The science and practice of empirically supported treatments.

The impact on Canadian professional psychological treatment practices of the American Psychological Association""s Division 12 (Clinical Psychology) Task Force""s development of criteria and listings for empirically supported psychological treatments, along with other industrial efforts to standardize the identification of treatments with established efficacy is described in the article by J. Hunsley et al (see record 1999-01869-001). Here Hunsley et al extend their previous discussion and reply to other commentaries (see records 1999-01869-002, 1999-01869-003, 1999-01869-004, 1999-01869-005, 1999-01869-006) by viewing the current emphases in the Canadian health care system on accountability and empirically supported treatment (ESTs) as an unparalleled opportunity for professional psychology to deliver on its birthright. The generalizability of US experiences to Canadian contexts is discussed. Clinical practice guidelines should and will become the norm for providing evidence-based services in psychology, yet it would be impossible to develop such a guideline without empirical evidence proving that there are "best" interventions for a given problem. Canadian research issues in this light are discussed along with future challenges to professional psychology in Canada. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Isolation of synthetic lethal mutants of ras1 in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Ras proteins are membrane-associated guanine nucleotide-binding proteins that serve as molecular switches for signal transduction pathways in a diverse array of organisms. Various cellular factors are known to interact with Ras proteins. In order to find the novel cellular factors that are associated with Ras function, we have constructed synthetic lethal mutants of the ras1+ gene in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and used them to identify the genes that are functionally dependent on the Ras1. We first constructed S. pombe strains in which chromosomal ras1+ gene is placed under the nmt1 promoter that is regulated by thiamine. This strain shows ras1+ phenotype in the absence of thiamine, whereas it shows ras1- phenotype in the presence of thiamine. Second, we mutated the constructed strains with ultraviolet light (UV) and selected two synthetic lethal mutants that could not grow when Ras1 function was repressed (ras1-). One of the mutants, KSC3, showed a swollen cell shape, aberrant deposition of septum materials, and aberrant nuclei. The other mutant, KSC4, showed sensitivity to hyper-osmolarity when Ras1 function is absent. These mutants, however, grow normally when Ras1 is expressed (ras1+). These two novel synthetic lethal mutants of ras1 provide the means to isolate the corresponding genes that function in association with Ras1 in S. pombe. Screening of a genomic library of S. pombe complementing the mutant phenotype allowed us to identify several novel genes associated with Ras1 of S. pombe.     

Feasibility of a one–step process for desizing,scouring, bleaching and mercerisating cotton fabrics

In this study the desizing, scouring, bleaching and slack mercerising of cotton fabric by a one–step process at different sodium hydroxide concentrations, impregnation temperatures and curing times were examined. The results indicate that when the fabrics are mercerised at lower temperature, the strength retention and colour strength are enhanced. When the sodium hydroxide concentration is increased, these properties also increase. When cotton fabrics are mercerised for 3 min at 40C and cured for 30 s at 120C, their physical properties are similar to those obtained using a conventional two–step approach.     

Expect the worse or hope for the best? Prenatal diagnosis of geleophysic dysplasia

Geleophysic dysplasia is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder which causes disproportionate short stature associated with severe physical handicaps, but is compatible with survival into adulthood. We present a case, a first-born child, where genetic counselling difficulties arose following ultrasound recognition of short-limbed dwarfism in association with polyhydramnios and an initial incorrect prenatal diagnosis of lethal chondrodysplasia. After birth of the surviving affected infant, the parents had great difficulty accepting that there had been a prenatal misdiagnosis and they were greatly disappointed by our inability to predict the postnatal survival of an infant to whom no hope of life had previously been given. The correct diagnosis was not made until the proband was nearly 1 year old, and the true prognosis then became clearer. This experience underlines the relative ease of prenatal recognition of skeletal growth abnormalities compared with the considerable difficulties experienced in reaching a precise diagnosis. Thus, following prenatal diagnosis of unspecified chondrodysplasia when parents seek definite information about the prognosis, the temptation to be either overpessimistic or overoptimistic should be avoided.     

濮城西区沙二上2＋3油藏深部调剖试验

根据濮城西区沙二上２＋３油藏层内矛盾突出的地质特点，提出并实施了远井调剖－近井封口的区块深部调剖试验，并将ＰＩ决策技术作为深部调剖选井、选剂、定量以及效果评价的理论基础，现场试验结果表明油藏的均质性明显增强，为厚层非均质油藏进入高含水开发提供了有益的借鉴。     

Does stress lead to a loss of team perspective?

One of the more well-established findings in the research literature is that stress leads to a restriction or narrowing of attentional focus. In the present study, we extend this research to the group context. We propose that, in a team environment, the narrowing of attention induced by stress may result in a shift in perspective from a broad team perspective to a more narrow or individualistic self-focus, and this loss of team perspective may result in degraded team performance. The results of an empirical study found that stress resulted in a narrowing of team perspective and that team perspective was a significant predictor of team performance. Moreover, when the effects of team perspective were controlled, the effects of stress on team performance were substantially weakened. These results suggest that one way in which stress impacts team performance is by narrowing or weakening the team-level perspective required for effective team behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Vaccination for experimental gliomas using GM-CSF-transduced glioma cells

Within the pituitary, folliculostellate (FS) cells are considered to regulate the intercellular communication between endocrine cells by paracrine mechanisms. One of the possible paracrine factors involved, could be interleukin-6 (IL-6) which is produced by these cells. Since IL-6 has been shown to be a growth factor of pituitary cells, we have determined whether IL-6 can also influence FS cell proliferation. To test this, a FS cell-like mouse pituitary cell line (TtT/GF cells) was used that exhibits most characteristics of normal FS cells. Under serum-free conditions the proliferation of TtT/GF cells is critically dependent on the initial seeding density: cells seeded at low density do not grow at all whereas cells seeded at high density proliferate with maximal doubling times of 34 hrs. Mouse IL-6 (mIL-6) stimulated only low density cell cultures in a dose and time dependent manner. For cells seeded at high density, exogenously added IL-6 may have failed to stimulate growth because of endogenously produced mIL-6. Conditioned medium from TtT/GF cells, in which mIL-6 concentrations up to 1017 pg/ml were measured, stimulated the proliferation of TtT/GF cells, indicating an autocrine growth stimulatory mechanism. A neutralizing mIL-6 antibody partially suppressed the growth of TtT/GF cells seeded at high density and partially reduced the growth stimulatory activity of TtT/GF conditioned medium. Thus, IL-6 is one but not the only factor that is involved in the autocrine growth stimulatory loop. The relevance of this mechanism for normal FS cells and its physiological consequence needs to be elucidated.