Assessment of behavioral problems in dementia: The Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist.

The Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (RMBPC), a 24-item, caregiver-report measure of observable behavioral problems in dementia patients, provides 1 total score and 3 subscale scores for S problems (memory-related, depression, and disruptive behaviors) and parallel scores for caregiver reaction. Data were obtained from 201 geriatric Ss and their caregivers. Factor analysis confirmed 3 1st-order factors, consistent with subscales just named, and 1 general factor of behavioral disturbance. Overall scale reliability was good, with alphas of .84 for S behavior and .90 for caregiver reaction. Subscale alphas ranged from .67 to .89. Validity was confirmed through comparison of RMBPC scores with well-established indexes of depression, cognitive impairment, and caregiver burden. The RMBPC is recommended as a reliable and valid tool for the clinical and empirical assessment of behavior problems in dementia Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

EEG monitoring during carotid surgery: who should do the monitoring?

Recently, a new hematopoietic growth factor, stem cell factor, the ligand for the c-kit-proto-oncogene, has been cloned. The gene for this factor or for its receptor are deleted in two well known series of mice mutants which display pleiotropic stem cell defects. Therefore, this factor supposedly plays an important role in stem cell biology. This paper reviews some of the elegant genetic work which led to the discovery of the factor and of its receptor, the biological effects that this factor exerts in the hematopoietic system in normal individuals and in patients with Diamond-Blackfan anemia and speculates on some of its potential clinical applications.     

Mass-sensitive detection of gas-phase volatile organics using disk microresonators

The detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the gas phase by mass-sensitive disk microresonators is reported. The disk resonators were fabricated using a CMOS-compatible silicon micromachining process and subsequently placed in an amplifying feedback loop to sustain oscillation. Sensing of benzene, toluene, and xylene was conducted after applying controlled coatings of an analyte-absorbing polymer. An analytical model of the resonator's chemical sensing performance was developed and verified by the experimental data. Limits of detection for the analytes tested were obtained, modeled, and compared to values obtained from other mass-sensitive resonant gas sensors.     

Cryopreservation of bovine buffy coat leukocytes for use in immunologic studies

A simple cryogenic technique for preserving bovine buffy coat leukocytes was developed. This was coupled with a variation of the standard discontinuous gradient technique to purify mononuclear cells that retained immunologic function. The total number of mononuclear cells recovered from cyropreserved samples were only 87 to 42% of those recovered from freshly obtained blood samples. However, the functional capabilities of mononuclear cells from cyopreserved buffy coat preparations were retained. Polyclonal proliferative responses to 3 mitogens were measured, using a titration of mitogen concentrations, and were found to be normal, compared with those of cells isolated from fresh blood. Blood samples collected after vaccination with Brucella abortus contained leukocytes that responded to irradiated B abortus. These antigen-specific responses were also retained through cyopreservation. Cell surface expression of T-lymphocyte antigens, CD2, CD4, and CD8, and cell-surface IgM on B lymphocytes was also evaluated. Flow cytometric analysis of fresh and cryopreserved mononuclear cell preparations indicated that the relative proportions of different subpopulations were not altered. The technical simplicity of our cryopreservation system will allow processing of large numbers of samples with the ability to assay various immune functions at a later time.     

Therapist empathy, genuineness, and warmth and patient therapeutic outcome.

A study aimed at cross-validating previous research suggesting that the levels of the therapist's accurate empathy, nonpossessive warmth, and genuineness were causally related to the degree of patient improvement or deterioration. An equal number of "good" or "poor" therapy prospects were randomly assigned to 4 resident psychiatrists (10 patients each) for 4 mo. of psychotherapy. Results tended to confirm the importance of the 3 therapeutic conditions in combination and of empathy and genuineness separately. Negative findings for separate analysis of therapist's warmth were interpreted in terms of its negative correlation with empathy and genuineness in the present sample. On the overall measure for all patients, therapists providing high therapeutic conditions had 90% patient improvement while those providing lower conditions had 50% improvement. (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A component analysis of cognitive-behavioral treatment for depression.

The purpose of this study was to provide an experimental test of the theory of change put forth by A. T. Beck, A. J. Rush, B. E Shaw, and G. Emery ( 1979 ) to explain the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CT) for depression. The comparison involved randomly assigning 150 outpatients with major depression to a treatment focused exclusively on the behavioral activation (BA) component of CT, a treatment that included both BA and the teaching of skills to modify automatic thoughts (AT), but excluding the components of CT focused on core schema, or the full CT treatment. Four experienced cognitive therapists conducted all treatments. Despite excellent adherence to treatment protocols by the therapists, a clear bias favoring CT, and the competent performance of CT, there was no evidence that the complete treatment produced better outcomes, at either the termination of acute treatment or the 6-month follow-up, than either component treatment. Furthermore, both BA and AT treatments were just as effective as CT at altering negative thinking as well as dysfunctional attributional styles. Finally, attributional style was highly predictive of both short- and long-term outcomes in the BA condition, but not in the CT condition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The repression response to implied failure as a function of the hysteria-psychasthenia index.

A study designed to test the Freudian theory of repression and its relation to the scores on the repression index of the hysteria minus the psychasthenia scales of the MMPI. Results were consistent with the repression hypothesis and are also discussed in relation to the drive-anxiety hypothesis. 15 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of client-centered psychotherapy with schizophrenic patients: Nine years pretherapy and nine years posttherapy hospitalization.

The long-term effects on patient hospitalization of therapeutic conditions (accurate empathy, nonpossessive warmth, and genuineness) offered by therapists were compared to a control (no-therapy) group (N = 16) in a population of 32 schizophrenics. The study dealt with hospitalization experience over a 9-yr period prior to entry into therapy research and a 9-yr period after entry into therapy research. Findings indicate no overall mean differences but significant differences in trend tests across time. There was some evidence of negative effects from low levels of therapist-offered therapeutic conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)