Is one assessment enough? Patterns of helping alliance development and outcome

Early therapeutic alliance is usually measured by the rating of a single session (between the third and the fifth sessions). However, there is a strong argument in favor of viewing early alliance as a developing process. This study examined the relationship between patient's rating of the helping alliance (HAq) at each session and therapy outcome. This comparison was repeated using patterns of alliance over the course of treatment. Patterns of therapeutic alliance development were detected by clustering ratings of a sample of N = 70 outpatients across four sessions of very brief psychotherapeutic intervention. Cluster analysis revealed two main patterns (shapes) of alliance development: (i) stable alliance, and (ii) linear growth pattern. These patterns are more predictive of symptom improvement and social adjustment than single ratings, whereas single ratings measuring the strength of alliance are more correlated with patient's satisfaction. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of porcine pepsin as a milk clotting enzyme

An enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of porcine pepsin in milk‐clotting enzyme preparations has been developed. The assay is capable of detecting porcine pepsin in the range 1 μgto 1 mg ml^‐1 without enhancement or modification. The specificity of the technique was studied by inhibition assay. Slight cross‐reactions with bovine rennet and Mucor miehei rennet occurred at high concentrations (1.0 mg ml^‐1). The ELISA used in this investigation appears to provide a quick, sensitive and specific method for the detection of porcine pepsin and has potential applications in the dairy industry.     

The Turner syndrome research registry: Creating equipoise between investigators and participants

To address knowledge gaps about Turner syndrome (TS) associated disease mechanisms, the Turner Syndrome Society of the United States created the Turner Syndrome Research Registry (TSRR), a patient‐powered registry for girls and women with TS. More than 600 participants, parents or guardians completed a 33‐item foundational survey that included questions about demographics, medical conditions, psychological conditions, sexuality, hormonal therapy, patient and provider knowledge about TS, and patient satisfaction. The TSRR platform is engineered to allow individuals living with rare conditions and investigators to work side‐by‐side. The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept, architecture, and currently available content of the TSRR, in anticipation of inviting proposals to utilize registry resources.     

Effect of Alkyl Groups of Latent Cationic Catalysts on Cure and Dynamic Mechanical Behaviors of Epoxy Resins

Summary: The latent thermal cationic initiators, benzyl‐2,5‐dimethylpyrazinium hexafluoroantimonate (BDPH) and benzyl‐2‐ethylpyrazinium hexafluoroantimonate (BEPH), were synthesized to investigate the effect of substituted alkyl groups on cure and dynamic mechanical behaviors of difunctional epoxy system. The cure temperature and activation energy of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)/BDPH were higher than those of the DGEBA/BEPH, resulting from the steric hindrance of the substituted groups. The cross‐linking density of the DGEBA/BDPH was higher than that of the DGEBA/BEPH, whereas the T_g's of both specimens are similar. This may be explained by the free volume and the intermolecular hydrogen bonding induced by the hydrogen of the substituted methyl groups. Consequently, the position and number of the substituted groups of the latent thermal initiator were very important in the control of the latent thermal and dynamic mechanical behaviors of the epoxy resin.

Dynamic DSC curves of DGEBA cured by each initiator.     

Assault injury rates,social capital,and fear of neighborhood crime

This study develops an explanatory framework for fear of neighborhood crime based on respondents' social context and local rates of assault injuries. Rates of assault injuries within zip codes are based on hospital discharge records. We find that only four variables have a significant unique contribution to fear of crime: respondent's sex, perceptions of neighborhood social capital, and the rates of struck by/against assault injuries for the 10–24 and 50+ age groups. We also find that the perception of neighborhood social capital moderates the impact of assault injury rates on fear of crime; those who perceive a high level of neighborhood social capital exhibit less sensitivity to assault injury rates. We include a map of assault injury rates and fear of crime by ZIP Code and describe the community context related to our results. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 35: 483–498, 2007.     

A polymorphic major histocompatibility complex class II‐like locus maps outside of both the chicken B‐system and Rfp‐Y‐system

Chickens have two major regions encoding major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class Iα genes and MHC class IIß genes, the serological and functional B‐system and the Rfp‐Y‐system. Recently, they have been shown to assort in a genetically independent way although still located on the same microchromosome. Moreover, the monomorphic MHC class IIα gene maps at a third locus located 5 c m from the nearest class IIß genes, located in the B‐system ( Kaufman et al., 1995 ). A pedigree family was studied in three generations in order to assign MHC class IIß restriction fragments observed in Southern blot analyses to either the B‐system, the Rfp‐Y‐system or the B‐Lα locus. In this study, we demonstrate by classical genetic testing of chickens within this fully pedigreed family the existence of an MHC class II‐like polymorphic restriction fragment that segregates independently of the B‐system, the Rfp‐Y‐system and of the B‐Lα locus.