Digital Commons Network^™

Longitudinal Impact Of The Project Paths On Adolescent Risk Behavior: What Happened After Five Years?, Daniel T. L. Shek, Lu Yu

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The present study investigated the longitudinal impact of the Project PATHS, a large-scale curriculum-based positive youth development program in Hong Kong, on the development of adolescents' risk behavior over a period of five years. Using a longitudinal randomized controlled design, eight waves of data were collected from 19 experimental schools in which students participated in the Project PATHS (N = 2,850 at Wave 8) and 24 control schools without joining the Project PATHS (N = 3,640 at Wave 8). At each wave, students responded to measures assessing their current risk behaviors, including delinquency, use of different types of drug, and …

Protocol For A Randomized Controlled Trial Of A Specialized Health Coaching Intervention To Prevent Excessive Gestational Weight Gain And Postpartum Weight Retention In Women: The Hipp Study., Helen Skouteris, Marita Mccabe, Jeannette Milgrom, Bridie Kent, Lauren J. Bruce, Cathrine Mihalopoulos, Sharon J. Herring, Malcolm Barnett, Denise Patterson, Glyn Teale, Janette Gale

School of Nursing and Midwifery

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is a time of significant physiological and physical change for women. In particular, it is a time at which many women are at risk of gaining excessive weight. We describe the rationale and methods of the Health in Pregnancy and Post-birth (HIPP) Study, a study which aims primarily to determine the effectiveness of a specialized health coaching (HC) intervention during pregnancy, compared to education alone, in preventing excessive gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention 12 months post birth. A secondary aim of this study is to evaluate the mechanisms by which our HC intervention impacts on weight …

Primary Care Providers’ Perspectives On Online Weight-Loss Programs: A Big Wish List, Kevin O Hwang, Heather L Stuckey, Monica C Chen, Jennifer L Kraschnewski, Samuel N Forjuoh, Jennifer M Poger, Kathleen M Mctigue, Christopher N Sciamanna

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Integrating online weight-loss programs into the primary care setting could yield substantial public health benefit. Little is known about primary care providers' perspectives on online weight-loss programs.

OBJECTIVE: To assess primary care providers' perspectives on online weight-loss programs.

METHODS: We conducted focus group discussions with providers in family medicine, internal medicine, and combined internal medicine/pediatrics in Texas and Pennsylvania, USA. Open-ended questions addressed their experience with and attitudes toward online weight-loss programs; useful characteristics of existing online weight-loss programs; barriers to referring patients to online weight-loss programs; and preferred characteristics of an ideal online weight-loss program. Transcripts were analyzed …

The Social Production Of Substance Abuse And Hiv/Hcv Risk: An Exploratory Study Of Opioid-Using Immigrants From The Former Soviet Union Living In New York City, Honoria Guarino, Sarah K. Moore, Lisa A. Marsch, Sal Florio

Dartmouth Scholarship

Several former Soviet countries have witnessed the rapid emergence of major epidemics of injection drug use (IDU) and associated HIV/HCV, suggesting that immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) may be at heightened risk for similar problems. This exploratory study examines substance use patterns among the understudied population of opioid-using FSU immigrants in the U.S., as well as social contextual factors that may increase these immigrants' susceptibility to opioid abuse and HIV/HCV infection. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 FSU immigrants living in New York City who initiated opioid use in adolescence or young adulthood, and with 6 drug treatment …

Electrophysiological Examination Of Embodiment In Vision And Action., Jeremy Goslin, Thomas Dixon, Martin H. Fischer, Angelo Cangelosi, Rob Ellis

School of Psychology

A wealth of behavioral data has shown that the visual properties of objects automatically potentiate motor actions linked with them, but how deeply are these affordances embedded in visual processing? In the study reported here, we used electrophysiological measures to examine the time course of affordance resulting from the leftward or rightward orientation of the handles of common objects. Participants were asked to categorize those objects using a left- or right-handed motor response. Lateralized readiness potentials showed rapid motor preparation in the hand congruent with the affordance provided by the object only 100 to 200 ms after stimulus presentation and …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Prevalence And Risk Of Recurrence In Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients: A Meta-Analytic Review., D. Edmondson, S. Richardson, L. Falzon, K. W. Davidson, M. A. Mills, Y. Neria

