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The benefits of positive intergroup contact for intergroup attitudes are well‐established. Yet individual and group self‐segregation practices demonstrate that opportunities for intergroup contact are not sufficient for contact uptake; and persistent institutionalized segregation reinforces and compounds this problem. Hence, we need to understand what drives people towards and away from intergroup contact and what consequences the capacity to deliberately engage or avoid contact has for individuals, groups, and communities. This paper formally introduces the concept of intergroup contact volition: our perceived personal control over intergroup contact engagement and avoidance. We demonstrate this concept's theoretical, political, and practical significance by highlighting its embeddedness in both old and recent literature. We document debates around volition in early intergroup contact research and note a prolonged neglect since. After discussing reasons for that neglect, we present a detailed analysis of the concept, outlining how the idea of volition itself is contested and political, as well as the ways it intersects with broader societal power and status dynamics. We then outline pathways for future research, including investigations of when taking volition away (making contact mandated) might be helpful, intersections between psychological and human geography perspectives on volition, and connections between volition and system justification. We argue that contact volition is intimately and ultimately linked to issues of social change: support of, versus resistance to, policies promoting intergroup integration. As a result, an enhanced understanding of volition is critical to developing intergroup contact research and practice into outcomes that maximize social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A substantial body of research indicates that higher education students from lower social class backgrounds tend to have poorer health than those from higher social class backgrounds. To investigate sleep as a potential mediator of this relationship, online survey responses of students from five large Australian universities, one Irish university and one large Australian technical college were analysed in three studies (Study 1 N = 628; Study 2 N = 376; Study 3 N = 446). The results revealed that sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep disturbances, pre‐sleep worries and sleep schedule variability mediated the relationship between social class and physical and mental health. Sleep remained a significant mediator when controlling for related variables and other mediators. Thus, the findings suggest that sleep partly explains social class differences in health. We discuss the importance of addressing sleep issues among students from lower social class backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antigen‐directed target therapy for B‐cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B‐ALL) is now the standard of care for relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease. A comprehensive determination of the target itself is mandatory to aid physician's choice. We determined baseline Cluster of differentiation 22 (CD22) expression percentage and fluorescent intensity on lymphoblasts of 30 patients with R/R B‐ALL treated with anti‐CD22 immunoconjugate drug Inotuzumab Ozogamicin (INO) and analyzed the impact of both parameters on patient outcome. Most patients (24/30, 80%) had a high leukemic blast CD22‐positivity defined as ≥90%. We did not observe a benefit in terms of complete remission, overall survival (OS) and duration of response (DoR) for patients with CD22 ≥ 90% versus CD22 < 90%. Concerning CD22‐FI quartile analysis we appreciated a trend for superior response rates in higher quartiles (Q2‐Q4) compared to Q1 and a significant benefit in terms of OS and DoR for patients with higher CD22‐FI. INO demonstrates to be effective also in patients with lower CD22 expression, but therapeutical benefits are more evident in patients with higher CD22‐FI. The evaluation of both CD22 percentage and CD22‐FI of the leukemic blast may help physicians in therapeutic choices for R/R B‐ALL patients when multiple treatment options are available, although no CD22 expression threshold can currently be identified below which INO should be considered not effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Venetoclax (VEN) and hypomethylating agent (HMAs) regimens are emerging as the standard of care for unfit for chemotherapy acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, but the safety and feasibility of a total outpatient management have not been fully investigated. Fifty‐nine AML patients with active disease received VEN and HMAs. Nineteen out of 59 (32.2%) patients received the first cycle as inpatients, whereas 40/59 (67.8%) patients were treated in the outpatient setting. No significant differences were observed with regard to incidence of adverse events (AEs), including tumor lysis syndrome (TLS), and the 30‐day and 60‐day mortality was comparable. Notably, an infectious prophylaxis inspired to that adopted during intensive chemotherapy resulted in a low infection rate with a reduced bacterial infections incidence in out‐ versus hospitalized patients (p <.0001). The overall time of hospitalization was significantly shorter in patients who received a total outpatient treatment as compared to those who received the first cycle as inpatients (5.9 vs. 39.7 days, p <.0001). Despite the adopted differences in treatment management, the efficacy was similar. These data indicate that a total outpatient management of VEN and