Examination of optimal embedded PVTs within the BVMT-R in an outpatient clinical sample.

Objective: This study investigated whether indices within the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test - Revised (BVMT-R) could function as embedded performance validity measures in an outpatient clinical sample.

Method: A sample of 138 neuropsychological outpatients was utilized; approximately 45% had a known or suspected external incentive. Patients were determined to be valid performers if they passed all criterion performance validity tests (PVTs) and determined to be invalid performers if they failed two or more PVTs.

A Comparison of Imputation Strategies for Ordinal Missing Data on Likert Scale Variables.

This article compares a variety of imputation strategies for ordinal missing data on Likert scale variables (number of categories = 2, 3, 5, or 7) in recovering reliability coefficients, mean scale scores, and regression coefficients of predicting one scale score from another. The examined strategies include imputing using normal data models with naïve rounding/without rounding, using latent variable models, and using categorical data models such as discriminant analysis and binary logistic regression (for dichotomous data only), multinomial and proportional odds logistic regression (for polytomous data only). The result suggests that both the normal model approach without rounding and the latent variable model approach perform well for either dichotomous or polytomous data regardless of sample size, missing data proportion, and asymmetry of item distributions.

Sexual Health Risk and the Movement of Women Between Disadvantaged Communities and Local Jails.

Drawing on cross-sectional data collected in three Kansas City jails, our objective was to describe the social, neighborhood-based context of sexual health risk prior to incarceration for 290 women. Half of the participants were clustered in Kansas City's urban core before their incarceration. Women who lived in these neighborhoods, which had the highest density of our incarcerated participants, were 3 times as likely to report a history of trading sex for money, drugs, or life necessities compared to women who lived elsewhere in the city.

Pathophysiological significance of c-jun N-terminal kinase in acetaminophen hepatotoxicity.

Background: Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the US. Although substantial progress regarding the mechanisms of APAP hepatotoxicity has been made in the past several decades, therapeutic options are still limited and novel treatments are clearly needed. c-jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target in recent years.

Gender Differences in Academic Achievement: Is Writing an Exception to the Gender Similarities Hypothesis?

The gender similarities hypothesis by J. S. Hyde ( 2005 ), based on large-scale reviews of studies, concludes that boys and girls are more alike than different on most psychological variables, including academic skills such as reading and math (J.

The Next Generation of Dietitians: Implementing Dietetics Education and Practice in Integrative Medicine.

Integrative medicine is a quickly expanding field of health care that emphasizes nutrition as a key component. Dietitians and nutritionists have an opportunity to meet workforce demands by practicing dietetics and integrative medicine (DIM). The purpose of this article is to describe a DIM education program and practicum.

A multi-center screening trial of rasagiline in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Possible mitochondrial biomarker target engagement.

Rasagiline, a monoamine oxidase B inhibitor, slowed disease progression in the SOD1 mouse, and in a case series of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here we determine whether rasagiline is safe and effective in ALS compared to historical placebo controls, and whether it alters mitochondrial biomarkers. We performed a prospective open-label, multicenter screening trial of 36 ALS patients treated with 2 mg oral rasagiline daily for 12 months.

A New Procedure to Test Mediation With Missing Data Through Nonparametric Bootstrapping and Multiple Imputation.

This article proposes a new procedure to test mediation with the presence of missing data by combining nonparametric bootstrapping with multiple imputation (MI). This procedure performs MI first and then bootstrapping for each imputed data set. The proposed procedure is more computationally efficient than the procedure that performs bootstrapping first and then MI for each bootstrap sample.

Multilevel SEM Strategies for Evaluating Mediation in Three-Level Data.

Strategies for modeling mediation effects in multilevel data have proliferated over the past decade, keeping pace with the demands of applied research. Approaches for testing mediation hypotheses with 2-level clustered data were first proposed using multilevel modeling (MLM) and subsequently using multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) to overcome several limitations of MLM. Because 3-level clustered data are becoming increasingly common, it is necessary to develop methods to assess mediation in such data.

Estimating Dynamical Systems: Derivative Estimation Hints From Sir Ronald A. Fisher.

The fitting of dynamical systems to psychological data offers the promise of addressing new and innovative questions about how people change over time. One method of fitting dynamical systems is to estimate the derivatives of a time series and then examine the relationships between derivatives using a differential equation model. One common approach for estimating derivatives, Local Linear Approximation (LLA), produces estimates with correlated errors.

Sensitivity of Fit Indices to Misspecification in Growth Curve Models.

This study investigated the sensitivity of fit indices to model misspecification in within-individual covariance structure, between-individual covariance structure, and marginal mean structure in growth curve models. Five commonly used fit indices were examined, including the likelihood ratio test statistic, root mean square error of approximation, standardized root mean square residual, comparative fit index, and Tucker-Lewis Index. The fit indices were found to have differential sensitivity to different types of misspecification in either the mean or covariance structures with severity of misspecification controlled.

Addressing Moderated Mediation Hypotheses: Theory, Methods, and Prescriptions.

This article provides researchers with a guide to properly construe and conduct analyses of conditional indirect effects, commonly known as moderated mediation effects. We disentangle conflicting definitions of moderated mediation and describe approaches for estimating and testing a variety of hypotheses involving conditional indirect effects. We introduce standard errors for hypothesis testing and construction of confidence intervals in large samples but advocate that researchers use bootstrapping whenever possible.

Forgiveness as a mediator of the relationship between PTSD and hostility in survivors of childhood abuse.

It was hypothesised that forgiveness mediates the relationship between PTSD and hostility within a population of adult childhood abuse survivors. Of the three components of forgiveness-self, other, and situation-self and situation forgiveness were posited as potent mediators of the PTSD and hostility relationship. No differences in the mediational role of forgiveness in sexual versus physical abuse and female versus male abuse survivors were hypothesised.

The older woman with diabetes mellitus.

The human body wears out fast enough without the addition of a disease like diabetes that mimics a rapid, internal aging process. The older woman with diabetes faces multiple challenges, both physical and psychological. To control this life-threatening illness, she often is asked to participate in multiple self-care activities at a time when she needs or desires to slow down or do less-especially if a loved one has died.