Structural analysis of biological macromolecular assemblies by electron microscopic techniques
The development of high resolution electron microscopic techniques and the introduction of quantitative image analysis has provided a direct basis for studying the structure of biological macromolecules. Apart from the determination of overall morphology, including 3-D image reconstruction, these techniques provide information on the internal architecture of biological macromolecular assemblies, the topography of functional sites, the interactions of their components and elemental microanalysis in situ. Thus, from a mere photographic recording system of the past, electron microscopy has evolved into a high resolution quantitative spectroscopic analytical method.
This article describes the use of a battery of structured family measurement procedures to conduct systematic, comprehensive assessments of families who enter treatment. The measures are derived from family research and include self-report questionnaires and structured observation of family interactions. The assessment is multimodal, and examines the entire family unit, the marital subsystem, the individual family members, and the larger social context affecting a family. Two case examples are presented which demonstrate how the structured assessment data are combined with clinical theory and other information about a family to generate initial hypotheses about the functioning of the family system and likely avenues for therapeutic intervention.