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After schools were closed in AY 2019–2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers were expected to continue two-way communication and collaboration with their students' families without much guidance. In this study, we focus on how five teacher candidates navigated and continued their efforts of communication and collaboration with students' families and the larger community during the pandemic. Through storytelling during interviews, the five teacher candidates provided valuable insight that focused on communication during the pandemic. Findings indicated that these teacher candidates struggled with establishing professional boundaries with students' families, wrestled with the unforeseeable challenges of "being" in the homes of their students' families, and experienced a disconnect from the community. Implications of this study suggest that lessons learned during COVID-19 could transform how teacher candidates and Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) practice future two-way communication and collaboration with students' families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is well established that individuals with psychopathic traits commit more crimes than individuals without psychopathic traits, the association between psychopathy and success in the criminal justice system (CJS) is less understood. We addressed this issue by examining relationships between psychopathic traits and the conviction-to-charge ratio (CCR) in 355 incarcerated adult male offenders who were also assessed on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. This study was unique in examining a comprehensive dataset of state and federal criminal records. No relationships between CCR and psychopathy ratings were found in the present study. However, scores on a modified CCR that included sets of charges without dispositions yielded both unique and zero-order relationships between interpersonal features and conviction rates. These results suggest that the interpersonal traits may be uniquely associated with some indices of decreased success in the CJS. Future research should examine what is driving this unique relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimal management of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (Type 2 DM) is impeded by widespread nonadherence to efficacious medication regimens. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality among persons with Type 2 DM. In this work we evaluated the relationship between CVD and medication adherence to antihypertensives, oral hypoglycemic agents, and antidepressants among patients with Type 2 DM. We also sought to understand how patients perceived barriers to and facilitators of adherence to medications. Adherence to medications was measured in 72 primary care patients from the West Philadelphia area using electronic monitoring (Medication Event Monitoring System caps) over 12 weeks. Standard questions assessed the presence of CVD. Participants answered open-ended questions about barriers to and facilitators of medication adherence. Participants who had CVD were significantly less likely to achieve ≥80% adherence to an antidepressant, oral hypoglycemic agent, and antihypertensive medications at 12 weeks. Participants identified four themes related to medication adherence: Interference from Psychosocial Demands, Need for Technological Innovation, Awareness of Disease Severity, and Integrating Community Linkages. Interventions to improve medication adherence among persons with Type 2 DM in underserved communities may aim to address social determinants of health, create community linkages, emphasize disease severity and utilize apps which are integrated with existing primary care services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Technology holds great potential to support Deaf individuals as they age into older adulthood. However, it is unclear to what extent Deaf seniors are using technology in everyday life or whether they experience challenges in using technology. The current study explored technology use among older Deaf adults with regard to attitudes, adoption style, and frequency of use for a wide range of technologies, including assistive technologies (ATs) for persons with hearing loss and general, everyday technologies. Materials and methods: We developed a questionnaire that assessed older Deaf adults' use of and experiences with technology. The questionnaire was made available in online and paper versions. Participants (N = 109) were recruited from national conferences and organizations for the Deaf. Results: Overall, we found that the older Deaf adults were technology adopters and regularly use and feel comfortable with a variety of devices. However, we also identified a number of technologies that are not being used by this population, including an AT that appears to have become obsolete and technologies that use sound-based alerts. Conclusions: Insights on how older Deaf adults are embracing technology and which devices they are actually using can help policy makers, technology developers, and a range of aging services professionals, better meet the needs of this understudied population. Older Deaf adults use a variety of assistive and everyday technologies and must be considered as consumers and included in the design process. Older Deaf adults are generally positive in their attitudes towards technologies but they are infrequent users of potentially beneficial health technologies, highlighting opportunities for future research and development. Assistive technology for the Deaf (TTY/TTD) appears to have become obsolete with advances in modern communication technologies, which has implications for policy decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A considerable body of literature focuses on suicide risk assessment, treatment, and prevention. However, incorporation of these research and theoretical advances in routine care by practitioners has been largely unexamined. We examine the challenges—lack of training, fear, complexities of decision-making, practical barriers, lack of usage of assessment tools, and violations of psychometric principles by assessment tools—that confront practitioners when utilizing advances in the field. Identifying and addressing these barriers has implications to help bridge the gaps between theory, research, and practice to improve quality of care. Clinical, training, policy implications, and future research directions are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suaahara, a