Psychological impact of benign breast biopsy: A longitudinal, comparative study.

The impact of benign breast biopsy (BBB) on distress and perceptions of risk for breast cancer (BC) was examined. Interviews were conducted with 100 women shortly after notification of biopsy results and 4 and 8 months post-BBB. Compared with matched healthy comparison (HC) women without BBB, the BBB group evidenced greater BC-specific distress at baseline. BC-specific distress declined after BBB, remaining elevated relative to the HC group at the 8-month follow-up. Dispositional (optimism, informational coping style), demographic (education), clinical (family history of BC), and cognitive (BC risk perception) variables were associated with baseline levels of BC-specific distress or persistence of distress. Results support the monitoring process model (S. M. Miller, 1995) and the cognitive social health information processing model (S. M. Miller, Y. Shoda, & K. Hurley, 1996). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and performance

Background

We compared Glycine Propionyl-L-Carnitine (GlycoCarn^®) and three different pre-workout nutritional supplements on measures of skeletal muscle oxygen saturation (StO₂), blood nitrate/nitrite (NOx), lactate (HLa), malondialdehyde (MDA), and exercise performance in men.

Methods

Using a randomized, double-blind, cross-over design, 19 resistance trained men performed tests of muscular power (bench press throws) and endurance (10 sets of bench press to muscular failure). A placebo, GlycoCarn^®, or one of three dietary supplements (SUPP1, SUPP2, SUPP3) was consumed prior to exercise, with one week separating conditions. Blood was collected before receiving the condition and immediately after exercise. StO₂ was measured during the endurance test using Near Infrared Spectroscopy. Heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were determined at the end of each set.

Results

A condition effect was noted for StO₂ at the start of exercise (p = 0.02), with GlycoCarn^® higher than SUPP2. A condition effect was also noted for StO₂ at the end of exercise (p = 0.003), with SUPP1 lower than all other conditions. No statistically significant interaction, condition, or time effects were noted for NOx or MDA (p > 0.05); however, MDA decreased 13.7% with GlycoCarn^® and increased in all other conditions. Only a time effect was noted for HLa (p < 0.0001), with values increasing from pre- to post-exercise. No effects were noted for HR, RPE, or for any exercise performance variables (p > 0.05); however, GlycoCarn^® resulted in a statistically insignificant greater total volume load compared to the placebo (3.3%), SUPP1 (4.2%), SUPP2 (2.5%), and SUPP3 (4.6%).

Conclusion

None of the products tested resulted in favorable changes in our chosen outcome measures, with the exception of GlycoCarn^® in terms of higher StO₂ at the start of exercise. GlycoCarn^® resulted in a 13.7% decrease in MDA from pre- to post-exercise and yielded a non-significant but greater total volume load compared to all other conditions. These data indicate that 1) a single ingredient (GlycoCarn^®) can provide similar practical benefit than finished products containing multiple ingredients, and 2) while we do not have data in relation to post-exercise recovery parameters, the tested products are ineffective in terms of increasing blood flow and improving acute upper body exercise performance.     

The timing of psychosocial transitions and changes in women's lives: An examination of women aged 45 to 60.

64 middle-class women from 4 age cohorts (45, 50, 55, and 60 yrs) participated in retrospective interviews to examine major psychosocial transitions (PTs) and the specific changes that were related to chronological age (CA) and/or to phases of the family cycle, the nature of the PTs, and the characteristics of the Ss who experienced them. Judges read the interview protocols and provided independent ratings of major PTs. Results indicate the following: (a) Major PTs were more likely to be associated with phases of the family cycle than with CA. (b) Within the family cycle, PTs were more likely to occur during the preschool (28% of the Ss), launching (42%), and postparental (33%) phases than during the no children, school-age, or adolescent phases. (c) PTs associated with the preschool and launching phases were characterized by dissatisfaction, personal disruption, marital unhappiness, and decreased personal development, whereas transitions associated with the post-parental phase were characterized by personal mellowing and improved marital relations. (d) Numerous self-reported psychosocial changes were associated with family cycle phase, and a small number of changes was associated with CA. (44 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Division of Labor and Working-Class Women's Well-Being Across the Transition to Parenthood.

