Learned resourcefulness, academic stress, academic performance and coping responses

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between personal dispositions, academic stress, academic performance, cognitive appraisals, and coping responses. The study consisted of three parts. The purpose of study I was to examine whether academic attributional style, locus of control, learned resourcefulness, and academic stress each predict academic performance as indicated by a student\u27s grade point average (GPA). A second aim of the study was to examine the moderating effect of learned resourcefulness on the academic stress / academic performance relationship. In the study, 141 first-year undergraduate students from the University of Wollongong completed a set of questionnaires including the Academic Attributional Style Questionnaire (AASQ; Peterson & Barrett, 1987), IPC Scales (Levenson, 1985), Self-Control Schedule (SCS, Rosenbaum, 1980), and the Undergraduate Stress Questionnaire (USQ, Crandall, Preisler & Aussprung, 1992). Research showed that academic stress was negatively associated with academic performance. The negative effect of academic stress on academic performance was moderated by learned resourcefulness. A high level of academic stress was associated with a low GPA in low resourceful students but not in high resourceful students. Study II examined the effect of situation and learned resourcefulness on students\u27 coping responses. Two hundred and fifty-five students participated in the study. Students completed the Self-Control Schedule (SCS, Rosenbaum, 1980) and the revised Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ; Folkman & Lazarus, 1988). Students reported their coping responses when they had an exam or an unsatisfactory exam result. Findings indicated that situation and learned resourcefulness had a significant effect on coping responses. Students tended to use more confrontive coping, more escape-avoidance, and more seeking social support in the situation of having an exam compared to the situation of having an unsatisfactory exam result. High resourceful students used more planful problem solving, more positive reappraisal and less escapeavoidance than low resourceful students did. Study III examined the effect of situation and learned resourcefulness on students\u27 cognitive appraisals and their coping responses with an intra-individua! design. A hundred and ten students completed appraisal-related emotions scales (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985) and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire for three different exam situations: 1) having an exam in a week\u27s time; 2) waiting for an exam result that is possibly a pass or a fail marginally; and 3) having an unsatisfactory exam result. Results revealed that students appraised having an exam situation as less threatening and more challenging, whereas a negative outcome situation was evaluated as more threatening, more harmful and less beneficial compared to other situations. High resourceful students perceived these situations as more challenging than low resourceful students did. Situation and learned resourcefulness also had a significant effect on coping responses. Students utilised more planful problem solving, more positive reappraisal, and more seeking social support in the situation of having an exam, compared to the situations of waiting for an ambiguous exam result and having a negative exam result. They relied on more distancing in the waiting situation, and they accepted more responsibility in the situation of having an unsatisfactory exam result. Consistent with the results of study II, high resourceful students tended to use more planful problem solving, more positive reappraisal, more seeking social support, and less escape-avoidance than low resourceful students. The findings provide support for the transactional theory indicating the effect of situational and personal (learned resourcefulness) factors on cognitive appraisals and coping responses. The results also suggest that high resourceful students can minimise or control the detrimental effect of academic stress on their academic performance. They appraise the stressful situations as challenging and they exhibit an adaptive coping pattern. It appears that it would be profitable to teach students resourcefulness skills

A case of Scabies with Lesions Resembling Perforating Folliculitis and Uremic Pruritus

Scabies is an infestation caused by Sarcoptes scabiei and characterised by polymorphous lesions that may include burrows, papules, pustules, crusts and excoriations. Several pruritic diseases may be confused with scabies. Herein, we present a case of scabies with lesions resembling perforating folliculitis diagnosed on the basis of both clinical and histopathological view. A 72-year-old man with type 2 diabetes mellitus and receiving hemodialysis for ten years due to end-stage renal disease was admitted to our dermatology department with a 6-month history of severe pruritus. Based on the results of skin biopsy revealing Sarcoptes scabiei in the epidermis, the patient was diagnosed as scabies and was successfully treated with 5% permethrin. This case is presented to emphasize that scabies should be considered in the differential diagnosis in cases of chronic pruritus. (Turkderm 2010; 44: 164-6

Demographic Characteristics of the School-age Children With Voiding Dysfunction, and Diagnostic Role of Ultrasound per se

Background: To determine the demographic characteristics of school-age children with voiding dysfunction and to determine the diagnostic role of urinary ultrasonography alone. Methods: A questionnaire form was distributed to 5,000 students. Survey questions were prepared in 3 sections. In the first section, general information about the child was questioned. Demographic characteristics of the parents were included in the second section. In the last section, the child's urinary problems, accompanying constipation and familial predisposition were questioned. Results: A total of 4850 (97%) questionnaires were obtained. In 497 (10.2%) of the 4850 students’ data related to voiding dysfunction were detected. A total of 137 (31.7%) children could hold their urine (delayed their urination). Hundred and eighty (41.5%) children had daytime wetting by drops, while 99 (22.8%) of them could not hold their urine entirely during the daytime. Thirty-five percent (n=152) of the children felt urgent need to urinate. Seventy-one (16.4%) children were holding their urine by crossing their legs. Ninety-one (20.9%) children were having painful urination. Twenty-four (5.5%) children were urinating intermittently. Fifty-two (12.0%) children were involuntarily losing urine when they were coughing and laughing. Sixty-five (15%) children had the feeling that they could not empty their bladders. A total of 371 (85.5%) children were wet at night. Conclusion: Nearly half of the children with voiding dysfunction were observed to have similar problems in the family. The urinary system ultrasonography after from detailed history and physical examination will help us to make a diagnosis without the need for further evaluations

