Management of the clinically positive neck in organ preservation for advanced head and neck cancer

An 82-year-old man was treated with isoniazid (INH) because of a low-grade fever. On the 9th day of treatment, dry coughing and general malaise developed. On the 30th day, he was admitted to our hospital. A chest-X ray film showed infiltrative shadows in the right middle and lower lung fields, but a chest CT scan showed an abnormal lung density in the right lower lobe. Abnormal laboratory findings included leucocytosis, liver dysfunction, hypoxemia, low vital capacity, low diffusing capacity and a high level of C-reactive protein. A differential cell count of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) showed many neutrophils and lymphocytes; examination of a specimen obtained by transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) revealed edema of alveolar walls, lymphocyte infiltration, and proliferation of type II alveolar epithelial cells. A drug lymphocyte stimulation test (DLST) against INH was positive. After discontinuation of INH, symptoms resolved, laboratory findings became normal, and the infiltrative shadows in the right middle and lower lung fields disappeared. The clinical course and the findings of BALF, TBLB, and DLST suggested the diagnosis of pneumonitis caused by INH.     

Maternal and infant temperamental predictors of attachment: A meta-analytic review.

Because of the possible implications of infant–mother attachment for later adjustment, we examined the extent to which it could be predicted by mother interactional variables and infant proneness to distress. The meta-analysis demonstrated that sensitive, responsive maternal interaction predicted the security of attachment in Ainsworth and Wittig's (1969) "strange situation." However, the strength of the relation was less than many narrative reviews have suggested. Proneness to distress, which is conceptualized as a temperamental variable, predicted resistance, which is a behavioral pattern in the strange situation that is thought to indicate one variety of insecure attachment. The strength of this association was low but was roughly comparable to that in the maternal domain. In both the maternal and infant domains, we attempted to predict the effect sizes by study characteristics such as method of assessment, sample composition, and age of subjects at the time of study. The pattern of results highlights several continuing methodological problems in the field and suggests that additional explanatory concepts are needed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Community examiners' evaluations of competence to stand trial: Common problems and suggestions for improvement.

With the exponential growth of forensic psychology over recent decades, increasing numbers of clinical psychologists with little specialized training are becoming principal providers of forensic assessments. On the basis of results from an empirical study, the authors analyze 3 fundamental problems with these psychologists' reports on competence to stand trial and provide recommendations for improvement based on legal, ethical, and professional standards of practice. The article focuses on the importance of (a) properly attending to the range of critical psycholegal abilities, including the defendant's decisional capacities; (b) explaining the critical reasoning that underlies one's psycholegal conclusions; and (c) using forensically relevant methods of assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamics of polymer molecules using neutron spin—echo

The dynamics of single polymer chains have been investigated in dilute solution and in the melt using the neutron spin—echo technique. In dilute solution the intramolecular motion is described to a first approximation by that for a Rouse chain incorporating hydrodynamic interactions (Zimm). It is characterised by an inverse correlation time which may be normalised by temperature, solvent viscosity and segment size, and which for long chains varies as Q³ at small scattering angles (Q is the change in wavevector on scattering). At very low Q vectors the predicted ‘universal’ regime is observed, but over most of the accessible range chemical structure also becomes important. For short chains, deviations from this Q³ behaviour are associated with overall molecular diffusion. In the melt, chain entanglements come into play and modify the simple Rouse-type motion. The correlation functions are described by a combination of Rouse motion over short distances and times and a long-time slow-motion predicted by the reptation model of melt dynamics.     

Acculturation, sexual risk taking, and HIV health promotion among Latinas.

