bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Edaravone Offers Neuroprotection in a Diabetic Stroke Model via Inhibition of Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress
Authors: Srinivasan Krishnamoorthy , Sharma Shyam S.
Published: July 2011

Abstract:  Recent investigations have postulated a link between oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dysfunction in cerebral ischaemic/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Diabetes is common amongst elderly patients with stroke and has been postulated to aggravate brain I/R damage by triggering oxidative as well as ER stress. We investigated whether treatment with edaravone (1–10 mg/kg), a potent free radical scavenger protects against cerebral I/R injury in rats associated with comorbid type 2 diabetes. Diabetic rats exposed to 2‐hr middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and 22 hr of reperfusion significantly had increased infarct, oedema volume and functional neurological deficits as compared to sham‐operated rats. Also, the massive DNA fragmentation accompanied by significant increase in terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) positive cells was noticed in the ipsilateral penumbral brain region of diabetic I/R rats. The effects of I/R injury were associated with significant up‐regulation of 78 kDa‐glucose‐regulated protein (GRP78), CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein or growth arrest DNA damage‐inducible gene 153 (CHOP/GADD153) and activation of caspase‐12, markers of ER stress/apoptosis. Treatment with edaravone (3 and 10 mg/kg) significantly diminished the cerebral infarct, oedema volume and improved functional recovery of neurological deficits. In addition, edaravone treatment ameliorated the DNA fragmentation concomitantly with a significant decrease in induction of GRP78, CHOP/GADD153 immunoreactivity/expression and activation of caspase‐12 in the ischaemic brain hemispheres. Overall, the present data indicate that edaravone offers good neuroprotection against diabetic stroke by interrupting the ER stress‐mediated apoptotic pathways involving CHOP/GADD153 and caspase‐12.
Structure–Activity Relationships on Purine and 2,3‐Dihydropurine Derivatives as Antitubercular Agents: a Data Mining Approach
Authors: Pietra Daniele , Imbriani Marcello , Borghini Alice , Giorgi Irene , Settimo Federico Da , Breschi Maria Cristina , Campa Mario , Batoni Giovanna , Brancatisano Franca Lisa , Bianucci Anna Maria
Published: July 2011

Nowadays, many people still fall victim to tuberculosis, the disease that has a worldwide spreading. Moreover, the problem of resistance to isoniazid and rifampin, the two most effective antitubercular drugs, is assuming an ever‐growing importance. The need for new drugs active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis represents nowadays a quite relevant problem in medicinal chemistry. Several purine and 2,3‐dihydropurine derivatives have recently emerged, showing considerable antitubercular properties. In this work, a quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) model was developed, which is able to predict whether new purine and 2,3‐dihydropurine derivatives belong to an ‘Active’ or ‘Inactive’ class against the above micro‐organism. The obtained prediction model is based on a classification tree; it was built with a small number of descriptors, which allowed us to outline structural features important to predict antitubercular activity of such classes of compounds.
A Structure‐based QSAR and Docking Study on Imidazo[1,5‐a][1,2,4]‐triazolo[1,5‐d][1,4,]benzodiazepines as Selective GABAAα5 Inverse Agonists
Authors: Gharaghani Sajjad , Khayamian Taghi , Keshavarz Fatemeh
Published: July 2011

As three‐dimensional (3D) structure of the GABAAα5 was not determined, the crystal structure of 2Vl0E at 3.3 Å resolution which is a ligand‐gated K+ channel was used as a template in homology modeling, and the result was used in molecular dynamic simulation for obtaining its conformation in a water sphere. The resulted conformation of the receptor was used for docking with the most potent of imidazo[1,5‐a][1,2,4]‐triazolo[1,5‐d][1,4,] benzodiazepines drugs to find out binding sites and consequently the types of the interaction between the drugs and receptor. The results showed that π–π interaction of the drugs with three phenylalanine and tyrosine residues plays an important role in determining the potency of the inhibitors. The obtained information relating to the binding sites of the receptor was utilized for docking all the drugs into the receptor and find out optimized conformation for each drug, used in structure‐based quantitative structure‐activity relationship (QSAR) model for calculation of descriptors. Then, selected descriptors were related to the binding affinity and selectivity of the drugs using multiple linear regression and least squares‐support vector regression. Finally, the results of target‐ and ligand‐based QSAR models were compared, resulted the superiority of the structure‐based QSAR to the ligand‐based model.
Binding Studies and Quantitative Structure–Activity Relationship of 3‐Amino‐1H‐Indazoles as Inhibitors of GSK3β
Authors: Caballero Julio , Zilocchi Szymon , Tiznado William , Collina Simona , Rossi Daniela
Published: July 2011

