Pentavalent treatment: preliminary effects on state hospital utilization.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine if a low-cost alternative to assertive community treatment (ACT) programs could achieve results comparable to those previously reported by high-fidelity ACT programs with regard to state hospital utilization by patients with long-term, treatment-refractory serious mental illness and high rates of hospital recidivism. A sample of 30 patients was exposed to a low- cost alternative to ACT for a 12-month period. A quasi-experimental research design was used to compare state hospital utilization by the treatment group and a matched comparison group. The treatment group exhibited significantly less state hospital utilization than the comparison group and had an 88% reduction in state hospital utilization in comparison to its 10-year baseline. Low cost alternatives to ACT programs may be as effective as high-fidelity programs in reducing state hospital utilization and may be more easily adaptable to the current structure, operation, and financial constraints of community mental health centers.

Depression in the caregiving mothers of adult schizophrenics: a test of the resource deterioration model.

The predictive validity of the resource deterioration model was tested with a sample of 100 Black, elderly, low-income, unmarried, caregiving mothers of adult schizophrenic sons and/or daughters. Stressors consisted of three social variables (burden of care, economic strain, undesirable life events) and one physical variable (poor physical health). Stress mediators consisted of coping and social support resources; the outcome variable was defined as depression. The results indicated support for the resource deterioration model with regard to a physical stressor and coping resources, but not for social stressors and social support resources.

Analysis of endoproteinase Arg C action on adrenocorticotrophic hormone by capillary electrophoresis and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

The specificity and rate of cleavage of adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) peptide bonds by endoproteinase Arg C were analyzed using capillary electrophoresis (CE) and reversed-phase (C18) high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Acidic cleavage products were readily resolved by CE in uncoated capillaries using low ionic strength electrolytes. However, products predicted to have a net positive charge greater than 2 or more than 4 positively charged groups per peptide did not migrate out from the capillary at low ionic strength. Addition of salts and zwitterions to the electrolyte decreased capillary-peptide interactions such that all of the ACTH peptides examined were eluted with high efficiency separation by CE. Commercially obtained endoproteinase Arg C preparations exhibited peptidase activity at Lys-15-Lys16 and at Lys16-Arg17 in addition to the expected cleavage at Arg-X bonds. ACTH peptide bond cleavage rates for Arg8-Trp9, Arg17-Arg-18, Lys15-Lys16, and Lys16-Arg17 were 1.46, 0.096, 0.57, and 0.029 mumol min-1 mg-1 respectively. CE separations generally exhibited better resolution and were accomplished in shorter times than C18 HPLC separations. These properties make CE a particularly appropriate method for kinetic analysis of proteolytic enzyme action on peptide substrates.

The effects of token reinforcement on the behavior of delinquents in cottage settings.

A token economy designed to modify the behavior of 125 adolescent males committed to a state correctional institution was implemented in the boys' cottages, focusing on social behavior (peer interaction), rule following, and task completion. The program was sequentially introduced in a multiple-baseline design in three independent cottages; a fourth group served as a comparison cottage. Appropriate behavior increased when the token program was introduced in each cottage. Data were collected for 14 months. Thus, the long-term effects of initial behavior change were assessed.