Ambulatory mental health treatment under universal coverage: policy insights from Israel

Untested assumptions concerning ambulatory treatment have shaped mental health policies for decades. Three opinions prevail: (1) all use is alike; (2) any use leads to high use; and (3) all high use is discretionary and therefore excessive. These assumptions were tested, using data from a nationwide survey of ambulatory utilizers in Israel, a country that has universal coverage. The findings, based on detailed clinical and treatment records, challenge all three assumptions. Moreover, they document a diversity of clinical needs while also verifying substantial variations in the type, frequency, and duration of treatment provided to meet those needs. In brief, Israeli data do not confirm continuing concerns by policy makers about uncontrollable use of services with expanded mental health coverage. Special policy limitations on mental health treatment should be reconsidered in light of empirical evidence from a system without the restrictions that exist in the United States.     

意大利阿克雅建筑师事务所

当意大利的建筑学杂志开始报道一栋位于意大利科尔诺(Curno)的建筑时,人们立刻意识到一个新事物出现了。这栋建筑是由阿克雅事务所设计的名为“停止线”(Stop Line)的娱乐中心。这栋坐落在空旷地区的舞厅,外观非常独特,显示出解读和构思建筑的新思路——以面对国际上的争论所采     

Generation of complex microwave and millimeter-wave pulses using dispersion and Kerr effect in optical fiber systems

We study a new method to synthesize high-frequency complex microwave and millimeter-wave pulses using dispersion, Kerr effect, and group velocity delay in optical fiber systems. The profile of the generated pulses can be controlled by changing the parameters of the optical system. Nonlinear propagation effect in fibers can be used to generate electrical pulses with an extremely broad spread spectrum. Soliton trapping can be used to generate electrical pulses with a controllable frequency. Implicit results are given when dispersion or nonlinear effect can be neglected. Generation of electrical pulses with a controllable microwave frequency is demonstrated experimentally using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and a chirped fiber Bragg grating.     

Beyond the selection failures.

Explores reasons for the failures of individuals in their organizational role and analyzes why such failures occur. Several factors in the selection process of organizations, including the inadequacy of search firms and the limits of psychological methods, are examined. Self-understanding will become increasingly important for the managerial and executive candidate to be successful. Effective selection requires a comprehensive diagnosis of the organization, including the size and complexity of the prospective role; a careful assessment of the individual taking into account the subtleties of personality, stage in adult development, and capacity for managing complexity now and in the future; and an assessment of the manager to whom that candidate is going to report and of the manager-once-removed. Only then can a psychologist adequately evaluate the degree of fit between the candidate and the role for which he or she is being considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chemical basis for interspecific responses to sex pheromones ofTrogoderma species (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)

Interspecific responses among severalTrogoderma species have been correlated with their pheromone components. The most important component emitted by four of the species is (Z)- or (E)-14-methyl-8-hexadecenal, which is not detectable in extracts of macerated beetles. The response to macerated beetles is probably due to the corresponding alcohol and ester. The recency of common origin of seven species is discussed.     

Preimplantation genetic testing for Marfan syndrome

Marfan syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant disease that affects the skeletal, ocular and cardiovascular systems. Defects in the gene that codes for fibrillin (FBN-1) are responsible for MFS. Here we report the world's first use of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) to achieve a clinical pregnancy and live birth of a baby free of a Marfan mutation. One or two blastomeres from each embryo were tested for a CA repeat within the FBN-1 gene. The prospective mother is homozygous for the CA repeat (2/2) and has two normal copies of the FBN-1 gene, while the prospective father is heterozygous for the CA repeat (1/2), and is affected with the Marfan syndrome. In the father's family, allele 2 segregates with the mutated FBN-1 gene. For PGT, any embryo diagnosed as heterozygous for the CA repeat (1/2) would be presumed to have inherited normal FBN-1 genes from the father and the mother and be unaffected. One in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle yielded 12 embryos for preimplantation testing; six of the embryos were heterozygous for the CA repeat (1/2) and presumed to be free of the Marfan mutation. Five of the six embryos were subsequently transferred into the uterus. The fetus was tested by chorionic villus sampling and found to be free of the Marfan mutation by the same linkage analysis, had a normal fetal echocardiogram, and was normal at birth.