Docking of 3‐amino‐1H‐indazoles complexed with glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β) was performed to gain insight into the structural requirements and preferred conformations of these inhibitors. The study was conducted on a selected set of 57 compounds with variation in structure and activity. We found that the most active compounds established three hydrogen bonds with the residues of the hinge region of GSK3β, but some of the less active compounds have other binding modes. In addition, models able to predict GSK3β inhibitory activities (IC50) of the studied compounds were obtained by 3D‐QSAR methods CoMFA and CoMSIA. Ligand‐based and receptor‐guided alignment methods were utilized. Adequate R2 and Q2 values were obtained by each method, although some striking differences existed between the obtained contour maps. Each of the predictive models exhibited a similar ability to predict the activity of a test set. The application of docking and quantitative structure–activity relationship together allowed conclusions to be drawn for the choice of suitable GSK3β inhibitors.
British military hearing conservation programme
Authors: Biggs T. , Everest A.
Published: July 2011

Clin. Otolaryngol. 2011, 36, 299–301
The relevance of HPA‐15 antigen expression for anti‐HPA‐15 antibody detection
Authors: MAŚLANKA K. , MICHUR H. , GUZ K. , WRÓBEL A. , UHRYNOWSKA M. , MISIAK A. , EJDUK A. , BROJER E. , ŻUPAŃSKA B.
Published: July 2011

Introduction:  The HPA‐15 antigen system is characterized by a low antigen expression on platelets. The antibodies against this antigen are implied in fetal/neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (F/NAIT), post‐transfusion purpura, and refractoriness to platelet transfusions. Detection of these antibodies appears to be related to the level of HPA‐15 expression on the platelets used in the monoclonal antibody–specific immobilization of platelet antigen (MAIPA) assay.

Methods:  We performed genotyping of 300 healthy blood donors for HPA‐15 by TaqMan real‐time PCR technology, and the HPA‐15 antigen expression was investigated in 13 HPA‐15aa and 19 HPA‐15bb individuals. We also investigated the relevance of HPA‐15 antigen expression on donor platelets used in MAIPA for antibody detection in 223 multitransfused hematological patients and 271 women with suspected F/NAIT.

Results:  In Polish donors, the HPA‐15a allele frequencies were lower than the HPA‐15b (0.480 vs. 0.515). We identified three HPA‐15 expression groups: high (36.7 ± 8.36 MFI – eight cases), medium (19.5 ± 6.2 MFI – 21 cases), and low (6.5 ± 5.9 MFI – three cases). The HPA‐15 expression was stable over time. The HPA‐15aa and HPA‐15bb platelets with high antigen expression were used for anti‐HPA‐15 antibody detection; anti‐HPA‐15 antibodies were detected in 4/223 (1.8%) patients receiving multiple transfusions but in none of the 271 women with suspected F/NAIT. Further examination of the four sera by MAIPA with various platelets revealed the optical density in the assay to be closely related to the level of HPA‐15 antigen expression.

Conclusion:  Anti‐HPA‐15 antibody detection should be based on carefully selected platelets with high HPA‐15 expression level.
Overcoming Obstacles in Risk Factor Management in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Handelsman Yehuda , Jellinger Paul S.
Published: July 2011

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2011;13:613–620. ©2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by progressively worsening hyperglycemia that leads to microvascular and macrovascular complications. Optimal management of T2DM aims to simultaneously control hyperglycemia, hypertension, and dyslipidemia to reduce the overall risk. However, a large proportion of patients in clinical practice do not reach treatment targets. Some of the obstacles to achieving treatment targets include high medication costs, costs associated with health insurance, poor patient adherence to medication, patient fear of potential adverse effects, improper patient education, and failure by health care providers to appropriately initiate or intensify therapy (clinical inertia). Possible causes of clinical inertia include the influence exerted on physicians by reluctant patients and the influence of media‐driven attention and the negative spin of clinical trial results on physicians’ prescribing behavior and on patients’ attitudes towards treatment. This negative publicity can be disproportionate to the overall body of scientific evidence and may, therefore, prove to be unfounded in the long‐term. There is clear evidence of the benefits of the effective management of T2DM to achieve goals. Overcoming the obstacles to achieving treatment targets may include use of strategies such as early intensive treatment and combination therapy with drugs with complementary mechanisms of action.
Cephalanthera humilissp. nov. (Orchidaceae) from Yunnan, China
Authors: Jin Xiao‐Hua , Dai Zhen‐Quan , Liu Qing‐Yi , Ju Xue‐Yong , Xiang Xiao‐Guo
Published: July 2011

Cephalanthera humilisX. H. Jin, a new species from Yunnan, China, is described and illustrated. The new species is closely related toC. calcaratabut differs from it by having an entire lip without spur at base and the stigma on top of the column.
Veillonella Dispar and Streptococcus Bovis Septic Arthritis in a Native Shoulder Joint
Authors: Hillier David Ian , Ballal Moez Seifeldin , Sanger Rajiv , Qazzafi Zaman
Published: July 2011

