Memory in pediatric patients undergoing conscious sedation for aversive medical procedures.

This study investigated preserved memory in 26 pediatric cancer patients (65% boys, 77% Caucasian, mean age = 12.5 years) undergoing midazolam-induced conscious sedation during painful medical procedures to treat hematological or oncological diseases. The sedative midazolam had a significant anterograde amnesic effect on participants' performance on a visual recognition (explicit) memory task but not on a visual perceptual facilitation (implicit) memory task. That implicit memory scores were relatively unaffected while explicit memory scores deteriorated significantly indicates that learning occurred while participants were sedated, even when participants did not recollect the learning event. These findings, which replicate those of M. R. Polster, R. A. McCarthy, G. O'Sullivan, P. A. Gray, and G. R. Park (1993) in a study of adults, have implications for the development and treatment of conditioned anxiety reactions associated with aversive medical procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Voucher reinforcement for heroin and cocaine abstinence in a outpatient drug-free program.

This study examined an abstinence-contingent voucher incentive program in opiate-dependent clients enrolled in outpatient drug-free (nonmethadone) treatment. Study participants were referred from local detoxification programs and randomly assigned to voucher (n=29) or no-voucher (n=23) conditions. Both groups received intensive cognitive-behavioral counseling; those in the voucher condition could earn up to $1,087.50 over 3 months for submitting urines negative for both opiates and cocaine. Voucher versus no-voucher groups did not differ significantly on mean days retained in treatment (35.9 vs. 39.3 days), mean number of opiate- and cocaine-negative urines submitted (8.3 vs. 6.2), longest duration of continuous abstinence (16.8 vs. 12.1 days), or percentage of participants abstinent for 4 weeks (20.7% voucher vs. 9% no voucher). Possible reasons for negative findings are discussed. Findings suggest that voucher programs must be better tailored to the clinical population and behavioral targets being addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical supervision research from 1981 to 1993: A methodological critique.

The empirical studies in clinical supervision published from 1981 through 1993 were investigated to assess scientific rigor and to test whether the quality of methodology had improved since the review by R. K. Russell, A. M. Crimmings, and R. W. Lent (1984). The 144 studies were evaluated according to 49 threats to validity (T. D. Cook & D. T. Campbell, 1979; R. K. Russell et al., 1984; B. E. Wampold, B. Davis, & R. H. Good III; see record 1990-28928-001) and 8 statistical variables (e.g., effect size, statistical power, and Type I and Type II error rates). The data revealed a shift to realistic field studies, unchecked Type I and Type II error rates, medium effect sizes, and inattention to hypothesis validity. Recommendations for designing and conducting a feasible and well-designed supervision study are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quality assurance in psychological services.

The Canadian Council on Hospital Accreditation (1985) has insisted that a hospital-wide quality assurance program is essential for accreditation, and hospital departments are in various stages of quality assurance program development. The present authors review the rationale and issues (e.g., professional autonomy, malpractice, health care costs, consumerism) that forced the development of quality assurance and some generally accepted definitions of key concepts. The current status of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Psychology Department's program of quality assurance is described, with special reference to structure, process, and outcome criteria. Implications that quality assurance programs have for the professional practice of psychology and functioning within the public hospital setting are discussed. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sustaining and advancing IT careers: Women’s experiences in a UK-based IT company

This article contributes to a growing literature on women in IT occupations. Against a national and international context of women’s longstanding and continued under-representation in senior professional roles in IT, our study at organizational level tells the story of women’s career experiences in a specific UK-based IT company in relation to its culture, processes and practices. Utilising a concept from the gender literature – Acker’s (2006) ‘inequality regimes’ – the study bridges the gap between the gender and IS literature and feminist theorising in order to shed light on the lack of gender diversity in IT. The article specifically shows how components of organizational inequality regimes, namely, ‘organizing processes’, ‘legitimacy’ and ‘visibility’ of inequalities combine and interact to produce and maintain gender inequality in the IT workplace. The implications of this in the sector more generally are discussed.     

Biomimetic design of chelating interfaces

Siderophores are naturally occurring small molecules with metal binding constants greater than many synthetic chelators. Herein, we report a two‐step process to graft a siderophore‐mimetic metal chelating polymer from a polypropylene (PP) surface. Poly(methyl acrylate) was first grafted from the PP surface by photoinitiated graft polymerization, followed by the conversion into poly(hydroxamic acid) (PHA) to obtain PP‐g‐PHA films. ATR/FTIR, contact angle, SEM, and AFM were performed to characterize surface properties of films. Iron binding kinetics and the influence of pH (3.0–5.0) on the chelating ability of films were determined. PP‐g‐PHA exhibited significant iron chelating activity (～80 nmol/cm²) with an equilibration time of 24 h. The materials retained 50% chelating ability at pH 3.0 compared with pH 5.0, almost double the retention of previously reported polycarboxylate chelating interfaces. By using siderophore‐mimetic surface chemistry, such effective metal chelating interfaces can extend the applications of metal chelating polymers in environmental remediation, water purification, and active packaging areas. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41231.     

