Adequacy of Depression Treatment in Spouses of Cancer Survivors: Findings From a Nationally Representative US Survey

Background Recent research suggests that mental health problems in spouses of cancer survivors are associated with worse mental health in the survivors themselves. Adequately treating spousal mental health problems therefore represents an opportunity to improve outcomes for both cancer survivors and their co-surviving family members. Objective Using nationally representative data, this study sought to determine how depression treatment differs between spouses of cancer survivors with depression compared to the general married population and assess rural/urban disparities in treatment. Design The design of the study is cross sectional. Participants Data are from the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey, a household-based survey of US adults; we concatenated data from 2004 to 2013. We identified spouses of cancer survivors (n = 225) and a comparison group of married adults (n = 3678). Main Measures Key measures included depression, guideline concordance of depression treatment (at least four prescriptions related to depression treatment, or at least eight psychotherapy or counseling visits), and sociodemographic characteristics. Logistic regressions evaluated the association between whether their spouse had cancer and receipt of guideline-concordant treatment, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics; secondary analyses included rurality as a moderator. Analyses were weighted to account for the complex sampling design. Key Results Spouses of cancer survivors were 33% less likely to receive guideline-concordant depression treatment than comparison spouses (odds ratio (OR) 0.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45–0.99), controlling for covariates. Rural-urban disparities were observed: rural spouses of cancer survivors were 72% less likely to receive guideline-concordant treatment (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.11–0.68) than rural comparison spouses. Spouses of cancer survivors and comparison spouses were no different in their receipt of any treatment versus no treatment. Conclusions Spouses of cancer survivors with depression may be at increased risk of non-guideline-concordant depression treatment, particularly in rural areas. The findings have implications for identifying and educating individuals with depression in primary care and other clinical areas

Dolphin-Assisted Therapy: More Flawed Data and More Flawed Conclusions

Dolphin-Assisted Therapy (DAT) is an increasingly popular choice of treatment for illness and developmental disabilities by providing participants with the opportunity to swim or interact with live captive dolphins. Two reviews of DAT (Marino and Lilienfeld [1998] and Humphries [2003]) concluded that there is no credible scientific evidence for the effectiveness of this intervention. In this paper, we offer an update of the methodological status of DAT by reviewing five peer-reviewed DAT studies published in the last eight years. We found that all five studies were methodologically flawed and plagued by several threats to both internal and construct validity. We conclude that nearly a decade following our initial review, there remains no compelling evidence that DAT is a legitimate therapy or that it affords any more than fleeting improvements in mood

Singing Our Song: The Affordances of Singing in an Intergenerational, Multimodal Literacy Program

This exploratory case study examined singing as a multimodal literacy practice within ensembles that featured art, singing and digital media produced in an intergenerational program that served a class of kindergarten children and community elders. The program that was set up by the study in collaboration with a rural school and home for seniors, saw participants meet one afternoon a week for most of a school year. Study questions concerned the meaning making and relationship-building opportunities afforded to the participants as they worked through chains of multimodal projects. Data were collected using ethnographic tools in the seniors’ home where the projects were completed and in the kindergarten where project content and tools were introduced to the children and extended by the classroom teacher. Themes were identified through the juxtaposition of field texts in relation to the literature and study questions. Results indicate that singing provided opportunities for participants to form relationships and share meaning making as a group while combining modes. Study findings forward the communicative power of singing and suggest how singing, when viewed through a multimodal lens might be a potent tool for multimodal literacy learning

The Effect of Tai Chi on Dynamic Balance in Younger Adults: Implication for Physical Therapy Practice

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of Tai Chi on the dynamic balance in younger, active community-based adults with no history of lower extremity injury or balance problems. Methods: Fourteen subjects (4 males / 10 females; age 23.6 + 6.2 years-old; height 166.5 ± 11.1 cm; weight 75.9 ± 19.3 kg) completed a 13-week undergraduate Tai Chi course. Dynamic balance was assessed at the beginning and the end of the course using the Y-Balance test. Results: Post-hoc testing showed significant improvements in anterior (P=0.007) and posterior lateral (P=0.003) reach distances with a Cohen’s d at 0.54 and 0.71 for the anterior and posterior lateral, respectively with significant improvement in right composite compared to left composite (P\u3c0.0001). Cohen’s d was 0.51 and 1.38 for the left and right composite score, respectively. Conclusions: These findings suggest that Tai Chi may be useful as an exercise regimen to increase anterior and posterior lateral dynamic balance in balance-dependent activity as measured by the Y Balance Test. The authors champion that Tai Chi may be a useful addition for a physical therapy treatment plan, preventative exercise plan, or wellness program to increase anterior and posterior lateral dynamic balance

Creating International Electronic Networks of Practice between US and Macedonia Finance Students

Current technology allows students to more easily develop and learn within a community environment. Extending this community across borders provides opportunities for collaboration and exposure to international business issues. A semester-long project pairing American and Macedonian undergraduates aimed at examining interactions within this virtual team network provided several lessons for future team research

The use of direct observation in functional behavior assessment

The present study is an investigation into the use of observational strategies as they apply to functional behavior assessment. In addition to highlighting the key observational methods, practical issues that affect the development of an observational instrument are discussed. Furthermore, the factors that influence the reliability and validity of an observation session are discussed. Suggestions are provided for practitioners who are observing the instructional, social, and physical factors that may influence a student\u27s behavior within the classroom. Finally, this study will demonstrate how assessment knowledge, which is gained through direct observation, can be tied to effective classroom interventions

A general strategy for discovery of inhibitors and activators of RING and U-box E3 ligases with ubiquitin variants

RING and U-box E3 ubiquitin ligases regulate diverse eukaryotic processes and have been implicated in numerous diseases, but targeting these enzymes remains a major challenge. We report the development of three ubiquitin variants (UbVs), each binding selectively to the RING or U-box domain of a distinct E3 ligase: monomeric UBE4B, phosphorylated active CBL, or dimeric XIAP. Structural and biochemical analyses revealed that UbVs specifically inhibited the activity of UBE4B or phosphorylated CBL by blocking the E2∼Ub binding site. Surprisingly, the UbV selective for dimeric XIAP formed a dimer to stimulate E3 activity by stabilizing the closed E2∼Ub conformation. We further verified the inhibitory and stimulatory functions of UbVs in cells. Our work provides a general strategy to inhibit or activate RING/U-box E3 ligases and provides a resource for the research community to modulate these enzymes

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Do Zoos and Aquariums Promote Attitude Change in Visitors? A Critical Evaluation of the American Zoo and Aquarium Study

Modern-day zoos and aquariums market themselves as places of education and conservation. A recent study conducted by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) (Falk et al., 2007) is being widely heralded as the first direct evidence that visits to zoos and aquariums produce long-term positive effects on people’s attitudes toward other animals. In this paper, we address whether this conclusion is warranted by analyzing the study’s methodological soundness. We conclude that Falk et al. (2007) contains at least six major threats to methodological validity that undermine the authors’ conclusions. There remains no compelling evidence for the claim that zoos and aquariums promote attitude change, education, or interest in conservation in visitors, although further investigation of this possibility using methodologically sophisticated designs is warranted