Veillonella spp. comprise anaerobic Gram-negative cocci that are a rare cause of septic arthritis in native joints. We report a case of septic arthritis of a native shoulder joint due to Veillonella dispar and Streptococcus bovis Biotype II in an elderly patient, with growth of both isolates from joint fluid. Streptococcus bovis was also isolated from blood culture. The Veillonella isolate was referred to the anaerobic reference laboratory for speciation and was confirmed to be V. dispar by use of a molecular method. The patient had an arthroscopic joint washout along with 1 month of appropriate antibiotic treatment and made a full recovery.
Counter‐transference problems in hospital practice
Authors: Lewis Emanuel
Published: July 2011

The care of the sick involves hospital staff in distressing emotional predicaments. Limitations in medical knowledge and resources and adverse social conditions of patients make staff feel helpless. The sense of helplessness gives rise to guilt, anger and resentment which affect the actions of staff towards their patients. The anxiety of a patient and his family may affect the feelings and action of hospital staff. In this paper I am particularly concerned with understanding the reactions of hospital staff in the light of the psychoanalytical concept of the counter‐transference. I shall describe what may occur when the unconscious needs of patients are effectively communicated to their doctor and the doctors then act out their patients' unconscious needs.
An analysis of contemporary East African folk psychotherapy
Authors: Rappaport Herbert , Dent Preston L.
Published: July 2011

In an effort to identify the characteristics of folk psychotherapy that could account for its tenacity in East Africa, a total of 31 Tanzanian shamans were studied. It was found that patients with emotional problems make use of both the folk and Western therapists and that a clear conceptual distinction is made between the services offered. The range of techniques used, style of service delivered, and the fundamental (or underlying) model of causation were all analysed. It was concluded that folk therapy is an effective approach to psychosocial disorders which, in the future, should be considered a dynamic supplement to Western practices. Additionally, based on the appeal of the medicine man, new directions for Western psychotherapy were suggested.
Overt and covert personality traits associated with coronary heart disease
Authors: Rimé Bernard , Bonami Michel
Published: July 2011

Some authors suggested the existence of contradictory traits in the personality pattern associated with coronary heart disease: while presenting overt, active, adult‐like traits, coronary subjects would be, at a more covert or repressed level, characterized by passive and infantile tendencies. To test this hypothesis, coronary and control subjects were submitted to three types of personality questionnaire, each of them measuring the same four personality traits (seclusion, impulsiveness, dependence and passivity) which, in the adult individual, are considered by Murray's (1938) theory of personality as persisting from infancy.

No difference appeared between the two groups on type 1 questionnaires, describing behavioural features of individuals outwardly displaying the four traits. On type 2 questionnaires, describing tastes and similar areas less subject to social norms, coronary subjects revealed themselves higher than control subjects for passivity (P < 0.05). and dependence (P < 0.05). Similarly, they were higher for passivity (P < 0.05), dependence (P < 0.001) and impulsiveness (P < 0.05) on type 3 questionnaires describing symptoms expected to occur occasionally among adults having such traits. Supplementary scales also showed coronary subjects to be more ego‐defensive (P < 0.001) and more self‐assertive (P< 0.05) than controls. These data were considered as supporting the hypothesis.
Techniques of economic analysis in psychiatric practice
Authors: Chapman J. R.
Published: July 2011

Since there is a limit to the amount of money that society can and will spend on health care, economic analysis is becoming increasingly important.

This article attempts to review the use that has been made of economic analysis in psychiatric practice. It has been shown that treatment costs are a small part of the total cost of mental ill health, although ‘expensive treatments’ may reduce the cost of illness to society. In the USA the treatment of schizophrenia has been studied from the economic viewpoint. The economics of the alternatives of hospital and community care have been investigated. Cost‐benefit analysis has been modified for application to the monitoring and assessment of psychiatric treatment.

Economic analysis can and should be used, in conjunction with clinical analysis, to determine policies for better mental health care.
Consensus in construct identification
Authors: Woolfson R. C.
Published: July 2011

When Kelly (1955) outlined Personal Construct Theory, he failed to give practical guidelines on how to identify constructs from everyday speech. This study aimed at examining the methods construct theorists use to do this. Twelve construct theorists, all of whom had conducted research into construct theory or had used it in a therapeutic setting, independently studied a written verbatim report of an interview between a child and an interviewer, and then identified words they thought represented the child's constructs. They were also asked to rate their knowledge of construct theory, the difficulty they experienced in undertaking the task, and their confidence that other raters would agree with their responses; finally, they were asked to outline the method used to decide which words represented constructs. After analysis of results, it was argued, firstly, that they support the proposition that construct theory has no practical guidelines for identifying constructs. Secondly, the results showed there was a group of words selected by at least 75 per cent of the raters, and, thirdly, that there was a high degree of similarity amongst methods raters used to identify constructs. It was concluded that variance in the words chosen by the raters could be eliminated by establishing a practical description of how constructs could be identified from everyday speech. Some components of such a description were suggested.
Crisis intervention: An experimental study of the effects of a brief period of counselling on the anxiety of relatives of seriously injured or ill hospital patients
Authors: Bunn Terence A. , Clarke Alex M.
Published: July 2011