HMAs is feasible in AML patients without negatively impacting on treatment efficacy and may yield pharmacoeconomic and quality‐of‐life benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In adult patients, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a rare hematological cancer with a cure rate below 50% and frequent relapses. With traditional therapies, patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) ALL have a survival that may be measured in months; in these patients, inotuzumab ozogamicin (IO) is an effective therapy. IO was linked to increased risk of veno‐occlusive disease/sinusoid obstruction syndrome (VOD/SOS), liver injury, and various grade of liver‐related complications during clinical trials and real‐life settings; however, hepatologic monitoring protocol is not established in this population. In our institution, 21 patients who received IO (median of 6 doses of IO administered) for R/R ALL were prospectively followed for hepatologic surveillance, including clinical evaluation, ultrasonography, and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) biochemistry. After a median follow‐up of 17.2 months, two SOS events were reported (both after allogeneic transplant) as IO potentially related clinically relevant adverse event. Mild alterations were reported in almost the totality of patients and moderate‐severe liver biochemical alterations in a quarter of patients. Within biochemicals value, AST and ALP showed an augment related to IO administration. LSM linearly augmented for each IO course administered. Baseline LSM was related to liver‐related changes, especially with the severity of portal hypertension (PH)‐related complications. Pre‐transplant LSM was higher in patients receiving IO when compared with a control cohort. PH‐related complications were discovered in nearly 77% of patients, with clinically significant PH occurrence and development of ascites in 38% and 14%, respectively. This prospective experience constitutes the rationale to design a hepatologic monitoring program in patients receiving IO. LSM may be of pivotal importance in this program, constituting a rapid and effective screening that quantitatively correlates with liver alterations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intergroup contact is key to social cohesion, yet psychological barriers block engagement with diversity even when contact opportunities are abundant. We lack an advanced understanding of contact seeking because intergroup contact is often an independent variable in research, and studies on contact seeking have favoured experimental probing of selected factors or measured only broad behavioural intentions. This research carried out the first ecological tests of a novel multilayer‐multivariate framework to contact seeking/avoiding. These tests were centred on a Muslim‐led community contact‐based initiative with visible support from local authorities following a terrorist attack. Non‐Muslim Australian women (N = 1,347) contributed field data on their situated contact motivations, choices, and attendance at an intercultural educational stall; many (N = 559) completed a profiling test battery. Among those who responded to the initiative invite, the rate of taking up the high‐salience contact opportunity in this heated setting was high and reflected multiple approach/avoidance motivations. Contact seeking/avoiding was not just allophilia/prejudice; it presented as new typologies of politicized solidarity, courage, apathy, and moral outrage. While intergroup predictors were significant across all profiling analyses, intrapersonal and interpersonal predictors also regularly contributed to explain variance in non‐Muslims' contact motivations and choices, confirming their multilayer‐multivariate nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients signed an informed consent form for IO and DLI therapy and, patients alive at the time of data collection, signed an informed consent form for personal data collection. None of the patients developed aGvHD after DLI, except the patient who switched to Blinatumomab therapy, in which a grade three aGvHD (liver) was detected, at 45 days from the end of 2 SP nd sp Blinatumomab cycle, 9 months from last DLI infusion and 16 months from the last IO course. Response was defined as CR for bone marrow (BM) blasts <= 5% and no evidence of extramedullary (EM) disease, evaluated with Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET) in PET positive patients pre-IO therapy. [Extracted from the article]

This article presents the 2021 JSI special issue on intergroup contact, which we designed to offer a fresh outlook on a rapidly expanding literature on the antecedents, dynamics, and consequences of interactions between members of opposing groups in society—or intergroup contact. We start by discussing the results of a bibliographic search of intergroup contact research between 1937 and 2021 and organizing our analysis around two distinct phases of this research, as they are demarcated in volume and quality by Pettigrew and Tropp's landmark meta‐analysis in 2006. We then turn our attention to an overview of the 12 review and commentary articles contributing to the special issue, which reflect advancements in themes, methodologies, and analytics of the last 15 years of research. We argue that this second generation of research has effectively addressed influential and legitimate critiques of the literature and, as a result, led to a more complex and nuanced understanding of intergroup contact that can now be readily harnessed by social cohesion practitioners and policy makers to increase the efficacy of contact‐based interventions in society. We conclude by