CURRENT AND FUTURE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS’ PREPAREDNESS TO WORK WITH LGBT STUDENTS: ROLE OF EDUCATION AND GAY‐STRAIGHT ALLIANCES

This study sought to assess current and future school psychologists’ attitudes toward and preparedness to address the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students in schools. Two‐hundred seventy‐nine school psychologists (n = 162, 58%) and school psychology graduate students (n = 117, 42%) were included in the study. Participants completed measures of attitudes toward LGBT students, preparedness to address the needs of LGBT youth, and social desirability. For both school psychologists and graduate students, increased education was associated with improved attitudes and increased preparedness to treat LGBT youth. For school psychologists, presence of a gay‐straight alliance was associated with increased knowledge about LGBT youth, as well as higher ratings of preparedness to treat LGBT youth; the same associations did not hold true for the graduate students. These findings have implications for the training and practice of school psychologists in addressing the needs of LGBT youth in schools.     

Past adolescence, into and across adulthood: career crises and major decisions

Career-related crises and major decisions, support for these, and job satisfaction were surveyed in 124 varied individuals from Mumbai, India. All participants were in the post-career-entry stage and engaged in paid work; they differed with regard to age (range 18–75 years), sex, marital status, religion, education, occupation, income, and privilege. Most had experienced career-related crises and major decisions post-career-entry and had relied mainly on self, friends and spouse. Satisfaction with support was high; job satisfaction was moderately high. Important differences across privilege level and gender were obtained.     

School psychologists’ interprofessional collaboration with medical providers: An initial examination of training,preparedness, and current practices

Research has pointed to the importance of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) between school psychologists and medical providers in the provision of quality mental health care for youth with chronic health conditions. However, little is known about current IPC practices among school psychologists. This study examined school psychology trainees’ and professionals’ perceptions of training, preparedness, and current practices related to IPC with medical providers. Survey results indicated that participants (N = 317) endorse relatively low levels of training and preparedness and limited practice of IPC with medical providers. Additionally, results indicated that perceptions of training and preparedness were associated with current practices in IPC with medical providers. Findings demonstrated the impact of training and preparedness on subsequent engagement in IPC and have implications for the future training of school psychologists as they seek to address the needs of youth with chronic health conditions.     

MULTIPLE‐STAGE SCREENING OF YOUTH DEPRESSION IN SCHOOLS

Schools present a unique environment in which to conduct universal screenings for youth depression. The present study examines the efficiency of a multiple‐stage assessment procedure assessing youth depression in the schools by calculating hit rates and establishing diagnostic accuracy for the measures used. Girls (N = 3318) aged 8 to 13, participated in a three‐stage screening conducted in schools. At Stage 1, participants completed self‐report measures. At Stage 2, participants completed either a second self‐report measure or a brief symptom interview. At Stage 3, diagnostic interviews were conducted. Hit rates were calculated at Stages 1 and 2 to compare the efficiency of the different assessments. The diagnostic accuracy of the screening measures was investigated through the calculation of sensitivity and specificity indices, logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Bias in identification rates across ethnicities was also examined. Comparison of hit rates indicated that the brief symptom interview had greater efficiency in the identification of depression at Stage 2; moreover, the measures demonstrated accuracy in their prediction of depression. Results also indicated a lack of bias in screening measures, as they did not over‐identify depression in different ethnic or racial groups. Recommendations for implementation of multiple‐stage screenings in schools are discussed.     

New dimensions in vaccinology: A new insight

The development of vaccines to prevent infectious diseases has been one of the most important contributions of biomedical sciences. Increasing understanding in biochemistry, molecular biology, molecular genetics and related fields have provided an opportunity for the development of new generation vaccines that are based on rational design approaches. This is possible because of proper understanding of the microbial-genetics, biochemistry, host-pathogen interaction and recent developments in molecular immunology. Another important improvement made in the quality of vaccine production is the incorporation of immunomodulators or adjuvants with modified delivery vehicles viz liposomes, Iscoms and microspheres apart from alum being used as a gold standard. This article reviews the art of vaccination from Jenner period to present day context highlighting all the developments made at each stage of the vaccine development. Various criteria have been discussed regarding the selection of epitopes that expand B & T cells, its linkage with other accessory cells of the immune system, means to overcome MHC linked immune unresponsiveness, enhanced antigen processing and presentations that specially induce either helper or cytotoxic or mucosal immune responses were critically discussed.     

Plasma Voriconazole Estimation by HPLC

Voriconazole, an antifungal drug exhibiting wide inter-individual variability, is an ideal candidate for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). The aim of the present study was to standardize a simple, sensitive and rapid high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with ultraviolet detection to determine plasma voriconazole concentration. The HPLC method consisted of a combination of acetonitrile and water (7:3) as mobile phase with 1 ml/min flow rate and detection at 255 nm. Plasma protein precipitation was carried out using perchloric acid and the filtered supernatant was passed through C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) for the separation of voriconazole. The limit of quantification of voriconazole was 0.2 mg/L. The assay was validated with a linearity of 0.2–15 mg/L and used clinically for TDM in patient samples. The inter-assay precision was below 15 % for routine quality control samples. Weight based voriconazole doses were prescribed to 26 patients for empirical treatment of invasive fungal infections. Voriconazole therapy was managed from the baseline drug levels and follow up analysis reflected achievement in clinical efficacy. Routine TDM of voriconazole may reduce adverse events and improve the treatment response in invasive fungal infections.     

Teleconsultation to Support the Education of Students with Visual Impairments: A Program Evaluation

ABSTRACT

Teleconsultation is being increasingly used in schools to support children with disabilities; however, further evaluation of the impact of this practice is needed. This study describes a teleconsultation model used to provide educational support for students with visual impairments being educated in their local school districts and examines the initial acceptability and feasibility of this teleconsultation model. In addition, the current study discusses some of the recommendations for improvement regarding program implementation, with the goal of increasing the ease of use of teleconsultation in schools. Stakeholders reported qualitative and quantitative data indicating that the teleconsultation model is acceptable to and feasible for families and school district staff.