Child care for the 21st century: An overview and commentary.

Contends that the problem of alternative child care in modern society touches on social, cultural, religious, and political attitudes and ideals. In considering proposed solutions, scientists and social policy makers are realizing that providing alternative child care for individual families produces complex repercussions in nearly all spheres of social, economic, and political life. Views are explored on the issue of child care as presented by E. Zigler and P. Ennis; S. Scarr et al; and A. R. Pence (see PA, Vol 76:36300; 36294; and 36288). Prominent psychological trends in the debate on child care, including the decline of the "main effect mentality," the "education vs care" controversy, and the resurgence of the early experience debate are noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An aging agenda for the 21st century: The opportunities and challenges of population longevity.

Discusses the Administration on Aging's (AOA) perspectives on an agenda for aging in the 21st century. The author considers the global phenomenon of longevity, the diversity of the US population and the challenges and opportunities tied to longevity in the new millennium. The major agenda items of the AOA include eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health status, and the need to provide support to caregivers of persons with chronic illnesses, disabling conditions, and debilitating diseases, as well as to caregivers of individuals with developmental and injury-related disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Mind and brain sciences in the 21st century.

Review of book Robert L. Solso (Ed.) Mind and brain sciences in the 21st century. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1997, xix + 354 pp.. Reviewed by David Pincus. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Medical and health impact of complex emergencies: implications for the International Society of Nephrology Disaster Relief Task Force

The aim of the present study was to measure whole body glucose uptake (M) and oxidation rate by euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp and indirect calorimetry in 7 morbidly obese subjects (BMI > 40 kg/m2) at three time points: before bilio-pancreatic diversion (BPD) surgery (Ob); 3 months after surgery POI; and after reaching stable body weight, at least 2 years after surgery POII. A group of 7 control subjects (C), matched groupwise for sex, age and BMI with POII patients, was also studied. The M value at POI was significantly higher than at Ob (49.12 +/- 8.57 vs 18.14 +/- 8.57 mumol.kg-1.min-1). No statistical difference was observed between the POII and C groups. Similarly, glucose oxidation rate was significantly increased at POI with respect to Ob (24.2 +/- 7.23 vs 9.42 +/- 3.91 mumol.kg-1.min-1) and was not significantly different between POII and C. Basal levels of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) decreased significantly both from Ob to POI and from POI to POII (1517.1 +/- 223.9 vs 1039.6 +/- 283.4 vs 616.0 +/- 77.6 mumol.1(-1). The same applied to basal plasma triglycerides (2.07 +/- 0.77 vs 1.36 +/- 0.49 vs 0.80 +/- 0.19 g.1(-1). Weight decreased mainly in the late postoperative period (POI to POII 124.28 +/- 11.22 to 69.71 +/- 11.78, 83% of total decrement), rather than in the early postoperative period (Ob to POI 135.25 +/- 14.99 to 124.28 +/- 11.22 kg, 17% of total decrement). We also report the clinical case of a young woman of normal weight, who underwent BPD for chylomicronaemia (secondary to familial lipoprotein lipase deficiency), whose M value, plasma insulin and blood glucose levels were normalized upon normalization of serum NEFA and triglyceride levels as determined by the therapeutic lipid malabsorption. In conclusion, in obese diabetic patients lipid malabsorption induced by BPD causes a definite enhancement of insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance. This improvement in metabolism is noticeable before the surgery has major effects on body weight. These observations suggest that lowered plasma lipids, rather than weight loss per se, are the cause of the reversibility of insulin resistance.     

Review of Applied Cross-cultural Psychology: Selected papers from the Second International Conference: International Association for Cross-cultural Psychology.

Reviews the book, Applied Cross-cultural Psychology: Selected papers from the Second International Conference: International Association for Cross-cultural Psychology edited by J. W. Berry adn W. J. Lonner (1975). This volume consists of a series of selected papers from the Second International Conference of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology held at Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, during August 1974. The editors note that many of the conference presentations concerned applied social questions and the papers selected for the present volume were chosen to reflect and comment on applications of "social science in cultural areas where cross-cultural psychologists may be of some assistance." The book is divided into the following seven sections: Psychology and National Development, Psychology and Social Change, Cross-Cultural Orientation, Culture and Mental Health, Social Issues, Education Applications, and Comparative Approaches to the Study of Behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

History of prevention and prevention groups: Legacy for the 21st century.

This article provides a context for this special journal issue devoted to the topic of evidence-based prevention groups. To begin, a history of the field of prevention is presented. Second, the authors highlight how prevention groups have evolved as part of the broader history of prevention. Finally, the authors discuss the implications of the history of prevention and prevention groups for future research and practice in the field of group work. The overall goal of this article is to provide a base of knowledge that practitioners and researchers may utilize to expand and advance the field of prevention group practice and research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Object Retrieval in the 1st Year of Life: Learning Effects of Task Exposure and Box Transparency.

Before 12 months of age, infants have difficulties coordinating and sequencing their movements to retrieve an object concealed in a box. This study examined (a) whether young infants can discover effective retrieval solutions and consolidate movement coordination earlier if exposed regularly to such a task and (b) whether different environments, indexed by box transparency, would impact the rate of learning and time of discovery of these solutions. Infants (N=12) were presented with an object retrieval task every week from 6 1/2 months of age until they were able to retrieve the toy from the box using coordinated two-handed patterns for 3 weeks. To reach that criterion, infants tested with an opaque box took 2 1/2 months and infants tested with a semitransparent box took 1 1/2 months. Both groups outperformed age-matched controls who received a one-time exposure to the task. Repeated exposure to the task and vision of the toy significantly enhanced this process of solution discovery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relevance of Freud's psychoanalysis in the 21st century: Its science and its research.

