Impact and management of dual relationships in metropolitan, regional and rural mental health practice

OBJECTIVE: To explore the extent and impact of professional boundary crossings in metropolitan, regional and rural mental health practice in Victoria and identify strategies mental health clinicians use to manage dual relationships. METHOD: Nine geographically located focus groups consisting of mental health clinicians: four focus groups in rural settings; three in a regional city and two in a metropolitan mental health service. A total of 52 participants were interviewed. RESULTS: Data revealed that professional boundaries were frequently breached in regional and rural settings and on occasions these breaches had a significantly negative impact. Factors influencing the impact were: longevity of the clinician's relationship with the community, expectations of the community, exposure to community 'gossip' and size of the community. Participants reported greater stress when the boundary crossing affected their partner and/or children. Clinicians used a range of proactive and reactive strategies, such as private telephone number, avoidance of social community activities, when faced with a potential boundary crossing. The feasibility of reactive strategies depended on the service configuration: availability of an alternative case manager, requirement for either patient or clinician to travel. The greater challenges faced by rural and regional clinicians were validated by metropolitan participants with rural experience and rural participants with metropolitan experience. CONCLUSIONS: No single strategy is used or appropriate for managing dual relationships in rural settings. Employers and professional bodies should provide clearer guidance for clinicians both in the management of dual relationships and the distinction between boundary crossings and boundary violation. Clinicians are clearly seeking to represent and protect the patients' interests; consideration should be given by consumer groups to steps that can be taken by patients to reciprocate.     

严重烧伤患者外周血T淋巴细胞亚群、NK细胞活性及sIL-2R水平的变化

目的观察严重烧伤患者伤后T淋巴细胞亚群、NK细胞活性和sIL2R水平的变化,探讨其免疫功能改变的可能机制。方法测定35例严重烧伤患者伤后T淋巴细胞亚群,NK细胞活性和sIL2R的水平,并与正常对照组进行比较。结果与正常对照组比较,烧伤组:CD3+、CD4+和CD4+/CD8+比值均明显下降(P均<0.01),CD8+明显升高(P<0.05),烧伤组NK细胞活性明显下降(P<0.05),sIL-2R明显升高(P<0.01)。结论严重烧伤患者T淋巴细胞亚群中细胞比例发生了明显改变,NK细胞活性降低sIL-2R水平升高,三者互相影响,共同构成烧伤患者伤后免疫功能紊乱的因素之一。     

Hb Manukau [β67(E11)Val → Gly; HBB: c.203T>G]: The Role of Genetic Testing in the Diagnosis of Idiopathic Hemolytic Anemia

The increasing availability of DNA sequencing of globin genes has improved our ability to detect conditions that were presumed to be extremely rare. These conditions may remain undiagnosed due to unfamiliarity with clinical presentation, relative unavailability of advanced diagnostic alternatives, or may defy detection by being electrophoretically silent or extreme instability rendering their presence to be below detection level. Genetic studies were pursued in a mother and daughter with severe hemolytic anemia as initial testing failed to be diagnostic. DNA sequence analysis of the β-globin gene identified Hb Manukau [β67(E11)Val?→?Gly; HBB: c.203T?>?G], an extremely unstable hemoglobin (Hb) variant. This is the second family described with this condition (first in the western hemisphere). An astute clinician may benefit from being persistent and pursuing additional testing including molecular genetic characterization where clinical suspicion remains high.     

Schistosomiasis Elimination Strategies and Potential Role of a Vaccine in Achieving Global Health Goals

In March 2013, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-sponsored a meeting entitled “Schistosomiasis Elimination Strategy and Potential Role of a Vaccine in Achieving Global Health Goals” to discuss the potential role of schistosomiasis vaccines and other tools in the context of schistosomiasis control and elimination strategies. It was concluded that although schistosomiasis elimination in some focal areas may be achievable through current mass drug administration programs, global control and elimination will face several significant scientific and operational challenges, and will require an integrated approach with other, additional interventions. These challenges include vector (snail) control; environmental modification; water, sanitation, and hygiene; and other future innovative tools such as vaccines. Defining a clear product development plan that reflects a vaccine strategy as complementary to the existing control programs to combat different forms of schistosomiasis will be important to develop a vaccine effectively.     

Treatment and prevention of hip dysplasia in infants and young children

The diagnosis and treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip in the infant are uniform, with consensus that diagnostic ultrasound and Pavlik harness management are standard procedures. Sequential procedures for failed early treatment, residual dysplasia and late diagnosis are dependent on the age and the severity of the dysplasia.     

Tryptophan 650 of human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) receptor, implicated in the activation of JAK2, is also required for G- CSF-mediated activation of signaling complexes of the p21ras route

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) induces rapid phosphorylation of JAK kinases as well as activation of the p21ras route through interaction with its specific receptor (G-CSF-R). The cytoplasmic membrane-proximal region of G-CSF-R (amino acids 631 to 684) is necessary for proliferation induction and activation of JAK2. In contrast, activation of Shc and Syp, signaling molecules implicated in the p21ras signaling route, depends on the phosphorylation of tyrosine residues located in the membrane-distal region (amino acids 685 to 813) of G-CSF-R. We investigated whether G-CSF-induced activation of signaling complexes of the p21ras route depends on the function of the membrane-proximal cytoplasmic region of G-CSF-R. A G- CSF-R mutant was constructed in which tryptophan 650 was replaced by arginine and expressed in BAF3 cells (BAF/W650R). In contrast to BAF3 cell transfectants expressing wild-type G-CSF-R, BAF/W650-R cells did not proliferate and did not show activation of JAK2, STAT1, or STAT3 in response to G-CSF. Immunoprecipitations with anti-Shc and anti-Grb2 antisera showed that mutant W650R also failed to activate Syp and Shc. These data indicate that the membrane-proximal cytoplasmic domain of G- CSF-R is not only crucial for proliferative signaling and activation of JAK2 and STATs, but is also required for activation of the p21ras route, which occurs via the membrane-distal region of G-CSF-R.     

Treatment of hot flashes with transdermal estradiol administration

A randomized prospective double blind study was performed to assess the ability of a transdermal therapeutic system (TTS) delivering estradiol (E2) to suppress hot flashes (HFs) in symptomatic postmenopausal women. Patients were given placebo or E2 in four doses for a 20-day period, and serum gonadotropin and estrogen levels and the occurrences of HFs were measured. Administration of placebo had no measurable effect on either estrogen or gonadotropin levels or the occurrence of HFs. A dose-response relationship was found between the rate of E2 administered and the circulating level of E2, with 25, 50, 100, and 200 micrograms/24 h dosages raising the mean E2 concentrations from mean baseline levels of 5-8 pg/ml to 18, 38, 73, and 100 pg/ml, respectively. Estrone levels also increased with TTS application, but to a lesser extent than did E2 levels. Dose-response reductions of FSH and LH with increasing amounts of E2 administration occurred, but gonadotropin levels were not lowered in any of the patients into the ranges found in premenopausal women. TTS application significantly suppressed the occurrence of HFs at the 50 micrograms/24 h dosage and higher. A significant negative correlation (r = 0.6045; P less than 0.001) between E2 levels and the rates of occurrence of HFs was found during hormone administration. Based on this regression, 50% and 100% reductions of HFs should occur at 61 and 122 pg/ml E2. These data indicate that the transdermal delivery of E2 with these systems significantly reduced the occurrence of HFs and allowed definition of the therapeutic range of hormone replacement in terms of lost ovarian function, as reflected by circulating E2 levels.