Aminolevulinic Acid-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy of Human Meningioma: An in Vitro Study on Primary Cell Lines

Objective: Five-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)-induced porphyrins in malignant gliomas are potent photosensitizers. Promising results of ALA-PDT (photodynamic therapy) in recurrent glioblastomas have been published. Recently, 5-ALA-induced fluorescence was studied in meningioma surgery. Here, we present an experimental study of ALA-PDT in an in vitro model of primary meningioma cell lines. Methods: We processed native tumor material obtained intra-operatively within 24 h for cell culture. Epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) immunohistochemistry was performed after the first passage to confirm that cells were meningioma cells. For 5-ALA-PDT treatment, about 5000 cells per well were seeded in 20 wells of a blank 96-well plate. Each block of 4 wells was inoculated with 150 µL of 0, 25, 50 and 100 µg/mL 5-ALA solutions; one block was used as negative control without 5-ALA and without PDT. Following incubation for 3 h PDT was performed using a laser (635 nm, 18.75 J/cm²). The therapeutic response was analyzed by the water soluble tetrazolium salt (WST-1) cell viability assay 90 min after PDT. Results: 5-ALA-PDT was performed in 14 primary meningioma cell lines. EMA expression was verified in 10 primary cell cultures. The remaining 4 were EMA negative and PDT was without any effect in these cultures. All 10 EMA-positive cell lines showed a significant and dose-dependent decrease in viability rate (p < 0.001). Cell survival at 5-ALA concentrations of 12.5, 25, 50 and 100 μg/mL was 96.5% ± 7.6%, 67.9% ± 29.9%, 24.0% ± 16.7% and 13.8% ± 7.5%, respectively. For the negative controls (no 5-ALA/PDT and ALA/no PDT), the viability rates were 101.72% ± 3.5% and 100.17% ± 3.6%, respectively. The LD₅₀ for 5-ALA was estimated between 25 and 50 µg/mL. Conclusion: This study reveals dose-dependent cytotoxic effects of 5-ALA-PDT on primary cell lines of meningiomas. Either 5-ALA or PDT alone did not affect cell survival. Further efforts are necessary to study the potential therapeutic effects of 5-ALA-PDT in vivo.     

Cash Value of Voucher Reinforcers in Pregnant Drug-Dependent Women.

This study examined the relative reinforcing potency of vouchers and cash in drug-dependent pregnant women (N = 48) across voucher values ($10, $50, and $100) by use of a series of choices to understand how exchange-delay features of voucher reinforcers influence their reinforcing potency compared with cash. The study also examined a no delay vs. 2-day delay of the cash alternative. Generally, cash was selected at 80%-90% of voucher face values. Vouchers were also discounted less when a 2-day delay was imposed on the cash option compared to the immediately available cash. These results suggest that voucher discounting does occur among patients in drug treatment. However, vouchers retain 80%-90% of their cash value and thus remain relatively potent reinforcers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Serious adverse events in randomized psychosocial treatment studies: Safety or arbitrary edicts?

Human subjects protection policies developed for pharmaceutical trials are now being widely applied to psychosocial intervention studies. This study examined occurrences of serious adverse events (SAEs) reported in multicenter psychosocial trials of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network. Substance-abusing participants (N = 1,687) were randomized to standard care or standard care plus either contingency management or motivational enhancement. Twelve percent of participants experienced 1 or more SAEs during the 27,198 person-weeks of follow-up. Of the 260 SAEs recorded, none were judged by the data safety monitoring board to be study related, and there were no significant differences between experimental and control conditions in SAE incidence rates. These data underscore the need to reconsider the rationale behind, and appropriate methods for, monitoring safety during psychosocial therapy trials. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smoking and blood pressure patterns in normotensive pregnant women

The cardinal clinical manifestations of major depression with melancholic features include sustained anxiety and dread for the future as well as evidence of physiological hyperarousal (e.g., sustained hyperactivity of the two principal effectors of the stress response, the corticotropin-releasing-hormone, or CRH, system, and the locus ceruleus-norepinephrine, or LC-NE, system). Sustained stress system activation in melancholic depression is thought to confer both behavioral arousal as well as the hypercortisolism, sympathetic nervous system activation, and inhibition of programs for growth and reproduction that consistently occur in this disorder. Data also suggest that activation of the CRH and LC systems in melancholia are involved in the long-term medical consequences of depression such as premature coronary artery disease and osteoporosis, the two-three-fold preponderance of females in the incidence of major depression, and the mechanism of action of antidepressant drugs. In addition, recent data reveal important bidirectional interactions between stress-system hormonal factors in depression and neural substrates implicated in many discrete behavioral alterations in depression (e.g., the medial prefrontal cortex, important in shifting affect based on internal and external cues, the mesolimbic dopaminergic reward system, and the amygdala fear system). We have also advanced data indicating that the hypersomnia, hyperphagia, lethargy, fatigue, and relative apathy of the syndrome of atypical depression are associated with concomitant hypofunctioning of the CRH and LC-NE systems. These data indicate the need for an entirely different therapeutic strategy than that used in melancholia for the treatment of atypical depression, and they suggest that this subtype of major depression will be associated with its own unique repertoire of long-term medical consequences.