The relevance of psychoanalysis and its place within its intellectual and cultural surround has been a major issue over the whole of its now more than a century-long history. A very significant aspect of that concern has been the status of psychoanalysis as a theory of the mind, and as a basis for the application of that theory in the conduct of a therapy for the disorders of the mind. This article reviews in depth the long-standing debate about psychoanalysis as a scientific theory, the kind of science that psychoanalysis is--or can be--and the place of research, empirical as well as conceptual (with particular focus upon research into the nature of the therapeutic change process and its desired outcomes), in the incremental growth of that theory and its therapeutic applications in an ever expanding and increasingly secure knowledge base. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hearing the horror: A comment on the final report of the APA Task Force on the Victims of Crime and Violence.

Comments that a critical element in the final report of the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on the Victims of Crime and Violence may be lost simply because of the enormity and complexity of the issues involved. The real nature of the victim's emotional experience is often not directly addressed by researchers or service providers in the mental health community. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence-based interventions in school psychology: Conceptual foundations of the Procedural and Coding Manual of Division 16 and the Society for the Study of School Psychology Task Force.

We present the conceptual, philosophical, and methodological basis for the Procedural and Coding Manual for Review of Evidence-Based Interventions (hereafter called the Procedural and Coding Manual), which is available on the World Wide Web (http://www.sp-ebi.org). First, we discuss some key conceptual issues and areas of potential controversy surrounding the content and organization of the Procedural and Coding Manual. Second, we discuss our research framework for coding evidence-based interventions (EBIs), taking into account the dimensional classification approach adopted by the Task Force on Evidence-Based Interventions in School Psychology. We contrast this coding scheme with the approach embraced by the Committee on Science and Practice of the Society of Clinical Psychology, Division 12, American Psychological Association. Third, we present our methodological framework for reviewing EBIs, including quantitative group-based and single-participant designs, qualitative research designs, and theory-guided confirmatory program evaluation models. Finally, we introduce the concept of a coding system to be implemented by practitioners to develop a knowledge base on what works in practice and help bridge the gap between research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Detecting and managing elder abuse: challenges in primary care. The Research Subcommittee of the Elder Abuse and Self-Neglect Task Force of Hamilton-Wentworth

OBJECTIVE: To determine family physicians' perceptions of barriers and strategies in the effective detection and appropriate management of abused elderly people. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey; the protocol included an advance notification letter and 3 follow-up mailings. SETTING: Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, Ont. PARTICIPANTS: All active nonspecialist physicians who reported seeing elderly patients in their practices were eligible for inclusion. Fifty health service organization (HSO) physicians were randomly selected from among those listed with the HSO Mental Health Program, and 200 fee-for-service physicians were randomly selected from the Canadian Medical Directory. Of the 189 eligible physicians 122 returned completed questionnaires, a response rate of 65%. OUTCOME MEASURES: Physicians' ratings of the importance of potential barriers in assisting older people experiencing abuse and of the usefulness of strategies for dealing with elder abuse. RESULTS: Physicians identified the following barriers as fairly or very important: denial of abuse, resistance to intervention, not knowing where to call for help, lack of protocols to assess and respond to abuse, lack of guidelines about confidentiality, fear of reprisal, and lack of knowledge of the prevalence and definition of elder abuse. Strategies deemed to be helpful included a single agency to call, a directory of services, a list of resource people, an educational package, guidelines for detection and management, reimbursement for time spent on legal matters, continuing education, revision of fee structure and a central library of resources on elder abuse. CONCLUSION: Although the physicians perceived numerous barriers to their detection and management of elder abuse, they identified many strategies that could be implemented at a local level. Preparation of an algorithm to help physicians is the next phase of this work.     

The moral challenge of children at risk: protective policies and pediatrics. A report of the Children's Services, Inc. Task Force of Greater Cleveland

Social workers and pediatricians are among the professionals who share a society-wide concern with current public policies regarding the placement of children at extreme risk. A healthcare professional may successfully treat a child, only to learn later that this same child was the victim of a tragic incident of domestic violence after returning home. Such events are not uncommon, create considerable frustration for pediatricians, and demand an integrated interprofessional and interdisciplinary response. This report emerged from 6 months of task force dialogue with leaders of children's services programs, healthcare professionals, clergy, ethicists, and other community leaders in one major urban environment. It indicates innovative directions in children's protective services with regard to family preservation, foster care, residential care, and adoption. The latter two options could be used much more creatively than is the case currently. The report also asserts that far too few resources are being directed to this problem area.     

Sensitivity to change of generic quality of life instruments in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: preliminary findings in the generic health OMERACT study. OMERACT/ILAR Task Force on Generic Quality of Life. Life Outcome Measures in Rheumatology. International League of Associations for Rheumatology

In order to investigate intraspecific differences in Loxosceles intermedia spider venom we compared some biological properties of male and female venoms. Females produced higher amounts of venom than males. Furthermore, female venom presented more potent dermonecrotic and complement-dependent activities than male venom. Interestingly, the F35 toxin, a dermonecrotic and complement-dependent haemolytic factor, was also present in greater amounts in female venom, as demonstrated by ELISA. Therefore, the higher production and increased toxicity of venom in female specimens as compared to males may contribute to the variability observed in the severity of envenoming caused by L. intermedia spiders.