Hydrography from Fisheries Surveys: Filling coverage gaps with bathymetry extracted from Simrad EK60 water column data

The collection of available fisheries acoustic data holds significant seafloor mapping potential. We estimate that in the Northeast United States, Simrad EK60 data from the NOAA Fisheries fleet could increase bathymetric coverage by as much as nine percent. This article describes initial automated processes and techniques used to: extract the seafloor from Simrad EK60 water column data collected with NOAA Fisheries vessels, obtain and apply best available information to realize the seafloor relative to chart datum, and verify the outcome with existing qualified bathymetry.La recopilación de los datos acústicos disponibles sobre pesca encierra un importante potencial de cartografía de los fondos marinos. Estimamos que en el Noreste de los Estados Unidos, los datos del Simrad EK60 de la flota pesquera de la NOAA podrían aumentar la cobertura batimétrica hasta un 9%. Este artículo describe los procesos y técnicas automatizados iniciales utilizados para: extraer el fondo marino desde los datos de la columna registrados por el Simrad EK60 recogidos con los barcos de pesca de la NOAA, obtener y aplicar la mejor información disponible para reconocer el fondo marino en relación con el datum de la carta y verificar el resultado con la batimetría cualificada existente.L’ensemble disponible de données acoustiques issues de la pêche représente un potentiel significatif pour la cartographie du fond marin. Nous estimons que dans le nord-est des Etats-Unis, les données Simrad EK60 issues de la flotte de pêche de la NOAA pourraient accroître la couverture bathymétrique jusqu’à neuf pourcent. Le présent article décrit les processus et techniques automatisés initiaux utilisés pour : extraire les données relatives au fond marin à partir des données de la colonne d’eau Simrad EK60 qui sont collectées par les navires de pêche de la NOAA, obtenir et appliquer les meilleures informations disponibles pour réaliser la cartographie du fond marin par rapport au zéro des cartes, et vérifier le résultat avec les données bathymétriques homologuées existantes

Current Dyspnea Among Long-Term Survivors of Early-Stage Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

IntroductionDyspnea is common among lung cancer patients. As most studies of dyspnea have reviewed patients with active cancer or immediately after treatment, its prevalence during the longer-term period once treatment has been completed is not well characterized. This study quantifies the prevalence of dyspnea among lung cancer survivors and identifies potential correlates that may be amenable to intervention.MethodsCross-sectional survey of 342 patients with disease-free, stage I, non-small cell lung cancer, assessed 1 to 6 years after surgical resection. Dyspnea was quantified using the Baseline Dyspnea Index. Any moderate/strenuous physical activity was measured using the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire. Mood disorder symptoms were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine demographic, medical, and health-related correlates of dyspnea.ResultsMean age was 68.9 years. Average predicted preoperative forced expiratory volume in 1 second was 89.0%. Current dyspnea, defined by a Baseline Dyspnea Index score of 9 or less, existed among 205 (60%) individuals. For 133 (65%) of these patients, dyspnea was absent preoperatively. Multivariate correlates of current dyspnea included preoperative dyspnea (odds ratio [OR] = 5.31), preoperative diffusing capacity (OR = 0.98), lack of moderate/strenuous physical activity (OR = 0.41), and the presence of clinically significant depression symptoms (OR = 4.10).ConclusionsDyspnea is common 1 to 6 years after lung cancer resection, and is associated with the presence of preoperative dyspnea, reduced diffusing capacity, clinically significant depression symptoms, and lack of physical activity. Further research is needed to test whether strategies that identify and treat patients with these conditions attenuate dyspnea among lung cancer survivors

Physical, psychological, and social sequelae following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a review of the literature

Objective: This article reviews recent literature on adults' quality of life following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Methods: We identified 22 prospective reports with at least 20 participants at baseline through a search of databases (Medline and PsycInfo) and handsearching of articles published from 2002 to October 2007. If longitudinal data were not available or were scarce for a particular topic or time point, cross-sectional studies were reviewed. Results: Although physical, psychological, and social aspects of quality of life tend to improve during the years following transplantation, a significant proportion of HSCT survivors experience persistent anxiety and depressive symptoms, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, and fertility concerns. Despite ongoing treatment side effects, the majority of HSCT survivors resume their work, school, or household activities. Conclusion: We conclude that theory-driven research with larger samples is needed to identify subgroups of HSCT survivors with adjustment difficulties. Such research would examine survivors' evolving standards and definitions of quality of life to improve the accuracy and meaningfulness of assessment and incorporate biological, psychological, and contextual factors that may contribute to positive adjustment. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Effectiveness of partner social support predicts enduring psychological distress after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Objective: Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) survivors who are 1 to 3 years posttransplant are challenged by the need to resume valued social roles and activities—a task that may be complicated by enduring transplant-related psychological distress common in this patient population. The present study investigated whether transplant survivors who receive adequate social support from their spouse or intimate partner experience lower distress. Method: Effects of receiving a greater quantity of partner support (a common approach to studying enacted support) were compared with effects of receiving more effective partner support (i.e., support that more closely matches their needs in terms of its quantity and quality). Men and women (N = 230) who were 1 to 3 years posttransplant completed measures of partner support quantity (Manne & Schnoll, 2001), partner social support effectiveness (Rini & Dunkel Schetter, 2010), and psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory; Derogatis & Spencer, 1982). Potential medical and sociodemographic confounds were controlled in analyses. Results: As hypothesized, survivors reported less distress when they received more effective partner support (p < .001). Quantity of partner support was not associated with distress (p = .23). An interaction revealed that when partner support was effective, the quantity of support survivors received was not associated with their distress (p = .90); however, when partner support was ineffective, receiving a greater quantity of partner support was associated with substantially elevated distress (p = .002). Conclusions: Findings suggest that clinical approaches to addressing or preventing enduring distress after HSCT should target features of partner support related to its appraised effectiveness

