A paradigm for single-case research: The time series study of a long-term psychotherapy for depression.

Articulates a paradigm for single-case research in psychotherapy. A patient diagnosed as having major depressive disorder was seen in an intensive, twice-weekly psychodynamic psychotherapy for 2.5 years. Each session was videotaped, and assessments of patient change were obtained at regular intervals. A time-series analysis was used to model fluctuations in the therapy process to take into account time and the effect of previous events on subsequent changes, thereby preserving the context-determined meaning for therapist and patient actions. A bidirectional analysis of causal effects shows that the influence processes between therapist and patient are mutual and reciprocal and suggests that the effect of the patient on the therapist and on the process has not been made sufficiently explicit in previous models of process and change. The potential of intensive single-case designs for uncovering causal effects in psychotherapy is demonstrated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Turning Students into Professionals: Types of Knowledge and ABET Engineering Criteria

In order to implement the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) engineering criteria, it is important for engineering educators to understand different types of knowledge and how these types relate to the outcomes described in Criterion 3. This paper first provides a heuristic for framing a program's educational objectives by identifying exemplars of the types of engineers a program seeks to graduate. Three sections then follow, each addressing categories of knowledge: tacit knowledge, four types of knowledge that can either be tacit or explicit, and knowledge created and shared in teams. Examples of the relationship of traits of knowledge to the outcomes in Criterion 3 are provided. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of how these types of knowledge are imbued in engineering students at the University of Virginia, as well as suggestions for additional ways in which they could be infused into engineering curricula.     

Invasive angiology in acute arterial pathology in a critically ill newborn infant

Four patients who complained of symptoms and signs compatible with biliary tract disease and in whom the diagnosis of gallbladder (three cases) and common bile duct ascariasis (one case) was made sonographically are reported. In two patients with gallbladder ascariasis, cholecystectomy corroborated the presence of the round-worms, and was curative. The third patient was a pregnant woman (32nd gestational week) who took piperazine citrate, and a second sonogram performed 29 days later was completely normal. The fourth patient with common bile duct ascariasis underwent choledochotomy with extraction of one ascaris lumbricoides from the common duct, and a T tube was left in place for 15 days. All patients received antiparasitics and had a favorable outcome. Ultrasonography is an important noninvasive diagnostic procedure in the work-up of these patients, who usually describe a clinical picture suggesting gallstone disease: this is especially true in the presence of pregnancy.     

Infants' predictive reaching for moving objects in the dark.

Infants were presented with a moving object under 2 lighting conditions to investigate the role of vision in early reaching. The motion of the target object also allowed for an analysis of the infants' ability to use a predictive style of reaching. Infants were tested twice, at 5 and 7.5 months of age, with a moving object in the light and the same object painted with luminescent paint in the dark. Infants successfully contacted the glowing object on about half of their attempts at both ages, although 7.5 month-olds reached more often. Infants also took into account the motion of the target object by aiming their reaches ahead of the object and by reaching with their contralateral hand. These results suggest that proprioceptive feedback and sight of the target allow for successful reaching with limited visual information, even in relatively complex reaching tasks. The infants' success also demonstrates their ability to adapt their movements and reaching strategy to the speed and trajectory of the target object in order to reach predictively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of a Compaction Simulator to the Design of a High-Dose Tablet Formulation. Part I

The compaction properties of an investigational drug are studied by the use of a compaction simulator. The effects of punch velocity over the range of 30-640 mm^-1 on the compaction properties of the pure drug and a variety of formulas incorporating a high dose of the active compound have been investigated. The data were analyzed by applying the Heckel equation. The pure drug was found to have a high yield pressure at a relatively low punch velocity of 31 mm^-1. As the punch velocity was increased there was a decrease in crushing strength, primarily as a result of increasing yield pressure. These findings indicate that the pure drug predominantly consolidated by fragmentation and elastic deformation, with a slow plastically deforming component. The information obtained on the consolidation mechanism of the pure drug and, subsequently, on model formulas were instrumental in the design and selection of a robust formula and granulation process. The advantages of conducting dosage form design and characterization studies during the early phase of tablet formulation using means such as a compaction simulator are emphasized in this investigation.     

Enhancement Effects in the Percutaneous Absorption of Alprazolam Through Human Skin in vitro

The enhancement effects of some chemicals on the percutaneous absorption of alprazolam through human skin was investigated in vitro. Linoleic acid, oleic acid, Comperlan F® (linoleic acid diethanolamide), Comperlan KD® (coconut fatty acid diethanolamide) and Ethomeen C12® (bis-(2-hydroxyethyl)cocamine) were evaluated for their enhancing effect either as neat solvents or combined with propylene glycol. The effects of skin pretreatment with the enhancers on the percutaneous absorption of alprazolam from a drug suspension in an aqueous gel were also investigated: skin pretreatment with some enhancers has shown potentially interesting aspects. The determination of alprazolam partitioning into untreated and pretreated horny layer supported the idea that, with oleic and linoleic acid, a contribution to the modification of the diffusional resistance of the skin was given by an increase of the drug solubility in the stratum coraeum.     

II. Yeast sequencing reports. Sequence of a segment of yeast chromosome II shows two novel genes,one almost entirely hydrophobic and the other extremely asparagine-serine rich

A 3·2 kb EcoRI fragment of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was entirely sequenced. Two new open reading frames were identified. The first is extremely hydrophobic, and would likely be an integral membrane protein. It has significant similarity to only one reported gene, a gene of unknown function from Drosophila melanogaster. The second ORF is asparagine-rich and very serine-rich, with a remarkable stretch of nearly 26 consecutive asparagine residues comprised of the same codon. It has no significant similarity to any reported gene. The fragment maps to chromosome II on the left arm between the CDC27 and ILS1 loci. The nucleotide sequence reported in this paper has been deposited in the GenBank database with the Accession Number M89908.