These findings provide neural evidence for altered incentive processing in unmedicated patients with OCD, suggesting an elevated sensitivity to negatively affect stimuli as well as dysfunction of the ventral striatum.

Patient satisfaction with treatment is an important clinical index associated with the efficacy and adherence of treatment in schizophrenia. Although switching from oral antipsychotics to the long-acting injectable formulation may improve convenience, patient satisfaction has not been studied extensively. We carried out a 21-week, multicenter, randomized, open-label comparative study. A total of 154 patients with schizophrenia unsatisfied with current oral atypical antipsychotics were assigned randomly to either immediate or delayed switching to paliperidone palmitate, the long-acting injectable formulation of paliperidone. The Medication Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM) were used to evaluate patient satisfaction with treatment, whereas the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale were used to evaluate efficacy. From baseline to the final assessment, the MSQ score increased significantly in both groups, and the increase was greatest after the first administration of paliperidone palmitate in the immediate switch group. The scores of TSQM effectiveness, convenience, and global satisfaction as well as the PSP total score increased significantly, whereas the PANSS total score decreased significantly in both groups. The immediate switch group showed a significant improvement in the TSQM convenience score compared with the delayed switch group on oral antipsychotics during the comparison period. Most adverse events were minor and tolerable. In short, switching from oral atypical antipsychotics to paliperidone palmitate because of poor satisfaction significantly improved patient satisfaction, with comparable efficacy and tolerability.

No abstract

Response spectrum analysis is widely employed in the seismic design of pile-supported wharves, as it can easily determine the maximum response of a structure. The analysis typically uses virtual fixed points to model the structure, without modelling the ground, as the structure is assumed to be a frame. Virtual fixed points can adequately simulate pile responses under horizontal static loads; however, pile responses under seismic loads have not been well studied. Therefore, the dynamic centrifuge tests evaluate the applicability of response spectrum analysis, using virtual fixed points, to the seismic design of a pile-supported wharf. Comparison of results from scale models (3 × 3 groups of piles from sections of Pohang New Port, Korea) with those from the analysis showed that the response spectrum analysis using virtual fixed points does not adequately simulate the natural period or pile bending moment of a pile-supported wharf system.

No abstract