The protective function of meaning of life on life satisfaction among Chinese students in Australia and Hong Kong: a cross-cultural comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: The authors compared the predictive effects of acculturative stressors and meaning of life on life satisfaction between Chinese students in Australia and in Hong Kong. PARTICIPANTS: In 2006, the researchers recruited 606 Chinese students studying abroad at the University of Melbourne in Australia and at 6 universities in Hong Kong. METHODS: Participants completed a questionnaire that included measures of acculturative stressors, meaning of life, life satisfaction, and demographic information. RESULTS: The Australian sample experienced a significantly higher level of acculturative stressors than did the Hong Kong sample, but life satisfaction did not differ significantly between the 2 samples. Meaning of life had a strong positive contribution and acculturative stressors had a negative contribution in predicting life satisfaction in both samples. Meaning of life partially mediated the relationship between acculturative stressors and life satisfaction in both samples. CONCLUSIONS: The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications for Chinese students studying abroad.published_or_final_versio

Oral cancer: role of the basement membrane in invasion

The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Invasive growth of cancer cells is a complex process involving specific interactions between tumour cells and the orderly, integrated complexes of the extracellular matrix. Basement membranes have been proposed as one constituent of extra-cellular matrix which carries responsibility for regulating invasion and metastasis.David F. Wilson, Jiang De-Jun, Angela M. Pierce and Ole W. Wiebki

Analysis of factors influencing the ultrasonic fetal weight estimation

Objective: The aim of our study was the evaluation of sonographic fetal weight estimation taking into consideration 9 of the most important factors of influence on the precision of the estimation. Methods: We analyzed 820 singleton pregnancies from 22 to 42 weeks of gestational age. We evaluated 9 different factors that potentially influence the precision of sonographic weight estimation ( time interval between estimation and delivery, experts vs. less experienced investigator, fetal gender, gestational age, fetal weight, maternal BMI, amniotic fluid index, presentation of the fetus, location of the placenta). Finally, we compared the results of the fetal weight estimation of the fetuses with poor scanning conditions to those presenting good scanning conditions. Results: Of the 9 evaluated factors that may influence accuracy of fetal weight estimation, only a short interval between sonographic weight estimation and delivery (0-7 vs. 8-14 days) had a statistically significant impact. Conclusion: Of all known factors of influence, only a time interval of more than 7 days between estimation and delivery had a negative impact on the estimation

ITI-007 demonstrates brain occupancy at serotonin 5-HT2A and dopamine D2 receptors and serotonin transporters using positron emission tomography in healthy volunteers

© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.Rationale: Central modulation of serotonin and dopamine underlies efficacy for a variety of psychiatric therapeutics. ITI-007 is an investigational new drug in development for treatment of schizophrenia, mood disorders, and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine brain occupancy of ITI-007 at serotonin 5-HT2A receptors, dopamine D2 receptors, and serotonin transporters using positron emission tomography (PET) in 16 healthy volunteers. Methods: Carbon-11-MDL100907, carbon-11-raclopride, and carbon-11-3-amino-4-(2-dimethylaminomethyl-phenylsulfanyl)-benzonitrile) (carbon-11-DASB) were used as the radiotracers for imaging 5-HT2A receptors, D2 receptors, and serotonin transporters, respectively. Brain regions of interest were outlined using magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) with cerebellum as the reference region. Binding potentials were estimated by fitting a simplified reference tissue model to the measured tissue-time activity curves. Target occupancy was expressed as percent change in the binding potentials before and after ITI-007 administration. Results: Oral ITI-007 (10-40 mg) was safe and well tolerated. ITI-007 rapidly entered the brain with long-lasting and dose-related occupancy. ITI-007 (10 mg) demonstrated high occupancy (>80 %) of cortical 5-HT2A receptors and low occupancy of striatal D2 receptors (~12 %). D2 receptor occupancy increased with dose and significantly correlated with plasma concentrations (r 2∈=∈0.68, p∈=∈0.002). ITI-007 (40 mg) resulted in peak occupancy up to 39 % of striatal D2 receptors and 33 % of striatal serotonin transporters. Conclusions: The results provide evidence for a central mechanism of action via dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways for ITI-007 in living human brain and valuable information to aid dose selection for future clinical trials

Methylphenidate and the risk of psychotic disorders and hallucinations in children and adolescents in a large health system

