Assessment Tools in Clinical and Counseling Psychology

Evidence-based assessment (EBA) is defined as the use of standardized assessment tools that have research support for their psychometric properties (Jensen-Doss & Hawley, 2010). Assessment is a key aspect of the therapeutic process. It involves screening individuals who are at risk for a particular mental health concern, determining the severity of a given issue, and monitoring the effectiveness of treatment. EBA allows for best practice by providing empirically sound, valid, reliable measures of assessment. The broad areas of anxiety and depression represent extremely common disorders. Because of their high prevalence, evidence-based assessment tools catered toward depression and anxiety could be useful in primary care offices, inpatient clinics, and outpatient facilities. These measures take only minutes to complete and are easy to score and interpret. This reduces the strain on time and resources that longer, more complex measures would create. These instruments, along with many others, show that EBA is possible and plausible. The term “evidence-based” should not be reserved for treatment alone, but rather it should be integrated into all parts of the therapeutic process

Glucosinolates on the leaf surface perceived by insect herbivores: review of ambiguous results and new investigations

Herbivorous insects identify their host plants either by structural features, chemical cues, or a combination. Some insects probe the host leaf prior feeding or oviposition, other species use olfactorial cues or compounds somewhere on the surface. Insects attacking Brassicaceae are no exception, some are attracted and stimulated by volatile isothiocyanates (ITC), many others depend fully on the non-volatile glucosinolates (GS) for host-plant recognition and acceptance. Since most insects have no access to the leaf interior investigators concluded that GS must be present on the leaf surface and ITC in the headspace. However, peelings of mechanically removed surface waxes were devoid of measurable amounts of GS, whereas solvent surface extractions revealed a correlation between stomatal conditions and GS concentrations. Both observations lead to the conclusion that the presence of GS on the top leaf surface is rather unlikely. In the experimental part we show that a chloroform/methanol/water (2:1:1 vol/vol/vol) solvent leaf extract contains GS and, in addition, thia-triaza-fluorenes (TTF), other oviposition stimulants of the cabbage root fly, Delia radicum. Electrophysiological investigations showed that both, GS and TTF stimulated specific receptor neurones of the fly. We suggest that these compounds probably originated from deeper leaf layers and that herbivorous insects may penetrate the wax layer and perceive the stimulating compounds in deeper layers or through the stomat

In Vivo Degradation Behavior of the Magnesium Alloy LANd442 in Rabbit Tibiae

In former studies the magnesium alloy LAE442 showed promising in vivo degradation behavior and biocompatibility. However, reproducibility might be enhanced by replacement of the rare earth composition metal "E" by only a single rare earth element. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to examine whether the substitution of "E" by neodymium ("Nd") had an influence on the in vivo degradation rate. LANd442 implants were inserted into rabbit tibiae and rabbits were euthanized after 4, 8, 13 and 26 weeks postoperatively. In vivo μCT was performed to evaluate the in vivo implant degradation behaviour by calculation of implant volume, density true 3-D thickness and corrosion rates. Additionally, weight loss, type of corrosion and mechanical stability were appraised by SEM/EDS-analysis and three-point bending tests. Implant volume, density and true 3-D thickness decreased over time, whereas the variance of the maximum diameters within an implant as well as the corrosion rate and weight loss increased. SEM examination revealed mainly pitting corrosion after 26 weeks. The maximum bending forces decreased over time. In comparison to LAE442, the new alloy showed a slower, but more uneven degradation behavior and less mechanical stability. To summarize, LANd442 appeared suitable for low weight bearing bones but is inferior to LAE442 regarding its degradation morphology and strength

Influence of Heat Treatment on the Degradation Behaviour of Degradable Magnesium Based Implants

Aim of the study was to characterise the influence of heat treatment on the degradation behaviour and stability of degradable magnesium based implants. For this purpose two groups (untreated/ heat treated) of LAE442 pins were separately analysed in an in vitro and in vivo study. The corrosion behaviour was evaluated during 8 weeks degradation in SBF (in vitro) and 48 weeks degradation intramedullary in the rabbit tibia (in vivo). The analyses were made by using μ-computed tomography and three-point-bending tests. Heat treatment led to altered mechanical and corrosion properties of LAE442.While the initial stability declined significantly a reduction of the degradation rate over either in vitro and in vivo evaluation period is determined. If these alterations are still reasonable for osteosynthesis implants remains to be investigated in further projects.DFG/SFB/59

Revision der Gattung Oncophorus (Musci, Dicranaceae)

The 12 species so far comprised in the genus Oncophorus are reduced to 6. Oncophorus fauriei Card. ex Ihs. and O. muratae Broth. ex Ihs. are synonymous with C. crispifolius, O. decumbens (Thwait. & Mitt.) Broth. is a species of Dicranum, O. gracilentus Zeng is a species of Dicranella, O. gracillimus Dix. is a synonym of O. wahlenbergii, O. sardous Herz. a synonym of O. virens.Von den 12 bisher in der Gattung Oncophorus eingeschlossenen Arten werden 6 anerkannt. Oncophorus fauriei Card. ex Ihs. und O. mutratae Broth. ex Ihs. sind ein Synonyme von C. crispifolius, O. decumbens (Thwait. & Mitt.) Broth. ist ein Dicranum, O. gracilentus Zeng gehört zu Dicranella, O. gracillimus Dix. ist ein Synonym von O. wahlenbergii, O. sardous Herz. ein Synonym von O. virens

In vitro impact of platinum nanoparticles on inner ear related cell culture models

So far, it was supposed that the increase of electrical impedance following cochlear implant (CI) insertion was due to technical defects of the electrode, inflammatory and/or formation of scar tissue along the electrode. However, it was recently reported that corrosion of the platinum electrode contacts may be the reason for high impedances. It could be shown that platinum particles were stripped from the electrode surfaces. Its potential cytotoxic effects within the inner ear remains to be examined. In this study in vitro cell culture models of the mouse organ of Corti cell line (HEI-OC1) and the spiral ganglion (SG) cells derived from the cochleae neonatal rats were used to investigate the effects of the polyvinylpyrrolidone coated platinum nanoparticles (Pt-NPPVP, 3 nm) on cell metabolism, neuronal survival and neurite outgrowth. Our data revealed no decrease of the metabolic activity of the HEI-OC1 cells at Pt-NPPVP concentrations between 50-150 μg/ml. Also, staining with Calcein AM/ EthD demonstrated prevalent presence of vital cells. As shown by transmission electron microscopy no Pt-NPPVP could be found at the cell surface or in the cytosol of the HEI-OC1 cells. Similarly, the SG cells exposed to 20-100 μg/ml Pt-NPPVP did not show any reduced survival rate and neurite outgrowth following staining of the neurofilament antigen even at the highest Pt-NPPVP concentration. Although the SG cells were exposed to Pt-NPPVP for further 72 h and 96 h immunocytochemical staining of the glial cells and fibroblasts presented normal cell morphology and growth independently of the cultivation period. Our data indicates that the used Pt-NPPVP do not trigger the cellular uptake and, thus, presumable do not initiate apoptotic pathways in cells of the organ of Corti cell line or the auditory nerve. The protection mechanisms to the Pt-NPPVP interactions remain to be clarified