This study was designed to examine the effects of anxiety levels, as measured by the Gottschalk & Gleser (1969) and the Viney & Westbrook (1976) content analysis scales, of a brief period of supportive counselling of relatives who arrived at a hospital emergency admitting ward with a seriously ill or injured patient. Verbal samples were taken for analysis from the subjects before and after a period of counselling (or a period of no counselling for the control group). The results showed that the initial anxiety levels for subjects in both groups was very high. For both the psychoanalytically oriented Gottschalk & Gleser anxiety scale and the Viney & Westbrook scale of cognitive anxiety there was a decrease in the level of anxiety for the counselled group compared with the non‐counselled group. The results showed that such crisis intervention in hospitals for relatives who accompany patients to the hospital can reduce their very high levels of diffuse and generalized anxiety.
Preferences for behavioural, analytic and gestalt psychotherapy
Authors: Sobel Harry J.
Published: July 2011

This study investigated preferences for behavioural, analytic and gestalt psychotherapy among a sample of 40 SES class III and IV adult females and 67 college freshmen who had never been actual therapy patients. A scaled survey assessed general preference, preference given an imagined long‐standing depressive disorder, preference given an imagined specific phobia, and preference for the therapist‐patient relationship. Three audio tapes were designed, each describing one of the modalities. High inter‐rater reliability and agreement were determined by three independent judges. Results showed that young females had a general preference for gestalt therapy. Young and old females, but not young males, significantly preferred behavioural therapy for a specific phobia. Under forced‐choice conditions the group as a whole significantly preferred gestalt therapy. No differences were found for the relationship or preference given a depressive disorder. Preference was hypothesized as a cognitive structure with potential use in therapist‐client matching.
Some psycho‐social consequences of multiple sclerosis: Problems of social interaction and group identity
Authors: Miles Agnes
Published: July 2011

The study was concerned with the psycho‐social consequences for married couples of multiple sclerosis being contracted by one of the partners. In particular, problems of social interaction and group identity were explored. In determining their mode of interaction with healthy people such couples can choose between normalizing, i.e. endeavouring to carry on their relationships with other people according to their pre‐illness pattern, or of disassociating, i.e. turning away from former associates and seeking a new peer group among others with like affliction. In nearly every case husband and wife agreed on the choice of stratagem, a majority of the couples forming the sample opting for disassociation. Membership of the Multiple Sclerosis Society was much more usual among the disassociating couples than among those ‘normalizing’. The variables of age, sex, social class and severity of illness were not found to affect the mode of interaction, whereas place of residence and medical interest in them, as perceived by patients and their spouses, were influencing factors.
Compensation‐neurosis and the psycho‐social requirements of the family
Authors: Rickarby G. A.
Published: July 2011

This paper discusses the application of basic theories of family functioning to understanding the syndrome consisting of abnormal‐illness behaviour centred around a recompensable illness or injury. It sets out the socio‐cultural matrix out of which it arises and postulates that compensation‐neurosis may be viewed as a homeostatic response of the family system when major psycho‐social requirements are not being met and the family is under stress or in crisis. It looks at two common paradigms of compensation‐neurosis as met in the rehabilitation unit of a large hospital, and at the application of the theory, and gives further examples of homeostatic adjustments to meet family requirements such as those of attachment. It also uses group and inter‐group dynamics to further clarify the syndrome in psycho‐social terms. It goes on to discuss the implications of these theories for prevention and management of this difficult syndrome.
Locus of control and contraceptive knowledge, attitudes and practice
Authors: Blignault Ilse , Brown L. B.
Published: July 2011

A series of 100 interviews with women attending ante‐natal clinics at two Sydney public hospitals assessed their contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, and practice and locus of personal control (whether they believed they controlled their own lives). Multiple regression analyses showed that locus of control was significantly related to their attitudes to contraception, but not to their contraceptive knowledge or practice. The implications of that finding for family planning programmes and sex education are discussed.
Psychosexual personality traits, fixation and neuroticism
Authors: Kline Paul
Published: July 2011

Three tests of oral and anal psychosexual personality traits, OOQ, OPQ and Ai3Q, together with the EPI were administered to 128 subjects, to test the hypothesis that psychosexual fixation was related to neuroticism. This hypothesis was supported by the results.
Correlates of patient participation in the large group meetings of a therapeutic community
Authors: Trauer T.
Published: July 2011

