Personal meaning as a predictor of psychological well-being over time in individuals receiving HIV-related mental health services.

Objective: This study examined the utility of personal meaning as a resilience variable in predicting psychological well-being over time in individuals enrolled in an HIV-related mental health services program. It was hypothesized that meaning assessed at the time of enrollment for mental health services would significantly predict well-being at the 3-month follow-up visit. A secondary hypothesis was that meaning would predict well-being in a model that also included social support as a predictor variable.

Development of embryonic gill vasculature in the yellow stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis.

Corrosion casting was utilized to examine the development of gill vasculature in embryonic yellow stingrays, Urobatis jamaicensis (formerly Urolophus jamaicensis). The most marked changes in vascular configuration of the gills occur in the earliest castable stages of gestation. These changes included development of afferent external gill filament vessels and progression from paired dorsal aortae to a single fused dorsal aorta.

Breast cancer stage at diagnosis: is travel time important?

Recent studies have produced inconsistent results in their examination of the potential association between proximity to healthcare or mammography facilities and breast cancer stage at diagnosis. Using a multistate dataset, we re-examine this issue by investigating whether travel time to a patient's diagnosing facility or nearest mammography facility impacts breast cancer stage at diagnosis. We studied 161,619 women 40 years and older diagnosed with invasive breast cancer from ten state population based cancer registries in the United States.

The medical mission and modern cultural competency training.

Background: Culture has increasingly appreciated clinical consequences on the patient-physician relationship, and governing bodies of medical education are widely expanding educational programs to train providers in culturally competent care. A recent study demonstrated the value an international surgical mission in modern surgical training, while fulfilling the mandate of educational growth through six core competencies. This report further examines the impact of international volunteerism on surgical residents, and demonstrates that such experiences are particularly suited to education in cultural competency.

Lessons in innovation: role transition experiences of clinical nurse leaders.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the role transition experiences of 71 Clinical Nurse Leaders (CNLs) as they pioneered the role in practice settings.

Background: Although the impact of CNL practice is now being measured through a variety of evaluation projects, less is known about the role transition experiences of CNLs.

Methods: This was a qualitative study using an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach.

On the Contextual Independence of Personality: Teachers' Assessments Predict Directly Observed Behavior after Four Decades.

The continuity of personality's association with directly observed behavior is demonstrated across two contexts spanning four decades. During the 1960s, elementary school teachers rated personalities of members of the ethnically diverse Hawaii Personality and Health Cohort (Hampson & Goldberg, 2006). The same individuals were interviewed in a medical clinic over 40 years later.

Global Volumetric Assessment and Three-Dimensional Enhancement of the Face With Injectable Poly-L-lactic Acid.

Nonsurgical methods represent the majority of cosmetic procedures performed in the United States and include the use of toxins and injectable medical devices for soft-tissue augmentation. In some cases, both nonsurgical and surgical modalities can be used synergistically for optimal facial rejuvenation. Aesthetic surgical procedures remove and reposition lax or sagging skin and tighten and/or resuspend facial musculature.

Taking control of Alzheimer's disease: a training evaluation.

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate a training program for persons with early-stage Alzheimer's disease and their care partners. Care partners were mailed two surveys, one for themselves and one for the person with dementia. Domains covered in the training included an overview of cognitive disorders, treatment of symptoms including medications, research updates and opportunities, memory and safety enhancement techniques, legal and financial planning, driving, ways to stay active, becoming an advocate, and communication.

Situational similarity and personality predict behavioral consistency.

A new method for assessing situations is employed to examine the association between situational similarity, personality, and behavioral consistency across ecologically representative contexts. On 4 occasions across 4 weeks, 202 undergraduate participants (105 women, 97 men) wrote descriptions of a situation they had experienced the previous day. In addition, they rated its psychological features using the recently developed Riverside Situational Q-Sort (RSQ) Version 2.

Increasing rates of melanoma among nonwhites in Florida compared with the United States.

Objective: To compare melanoma trends within Florida with national melanoma trends from 1992 through 2004. An analysis of state and national melanoma trends is critical for the identification of high-risk regions of the country.

Design: Data from the Florida Cancer Data System (FCDS) and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) were evaluated to determine age-adjusted and race/ethnicity- and sex-specific invasive cutaneous melanoma incidence trends for 1992 through 2004 using joinpoint regression analysis.

The role of humanitarian missions in modern surgical training.

Background: Surgical trainees have participated in international missions for decades and are now seeking out these experiences in record numbers. Resident participation in humanitarian service has been highly controversial in the academic plastic surgery community, and little evidence exists elucidating the value of these experiences. This report examines the impact of international volunteerism on surgical training.

Maggot therapy takes us back to the future of wound care: new and improved maggot therapy for the 21st century.

In the 21st century, eighty years after William Baer presented his groundbreaking work treating bone and soft tissue infections with live maggots, thousands of therapists around the globe have rediscovered the benefits of maggot therapy. The renaissance in maggot therapy is due in large part to recent technological advancements that have solved or minimized many of the treatment's earlier drawbacks: the need for reliable access to this perishable medical device, simplified application, and low-cost production. Modern dressing materials have simplified the procedure and minimized the risk of escaping maggots.

Surgical outcomes auditing systems in humanitarian organizations.

Background: Operation Smile is a humanitarian volunteer-based organization that provides cleft care around the world. Successful primary surgery is the key to improving the quality of life of patients with oral clefts. A cleft surgery outcomes database and evaluation system has been developed and implemented.

The first year of practice: new graduate nurses' transition and learning needs.

Although the phenomenon of reality shock has been acknowledged as part of the new graduate nurse transition for decades, there is evidence to suggest that the problems with the transition into practice are more serious today. This article presents findings about the new graduate nurse transition and learning needs from qualitative research conducted in a community-based novice nurse transition program. The new graduate nurse transition and learning needs are examined through the eyes of new graduates and the nursing leaders and preceptors who work with them.

Validation of ethnicity in cancer data: which Hispanics are we misclassifying?

The study of cancer in Hispanics in the United States has been hindered by misclassification of Hispanics as non-Hispanic and by the convenient practice of aggregating the diverse Hispanic subgroups into a general Hispanic category. The Hispanic Origin Identification Algorithm (HOIA) was developed to improve the identification of both the general Hispanic ethnicity and the specific Hispanic subgroup in cancer incidence data. Using an independent study of prostate cancer cases from South Florida as the "gold standard" and the Florida incident cancer registry data, we validated this algorithm and studied the characteristics of those Hispanics whose ethnicity was commonly missed in the cancer registry records.

Cancer incidence in first generation U.S. Hispanics: Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and new Latinos.

Background: The diversity among Hispanics/Latinos, defined by geographic origin (e.g., Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba), has been neglected when assessing cancer morbidity.

Phosphorus and potassium content of enhanced meat and poultry products: implications for patients who receive dialysis.

Background And Objectives: Uncooked meat and poultry products are commonly enhanced by food processors using phosphate salts. The addition of potassium and phosphorus to these foods has been recognized but not quantified.

Design, Setting, Participants, & Measurements: We measured the phosphorus, potassium, and protein content of 36 uncooked meat and poultry products: Phosphorus using the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) official method 984.