investigated.

A new class of multichromophoric host compounds capable of binding guest species through two-point coordinative interaction is reported. The hosts contain appended zinc porphyrin (ZnP) moieties connected covalently by acetylene linkages to a central oxoporphyrinogen (OxP) unit through its central macrocyclic nitrogen atoms. Orientation of the ZnP groups was controlled to some extent by variation of the substitution pattern at the OxP N-substituent. Up to four porphyrin appendages are accommodated, and two cofacial bis-porphyrin interaction sites can be created in orthogonal geometry within the same molecule. The multiporphyrin hosts, termed “twisted, two-faced porphyrins”, abbreviated as OxP−(MPx)n where M = 2H or Zn, n = 2 or 4, and x = meta (m) or para (p), and their complexes with a bis-4-pyridyl-substituted fullerene derivative were investigated using spectroscopic, electrochemical, and photochemical methods. Porphyrin fluorescence emission of the OxP−(ZnPx)n compounds is quenched substantially compar...

The effect of anion binding on the oxidation potential of an anion receptor, N21,N23-dibenzyl-5,10,15,20-(3,5-di-t-butyl-4-oxo-cyclohexa-2,5-dienylidene)porphyrinogen, 1 in o-dichlorobenzene is reported. The anion binding site of 1, at its inner pyrrolic amine hydrogens, is an integral part of the highly conjugated macrocycle, thus predicting larger potential shifts upon anion binding. Accordingly, cathodic shifts up to 600 mV are observed upon anion binding and such potential shifts correlate well with the anion binding constants. Keywords: Electrochemical anion sensing, Porphyrinogen, Cathodic shift, Recognition

Supramolecular triads composed of free-base porphyrin, fullerene, and ferric porphyrin were constructed by using “covalent-coordinate” binding strategy. For this, a free-base porphyrin was covalently linked to a fullerene entity bearing a pyridine ligand, and was subsequently utilized to coordinate ferric porphyrins bearing different peripheral substituents. The newly formed triads were characterized by spectral methods and the structures were deduced from DFT B3LYP/3-21G(*) methods. Free-energy calculations performed with use of the redox potential and emission data suggested the occurrence of sequential electron transfer from singlet excited free-base porphyrin to the covalently linked fullerene, followed by an electron transfer from fullerene anion radical to ferric porphyrin, ultimately generating free-base porphyrin cation radical and ferrous porphyrin as the electron-transfer products, anticipating the generation of long-lived charge-separated species as a consequence of distant separation between t...

The occurrence of photoinduced electron transfer in donor−acceptor self-assembled zinc naphthalocyanine (ZnNc) or zinc porphyrin (ZnP) single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) nanohybrids has been demonstrated. The nanohybrids were constructed by solubilizing carbon nanotubes by π−π stacking of pyrene functionalized to bear an imidazole moiety, ImPy-SWNT. Through the use of the imidazole ligand of the soluble ImPy-SWNT, donor ZnNc and ZnP entities were axially coordinated to yield ZnNc−ImPy-SWNT and ZnP−ImPy-SWNT donor−acceptor nanohybrids. The nanohybrids thus obtained were fully characterized by using transmission electron microscopy, UV−visible-near infrared spectroscopy, and electrochemical methods. Steady-state and time-resolved emission studies revealed efficient fluorescence quenching of the donor, ZnP, and ZnNc entities in the nanohybrids. Nanosecond transient absorption spectra revealed that the photoexcitation of the ZnNc or ZnP moiety resulted in the one-electron oxidation of the donor unit with a si...

