Assessment of pruritus is critical in dermatological history taking, both for initial diagnosis and for monitoring treatment. Various methods of assessing pruritus in the dog have been described but none have been validated. In this study, four different pruritus scales were initially assessed: a 0-5 numerical scale; a scale containing six categories of pruritic behaviours; a scale with six basic descriptors of severity; and a visual analogue scale with severity descriptions at either end. One hundred and sixteen owners were asked to grade their dog's pruritus with each of the four scales given to them in a randomized order, and asked which they thought was easiest to use, which was most accurate in assessing their dog's pruritus level, and which two scales they would combine to make a superior scale. Pruritus scores from different scales were highly correlated with each other, but scores were significantly higher with the severity and numerical scales compared to the behaviour scale. Based on the clients' responses, a new scale was developed that combined features of the behaviour and severity-based scales with the visual analogue scale. When tested on 166 different owners, 98% thought it was easy to use and accurate in assessing their dog's pruritus level. In 44 dogs, independent scores obtained by two owners were highly correlated (R = 0.8; P < 0.0001), confirming the scale's repeatability. The new scale proved to be an easy and repeatable method for owners to determine the severity of pruritus in their dog.

Injured tendons heal slowly and often result in the formation of mechanically and functionally inferior fibrotic scar tissue or fibrous adhesions. This study investigated the use of tendon-derived stem cells (TDSCs) for tendon repair in a rat patellar tendon window defect model. Fibrin glue constructs with or without GFP-TDSCs were transplanted into the window defect. The patellar tendons were harvested for histology, ex vivo fluorescent imaging and biomechanical test at various time points up to week 4. Our results showed that TDSCs significantly enhanced tendon healing as indicated by the increase in collagen production as shown by hematolxylin stain-ability of the tissue, improvement of cell alignment, collagen fiber alignment and collagen birefringence typical of tendon. The labeled cells were observed at weeks 1 and 2 and became almost undetectable at week 4. Both the ultimate stress and Young's modulus were significantly higher in the TDSCs group compared to those in the fibrin glue group at week 4. In conclusion, TDSCs promoted earlier and better repair in a rat patellar tendon window defect model.

No abstract

burnout, demographic, Hong Kong teachers, MBI,

The authors examined the relation among different facets of loneliness and depression in a sample of 6,356 Chinese children and adolescents from Grades 4-9. Loneliness and depression were closely related among the primary (Grades 4-6) and secondary (Grades 7-9) students, both boys and girls. Although the different facets of loneliness were predictive of the various facets of depression, peer-related loneliness and aloneness were more predictive of depression in both groups than was parent-related loneliness. The students in Grades 5 and 6 scored lower for loneliness but a little higher for depression than did the students in Grade 4. The students in Grades 8 and 9 scored higher than the students in Grade 7 for loneliness and depression. The primary boys scored higher than the primary girls for both loneliness and depression. Among the secondary students, there was no difference between the scores of the boys and those of the girls for loneliness, but the boys scored lower than the girls for depression.

No abstract

This article describes the development of an instrument-the Career and Talent Development Self-Efficacy Scale (CTD-SES)-for assessing students' self-efficacy in applying life skills essential for personal talent development, acquisition of positive work habits, and career exploration. In Study 1, data were obtained from a large sample of Chinese middle-school students (N = 15,113) in Grades 7 to 9 in Hong Kong. The CTD-SES is an 18-item questionnaire with subscales containing items that address students' orientations toward developing their own talents, acquiring and applying positive work habits, and exploring their career possibilities. Evidence is provided for internal consistency, temporal stability, and factor structure of the CTD-SES. Goodness of fit statistics provided support for a three primary-factorplus-higher-factor model, and this solution was used in the statistical analyses. The data also indicated that students with plans for university study reported significantly higher scores than those without on all three domains of career and talent development. In Study 2 (N = 308) Grade 10 high ability students' scores in CTD-SES were correlated with scores in career decision self-efficacy and academic performance. The development and validation of CTD-SES is the first step toward investigating career exploration, work habits and talent development among Asian middle-school Career and Talent Development 4 adolescents.

The concept of emotional competence as a positive youth development construct is reviewed in this paper. Differences between emotional intelligence and emotional competence are discussed and an operational definition is adopted. Assessment methods of emotional competence with an emphasis on its quantitative nature are introduced. In the discussion of theories of emotional competence, the functionalist and developmental perspectives and the relationships with positive youth development are highlighted. Possible antecedents, especially the influence of early child-caregiver, and expected outcomes of emotional competence are examined. Practical ways to promote emotional competence among adolescents, particularly the role of parents and teachers, and the future direction of research are also discussed.