Does grit protect against the adverse effects of depression on academic achievement?

Depressive symptoms have been shown to be negatively related to academic achievement, as measured by grade point average (GPA). Grit, or the passion for and the ability to persevere toward a goal despite adversity, has been linked to GPA. Thus, grit may potentially buffer against the negative effects of depressive symptoms in relation to academic achievement. However, social desirability may might impact the validity of grit when assessed by self-report measures, so how these constructs are all related is unknown. The current study explored the relationship between depressive symptoms, grit, social desirability, and GPA among University students (N = 520) in the United States using a cross-sectional design. We conducted a moderated-moderation model to examine how social desirability moderated the relationship between depressive symptoms, grit, and GPA. Findings replicated prior work and indicated negative relationships between depressive symptoms and social desirability with GPA and a positive relationship, albeit non-significant, between grit and GPA. However, results suggest that grit did not moderate the relationship between depressive symptoms and GPA when including social desirability in the model. Future research should investigate this relationship in a longitudinal setting to further examine how grit and depressive symptoms influence one another in academic domains.

Automated replication of cone beam CT-guided treatments in the Pinnacle(3) treatment planning system for adaptive radiotherapy.

INTRODUCTION: Time-consuming manual methods have been required to register cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images with plans in the Pinnacle(3) treatment planning system in order to replicate delivered treatments for adaptive radiotherapy. These methods rely on fiducial marker (FM) placement during CBCT acquisition or the image mid-point to localise the image isocentre. A quality assurance study was conducted to validate an automated CBCT-plan registration method utilising the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) Structure Set (RS) and Spatial Registration (RE) files created during online image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). METHODS: CBCTs of a phantom were acquired with FMs and predetermined setup errors using various online IGRT workflows. The CBCTs, DICOM RS and RE files were imported into Pinnacle(3) plans of the phantom and the resulting automated CBCT-plan registrations were compared to existing manual methods. A clinical protocol for the automated method was subsequently developed and tested retrospectively using CBCTs and plans for six bladder patients. RESULTS: The automated CBCT-plan registration method was successfully applied to thirty-four phantom CBCT images acquired with an online 0 mm action level workflow. Ten CBCTs acquired with other IGRT workflows required manual workarounds. This was addressed during the development and testing of the clinical protocol using twenty-eight patient CBCTs. The automated CBCT-plan registrations were instantaneous, replicating delivered treatments in Pinnacle(3) with errors of ±0.5 mm. These errors were comparable to mid-point-dependant manual registrations but superior to FM-dependant manual registrations. CONCLUSION: The automated CBCT-plan registration method quickly and reliably replicates delivered treatments in Pinnacle(3) for adaptive radiotherapy.

Family members' perceptions of inpatient palliative care consult services: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Family members are commonly involved in end-of-life decision making and typically involved in inpatient palliative care consultations. Although much research has documented patient outcomes following inpatient palliative care consultation, little is known about family member perceptions of the consultation. AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine how inpatient palliative care consultations impacted family members' understanding of the patient's condition, knowledge of available care options, and decision-making ability. DESIGN: An exploratory, qualitative study was conducted employing individual interviews among family members of seriously ill patients, recruited purposively. Interviews were conducted in person, at the hospital, or via telephone, using a semistructured protocol. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Family members of seriously ill patients were recruited from a nonprofit, community hospital. RESULTS: Interviews were conducted among 23 family members. Four themes were identified and included: perceived qualities of the inpatient palliative care consultation, family readiness, impact on decision-making process, and focus on comfort and quality of life. While most comments reflected positive aspects of the inpatient palliative care consult, such as improved pain control and communication, and increased access to medical professionals and time to discuss patient conditions, some themes reflected a lack of adequate preparation for the inpatient palliative care consultation and readiness for discussing prognosis. CONCLUSION: Family members report discussion with the inpatient palliative care team results in improved communication and knowledge, which contributes to decision-making ability. However, palliative care consultation may be improved by developing stronger protocols for introducing palliative care and by including the attending physician in the process to preclude conflicting, inconsistent information and recommendations.

Comp Plan: A computer program to generate dose and radiobiological metrics from dose-volume histogram files.

Treatment planning studies often require the calculation of a large number of dose and radiobiological metrics. To streamline these calculations, a computer program called Comp Plan was developed using MATLAB. Comp Plan calculates common metrics, including equivalent uniform dose, tumor control probability, and normal tissue complication probability from dose-volume histogram data. The dose and radiobiological metrics can be calculated for the original data or for an adjusted fraction size using the linear quadratic model. A homogeneous boost dose can be added to a given structure if desired. The final output is written to an Excel file in a format convenient for further statistical analysis. Comp Plan was verified by independent calculations. A lung treatment planning study comparing 45 plans for 7 structures using up to 6 metrics for each structure was successfully analyzed within approximately 5 minutes with Comp Plan. The code is freely available from the authors on request.