Familial Similarities of Changes in Cognitive, Behavioral, and Physiological Variables in a Cardiovascular Health Promotion Program

A number of studies have demonstrated that physiological andbehavioral cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors aggregatewithin families. This fact, and the potential mediating rolethat the family plays in behavior change, have led to the developmentof family-based CVD risk reduction programs, including the SanDiego Family Health Project. The aggregation of behavioral,physiological, and cognitive changes within families was assessedduring a 1-year intervention. We found evidence of modest butsignificant aggregation of change. There was more aggregationof change in behavioral variables than in physiological or cognitivevariables. More significant correlations were found among 3-dayfood record measures than among 24-hour recall dietary measures,suggesting an influence of assessment method. Aggregation ofchange within families was stronger within generations thanacross generations. These data point to the importance of involvingall age groups in health promotion programs.     

Planned lesbian families: their desire and motivation to have children

BACKGROUND: There is no information about the desire and motivation for children among planned lesbian families. The overall aim of this research was to examine whether planned lesbian families differ from heterosexual families in desire and motivation to have a child. The reason for studying this is that desire and motivation to have children are characteristics that are supposed to effect parenting and the parent-child relationship. METHODS: A total of 100 lesbian two-mother families were compared with 100 heterosexual families. All data were collected by means of questionnaires. RESULTS: Lesbian parents and heterosexual parents rank their parenthood quite similarly; however, happiness is significantly more important for lesbian mothers than it is for heterosexual parents and identity development is less important for lesbian mothers than it is for heterosexual parents. Furthermore, compared with heterosexual parents, lesbian parents had spent more time thinking about their motives for having children, and their desire to have a child was stronger. CONCLUSIONS: Lesbian parents especially differ from heterosexual parents in that their desire to have a child is much stronger. The study's findings may be helpful for counsellors in their work to inform and assist lesbian couples in their decision to have a child.     

Family and Illness Predictors of Outcome in Pediatric Brain Tumors

Investigated the prediction of cognitive and behavioral outcomesin 63 children with heterogenous brain tumors. Hierarchicalmultiple regression analyses were used to determine how family-relatedvariables added to the prediction of children's outcome overand above illness measures. The best predictors of children'sbehavior problems and adaptive behavior were family and demographicvariables, whereas the best predictors of achievement were illnessand demographic variables. A combination of family and illnessvariables, however, was the best predictor of intellectual functioning.In addition to identifying specific predictors of cognitiveand behavioral outcome in children with brain tumors, theseresults lend initial support for the inclusion of contextualfactors such as family stress, maternal coping, number of parentsin the home, and family SES measures in studies of how diseasefactors affect outcomes in pediatric brain tumor patients.     

Comparison of agonistic flare-up-protocol and antagonistic multiple dose protocol in ovarian stimulation of poor responders: results of a prospective randomized trial

The management of poor responders in IVF has always been a big problem. The ideal approach has yet to be formulated. In this study we aim to compare two alternative stimulation protocols. A total of 48 poor responder patients described from previous cycles were included and grouped into two: group I consisted of 24 patients in 24 cycles in which leuprolide acetate (40 microg s.c. per day) was initiated on cycle day 2 followed by exogenous gonadotrophins on cycle day 3; group II consisted of 24 patients in 24 cycles in which ovarian stimulation included gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist (cetrorelix, 0.25 mg daily during late follicular phase) administration. While only the oestradiol concentrations on the day of HCG were lower in group II compared with group I, the clinical pregnancy and implantation rates among groups did not show any significance. The impact of these two regimens in ovarian stimulation of poor responders seem to be same and to establish these results further randomized studies with larger sample sizes are required.     

A Contextual Family/Systems Approach to Pediatric Psychology: Introduction to the Special Issue

Introduced the special issue on "Family System in PediatricPsychology" by organizing the papers around a series of themesrelevant to understanding families in pediatric psychology.Themes reflect the relationships between parent and child adjustment,family subsystems, legacies and traditions, social support systems,family interventions, the constancy of change in families, thechallenges of conducting longitudinal research, the inclusionof fathers, and the importance of a competency framework inpediatric family psychology. The paper concludes with recommendationsfor pediatric family psychology, including suggestions for increasingdiversity, expanding methodological approaches, and enhancingfamily competence.     

