Life-long learning for psychologists: Current status and a vision for the future.

As a profession we are committed to maintaining and enhancing our competence as psychologists in order to most effectively serve the public throughout our careers. While this is a widely shared commitment among psychologists, there is considerably less consensus regarding how best to accomplish this goal. This dilemma is examined from the ethical, educational and legal perspectives. The American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics Code clearly articulates that competence is an ethical duty, although there is little guidance provided in the code as to how to meet this standard. As a profession we have tended to focus on the construct of life-long learning and we have incorporated this principle into our education and training standards. In fact, APA accreditation requires that doctoral programs inculcate this value into our foundational training. The majority of Psychology Licensing Boards have addressed this issue through the endorsement of mandatory continuing education requirements that primarily focus on hours and the content or structure of approved programs. Potential limitations to our ability to effectively self-assess our professional training needs are discussed and several innovative models are presented for integrating effective self-assessment and continuing education. Three invited experts provide commentaries that further explore the challenges and dilemmas posed by the ethical, legal and professional duty to maintain and enhance competence throughout our professional careers. These commentaries broaden the considerations, provide practical suggestions from other professions and provide a vision for the future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlation of glucose consumption and tumor cell density in astrocytomas. A stereotactic PET study

To determine histological correlates of the variability of glucose consumption in astrocytomas, the authors performed positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) and matched the PET scans three-dimensionally with computerized tomography scans obtained in a stereotactic frame before biopsy. Ten patients with astrocytomas of World Health Organization Grade 2 or 3 were studied; patients with glioblastomas, oligodendrogliomas, or oligoastrocytomas were excluded from the study to avoid any confounding effects of different cell types and necroses. In samples of pure tumor, glucose consumption correlated significantly with cell density, but not with nuclear polymorphism. It is concluded that tumor cell density is a major determinant of glucose consumption in astrocytomas. The use of PET with FDG may help to locate the highest cell density and thus improve the diagnostic yield of stereotactic biopsy.     

Behavioral interventions to increase HPV vaccination acceptability among mothers of young girls.

Objective: To determine the most effective ways to present human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine risk and benefit information to mothers in Hispanic, African American, and White communities, to increase mothers’ intentions to vaccinate their daughters against HPV. Design: The study used a 3 × 2 between-subjects factorial design, involving 3 different risk presentation formats (graphical HPV statistics, nongraphical HPV statistics, or no-statistics control) and the presence or absence of rhetorical questions (RQ). Data were collected from a national sample of 471 mothers of girls ages 11–16. Main Outcome Variables: The primary outcome variable was mothers’ intention to vaccinate their daughters against HPV. Secondary outcomes included mothers’ self-reported message comprehension and perceptions of daughters’ vulnerability to HPV infection, infection severity, vaccine efficacy, and obstacles to immunization. Results and Conclusion: Results showed that both risk presentation format and RQs had an overall positive effect on mothers’ intention to vaccinate their daughters. However, the interventions appear to be more effective when used separately than when used in combination. Each of these interventions is brief and could easily be implemented by health care providers as well as in patient health communication literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The behaviour of WB 35 piping material under dynamic loading in the high speed tensile test

For the determination of the strength-, deformation- and fracture behaviour of the material 17 MnMoV 6 4 (WB 35) which is used for piping components, tensile tests were carried out at different loading rates (monotonic and impact-type) on smooth and notched pipe strip specimens over a temperature range extending from − 30°C to 250°C.For the conduct of the tests a hydraulic high speed tensile machine having a free motion device was used; the velocity of impact was preset at ca. 7 m/s.With impact-type (dynamically) loaded specimens in general higher strength and deformation values were obtained than with monotonic (statically) loaded ones. In all of the specimens having low deformation values which were investigated microfractographically, ductile portions were found adjacent to the notch on the fracture surface.     

Symbiosis of Silica Biomorphs and Magnetite Mesocrystals

Silica biomorphs are extraordinary inorganic superstructures formed via autocatalytic co‐precipitation and bottom‐up self‐assembly of alkaline‐earth carbonates and silica. However, they show no inherent functionality except for their striking textural motifs and curved morphologies. This work presents strategies to magnetize silica biomorphs, thus creating thermally stable ceramic microswimmers with unique elaborate shapes. This is achieved by growing super paramagnetic magnetite mesocrystals on and around the complex curved surfaces of biomorphs, while keeping their morphology and maintaining mesocrystal integrity. Selective mesocrystal formation on certain parts of the substrates is induced by chemical modification of the biomorph surface, increasing the loading of magnetite on the silica–carbonate structures and, in suitable cases, rendering them able to respond to external magnetic fields and move as microswimmer entities. In this way, the complex ultrastructure of silica biomorphs is successfully used as a template for functional ceramics. Furthermore, selective dissolution of the carbonate core from the biomorphs leads to hollow magnetic structures that could be filled with actives, thus serving as microcarriers with considerable loading capacity.     

