Interpersonal positive reframing in the daily lives of couples coping with breast cancer

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined word use as an indicator of interpersonal positive reframing in daily conversations of couples coping with breast cancer and as a predictor of stress.

Design: The Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) and Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) were used to examine naturally occurring word use conceptually linked to positive reframing (positive emotion, negative emotion, and cognitive processing words).

Sample: Fifty-two couples coping with breast cancer.

Methods: Couples wore the EAR, a device participants wear, that audio-recorded over one weekend (>16,000 sound files), and completed self-reports of positive reframing (COPE) and stress (Perceived Stress Scale). LIWC, a software program, measured word use.

Findings: Both partners’ word use (i.e., positive emotion and cognitive processing words) was associated with their own reported positive reframing, and spouses’ word use was also indicative of patients’ positive reframing. Results also revealed that, in general, words indicating positive reframing predicted lower levels of stress.

Conclusions: Findings supported the hypothesis that partners—and particularly spouses of breast cancer patients—may assist each other’s coping by positively reframing the cancer experience and other negative experiences in conversation.     

International survey of peritoneal dialysis training programs.

OBJECTIVE: To survey nurses around the world about current practices for peritoneal dialysis (PD) home training programs. DESIGN: Random sampling of nurses to complete a written survey from the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis Nursing Liaison Committee. Settings: United States, Canada, South America (Brazil, Columbia), The Netherlands, Hong Kong. METHODS: Surveys and responses were sent by fax whenever possible, or by regular mail, or hand carried, or conducted by telephone. Results were stratified by geographic areas as well as by cumulative responses and were expressed as medians with ranges. Kruskal-Wallis was used to evaluate differences in responses. Associations between variables were tested with Pearson correlation. Univariate regression analysis was used to evaluate the impact of variables on peritonitis rates. Variables with p < 0.10 were included in a multivariate analysis. RESULTS: A total of 317 nurses responded: 88 in the United States, 46 in Canada, 58 in South America, 58 in Hong Kong, and 67 in The Netherlands. This represented 37% of all surveys distributed. Respondents had a median of 12 years' experience in nephrology (range 1-35 years), but only 31% had a formal background in adult education. Nearly half received their guidance to patient training from a nurse colleague, 11% were guided by a corporate colleague, and 8% were simply self-taught. Clinics responding had a median of 30 PD patients (range 1-400) and reported they trained a median of 8 patients per year (range 0-86). Reported peritonitis rates were a median 0.46 per year or 1 episode every 26 months. Peritonitis rates, however, were not known by 53% of respondents. Total training time per patient had a very wide range of hours, from 6 to 96. There was no correlation between training time and peritonitis rates among the study respondents (p = 0.38), nor with any other variables. CONCLUSIONS: There is wide variation in practices for PD patient training programs within countries and around the world. Training time did not appear to be related to peritonitis rates. Randomized trials of training practices are needed to determine which approaches produce the best outcomes for patients.     

On the road to automatic: dynamic aspects in the development of expertise.

One of the important steps on the road to becoming expert in a motor skill occurs when the individual can perform the movements in a seemingly effortless and automatic fashion. The authors review two lines of investigations, namely, fMRI and mathematically guided studies of the dynamics of skill acquisition, that suggest that this road to automatic involves two steps: (1) an increasing reliance on the self-regulatory aspects of the motor task, and (2) a minimization of the role of mechanisms based on intentionally directed corrective movements. The interplay between these two mechanisms implies that, at a given skill level, performance decreases whenever intention intervenes. The observation that psychological factors may be as important as mechanical repetition for the development of expertise has important implications for the design of neurorehabilitative strategies.     

3β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase/Isomerase and Aromatase Activity in Primary Cultures of Developing Zebra Finch Telencephalon: Dehydroepiandrosterone as Substrate for Synthesis of Androstenedione and Estrogens

3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Δ⁵−Δ⁴isomerase (3β-HSD) activity was measured in primary dissociated cell cultures prepared from telencephalons of developing zebra finches. 3β-HSD activity was confirmed after cultures were incubated with [7-³H]pregneno- lone (Preg) or (1,2,6,7-³H-) dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and³H-progesterone (Prog) and³H-androstenedione (AE) were detected in the medium. Product identity was confirmed by recrystallizations and by HPLC analysis. When DHEA was used as substrate,³H-estradiol and³H-estrone were also detected in the culture medium, presumably derived from the aromatization of³H-AE or³H-T produced from³H-DHEA. To test this idea, cultures were incubated with³H-DHEA together with radioinert AE or with fadrozole HCl, a potent and specific aromatase inhibitor. In the presence of radioinert AE,³H-AE increased but metabolites of³H-AE decreased in the media; in the presence of fadrozole,³H-estrogens decreased but³H-AE and its androgenic metabolite³H-5β-androstanedione increased. These data demonstrate 3β-HSD activity in the songbird brain. The presence of Prog and estradiol in these cultures suggest that Preg and DHEA can potentially serve as substrates for the ultimate formation of active sex steroids in the songbird telencephalon.     

Urinary oxalate and glycolate excretion in healthy infants and children

The molar ratios of oxalate and glycolate over creatinine were determined in single urine samples of 26 infants and 27 children aged 1–5 years. In 135 children aged 5–16 years, two urine specimens were collected, one before breakfast and one at noon. Oxalate was determined by oxalate oxidase, and glycolate was measured by a colorimetric method (improved chromatotropic acid-sulphuric acid assay after prior purification by cation and anion exchanger). Both ratios (expressed in mmol/mol creatinine and analysed on a log-normal basis) were highest in infants 0–6 months old [mean oxalate 147 (95% confidence interval: 60–360), mean glycolate 175 (72–425)]. The mean oxalate ratio was 72 mmol/mol (29–174) at the age of 7–24 months, 44 (19–101) at the age of 2–5 years and 22 (12–40) in adolescents aged 16 years. Molar glycolate ratios were higher, but disclosed the same pattern. Oxalate and glycolate ratios in fasting urines did not differ significantly from those in noon samples (except glycolate in the oldest age group). Oxalate ratios correlated well with glycolate ratios in children up to 5 years of age only. Random urine samples are thus suitable for screening. However, interpretation of data requires use of age-specific reference values that are based on comparable methods.     

Chromogenic Detection of Aminoglycoside Phosphotransferases

A coupled chromogenic reaction (based on an agar overlay combining NADH, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, phosphoenolpyruvate, ATP, and kanamycin sulfate with thiazolyl blue-phenazine methosulfate for detection of NADH consumption) was optimized for the detection of aminoglycoside phosphotransferases (APHs). When used after analytical isoelectrofocusing of bacterial extracts from APH-producing strains, this method revealed one band in each of two strains with a genetically confirmed APH (3′) I and two bands in another strain with both APH (3′) I and APH (3′) VI, whereas no bands were detected in susceptible control strains or in aminoglycoside-resistant microorganisms without APH genes.