Compliance with chemotherapy among breast cancer patients.

Explored the extent of and reasons for noncompliance with intravenously administered chemotherapy among 78 female breast cancer patients (aged 29–78 yrs). Overall, chemotherapy compliance was high (92%). The few cases of noncompliance were indirect. In particular, 2 Ss rejected chemotherapy outright, and 2 alcoholic Ss used alcohol to avoid chemotherapy. The high rate of chemotherapy compliance was judged to be due to its perceived centrality to recovery from cancer, the medical nature of its administration, the ease with which noncompliance could be detected, and Ss' spontaneous use of successful coping techniques. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social identity and physical health: Accelerated HIV progression in rejection-sensitive gay men.

Research linking sensitivity to others and their evaluation of the self to alterations in physiologic function led the authors to examine whether HIV infection might progress more rapidly in gay men who are particularly sensitive to social rejection. Analyses of data from a 9-year prospective study of 72 initially healthy HIV-positive gay men indicated that rejection-sensitive individuals experienced a significant acceleration in times to a critically low CD4 T lymphocyte level, times to AIDS diagnosis, and times to HIV-related mortality (despite control for a variety of potential biobehavioral confounders). Accelerated HIV progression was not observed in rejection-sensitive gay men who concealed their homosexual identity, suggesting that concealment may protect such individuals from negative health effects. Data distinguishing rejection sensitivity from other health-relevant psychosocial characteristics are presented, and possible links to HIV pathophysiology are described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tourette's syndrome (TS): Cognitive performance in adults with uncomplicated TS.

Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with frontostriatal dysfunction. The extent of any cognitive impairment associated with uncomplicated TS is unclear, as comorbid psychiatric symptomatology is thought to contribute to cognitive deficits. Previous studies have found evidence of mild performance deficits, most commonly on tasks that involve inhibitory processes. The present study evaluated this in carefully screened adult participants with TS. The findings showed the TS group to perform more poorly on one test involving behavioral inhibition (sentence completion), but did not provide strong support for an interpretation based solely on inhibitory deficits, and there was no evidence of impairment on another behavioral inhibition task (flanker test). There were also no differences between the groups on tasks involving working memory (n-back), task switching, or object alternation learning. The findings provide further evidence that uncomplicated TS is associated with only mild, circumscribed impairment. The nature of any impairment is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children experiencing social difficulties: Sociometric neglect reconsidered.

Evaluates an oft-used sociometric procedure, the peer nomination technique. Examination of the data reveals support for the assumption that some rejected children are aggressive; however, the data concerning the behavioral characteristics of neglected children are equivocal. Data revealed that neglected children could not be distinguished from their average counterparts on any dependent measure. Rejected children were found to be more unpopular, aggressive, as well as withdrawn than the other sociometric groups. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the use of sociometry to identify children "at risk" for social and emotional difficulties. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lessons learned from a life in psychological science: Implications for young scientists.

Many research-focused graduate students are concerned about what seems to be a lack of opportunities in academia, as well as about how to actually begin and develop a career in psychological science. Recognizing this, the American Psychological Association (APA) Science Student Council organized a distinguished scientist discussion hour at APA's 105th Annual Convention in Chicago. Three distinguished scientists, Martin Seligman, Robert Sternberg, and Shelley Taylor, agreed to contribute as panelists. In a dialogue with the audience, they discussed a variety of career-related issues, ranging from how to pursue a career in psychological science to how the panelists' own careers had developed. This article summarizes this exchange, offering insight for all those embarking on a career in science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of small and large impoundments on freshwater mussel distribution in the Hawkesbury‐Nepean River,southeastern Australia

The influence of weirs on the distribution of freshwater mussels was investigated in the Hawkesbury‐Nepean River, Australia. Distribution of species and densities of size classes were strongly correlated with catchment level factors (e.g. location around a major impoundment, stream order). At catchment scale, weir height, presence of a fish barrier, fish ladder type and position above or below small weirs did not influence the presence/absence of mussel populations. Lower mussel densities in the upper catchment may therefore reflect inhibition of host fish migration. Where present, weir height and geomorphic reach type were linked to differences in densities among species. Geomorphic reach‐based differences were reflected by the Hyridella species, but not Velesunio ambiguus. When population structure was described by size class distribution, there were significant differences between densities of small and medium mussels from weirs above, compared to weirs below, a major impoundment, but not for large mussels. Upstream populations may therefore be functionally extinct. Distribution of mussel size classes differed among geomorphic reach types with highest densities for each class found in the least human‐impacted reaches. Small mussels were almost invariably found below the major impoundment, most frequently below weirs. Distribution patterns were inconsistent across species, suggesting habitat preference. V. ambiguus and Hyridella australis were most abundant in shale reaches, where assemblages were influenced by fish ladder type. Hyridella depressa and H. australis dominated in sandstone gorges and straights with assemblage density related to weir height. In upper catchment sandstone reaches, mussel assemblages comprising predominantly V. ambiguus were influenced by fish ladder type and weir height. While multiple factors defined localized distribution, large impoundments were linked with reduced population densities. The probable mechanism is the restriction of host fish movement and resulting lack of recruitment. In the Hawkesbury‐Nepean River, smaller weirs also seriously impacted recruitment. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Longitudinal predictors of attitudes toward aging among women with multiple sclerosis.

The purpose of the study was to explore the impact of change in functional limitation (FL), controlling for social support (SS), on attitudes toward aging using longitudinal survey data collected over a 7-year period. The 503 women with multiple sclerosis (MS; age, M = 57 years, SD = 10.25) were mostly Anglo (93%) and married (69%). First, the authors identified a quadratic growth model as the best for describing change in FL. Next, they considered SS as a time-varying covariate of FL to assess both within- and between-individual effects of SS on FL over time. Within individuals, higher FL levels were associated with lower SS levels. Between individuals, level of but not change in FL was associated with average SS level. Finally, average SS and response level and change in FL were studied as predictors of attitudes toward aging, accounting for 38% of the variance. Women with higher FL and lower SS scores had more negative views of aging. Negative views of aging among women with MS may have long-term consequences for their health outcomes as well as for the quality of their later years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Possible involvement of psychrotolerant Enterobacteriaceae in blown pack spoilage of vacuum-packaged raw meats

Recent investigations of blown pack spoilage in New Zealand chilled vacuum-packaged meats have found moderate to high numbers of Enterobacteriaceae in the spoilage flora, but no clostridia, such as C. estertheticum and C. gasigenes, that are usually associated with blown pack spoilage. This study showed that pyschrotolerant Enterobacteriaceae produced gas in a lamb homogenate model under anaerobic conditions and that these organisms could cause blown pack spoilage of vacuum-packaged chilled meats. Significant gas production was observed with the majority of the psychrotolerant Enterobacteriaceae strains tested including presumptive species of Enterobacter, Serratia, Hafnia and Rahnella. However, no gas was produced in lamb homogenates inoculated with presumptive species of Ewingella americana or Yersinia enterocolitica. Gas production was also confirmed in vacuum-packaged lamb shoulders stored at 4 degrees C for 21 days after being inoculated with individual representative Enterobacteriaceae isolates. Biochemical characterisation proved to be more useful than genotype-based typing of 16S rRNA genes for discriminating different psychrotolerant Enterobacteriaceae from naturally contaminated meat microflora.