calling on a third generation of research on intergroup contact that fully harnesses diversity of ideas, peoples, and minds and keeps in close check unproductive dynamics that stifle scientific progress, and pose a threat to healthy and safe research communities. Together with the 50 diverse contributors of this special issue, we commit to making the intergroup contact research community, like the topic of intergroup contact itself, diverse and inclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to the impressive amount of research on consequences of intergroup contact, relatively little work has been devoted to predictors of intergroup contact. Although opportunities for intergroup contact are constantly growing in modern diverse societies, these contact opportunities are not necessarily exploited. In the present review article, we describe current research on predictors of intergroup contact and drivers of contact seeking on a micro‐, meso‐, and macro‐level. We provide an overview of predictors, while focusing on recent research that is especially relevant for designing interventions and planning social policies aiming at increasing contact between different groups in varied societies. On the micro‐level, we discuss relational self‐expansion motives and confidence in contact as predictors of intergroup contact. On the meso‐level, we focus on the role of intragroup processes and historical intergroup conflicts in facilitating contact. On the macro‐level, we reflect on changing societal norms as a potential tool to increase the frequency intergroup contact. By focusing on the applied value of research findings, discussing diverse predictors, and applying a multilevel approach, we also address recent criticisms of the intergroup contact literature and demonstrate the generative nature of contemporary research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Saprochaete clavata is a rare cause of fungaemia with deep organ involvement in patients with haematological malignancies with reported mortality rates of 60%‐80%. We describe four cases of S clavata infection in a haematology unit over several months that were treated with voriconazole‐based regimens. We also review the literature on factors that could contribute to earlier recognition and effective treatment of S clavata. We included all cases of culture‐positive S clavata from sterile sites with associated signs of infection in patients undergoing treatment for a haematological malignancy. Isolates were identified by MALDI‐TOF MS, and spectrum profiles were used to prepare clustering analysis of isolates. Susceptibility testing was performed using a commercial microtitre methods. Saprochaete clavata was isolated from the bloodstream in three cases and bronchial alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid in one case. Clustering analysis suggested strains of S clavata were clonal without evidence of divergence although a common source was not identified. Susceptibility testing yielded elevated MICs to fluconazole (8 mg/L) and echinocandins (>1‐8 mg/L). All patients were treated with voriconazole‐based regimens resulting in survival of 3/4 patients, who continued chemotherapy for their underlying malignancy without evidence of relapse. Saprochaete clavata is a rare but aggressive cause of breakthrough yeast infection in patients undergoing treatment for haematological malignancies, particularly patients with a prior history of echinocandin treatment. Timely initiation of appropriate treatment, aided by more rapid identification in microbiology laboratory, can reduce the risk of deep organ dissemination and patient death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated the mediating role of sense of belonging in the relations between workplace sexism and (a) mental health and (b) job satisfaction. Participants were 190 women from a large Australian trade union that represented mainly male‐dominated jobs. They completed an online survey that contained measures of sexism, sense of belonging in the industry, mental health, and job satisfaction. As predicted, sense of belonging mediated the associations between organizational sexism and both mental health and job satisfaction. In addition, sense of belonging mediated the association between interpersonal sexism and mental health. These results are discussed in relation to strategies for supporting women and mitigating the effects of sexism in male‐dominated workplaces. The Open Science Framework webpage for this project is at: https://osf.io/a3yqc/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aneuploidy occurs in more than 20% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases and correlates with an adverse prognosis.Methods: To understand the molecular bases of aneuploid acute myeloid leukemia (A-AML), this study examined the genomic profile in 42 A-AML cases and 35 euploid acute myeloid leukemia (E-AML) cases.Results: A-AML was characterized by increased genomic complexity based on exonic variants (an average of 26 somatic mutations per sample vs 15 for E-AML). The integration of exome, copy number, and gene expression data revealed alterations in genes involved in DNA repair (eg, SLX4IP, RINT1, HINT1, and ATR) and the cell cycle (eg, MCM2, MCM4, MCM5, MCM7, MCM8, MCM10, UBE2C, USP37, CK2, CK3, CK4, BUB1B, NUSAP1, and E2F) in A-AML, which was associated with a 3-gene signature defined by PLK1 and CDC20 upregulation and RAD50 downregulation and with structural or functional silencing of the p53 transcriptional program. Moreover, A-AML was enriched for alterations in the protein ubiquitination and degradation pathway (eg, increased levels of UHRF1 and UBE2C and decreased UBA3 