Bridging scientist and practitioner perspectives in clinical psychology.

Literature suggests that a complex and often hostile relationship exists between the science and practice of clinical psychology. Contributors to this conflict of viewpoints are reconsidered within the proposition that there are different roads to discovery and that there may be good reasons to keep the science and practice of clinical psychology somewhat separate. Results of a national survey of 325 psychologists are reviewed that support the view that psychological practitioners value research and consider their practices to be augmented by scientific findings. However, they are in need of vehicles of communication that will help them translate scientific findings into practice. Results suggest that practitioners do more to understand scientific findings than scientists do to understand the problems that face clinical practitioners. Ways to facilitate communication between and among these groups are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Education for the nurse of tomorrow: a community-focused curriculum

A competitive enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay (ELISA) technique has been developed to facilitate quantitative analysis of the earliest step in the initiation of the extrinsic pathway of coagulation, i.e., complex formation of factor VII/VIIa with tissue factor. The ELISA measures the binding of biotinylated human plasma factor VII to relipidated recombinant human tissue factor. Quantitation of the relative affinity (expressed as IC50) of any factor VII molecular population or structural analogue for tissue factor can be determined by competitive binding. Subnanomolar concentrations of both wild-type recombinant human factor VII (rFVII) and rFVII(R152Q), a mutation at the FVII activation site, competed effectively with biotinylated plasma-derived factor VII in binding to tissue factor. In contrast, the affinity of rFVII(R79Q), a mutation in the first epidermal growth factor-like domain, was 12-fold lower. Following activation of rFVII(R79Q), its affinity for tissue factor and enzymatic activity increased 4-fold and 6-fold, respectively. For wild-type rFVII, enzymatic activity rose significantly following activation. However, its affinity for tissue factor was unchanged. We conclude that both the activation state of factor VII and the mutation of amino-acid residues within the first epidermal growth factor-like domain may alter the affinity of factor VII for tissue factor.     

Dynamic arrays for fast, efficient, data manipulation during image analysis: a new software tool for exploratory data analysis.

Memory reallocation is used to construct a run-time data structure for fast/efficient storage of information during collection and analysis. The data structure presented uses dynamic memory but does not require the use of pointers to link nodes of information together. It allows for simple and efficient access to data via array indexing rather than through the use of lists or tree structures and it provides flexibility for competing storage requirements that are determined dynamically. The data structure is developed in the C programming language and a suite of ANSI standard C subroutines that make up a run-time data structure management system is provided.     

Electrical characterization and modeling of alternating-currentthin-film electroluminescent devices

Electrical characterization of evaporated ZnS:Mn alternating-current thin-film electroluminescent (ACTFEL) devices is accomplished by capacitance-voltage (C-V) analysis. Interpretation of these C-V characteristics is aided by SPICE modeling and by electrical characterization of an ideal ACTFEL device constructed from discrete components, based on a simple equivalent circuit for the ACTFEL device. Various features of the C -V curve are ascribed to equivalent circuit parameters and associated device physics parameters     

A branch and cut algorithm for the VRP with satellite facilities

An important aspect of the vehicle routing problem (VRP) that has been largely overlooked is the use of satellite facilities to replenish vehicles during a route. When possible, satellite replenishment allows the drivers to continue making deliveries until the close of their shift without necessarily returning to the central depot. This situation arises primarily in the distribution of fuels and certain retail items. When demand is random, optimizing customer routes a priori may result in significant additional costs for a particular realization of demand. Satellite facilities are one way of safeguarding against unexpected demand. This paper presents a branch and cut methodology for solving the VRP with satellite facilities subject to capacity and route time constraints. We begin with a mixed-integer linear programming formulation and then describe a series of valid inequalities that can be used to cut off solutions to the linear programming relaxation. Several separation heuristics are then outlined that are used to generate the cuts. Embedded in the methodology is a VRP heuristic for finding good feasible solutions at each stage of the computations. Results are presented for a set of problems derived from our experience with a leading propane distributor.     

How to avoid mistakes in medicine administration

This article examines factors that may contribute to errors in drug administration. These can range from the omission of a single dose of a non-essential drug to a major overdose resulting in serious harm to a patient. It concludes that a combination of being observant and well-informed can help to prevent errors.     

The genotype of the human cancer cell: implications for risk analysis

An extremely large database describes genotypes associated with the human cancer phenotype and genotypes of human populations with genetic predisposition to cancer. Aspects of this database are examined from the perspective of risk analysis, and the following conclusions and hypotheses are proposed: (1) The genotypes of human cancer cells are characterized by multiple mutated genes. Each type of cancer is characterized by a set of mutated genes, a subset from a total of more than 80 genes, that varies between tissue types and between different tumors from the same tissue. No single cancer-associated gene nor carcinogenic pathway appears suitable as an overall indicator whose induction serves as a quantitative marker for risk analysis. (2) Genetic defects that predispose human populations to cancer are numerous and diverse, and provide a model for associating cancer rates with induced genetic changes. As these syndromes contribute significantly to the overall cancer rate, risk analysis should include an estimation of the effect of putative carcinogens on individuals with genetic predisposition. (3) Gene activation and inactivation events are observed in the cancer genotype at different frequencies, and the potency of carcinogens to induce these events varies significantly. There is a paradox between the observed frequency for induction of single mutational events in test systems and the frequency of multiple events in a single cancer cell, suggesting events are not independent. Quantitative prediction of cancer risk will depend on identifying rate-limiting events in carcinogenesis. Hyperproliferation and hypermutation may be such events. (4) Four sets of data suggest that hypermutation may be an important carcinogenic process. Current mechanisms of risk analysis do not properly evaluate the potency of putative carcinogens to induce the hypermutable state or to increase mutation in hypermutable cells. (5) High-dose exposure to carcinogens in model systems changes patterns of gene expression and may induce protective effects through delay in cell progression and other processes that affect mutagenesis and toxicity. Paradigms in risk analysis that require extrapolation over wide ranges of exposure levels may be flawed mechanistically and may underestimate carcinogenic effects of test agents at environmental levels. Characteristics of the human cancer genotype suggest that approaches to risk analysis must be broadened to consider the multiplicity of carcinogenic pathways and the relative roles of hyperproliferation and hypermutation. Further, estimation of risk to general human populations must consider effects on hypersusceptible individuals. The extrapolation of effects over wide exposure levels is an imprecise process.     

Moving on and moving up: The experience of households who resell public sector dwellings

The long‐term consequences of the sale of public sector dwellings to sitting tenants are under‐researched; in particular, the experience of tenant purchasers in the housing market subsequent to purchase is little known. This paper reports research designed to fill this gap in knowledge. Over 200 tenants who had bought their dwelling from the Scottish Special Housing Association and subsequently resold on the open market were traced using the Register fo Sasines and the Land Register and interviewed. Most had made considerable capital gains on resale and had used some of the realised capital to trade up in the housing market. They were, on average, slightly more affluent and younger than sitting tenant purchasers generally; they represented a group of households who were privileged within the public sector through living as tenants in the best stock and who were enabled by the Right to Buy to convert that good luck into hard cash and move into mainstream owner occupation. This good luck compounded the advantaged position vis‐à‐vis other tenants that they enjoyed in the labour market.