Search

Background: The ability to effectively regulate one's emotions has been established as an important transdiagnostic mechanism in the development and maintenance of psychopathology. To date, much of the research on emotion regulation (ER) has been conducted in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) samples. Specifically, there is a dearth of cross-cultural construct equivalence studies on measures of ER. Establishing measurement equivalence is an important first step to facilitate future research on ER in culturally diverse samples.Methods: The present study sought to validate the latent structures of three commonly used ER measures: the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS-10), and Acceptance subscale of the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-AS). Measurement equivalence was examined across 123 American and 121 Indian participants (Mage = 36.60) and across gender.Results: Cross-cultural confirmatory factor analyses revealed configural equivalence (i.e., same factor structures) in both cultural groups across all three measures. The RRS-10 met weak invariance across cultures; however, factor loadings were not equal across the two samples for all items on the ERQ or FFMQ-AS. Consequently, a partial invariance solution was identified, and all measures subsequently met criteria for Level 2 strict cross-cultural invariance. Across gender, full invariance was found on all measures except the FFMQ-AS.Conclusion: Findings suggest that the structure of ER processes is largely invariant across these two cultural groups, with a few notable exceptions, pointing to the importance of continued work in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Research Domain Criteria define cognitive and emotional processes (e.g., rumination, intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety sensitivity, emotion dysregulation) as key transdiagnostic elements of psychopathology. However, there is currently a dearth of construct equivalence studies on measures of these processes. We thus aimed to validate the latent structures of five transdiagnostic constructs using established and newer measures: two-factor Rumination–Reflection Questionnaire, six-factor Perseverative Cognitions Questionnaire, two-factor Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale, three-factor Anxiety Sensitivity Index–3, two-factor Cognitive and Behavioral Processes Questionnaire (CBPQ). Measurement equivalence was examined across 292 American and 144 Singaporean undergraduates. Cross-cultural confirmatory factor analyses revealed strict invariance for all measures, with interfactor association differences on the Perseverative Cognitions Questionnaire and CBPQ. Across gender, full invariance was found on all measures except the CBPQ. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Late stage at presentation and poor adherence to treatment remain major contributors to poor survival in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Patient navigation (PN) programs in the United States have led to improvement in diagnostic or treatment timeliness, particularly for women in lower socioeconomic classes or minority groups. To date, studies of PN in Asia have been limited. We aimed to assess the feasibility of PN in a state-run hospital in an LMIC and to report the impact on diagnostic and treatment timeliness for patients in its first year of implementation. Methods: We established PN in a dedicated breast clinic of a Malaysian state-run hospital. We compared diagnostic and treatment timeliness between navigated patients (n = 135) and patients diagnosed in the prior year (n = 148), and described factors associated with timeliness. Results: Women with PN received timely mammography compared with patients in the prior year (96.4% v 74.4%; P <.001), biopsy (92.5% v 76.1%; P =.003), and communication of news (80.0% v 58.5%; P <.001). PN reduced treatment default rates (4.4% v 11.5%; P =.048). Among navigated patients, late stage at presentation was independently associated with having emotional and language barriers (P =.01). Finally, the main reason reported for delay, default, or refusal of treatment was the preference for alternative therapy. Conclusion: PN is feasible for addressing barriers to cancer care when integrated with a state-run breast clinic of an LMIC. Its implementation resulted in improved diagnostic timeliness and reduced treatment default. Wider adoption of PN could be a key element of cancer control in LMICs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identified the barriers and motivational factors that influence nonsupervisory foodservice employees' decisions to perform safe food handling behaviors. Responses to a bilingual questionnaire were received from 1,103 employees working in four types of retail foodservice. Respondents rated 8 of 16 listed barriers as important obstacles in keeping them from handling food safely, including "the work pace" (mean = 4.28 on a 5-point scale, where 1 = Not Important and 5 = Very Important) and "lack of good habits" (mean = 4.19). Using the same scale, respondents assessed importance of 27 listed items that encourage them to follow safe practices. Of the 27 items, 23 were rated at a mean of 4.0 or higher. The item rated highest was "Keeping customers safe from food-related diseases," (mean of 4.91), and the item rated lowest (mean of 3.39) was "An unsupportive work group." Results show employees know what behaviors are considered proper to ensure the safety of food; however, real barriers exist, such as time pressures and habits that are not compatible with safe food practices, suggesting that improved organization and routinization of safe food handling practices in a work culture that values food safety would reduce the risk of foodborne illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asian trade and investment policies have attracted US investment into the region, but these policies should be fine-tuned for the region to compete effectively for US investment inflow and increase their global share of US foreign direct investment. The changes should consider the needs of the US investors and East Asia's own economic development. Bilateral free trade agreements with the US are the likely channel for these changes, but the question is whether East Asia is ready for a comprehensive and deep liberalization. East Asia should work toward a regional investment policy framework to facilitate and expand the regional production network developed by the US foreign direct investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a paucity of data regarding outcomes with transfemoral (TF) versus transapical (TA) access for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD).Methods: We queried the national inpatient sample database (NIS) (2012-2013) to identify patients with PAD who underwent TAVR. We conducted a propensity matching analysis using 25 clinical variables to compare TF-TAVR versus TA-TAVR. The main outcome was in-hospital mortality.Results: The analysis included 22,349 patients who underwent TAVR, among those 6692 (29.9%) had PAD. In the matched cohort, in-hospital mortality was similar between TF-TAVR and TA-TAVR groups (4.8% vs. 5.1%, OR 0.95; 95%CI 0.74-1.21). TF-TAVR was associated with lower rates of cardiogenic shock (OR 0.64; 95%CI 0.50-0.82), use of mechanical circulatory support (OR 0.56; 95%CI 0.42-0.75), acute kidney injury (OR 0.76; 95%CI 0.67-0.86), hemodialysis (OR 0.51; 95%CI 0.36-0.71), major bleeding (OR 0.72; 95%CI 0.64-0.80), blood transfusion (OR 0.65; 95%CI 0.58-0.73), discharge to a skilled nursing facility (OR 0.61; 95%CI 0.54-0.68) as well as shorter length of hospital stay (8.13 ± 6.76 vs. 10.11 ± 7.80 days) compared with TA-TAVR. However, TF-TAVR was associated with higher rate of vascular complications (11.7% vs. 3.7%, OR 3.40; 95%CI 2.63-4.38), complete heart block (OR 1.52; 95%CI 1.23-1.87), and pacemaker insertion (OR = 1.58; 95%CI: 1.28-1.94). There was no difference between both groups in the rate of cerebrovascular accidents (OR 1.26; 95%CI 0.93-1.72).Conclusion: In this observational analysis from a large national database, there was no difference in in-hospital mortality between TF-TAVR and TA-TAVR among patients with PAD. Further studies are encouraged to identify the optimal access for TAVR in patients with PAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]