Effectiveness of a nurse-delivered (FOCUS+) and a web-based (iFOCUS) psychoeducational intervention for people with advanced cancer and their family caregivers (DIAdIC): study protocol for an international randomized controlled trial

Background Worldwide, millions of people with advanced cancer and their family caregivers are experiencing physical and psychological distress. Psychosocial support and education can reduce distress and prevent avoidable healthcare resource use. To date, we lack knowledge from large-scale studies on which interventions generate positive outcomes for people with cancer and their informal caregivers’ quality of life. This protocol describes the DIAdIC study that will evaluate the effectiveness of two psychosocial and educational interventions aimed at improving patient-family caregiver dyads’ emotional functioning and self-efficacy. Methods We will conduct an international multicenter three-arm randomized controlled trial in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In each country, 156 dyads (936 in total) of people with advanced cancer and their family caregiver will be randomized to one of the study arms: 1) a nurse-led face-to-face intervention (FOCUS+), 2) a web-based intervention (iFOCUS) or 3) a control group (care as usual). The two interventions offer tailored psychoeducational support for patient-family caregiver dyads. The nurse-led face-to-face intervention consists of two home visits and one online video session and the web-based intervention is completed independently by the patient-family caregiver dyad in four online sessions. The interventions are based on the FOCUS intervention, developed in the USA, that addresses five core components: family involvement, optimistic outlook, coping effectiveness, uncertainty reduction, and symptom management. The FOCUS intervention will be adapted to the European context. The primary outcomes are emotional functioning and self-efficacy of the patient and the family caregiver, respectively. The secondary outcomes are quality of life, benefits of illness, coping, dyadic communication, and ways of giving support of the patient and family caregiver. Discussion DIAdIC aims to develop cost-effective interventions that integrate principles of early palliative care into standard care. The cross-country setup in six European countries allows for comparison of effectiveness of the interventions in different healthcare systems across Europe. By focusing on empowerment of the person with cancer and their family caregiver, the results of this RCT can contribute to the search for cost-effective novel interventions that can relieve constraints on professional healthcare. Trial registration Registration on ClinicalTrials.gov on 12/11/2020, identifier NCT04626349. Date and version identifier 20211209_DIAdIC_Protocol_Article.

Influence of Attentional Manipulation on Jumping Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Enhancing jumping ability can lead to substantial benefits in sports performance and physical activity. Previous studies indicate that directing an individual’s attention externally before the jump is an effective way to improve jumping performance, especially when the standing long jump (SLJ) and vertical jumps (VJs) are performed. To scrutinize reported findings, we systematically reviewed studies that compared the effects of attentional manipulations on jumping performance in adults. Four electronic databases (MEDLINE, Scopus, SPORTSDiscus, and Web of Science) were searched for original research publications. A priori defined inclusion criteria were: (a) participants were healthy adults with a mean age > 18 years, (b) an external (EF) or an internal focus (IF) of attention instruction was used, (c) the study compared an external focus intervention with an internal focus intervention or an external focus with a control (no attentional; CON) intervention or an internal focus intervention with a control intervention, (d) jumping performance was tested, and (e) an immediate effect of focus of attention intervention was evaluated. Of the 380 papers identified, 14 studies were used in 3 part meta-analyses (EF vs. IF, EF vs. CON, and IF vs. CON) that involved 24 comparisons in total. The findings of this analysis revealed that the EF condition displayed superior jumping performance relatively to the IF (p < 0.05) and CON (p < 0.05) conditions. There were no significant (p > 0.05) differences between the IF and CON conditions. These findings suggest that EF instructions should be incorporated into testing procedures when jumping performance is assessed.

Deriving Chinese alternative questions

This study proposes an approach which derives Chinese alternative questions by means of feature percolation and LF movement. This approach is argued to fare better than a movement approach as proposed by C.-T. Huang (1998) and a non-movement binding approach as proposed by R.-H. Huang (2010) in that it may successfully explain why Chinese alternative questions are only sensitive to the wh-island constraint, but not to other types of island constraints. The LF movement analysis may receive empirical support from the observed fact that Chinese alternative questions exhibit focus-intervention effects, generally assumed to be induced by LF movement.