Journal Articles

BACKGROUND: Acute coronary syndromes (ACS; myocardial infarction or unstable angina) can induce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and ACS-induced PTSD may increase patients' risk for subsequent cardiac events and mortality.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of PTSD induced by ACS and to quantify the association between ACS-induced PTSD and adverse clinical outcomes using systematic review and meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES: Articles were identified by searching Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Scopus, and through manual search of reference lists.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Observational cohort studies that assessed PTSD with specific reference to an ACS event at least 1 month prior. We extracted estimates of the …

A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial Of Varenicline For Smoking Cessation Allowing Flexible Quit Dates, Stephen I. Rennard, John Hughes, Paul M. Cinciripini, Eva Kralikova, Tobias Raupach, Carmen Arteaga, Lisa B. St Aubin, Cristina Russ, The Flexible Quit Date Study Group

Journal Articles: Pulmonary & Critical Care Med

INTRODUCTION: Current smoking cessation guidelines recommend setting a quit date prior to starting pharmacotherapy. However, providing flexibility in the date of quitting may be more acceptable to some smokers. The objective of this study was to compare varenicline 1 mg twice daily (b.i.d.) with placebo in subjects using a flexible quit date paradigm after starting medication.

METHODS: In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled international study, smokers of ≥10 cigarettes/day, aged 18-75 years, and who were motivated to quit were randomized (3:1) to receive varenicline 1 mg b.i.d. or placebo for 12 weeks. Subjects were followed up through Week 24. Subjects were …

Discriminating Famous From Fictional Names Based On Lifetime Experience: Evidence In Support Of A Signal-Detection Model Based On Finite Mixture Distributions., Ben Bowles, Iain M Harlow, Melissa M Meeking, Stefan Köhler

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

It is widely accepted that signal-detection mechanisms contribute to item-recognition memory decisions that involve discriminations between targets and lures based on a controlled laboratory study episode. Here, the authors employed mathematical modeling of receiver operating characteristics (ROC) to determine whether and how a signal-detection mechanism contributes to discriminations between moderately famous and fictional names based on lifetime experience. Unique to fame judgments is a lack of control over participants' previous exposure to the stimuli deemed "targets" by the experimenter; specifically, if they pertain to moderately famous individuals, participants may have had no prior exposure to a substantial proportion of the …

Distinct Patterns Of Functional And Effective Connectivity Between Perirhinal Cortex And Other Cortical Regions In Recognition Memory And Perceptual Discrimination., Edward B O'Neil, Andrea B Protzner, Cornelia Mccormick, D Adam Mclean, Jordan Poppenk, Anthony D Cate, Stefan Köhler

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Traditionally, the medial temporal lobe (MTL) is thought to be dedicated to declarative memory. Recent evidence challenges this view, suggesting that perirhinal cortex (PrC), which interfaces the MTL with the ventral visual pathway, supports highly integrated object representations in recognition memory and perceptual discrimination. Even with comparable representational demands, perceptual and memory tasks differ in numerous task demands and the subjective experience they evoke. Here, we tested whether such differences are reflected in distinct patterns of connectivity between PrC and other cortical regions, including differential involvement of prefrontal control processes. We examined functional magnetic resonance imaging data for closely matched …

Neural Network Diagnostic System For Dengue Patients Risk Classification, T. Faisal, M.N. Taib, Fatimah Ibrahim

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

With the dramatic increase of the worldwide threat of dengue disease, it has been very crucial to correctly diagnose the dengue patients in order to decrease the disease severity. However, it has been a great challenge for the physicians to identify the level of risk in dengue patients due to overlapping of the medical classification criteria. Therefore, this study aims to construct a noninvasive diagnostic system to assist the physicians for classifying the risk in dengue patients. Systematic producers have been followed to develop the system. Firstly, the assessment of the significant predictors associated with the level of risk in …

Measurement And Correlates Of Empathy Among Female Japanese Physicians., Hitomi U Kataoka, Norio Koide, Mohammadreza Hojat, Joseph S Gonnella

CRMEHC Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The measurement of empathy is important in the assessment of physician competence and patient outcomes. The prevailing view is that female physicians have higher empathy scores compared with male physicians. In Japan, the number of female physicians has increased rapidly in the past ten years. In this study, we focused on female Japanese physicians and addressed factors that were associated with their empathic engagement in patient care.