In view of the importance of verbal communication in community meetings, an attempt was made to identify the characteristics of patients with differing average levels of communication. Paper‐and‐pencil recordings of 117 consecutive community meetings in a psychiatric unit run along therapeutic community lines yielded average communication scores on 237 patients. Scores were unrelated to sex, age, social class, length of stay, in‐patient or day‐patient status and questionnaire measures of total hostility and attitude towards psychiatric treatment. Patients who talked much were characterized by manic and personality disorder diagnoses and were hysteroid and extrapunitive on questionnaire measures. They attended a high proportion of meetings held during their admission and contributed verbally to almost all meetings they attended. They frequently became the subject of discussion in meetings, and they tended to be high on objective and consensual measures of rule‐breaking. Patients with low level of verbal communication were likely to have anorexic, organic or psychotic depressive disorders. The results are discussed in terms of Berne's distinction between ‘performers’ and ‘audience’ and the presumed functions of community meetings.
The narcissistic core as a focus in the group therapy of the borderline patient
Authors: Macaskill Norman D.
Published: July 2011

An approach to the group psychotherapy of the hospitalized borderline patient is described. Drawing on recent formulations of the narcissistic constellation in these patients a focal interpretative approach is used emphasizing the defensive nature of the chronic rage, devaluation and self‐interest of these patients. This allows the beginnings of group cohesiveness to be established based on shared hurt and damaged self‐image, and facilitates the utilization of the various treatment modalities which are necessary in the long‐term treatment of this group. These issues are illustrated with examples drawn from group sessions.
Neuroticism, social desirability and anticipations and attributions affecting self‐disclosure
Authors: Nelson‐Jones Richard , Coxhead Peter
Published: July 2011

The first part of this research, a questionnaire study on 260 single British males, found neuroticism to be inversely related to need for social approval, thus raising an issue about the validity of the EPI‐N scale. From the second part, a laboratory study with 48 subjects selected by the questionnaire study, there were four main findings: (1) an earlier finding, that most subjects tended in the direction of a double standard in which they anticipated more risk stemming from their own than from their friend's negative self‐disclosures, was replicated highly significantly; (2) neuroticism was not associated significantly with differences in anticipated reactions for either negative or positive self‐disclosures; (3) there was a large and highly significant main effect for order, with those subjects who first rated their own reactions to their friend's negative self‐disclosures anticipating being esteemed less negatively than those who first rated their friend's reactions to their own negative self‐disclosures; and (4) there were significant differences for some characteristics between self‐attribution and friend's attribution after negative self‐disclosure. Practical implications of the above findings are explored.
Dissecting the A‐B personality type
Authors: Ray J. J. , Bozek R.
Published: July 2011

It is suggested that ‘freneticism’ might be an appropriate name for the type of personality said by Rosenman, Friedman and Jenkins to be at risk from coronary heart disease. In study 1 the measure of this personality type (the JAS) was given a uniform answer format and, as such, was found to give improved reliability. It was administered to a random postal sample of Australians. A short form of 24 items was also produced. In study 2 a similar sample received the 24‐item form and scales to measure achievement motivation, dominance and extraversion. ‘A’ types were found to be very much achievement motivated and dominant. A factor analysis showed these two traits as the main components of the A‐B concept with only a third factor of ‘freneticism’. This factor was measured in a third study which showed that the factor could be used as a scale in its own right.
Anthropology and psychiatry—An alternative approach
Authors: Littlewood Roland
Published: July 2011

Whilst anthropology has employed an approach to society derived from Freud, the dominant perspective, as exemplified by Durkheim, has been to understand social processes without recourse to psychological theories. These two approaches have offered opposing explanations of the genesis and significance of public symbols. The later developments of the Durkheimian position, notably symbolic classification and the structural anthropology of Lévi‐Strauss, have however returned to a consideration of mental processes in bypassing the study of individual variation. The point of interaction of this approach with the reintroduced individual may offer a new point of definition for transcultural psychiatry. An illustration is offered by examining the experiences of a black West Indian in Britain.
Exile as bereavement: Socio‐psychological manifestations of Chilean exiles in Great Britain
Authors: Munoz Liliana
Published: July 2011

Political exiles present distinctive socio‐psychological problems. The exile crisis is basically a rupture in the individual's cultural past, geographical environment, and attachment to his society and nation, and varies in intensity depending on the individual's past history and the strength of his socio‐political commitment. This paper is based on a study of 25 Chilean political refugees of both sexes. The main result is that the psychodynamics of exile is akin to that of bereavement, and must be understood in terms of loss followed by stress caused by adaptation to the new environment.
Differential response of the need to be held
Authors: Harris Rachel , Linn Margaret W.
Published: July 2011

Although the need to be held has been related to depression, anxiety, and sexual behaviour, it remains unclear how the factors of race and marital status relate to the wish for body contact. This study determined whether there were discrete dimensions of the Body Contact Scale and whether black/white and married/unmarried women differed on these factors during their first trimester of pregnancy. Eighty‐five pregnant women completed the Body Contact Scale and answered an attitude and symptom complaint questionnaire. Data analysis consisted of factor analysis and multivariate analysis of the factor scores as well as attitude and symptom variables to determine any differences between the four groups. Three factors resulted and were named, satisfaction, deprivation, and strategy factors. White women were far more likely to score high on the satisfaction factor than black women. A number of interactions were found for the need to be held total score with race and marital status on perinatal attitudes and symptoms, showing that the body contact variable may be an important aspect of psychosomatic functioning.
Congruence of personality assessments within families with a schizophrenic son
Authors: Schwoon Dirk R. , Angermeyer Matthias C.
Published: July 2011

