Kinetic model of the thermal pyrolysis of chrome tanned leather treated with NaOH under different conditions using thermogravimetric analysis.

The thermal decomposition of chrome tanned leather before and after a soaking treatment with NaOH was studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effect of the solution concentration (0.2M and 0.5M) and the soaking time (5min and 15min) was evaluated. TGA experiments at four heating rates (5, 10, 15 and 20°Cmin(-1)) were run in a nitrogen atmosphere for every treatment condition. A kinetic model was developed considering the effect of the three variables studied, i.e.: the NaOH solution concentration, the soaking time and the heating rate. The proposed model for chrome tanned leather pyrolysis involves a set of four reactions, i.e.: three independent nth order reactions, yielding the corresponding products and one of them undergoing a successive cero order reaction. The model was successfully applied simultaneously to all the experimental data obtained. The evaluation of the kinetic parameters obtained (activation energy, pre-exponential factor and reaction order) allowed a better understanding of the effect of the alkali treatment on these wastes.

Early transference interventions with male patients in psychotherapy.

Transcripts of early sessions for 7 personality-disordered male subjects participating in an ongoing naturalistic long-term dynamic psychotherapy project were rated for therapist interventions and alliance. Early transference interpretations were followed by increased defensiveness even when there was a solid alliance. Omitting transference interpretations in the face of an early negative transference was equally problematic. However, the rapid sequence of early transference and defense interpretations, or early defense interpretations alone, enhanced therapeutic work without increasing defensiveness. Caretaking of the alliance after early interpretive work was also investigated. Two different styles of handling affect emerged from the sample.

Effectiveness of psychotherapy for personality disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the evidence for the effectiveness of psychotherapy for personality disorders in psychotherapy outcome studies. METHOD: Fifteen studies were located that reported data on pretreatment-to-posttreatment effects and/or recovery at follow-up, including three randomized, controlled treatment trials, three randomized comparisons of active treatments, and nine uncontrolled observational studies. They included psychodynamic/interpersonal, cognitive behavior, mixed, and supportive therapies. RESULTS: All studies reported improvement in personality disorders with psychotherapy. The mean pre-post effect sizes within treatments were large: 1.11 for self-report measures and 1.29 for observational measures. Among the three randomized, controlled treatment trials, active psychotherapy was more effective than no treatment according to self-report measures. In four studies, a mean of 52% of patients remaining in therapy recovered--defined as no longer meeting the full criteria for personality disorder--after a mean of 1.3 years of treatment. A heuristic model based on these findings estimated that 25.8% of personality disorder patients recovered per year of therapy, a rate sevenfold larger than that in a published model of the natural history of borderline personality disorder (3.7% recovered per year, with recovery of 50% of patients requiring 10.5 years of naturalistic follow-up). CONCLUSIONS: Psychotherapy is an effective treatment for personality disorders and may be associated with up to a sevenfold faster rate of recovery in comparison with the natural history of disorders. Future studies should examine specific therapies for specific personality disorders, using more uniform assessment of core pathology and outcome.

Differential effects of interventions on the therapeutic alliance with patients with personality disorders.

The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between clearly defined therapist interventions and the therapeutic alliance with personality-disordered patients. Transcripts of one psychotherapy session for each of 5 subjects taking part in a long-term psychotherapy research project were rated for therapist interventions and therapeutic alliance to determine if specific interventions were followed by enhanced or diminished therapeutic work. Transference interpretations were followed by a deterioration in the therapeutic alliance when the alliance was weak, but by enhanced work when the alliance was solid. In patients with both strong and weak alliances, defense interpretations and supportive interventions enhanced therapeutic work without increasing defensiveness. Supportive interventions seemed to prepare the way for exploration and to repair ruptured alliances.