The impact of cancer on daily living: A comparison with cardiac patients and healthy controls.

Examined the psychosocial and physical problems of 32 Ss with cancer by comparing them to Ss with cardiac disease with a similar functional performance status and to Ss without any illnesses. All Ss completed a cancer inventory of problem situations. Ss with cancer were found to have a larger number of problems and more severe problems than Ss with cardiac disease. Some of the problem subscales that were particularly notable for cancer patients were Functional Health Status, Body Image, Weight Maintenance, Worry, Sexual Dysfunction, Problems Associated with Treatment, and Job-Related. Ss with cancer and cardiac disease did not differ greatly from one another or from the healthy controls in subscales associated with the medical setting. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing uncertainty and demonstrating potential for estimating fire rate of spread at landscape scales based on time sequential airborne thermal infrared imaging

An important property of wildfire behaviour is rate of spread (ROS). The objectives of this study are to evaluate the uncertainty of landscape-scale ROS estimates derived from repetitive airborne thermal infrared (ATIR) georeferenced imagery and the utility of such estimates for understanding fire behaviour and controls on spread rates. Time-sequential ATIR image data were collected for the Cedar, Detwiler, and Rey Fires, which burned in California during summers of 2016 and 2017. We analyse error, uncertainty, and precision of ROS estimates associated with co-location accuracy, delineation of active fire front positions, and generation of fire spread vectors. The major sources of uncertainty influencing accuracy of ROS estimates are co-registration accuracy of sequential image pairs and procedures for delineating active fire front locations and spread vectors between them; none of these were found to be substantial. Median ROS estimates are 11 m min^?1 for the Cedar Fire and 8 m min^?1 for the Detwiler Fire, both of which burned through mixed shrub and tree areas of the Sierra Nevada foothills and were estimated for downslope spread events. Of the three study fires, the fastest spread rates (average spread of 25 m min^?1 with maximum of 39 m min^?1) are estimated for the Rey Fire, which burned on variable directional slopes through chaparral shrubland vegetation.     

Stress and activity management: Group treatment for cancer patients and spouses.

51 ambulatory patients (aged 25–70 yrs) with commonly occurring cancers and 25 of their spouses participated in a study to evaluate a stress and activity management treatment program (SAM) conducted in a group. 26 patients participated in the SAM treatment condition, and 25 participated in the current available care (CAC) control condition. SAM patients and spouses were expected to improve more than the CAC patients and spouses in fund of information, psychosocial adjustment, and daily activities. Patients and spouses were evaluated at 4 times: pretreatment, posttreatment, 2-mo follow-up, and 4-mo follow-up. Interviews, questionnaires, and self-monitoring of behavior were designed to assess outcome variables. Measurement instruments included a functional performance scale, a cancer information test, and a psychological adjustment to illness scale. Results indicate some support for unique effects of the treatment intervention, but there was also support for improved psychosocial adjustment by all patients and spouses with the passage of time. SAM patients and spouses reported high satisfaction with the group program, used the techniques they learned in the group, and said that they would recommend it to other patients. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing problems of cancer patients: Psychometric properties of the Cancer Inventory of Problem Situations.

Evaluated in 479 cancer patients the psychometric properties of the Cancer Inventory of Problem Situations (CIPS), a cancer-specific survey designed to assess day-to-day problems and rehabilitation needs. CIPS was factored into 31 clinically useful subscales and 5 higher order factors representing the physical, psychosocial, medical interaction, marital, and sexual problem areas characteristic of cancer and its treatment. Internal consistency of all the scales was high. Test–retest reliability and validity of the instrument were studied in 120 cancer patients. Analyses of items, subscales, higher order factors, and total CIPS score suggest excellent reliability. The pattern of correlations of CIPS with other measures provided preliminary evidence of concurrent, discriminant, and convergent validity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)