Emerging Role of Phospholipase-Derived Cleavage Products in Regulating Eosinophil Activity: Focus on Lysophospholipids,Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Eicosanoids

Eosinophils are important effector cells involved in allergic inflammation. When stimulated, eosinophils release a variety of mediators initiating, propagating, and maintaining local inflammation. Both, the activity and concentration of secreted and cytosolic phospholipases (PLAs) are increased in allergic inflammation, promoting the cleavage of phospholipids and thus the production of reactive lipid mediators. Eosinophils express high levels of secreted phospholipase A2 compared to other leukocytes, indicating their direct involvement in the production of lipid mediators during allergic inflammation. On the other side, eosinophils have also been recognized as crucial mediators with regulatory and homeostatic roles in local immunity and repair. Thus, targeting the complex network of lipid mediators offer a unique opportunity to target the over-activation and ‘pro-inflammatory’ phenotype of eosinophils without compromising the survival and functions of tissue-resident and homeostatic eosinophils. Here we provide a comprehensive overview of the critical role of phospholipase-derived lipid mediators in modulating eosinophil activity in health and disease. We focus on lysophospholipids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and eicosanoids with exciting new perspectives for future drug development.     

Methanol Adsorption on V2O3(0001)

Well ordered V₂O₃(0001) layers may be grown on Au(111) surfaces. These films are terminated by a layer of vanadyl groups which may be removed by irradiation with electrons, leading to a surface terminated by vanadium atoms. We present a study of methanol adsorption on vanadyl terminated and vanadium terminated surfaces as well as on weakly reduced surfaces with a limited density of vanadyl oxygen vacancies produced by electron irradiation. Different experimental methods and density functional theory are employed. For vanadyl terminated V₂O₃(0001) only molecular methanol adsorption was found to occur whereas methanol reacts to form formaldehyde, methane, and water on vanadium terminated and on weakly reduced V₂O₃(0001). In both cases a methoxy intermediate was detected on the surface. For weakly reduced surfaces it could be shown that the density of methoxy groups formed after methanol adsorption at low temperature is twice as high as the density of electron induced vanadyl oxygen vacancies on the surface which we attribute to the formation of additional vacancies via the reaction of hydroxy groups to form water which desorbs below room temperature. Density functional theory confirms this picture and identifies a methanol mediated hydrogen transfer path as being responsible for the formation of surface hydroxy groups and water. At higher temperature the methoxy groups react to form methane, formaldehyde, and some more water. The methane formation reaction consumes hydrogen atoms split off from methoxy groups in the course of the formaldehyde production process as well as hydrogen atoms still being on the surface after being produced at low temperature in the course of the methanol ?? methoxy + H reaction.     

Electrokinetic phosphorus recovery from packed beds of sewage sludge ash: yield and energy demand

The static lifetime of primary phosphate stocks is estimated as one century. Thus, the exploitation of secondary phosphorus sources becomes increasingly important. This study focussed on the feasibility of an electrokinetic phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge ash (P-content ~5 wt%). Packed bed experiments were conducted under varied electric conditions with and without acid pre-treatment and employing porous and ion exchange materials as electrode wells. Maximum values of phosphate concentration obtained in all experiments were around 2.5 g L⁻¹. Galvanostatic conditions were superior to potentiostatic conditions and acid pre-treatment is preferable over packed bed saturation with water. Ion-exchange membranes improved the product quality but increased the energy demand. Phosphorus recovery below 1% of the initial contents shows that the recovery setup must be improved in view of a marketable application.     

Collective-reward based approach for detection of semi-transparent objects in single images

Most computer and robot vision algorithms, be it for object detection, recognition, or reconstruction, are designed for opaque objects. Non-opaque objects have received less attention, although various special cases have been the subject of research efforts, especially the case of specular objects. The main objective of this paper is to provide a research work in the case of semi-transparent objects, i.e. objects that are transparent but also reflect light, typically objects made of glass. They are rather omnipresent in man-made environments (especially, windows and doors). Detection of these objects provides important information that can be used in a robot’s navigational strategies such as obstacle avoidance, detection of oil/water spills on the floor, localization, etc. In order to achieve the detection of semi-transparent objects we developed a novel approach using a collective-reward based technique on an image captured by an uncalibrated camera. Several experiments were conducted over different scenarios to test the efficacy of the algorithm.     

Family planning services in developing countries: an opportunity to treat asymptomatic and unrecognised genital tract infections?

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of asymptomatic and unrecognised genital tract infections among women attending a family planning clinic in rural South Africa. METHODS: 189 consecutive women had genital samples taken to diagnose infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis, Candida albicans, Treponema pallidum, and HIV, and to diagnose bacterial vaginosis. RESULTS: Mean age was 25 years; 155 (82%) were unmarried, 156 (83%) were currently using contraception, and 41 (22%) reported having an STD treated in the preceding 12 months. Although none volunteered abnormal urogenital symptoms, 74 (39%) had at least one elicited by direct questioning. 119 women (63%) had at least one genital infection: N gonorrhoeae (eight; 4%), C trachomatis (14; 8%), T vaginalis (26; 14%), C albicans (56; 30%), active syphilis (15; 8%), HIV (44; 24%), and bacterial vaginosis (29; 15%). 49 women (26%) had multiple infections. Most infections (71; 60%) were asymptomatic. Symptomatic women failed to recognise and report their symptoms, and routine services failed to detect the infections. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of genital tract infection is high among these women, most infections are asymptomatic, and symptomatic infections are frequently not recognised. Women attending family planning clinics in such settings should be screened for syphilis and offered testing for HIV infection. Strategies to detect and treat other genital infections need to be developed.