Biomedical subjects

John McNulty

Publications and source records attributed to John McNulty.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Refinement of the MMPI-2 F(p) scale is not necessary: a response to Gass and Luis.

Gass and Luis (2001) reported that four MMPI-2 Lie scale items contained on the F(p) scale do not measure symptom exaggeration but measure defensiveness. They hold that elimination of the four Lie scale items improves the utility of the F(p) scale in the identification of exaggeration in VA samples. To directly address the assertion that removal of the L scale items from the F(p) scale enhances the predictive validity of F(p), data derived from a previously published study where 74 psychiatric inpatients were asked to retake the MMPI-2 and either feign psychopathology or respond in an honest manner were reanalyzed. The intact F(p) scale demonstrated a stronger correlation with group membership, increased incremental validity, and superior classification rates compared with the F(p) scale without the 4 Lie scale items. Consequently, the F(p) refinement recommended by Gass and Luis is unnecessary.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Medication errors: more basic than a system issue.

The Institute of Medicine's 2000 report drew attention to both U.S. health care agencies and the medication errors that occur within them. However, this attention focused on a more basic and fundamental issue within the medication error concern: nurses' mathematical skills and competence. This article describes a nationwide study assessing processes to validate mathematical skills for medication administration. Practices within educational and acute care institutions are explored, and recommendations for future action are noted with a call for 100% accuracy on all mathematical examinations for medication administration.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMed2002

Serotoninergic and melatoninergic systems are fully expressed in human skin.

We investigated the cutaneous expression of genes and enzymes responsible for the multistep conversion of tryptophan to serotonin and further to melatonin. Samples tested were human skin, normal and pathologic (basal cell carcinoma and melanoma), cultured normal epidermal and follicular melanocytes, melanoma cell lines, normal neonatal and adult epidermal and follicular keratinocytes, squamous cell carcinoma cells, and fibroblasts from dermis and follicular papilla. The majority of the samples showed simultaneous expression of the genes for tryptophan hydroxylase, arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT), and hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase (HIOMT). The products of AANAT activity were identified by RP-HPLC with fluorimetric detection in human skin and in cultured normal and malignant melanocytes and immortalized keratinocytes; HIOMT activity was detected in human skin, keratinocytes, and melanoma cells. N-acetylserotonin (NAS) was detected by RP-HPLC in human skin extracts. NAS identity was confirmed further by LC/MS in keratinocytes. In conclusion, we provide evidence that the human skin expresses intrinsic serotonin and melatonin biosynthetic pathways.

Acetylserotonin O-Methyltransferase↗

PubMed2002

A comparison of MMPI-2 validity in African American and Caucasian psychiatric inpatients.

This study investigated ethnic differences on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) in 229 African American and 1,558 Caucasian psychiatric inpatients. Mean differences were found on several MMPI-2 validity and clinical scales. These were generally consistent with differences between the groups, indicated by the available extratest criterion data. To identify potential bias, the authors conducted 65 step-down hierarchical multiple regression analyses, predicting conceptually relevant clinical criteria from either MMPI-2 clinical or content scales for each gender. A number of MMPI-2 scales evidenced bias reflecting minor underprediction of psychopathology in African Americans. It is important to note that, in almost all cases, the magnitude of these differences was small and not clinically significant.

Adult↗