Holographic reprocessing: Empirical evidence to reduce posttraumatic cognitions in women veterans with PTSD from sexual trauma and abuse.

Holographic reprocessing (HR) facilitates holistic reappraisal of attributions regarding interpersonal violence and maltreatment. The authors tested the feasibility to train therapists to run a protocol using HR to reduce negative thoughts associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women veterans who have had sexual trauma or abuse. The study assessed pre- and postscores on the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI) in a naturalistic clinical setting with 5 therapists. The protocol consisted of screening for PTSD, followed by an average of 9 HR treatment sessions. Twenty-two women were referred to the study; 17 enrolled and completed treatment (0% dropout rate). Significant decreases were found on all scales of the PTCI, with large effect sizes: total negative thoughts, t(16) = 4.42, p     

Multilayer biopolymer/poly(ε-caprolactone)/polycation nanoparticles

Combining two or more materials for carrier construction is one of the topical approaches to avoid/diminish deficiencies and to increase functionality in delivery systems for bioactive compounds. In this context, here, multilayered nanoparticles comprising both natural (atelocollagen—AteCol; hyaluronic acid derivative—HA) and synthetic [poly(ε-caprolactone)—PCL; polyethylenimine—PEI; poly(l-lysine)—PLL] polymers were prepared and characterized. The combination of a modified double-emulsion method with polymer modification reactions allowed improvement of the polymer particle’s functionality. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–Vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, transmission/scanning electron microscopy and fluorescence microscopy investigations confirmed the obtention of the envisaged nanomaterials with the expected composition and structure. The double-layered biopolymer/PCL-based nanoparticles formed in a first synthesis step could be successfully coated with PEI and PLL. The gel electrophoresis assay attested the DNA packing ability of the formed nano-vehicles involving surface grafting of the former biopolymer/PCL-based nanoparticles in the case of both cationic polymers, for N/P ratios of 10 (PEI coating) and 3.5 (PLL coating), respectively. According to the FTIR registration, the protein’s native form was preserved. Considering the advantage of biocompatibility and high versatility (controlled size, tuned chemistry and biodegradation rate) some of the resulted nanomaterials may appear as potential candidates for biomedical uses (i.e., drug/gene delivery and tissue engineering).     

Spontaneous copolymerization of 2-methyl-2-oxazoline and N-phenyl maleimide

Summary The copolymerizations of 2-methyl-2-oxazoline and N-phenyl maleimide in bulk or in solution,at 60°C or room temperature are reported. The initiation is spontaneous and is due to the formation of zwitterion by interaction of the two monomers. The copolymers are statistical,more rich in maleimide units and propagation reaction can take place both by anions and zwitterions.     

Synthesis and dispersion copolymerization of poly(2‐methyl‐2‐oxazoline) macromers with cinnamoyl end groups

Poly(2‐methyl‐2‐oxazoline) (PMOZO) macromers bearing cinnamoyl functional groups were synthesized either by utilizing the end‐capping method of growing PMOZO living chains with cinnamic acid or by coupling glycolic PMOZO telomers with cinnamoyl chloride. The first approach was proved to be more efficient and convenient, giving rise easier to a quantitative functionalization. Dispersion copolymerization of styrene with the resulted macromers in an ethanol–water system has been studied in order to obtain monodisperse micrometer size beads. The effect of some variables, such as macromer dimension and concentration, initiator type, alcohol/water ratio, on conversion, particle size and size distribution was investigated. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 80: 2191–2199, 2001     

Women who served in Iraq seeking mental health services: Relationships between military sexual trauma, symptoms, and readjustment.

Eighteen women who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) sought mental health services at a Veterans' Affairs (VA) medical center. Ten of the 18 women (56%) reported military sexual trauma (MST) while serving in OIF/OEF. All 10 with MST reported sexual harassment, 6 of the 10 (33% of the sample) reported unwanted physical advances, and 3 (17%) reported completed assault or rape. Fifteen women also completed a questionnaire about their experiences and the Iraq Readjustment Inventory (IRI) developed for this study. High reliability and high correlations with clinician ratings make the IRI a promising measure for future research. A comparison between those with and without MST revealed that those with MST had higher clinician ratings and IRI scores, suggesting greater difficulty with readjustment. And, while MST was significantly correlated with clinician ratings and readjustment scores, the variables "being injured" and "witnessing others injured or killed" were not. These preliminary data suggest that MST OIF/OEF women seeking mental health services is a critical factor for predicting symptoms and difficulty with readjustment to civilian life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Synthesis and polymerization of 2-(β-N-3′-halogencarbazolylethyl)-2-oxazolines

Summary The synthesis of three novel oxazoline monomers,all of which contain 3-halogen substituted carbazolyl groups [i.e., 2-(-N-3 chlorocarbazolylethyl)-2-oxazoline, 2-(-N-3 bromocarbazolylethyl)-2-oxazoline and 2-(-N-3 iodocarbazolylethyl)-2-oxazoline]and their polymerization is described.     

