Psychological aspects of multiple sclerosis and its treatment: Toward a biopsychosocial perspective.

Reviews the literature on psychological aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS), including early psychoanalytic studies and more recent psychosocial research. The relationship between stress and MS symptoms and the extent of cognitive impairment is reviewed. An adaptive coping model and a psychological treatment approach are discussed. It is concluded that early research, due to methodological flaws and application of a traditional psychiatric model, tended to exaggerate psychopathology. A biopsychosocial research model is recommended due to complex interactions among psychological, environmental, and disease-related variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimal monomer addition policies for composition control of emulsion terpolymers

An approach for the calculation of the optimal monomer addition policies for polymer composition control in emulsion terpolymerization is presented. The model allows the calculation of the composition of the initial charge of the reactor and the time dependent monomer addition rates. Monomer addition strategies for reactors with limited capacity for heat removal were obtained. A heat removal rate dependent on the latex solids content was considered. Simulation showed that the present approach leads to the production of homogeneous terpolymers in process times which are significantly shorter than that required by the classical starved process to produce a terpolymer of similar homogeneity.     

Effect of octreotide pretreatment on surgical outcome in acromegaly

Pretreatment with octreotide (OCT) in acromegaly has been reported to improve surgical outcome. The objective of this study was to analyze retrospectively the effects of a 3- to 6-month presurgical treatment with OCT in acromegalics focusing on electrocardiographic (ECG) records, blood pressure levels, glucose and lipid profile, tumor size and consistency, easy tumor removal at surgery, and morphological findings at pathology. Fifty-nine patients with acromegaly who were undergoing surgical treatment were studied randomly before surgery; 37 patients were untreated, and 22 were treated with OCT at doses ranging 150-600 micrograms/day for 3-6 months. At study entry, untreated and OCT-treated patients had similar circulating GH and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), glucose, and cholesterol levels as well as prevalence of overt diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and ECG abnormalities. In untreated and OCT-treated patients, respectively, radiological imaging documented microadenoma in 0 and 1, intrasellar macroadenoma in 10 and 6, intra- and suprasellar macroadenoma in 18 and 11, invasive macroadenoma in 9 and 4 patients. Before surgery, serum GH and IGF-I levels significantly decreased in the 22 OCT-treated acromegalics, and in 5 of them, a significant shrinkage was documented. ECG abnormalities disappeared in 7 of 11 (63.6%) OCT-treated patients. In 3 of the 7 patients with diabetes mellitus, treatment with OCT together with low carbohydrate intake normalized blood glucose levels, whereas in 2 patients, insulin could be replaced by oral antidiabetics, and in 2 patients, the insulin dose was reduced. Presurgical blood glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels, as well as systolic (145.2 +/- 3.4 vs. 132.9 +/- 2.5 mm Hg; P < 0.01) and diastolic (94.3 +/- 1.7 vs. 84.3 +/- 1.6 mm Hg; P < 0.001) blood pressure levels were significantly higher in untreated than in OCT-treated patients. Two weeks after surgery, circulating GH and IGF-I levels were normalized in 11 untreated (29.7%) and 12 OCT-treated (54.5%) patients (P < 0.005, by chi 2 test). Macroscopically, no difference was found between untreated and OCT-treated adenomas, whereas at pathology, a significant increases in cellular atypia (31.6% vs. 19.2%; P < 0.05) was found in OCT-treated adenomas. One patients in the untreated group died from cardiorespiratory arrest during the early postoperative period. Finally, the average duration of hospitalization after operation was longer in untreated than in OCT-treated patients (8.6 +/- 0.7 vs. 5.6 +/- 0.5 days). We conclude that a 3- to 6-month treatment with OCT before surgery for GH-secreting adenoma improved clinical conditions and surgical outcome and reduced the duration of hospitalization after operation.     

Parameter estimation in emulsion copolymerization using reaction calorimeter data

The feasibility of estimating the kinetic parameters of emulsion copolymerization using only calorimetric measurements was investigated by simulation. It was found that for the case in which the average number of radicals per particle exceeds 0.5 only two of the three estimable parameters (k_I, k_a, and k_t) could be estimated together provided that an accurate value for the third parameter is available from independent measurements. For systems with n?<0.5, the three unknown parameters k_I, k_d, and k_a were accurately estimated. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Developmental models of supervision: It is development—Response to Holloway.

