Exploiting proteomics in the discovery of drugs that target mitochondrial oxidative damage

To understand how oxidative stress contributes to aging and age-related diseases and to better evaluate the therapeutic effect of antioxidant drugs, it would be highly desirable to have a comprehensive and detailed readout of the types of oxidative damage that occur to proteins at a global or proteome level. In this Perspective, I examine how proteomics, defined here as the science of examining all proteins in an organelle, cell, or tissue in the context of biological phenomena, can be used to provide molecular details of mitochondrial protein oxidative damage. Specifically, I discuss approaches that combine knowledge of the mitochondrial proteome with newer mass spectrometry-based techniques that are capable of identifying proteins and sites of oxidative modification in a high-throughput manner.     

Caregiving role affects family relationships of African American grandmothers as new mothers again: a phenomenological perspective

Currently, African American grandmothers are becoming caregivers to grandchildren whose parents, for various reasons, are not providing them with adequate care. Replacing their adult children, as parents, while continuing to mother them along with caring for grandchildren are essential components of this complex situation. A part of the findings from this qualitative study of the experience of grandmother caregivers indicated that family relations are affected with their grandchildren, the parents of their grandchildren, and their other adult children. Implications for culturally sensitive, family-centered clinical practice and future research are discussed.     

A model for predicting dating violence: anxious attachment, angry temperament, and need for relationship control

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test a model incorporating anxious attachment, angry temperament, and attempts to control one's partner as predictors of the severity and frequency of dating violence. To date, these concepts have not been clearly established as having direct or indirect effects on dating violence. It was hypothesized that anxious attachment and angry temperament would influence the need for and attempts to control one's partner which, in turn, would predict a person's actual use of force. College students (213 males; 199 females) completed measures assessing these constructs. Cross-validation was accomplished through using two successive freshmen samples. Statistics indicated the application of the model fit well to both samples. All specified paths were significant except for the direct path from anxious attachment to need for control in the second sample. While exploratory, this model seemed satisfactory for explaining potentially causal relationships of attachment, anger, and attempts to control one's partner leading to dating violence.     

Rethinking twins and environments: possible social sources for assumed genetic influences in twin research

A central sociological problem is the extent to which genetics and the environment influence human behavior. Studies of twins are a core method in attempts to disentangle and to determine the comparative strength of genetic and environmental influences on psychosocial outcomes. A critical assumption of twin studies is that both monozygotic "identical" twins and dizygotic "fraternal" twins share common social environments. Therefore, any greater similarity of monozygotic than dizygotic twins is attributed to genetic influences. This paper tests the equal environment assumption by examining the extent to which greater concordance of adolescent monozygotic compared to dizygotic twins results from social, as well as genetic, influences. Bivariate comparisons indicate that monozygotic twins show greater similarity than dizygotic twins in socially-based characteristics including physical attractiveness, time spent in each other's company, the overlap in friendship networks, and friends' use of alcohol. Multivariate analyses indicate that measures of the social environment sometimes reduce or eliminate apparent genetic effects. In comparison with genetic indicators, social variables are usually stronger predictors of depression and alcohol use and abuse. These findings suggest that past twin studies could overstate the strength of genetic influences because some similarities in behavior among monozygotic compared to dizygotic twins stem from social influences.     

Treatment of incarcerated, sexually-abused adolescent females: an outcome study

This study examined the psychosocial functioning of 100 adolescent females (ages 12-17) sentenced to secure care in a southeastern state and the impact of gender-specific, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention on the psychosocial functioning of subjects who reported a history of sexual abuse. The Multidimensional Adolescent Assessment Scale (MAAS) was used to assess psychosocial functioning. Pre-test scores on the MAAS revealed significantly higher scores on 12 of 16 dimensions of psychosocial functioning and higher rates of serious criminal behavior for youth who subsequently disclosed sexual abuse histories as compared to those without such histories. At post-test, statistically significant improvements in psychosocial functioning were observed on 14 of 16 MAAS subscales for those who received the CBT intervention. Thus, incarcerated female adolescents who reported a history of sexual abuse demonstrated more impairment in their functioning as compared to those without a reported history of sexual abuse and responded positively to gender-specific, CBT-based intervention.     

Money as a Tool for Negotiating Separateness and Connectedness in the Therapeutic Relationship

It is nothing new to suggest that money has meaning. Whether or not one accepts Freud's (1908)linkage of money and feces, within our culture money is frequently seen as a direct pathway to feelings of power, agency, self-directedness, and personal satisfaction. Trachtman (1999) states, Money, psychologically speaking, is our projection onto coins, bills, bank accounts, and other financial instruments of our beliefs, hopes, and fears about how those things will affect who we are, what will happen to us, and how we will be treated by others or by ourselves...(Trachtman, 1999, p. 283). Yet this material is often unavailable for therapeutic exploration or understanding until it explodes into the therapy, often in unmanageable and countertherapeutic ways. This article will look at some of the ways in which money can be utilized to negotiate the ever-changing tensions between self and other, object and subject, intrapyschic and interpersonal, connection and separation that appear in every relationship. In particular, it will explore some ways that money issues within the therapeutic relationship can be turned into significant tools for understanding and working with anxieties about connection and separateness, both within and outside the therapeutic dyad.     

Incorporating Content on Offenders and Corrections into Social Work Curricula

This article presents suggestions for incorporating content on adult offenders and corrections across diverse curriculum areas, including human behavior in the social environment, practice, research, and social welfare policy. Social work educators are provided with guiding principles for work with offenders and with many concrete strategies for integrating material on this often forgotten population into already existing courses.     

Introduction: “There Is a Person Here”: An Interview with Judith Butler

In this interview, the coeditors, along with other contributors, ask Judith Butler a variety of questions regarding queer theory, gender identities, scientific and legal discourse, bodily abjection, race and class positioning, and political organizing. This range of subject matter suggests not only the breadth of Butler's work, but also its applicability to any number of people, whose relation to theory ranges from highly politicized to politically indifferent. The interview demonstrates the responsiveness of Butler's work to cultural translation and political action.