A family of biodegradable poly(ester amide) (PEA) co-polymers based on naturally occurring alpha-amino acids has been developed for applications ranging from biomedical device coatings to delivery of therapeutic biologics. An important feature of PEA co-polymer coatings may be their ability to promote a natural healing response. To gain insight into this process, representative elastomeric PEAs designed for a cardiovascular stent coating were compared to non-degradable and biodegradable polymers in a series of in vitro assays to examine blood and cellular responses. Each PEA contained L-leucine and L-lysine with the latter derivatized by either benzyl alcohol or the nitroxide radical 4-amino TEMPO as a pendant group. Monocytes adherent to PEA secreted reduced levels of the pro-inflammatory interleukins (IL)-6 and IL-1 beta into the culture supernatant compared to those on comparison polymers but secreted significantly higher amounts of the anti-inflammatory mediator, IL-1 receptor antagonist. As a measure of pro-healing tissue compatibility for cardiovascular applications, endothelial cells adhered, spread, and proliferated on PEA. PEA was also determined to be non-hemolytic and did not deplete platelets or leukocytes from whole blood. ATP release from freshly isolated human platelets on PEA, a measure of their activation, was comparable to the well-known and compatible comparison polymers poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and n-poly(butyl methacrylate). Taken together, these in vitro studies of the blood and tissue compatibility of these biodegradable, alpha-amino-acid-based PEAs suggest that they may support a more natural healing response by attenuating the pro-inflammatory reaction to the implant and promoting growth of appropriate cells for repair of the tissue architecture.
Influenced by language and therapeutic discourse as well as the feminist critique of marriage and family therapy, the authors conducted research to evaluate conversational power in marriage and family therapy. Research on interruptions has received the most empirical attention, so the authors examined videotaped therapy sessions to see if women clients were interrupted more than men clients. This strategy integrated scholarship on gender and conversation into research on marriage and family therapy process. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine the different treatment of women and men clients; gender of therapist was used as a control variable. Results indicated that marriage and family doctoral students interrupted women clients three times more than men clients. We conducted research to evaluate conversational power in marriage and family therapy. This research was influenced by two themes: language and therapeutic discourse as well as the feminist critique of marriage and family therapy. Empirical research has demonstrated that men and women use different conversational tactics in cross-gender interactions. Women, for example, frequently ask questions and follow-up on topics introduced by men; these tactics support conversation (Fishman, 1983). Men, on the other hand, are more likely
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