This study examines the degree to which the division of household and child-care tasks predicts working-class women's well-being across the transition to parenthood. Women completed questionnaires about the division of labor and their well-being before the birth of their first child and upon returning to work. Results showed that violated expectations regarding the division of child care were associated with increased distress postnatally, and there was some evidence that this relationship was moderated by gender ideology. Traditional women whose husbands did more child care than they expected them to do were more distressed. Work status also moderated the relationship between violated expectations and distress. The results suggest that the division of child care is more salient in predicting distress than the division of housework, for working-class women, at this time point. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sesquiterpenoids Lactones: Benefits to Plants and People

Sesquiterpenoids, and specifically sesquiterpene lactones from Asteraceae, may play a highly significant role in human health, both as part of a balanced diet and as pharmaceutical agents, due to their potential for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and cancer. This review highlights the role of sesquiterpene lactones endogenously in the plants that produce them, and explores mechanisms by which they interact in animal and human consumers of these plants. Several mechanisms are proposed for the reduction of inflammation and tumorigenesis at potentially achievable levels in humans. Plants can be classified by their specific array of produced sesquiterpene lactones, showing high levels of translational control. Studies of folk medicines implicate sesquiterpene lactones as the active ingredient in many treatments for other ailments such as diarrhea, burns, influenza, and neurodegradation. In addition to the anti-inflammatory response, sesquiterpene lactones have been found to sensitize tumor cells to conventional drug treatments. This review explores the varied ecological roles of sesquiterpenes in the plant producer, depending upon the plant and the compound. These include allelopathy with other plants, insects, and microbes, thereby causing behavioural or developmental modification to these secondary organisms to the benefit of the sesquiterpenoid producer. Some sesquiterpenoid lactones are antimicrobial, disrupting the cell wall of fungi and invasive bacteria, whereas others protect the plant from environmental stresses that would otherwise cause oxidative damage. Many of the compounds are effective due to their bitter flavor, which has obvious implications for human consumers. The implications of sesquiterpenoid lactone qualities for future crop production are discussed.     

Risk perceptions: Assessment and relationship to influenza vaccination.

Objective: Accurate measurement of beliefs about risk probability is essential to determine what role these beliefs have in health behavior. This study investigated the ability of several types of risk perception measures and of other constructs from health behavior theories to predict influenza vaccination. Design: Prospective study in which students, faculty, and staff at 3 universities (N = 428) were interviewed in the fall, before influenza vaccine was available, and again early in the next calendar year. Main Outcome Measure: Self-reported influenza vaccination. Results: Two interview questions that asked about feeling at risk and feeling vulnerable predicted subsequent behavior better (r = .44, p = .001) than 2 questions that asked for agreement or disagreement with statements about risk probability (r = .25, p = .001) or 4 questions that asked respondents to estimate the magnitude of the risk probability (r = .30, p = .001). Of the 4 perceived risk magnitude scales, a 7-point verbal scale was the best predictor of behavior. Anticipated regret was the strongest predictor of vaccination (r = .45, p = .001) of all constructs studied, including risk perceptions, worry, and perceived vaccine effectiveness. Conclusion: Risk perceptions predicted subsequent vaccination. However, perceived risk phrased in terms of feelings rather than as a purely cognitive probability judgment predicted better. Because neither feeling at risk nor anticipated regret is represented in the most commonly used theories of health behavior, the data suggest that these theories are missing important constructs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A model of keyboard configuration requirements

This paper presents a user model: a computer program which examines the behaviour of a real computer user. The model encompasses four aspects of keyboard use which can present difficulties for people with motor disabilities. Where relevant keyboard configuration options exist, the model chooses appropriate settings for these options. The model bases its recommendations on observation of users typing free English text. It is intended to form part of a dynamic configuration support tool. Empirical evaluation showed the model to be very accurate in identification of a given user's difficulties. Where recommended configuration options were tried by the participants, high levels of error reduction and user satisfaction were found.     

Experiences in parallelising FLITE3D on the Cray T3D

FLITE3D is an unstructured multigrid Euler-CFD code, originally written by Imperial College, London, and Swansea University, and now developed by British Aerospace. In this paper we present our experiences at EPCC in porting FLITE3D to the Cray T3D MPP system. We discuss the operational requirements of a parallel production CFD code, and introduce the PUL-SM static mesh runtime library. We present performance results for the parallel FLITE3D Euler flow solver running on the UK National Supercomputing Service T3D, and echo our belief that massively parallel systems are a natural tool for commercial CFD modelling today.     

Extending keyboard adaptability: An investigation

One common typing error is the overlap error, in which two keys are pressed at once. The existing keyboard accessibility filters do not directly address overlap errors. Several techniques for automatic correction of overlap errors are compared in an offline analysis. Leveraging keystroke timing characteristics is shown to achieve a 50% to 75% reduction in errors for study participants with relatively high error rates. A simple heuristic for estimating the accuracy improvement for an individual using this filter is presented and considerations for live implementation and further work are discussed. Published online: 6 November 2002