METHODS: The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) was translated into Japanese by using the back-translation procedure, and was administered to 285 female Japanese physicians. We designed this study to examine the psychometrics …

Eeg Spectral Analysis On Muslim Prayers, H. Doufesh, T. Faisal, K.S. Lim, F. Ibrahim

Research Publications (2011 to 2015)

This study investigated the proposition of relaxation offered by performing the Muslim prayers by measuring the alpha brain activity in the frontal (F3-F4), central (C3-C4), parietal (P3-P4), and occipital (O1-O 2) electrode placements using the International 10-20 System. Nine Muslim subjects were asked to perform the four required cycles of movements of Dhuha prayer, and the EEG were subsequently recorded with open eyes under three conditions, namely, resting, performing four cycles of prayer while reciting the specific verses and supplications, and performing four cycles of acted salat condition (prayer movements without any recitations). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests revealed that …

Animal Cognition, The Importance Of Touch, And The Cit, Deirdre Yeater

Presidential Seminar on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition

A presentation of Professor Yeater's incorporation in her class PSCC103 of 5 in- class discussions comparing human and non-human species, particularly dolphins, with an emphasis on the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and the importance of touch. PSCC-103, The Human Community: The Individual and Society, is a 3 credit course which engages students in a study of the relationship between psychology – the science of human behavior and mental processes, and the Catholic intellectual tradition – which is characterized by rigorous intellectual inquiry and an openness to scientific ideas. This course aims to help us understand ourselves as human persons, as well …

Depression, Anxiety, And Symptom Profiles Among Female And Male Victims Of Sexual Violence, Ekta Choudhary, Merideth Smith, Robert M. Bossarte

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Chronic Low Back Pain Is Associated With Reduced Vertebral Bone Mineral Measures In Community-Dwelling Adults, Andrew Briggs, Leon Straker, Angus Burnett, John Wark

Research outputs 2012

Background: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) experienced in middle-age may have important implications for vertebral bone health, although this issue has not been investigated as a primary aim previously. This study investigated the associations between CLBP and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA)-derived vertebral bone mineral measures acquired from postero-anterior and lateral-projections, among community-dwelling, middle-aged adults. Methods. Twenty-nine adults with CLBP (11 male, 18 female) and 42 adults with no history of LBP in the preceding year (17 male, 25 female) were evaluated. Self-reported demographic and clinical data were collected via questionnaires. Areal bone mineral density (aBMD) was measured in the …

Adjusting For Under-Identification Of Aboriginal And/Or Torres Strait Islander Births In Time Series Produced From Birth Records: Using Record Linkage Of Survey Data And Administrative Data Sources, D Lawrence, D Christensen, F Mitrou, Glenn Draper, G Davis, S Mckeown, Daniel Mcaullay, G Pearson, S R Zubrick

Research outputs 2012

Background: Statistical time series derived from administrative data sets form key indicators in measuring progress in addressing disadvantage in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in Australia. However, inconsistencies in the reporting of Indigenous status can cause difficulties in producing reliable indicators. External data sources, such as survey data, provide a means of assessing the consistency of administrative data and may be used to adjust statistics based on administrative data sources. Methods. We used record linkage between a large-scale survey (the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey), and two administrative data sources (the Western Australia (WA) Register of Births and …

Intense Physical Activity Is Associated With Cognitive Performance In The Elderly, Belinda Brown, Jeremiah Peiffer, Hamid Sohrabi, Alinda Mondal, Veer Bala Gupta, Stephanie Rainey-Smith, Kevin Taddei, S Burnham, K Ellis, C Szoeke, C L Masters, D Ames, C Rowe, Ralph Martins

Research outputs 2012

Numerous studies have reported positive impacts of physical activity on cognitive function. However, the majority of these studies have utilised physical activity questionnaires or surveys, thus results may have been influenced by reporting biases. Through the objective measurement of routine levels of physical activity via actigraphy, we report a significant association between intensity, but not volume, of physical activity and cognitive functioning. A cohort of 217 participants (aged 60-89 years) wore an actigraphy unit for 7 consecutive days and underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. The cohort was stratified into tertiles based on physical activity intensity. Compared with individuals in the lowest …

Maternal Work Hours In Early To Middle Childhood Link To Later Adolescent Diet Quality, Jianghong Li, Therese O'Sullivan, Sarah Johnson, Fiona Stanley, Wendy H. Oddy

Research outputs 2012

Objective: Previous studies on maternal work hours and child diet quality have reported conflicting findings possibly due to differences in study design, lack of a comprehensive measure of diet quality and differing ages of the children under investigation. The present study aimed to prospectively examine the impact of parental work hours from age 1 year to age 14 years on adolescent diet quality.