5,10,15,20-Tetrakis-3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-oxocyclohexadienylidene porphyrinogen and its di-N-benzylated derivative are solvatochromic dyes capable of binding anionic species. The influence of solvent polarity and hydrogen bonding on their electronic absorption spectra was observed. Hydrogen bonding by the porphyrinogen amine protons of acetone solvent molecules could be observed in the solid state. The acetone solvate of N21N23-dibenzyl-5,10,15,20-tetrakis-3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-oxocyclohexadienylidene porphyrinogen crystallized under anhydrous conditions in the space group P with cell dimensions a = 12.1693(11) A, b = 17.5849(13) A, c = 21.0965(17) A, alpha = 69.870(4) degrees , beta = 78.140(4) degrees , gamma = 82.865(5) degrees . These porphyrinogens are capable of binding a variety of anions and can be used to distinguish fluoride chromogenically from the other halide anions. Solvatochromism was combined with anion binding in an attempt to provide more selective tests for anions. The anion binding properties were investigated using UV/vis spectrophotometry and 1H NMR spectroscopy.

The crystal structures of several dinuclear complexes of manganese are reported, and the decomposition and analysis of the nanostructured products derived from them are presented. 1,4,7,10-Tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen) forms dinuclear complexes 1-4 containing doubly oxo-bridged or oxo-acetato bridging ligands depending on the manganese salt used for the reaction. Doubly oxo-bridged 1 crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pnma, a = 22.3850(14) A, b = 9.1934(5) A, c = 13.2424(10) A, V = 2725.2(3) A(3). 2, containing [Mn(SCN)5](3-) conteranions, crystallizes in monoclinic space group I2/a with a = 18.2699(10) A, b = 11.2384(6) A, c = 18.6432(9) A, alpha = 90.00 degrees, beta = 114.510(6) degrees, gamma = 90.00 degrees, V = 3483.0(3) A(3). Oxo-acetato-bridged 3 crystallizes in orthorhombic space group Pca21, a = 13.9322(11) A, b = 16.2332(13) A, c = 14.6794(8) A, V = 3320.0(4) A(3). Compound 4 consists of a templated quasi-one-dimensional manganese oxalate crystallized in the triclinic space group P1, a = 9.5442(11) A, b = 10.3758(10) A, c = 21.851(2) A, alpha = 83.720(12) degrees, beta = 80.106(13) degrees, gamma = 85.457(13) degrees, V = 2114.9(4) A(3). Compounds 1, 3, and 4 decompose to nanostructured oxide materials, which may be isolated in bulk as lamellar-structured particles or microspheres or deposited on substrates.

Pacman-type face-to-face zinc-porphyrin-fullerene dyads have been newly synthesized and studied. Owing to the close proximity of the donor and acceptor entities, strong pi-pi intramolecular interactions between the porphyrin and fullerene entities resulted in modulating the spectral and electrochemical properties of the dyads. New absorption and emission bands that correspond to the charge-transfer interactions were observed in the near-IR region. Time-resolved transient absorption studies revealed efficient photoinduced electron transfer from the singlet excited porphyrin to the fullerene entity. The rate constants for photoinduced electron transfer are analyzed in terms of the Marcus theory of electron transfer, which afforded a large electron coupling matrix element (V=140 cm(-1)) for the face-to-face dyads. As a consequence of the large charge-recombination driving force in the Marcus inverted region, a relatively long lifetime of the charge-separated state has been achieved.

A novel corrole-type macrocycle, oxocorrologen (2), substituted with hemiquinone groups, has been synthesized. It was found to undergo multiple tautomerism of its exchangeable protons between electronegative atom sites at the macrocyclic core (nitrogen atoms) and periphery (phenol oxygen atoms). Alkylation at one macrocyclic nitrogen atom with a 4-nitrobenzyl group gave 3, which can exist in only two tautomeric forms depending on the solvent. Tautomerism has been studied by means of (1)H NMR spectroscopy in a variety of solvents and solvent mixtures. Tautomer structure assignments have been supported by DFT calculations of the relative energies of the tautomers. X-ray crystallography of the N-nitrobenzyl derivative has revealed that intramolecular hydrogen bonding may be responsible for stabilizing the observed tautomers. The solvent dependence of the tautomerism of 2 and 3 confers solvatochromism. Electrochemical measurements on 2 and 3 in their respective quinone forms have revealed irreversible processes, but indicate that they are both electron-deficient with a small HOMO-LUMO gap and first reduction potentials close to those of fullerene electron acceptors.

