Publications by authors named "Erika Penner"

Background: Solid organ transplantation is the indicated treatment for children with end-stage organ failure. Little is known about the impact of organ transplantation on pediatric transplant recipients' mental health. Symptoms of medical procedure and generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and depression may emerge, despite the successful restoration of organ function.

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Protein-protein interactions between G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) can augment their functionality and increase the repertoire of signaling pathways they regulate. New therapeutics designed to modulate such interactions may allow for targeting of a specific GPCR activity, thus reducing potential for side effects. Dopamine receptor (DR) heteromers are promising candidates for targeted therapy of neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease since current treatments can have severe side effects.

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Background: Theories of procedural justice suggest that individuals who experience the criminal justice system as fair are more likely to perceive it as legitimate and, in turn, are less likely to reoffend. However, when individuals come into contact with the legal system, they are not blank slates - they have beliefs and personality characteristics that may systematically influence such perceptions.

Aims: Our aim was to establish the extent to which demographic characteristics, legal history and clinical features, including personality characteristics, systematically influenced the degree to which young people experience the justice system as fair and legitimate.

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Theories of procedural justice suggest that individuals who experience respectful and fair legal decision-making procedures are more likely to believe in the legitimacy of the law and, in turn, are less likely to reoffend. However, few studies have examined these relationships in youth. To begin to fill this gap in the literature, in the current study, the authors studied 92 youth (67 male, 25 female) on probation regarding their perceptions of procedural justice and legitimacy, and then monitored their offending over the subsequent 6 months.

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Aim: To determine the prevalence of health problems uncovered by a Standardized Assessment for Elderly Patients in a Primary Care Setting (STEP), to explore how often STEP uncovered conditions new to general practitioners (GP) and ascertain how often STEP results led GPs to plan further interventions.

Methods: This descriptive, interim analysis was based on the data of 189 elderly patients (median age, 78 years; interquartile range [IQ], 74-81) and their 20 GPs collected in Hannover region, Germany, between June 2008 and April 2009. Study nurses in the practice setting applied the 44-item STEP instrument, based mainly on self-reporting, as well as a standardized patient interview.

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Research indicates that a sizable proportion of adolescent defendants have difficulty understanding and participating in legal proceedings against them, and may be incompetent to stand trial. To examine attorneys' experience in defending adolescents with competence-related difficulties, 214 juvenile attorneys were surveyed. Findings indicated that attorneys have doubts about the competence of approximately 10% of adolescent defendants, and that they find these cases particularly challenging to defend.

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Objective: Non-linear relations between multiple biochemical parameters are the basis for the diagnosis of many diseases. Traditional linear analytical methods are not reliable predictors. Novel nonlinear techniques are increasingly used to improve the diagnostic accuracy of automated data interpretation.

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