Neuroacanthocytosis: A case report

Neuroacanthocytosis is a rare inherited disorder. Neuroacanthocytosis consists of a group of rare neurodegenerative disorders associated with acanthocytosis on the pheripheral blood smear. Neuroacanthocytosis is characterized by a subcortical type of dementia. Patients with neuroacanthocytosis may experience personality alterations of a frontal type (with apathy, irritability, or impulsiveness). Psychosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and depression are less common. In this report, we aim to discuss a delayed diagnosed neuroacanthocytosis case with familial neurological features

Effects of muscle strengthening versus aerobic exercise program in fibromyalgia

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of aerobic training with a muscle-strengthening program in patients with fibromyalgia. Thirty women with fibromyalgia were randomized to either an aerobic exercise (AE) program or a strengthening exercise (SE) program for 8 weeks. Outcome measures included the intensity of fibromyalgia-related symptoms, tender point count, fitness (6-min walk distance), hospital anxiety and depression (HAD) scale, and short-form health survey (SF-36). There were significant improvements in both groups regarding pain, sleep, fatigue, tender point count, and fitness after treatment. HAD-depression scores improved significantly in both groups while no significant change occurred in HAD-anxiety scores. Bodily pain subscale of SF-36 and physical component summary improved significantly in the AE group, whereas seven subscales of SF-36, physical component summary, and mental component summary improved significantly in the SE group. When the groups were compared after treatment, there were no significant differences in pain, sleep, fatigue, tender point count, fitness, HAD scores, and SF-36 scores. AE and SE are similarly effective at improving symptoms, tender point count, fitness, depression, and quality of life in fibromyalgia

Outcomes of patients with anal cancer treated with volumetric-modulated arc therapy or intensity-modulated radiotherapy and concurrent chemotherapy

Aims: To evaluate the results of chemoradiation with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) or volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for the treatment of anal canal cancer patients at three institutions that had advanced devices. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed for patients treated with 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin-based chemotherapy and IMRT or VMAT for anal cancer from 2011 to 2013. Complete response (CR) rates, colostomy-free survival (CFS), disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicities were investigated. Toxicities were evaluated with the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, Version 3.0. Results: Fifteen patients were included in the analysis. The majority of patients had T2 (53.3%) and N0 (40%) disease according to the staging system that was developed by the American Joint Committee on Cancer. CR was observed in 14 patients (93%), and the median follow-up was 26 months (13-42 months). The 3-year CFS, DFS, and OS were 86%, 86%, and 88%, respectively. Acute Grade 3 toxicities were observed as 6% of hematological, 26% of gastrointestinal, and 26% of dermatological. Conclusion: Early results confirm that IMRT or VMAT for anal cancer treatment reduces acute toxicities while maintaining high control rates

Protective effects of cytokine combinations against the apoptotic activity of glucocorticoids on CD34(+) hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells

Haematopoietic stem cells can self-renew and produce progenitor cells, which have a high proliferation capacity. Chemotherapeutic drugs are toxic to normal cells as well as cancer cells, and glucocorticoids (GCs), which are essential drugs for many chemotherapeutic protocols, efficiently induce apoptosis not only in malignant cells but also in normal haematopoietic cells. Studies have shown that haematopoietic cytokines can prevent the apoptosis induced by chemotherapy and decrease the toxic effects of these drugs. However, the apoptosis induction mechanism of GCs in CD34(+) haematopoietic cells and the anti-apoptotic effects of cytokines have not been well elucidated. In this study, we investigated the apoptotic effects of GCs on CD34(+), a haematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC) population, and demonstrated the protective effects of haematopoietic cytokines. We used a cytokine cocktail containing early-acting cytokines, namely, interleukin-3 (IL-3), thrombopoietin, stem cell factor and flt3/flk2 ligand, and dexamethasone and prednisolone were used as GCs. Apoptotic mechanisms were assessed by immunohistochemical staining and quantified using H-scoring. Dexamethasone and prednisolone induced apoptosis in CD34(+) HSPCs. GC treatment caused a significant increase in apoptotic Fas, caspase-3, cytochrome c and Bax, but a significant decrease in anti-apoptotic Bcl-2. Furthermore, as expected, cytokines caused a significant decrease in all apoptotic markers and a significant increase in Bcl-2. Thus, our findings suggest that CD34(+) HSPCs are an extremely sensitive target for GCs and that cytokines protect these cells from GC-induced apoptosis