Therapist retrospective recall impasses in long-term psychotherapy: A qualitative analysis.

Twelve experienced therapists completed a questionnaire, and 8 of the 12 were then interviewed about their experiences with a therapeutic impasse that ended in the termination of therapy. Data were analyzed using a qualitative methodology. Results indicated that most of the clients were anxious and depressed with personality disorders and interpersonal problems. Therapists perceived impasses as having a profound negative impact on both clients and therapists. Variables associated with impasses in a majority of the cases were a client history of interpersonal problems, a lack of agreement between therapists and clients about the tasks and goals of therapy, interference in the therapy by others, transference, possible therapist mistakes, and therapist personal issues. Implications for training, practice, and research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Galectin-1 is a major receptor for ganglioside GM1, a product of the growth-controlling activity of a cell surface ganglioside sialidase, on human neuroblastoma cells in culture

Cell density-dependent inhibition of growth and neural differentiation in the human neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-MC are associated with a ganglioside sialidase-mediated increase of GM1 and lactosylceramide at the cell surface. Because these glycolipids expose galactose residues, we have initiated the study of the potential role of galectins in such cellular events. Using specific antibodies, galectin-1 but not galectin-3 was found to be present at the cell surface. Assessment of carbohydrate-dependent binding revealed a saturable amount of ligand sites approaching 2.6 x 10(6) galectin-1 molecules bound/cell. Presence during cell culture of the sialidase inhibitor 2-deoxy-2,3-dehydro-N-acetylneuraminic acid or of the GM1-binding cholera toxin B subunit effected a decrease of the presentation of galectin-1 ligands by 30-50%. The assumption that GM1 is a major ligand for galectin-1 was reinforced by the correlation between the number of carbohydrate-dependent 125I-iodinated GM1-neoganglioprotein binding sites and the amount of immunoreactive surface galectin-1, the marked sensitivity of probe binding to the presence of anti-galectin-1 antibody, and the inhibition of cell adhesion to surface-immobilized GM1 by the antibody. The results open the possibility that the carbohydrate-dependent interaction between ganglioside GM1 and galectin-1 may relay sialidase-dependent alterations in this cell system.     

Joint influence of alcohol, tobacco, and coffee on biological markers of heavy drinking in alcoholics

BACKGROUND: Recent reports suggest that gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) decreases with coffee intake. The aim of this study was to examine the joint influence of alcohol, tobacco, cotinine, coffee, and caffeine on biological markers of heavy drinking in an alcoholic population. METHODS: Subjects were 160 alcohol-dependent inpatients. Biological assessments, performed at admission, were plasma levels of GGT, apolipoprotein AI, aspartate aminotransferase, and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and urine cotinine and caffeine indexes. Years of alcohol abuse and of smoking, alcohol and coffee intake, and smoking rate were estimated in a semistructured interview, and Fagerstr?m Tolerance Questionnaire was completed by inpatients. RESULTS: Coffee intake, but not caffeine, correlated negatively with biological markers of heavy drinking, after controlling for alcohol and tobacco intake. Years of smoking correlated positively to MCV, after controlling for alcohol and coffee intake. CONCLUSIONS: Concerning the effect of coffee, the most likely hypothesis is that noncaffeine coffee fractions have a protective effect on liver cells. Concerning the effect of smoking, one can propose that the increase of MCV with smoking could be a consequence of carbon monoxide inhalation, leading to hypoxemia, or of folate deficiency.     

Realisation of microwave brune sections

Microwave Brune sections are used for realisation of real-frequency zeros of transmission. Previous realisations of this section involve inconvenient structures, and two new realisations are described which possess considerable practical advantages.     

Field experinence of the molluscicide "Frescon" in the control of fascioliasis (author''s transl)

The desipramine-sensitive uptake (neuronal uptake) of 14C-bretylium and 14C-bethanidine into the rabbit aortic adventitial layer from 3 X 10(-6) M solutions increased with time during a 20 min incubation. For both compounds a neuronal uptake of 50 pmol/50 mg wet weight adventitia was associated with 10% block of the contractile response to field stimulation at 16 Hz and 150 pmol/50 mg with 60% block. The concentration of blocking agents inside the neuron at 50% blockade was calculated to be 260 X 10(-6) M, an 87-fold increase over the medium. The bretylium in the neuron decreased by 50% during 20 min washout, and bethanidine by 29%. Desipramine when added to the bath 20 min following the addition of the blocking agents led to a loss of bretylium but not of bethanidine from the adventitia. Desipramine had little or no effect on the uptake, washout or disposition of either blocking agent in the media-intimal layers. The data indicate that bretylium has a greater propensity than bethanidine to be lost from the neurons; however, it appears to be recycled back through the membrane via the amine pump more readily than bethanidine. The fact that conservative calculations indicate that the neuronal membrane slowly established a concentration of the blocking agents within the neuron that is known to produce rapid local anesthesia when topically applied to adrenergic nerve trunks and which approaches a concentration needed to inhibit sensory endings suggests that local anesthesia may play a role in the mechanism of neuron blockade.     

Treatment of meats with ionising radiations. XV.—Irradiation of beef from barley-fed animals

Joints of ‘barley beef’, irradiated at a dose level of 0.4 Mrad., were stored at 2° in plastic packages of differing gas permeabilities. Bacterial growth was reduced by the lack of oxygen and/or the accumulation of carbon dioxide. The irradiated meat remained unspoiled for at least 84 days. The useful shelf-life of the beef can be extended greatly by irradiation, but the undesirable colour changes resulting from the exclusion of oxygen remains a serious drawback.