Targeting technologies--recent patent literature

The patent literature is rich with information about ideas and approaches related to targeted drug delivery. Although there is a typically a delay in the release of this information compared to that published in journal articles, some of the subject matter of patent applications is never released through any other medium and the breadth of anticipated uses is described best in the patent literature. As with any form of information, the patent literature can only provide an historical perspective of what has already occurred. However, the trends of this literature clearly points to the possibilities for the future in drug targeting.     

Policies to influence the spatial distribution of physicians: a conceptual review of selected programs and empirical evidence

To increase the usefulness of existing physician location literature for policy evaluation, literature is grouped into intraurban and urban-rural studies. A conceptual overview of physician location literature is presented. Consensus results, if any, are discussed. A list of hypotheses suggested by the literature is then utilized in a discussion of economic social, prior exposure, and professional development incentives embodied in selected public and private sector programs. Programs are evaluated by type of incentive mechanism and geographic target area to determine if present program structures are based on a solid empirical foundation. This assessment indicates that, in general, use of prevalent location incentive mechanisms is not justified by a consensus of empirical evidence.     

Words, imagination, meaning: Toward change.

Discusses imaginative literature as a therapeutic intervention in psychology and describes the change mechanisms existing within literature and the therapeutic components created through the use of literature. Bibliotherapy research is reviewed, including studies using specific theoretical approaches, populations, and purposes. Selections from narrative works illustrate various therapeutic applications of literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kikuchi's disease of the neck (histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis)

Histocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (HNL), also known as Kikuchi's disease is a benign self limiting disease of unknown origin. It effects cervical lymph nodes, predominantly in young females. It is well described in the pathology literature, but little is written about this in the ENT literature, as few clinicians are probably aware of this condition. Five cases of cervical Kikuchi's disease are presented with a brief review of the literature.     

Psychomycology: An interdisciplinary application of symbolism.

"Psychology is the study of behavior. Mycology is the study of fungi" including mushrooms, which are currently of great interest in psychotomimetic research. There are 3 main types of bibliographical source material: (a) extensive mycology literature proper, (b) growing research literature related to possible chemotherapeutic uses of fungi, and (c) literature "which is just plain literature." Examples of each category are cited. "Our hypothesis is that there are no neutral or emotionally dispassionate feelings about the mushroom. Individuals appear to group themselves into mycophiles, mycophobes, and mycoambivalents. The mushroom is seen variously as a symbol of death or ecstasy, but rarely as a natural organism untinged with affective power." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Companion animals: social support for orthopedic clients

Various definitions, conceptualizations, and measurements of social support exist in literature. Consistently among these variations, the focus is on people. Companion animals are not included; however, reviews of both social support literature and human-animal bond literature shows that the two share a number of common functions. Using two case studies, the author demonstrates that the social support of companion animals is a legitimate and relevant source of support for persons with orthopedic disorders.     

Parental adherence to child psychologists' recommendations from psychological testing.

Nonadherence to prescribed regimens is a significant cause of treatment failure across pediatric and psychological/psychiatric childhood conditions. Although a modest literature exists for medical conditions, the literature on adherence to psychologists' recommendations is sparse. We review the extant literature on this topic, highlighting areas for further study and intervention. Implications for policy and the practice of psychoeducational assessment are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Non-adherence with medications in organ transplant patients: a literature review

The problems of non-adherence with treatment in health care in general, and with medication adherence in particular, is an area with a voluminous and burgeoning literature. However, there appears to be no review of the literature on non-adherence with medications in organ transplant patients. This comprehensive review therefore considers literature on adherence in adult kidney, heart and liver transplantation. The particular problem of adherence in paediatric transplant patients is also addressed. This transplant research literature is then evaluated within the broader context of social science research on medication adherence. From the review it is apparent that there is an urgent need for research which examines the patient's beliefs about their illness and medicines. Such research is a precursor for rigorous nursing intervention studies which aim to promote adherence by being tailored to the patient's perceptions.     

Swelling of and drug release from monoglyceride-based drug delivery systems

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a well-recognized phenomenon that is attributed to a variety of etiologies. Sudden SNHL after cardiopulmonary bypass surgery has been well reported and is thought to be due to microemboli. However, a review of the English literature revealed only 15 cases of SNHL after general anesthesia for nonotologic surgery. Several etiologies for this loss have been suggested, but no proven pathogenesis is yet available. This report adds to the literature three additional cases of sudden SNHL after general anesthesia for nonotologic surgery. The literature is reviewed and proposed mechanisms of injury are discussed.     

Parenting the traumatized child: Attending to the needs of nonoffending caregivers of traumatized children.

While there is a growing literature on the impact of trauma on children, there has been relatively little attention to the needs of their caregivers, who are themselves at risk for elevated levels of stress. The current article draws from the broader literature on parenting under stress and the literature on interventions with parents of sexually abused children to outline the need for interventions for caregivers of multiply traumatized children. It reviews components of an intervention model derived from the literature on general parenting interventions as well as the growing literature on trauma treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stercoral perforation of the colon: case report and review of the literature

Stercoral perforation of the colon is a rarely reported illness, with 67 cases reported in the literature (1). A literature review revealed no case reports in the Emergency Medicine literature. A case report of a 47-year-old female with a history of chronic constipation and sudden onset of severe abdominal pain with physical signs of peritonitis is presented. Initial hematologic and radiologic investigations were normal. After 12 h of hospitalization, a fever developed, and the signs of peritonitis continued, but her abdominal X-ray studies and white blood count remained normal. Because of her persistent abdominal findings, laparotomy was carried out, at which time a stercoral perforation of the rectum was found. A colostomy was performed. This condition is notoriously covert, but if undetected may be life-threatening. A review of the literature will highlight suspected etiologies, diagnostic tests of choice, and a preferred treatment plan.     

