Professional transition: Psychology internships in rehabilitation settings.

The professional literature is limited in its coverage of the challenges of clinical and counseling internship training in rehabilitation settings. The characteristics of the patient population, the goals of rehabilitation, and the team approach require the development of professional role behaviors appropriate to these facilities. The present article explores relevant issues and presents suggestions for augmenting training programs to make them congruent with the distinctive aspects of rehabilitation. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hemodynamic performance of four mechanical bileaflet prosthetic valves in the mitral position: an echocardiographic study

Plasma methadone concentrations and its main metabolite D,L-2-ethylidiene-1,5-dimethyl-3,5-diphenylpyrrolidine (EDDP) were determined in 93 patients under methadone maintenance treatment to assess their relationship with heroin use and opioid withdrawal symptoms. Neither plasma concentrations of methadone nor EDDP were significantly different when patients that used heroin in last 3 months were compared with those testing negative for this drug (methadone, 355 +/- 217 versus 369 +/- 216 ng/ml, t = 0.29, P = NS; EDDP, 49 +/- 28 versus 54 +/- 40 ng/ml, t = 0.51, P = NS). No correlation between opioid withdrawal scale scores and plasma concentrations of methadone (r = 0.02, P = NS) and EDDP (r = -0.14, P = NS) was found. Therapeutic drug monitoring during methadone maintenance seems to be useful for assessing compliance with treatment but not for predicting heroin use and subjective withdrawal symptoms.     

Altropane, a SPECT or PET imaging probe for dopamine neurons: II. Distribution to dopamine-rich regions of primate brain

Our understanding of the molecular pathology underlying the development and progression of ductal pancreatic cancer has been revolutionised during the last 5 years due to the spectacular development of novel molecular biological techniques. In the present article, we describe key molecular alterations of sporadic and inherited ductal pancreatic cancer. Overexpression of growth factors and growth factor receptors are present in a significant proportion of this tumour type. Mutation of the K-ras oncogene, and disruption of p53 or p16 tumour suppressor gene abrogates the control of the cyclin-dependent kinases (cdk) and retinoblastoma (Rb) gene pathway, causing continuous growth of the pancreatic tumour. Inactivation of the SMAD4 tumour suppressor gene leads to loss of the inhibitory influence of the transforming growth factor beta signalling pathway. Lost or decreased expression of retinoid receptors and failure of telomerase activity may play a role in pancreatic carcinogenesis. Tumour-associated proteinases, matrix metalloproteinases and plasminogen activators are reported to be involved in pancreatic cancer invasion and metastasis. Furthermore, the cytogenetic changes in this cancer are summarised. This molecular pattern distinguishes pancreatic cancer from other epithelial tumours and represents a promising basis for the development of diagnostic and other clinical applications.     

Double-strength beclomethasone dipropionate (84 micrograms/spray) aqueous nasal spray in the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis

Determination of microgram quantities of protein in the Bradford Coomassie brilliant blue assay is accomplished by measurement of absorbance at 590 nm. However, as intrinsic nonlinearity compromises the sensitivity and accuracy of this method. It is shown that under standard assay conditions, the ratio of the absorbances, 590 nm over 450 nm, is strictly linear with protein concentration. This simple procedure increases the accuracy and improves the sensitivity of the assay about 10-fold, permitting quantitation down to 50 ng of bovine serum albumin. Furthermore, protein assay in presence of up to 35-fold weight excess of sodium dodecyl sulfate (detergent) over bovine serum albumin (protein) can be performed. A linear equation that perfectly fits the experimental data is provided on the basis of mass action and Beer's law.     

Spin relaxation in normal liquid3He:T 1 in the Fermi liquid (T≪T F) regime

The low-temperature (TT _F) spin relaxation timeT ₁ in normal liquid³He is calculated. First an expression forT ₁ is obtained using the Landau kinetic equation, which is in terms of the perturbations of the scattering amplitudes due to nuclear dipole-dipole interactions. These perturbations are obtained using the induced interaction model, which explicitly includes the effects of many-body correlations arising from the Pauli principle. The results are in good agreement with experiment, as well as with previous calculations.     

Sex, BMI and age in addition to dietary intakes influence blood concentrations and congener profiles of dioxins and PCBs

Scope: The aim of this study was to i) characterize dietary polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxin exposure in consumers of fish from the PCB contaminated Lake Mjøsa in Norway ii) examine the influence of demographic factors on blood concentrations and congener composition of dioxins and PCBs, iii) characterize dietary sources and possible exposures above tolerable intake. Methods and results: Blood samples were analysed for dioxin‐like (dl) compounds (PCDD/Fs and dl‐PCBs) and non‐dl‐PCBs (ndl‐PCBs). Dietary exposures were calculated using food frequency questionnaires (n=64). Men had higher median intake of dl‐compounds than women (1.2 and 0.85 pg TEQ/kg bw/day), but similar blood concentrations (23.3 and 25.8, pg TEQ/g lipid weight (lw)). For non‐dl‐PCBs, intakes (6.5 and 4.5 ng/kg bw/day) and blood concentrations (381 and 224 ng/g lw) were higher in men than in women. Blood concentrations correlated with dietary intakes in men only. Increasing BMI and age elevated blood concentrations mainly in women. Men and women had different blood congener profiles, with a higher share of PCB‐126 in women, despite similar dietary congener profiles. Eleven participants exceeded the tolerable intake for dl‐compounds. Fish from Lake Mjøsa was the main dietary source. Conclusion: The higher influence of BMI and age for women than for men may have implications for risk assessment.