nutrition-enhancement program in Nepal, conducted participatory community theater (CT) dramas with the goal of improving nutrition-related practices. To evaluate CT, a pre/posttest with randomized intervention and matched control sites was used. Dramas were conducted in Nawalparasi, Bajhang, and Sindhupalchowk Districts to represent the mountain, hill, and terai/plains regions. Within each study district, two intervention sites were randomly selected and two matched comparison sites were identified for inclusion in the study. At both baseline and endline, 600 individuals aged 18–59 (100 men and 100 women/district × 3 districts) were interviewed in the control sites and 600 in the intervention sites (1200 total respondents). Multivariate logistic analysis controlling for background characteristics found that CT attendance was significantly and positively associated with improved nutrition-related knowledge (adjusted odds ratio ratio [aORR] 10.2,p < 0.001) and communication (aORR 2.4,p < 0.001), hand washing after cleaning a defecating child (aORR 1.49,p < 0.05), feeding children eggs (aORR 1.83,p < 0.01), and feeding children meat and/or fish (aORR 2.10,p < 0.01). This is the first study to rely on a pre/post matched intervention-control design to assess CT effects in a low-income setting. By testing the “difference-in-differences”—or the difference between intervention groups at baseline and endline minus that between controls at baseline and endline—the argument that the effects can be causally attributed to the intervention itself is strengthened. These findings support the continued and expanded use of CT to improve nutrition-related knowledge, communication, efficacy, and feeding practices as a valuable community-based, public health approach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The professional literature on gatekeeping in social work education has grown; however, there remains a dearth in the literature regarding how educators truly work to engage students who are experiencing a psychiatric disability or other emotional problem. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 26 social work educators from 22 colleges and universities in the United States. Practice wisdoms emerged as interwoven strategies which encourage proactive interventions that accentuate students’ strengths through socially just opportunities. Identified strategies include having an awareness of psychosocial and environmental stressors that students may be experiencing, recognizing warning signs, approaching students, and building appropriate faculty–student relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-disclosure of significant or emotionally charged information can have psychological and physical health consequences. Widowhood in Nepal is highly stigmatised and therefore is a sensitive topic. This study sought to understand why and to whom women do not disclose their status as widows. Thematic content analysis of 31 in-depth interviews and 6 focus groups was conducted with primarily high-caste widows of reproductive age from the Kathmandu Valley, Surkhet, Chitwan and Kavre districts of Nepal. A codebook was developed based upon recurring concepts and applied to all transcripts using Atlas.ti. Due to discomfort or stigmatisation, many women concealed their status as widows in the community through behaviours impacting their daily lives. Non-disclosure to children was frequently described, often as a way to protect them from psychological sequelae. Concealment of widowhood is a coping strategy Nepali women use to shield themselves against societal stigma and to manage bereavement in their children. Efforts are needed to support widows in dealing with mental health issues related to disclosure and the psychosocial impact on their children. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ceruloplasmin (CP), the multicopper oxidase of plasma, interacts with myeloperoxidase (MPO), an enzyme of leukocytes, and inhibits its peroxidase and chlorinating activity. Studies on the enzymatic properties shows that CP behaves as a competitive inhibitor impeding the binding of aromatic substrates to the active centre of MPO. The contact between CP and MPO probably entails conformational changes close to the p-phenylenediamine binding site in CP, which explains the observed activation by MPO of the substrate's oxidation. CP subjected to partial proteolysis was virtually unable to inhibit activity of MPO. The possible protein-protein interface is comprised of the area near active site of MPO and the loop linking domains 5 and 6 in CP. One of the outcomes of this study is the finding of a new link between antioxidant properties of CP and its susceptibility to proteolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new bis-norsesquiterpene lactone, spirodepressolide (1), has been isolated from the aerial parts of Achillea depressa Janka and its structure determined by spectroscopic methods to have a new 4-methyl-7-methylethylspirobicyclo[4,4]nonane skeleton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bahía Blanca is an estuarine environment with a very particular behavior, which includes a large tidal plain with an area close to 1150 km2, a relatively small input of inland water, and with several marginal areas that seasonally function as hypersaline. Mud is predominant in the sediments, where a significant population of the crab Chasmagnathus granulata lives during the whole year. There are several cities along the estuary as well as important harbors and a large industrial nucleus which discharge their effluents within this environment. Cu and Zn concentrations were determined in samples of water (for both dissolved and suspended particulate matter) and surface sediments (total and <63 m fractions). Organic matter was analyzed in the sediments, while temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen were measured in the estuarine water. The metal concentrations determined in this study were: 16.01±1.85 μg Cu g-1 and 52.96±5.67 μg Zn g-1 in surface sediments; 111.05±42.78 μg Cu g-1 and 105.66±19.16 μg Zn g-1 in the <63 μg surface sediment fractions. While the concentrations in suspended particulate matter were 35.61±9.77 μg Cu g-1 and 205.03±70.68 μg Zn g-1, and 4.65±2.27 μg Cu L-1 and 15.82±6.14 μg Zn L-1 in dissolved fraction. Furthermore, dissolved Cu was similar than the quality criteria concentration, while Zn was lower than the norms for marine and estuarine waters (4.8 μg L-1 for Cu and 90.0 μg L-1 for Zn, USEPA, 