Design: Multivariate linear regression models were used to examine independent associations between parents' work hours at each follow-up and across 14 years and adolescent diet quality at age 14 years. A diet quality index was based on …

Clinical And Biomarker Changes In Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Disease, R J Bateman, C Xiong, T L Benzinger, A M Fagan, A Goate, N C Fox, D S Marcus, N J Cairns, X Xie, T M Blazey, D M Holtzman, A Santacruz, V Buckles, A Oliver, K Moulder, P M Aisen, B Ghetti, W M Klunk, E Mcdade, Ralph Martins, C M Masters, R Mayeux, J M Ringman, M M Rossor, P M Schofield, R M Sperling, S Salloway, J M Morris

Research outputs 2012

Background: The order and magnitude of pathologic processes in Alzheimer's disease are not well understood, partly because the disease develops over many years. Autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease has a predictable age at onset and provides an opportunity to determine the sequence and magnitude of pathologic changes that culminate in symptomatic disease.

Methods: In this prospective, longitudinal study, we analyzed data from 128 participants who underwent baseline clinical and cognitive assessments, brain imaging, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood tests. We used the participant's age at baseline assessment and the parent's age at the onset of symptoms of Alzheimer's disease to …

A Systematic Review Of Physical Activity Interventions In Hispanic Adults, Melinda J. Ickes, Manoj Sharma

Kinesiology and Health Promotion Faculty Publications

Healthy People 2020 aims to achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups. Regular physical activity (PA) improves overall health and fitness and has the capability to reduce risk for chronic diseases. Identifying barriers which relate to the Hispanic population is important when designing PA interventions. Therefore, the purpose was to review existing PA interventions targeting Hispanic adults published between 1988 and 2011. This paper was limited to interventions which included more than 35% Hispanic adults (n = 20). Most of the interventions were community based (n = 16), although clinical, family-based, and faith-based …

Forty Years Of Increasing Suicide Mortality In Poland: Undercounting Amidst A Hanging Epidemic?, Peter Höfer, Ian R H Rockett, Peeter Värnik, Elmar Etzersdorfer, Nestor D Kapusta

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

No abstract provided.

An Attentional Control Task Reduces Intrusive Thoughts About Smoking., Jon May, Jackie Andrade, Kimberley Willoughby, Chris Brown

School of Psychology

INTRODUCTION: Attentional control tasks such as body scanning and following isometric exercise instructions have been shown to reduce smoking cravings, apparently by reducing stress (Ussher, M., Cropley, M., Playle, S., Mohidin, R., & West, R. [2009]. Effect of isometric exercise and body scanning on cigarette cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Addiction, 104, 1251-1257. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02605.x). Related work based upon elaborated intrusion theory (Kavanagh, D. J., Andrade, J., & May, J. [2005]. Imaginary relish and exquisite torture: The elaborated intrusion theory of desire. Psychological Review, 112, 446-467. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.112.2.446) has shown that similar tasks can reduce hungry participants' involuntary food-related thoughts (May, J., Andrade, …

Use Of A Clay Modeling Task To Reduce Chocolate Craving., Jackie Andrade, Sally Pears, Jon May, David J. Kavanagh

School of Psychology

Elaborated Intrusion theory (EI theory; Kavanagh, Andrade, & May, 2005) posits two main cognitive components in craving: associative processes that lead to intrusive thoughts about the craved substance or activity, and elaborative processes supporting mental imagery of the substance or activity. We used a novel visuospatial task to test the hypothesis that visual imagery plays a key role in craving. Experiment 1 showed that spending 10 min constructing shapes from modeling clay (plasticine) reduced participants' craving for chocolate compared with spending 10 min 'letting your mind wander'. Increasing the load on verbal working memory using a mental arithmetic task (counting …

Anxiety, Depression, And Comorbid Anxiety And Depression: Risk Factors And Outcome Over Two Years, O P Almeida, B Draper, J Pirkis, J Snowdon, N T Lautenschlager, G Byrne, Moira Sim, N Stocks, N Kerse, L Flicker, J J Pfaff

Research outputs 2012

Background: This study aimed to determine: (1) the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and depression associated with anxiety (DA); (2) the risk factor profile of depression, anxiety, and DA; (3) the course of depression, anxiety, and DA over 24 months. Methods: Two-year longitudinal study of 20,036 adults aged 60+ years. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale anxiety subscale to establish the presence of depression and anxiety, and standard procedures to collect demographic, lifestyle, psychosocial, and clinical data. Results: The prevalence of anxiety, depression, and DA was 4.7%, 1.4%, and 1.8%. About 57% of depression …

