Using event-related potentials to explore processes of change in counseling psychology.

The purpose of this article is to serve as a guide for counseling psychologists to learn about a neuroscience methodology that can be used to study psychotherapy change processes. Event-related potential (ERP) is a specific type of electroencephalography that can be time-locked to a stimulus and thus allows researchers to examine neural responses to specific therapeutic techniques. A conceptual overview of the method and its applicability to counseling psychologists is provided.

Family functioning and risk factors for disordered eating.

This study investigated whether any of seven factors of family dysfunction predicted five risk factors for developing eating disorders in young adult women. Participants completed demographic questions, the McMaster Family Assessment Device (Epstein, Baldwin, & Bishop, 1983) and the Setting Conditions for Anorexia Nervosa Scale (Slade & Dewey, 1986) online. Five stepwise multiple regressions evaluated whether FAD scores predicted any of the eating disorder risk factors.

Global Molecular Analyses of Methane Metabolism in Methanotrophic Alphaproteobacterium, Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b. Part II. Metabolomics and 13C-Labeling Study.

In this work we use metabolomics and (13)C-labeling data to refine central metabolic pathways for methane utilization in Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b, a model alphaproteobacterial methanotrophic bacterium. We demonstrate here that similar to non-methane utilizing methylotrophic alphaproteobacteria the core metabolism of the microbe is represented by several tightly connected metabolic cycles, such as the serine pathway, the ethylmalonyl-CoA (EMC) pathway, and the citric acid (TCA) cycle. Both in silico estimations and stable isotope labeling experiments combined with single cell (NanoSIMS) and bulk biomass analyses indicate that a significantly larger portion of the cell carbon (over 60%) is derived from CO2 in this methanotroph.

Global Molecular Analyses of Methane Metabolism in Methanotrophic Alphaproteobacterium, Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b. Part I: Transcriptomic Study.

Methane utilizing bacteria (methanotrophs) are important in both environmental and biotechnological applications, due to their ability to convert methane to multicarbon compounds. However, systems-level studies of methane metabolism have not been carried out in methanotrophs. In this work we have integrated genomic and transcriptomic information to provide an overview of central metabolic pathways for methane utilization in Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b, a model alphaproteobacterial methanotroph.

MTHFR polymorphisms and 5-FU-based adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.

Background: Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase is a pivotal enzyme in folate metabolism and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) cytotoxicity. Two common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), MTHFR 677C>T (rs1801133) and 1298A>C (rs1801131), reduce enzyme activity. Initially, these SNPs were claimed to predict clinical efficacy, but further studies have yielded contradictory results.

Estimating the budgetary impact of setting the medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule at the national limitation amount.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences was commissioned by Congress to study the current system for the payment of diagnostic clinical laboratory services provided to Medicare beneficiaries. The current system was established in 1984 and has grown in complexity and is of diminishing contemporary relevance. The IOM recommended that a single, rational, nationalfee schedule be established and that it be initially based on the National Limitation Amount (NLA) currently mandated as the national fee cap.

Laboratory evaluation of urinary tract infections in an ambulatory clinic.

A 4-month evaluation of ambulatory patients with a suspicion of a urinary tract infection was performed. Specific objectives included assessment of five urinary screening methods, reevaluation of the necessity of the phenylethyl alcohol plate (PEA), and cost-effectiveness of screening for low colony count bacteriuria. Urine samples were collected as midstream, clean-caught specimens.

Comparison of pooled formalin-preserved fecal specimens with three individual samples for detection of intestinal parasites.

Triplicate preserved fecal samples from 265 patients were pooled into single samples, and the recovery rate of intestinal parasites from the pooled samples was compared with that from the individual samples. Parasites were detected in 109 patients when results from the individual samples were used compared with 108 patients when results from the pooled specimens were used. Pooling preserved fecal samples is an efficient and economical procedure for the detection of ova and parasites.

Comparative activity of cefepime, alone and in combination, against clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas cepacia from cystic fibrosis patients.

The comparative in vitro activity and synergy of cefepime were evaluated with clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas cepacia from cystic fibrosis patients. The activity of cefepime, both alone and in combination, was comparable to those of other antibiotics. The clinical efficacy of cefepime in cystic fibrosis patients merits investigation.

In vitro activities of cefoperazone and sulbactam singly and in combination against cefoperazone-resistant members of the family Enterobacteriaceae and nonfermenters.

Among 28,000 isolates of the family Enterobacteriaceae and nonfermenters isolated at multiple medical centers, 1,084 (4%) were resistant to cefoperazone (MIC, greater than or equal to 64 micrograms/ml) and 1,711 (6%) exhibited cefoperazone MICs of 2 to 32 micrograms/ml. Ninety-six percent of these 2,795 isolates produced beta-lactamase, as determined by the nitrocefin test. Sulbactam alone (8 micrograms/ml) was inactive against 99.

In vitro activities of combinations of aztreonam, ciprofloxacin, and ceftazidime against clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas cepacia from patients with cystic fibrosis.

The in vitro activities of two-drug combinations of aztreonam, ciprofloxacin, and ceftazidime were studied in 96 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and in 20 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas cepacia from cystic fibrosis patients. Some synergy was observed with each combination used against P. aeruginosa, but synergy was rare when the combinations were used against P.