Following the phenomenological approach to interaction in psychiatrically disturbed families a personality questionnaire (‘Giessen Test’) was used to assess the views three family members (father, mother, son) had of themselves and of each other. These views may be regarded as quite stable results of interaction processes, so that conclusions about family interaction patterns may be drawn from the level of concordance of any two of them. Comparisons were made between families in which a son had been hospitalized for the first time with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and those in which a son had been hospitalized for surgical treatment, n = 30 in each category. The psychiatric patients did not on the whole give distorted personality descriptions. But in the index families the relationship between father and son was found characteristically different from that in the control families. This fact is interpreted as a reaction of the father to the deviant behaviour of the son, who did not conform with the male sex‐role expectations of the father. The father as it is could not then identify with his son as a father usually does and perhaps necessarily should. The answers of the mothers partly confirm this conclusion. With regard to the parental dyad, the findings suggest that the fathers’ needs for reciprocal consideration are not met by their wives.
Life events and psychological distress in dermatologic disorders: Psoriasis, chronic urticaria and fungal infections
Authors: Fava Giovanni A. , Perini Giulia I. , Santonastaso Paolo , Fornasa Cleto Veller
Published: July 2011

A consecutive unselected series of 60 in‐patients suffering from dermatologic disorders (psoriasis, chronic urticaria and fungal infections of the skin) was examined. Twenty patients with each illness were included. Stressful life events immediately before illness onset, levels of psychological distress, and alexithymic traits were investigated. Patients with psoriasis and chronic urticaria were exposed to stressful life situations before disease onset and suffered from psychological distress (anxiety, depression, inadequacy) significantly more than those with fungal infections. Implications for psychosomatic research and treatment are discussed.
The sibling and psychotherapy: A review with clinical examples
Authors: Holmes Jeremy
Published: July 2011

Psychoanalytic and other literature relevant to the sibling relationship is reviewed. Cases are presented illustrating the role of feelings towards the sibling in psychotherapeutic practice. Three main areas are discussed: (1) the birth of a sibling as a ‘fixation point’; (2) the effect of the sibling on identity formation; (3) the role of the sibling relationship in treatment, especially the importance of acknowledging sibling rivalry.
Pregnancy as a transference stimulus
Authors: Clarkson Sarah E.
Published: July 2011

The paper discusses the concept of transference in therapeutic relationships where the therapist is pregnant.

Comparisons are made with other physical attributes of the therapist. The remarkable lack of literature to date is noted and the reasons for this discussed.

Case histories illustrate some typical reactions and demonstrate the usual mixture of transference elements, those inappropriate and displaced and those which are firmly based in reality.
Socio‐economic class, classification of ‘abnormal’ behaviour and perceptions of mental health care: A cross‐cultural comparison
Authors: Heller Peter L. , Chalfant H. Paul , Worley Maria del Carmen Rivera , Quesada Gustavo M. , Bradfield Cecil D.
Published: July 2011

This paper is a replication of a study in which we argue that class differences pertain not only to rates of mental illness but also to the recognition of symptoms of mental illness and to recommendations concerning what should be done by those exhibiting ‘disordered behaviour’. Our previous findings from a sample of two small West Texas communities indicated that class differences did hold for both recognition of and recommendations for help regarding behaviours which are commonly considered as ‘disordered’ by professional mental health personnel. We concluded that these differences were related to conditions of lower‐class life, particularly a sense of powerlessness. In this paper we hypothesize that in societies where the two classes share high powerlessness, the differences in response to disordered behaviour will be less pronounced. To test this thesis, we obtained data from lower‐ and middle‐class samples in Durango, Mexico, where both classes have been found to possess a high degree of powerlessness compared with the American sample. Findings lend support to our hypothesis.
Psycho‐maintenance in asthma: Hospitalization rates and financial impact
Authors: Dirks Jerald F. , Schraa James C. , Brown Eric L. , Kinsman Robert A.
Published: July 2011

Certain patient styles perpetuate chronic physical illness, defeat medical treatment, and increase the utilization of medical services. Two such extreme styles among asthmatic patients are indexed by the MMPI panic‐fear scale, reflecting either (a) helpless dependency and anxiety, or (b) excessive inappropriate independence. The present findings indicate that both of these patient styles are related to excessively high hospitalization rates during the two 1‐year periods after discharge from intensive treatment, even among patient groups having asthma of similar objective severity. The discussion centres upon the increased demand for medical services, and the need for early identification of patients whose personal styles contribute to the maintenance of illness.
Science and psychotherapy: The state of the art*
Authors: Shapiro David A.
Published: July 2011