Age And Premorbid Intelligence Suppress Complaint-Performance Congruency In Raw Score Measures Of Memory, Matthew Merema, Craig Speelman, Elizabeth Kaczmarek, Jonathan Foster

Research outputs 2012

Background: We aimed to examine the role of age and premorbid intelligence (IQ) in suppressing the relationship between subjective memory complaints (SMCs) and raw score memory performance. Methods: We used a community sample of older adults aged 66"90 years (N = 121) to test whether the inclusion of age and a premorbid IQ measure in multiple regression analyses increased semipartial correlations of raw score memory performance in predicting SMCs. Rank contrast correlations were also carried out to observe how age and premorbid IQ are related to complaint"performance congruency. Measures utilized in the study included the Memory Functioning Questionnaire (for SMCs), …

Lifestyle And Late Life Cognitive Health: Sufficient Evidence To Act Now?, Bruce Barber, D Ames, Kathryn Ellis, Ralph Martins, C Masters, C Szoeke

Research outputs 2012

No abstract provided.

Predictors Of Rapid Cognitive Decline In Alzheimer's Disease: Results From The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers And Lifestyle (Aibl) Study Of Ageing, A Sona, P Zhang, D Ames, A I Bush, N T Lautenschlager, Ralph Martins, C L Masters, C C Rowe, C Szoeke, Kevin Taddei, Kathryn A Ellis

Research outputs 2012

Background: The AIBL study, which commenced in November 2006, is a two-center prospective study of a cohort of 1112 volunteers aged 60+. The cohort includes 211 patients meeting NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for Alzheimer's disease (AD) (180 probable and 31 possible). We aimed to identify factors associated with rapid cognitive decline over 18 months in this cohort of AD patients.

Methods: We defined rapid cognitive decline as a drop of 6 points or more on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) between baseline and 18-month follow-up. Analyses were also conducted with a threshold of 4, 5, 7 and 8 points, as well as …

Can Exercise Ameliorate Treatment Toxicity During The Initial Phase Of Testosterone Deprivation In Prostate Cancer Patients? Is This More Effective Than Delayed Rehabilitation?, Robert Newton, Dennis Taaffe, Nigel Spry, Prue Cormie, Suzanne Chambers, Robert Gardiner, David Shum, David Joseph, Daniel Galvao

Research outputs 2012

Background: There has been substantial increase in use of androgen deprivation therapy as adjuvant management of prostate cancer. However, this leads to a range of musculoskeletal toxicities including reduced bone mass and increased skeletal fractures compounded with rapid metabolic alterations, including increased body fat, reduced lean mass, insulin resistance and negative lipoprotein profile, increased incidence of cardiovascular and metabolic morbidity, greater distress and reduced quality of life. Numerous research studies have demonstrated certain exercise prescriptions to be effective at preventing or even reversing these treatment toxicities. However, all interventions to date have been of rehabilitative intent being implemented after a …

A Randomised Trial Of Robotic And Open Prostatectomy In Men With Localised Prostate Cancer, Robert Gardiner, J Yaxley, G Coughlin, N Dunglison, S Occhipinti, S Younie, R Carter, S Williams, R J Medcraft, Bennett Nigel, M F Lavin, Suzanne Chambers

Research outputs 2012

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common male cancer in the Western world however there is ongoing debate about the optimal treatment strategy for localised disease. While surgery remains the most commonly received treatment for localised disease in Australia more recently a robotic approach has emerged as an alternative to open and laparoscopic surgery. However, high level data is not yet available to support this as a superior approach or to guide treatment decision making between the alternatives. This paper presents the design of a randomised trial of Robotic and Open Prostatectomy for men newly diagnosed with localised prostate cancer …

Olfactory Discrimination Predicts Cognitive Decline Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Hamid Sohrabi, Kristyn Bates, Mg Weinborn, A N Johnston, A Bahramian, Kevin Taddei, Simon Laws, Mark Rodrigues, Michael Morici, Matthew Howard, Georgia Martins, A Mackay-Sim, Se Gandy, Ralph Martins

Research outputs 2012

The presence of olfactory dysfunction in individuals at higher risk of Alzheimer's disease has significant diagnostic and screening implications for preventive and ameliorative drug trials. Olfactory threshold, discrimination and identification can be reliably recorded in the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases. The current study has examined the ability of various olfactory functions in predicting cognitive decline in a community-dwelling sample. A group of 308 participants, aged 46-86 years old, were recruited for this study. After 3 years of follow-up, participants were divided into cognitively declined and non-declined groups based on their performance on a neuropsychological battery. Assessment of olfactory functions …