Leon H. Levy (1925–2010).

Leon H. Levy died on August 24, 2010, in Richmond, Virginia, at the age of 84. Leon was an extraordinary scholar, teacher, and visionary. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Antioch College in l950 and a doctorate in psychology from Ohio State University in 1954. He was a faculty member at Indiana University, Bloomington, for 24 years, serving as the director of clinical training from 1969 to 1978. In 1978, Leon became chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and served in that position until his 1996 retirement. He was the principal figure in creating and launching UMBC’s highly successful doctoral program in Human Services Psychology (HSP) and was graduate program director from its inception in 1984 until his retirement. His striking effectiveness in two concurrent leadership roles continues to amaze his successors. Leon was also an innovator in the professional preparation of psychologists. Leon was the recipient of numerous national Public Health Service grants and published more than 60 scholarly articles. Leon is survived by his wife Sandra M. Levy, a psychologist and priest associate at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia; his children Paul, Judy, and Claire Levy; and his step-sons Brian and Kevin Esterling. We join his family in mourning his passing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religious beliefs and political ideologies as predictors of psychotherapeutic orientations of clinical and counseling psychologists.

Examined the relations among religious beliefs, political ideologies, and psychotherapeutic orientations in 233 34-98 yr old clinical and counseling psychologists. A majority of the respondents affirmed having religious or spiritual beliefs and claimed that their religious beliefs influenced their practice of therapy. Most respondents labeled themselves as politically liberal, and almost half claimed that their political ideologies influenced their practice. The humanistic therapeutic orientation was positively related to Eastern and mystical beliefs, atheistic and agnostic beliefs, and political liberalism; the cognitive-behavioral orientation was positively related to conservative Christian beliefs; and the psychodynamic orientation was negatively related to Eastern and mystical beliefs and positively related to political liberalism. These findings are discussed in the contexts of the scientist practitioner model and postmodern, constructivist thought. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consistency of assertive, aggressive, and submissive behavior for children.

Assessed the interpersonal behavior of 50 3rd–5th grade children (22 boys and 28 girls) over an 8-mo period in a wide variety of naturally occurring school activities. The consistency of the Ss' behavior was found to vary as a function of the S's sex, the class of behavior examined, and the similarity–dissimilarity of the contexts in which the behaviors occurred. Boys demonstrated remarkable consistency in their aggressive expression; 46 of 105 intercorrelations for the aggressiveness dimensions were statistically significant. In general, the consistency of assertive behavior for both boys and girls was unexpectedly high. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's Action Tendency Scale: A self-report measure of aggressiveness, assertiveness, and submissiveness in children.

Describes a self-report measure of children's aggressiveness, assertiveness, and submissiveness, the Children's Action Tendency Scale. The development and validation of the measure followed the behavioral-analytic method described by M. Goldfried and T. J. D'Zurilla (1969). The measure's 3 subscales were shown to be highly correlated with peer and teacher reports of 6–12 yr old Ss' interpersonal behavior and to have moderate split-half and test–retest reliabilities. Scores on the Submissiveness subscale correlated positively with social desirability (Children's Social Desirability Questionnaire) scores and negatively with self-esteem (Self-Esteem Inventory) scores, and a negative correlation was found between Ss' aggressiveness scores and their social desirability scores. In addition, highly significant differences on the Aggressiveness and Assertiveness subscales were found between public school Ss and clinically aggressive children. Recommendations for the questionnaire's use and for further research are discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Branched‐Tail Lipid Nanoparticles Potently Deliver mRNA In Vivo due to Enhanced Ionization at Endosomal pH

The potential of mRNA therapeutics will be realized only once safe and effective delivery systems are established. Unfortunately, delivery vehicle development is stymied by an inadequate understanding of how the molecular properties of a vehicle confer efficacy. Here, a small library of lipidoid materials is used to elucidate structure–function relationships and identify a previously unappreciated parameter—lipid nanoparticle surface ionization—that correlates with mRNA delivery efficacy. The two most potent materials of the library, 306O₁₀ and 306O_i10, induce substantial luciferase expression in mice following a single 0.75 mg kg^?1 mRNA dose. These lipidoids, which have ten‐carbon tails and identical molecular weights, vary only in that the 306O₁₀ tail is straight and the 306O_i10 tail has a one‐carbon branch. Remarkably, this small difference in structure conferred a tenfold improvement in 306O_i10 efficacy. The enhanced potency of this branched‐tail lipidoid is attributed to its strong surface ionization at the late endosomal pH of 5.0. A secondary lipidoid library confirms that O_i10 materials ionize more strongly and deliver mRNA more potently than lipidoids containing linear tails. Together, these data highlight the exquisite control that lipid chemistry exerts on the mRNA delivery process and show that branched‐tail lipids facilitate protein expression in animals.