Training and practice within British clinical psychology are profoundly influenced by the belief that behavioural psychotherapy has been shown as more effective than verbal psychotherapy in the treatment of disorders for which both claim utility. A review of the comparative outcome evidence shows that this belief is largely unfounded. Taken together with the growing theoretical convergence between verbal and behavioural approaches, this negative result from comparative outcome studies has important implications for the future development of psychotherapy research, training and practice. More precise and sophisticated research strategies are required to identify the therapeutic ingredients of the psychotherapies, whether these be common to many approaches or specific to particular treatment modes. Closer integration between clinical and research activities in all forms of psychotherapy is necessary. Clinical psychologists should be trained in a variety of behavioural and verbal methods, and in the research methodologies necessary to evaluate and develop these methods. If the challenge of the present state of evidence is not evaded, then we may eventually supersede crude global comparisons, with precise specification of interventions appropriate for given populations.
Written communications in psychotherapy
Authors: Rampling David
Published: July 2011

Psychotherapists frequently receive unsolicited written communications from their patients. Surprisingly, this phenomenon has received scant attention in the literature. This paper suggests possible reasons, and offers a conceptual framework for understanding and using such material in treatment.
Methodological issues in the content analysis of brief psychotherapy
Authors: Marziali E. A. , Sullivan J. M.
Published: July 2011

In the study of psychodynamic psychotherapy few attempts have been made to operationalize and quantify constructs derived from psychoanalytic theory. This study operationalizes the phenomena of impulse, anxiety and defence as they appear in therapist interpretative statements. It extends D. Malan's work in this area and uses his original data.
A comparison of treatments for prefrontal muscle contraction headache
Authors: Schlutter Lois Cochrane , Golden Charles J. , Blume Horst G.
Published: July 2011

A comparison of hypnotic analgesia, frontalis electromyographic feedback, and frontalis electromyographic feedback in conjunction with Jacobson progressive relaxation for treating chronic prefrontal muscle contraction headache was done. There were four 1‐hour treatment sessions for each type, and a follow‐up. Measures were the number of headache hours per week, a subjective estimate of pain intensity, and an objective ratio of pain intensity found by using the submaximum tourniquet technique. No significant differences were found between treatments on these dependent measures, although all produced significant change in the desired direction. The current study utilized 48 patients with chronic prefontal headache, and was performed in a clinical situation. Certain responses to the Headache Questionnaire used in screening were significantly correlated with improvement in headache. The current study controlled for class of medication the patient may have been taking for headache, thereby giving a more realistic assessment of the effectiveness of psychological treatments in a clinic.
The factorial reliability of the Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire* in normal subjects
Authors: Bagley Christopher
Published: July 2011

The internal reliability of the Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire and its component subscales has been checked by means of principal components analyses of data on 256 normal subjects. The subscales (with the possible exception of Hysteria) were found to contribute to the general underlying factor of psychoneurosis. In general, the principal components analysis points to the reliability of the subscales, despite some item overlap.
A repertory grid study of obsessionality: Distinctive cognitive structure or distinctive cognitive content?
Authors: Millar David G.
Published: July 2011

Fifteen obsessive‐compulsive patients and 15 normal controls were tested with a repertory grid of standard form. The patient group was not more monolithic than normals in cognitive structure (Makhlouf‐Norris & Norris, 1973) but was clearly differentiated from normals and from Ryle & Breen's (1972) general neurotic grid portrait by a very negative, isolated and extreme view of the self.
On heautoscopy or the phenomenon of the double: Case presentation and review of the literature
Authors: Mora J. M. R. Damas , Jenner F. A. , Eacott S. E.
Published: July 2011

A review of the literature on the phenomenon of the double is presented. The reasons for the use of the term heautoscopy instead of the more widely used autoscopy are given. The phenomenological characteristics of the phenomenon differentiate heutoscopic depersonalization from heautoscopic delusion. A case of the former is reported and an example of the delusional form is quoted.
The borderline patient and military life
Authors: Bird John R.
Published: July 2011

The view that the borderline patient can cope surprisingly well in a highly structured environment despite long‐standing severe personality disturbance is studied. Military life provides such a structured environment and its role in the lives of these patients is presented through two case reports.

The concept that the Army becomes ‘military parents’, accepts massive projections and survives splitting whilst providing a ‘universal ego and super‐ego’ is developed and felt to be fundamental to the stability that borderline patients can achieve within the Services.
In search of correspondences between age at psychiatric breakdown and parental age at death—‘Anniversary reactions’
Authors: Birtchnell John
Published: July 2011

The phenomenon of psychiatric breakdown occurring when the subject reaches the age his/her parent was at death, misleadingly referred to by Hilgard as an ‘anniversary reaction’, is examined. It is contrasted to breakdown occurring at the anniversary of the death of a significant person and compared with the concept of nemesis as described by Chapman.