A bereavement support group intervention: Effects on bereavement-specific situational coping and associations of dispositional coping style and situational coping with psychological distress and immune function in bereaved HIV seronegative and seropositive gay men

Operating from a theoretical model comprising life stressors, social support, and coping style as variables (SSC model) accounting for significant proportions of the variance in psychological distress, specific immune system measures, and clinical health status in HIV-infected individuals, this dissertation investigated coping behavior and associations of coping with psychological distress and immune function in a controlled bereavement support group intervention for 172 bereaved HIV seropositive and seronegative gay or bisexual men. Subjects were assessed pre- and postintervention ten weeks later, and separate grief and mood disturbance measures were used. Immune measures were a number of CD4 cells, natural killer cell cytotoxicity, and lymphocyte proliferative response to PHA. The first hypothesis, which predicted that the intervention changed bereavement-specific, situationally-framed coping, was not supported. Potential explanations for nonsignificance were that, first, data reduction needs required the use of composites to form active coping and disengagement/denial variables and, second, tests of composite subscales were not conducted and may have yielded significant effects. Disengagement/denial and an emotion-focused coping strategy, venting, showed significant time-dependent declines, but only venting continued to show a significant decline when controlling for other relevant variables.Exploratory analyses showed that participation in the intervention, increases in active coping, and decreases in disengagement/denial coping were associated with decreases in distressed mood and grief. HIV seropositive status was significantly associated with increases in distressed mood, but not grief. Changes in immune parameters were not reliably associated with changes in coping, but increments in CD4 cell count were associated with lower levels of negative background stressors. Higher levels of grief were associated with decrements in NKCC%.The second hypothesis posited that a baseline measure of dispositional coping style would be significantly related to Time 2 psychological distress and immune function. The hypothesis was not supported by analyses, which indicated that the coping style variable, a composite composed of both coping and noncoping measures, was confounded with distress and had modest correlations with other dispositional coping variables. As such, the hypothesized role for dispositional coping style was not rigorously tested, but a proposed reconfiguration of the variable would permit a better test.Despite nonsignificant findings for the main hypotheses, exploratory analyses yielded findings that may inform the ongoing research endeavors of the larger study upon which this dissertation was based, as well as future studies examining the complex interplay of grief, depressed mood, immune function, and bereavement in HIV disease

A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of a Bereavement Support Group Intervention in Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1–Seropositive and –Seronegative Homosexual Men

BACKGROUND Bereavement is a severe and frequent stressor among those infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and those affected by the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome epidemic. This study examined the impact of a research-derived, semistructured, bereavement support group among HIV-1–seropositive and HIV-1–seronegative homosexual men having lost a close friend or intimate partner to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome within the prior 6 months. METHODS A total of 166 subjects (97 HIV-1 seropositive; 69 HIV-1 seronegative) were randomly assigned to groups of homogeneous HIV-1 serostatus or to their respective control group. Subjects were assessed at entry and at 10 weeks with psychosocial questionnaires, a semistructured interview for psychopathology, a medical history and physical examination, urine collection, and phlebotomy. RESULTS For a composite score of psychological distress and grief as well as the distress component, scores were significantly lower after the intervention by analyses against baseline scores, with and without control variables for other factors affecting distress level. A significant reduction in grief level was found only in the analysis that included control variables. Control subjects showed no significant decrements in overall distress, although a significant decrement in grief level was observed. CONCLUSION A brief group intervention can significantly reduce overall distress and accelerate grief reduction in a sample of bereaved subjects unselected for psychopathology or at high risk for subsequent maladjustment.Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999;56:52-59--

A Research Derived Bereavement Support Group Technique for the Hiv-1 Infected

A brief, semi-structured, bereavement support group for HIV seropositive and at risk homosexual men suffering a recent loss of a close friend or lover is described. The intervention employed a set of topics to stimulate group discussion. These topics were organized into three phases: making contact, venting of emotion, and “moving on.” Our predictive theoretical model integrating life stressor appraisal, social support availability, and active coping was incorporated. Therapeutic foci are active monitoring of stressor load; accurate stressor appraisal; extending, using and evaluating one's social support network; and selection of adaptive coping strategies. Three vignettes illustrate the integration of the research protocol with clinical issues. Implications for clinical care are discussed