Patterns of tree-cover loss along the Indonesia–Malaysia border on Borneo

Borneo Island is experiencing rapid tree-cover loss. This loss has been quantified for the Indonesian part of the island at Landsat spatial resolution, but no recent study exists that extends across the border into Malaysia. This research focused on quantifying patterns of tree-cover loss in the Indonesia–Malaysia border zone on Borneo. The methods used for quantifying 2000–2010 tree-cover loss within 20 km on either side of the border are an internally consistent mapping algorithm used on Landsat imagery and a local indicator of spatial autocorrelation to quantify the concentration of loss. Within the 20 km zone on either side of the border, tree-cover loss rates in lowlands were high in the two countries (19.8% and 14.4%, in Indonesia and Malaysia, respectively), but rates in the Malaysian uplands were an order of magnitude higher than in the Indonesian uplands (2.95% and 0.25%, respectively). Clusters of tree-cover loss in the Malaysian uplands were considerably larger than in the Indonesian uplands.     

How stress management improves quality of life after treatment for breast cancer.

The range of effects of psychosocial interventions on quality of life among women with breast cancer remains uncertain. Furthermore, it is unclear which components of multimodal interventions account for such effects. To address these issues, the authors tested a 10-week group cognitive-behavioral stress management intervention among 199 women newly treated for nonmetastatic breast cancer, following them for 1 year after recruitment. The intervention reduced reports of social disruption and increased emotional well-being, positive states of mind, benefit finding, positive lifestyle change, and positive affect for up to 12 months (indeed, some effects strengthened over time). With respect to mechanisms tested, the intervention increased confidence in being able to relax at will. There was also evidence that effects of the intervention on the various outcomes examined were mediated by change in confidence about being able to relax. Thus, this intervention had beneficial effects on diverse aspects of quality of life after treatment for breast cancer, which appear linked to a specific stress management skill taught in the intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived Partner Reactions to Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer: Impact on Psychosocial and Psychosexual Adjustment.

Two studies examined breast cancer patients' perceptions of their partners' reactions to their diagnosis and treatment as influences on 3 aspects of patients' well-being: psychosexual adjustment, emotional distress, and marital satisfaction. Study 1, cross-sectional, indicated that partner initiation of sex, frequency of sex, a positive 1st sexual experience after treatment, and especially perception of the partner's emotional involvement in the relationship, were relevant to these outcomes. Study 2, longitudinal, confirmed many of these findings in prospective tests across 1 year of recovery after surgery. Partner involvement prospectively predicted all 3 outcomes. Partner initiation of sex predicted greater marital satisfaction; partner adverse reaction to the scar predicted less marital satisfaction. Rated quality of the 1st sexual experience after treatment predicted less distress. The pattern suggests that women's impressions of their partners' emotional involvement after surgery for breast cancer forecast their adjustment in sexual, marital, and emotional arenas over the following year. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)