An attempt is made to assess the incidence and clinical characteristics of patients breaking down at times of such age correspondence in samples of early and late mother‐bereaved women from North‐East Scotland. It is concluded that the phenomenon is not common and is not associated with specific clinical features. Some illustrative cases are presented.
Interpersonal variables in behavioural group therapy
Authors: Falloon Ian R. H.
Published: July 2011

Attraction towards the group as a whole and to male and female co‐leaders was self‐rated after each of 10 sessions of behavioural group therapy. Fifty‐one patients with specific interpersonal skills deficits completed the course after being randomly assigned to nine small groups employing either (a) role rehearsal and modelling, or (b) guided discussion. Higher levels of attraction were obtained in role‐rehearsal groups. This was associated with improved self‐esteem and a reduction of specific social fears at the end of treatment. Drop‐outs showed less attraction and tended to leave the groups at critical stages in their development. The findings suggest that greater attention to specific interpersonal variables may enhance the effectiveness of group therapies.
Acquired deafness and mental health
Authors: Thomas Alan J.
Published: July 2011

This paper reviews studies of the relationship between acquired deafness and psychological disturbance. The first part examines descriptive case studies based on personal experience, clinical observation and the simulation of hearing loss. The second part reviews studies with an experimental orientation. The overall conclusion is that acquired deafness is associated with psychological disturbance, at least at the psychoneurotic level. However, there is little evidence to support the commonly held view that loss of hearing results in heightened suspiciousness or an increased likelihood of paranoid reactions.
Emotional reactions of expectant fathers to their wives' first pregnancy
Authors: Gerzi Shmuel , Berman Emanuel
Published: July 2011

A group of 51 expectant fathers, whose wives were in the last three months of their first pregnancy, was compared to a control group of 51 married men without children. On the Anxiety Scale Questionnaire the expectant fathers were significantly higher in overall anxiety (both overt and covert), as well as in tension and apprehensiveness.

The Blacky Picture Test indicated stronger Oedipal intensity, sibling rivalry and guilt feelings in the experimental group than in the control group. Clinical interviews with six of the subjects revealed considerable ambivalence, frequently related to re‐aroused infantile fantasies, feminine identifications, castration fears and Oedipal themes, as well as attempts to defend against the ambivalent feelings through negation, denial, isolation, repression, intellectualization and reaction formation. While the higher levels of anxiety could be understood as a reaction to a reality stress situation, the Blacky Test results and the interview material point to more specific dynamic factors, and support several psychoanalytic hypotheses about the significance of pregnancy for the prospective father. The inner conflict aroused contributes to the intensified anxiety, which is likely to be overdetermined.
The effects of termination of pregnancy: A follow‐up study of psychiatric referrals
Authors: Schmidt Ruth , Priest Robert G.
Published: July 2011

A series of 57 women presenting in the first years of the implementation of the Abortion Act for a psychiatric opinion on termination of pregnancy (TP) were carefully examined. The average scores on psychometric tests were well into the pathological range. Of the 35 recommended for TP 24 were single, 20 had been separated from one or both parents and 16 had a psychiatric history.

On those women available for follow‐up the mean psychometric scores improved early (1–17 months after consultation) and eventually fell to the normal range (3–6 years after consultation).

A particular feature of the study was an in‐depth follow‐up of a subsample of 10 women. This was especially illuminating on the meaning that the pregnancy had for the patient. Ambivalent feelings towards the pregnancy were recalled. Some had used the pregnancy to hold on to the father. Many were still acting out problems with the family of origin. Their relationships with the medical profession were often unsatisfactory.

The study increases our (still patchy) understanding of this population and confirms the need for counselling at the time that the woman first presents, both to avoid adverse psychiatric sequelae and to use the abortion as a critical experience to improve overall adjustment.
Hypochondriasis and tendency to adopt the sick role as moderators of the relationship between life‐events and somatic symptomatology
Authors: Stone Arthur A. , Neale John M.
Published: July 2011

The relationship between measures of hypochondriasis and the tendency to adopt a sick role, life‐events and somatic symptomatology was explored. A sample of 85 married couples drawn from the community (n = 170) completed mailed questionnaires about the past year's events and symptoms and about hypochondriasis and sick‐role tendency. Life‐events were related to symptoms (r = 0.17) as were hypochondriasis, sick‐role tendency, and subjects' sex (rs = 0.23, 016, 0.22, respectively). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that hypochondriasis and sick‐role tendency were also related to the association between events and symptoms, such that subjects with high scores on the former measures showed a reduced event‐symptom correlation compared with low and moderate scorers. Low scorers on hypochondriasis and sick‐role tendency had a considerably stronger relationship between events and symptoms compared to those typically reported in the literature. It was suggested that hypochondriasis and sick‐role tendency may be moderators of the life‐event‐symptom relationship and as such deserve more widespread use in life‐events research.