Integrating Dehumanization and Attachment in the Prediction of Teen Dating Violence Perpetration

Dehumanization has the potential to account for different abusive behaviors because it involves making negative judgments of others that make it easier to harm them. However, research has not resorted to this mechanism to analyze teen dating violence (TDV) perpetration, nor has it examined its association with the broader representations of others linked to attachment. The first objective of this study was to analyze whether dehumanization of one’s partner (lesser perceived agency and experience) and attribution of evilness were associated with a higher level of TDV perpetration and specific attachment styles. The second objective was to develop a structural equation model (SEM) that allowed integration of the links between all these factors. Participants in this cross-sectional study were 1799 adolescents who completed a survey in high schools. The results showed that those who were classified as high in TDV perpetration did perceive lower agency, lower experience, and higher evilness in their partners. The dehumanized perception of one’s partner was found to vary according to the attachment styles, with those highest in avoidance (dismissive and fearful) dehumanizing their partners the most. The SEM showed that dehumanization is related to avoidant and not to anxious attachment. It also pointed to the relevance of attribution of evilness in predicting TDV perpetration. The invariance of the model was tested across gender subsamples. These findings allow better understanding of how violence may arise in early relationships and where to focus intervention with adolescents.

Cropland expansion and productivity reduction in Malawi monitored by using Satellite data

&lt;p&gt;With rising demand for food in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), cropland expansion represents the main strategy to boost agricultural production. However, cropland expansion is not a sustainable form of agricultural development as there is limited arable land and increasing soil degradation in SSA. Cropland expansion needs to be monitored in order to focus intervention and propose alternatives. In this study, we monitor agriculture expansion over the past decades across Malawi using Landsat satellite data and explore factors that can explain expansion using Malawi integrated household survey data. The preliminary results showed that cropland expansion has widely occurred across the country, and the newly expanded croplands have higher productivity compared to the croplands with long cultivation history. We also found that estate agricultural land contributes to 40% of the expanded area and the level of irrigation is negatively correlated to expansion, being the dominant factors that are associated with expansion in Malawi. The results will further help to offer localized information for policy making and to develop strategies for conserving land.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Differences and Agreement in Perception of Child Picky Eating Among Center- and Home-Based Childcare Providers and Parents and Its Impact on Utilized Mealtime Strategies

Picky eating is a problematic eating behavior caregivers may encounter with children under their care. A picky eater (PE) is typically characterized as consuming a narrow range of food, as well as rejecting several food items. Much of the literature regarding PEs involves parents, although use of nonparental childcare arrangements in the United States has increased in the past several decades. Although data on parental mealtime strategies exist, little is known about how parent and childcare provider pickiness perceptions differ between types of childcare, such as center-based childcare (CBCC) and home-based childcare (HBCC), or how these perceptions influence the mealtime strategies utilized. The objectives of this study were to (1) compare perceptions of child pickiness between parents and childcare providers, (2) compare percent agreement in pickiness perception between the dyads of CBCC parents and providers and HBCC parents and providers, and (3) identify mealtime strategy utilization based on pickiness perception. A total of 52 child, parent, and childcare provider triads participated in the study and completed the Mealtime Assessment Survey and the Parent/Teacher Mealtime Strategy Survey regarding the same child. Results showed that parents are 1.4 times more likely than childcare providers to perceive a child as being picky, HBCC parents and providers are 1.4 times more likely to perceive a child as being picky than CBCC parents and providers, CBCC parents and providers disagree more in their perception of child pickiness than HBCC parents and providers (41% vs 26%), and finally, perception of child pickiness has a greater influence on mealtime strategies utilized by parents. These results can be used to focus intervention efforts aimed at improving child eating habits across the home and childcare location.