Rectal neovagina: Simonsen''s technique for large rectovaginal fistula repair

OBJECTIVE: Although trichobezoars are well described in the surgical literature, there is relatively little in the psychiatric literature on them. This study aims to focus the attention of readers on trichobezoars by means of a case report and an overview of the literature. METHOD: We present a case of a patient with trichotillomania and a trichobezoar, including psychiatric management. We also briefly review the relevant literature. RESULTS: Hair-pulling significantly improved in response to treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine and supportive psychotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: The medical and psychiatric sequelae of trichotillomania should not be underestimated. Pharmacotherapy may be play a useful role in some patients with this disorder.     

Therapeutic considerations for work with persons with HIV disease.

Although a growing literature base is developing addressing the role that mental health professionals can or may play in assisting individuals with HIV disease, the literature is in need of an organization which provides a framework from which professionals can conceptualize their work. As such, this article reviews the psychotherapeutic literature on HIV/AIDS, by placing it in the framework of E. Kubler-Ross's (1969, 1987) stages of Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance of the terminal illness. A process model that details the emotional course that many HIV-infected individuals encounter is described, summarizing the therapeutic tasks relevant for each stage and the treatment recommendations previously reported in the literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serial sonographic changes in a case of isthmic pregnancy treated with methotrexate

A case report of a primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) in the mandible of a young adult male is presented and relevant literature reviewed. The clinical presentation and course of the case is typical of MFH of the jaw as reported in the literature.     

Bile peritonitis and miliary tuberculosis: a case report

We report an unusual case of bile peritonitis in a child. The literature on bile peritonitis is reviewed, and its treatment is discussed. According to the literature, bile peritonitis has a good prognosis provided operation is early. Patients in whom bile is septic at the time of surgery have an increased morbidity and a considerable mortality.     

Prospects of Mind Maps for Better Visualization of Infrastructure Literature

Literature analysis is important for the identification of the state of existing knowledge and prevailing research gaps. Effective literature analysis, however, is a lengthy process and requires a large effort to consider the information from different viewpoints and to identify areas of cross benefits. This paper represents an approach to summarize the information related to the construction and infrastructure domains by using a category of visual tools referred to as mind maps. First, the capabilities of various knowledge mapping tools for graphically representing the hierarchical concepts (keywords) of a given domain of knowledge are discussed, and example mind maps are developed for the infrastructure asset management domain. Enhancements to mind maps are then proposed on the basis of an extensive literature analysis to visually show numerical scores of various publications associated with the concepts in the mind map. This facilitates the identification of the highly relevant and the most useful knowledge in the literature. Suggestions are then presented for the use of mind maps by publishers of large literature databases to facilitate better analysis and the visual access and retrieval of information from the literature.     

In vitro isolation and cultivation of Cowdria ruminantium under serum-free culture conditions

Imagined halitosis is poorly documented in the psychiatric literature. It is perhaps best thought of as a symptom rather than as a specific syndrome (a collection of symptoms that co-vary together). Many of the cases with imagined halitosis described in the literature resemble the psychiatric syndrome of social phobia.     

Cure of recurrent medulloblastoma: the contribution of surgical resection at relapse

BACKGROUND: Recurrent medulloblastoma has long been considered universally fatal. In spite of attempts to improve its treatment, only rarely have long term survivors been documented in the world's medical literature. Although the treatment of primary medulloblastoma is well established and includes surgical excision, postsurgical irradiation, and, more recently, chemotherapy, there is no established treatment for its recurrence. Current guidelines dictate the experimental use of chemotherapy, and there have been some encouraging results; yet no increase in long term survival has been documented. METHODS: This article presents a case of cured recurrent medulloblastoma in which the only intervention at the time of recurrence was surgical excision. In addition, a review of the literature is presented, which evaluates chemotherapeutic trials involving cases of recurrent medulloblastoma. RESULTS: The authors were surprised to find that the longest survivors of multiple trials had undergone reoperation at the time of recurrence. The authors' case, as well as cases described in the literature, point to a valid treatment alternative largely ignored in the management of recurrent medulloblastoma. CONCLUSIONS: Reoperation of recurrent brain tumors has received surprisingly little attention in the medical literature. Yet, as this case and a review of the literature demonstrate, this is a useful intervention.     

Organizational use of therapeutic change: Strengthening multisource feedback systems through interdisciplinary coaching.

The use of multisource feedback as a management development tool is examined by integrating the empirical and theoretical literature on individual change from the fields of industrial/organizational psychology and clinical/counseling psychology. The assumptions underlying 360-degree feedback as a sufficient process of producing managerial change are questioned in terms of the theoretical and metaanalytic literature regarding the causes of personal change. It is argued that 360-degree feedback is best used as a springboard for management development. Lasting change is best achieved through an interdisciplinary coaching strategy involving what we know about adult development and change from industrial and clinical literature and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)