Incremental validation of situational judgment tests.

Using 3 different samples, the authors assessed the incremental validity of situational judgment inventories (SJIs), relative to job knowledge, cognitive ability, job experience, and conscientiousness, in the prediction of job performance. The SJI was a valid predictor in all 3 samples and incrementally so in 2 samples. Relative to the other predictors, SJI's partial correlation with performance, controlling for the other 4 predictors, was superior in most comparisons. Subgroup differences on the SJI also appear to be less than those for cognitive ability and job knowledge, but greater than differences in conscientiousness. The SJI should prove to be a valuable additional measure in the prediction of job performance, but several additional areas of research are suggested.

Detection of Als proteins on the cell wall of Candida albicans in murine tissues.

A murine model of disseminated candidiasis was utilized to determine whether Candida albicans Als proteins are produced in vivo. The kidneys, spleen, heart, liver, and lungs were collected from mice inoculated with one of three C. albicans strains (SC5314, B311, or WO-1). Immunohistochemical analysis of murine tissues by using a rabbit polyclonal anti-Als serum indicated that Als proteins were produced by each C. albicans cell in the tissues examined. Patterns of staining with the anti-Als serum were similar among the C. albicans strains tested. These data indicated that Als protein production was widespread in disseminated candidiasis and that, despite strain differences in ALS gene expression previously noted in vitro, Als protein production in vivo was similar among C. albicans strains. The extensive production of Als proteins in vivo and their presence on the C. albicans cell wall position these proteins well for a role in host-pathogen interaction.

Molecular mechanisms of virulence in fungus-host interactions for Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans.

Research on fungi that cause opportunistic infections has increased dramatically during the past few years, largely because these organisms cause significant morbidity and mortality. Most of this research has focused on defining the virulence factors produced by these pathogens, as well as developing methods for the diagnosis of fungal diseases. With regard to studies on the biology of Candida albicans, it is now possible to isolate genes, disrupt their expression, and observe the specific effects of gene disruption on virulence and growth of the organism. Moreover, growth and virulence of this pathogen is also being studied and the effect of environmental factors on gene expression investigated. This subject is especially important in view of the fact that C. albicans can colonize and invade a number of sites in the human body. Thus, its ability to grown in the oral and vaginal tracts, as well as in blood, requires the organism to adapt to a variety of environmental stresses. Here we present observations on the growth, morphogenesis and virulence of the opportunistic fungi C. albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus.

Effect of systemic endotoxin on skeletal muscle vascular conductance during high and low adrenergic tone.

The objective of this study was to determine the role of adrenergic tone on the peripheral vascular decompensation reported to occur during systemic endotoxemia. An in situ constant-flow double-canine gracilis muscle (GM) preparation allowed one GM to serve as an innervated control (GMc) for the contralateral denervated muscle (GMe). Group I (n = 9): normal inherent vascular tone; Group II (n = 7): adrenergic tone elevated by bilateral common carotid artery ligation. The GMc Group II vascular conductance was significantly lower than GMe at .0485 +/- .004 ml/min/100 g/mm Hg and .0636 +/- .005 ml/min/100 g/mm Hg respectively. GM denervation had no significant effect on Group I conductance suggesting a low level of baseline intrinsic adrenergic tone; however, denervation did increase the vascular conductance by more than 30% from .0485 +/- .004 to .0638 +/- .008 ml/min/100 g/mm Hg in Group II. A 2 mg/kg dose of endotoxin was infused i.v. over 30 min and data collected over an additional 60 min. The endotoxin caused a decrease in MAP from 129 +/- 5 to 73 +/- 6 mm Hg in Group I and from 177 +/- 16 to 92 +/- 14 mm Hg in Group II. both the GMc and GMe Group I GMs showed an initial increase in conductance to 115 +/- 9 and 117 +/- 8% respectively at 5 min followed by a reduction to 82 +/- 9 and 101 +/- 10% at 60 min. Group II (GMe) showed a significantly increased conductance following denervation to 125% which increased insignificantly to 140 +/- 15% at 60 min, while conductances either remained at about 100% or decreased slightly to 88 +/- 7% in the innervated Group II GMc. The data suggest that the baseline level of vascular tone may not be an important factor when evaluating the effect of systemic endotoxemia on the skeletal muscle peripheral vasculature.

The in vitro development of extended-release solid oral dosage forms.

A system is described for developing extended-release products, based upon predicting or simulating the entire plasma level-time curve to be expected from the administration of a controlled-release oral dosage form. Termed "biorelevant dissolution," it employs the product's in vitro dissolution behavior and the drug's pharmacokinetic parameters in conjunction with a classical pharmacokinetic model. The basic system is described along with some pertinent examples.

Preliminary report on the dexamethasone suppression test for psychiatrically disturbed adolescents.

Of 100 adolescents who showed evidence of a depressive disorder and were given the dexamethasone suppression test (DST), 42% had abnormal results. Several had mixed or contradictory symptoms and the DST helped in diagnosis of an affective disorder and in treatment planning.

Pharmacological response data for comparative bioavailability studies of chlorpromazine oral dosage forms in humans: I. Pupilometry.

Owing to the insensitivity of even the presently best chemical or radiological assay procedures, it is not feasible to perform comparative bioavailability studies of chlorpromazine oral drug products using blood or urine sampling; this is particularly the case for oral doses below 100-150 mg/70 kg. In contrast, the use of temporal miotic response data, which correlates with blood levels of unchanged drug, permits dose-response vs time profiles to be recorded with oral dose levels as low as 5-10 mg/70 kg. The monitoring of pupilometric data in up to 16 human volunteers demonstrated a sensitivity to both extents and rates of chlorpromazine bioavailability and revealed differences to exist between liquid and solid oral dosage forms of chlorpromazine.