A new concept of charge stabilization via delocalization of the pi-cation radical species over the donor macrocycle substituents in a relatively simple donor-acceptor bearing multimodular conjugates is reported. The newly synthesized multimodular systems were composed of three covalently linked triphenylamine entities at the meso position of the porphyrin ring and one fulleropyrrolidine at the fourth meso position. The triphenylamine entities were expected to act as energy transferring antenna units and to enhance the electron donating ability of both free-base and zinc(II) porphyrin derivatives of these pentads. Appreciable electronic interactions between the meso-substituted triphenylamine entities and the porphyrin pi-system were observed, and as a consequence, these moieties acted together as an electron-donor while the fullerene moiety acted as an electron-acceptor in the multimodular conjugates. In agreement with the spectral and electrochemical results, the computational studies performed by the DFT B3LYP/3-21G(*) method revealed delocalization of the frontier highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) over the triphenylamine entities in addition to the porphyrin macrocycle. Free-energy calculations suggested that the light-induced processes from the singlet excited state of porphyrins are exothermic in the investigated multimodular conjugates. The occurrence of photoinduced charge-separation and charge-recombination processes was confirmed by the combination of time-resolved fluorescence and nanosecond transient absorption spectral measurements. Charge-separated states, on the order of a few microseconds, were observed as a result of the delocalization of the pi-cation radical species over the porphyrin macrocycle and the meso-substituted triphenylamine entities. The present study successfully demonstrates a novel approach of charge-stabilization in donor-acceptor multimodular conjugates.

By adopting a "covalent-coordinate" bonding approach, novel supramolecular pentad and triad molecules composed of zinc-porphyrin(s), fullerene(s), and oxoporphyrinogen redox-/photoactive entities have been constructed, and also characterized by means of spectral and electrochemical techniques. The geometry and electronic structures of the pentad and the triad were deduced by means of DFT calculations. Free-energy calculations suggested that the photoinduced electron/energy transfer from the zinc-porphyrin (ZnP) singlet-excited state to the imidazole modified fullerene (ImC(60)) acceptor and oxoporphyrinogen (OxP) entities is feasible for both the triad and the pentad. The charge-separation rates (k(CS)) determined from picosecond time-resolved emission studies were higher for pentad (C(60)Im:ZnP)(2)-OxP than for the corresponding triad, C(60)Im:ZnP-OxP. A comparison of the k(CS) values previously reported for the covalently linked bis(zinc-porphyrin)-oxoporphyrinogen triad suggests that employing a fullerene acceptor improves the electron-transfer rates. Nanosecond transient absorption studies provide evidence for the occurrence of electron-transfer processes. Lifetimes of the radical ion pairs (tau(RIP)) are in the range of hundreds of nanoseconds, which indicates that there is charge stabilization in the supramolecular systems.

A fluorescent reporter molecule, 2-aminopurine was self-assembled via Watson-Crick base-pairing to a uracil appended fullerene to form a donor-acceptor conjugate; efficient photoinduced charge separation was confirmed by time-resolved emission and transient absorption spectral studies.

5,10,15,20-tetrakis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-oxocyclohexadien-2,5-yl)porphyrinogen was alkylated at its macrocyclic nitrogen atoms with pyren-1-ylmethyl groups and the effect of increasing N-substitution on the spectroscopic and electrochemical properties was investigated. Both pyrene and oxoporphyrinogen chromophores exhibit fluorescence and there is little interaction between them except in the higher N-substituted compounds. Intra- or intermolecular excimer formation by pyrene is precluded by attachment to the bulky oxoporphyrinogen. Electrochemical measurements revealed reversible redox behavior.