This article is a response to Holloway's critique of developmental models of psychotherapy supervision. Our position is that developmental models of supervision can benefit from taking guidance from and drawing parallels to more general models of human development. It should not be assumed, however, that these models of supervision are direct translations of other models. The metaphor of development has proven useful in a number of domains of human activity. We argue that this analogy is also useful in conceptualizing the training process in counseling and psychotherapy by providing a detailed framework through which changes in trainees over time and optimal supervisory approaches can be examined. Although Holloway's impression of the state of research on developmental models of clinical supervision is that there exists little evidence in support of the models, other authors have noted considerable consistency between the constructs of these models and the published research. We support Holloway's suggestion for improving research methodology in this area, and we note additional directions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Integrated Developmental Model of supervison: Scale development and validation procedures.

Despite the growing empirical evidence for developmental models of supervision, the need for reliable, valid assessment procedures for identifying a trainee's level of development exists. This study sought to address this need by administering an instrument designed to assess constructs relevant to C. D. Stoltenberg and U. Delworth's (1987) Integrated Development Model (IDM) to counseling and clinical psychology trainees of varying levels of graduate education, counseling, and supervision experience. Primary data provided support for the IDM and suggested construct validity for the Supervisee Levels Questionnaire—Revised because scores on the instrument differed for certain trainee groups who varied in amount of previous training and experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dopamine release in striatal slices of rats previously submitted to electroconvulsive shock

The effects of single and repeated electroconvulsive shock (ECS) on the release of dopamine from rat striatal slices were investigated using the fractional release technique. Experiments were performed 24 h after the single or the last of seven ECS sessions. Repeated, but not single, ECS was associated with reduced dopamine release in response to chemical stimulation. These results suggest that repeated ECS affects the regulation of striatal dopamine presynaptic receptors.     

The STR252-IVS10nt546-VNTR7 phenylalanine hydroxylase minihaplotype in five Mediterranean samples

IVS10nt546 (IVS10nt-11g-->a) is the most common molecular defect of the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene causing phenylketonuria in Mediterranean populations. Previous studies have proposed various and alternative hypotheses concerning the geographical origin and pattern of diffusion of this mutation in this area. In this study, this issue was re-examined on a large sample (149) of "Mediterranean" IVS10nt546 mutant alleles analysed with multiallelic intragenic polymorphisms. The analysis of intragenic microsatellite (STR) and minisatellite (VNTR) polymorphisms shows allelic heterogeneity of the IVS10nt546 mutation. Eight STR and three VNTR alleles were found in association with the splicing defect. Of the ten detected STR-VNTR combinations ("minihaplotypes"), we identified a predominant allelic association (VNTR7-STR252) embedded in a RFLP-haplotype 6 background, which seems to correspond to the ancestral gene originating in the Turkey-Israel area. Analysis of both absolute and relative gene frequencies of the STR252-IVS10nt546-VNTR7 minihaplotypes, shows statistically significant (P < 0.02) variations and may suggest gene flow from Turkey and/or Israel to Italy and Spain. The associated migratory events need not be unique in time (and people) but seem to suggest they may be traced back to the expansion of the Neolithic culture and people, thus allowing dating of the origin of this mutation to at least 5000-10000 years ago. Alternative hypotheses are discussed to explain, in light of the available historical and pre-historical evidence, the pattern of diffusion of the IVS10nt546 mutation in the Mediterranean basin.     

New approach for the estimation of kinetic parameters in emulsion polymerization systems. II. Homopolymerization under conditions where n̄ > 0.5

A new approach for the estimation of kinetic parameters in emulsion polymerization systems in which the average number of radicals per particle exceeds 0.5 is presented. The approach uses the time evolution of the conversion in chemically initiated systems and is based on a model that includes fundamental parameters such as the propagation rate constant, k_p, the termination rate constant in the polymer particles, k_t, the rate coefficient for initiator decomposition, k_I, and the entry, k_a, and exit, k_d, rate coefficients. It was found that k_p, k_t, k_I, k_a, and, under some circumstances, k_d can be accurately estimated provided that termination in the aqueous phase is significant. When the extent of the aqueous phase termination is negligible, only k_p, k_t, and k_I can be estimated. The effect of both the experimental noise level and the run-to-run irreproducibility on the accuracy of the estimates was studied. In addition, it was found that significant inaccuracies resulted from the poor determination of the exact time when polymerization begins. A method to circumvent this problem was proposed.