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In this tutorial, we provide researchers who use SPSS step-by-step instructions for decomposing interactions when a three-way ANOVA is conducted using the GLM procedure. We start with a demonstration of how a two-way interaction can be decomposed using the COMPARE subcommand in combination with syntax. Then, we provide instructions with examples for conducting simple interaction and second-order simple effects analyses for three-way ANOVAs with between-subjects, within-subjects, and mixed between- and within-subjects variables using the LMATRIX or MMATRIX subcommands. Provided in Appendices are general rules that can be used to derive design-specific LMATRIX and MMATRIX subcommands.

This special issue of Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology presents four papers on the Power Law of Learning to celebrate the 25th anniversary of A. Newell and P. Rosenblooms (1981) seminal paper Mechanism of Skill Acquisition and the Law of Practice. This introduction highlights the main points of Newell and Rosenblooms work and then presents the contributors articles.

Response time data in learning experiments show a typical trend. They start out slow, quickly improve, before finally tending toward optimal performance. This trend provides critical information that can be used to test various theories of learning. One convenient way to characterize the data is the use of a learning curve; an idealized curve that passes through the observed data points as a function of training. This idealized curve has free parameters that must be estimated using optimization techniques. In this tutorial, we show how to estimate learning curve parameters using three softwares (Excel, SPSS, and Mathematica) assuming that the idealized curve is a power function. The techniques can easily be adapted to other functions. Finally, details are provided on related topics (maximizing block sizes, testing curvatures, etc.).

In this tutorial, we demonstrate how to use the Aggregate and Restructure procedures available in SPSS (versions 11 and up) to prepare data files for repeated-measures analyses. In the first two sections of the tutorial, we briefly describe the Aggregate and Restructure procedures. In the final section, we present an example in which the data from a fictional lexical decision task are prepared for analysis using a mixed-design ANOVA. The tutorial demonstrates that the presented method is the most efficient way to prepare data for repeated-measures analyses in SPSS.

In the last decades, rarity of chromosomal rearrangements and fusion genes detected in epithelial cancers in using classical karyotyping led to consider these genomic events as specifically restricted to haematological neoplasia and mesenchymal tumors. Today, gene positioning as well as bio-informatics approaches has enabled identifying in carcinoma various fusion genes subsequent to chromosomal translocations, inversions, or deletions. Thus, gene fusion formation appears as a common mechanism in oncology that concerns most of human cancers, independent of original tissue lineage. At a clinical point of view, applications of fusion genes in terms of diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutics can be envisioned. This review will present current knowledge about fusion genes in common carcinoma (prostate, breast, colon). Following a structural and functional description of various fusion genes so far found in human malignant solid tumors, as well as techniques used for their detection, the review will integrate fusion genes in epithelia oncogenesis general scheme. Finally, promising clinical issues of fusion genes will be surveyed.

Introduction: Dehydration is an important complication for sick children. The Clinical Dehydration Scale for children (CDS) measures dehydration based on 4 clinical signs: general appearance, eyes, saliva, and tears., Objective: To validate the association between the CDS and markers of dehydration in children aged 1 month to 5 years visiting emergency departments (EDs) for vomiting and/or diarrhea., Method: An international prospective cohort study conducted in 3 university-affiliated EDs in 2009. Participants were a convenience sample of children aged 1-60 months presenting to the ED for acute vomiting and/or diarrhea. Following triage, a research nurse obtained informed consent and evaluated dehydration using the CDS. A few days after recovery, another research assistant weighed participants at home. The primary outcome was the percentage of dehydration calculated by the difference in weight at first evaluation and after recovery. Secondary outcomes included proportion of blood test measurements, intravenous use, hospitalization, and inter-rater agreement., Results: During the study period, 264 children were recruited and data regarding weight and dehydration scores were complete for 219 (83%). According to the CDS, 88 had no dehydration, 159 some dehydration, and 15 moderate or severe dehydration. A Chi-square test showed a statistical association between CDS and weight gain, the occurrence of blood tests, intravenous rehydration, hospitalization, and abnormal plasmatic bicarbonate. Good inter-rater correlation was found among participants (linear weighted Kappa score of 0.65; (95% CI, 0.43-0.87)., Conclusion: CDS categories correlate with markers of dehydration for young children complaining of vomiting and/or diarrhea in the ED., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Interest for development of molecular biomarkers tends to increase in clinical management of lung cancer. Indeed implementation in clinics of new molecules targeting epithelial growth factor (EGFR) such as erlotinib or gefitinib, rise several questions regarding the potential value of EGFR and KRAS mutations to predict therapeutic response. In the current review, we discuss the utilization of such biomarkers regarding published clinical data and the possibilities versus limitations associated with analyses performed in molecular laboratory on a daily setting basis.