Latinas are nearly 3 times more likely to acquire AIDS than other women in the United States. It is critical to understand this vulnerability and to identify predictors of risk. Structural equation models were used to test predictors, mediators (including components of the health belief model), and sex-related outcomes and behavior. Interview data were collected from a random, cross-sectional community sample of 227 sexually active Latinas (M age?=?32 years). Acculturation was associated with higher HIV-related risks within primary relationships. Older Latinas were less likely than younger Latinas to make behavior changes or use barrier methods of contraception to prevent HIV, and they had higher rates of unintended pregnancies. Marriage was related to greater relationship risk and less behavior change. Theoretical models must account for ethnicity, race, and culture to understand better unwanted sexual outcomes for Latinas, including HIV risks. Strategies are needed that specifically address these issues in HIV prevention and counseling programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in depressive symptoms in adolescence: Comparison of national samples of clinically referred and nonreferred youths.

Gender differences in depressed mood, a syndrome of mixed anxiety-depression. and an analogue of major depressive disorder were compared in parents' and adolescents' reports in 2 large, demographically matched national samples of clinically referred and nonreferred adolescents. Referral status accounted for the greatest share of the variance in these problems. Gender differences were moderate in size and consistent in referred youths, with referred girls scoring higher than referred boys on all measures, whereas gender differences in nonreferred adolescents were either nonsignificant or small in magnitude. Gender differences were also larger in magnitude in adolescents' self-reports than in parents' reports. The interaction of age and gender was nonsignificant in all analyses. Implications for understanding the extent of gender differences in adolescents' depressive symptoms are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time, technology and groups: An integration

This paper summarizes main findings of the five empirical papers in this issue, and discusses certain themes that connect them.     

"I show how you feel": Motor mimicry as a communicative act.

Elementary motor mimicry (e.g., wincing when another is injured) has been previously considered in social psychology as the overt manifestation of some intrapersonal process such as vicarious emotion. A 2-part experiment with 50 university students tested the hypothesis that motor mimicry is instead an interpersonal event, a nonverbal communication intended to be seen by the other. Part 1 examined the effect of a receiver on the observer's motor mimicry. The victim of an apparently painful injury was either increasingly or decreasingly available for eye contact with the observer. Microanalysis showed that the pattern and timing of the observer's motor mimicry were significantly affected by the visual availability of the victim. In Part 2, naive decoders viewed and rated the reactions of these observers. Their ratings confirmed that motor mimicry was consistently decoded as "knowing" and "caring" and that these interpretations were significantly related to the experimental condition under which the reactions were elicited. Results cannot be explained by any alternative intrapersonal theory, so a parallel process model is proposed in which the eliciting stimulus may set off both internal reactions and communicative responses, and it is the communicative situation that determines the visable behavior. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving control, construing benefits, and daily processes in rheumatoid arthritis.

Examined the influence of perceived pain control (PPC) and pain benefit appraisals (PBAs) on adjustment to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a 75-day study of 54 RA patients. After completing measures of dispositional optimism (M. Scheier and C. Carver; see record 1986-19862-001) and appraisals of control over, and benefits from, their chronic pain, Ss reported each day their pain intensity, mood, and activity limitations due to pain. Controlling for disease activity and dispositional optimism, Ss high in PPC at the outset of the study experienced less daily pain. Daily pain also moderated the relation between control beliefs and adjustment as well as the relation between PBA and adjustment. With increased pain, greater PPC was associated with less positive mood. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hassles and uplifts of giving care to a family member with dementia.

The role of daily caregiving stressors (hassles) and small caregiving satisfactions (uplifts) in the well-being of 60 family caregivers was investigated. Hassles and uplifts in 4 domains of caregiving were examined, and direct effects of hassles, uplifts on caregivers' social and psychological well-being, as well as the interactive and net effects of hassles and uplifts, were assessed. Hassles associated with care recipients' behavior demonstrated strongest associations with well-being. Women and caregivers to socially responsive yet behaviorally inappropriate care recipients reported more behavior and cognitive hassles. Uplifts associated with assistance in activities of daily living and with care recipients' behavior were related to well-being, with more uplifts related to greater, rather than less, depression. More intensely involved caregivers reported more of these uplifts. Net effects in the hypothesized direction were found, but no interactive effects emerged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)