Molecular analysis of HLA-D region genes in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis

Analysis of HLA DRB1 and DQB1 Bam HI RFLPs revealed four DRB1 (4.8, 5.2, 6.0 and 7.0 kb) fragments and a 3.2 kb DQB1 fragment to be significantly increased in Caucasians with seropositive RA compared to healthy individuals. The 4.8, 5.2 and 7.0 kb DRB1 fragments were found in 86.5% of RA patients and in 56% of the controls (p = 10(-3), relative risk (RR) = 5.0), while the 6.0 kb fragment was found in 79% of RA patients compared to 32% of controls (p = 2 x 10(-5), RR = 8.0). The 3.2 kb DQB1 fragment was observed in 63.5% of RA patients versus 38.0% of controls (p = 10(-2), RR = 2.8). Analysis of these fragments relative to HLA phenotypes revealed that the 4.8, 5.2 and 7.0 kb DRB1 fragments were strongly correlated with DR4, -7, -9 and -w53 serotypes, the 6.0 kb RFLP with DR4 and the 3.2 kb DQB1 fragment with DR1 and DQw1. Using probes specific for the 5' or 3' regions of the DRB1 gene, the 5.2 and 6.0 kb DRB RFLPs were mapped to the 5' end and the 4.8 and 7.0 kb RFLPs to the 3' end of the DRB1 gene. A probe generated from the second exon of the DRB4 (DRw53) gene recognized only the 5.2 and the 6.0 kb RFLPs corroborating the 5' location of these RFLPs. Family studies further confirmed that these RFLP's segregated with HLA phenotypes.     

学习优秀与学习不良大学生的学习动机、自我效能和归因的比较

目的：探讨大学生成绩不良的原因和转化途径。方法：用学习动机量表、自我效能感量表和学习归因量表对学习优秀和学习不良的大学生进行测量和对比。结果：①学习优秀的大学生比学习不良的大学生的内部动机强，但两类大学生在外部动机上无差异；②学习优秀的大学生的能力和行为的自我效能水平都比学习不良的大学生高；③在成功归因和失败归因方面，两类大学生无差异。结论：采取措施提高学习不良学生学习的内部动机和自我效能水平，是转化大学生学习不良状况的必要环节。     

农村妇女就医选择行为的影响因素——基于2018年CFPS数据分析

目的 为引导农村妇女合理有序就医,本文基于计划行为理论框架探索其就医选择行为的影响因素。方法 运用2018年中国家庭追踪调查数据,采用二元Probit回归、Bootstrap抽样方法对农村妇女就医选择行为的影响因素进行研究。结果 农村妇女的就医选择行为受到其主观态度、结构性因素和知觉行为控制因素的正向影响（β = 0.403,0.388,0.096,P＜0.05）,医疗自付费用支出在农村妇女主观态度及其就医选择行为间起部分中介作用（β = 0.135,95%CI: 0.026～0.054）。 结论 农村妇女就医选择行为受到主观态度、结构性因素和知觉行为控制因素的影响,应加大健康教育宣传力度;合理统筹医联体医保政策;夯实农村基层首诊制度,推进基层医院家庭医生签约服务,提升农村基层医疗卫生服务利用效率,对农村妇女就医选择行为进行有针对性的干预。     

Accounting for Intergenerational Cascade Testing in Economic Evaluations of Clinical Genomics: A Scoping Review

ObjectivesClinical genomics is emerging as a diagnostic tool in the identification of blood relatives at risk of developing heritable diseases. Our objective was to identify how genetic cascade screening has been incorporated into health economic evaluations.MethodsA scoping review was conducted to identify how multiple generations of a family were included in economic evaluations of clinical genomic sequencing, how many and which relatives were included, and uptake rates. Databases were searched for full economic evaluations of genetic interventions that screened multiple generations of families and were in English language, and no restrictions were made for disease or publication type. Data were synthesized using a narrative approach.ResultsTwenty-five studies were included covering a range of diseases in various countries. Markov cohort models were mostly used with hypothetical populations and unsupported by clinical evidence. Cascade testing was either the primary intervention or secondary to the index cases. The number and type of relatives were based on assumptions or identified through population or family records, clinical registry data, or clinical literature. Studies included only immediate family members and the uptake of testing ranged between 20% and 100%. All interventions were reported as cost-effective, and a higher number of relatives was a key driver.ConclusionsSeveral economic evaluations have considered the impacts of cascade testing interventions within clinical genomics. Ideally, models supported with high-quality clinical data are needed and, in their absence, transparent and justifiable assumptions of uptake rates and choices about including relatives. Consideration of more appropriate modeling types is required.     

Stigma in place: Black gay men's experiences of the rural South

Black gay men (MSM) in the rural United States South are inequitably burdened by stigmatization and the HIV epidemic. Drawing from twelve oral history interviews with middle-aged and older Black gay narrators from rural North Carolina, this research explores the impact of sexual marginalization and the HIV epidemic on lived experiences of the rural South. Despite describing increasingly empowered views of HIV and sexual health, narrators expressed persistent difficulty managing social determinants of HIV vulnerability—sexual stigma and disconnection from LGBTQ collectivity. Narrators reported better managing sexual marginalization over their lifetimes in urban settings and places outside of the South such as New York (NY). This research suggests stressful structural and interpersonal experiences of stigma may define lived experiences of particular settings.