expression), response to reactive oxygen species, energy metabolism, and biosynthetic processes, which may help in facing the unbalanced protein load. E-AML was associated with BCOR/BCORL1 mutations and HOX gene overexpression.Conclusions: These findings indicate that aneuploidy-related and leukemia-specific alterations cooperate to tolerate an abnormal chromosome number in AML, and they point to the mitotic and protein degradation machineries as potential therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social psychology highlights ingroup identity as an important determinant of intergroup attitudes and relations; however, research has demonstrated that its effects can be positive, negative, or nonexistent depending on how such identity is conceptualized. This research explores how national identity inclusiveness (Study 1) and centrality (Study 2) are associated with immigration related attitudes in school and countrywide settings, respectively. Study 1 showed that teachers' inclusive (i.e., overlapping) identities regarding their immigrant students related to positive attitudes toward these students, but not to attitudes about immigrants in general or immigration policy preferences. Study 2 found that national identity centrality was related to negative attitudes toward the social impact of immigrants, and to higher support for policies inhibiting the social inclusion of immigrants in the receiving community. Combined, these studies highlight the importance of considering different conceptualizations of ingroup identity in identifying relations to immigration‐based attitudes. Moreover, the studies highlight the value of promoting inclusive identities when aiming to improve attitudes toward immigrants. We conclude by discussing a new approach for promoting inclusive identities by framing immigrants as indispensable to the receiving community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined a proposition based on social identity theory that socially creative appraisals of rejection can boost the well-being of strongly identifying ethnic migrants. We piloted this proposition amongst women ( N = 80) and found that strong (but not weak) group identifiers who considered the positive views that society holds about their social identity reported higher subjective wellbeing (self-esteem) relative to those who dwelt on rejection. In a subsequent field experiment ( N = 179) conducted amongst ethnic migrants in London, we added a further social creativity treatment in which participants were encouraged to consider how they would view immigrants if they were native British ( accommodation). Results revealed that the two social creativity mindsets (accommodation and positive) combined: (a) reduced perceptions of social rejection and increased optimism over the openness and fairness of society relative to a rejection mindset, (b) enhanced the self-esteem of strongly (but not weakly) identified ethnic migrants, and (c) enhanced ethnic migrant's wellbeing by minimizing the recall of social rejection and by strengthening optimism over the host society's openness and fairness. Implications for social change are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigated the extent to which gender-based workplace issues were associated with women miners' mental health and job satisfaction. Participants were 263 women miners from Australian and other international mines sites owned by an Australian-based mining company. They completed an online survey that contained measures of gender-based workplace issues, mental health, and job satisfaction. An exploratory factor analysis identified three higher-order factors: organizational sexism, interpersonal sexism, and sense of belonging. Both organizational and interpersonal sexism were positive independent predictors of mental health and job satisfaction. In addition, sense of belonging mediated the associations between organizational sexism and (a) mental health and (b) job satisfaction. Potential strategies for reducing organizational and interpersonal sexism and increasing women's sense of belonging are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sixty years of research on intergroup contact demonstrates that positive interactions across group boundaries can improve intergroup attitudes and can contribute to forging tolerant, integrated, multicultural societies. However, to fully realize the benefits of growing diversity around the globe, individuals need to exploit opportunities for intergroup contact that are available to them. Yet, it is relatively unknown why people might deliberately engage in cross-group interactions and how individuals' expectations and motives prepare them to develop positive interpersonal relationships with outgroup members. In this article, we begin to address these research gaps. We discuss the self-expansion model and present new evidence that is consistent with this model. Two studies, one correlational in a cross-cultural setting and the other experimental, show the value of high self-expansion expectancies and motivation in promoting interest in and producing more and higher quality interactions across group boundaries. We discuss implications of these findings for policy and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On what basis do people form their social identities? To investigate this issue, the present research investigates cross-cultural differences in self-stereotyping, a key outcome of social identification. In particular, the research tests the hypothesis that ingroup ties are a stronger predictor of self-stereotyping among people from individualist cultures than among people from collectivist cultures. In Study 1, university students ( N = 117) completed measures of ingroup ties and self-stereotyping with respect to an intimacy group (family and friends). Consistent with predictions, ingroup ties significantly predicted self-stereotyping among individualists but not among collectivists. Study 2 ( N = 104) found a similar pattern of results among members of the global internet community who considered either an intimacy group (their friends), a task group (their work group) or a social category (their gender). These results indicate that people in individualist cultures are more likely than those in collectivist cultures to base their social identities on ingroup ties. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to self-categorization theory's depersonalization account of social identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research tested the idea that the ecological impact of intergroup contact on outgroup attitudes can be fully understood only when relative frequency and relative influence of positive and negative contact are considered simultaneously. Participants from five European countries (Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland and Slovakia; N = 1276) freely described their contact experiences with people of neighboring nationalities and then reported on their outgroup attitudes. Contact descriptions were coded for positive versus negative valence and for person versus situation framing. Consistently across the five participant groups, positive intergroup contact was reported to occur three times more frequently than negative intergroup contact; however, positive contact was found to be only weakly related to outgroup attitudes. On the contrary, the less frequent negative (vs. positive) contact was comparatively more influential in shaping outgroup attitudes, especially when negativity was reported around the contact person, rather than the contact situation. This research's findings reconcile contrasting lines of past research on intergroup contact and suggest that the greater prevalence of positive contact may compensate for the greater prominence of negative contact, thus leading to modest net improvements in outgroup attitudes after intergroup contact. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative (vs positive) intergroup contact may have a disproportionately large impact on intergroup relations because of valence-salience effects, whereby negative contact causes higher category salience (Paolini, Harwood, & Rubin, 2010). One correlational and three experimental studies in three conflict areas (Northern Ireland, Arizona's border area, and Cyprus; Ns = 405, 83, 76, and 91) tested the moderation of these valence-salience effects by individuals' histories of outgroup contact. Consistent with a perceived fit principle valence-salience effects of face-to-face, television-mediated, and imagined contact held among individuals with negative or limited histories of outgroup contact; these effects were significantly reduced or nonsignificant among individuals with positive or extensive past outgroup contact. These moderation effects suggest that positive and diverse intergroup contact in the past buffers against the harmful effects of negative contact experiences in the present, thus limiting the potential for negative spiralling of intergroup relations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) frequently relapse on imatinib with acquisition of BCR-ABL kinase domain (KD) mutations. To analyze the changes that second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have brought in mutation frequency and type, a database review was undertaken of the results of all the BCR-ABL KD mutation analyses performed in the authors' laboratory from January 2004 to January 2013. METHODS Interrogation of the database retrieved 450 mutation analyses in 272 patients with Ph+ ALL. Prescreening of samples was performed with denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (D-HPLC), followed by direct sequencing of D-HPLC-positive cases. RESULTS BCR-ABL KD mutations were detected in 70% of imatinib-resistant patients, with T315I, E255K, and Y253H mutations accounting for 75% of cases. Seventy-eight percent of the patients reported to be resistant to second-generation TKIs after imatinib failure were positive for mutations, and 58% of them had multiple mutations. Analysis of patients relapsing on dasatinib revealed a newly acquired T315I mutation in almost two-thirds of the cases. Direct sequencing detected no mutations at diagnosis, even in patients who relapsed after a few months. CONCLUSIONS Second-generation TKIs ensure a more rapid debulking of the leukemic clone and have much fewer insensitive mutations, but long-term disease control remains a problem, and the T315I mutation is revealed to be an even more frequent enemy. BCR-ABL KD mutation screening of patients with Ph+ ALL who are receiving imatinib or second-generation TKIs would be a precious ally for timely treatment optimization. In contrast, the clinical usefulness of conventional direct sequencing at diagnosis seems to be very low. Cancer 2014;120:1002-1009. © 2013 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The aim of this study was to determine if parent intentions to facilitate social interactions between their child and a peer, or parental perceptions of their child's peer social interaction intentions, differ according to the weight status of a child's peer. Methods During a telephone survey, 250 Australian parents of children 5-12 years were randomly assigned to listen to one of two descriptions of a hypothetical child differing by group in the description of child weight status ('quite overweight' or 'healthy