The frequency of bacterial pathogens in infections potentially preventable by antimicrobial prophylaxis.

Bacterial pathogen frequency was analyzed over a fourteen year period at the University of Utah Medical Center. Isolation techniques and identification procedures have remained essentially the same during this period, allowing for a valid comparison of this frequency. For most organisms the frequency of overall isolation had remained relatively stable.

Evaluation of four newer antimicrobial agents in the Avantage susceptibility test system.

Antimicrobial elution disks containing amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (Augmentin), cefotetan, ciprofloxacin, or norfloxacin were tested in the Avantage automated susceptibility test system. Performance was compared against an agar diffusion procedure in a three-site collaborative study. Results of 1,500 comparison with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid showed a full accord (agreement of both systems) of 93.

The use of aztreonam in the cystic fibrosis patient.

Eradication of pulmonary infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients has long presented a significant challenge to the medical community. Many antimicrobial agents have proved incompletely effective against this persistent pathogen, and even the aminoglycosides, which represent the traditional therapy for such infections, have been associated with considerable toxicity and resistance. The monobactam antibacterial agent aztreonam is used both as single-agent therapy and in combination with other drugs.

Comparative in vitro activity of lomefloxacin (SC 47111 or NY-198) against fresh clinical bacterial isolates.

The in vitro antibacterial activity of a new difluorinated quinolone (lomefloxacin) was compared with that of ten selected antibiotics against 744 fresh bacterial isolates representing 32 species. Lomefloxacin was comparable to other quinolones tested against Enterobacteriaceae (MIC90, less than or equal to 0.25 micrograms/ml) and generally more effective than other compounds tested against Staphylococcus spp.

Changing susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis patients with the clinical use of newer antibiotics.

To detect a change in antibiotic susceptibility patterns in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates upon the introduction and clinical use of ciprofloxacin, aztreonam, and ceftazidime, MICs for clinical isolates collected before introduction of the antibiotics, during early clinical use, and later were determined for these and seven other antipseudomonal antibiotics. Concomitant resistance to two or more antibiotics was also studied. Over the three study periods, rates of susceptibility to 9 of the 10 antibiotics decreased.

The regionalization of laboratory services at the University of Utah Medical Center. Associated Regional and University Pathologists Inc (ARUP).

We feel that now, four years out, we have achieved the interim goals that we set for ourselves. There are some key aspects that we would do differently if we were now starting over, and we have provided that information to those seeking to begin similar off-site ventures who have sought our advice. There is an interesting constellation of factors that must be present for such an operation to succeed, and the individual components of that constellation will differ by institution and location.

In vitro inactivation of aminoglycosides by cephalosporin antibiotics.

The in vitro inactivation of aminoglycoside antibiotics by semisynthetic penicillins complicates antibiotic assays. Due to the increasing number of new cephalosporins and use of aminoglycoside-cephalosporin combinations, we determined the in vitro stability of 28 aminoglycoside-cephalosporin combinations (gentamicin sulfate, tobramycin sulfate, netilmicin sulfate [10 micrograms/mL], and amikacin [20 micrograms/mL] in combination with cefazolin sodium, cefoxitin sodium, cefoperazone sodium, cefotaxime sodium, ceftazidime acid pentahydrate, cefsulodin sodium, or cefpiramide sodium at 100, 200, and 300 micrograms/mL). These mixtures were incubated at 37 degrees C and sampled at 0, 8, and 24 hours.

Selective and differential medium for recovery of Pseudomonas cepacia from the respiratory tracts of patients with cystic fibrosis.

A selective and differential medium, OFPBL (oxidation-fermentation base supplemented with agar, lactose, and two antimicrobial agents), for the isolation of Pseudomonas cepacia from respiratory specimens of patients with cystic fibrosis was developed and tested. Among 725 specimens submitted from seven centers over a 4- to 6-month period, 58 (8%) yielded P. cepacia on OFPBL; only 19 of these were recovered on MacConkey or sheep blood agar (P less than 0.

Absence of rapidly developing resistance during treatment of cystic fibrosis patients with aztreonam.

The in vitro activity of aztreonam and 10 other antibiotics was determined for clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from 18 cystic fibrosis patients obtained before, at the end of, and 7-14 days after the completion of therapy with aztreonam. The percent of isolates susceptible to aztreonam at each sampling period were 79%, 78%, and 81% respectively.

In vitro activity of aztreonam combined with tobramycin and gentamicin against clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas cepacia from patients with cystic fibrosis.

The in vitro activity of aztreonam combined with tobramycin and with gentamicin was assessed in 78 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 11 clinical isolates of Pseudomonas cepacia from patients with cystic fibrosis. Synergy was detected in 56.4% of P.

In vitro activity in deptomycin (LY-146032) compared with other antimicrobial agents against gram-positive cocci.

A comparison was made of the activity of deptomycin (LY-146032) with that of ampicillin, cephalexin, cefamandole, cephalothin, erythromycin, teicoplanin, tetracycline, and vancomycin. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MICs) for greater than or equal to 90% of 356 Gram-positive cocci, against deptomycin, were less than or equal to 2 micrograms/ml. The MICs for the other antimicrobials varied greatly depending on the compound.