Personality and differential treatment response in major depression: a randomized controlled trial comparing cognitive-behavioural therapy and pharmacotherapy.

Objective: Effective treatments for major depressive disorder exist, yet some patients fail to respond, or achieve only partial response. One approach to optimizing treatment success is to identify which patients are more likely to respond best to which treatments. The objective of this investigation was to determine if patient personality characteristics are predictive of response to either cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) or pharmacotherapy (PHT).

Evidence for the cognitive mediational model of cognitive behavioural therapy for depression.

Background: Although empirical support for the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as a treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) is well established, its mechanism of action is uncertain. In this investigation, we examined evidence for the cognitive mediational model in a randomized control trial involving CBT, interpersonal therapy (IPT) and pharmacotherapy (PHT) in patients with MDD.

Method: One hundred and thirty participants diagnosed with MDD were treated with CBT, IPT or PHT.

The patterns and costs of the Da Vinci robotic surgery system in a large academic institution.

The da Vinci ™Robotic System (dVRS) is the latest advancement in laparoscopic surgery allowing the surgeon more accurate and precise control of instrumentation with an added three-dimensional image. Technology comes with a price, $1.3 million.

The association of affiliation and achievement personality styles with DSM-IV personality disorders.

Investigators from theoretically diverse backgrounds have long described two personality styles associated with depression. The affiliation style describes individuals with interpersonal concerns; the achievement style describes individuals who have concerns with personal failure. Although primarily related to risk for depression, there has also been recognition that extreme forms of these styles are related to personality disorders (PDs).

Self-criticism predicts differential response to treatment for major depression.

The authors examined the relationship between self-criticism, dependency, and treatment outcome for 102 participants who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) criteria for major depressive disorder. The participants were randomly assigned to receive either cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal therapy (IPT), or pharmacotherapy with clinical management (PHT-CM) and completed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (Blatt, D'Affilitti, & Quinlan, 1976), a measure of self-criticism and dependency, as part of a broader research protocol. Regression analyses indicated that among individuals in IPT, self-criticism predicted poorer treatment outcome based on depressive symptom severity measured using the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Hamilton, 1960, 1967).

The feasibility of online genetic testing for lung cancer susceptibility: uptake of a web-based protocol and decision outcomes.

Purpose: To examine the feasibility of offering genetic susceptibility testing for lung cancer (GSTM1) via the Internet to smokers who were blood relatives of patients with lung cancer. Outcomes include proportion who logged on to the study website to consider testing, made informed decisions to log on and to be tested.

Methods: Baseline measures were assessed via telephone survey.

HIV/AIDS communication among adolescents in psychiatric care and their parents.

The authors examined HIV/AIDS communication among 207 parent-adolescent dyads in psychiatric care to better understand the relationship between family communication and sexual risk behavior in an at-risk population. Dyads reported content and rated quality of family HIV/AIDS discussions, and adolescent sexual risk was assessed. Families discussed transmission, prevention, consequences, myths, and compassion.

Prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency in morbidly obese patients: a comparison with non-obese controls.

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common in patients after bariatric surgery. However, obesity itself has also been associated with decreased vitamin D. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in obese persons has not previously been compared to non-obese controls when controlling for factors that could affect vitamin D status.

Is it safe to perform laparoscopic ventral hernia repair with mesh in elderly patients?

Background: Ventral hernia is a common surgical condition occurring most often as a complication following abdominal surgery. Laparoscopic repair of a ventral hernia has been shown to be safe with low rates of complications, shortened length of stay, and low rates of early recurrence as compared to open surgery. Few studies have documented long-term outcomes of laparoscopic repair in elderly patients.

Five Drosophila genomes reveal nonneutral evolution and the signature of host specialization in the chemoreceptor superfamily.

The insect chemoreceptor superfamily comprises the olfactory receptor (Or) and gustatory receptor (Gr) multigene families. These families give insects the ability to smell and taste chemicals in the environment and are thus rich resources for linking molecular evolutionary and ecological processes. Although dramatic differences in family size among distant species and high divergence among paralogs have led to the belief that the two families evolve rapidly, a lack of evolutionary data over short time scales has frustrated efforts to identify the major forces shaping this evolution.

Understanding the role of cancer worry in creating a "teachable moment" for multiple risk factor reduction.

The manuscript examines the influence of contextual factors on whether and for whom a colon polyp diagnosis might be a teachable moment, as indicated by engagement with a proactively delivered intervention. Baseline and 8-month follow-up data were analyzed from a two-site behavioral intervention trial with patients in Massachusetts and North Carolina, USA who had recently undergone polypectomy for pre-cancerous colon polyps and were randomized to a behavior change intervention condition (N=591). Intervention "buy-in" was used as an indicator of response consistent with the polyp identification serving as a teachable moment.

Assessing hypothetical scenario methodology in genetic susceptibility testing analog studies: a quantitative review.

Hypothetical scenario methodology is commonly employed in the study of genetic susceptibility testing uptake estimation. The methodology, however, has not been rigorously assessed and sizeable gaps exist between estimated and actual uptake for tests that have recently become available. This quantitative review explores the effect of several theoretically based factors on genetic test uptake accuracy among a sample of 38 articles.