weight'). Parents then completed the Social Interaction Intention Scale, which assessed how likely they or their child would engage in a number of behaviours that may facilitate social interaction with the child described in the profile. Results Means scores on the overall scale and the child sub-scale of the Child Social Interaction Intention Scale were significantly higher among participants allocated to the healthy weight child profile, indicating more positive social intentions. Conclusion The findings suggest that negative weight-based stereotypes hinder the development of peer friendships by obese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While consensus exists about the critical role of learners' motivation in second language acquisition, controlled investigations of the effects of teachers' motivational strategies are limited. The research reported here used a quasi-experimental design to assess the effects of motivational strategies used by Saudi English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers ( N= 14) on Saudi EFL learners' ( N= 296) self-reported learning motivation. The experimental treatment involved class-time exposure to 10 preselected motivational strategies over an 8-week period; the control group received traditional teaching methods. Multivariate analyses revealed a significant rise in learner motivation over time exclusively or predominantly among experimental vs. control learners, which held robust even when controlling for pretreatment group differences. These results provide compelling evidence that teachers' motivational behaviors cause enhanced motivation in second language learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for closure predicts an evaluative bias against people whose opinions or behaviors deviate from those of other members of their social groups. In the present study, we investigated whether the relationship between the need for closure and deviant bias generalized to nonsocial stimuli, and we examined the process underlying this relationship. Sixty-one undergraduate students completed measures of the need for closure, the need for structure, intolerance for ambiguity, and the ability to be decisive and achieve cognitive structure. They then rated their liking for letters of the Latin alphabet ('A' & 'B') whose locations were consistent and inconsistent with relevant categories ('A circle' and 'B circle'). Participants liked category-inconsistent letters less than category-consistent letters. Measures related to the need for structure and closed-mindedness correlated positively with this deviant bias, whereas measures related to the ability to be decisive and achieve cognitive structure did not. These results imply that the relationship between the need for closure and deviant bias is a relatively basic and pervasive effect that is not unique to social deviance and is driven by the need for structure and closed-mindedness. Implications for social and nonsocial stimuli are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment examined the effects of imagining contact with an illegal immigrant on attitudes towards illegal immigrants and subsequent effects of that attitude change on feelings about other groups ( secondary transfer). Compared to a condition in which participants imagined negative contact with an illegal immigrant, participants who imagined positive contact reported more positive attitudes concerning illegal immigrants. Using bootstrapped mediation models, effects of positive imagined contact on attitudes towards illegal immigrants were shown to generalize to other groups that were independently ranked as similar to illegal immigrants, but not to dissimilar groups. This generalization gradient effect was relatively large. Implications for theory and practical applications to prejudice reduction are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Infections are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). They primarily occur during the first course of induction chemotherapy and may increase the risk of leukaemia relapse, due to a significant delay in consolidation therapy. The intensification of induction chemotherapy and the use of non-conventional drugs such as fludarabine are considered responsible for the increased risk of infections. Methods: In this study, we retrospectively analysed the infections occurred in 224 newly diagnosed AML patients ≤65 yr, consecutively treated between 1997 and 2002 with an induction regimen including fludarabine, arabinosyl cytosine and idarubicin, with or without etoposide (FLAI/FLAIE), in the context of three multicentric prospective trials (AML97, AML99, AML02). Results: During the induction phase, 146 (65%) patients experienced fever of undetermined origin (FUO), 30 (13%) and 47 (21%) patients had Gram-negative and positive bacteremias, respectively, and 10 (4%) patients developed a probable/proven invasive fungal infection (IFI). The fatality rate for Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteremias and probable/proven IFI was 10%, 8% and 60% respectively. During consolidation, 75 (35%) patients had FUO, 43 (20%) and 40 (19%) patients had Gram-negative and positive bacteremias, respectively, and 5 (2%) patients developed a probable/proven IFI. The fatality rate for Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteremias and probable/proven IFI was 14%, 5% and 80% respectively. Interestingly, the overall incidence of microbiologically documented infections during induction was 38% and the incidence of probable/proven IFIs during the induction/consolidation programme was 7%. No infections caused by viruses or opportunistic pathogens were observed neither during induction, nor