Previous studies have suggested that risk of psychotic events may be increased in children exposed to methylphenidate (MPH). However, this risk has not been fully examined and the possibility of confounding factors has not been excluded. Patients aged 6-19 years who received at least one MPH prescription were identified using Hong Kong population-based electronic medical records on the Clinical Data Analysis & Reporting System (2001-2014). Using the self-controlled case series design, relative incidence of psychotic events was calculated comparing periods when patients were exposed to MPH with non-exposed periods. Of 20 586 patients prescribed MPH, 103 had an incident psychotic event; 72 (69.9%) were male and 31 (30.1%) female. The mean age at commencement of observation was 6.95 years and the mean follow-up per participant was 10.16 years. On average, each participant was exposed to MPH for 2.17 years. The overall incidence of psychotic events during the MPH exposure period was 6.14 per 10 000 patient-years. No increased risk was found during MPH exposed compared to non-exposed periods (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.02 (0.53-1.97)). However, an increased risk was found during the pre-exposure period (IRR 4.64 (2.17-9.92)). Results were consistent across all sensitivity analyses. This study does not support the hypothesis that MPH increases risk of incident psychotic events. It does indicate an increased risk of psychotic events prior to the first prescription of MPH, which may be due to an association between psychotic events and the behavioural and attentional symptoms that led to psychiatric assessment and initiation of MPH treatment

How managers can build trust in strategic alliances: a meta-analysis on the central trust-building mechanisms

Trust is an important driver of superior alliance performance. Alliance managers are influential in this regard because trust requires active involvement, commitment and the dedicated support of the key actors involved in the strategic alliance. Despite the importance of trust for explaining alliance performance, little effort has been made to systematically investigate the mechanisms that managers can use to purposefully create trust in strategic alliances. We use Parkhe’s (1998b) theoretical framework to derive nine hypotheses that distinguish between process-based, characteristic-based and institutional-based trust-building mechanisms. Our meta-analysis of 64 empirical studies shows that trust is strongly related to alliance performance. Process-based mechanisms are more important for building trust than characteristic- and institutional-based mechanisms. The effects of prior ties and asset specificity are not as strong as expected and the impact of safeguards on trust is not well understood. Overall, theoretical trust research has outpaced empirical research by far and promising opportunities for future empirical research exist

'Being there' for women with metastatic breast cancer: a pan-European patient survey

BACKGROUND: Understanding their experiences of diagnosis is integral to improving the quality of care for women living with advanced/metastatic breast cancer. METHODS: A survey, initiated in March 2011, was conducted in two stages. First, the views of 47 breast cancer-related patient groups in eight European countries were sought on standards of breast cancer care and unmet needs of patients. Findings were used to develop a patient-centric survey to capture personal experiences of advanced breast cancer to determine insights into the ‘trade-off' between extending overall survival and side effects associated with its treatment. The second online survey was open to women with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, or their carers, and responders were recruited through local patient groups. Data were collected via anonymous local language questionnaires. RESULTS: The online stage II survey received a total of 230 responses from 17 European countries: 94% of respondents had locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer and 6% were adult carers. Although the overall experience of care was generally good/excellent (77%), gaps were still perceived in terms of treatment choice and information provision. Treatment choice for patients was felt to be lacking by 32% of responders. In addition, 68% of those who responded would have liked more information about future medical treatments and research, with 57% wishing to receive this information from their oncologist. Two-thirds (66%) of women with advanced breast cancer, or their carers, believed life-extending treatment to be important so that they can spend more time with family and friends, and 67% said that the treatment was worthwhile, despite potential associated side effects. CONCLUSION: These findings show a continuing need to provide women with advanced breast cancer with better information and emphasise the importance that these patients often place on prolonging survival

The role of expertise in dynamic risk assessment: A reflection of the problem-solving strategies used by experienced fireground commanders

Although the concept of dynamic risk assessment has in recent times become more topical in the training manuals of most high risk domains, only a few empirical studies have reported how experts actually carry out this crucial task. The knowledge gap between research and practice in this area therefore calls for more empirical investigation within the naturalistic environment. In this paper, we present and discuss the problem solving strategies employed by sixteen experienced operational firefighters using a qualitative knowledge elicitation tool — the critical decision method. Findings revealed that dynamic risk assessment is not merely a process of weighing the risks of a proposed course of action against its benefits, but rather an experiential and pattern recognition process. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of designing training curriculum for the less experienced officers using the elicited expert knowledge