Time‐Limited Counseling Outcome in a Nationwide College Counseling Center Sample

This study examined the dose‐effect relationship between the number of sessions and therapeutic outcome in a large, nationwide counseling center research consortium. A positive relationship was found between the outcome of counseling and the number of sessions attended. The results of this study support the effectiveness of brief psychotherapy.     

The evolution of compilers

The term compiler was coined in the late forties, by Grace Murray Hopper, a pioneer who rose to the challenges of programming the first computers. The problem of translation from a source language into a target language was viewed as a ‘compilation’ of a sequence of machine language subprograms selected from a library. In this article we briefly trace the evolution of compilers from their beginnings as huge sprawling algorithms in the early fifties, to their current elegant, phase ordered forms. Priti Shankar is with the Department of Computer Science and Automation at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Her interests are in theoretical computer science and error correcting codes.     

Reflections on developing an offshore,action research/learning-based Ph.D. program

In this paper, the authors describe their experience of establishing an action research/learning-based doctoral program in Singapore by an Australian university, which was designed to help managers get academic accreditation while solving workplace problems. The program was designed by four managers working in Singapore and their supervisors. These managers had completed a Ph.D. program using action learning/action research in their workplace under the supervision of Australian academics. The paper describes the various challenges faced by the candidates, supervisors and administrators in developing and implementing the new program.     

Hypoglycaemic effects of caraway seeds and its oil in rats

Hypoglycaemic effects of caraway seeds, and the aqueous extract, petroleum ether extract and methanolic extract of the defatted marc were studied on normoglycaemic as well as hyperglycaemic rats. Further the effect of caraway seeds was also studied on serum insulin level. A significant decrease in blood glucose with corresponding increase in insulin was observed with 3 g/kg of the seeds powder in normoglycaemic rats. It also improved glucose tolerance of the animal by increasing insulin secretion response to glucose load. The aqueous and methanolic extracts did not show any effect. The dose dependent decrease in blood glucose was observed with petroleum ether extract (caraway seed oil) in normoglycaemic rats. Moreover, the oil also improved glucose tolerance in the animal. The effects were similar to those observed with tolbutamide (0.5 g/kg) but of longer duration. It is suggested that the hypoglycaemic effect of caraway seeds is through pancreas and the active principle is in oily fraction only.     

Antioxidant status in neonatal jaundice before and after phototherapy

Phototherapy has been related to increased oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. In the present study, thirty full term jaundiced neonates with appropriate weight were analyzed before and after completion of phototherapy for malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH), total thiols, vitamin C and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in hemolysate and albumin levels in plasma. These parameters were analyzed in cord blood samples of 20 healthy neonates as control. It was observed that levels of MDA were elevated significantly (p<0.001) in patients as compared to controls and that the levels increased significantly after phototherapy (p<0.001). Levels of SOD were also found to be increased significantly as compared to controls and the levels rose after phototherapy (p<0.001). On the other hand, the levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants such as GSH, total thiols and vitamin C were significantly low (p<0.001) as compared to controls and the levels decreased significantly after phototherapy (p<0.001). The plasma albumin levels also were found to be decreased significantly after phototherapy (p<0.01). Therefore, phototherapy increases oxidative stress and should be used with care.     

Identification and characterization of polyubiquitin gene from cDNA library of aspergillus fumigatus

Aspergillus fumigatus (Afu) causes allergic and invasive forms of diseases in humans. In order to identify genes relevant for pathogenesis, a total of 235 cDNA clones were randomly selected and sequenced from cDNA library of Afu. One of the partially sequenced cDNA clones was homologous to polyubiquitin. Sequencing of the complete cDNA clone showed an open reading frame of 912 bases. Comparison with genomic sequence of Afu using BlastN program, revealed that polyubiquitin gene comprises of 992 bases and contains one intron of 80 bases. The recombinant expression of fusion protein showed an approximately molecular weight of 43-kDa on SDS-PAGE. The translation product of the cDNA sequence showed four tandem repeats of 76 amino acid residues in a single polyubiquitin protein and showed 100% identity with polyubiquitin protein sequences of S. cerevisiae, N. crassa, C. albicans, S. pombe, and M. grisae. Polyubiquitin gene is known to play important role in a variety of cellular processes and recently have been implicated in fungal pathogenesis. Identification of polyubiquitin gene of Afu has opened up scope to study its role in understanding Aspergillus biology and pathogenesis.