1999). Simultaneously, the effects of Cu and Zn were studied on recently hatched larvae of C. granulata, through 96 hours semi-static acute assays. Viability was the applied criterion within the assays. LC50-96h for Cu was 219.2 μg L-1 (188.9-248.9 μg L-1), whilst that for Zn was 172.1 μg L-1 (141.3-203.6 μg L-1), which demonstrates that Zn is more toxic towards larvae. Finally, both LC50-96h values determined for Cu and Zn were higher than the corresponding metal concentrations measured in the Bahía Blanca environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we argue that on-line linguistic choices are made in a matrix of continuous discourse connections. We investigate the hypothesis that communicative dynamism (CD) is this representation of the whole in the parts. We view CD as a graded variable that can be measured only with respect to large stretches of discourse. Based on our analysis of extended narrative and conversational data, we find that CD directly correlates with the quantity of linguistic material devoted to a reference. We identify two strategies with which this is accomplished: one constructive, the other anticipatory. We find that gestures of the kind co-occurring with speech also reflect the communicative status of the utterance. Initial positions of explicitly delineated narrative units are accompanied by more gestures (both pointing and beats). A similar phenomenon appears in a highly unstructured conversation, with pointing gestures accompanying initial references to topics. We interpret these correlations of the quantity of gesture and the quantity of linguistic referring material as reflecting an underlying unity of speech and gesture. Thought itself, Vygotsky (1962) argued, is the formation of psychological predicates--elements of discontinuity from the existing context. A speaker highlights these discontinuities by adding to the quantity and multiplying the avenues of departure from the context in both speech and gesture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discourse cohesion is viewed from the perspective of a speech/gesture synthesis. Based on narrative and conversational data, we present cross-cultural evidence of cohesive elements marked by repetitive gestures that maintain continuity with respect to their location in space, the hand with which they are produced, and/or their form. The data show the joint contribution made by speech and gesture to the process of creating and maintaining discourse topics. It is claimed that an approach to discourse that focuses on events taking place at the moment of speaking, unlike approaches that assume the prior existence of planned discourse units, can account for the impact of speech and gesture on thought; for example, the execution of a gesture helps the speaker to track presupposed background information, and so provides a basis for the production of the communicatively dynamic part of an utterance. The proposed model of discourse production is a dialectic, in which gesture and speech provide interacting voices, and the relationship between the voices moves the discourse forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Had this special journal issue been prepared at the end of the '80s or in the early '90s, I think its leitmotif would necessarily have had to be discrediting the "pre-perestroika" Soviet period by idealization of the "post-perestroika" period. Today, it seems, we and our foreign colleagues are able to go beyond this "primitive division" of the image of our country and create a more complex, polyphonic vision of trends in Soviet and Russian psychology in both theory and practice. The historically evolved connection between empirical research and the "eternal" psychological problems had the advantage of specificity of scientific thought, but the cost of such a development was a certain scholasticism, a kind of sterility of research even in areas that should have been the closest to living reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This, our third and last issue on clinical psychology in Russia, focuses largely on psychotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before presenting the articles in this second special issue to the American reader, I should like, as an eyewitness and active participant in the psychotherapy movement in what was then still the USSR in the late seventies, to say a few words about the particular intellectual atmosphere that brought people of different generations and psychotherapists of different psychotherapeutic orientations together. In Russia, where psychotherapeutic practice has always been the exclusive prerogative of medical doctors, it was illegal for other professionals to practice psychotherapy. This outlaw situation created a unique underground zone that was a strange and dangerous, privileged domain of "apostates" from academic psychology, requiring, moreover, a certain personal courage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drug development has typically been a primary foundation of strategy for systematic, long-range management of pathogenic cells. However, drug development is limited in speed and flexibility when response is needed to changes in pathogenic cells, especially changes that produce drug-resistance. The high replication speed and high diversity of phages are potentially useful for increasing both response speed and response flexibility when changes occur in either drug resistance or other aspects of pathogenic cells. We present strategy, with some empirical details, for (1) using modern molecular biology and biophysics to access these advantages during the phage therapy of bacterial infections, and (2) initiating use of phage capsid-based drug delivery vehicles (DDVs) with procedures that potentially overcome both drug resistance and other present limitations in the use of DDVs for the therapy of neoplasms. The discussion of phage therapy includes (a) historical considerations, (b) changes that appear to be needed in clinical tests if use of phage therapy is to be expanded, (c) recent work on novel phages and its potential use for expanding the capabilities of phage therapy and (d) an outline for a strategy that encompasses both theory and practice for expanding the applications of phage therapy. The discussion of DDVs starts by reviewing current work on DDVs, including work on both liposomal and viral DDVs. The discussion concludes with some details of the potential use of permeability constrained phage capsids as DDVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]