Aquifers Overexploitation in SE Spain: A Proposal for the Integrated Analysis of Water Management

Integrated water resources management is a paradigm that incorporates technical, scientific, political, legislative and organizational aspects of a water system. This study presents a methodology for undertaking an integrated analysis of water systems supplied by groundwater. This methodology is here applied to examine the water system of the Altiplano region in Murcia, where the water extraction from the aquifers greatly exceeds recharge and the irrigated areas supplied by those aquifers have a very high agrarian profitability. First, the hydrological problematic of the case study was conceptualized. Then, a sectorial study on each aspect related to the water management of the system was developed. As Bayesian Networks was the chosen technique for the integrated analysis, the information obtained by the sectorial studies was translated into specific variables, which together with the relations among them, modelled the real situation. As from a hydrogeological point of view the water system is comprised of four autonomous aquifers, a Bayesian Network for every aquifer was designed. This decision-support system enables us to evaluate the impacts generated under diverse water management scenarios.     

Bridging the Chemical Profile and Biological Activities of a New Variety of Agastache foeniculum (Pursh) Kuntze Extracts and Essential Oil

This study investigated the phytochemical content of alcoholic extracts and essential oil of a new variety of medicinal plants, Agastache foeniculum (Pursh), which Kuntze adapted for cultivation in Romania, namely “Aromat de Buzău”. The essential oil was investigated by GC-MS, while the identification and quantification of various compounds from alcoholic extracts were performed by HPLC-DAD. The total phenol and flavonoid contents of the extracts were evaluated by using standard phytochemical methods. The antioxidant activities of ethanol, methanol extracts, and essential oil of the plant were also assessed against 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^•), 2,2′-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS^•+), and by ferric reducing power (FRAP) using spectroscopic methods. Cyclic voltammetry was used to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of the essential oil. The concentrations of phenolic compounds were higher in methanolic extract compared to ethanolic extract. A significant correlation was found between total phenol and total flavonoid contents (r = 0.9087). Significant high correlations were also found between the total phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activities of the extracts (r ≥ 0.8600, p < 0.05). In addition, the extracts and essential oil showed good antioxidant and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities. Estragole was detected as the major constituent of the essential oil (94.89%). The cytotoxic activity of the essential oil was evaluated by the MTT assay. At lower concentrations (1 µg/mL) high cytotoxicity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells was observed but not on the non-tumoral dermal fibroblasts (HDF) which indicated selectivity for cancer cells and suggests the presence of biologically active components that contribute to the observed high cytotoxic effect. Findings from the present study offer new perspectives on the use of A. foeniculum as a potential source of bioactive compounds and a good candidate for pharmaceutical plant-based products.     

Intramolecular Charge Transfer Complexes, 29. Morphological Study of Multicomponent Systems

The morphologies formed in poly[β-(N-carbazolyl)ethylacrylate-co-β-(metacryloyloxy) ethyl-3,5-dinitrobenzoate] [poiy(HECA-co-DNBM)] and in its triblock copolymer with poly(N-acetyliminoethylene) (pMeOZO) were investigated using transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. It was found that a lamellar structure was induced in the block copolymer even at a low content (5%) of poly(N-acetyliminoethylene) as a consequence of the specific, dense, layered texture of the poly(HECA-co-DNBM) blocks, having an electron donor-acceptor complex character. The incorporation of poly(N-acetyliminoethylene) resulted in film quality improvement. The addition of small amounts of the block copolymer to the incompatible mixture of poly(HECA-co-DNBM) and pMeOZO having an appropriate composition leads to homogeneous blends able to form continuous films.     

Stabilization of emulsion polymerization by block and graft copolymers with polysiloxane and poly[(acetylimino)ethylene] sequences

Amphiphilic block and graft copolymers with polysiloxane and poly[(acetylimino)ethylene] sequences were used as nonionic surfactants in the emulsion polymerization of some vinyl monomers (styrene, methyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate). The peculiarities of the systems (polymerization kinetics and emulsion characteristics) were related to the structural features of the studied emulsifiers and suggested their ability to participate in initiation and transfer reactions and respectively clouding phenomena in aqueous phase.