Measles is a highly contagious disease characterized by respiratory symptoms, rash and fever. Complications are common. Despite national recommendations concerning the need to vaccinate children with 2 doses of MMR vaccine (at age 12 months and between 15 and 24 months), epidemic outbursts still happen. The treatment of infected children is purely supportive, whereas susceptible household contacts may benefit from IVIG or catch up with vaccination depending on their age and the time spent since the contact. This paper defines a practical approach for measles infected cases and contact patients.

Up to 10% of patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) achieve an objective response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKI) such as erlotinib or gefitinib. This rate of response is related to non-smoker status, female gender, adenocarcinoma subtype, and Asian ethnicity. Molecular analysis showed that EGFR tyrosine kinase domain somatic mutations appear to be a strong predictor of response to EGFR-TKI. The L858R point mutation and the E746-A750 deletion represent 90% of the mutations encountered in responding patients. The amplification of EGFR gene also seems to be predictive of the response to EGFR-TKI, whereas T790M point mutation induces secondary resistance to EGFR-TKI. Nevertheless, objective responses or strong long-term stabilizations are observed in patients without any EGFR abnormality. Thus, the assessment of the EGFR status in patients with NSCLC remains controversial for clinical practice. The assessment of EGFR abnormalities should be targeted to identify reliable biomarkers of the NSCLC response to EGFR-TKI. This review presents the current knowledge on predictive biomarkers of NSCLC response to EGFR-TKI and the methods available for the assessment of EGFR status.

Migration during adolescence represents a challenge for the youth who need to simultaneously work through the multiple losses associated with the migratory journey and adapt to a young adult status. The drama workshop program described here was designed to facilitate the adjustment of newly arrived immigrant teens. The aim of the program is to make it easier for adolescents to adjust to their new environment through creative group work around identity issues. The program also seeks to improve intergroup relations in multiethnic schools. The workshops are inspired both from playback theater and from Boal's form theater which emphasizes the collective transformation of the singular experience. The qualitative assessment of the program effects on the adolescents suggests that the workshops constitute a safe space of expression, in which the team and the ritual nature of the play hold the participants. The workshops facilitate the representation of the multiplicity of values in the adolescent world and invite them to reconsider the way in which they interact, with their environment, without splitting between "us" and "them," but rather creating solidarities around issues of social justice. The workshops also address the life transformation associated both with adolescence and migration and help the elaboration of the losses linked to the migratory journey and the construction of a hybrid identity.

Papillary thyroid carcinomas are characterized in 70% of cases by the presence of either a RET/PTC rearrangement, or an activating point mutation of RAS or BRAF genes that induce a constitutive activation of the MAP kinase pathway. Follicular carcinomas are characterized by the presence of a RAS mutation or of a PAX8-PPARgamma rearrangement. Inactivating mutations of the p53 gene are found only in anaplastic thyroid carcinomas.

Starting from three documents published by organizations set up by the Québec government, the author examines how the government intends to give direction to and build a framework for social intervention in the area of suicide. The article looks at the fate that social policies could and, according to the author, should reserve for suicide. The author argues for an approach that fully recognizes the social dimension of suicide and that emphasizes primary prevention as well as government support for an autonomous community network that would have equal footing with the public network.