during consolidation. Conclusions: These data, although retrospectively collected, suggest that fludarabine-based chemotherapy is not associated with an increased incidence of infections, in particular IFIs, compared to conventional regimens commonly used for AML induction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a heterogeneous disorder, with the greatest prevalence in children, but it also affects adults, and has an increasing incidence with age. Chromosomal abnormalities in ALL have been frequently described, the most common is the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph). The resulting fusion gene, BCR-ABL1, encodes for a chimerical oncoprotein (BCR-ABL) with constitutive tyrosine kinase activity, which leads to uncontrolled cell proliferation, reduced apoptosis, and impaired cell adhesion. Treating Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) ALL patients with conventional chemotherapy has not substantially improved their long-term outcomes. Recently, however, BCR-ABL-targeted strategies have been successfully adopted. Imatinib is an oral competitive inhibitor of ABL with demonstrated phase 2 efficacy in patients with treatment-naive and pretreated ALL. Despite its efficacy, imatinib may induce specific resistance in a large proportion of patients, mainly because of the occurrence of ABL1 mutations. Therefore, novel inhibitors have been developed. Dasatinib is a multitargeted kinase inhibitor of BCR-ABL, SRC, C-KIT, PDGFRs, and ephrin A receptor kinases. Unlike imatinib, it binds both the active and inactive BCR-ABL as well as the majority of ABL mutants. Dasatinib is approved for treatment of imatinib-pretreated Ph+ ALL, and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) on the basis of phase 2 trials that demonstrated impressive efficacy and favorable tolerability profiles. Nilotinib is another BCR-ABL targeted agent that is similar in structure to imatinib but has significantly greater binding affinity. It also has demonstrated promising efficacy in Ph+ ALL but is still being evaluated in phase 2 trials. In this article, the authors reviewed current knowledge on novel tyrosine-kinase inhibitors in adult Ph+ ALL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment builds on preliminary work (Crisp & Hewstone, 2000b) that revealed moderation of crossed-category evaluations via priming with an in-group inclusive pronoun (e.g. 'we'). Using a computerized minimal group classification procedure and a 'proofreading' priming task, participants were asked to evaluate different crossed-category groups following either a neutral, an inclusive (in-group), or an exclusive (out-group) prime. The results supported the notion that inclusiveness priming can moderate how perceivers represent and evaluate composite social groups. In addition, measures of perceived inclusiveness and importance suggested that such structural aspects of social categories are an important consideration for future multiple categorization work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pavlovian conditioning is a form of associative learning shown to contribute to the development and reduction of clinical anxiety and fear, and more recently, intergroup anxiety and fear. The current review provides a synthesis of the literature on associative learning of fear toward outgroups. Findings are reviewed that outline how fear toward the outgroup, relative to the ingroup, can be preferentially learnt and is resistant to extinction‐based techniques. Novel future research directions for intergroup anxiety are then identified based upon previous research on clinical anxiety. It is proposed that processes known to enhance the extinction of specific phobia should be investigated with social stimuli. Specifically, it is argued that exploring cognitive factors during extinction and conducting extinction in multiple contexts may provide new avenues to pursue intergroup harmony through reduced intergroup anxiety. The review concludes by suggesting innovative research designs are needed to validate an associative learning account of fear toward outgroups outside of experimental settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 60 years of research and comprehensive reviews now support Gordon Allport's contact hypothesis that face‐to‐face interactions between members of opposing groups should be promoted to lessen prejudice and improve intergroup relations. Society however does not yet enjoy the full prejudice‐reducing benefits of intergroup contact because opportunities for contact are often not taken up, and segregation persists in the face of diversity. In this article, we review recent investigations on the social psychology of individuals' seeking and avoiding intergroup contact and set the stage for new research in this area. We call for a new generation of research on intergroup contact that addresses a novel and critical research question: What personal, situational, and wider social factors move individuals towards or away from engaging in intergroup contact? This research can help us design intervention strategies to ensure that opportunities for, and benefits of, intergroup contact are fully enjoyed by individuals and groups in increasingly diverse societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents letters to the editors related to the dose increase of imatinib mesylate may overcome acquired resistance in bcr/abl-positive acute lymphoid leukemia. Principal mechanisms by which resistance to imatinib can develop; Indication on the increase of imatinib in chronic myelogenous leukemia; Inclusion of the complete hemtologic, cytogenetic and molecular remission with standard induction therapy.