Evolution of genes and genomes on the Drosophila phylogeny.

Comparative analysis of multiple genomes in a phylogenetic framework dramatically improves the precision and sensitivity of evolutionary inference, producing more robust results than single-genome analyses can provide. The genomes of 12 Drosophila species, ten of which are presented here for the first time (sechellia, simulans, yakuba, erecta, ananassae, persimilis, willistoni, mojavensis, virilis and grimshawi), illustrate how rates and patterns of sequence divergence across taxa can illuminate evolutionary processes on a genomic scale. These genome sequences augment the formidable genetic tools that have made Drosophila melanogaster a pre-eminent model for animal genetics, and will further catalyse fundamental research on mechanisms of development, cell biology, genetics, disease, neurobiology, behaviour, physiology and evolution.

Self-efficacy for managing pain, symptoms, and function in patients with lung cancer and their informal caregivers: associations with symptoms and distress.

This study examined self-efficacy for managing pain, symptoms, and function in patients with lung cancer and their caregivers, and associations between self-efficacy and patient and caregiver adjustment. One hundred and fifty-two patients with early stage lung cancer completed measures of self-efficacy, pain, fatigue, quality of life, depression, and anxiety. Their caregivers completed a measure assessing their self-efficacy for helping the patient manage symptoms and measures of psychological distress and caregiver strain.

Phase behavior of attractive and repulsive ramp fluids: integral equation and computer simulation studies.

Using computer simulations and a thermodynamically self-consistent integral equation we investigate the phase behavior and thermodynamic anomalies of a fluid composed of spherical particles interacting via a two-scale ramp potential (a hard core plus a repulsive and an attractive ramp) and the corresponding purely repulsive model. Both simulation and integral equation results predict a liquid-liquid demixing when attractive forces are present, in addition to a gas-liquid transition. Furthermore, a fluid-solid transition emerges in the neighborhood of the liquid-liquid transition region, leading to a phase diagram with a somewhat complicated topology.

Main outcomes of the FRESH START trial: a sequentially tailored, diet and exercise mailed print intervention among breast and prostate cancer survivors.

Purpose: Cancer survivors are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and second primary tumors. Healthful lifestyle practices may improve the health and well-being of survivors. The FRESH START trial tested the efficacy of sequentially tailored versus standardized mailed materials on improving cancer survivors' diet and exercise behaviors.

Inferior vena cava filter placement for pulmonary embolism risk reduction in super morbidly obese undergoing bariatric surgery.

Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a leading cause of mortality after bariatric surgery. We evaluated inferior vena cava (IVC) filter use for PE risk reduction in high-risk super morbidly obese bariatric surgery patients.

Methods: IVC filters were inserted according to the patient's risk factors, including immobility, previous deep venous thrombosis (DVT)/PE, venous stasis, and pulmonary compromise.

Comparison of conventional laparoscopic and hand-assisted oncologic segmental colonic resection.

Background: Laparoscopically assisted colon resection has evolved to be a viable option for the treatment of colorectal cancer. This study evaluates the efficacy of hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) as compared with totally laparoscopic surgery (LAP) for segmental oncologic colon resection with regard to lymph node harvest, operative times, intraoperative blood loss, pedicle length, incision length, and length of hospital stay in an attempt to help delineate the role of each in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Methods: Patient charts were retrospectively reviewed to acquire data for this evaluation.

Family-Based HIV Preventive Intervention: Child Level Results from the CHAMP Family Program.

Social indicators suggest that African American adolescents are in the highest risk categories of those contracting HIV/AIDS (CDC, 2001). The dramatic impact of HIV/AIDS on urban African American youth have influenced community leaders and policy makers to place high priority on programming that can prevent youth's exposure to the virus (Pequegnat & Szapocznik, 2000). Program developers are encouraged to design programs that reflect the developmental ecology of urban youth (Tolan, Gorman-Smith, & Henry, 2003).

Interpreting missense variants: comparing computational methods in human disease genes CDKN2A, MLH1, MSH2, MECP2, and tyrosinase (TYR).

The human genome contains frequent single-basepair variants that may or may not cause genetic disease. To characterize benign vs. pathogenic missense variants, numerous computational algorithms have been developed based on comparative sequence and/or protein structure analysis.

Rapid evolution of smell and taste receptor genes during host specialization in Drosophila sechellia.

Our understanding of the genetic basis of host specialization in insects is limited to basic information on the number and location of genetic factors underlying changes in conspicuous phenotypes. We know nothing about general patterns of molecular evolution that may accompany host specialization but are not traceable to a single prominent phenotypic change. Here, I describe changes in the entire repertoire of 136 olfactory receptor (Or) and gustatory receptor (Gr) genes of the recently specialized vinegar fly Drosophila sechellia.

Changes in autobiographical memory specificity following cognitive behavior therapy and pharmacotherapy for major depression.

Background: An important cognitive marker of clinical depression is a reduced ability to be specific in recalling personal memories, a phenomenon coined 'overgeneral memory'. Overgeneral memory is considered as a stable cognitive trait that is intrinsically linked with depression and independent of mood state. Previous studies show that autobiographical memory is modifiable.