“Here’s a Little Something for You”: How Therapists Respond to Client Gifts

Descriptions by 12 therapists of their experiences receiving tangible gifts from clients are examined. Using consensual qualitative research (C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997) therapists’ overall gift encounters and specifically identified gift events were explored. Results indicated that although clients rarely gave gifts, all of the participants had accepted gifts. Problematic gifts (i.e., ones that raised concern for therapists) were given at more provocative times than were unproblematic gifts (i.e., ones that evoked few concerns for therapists). Both types of gifts were given for various reasons (e.g., appreciation, manipulation, equalization). Participants reported positive and negative internal responses to both types of gifts, but more often discussed unproblematic than problematic gifts with clients. Problematic gifts were more often discussed with others than were unproblematic gifts. Gift episodes of both types facilitated therapy process

Consensual Qualitative Research: An Update

The authors reviewed the application of consensual qualitative research (CQR) in 27 studies published since the method’s introduction to the field in 1997 by C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, and E. N. Williams (1997). After first describing the core components and the philosophical underpinnings of CQR, the authors examined how it has been applied in terms of the consensus process, biases, research teams, data collection, data analysis, and writing up the results and discussion sections of articles. On the basis of problems that have arisen in each of these areas, the authors made recommendations for modifications of the method. The authors concluded that CQR is a viable qualitative method and suggest several ideas for research on the method itself

Cultivating Authentic Leaders: Toward Conceptual Coherence and Sustainable Practice

The purpose of this paper is twofold. One is to better understand the contested construct of authentic leadership and its cultivation and practice. The other is to offer a conceptual framework for practicing sustainable authentic leadership. Based on a review of authentic leadership literature with a focus on its sustainability, we introduce a conceptual framework through a lens of an ecological model to capture the dynamics of individual and systems perspectives. Practicing sustainable authentic leadership is not a simple act; rather authentic leaders need to embrace paradoxes to navigate today’s complex systems and to find new ways to create positive and valuable roles both in and outside of their organization. In addition to a new conceptual framework, this paper offers approaches for leaders and educators to develop and practice authentic leadership. It also provides opportunities for values-based leadership community members to further discuss and examine sustainable authentic leadership approaches with the proposed conceptual framework

Cerebral blood flow predicts differential neurotransmitter activity

Application of metabolic magnetic resonance imaging measures such as cerebral blood flow in translational medicine is limited by the unknown link of observed alterations to specific neurophysiological processes. In particular, the sensitivity of cerebral blood flow to activity changes in specific neurotransmitter systems remains unclear. We address this question by probing cerebral blood flow in healthy volunteers using seven established drugs with known dopaminergic, serotonergic, glutamatergic and GABAergic mechanisms of action. We use a novel framework aimed at disentangling the observed effects to contribution from underlying neurotransmitter systems. We find for all evaluated compounds a reliable spatial link of respective cerebral blood flow changes with underlying neurotransmitter receptor densities corresponding to their primary mechanisms of action. The strength of these associations with receptor density is mediated by respective drug affinities. These findings suggest that cerebral blood flow is a sensitive brain-wide in-vivo assay of metabolic demands across a variety of neurotransmitter systems in humans

Bentham, Not Epicurus: The Relevance of Pleasure to Studies of Drug-Involved Pain

There is a disproportionate focus on pain over pleasure in policy-relevant research on drugs. This is unfortunate because theories of and findings on drug-involved pleasure can be used to inform knowledge of drug-involved pain. The cross-fertilization of theories and findings is bolstered by the availability of a conceptual framework that links drug-involved pain and pleasure in a comprehensive, powerful, simple, and instrumental manner. This article proposes such a framework. It consists of four types of drug-involved pain and pleasure: drug-specific corporal; drug-related corporal; economic; and, social. This quaternary scheme is illustrated with findings from four literatures, namely those on methamphetamine use; alcohol-related sexual contact among college students; resource transfer among drug users and dealers; and, relational and communal issues related to drugs. The article concludes with implications for the field

Antigen-Displaying Lipid-Enveloped PLGA Nanoparticles as Delivery Agents for a Plasmodium vivax Malaria Vaccine

The parasite Plasmodium vivax is the most frequent cause of malaria outside of sub-Saharan Africa, but efforts to develop viable vaccines against P. vivax so far have been inadequate. We recently developed pathogen-mimicking polymeric vaccine nanoparticles composed of the FDA-approved biodegradable polymer poly(lactide-co-glycolide) acid (PLGA) “enveloped” by a lipid membrane. In this study, we sought to determine whether this vaccine delivery platform could be applied to enhance the immune response against P. vivax sporozoites. A candidate malaria antigen, VMP001, was conjugated to the lipid membrane of the particles, and an immunostimulatory molecule, monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA), was incorporated into the lipid membranes, creating pathogen-mimicking nanoparticle vaccines (VMP001-NPs). Vaccination with VMP001-NPs promoted germinal center formation and elicited durable antigen-specific antibodies with significantly higher titers and more balanced Th1/Th2 responses in vivo, compared with vaccines composed of soluble protein mixed with MPLA. Antibodies raised by NP vaccinations also exhibited enhanced avidity and affinity toward the domains within the circumsporozoite protein implicated in protection and were able to agglutinate live P. vivax sporozoites. These results demonstrate that these VMP001-NPs are promising vaccines candidates that may elicit protective immunity against P. vivax sporozoites.United States. Dept. of Defense (contract W911NF-07-D-0004)Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvar

Blunted endogenous opioid release following an oral amphetamine challenge in pathological gamblers

Pathological gambling is a psychiatric disorder and the first recognized behavioral addiction, with similarities to substance use disorders but without the confounding effects of drug-related brain changes. Pathophysiology within the opioid receptor system is increasingly recognized in substance dependence, with higher mu-opioid receptor (MOR) availability reported in alcohol, cocaine and opiate addiction. Impulsivity, a risk factor across the addictions, has also been found to be associated with higher MOR availability. The aim of this study was to characterize baseline MOR availability and endogenous opioid release in pathological gamblers (PG) using [(11)C]carfentanil PET with an oral amphetamine challenge. Fourteen PG and 15 healthy volunteers (HV) underwent two [(11)C]carfentanil PET scans, before and after an oral administration of 0.5 mg/kg of d-amphetamine. The change in [(11)C]carfentanil binding between baseline and post-amphetamine scans (ΔBPND) was assessed in 10 regions of interest (ROI). MOR availability did not differ between PG and HV groups. As seen previously, oral amphetamine challenge led to significant reductions in [(11)C]carfentanil BPND in 8/10 ROI in HV. PG demonstrated significant blunting of opioid release compared with HV. PG also showed blunted amphetamine-induced euphoria and alertness compared with HV. Exploratory analysis revealed that impulsivity positively correlated with caudate baseline BPND in PG only. This study provides the first evidence of blunted endogenous opioid release in PG. Our findings are consistent with growing evidence that dysregulation of endogenous opioids may have an important role in the pathophysiology of addictions

Temperature dependence of protein dynamics simulated with three different water models

The effect of variation of the water model on the temperature dependence of protein and hydration water dynamics is examined by performing molecular dynamics simulations of myoglobin with the TIP3P, TIP4P, and TIP5P water models and the CHARMM protein force field at temperatures between 20 and 300 K. The atomic mean-square displacements, solvent reorientational relaxation times, pair angular correlations between surface water molecules, and time-averaged structures of the protein are all found to be similar, and the protein dynamical transition is described almost indistinguishably for the three water potentials. The results provide evidence that for some purposes changing the water model in protein simulations without a loss of accuracy may be possible