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Psychology majors typically conduct at least one research project during their undergraduate studies, yet these projects rarely make a scientific contribution beyond the classroom. In this study, we explored one potential reason for this--that student projects may not be aligned with best practices in the field. In other words, we wondered if there was a mismatch between what instructors teach "in principle" and what student projects are "in practice." To answer this, we asked psychology instructors (n = 111) who regularly teach courses involving research projects questions about these projects. Instructors endorsed many of the commonly assumed pitfalls of student projects, such as not using rigorous methodology. Notably, the characteristics of these typical student projects did not align with the qualities instructors reported as being important in research practice. We highlight opportunities to align these qualities by employing resources such as crowdsourced projects specifically developed for student researchers.

The purine nucleoside analogues clofarabine and fludarabine are active in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We conducted a phase I/II randomized study of idarubicin and cytarabine with either clofarabine (CIA) or fludarabine (FIA) for relapsed or refractory AML. Clofarabine 15 mg/m2 was identified as the recommended phase II dose. Eighty-one patients were assigned using adaptive randomization to CIA (n = 48) or FIA (n = 33). The complete response (CR)/CR without platelet recovery rate did not differ between CIA and FIA (38% versus 30%, respectively; p = .50). In both arms, more than half of patients who had received only one prior line of therapy achieved remission. The median event-free survival for CIA and FIA was 2.0 and 1.9 months (p = .48), and the median overall survival was 6.3 and 4.7 months, respectively (p = .28). No significant differences in adverse events or early mortality rates were observed. Overall, CIA and FIA resulted in similar response rates and survival in patients with relapsed/refractory AML.

BACKGROUND: Fludarabine and clofarabine are purine nucleoside analogues with established clinical activity in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). METHODS: Herein, the authors evaluated the efficacy and safety of idarubicin and cytarabine with either clofarabine (CIA) or fludarabine (FIA) in adults with newly diagnosed AML. Adults with newly diagnosed AML who were deemed suitable for intensive chemotherapy were randomized using a Bayesian adaptive design to receive CIA (106 patients) or FIA (76 patients). Patients received induction with idarubicin and cytarabine, plus either clofarabine or fludarabine. Responding patients could receive up to 6 cycles of consolidation therapy. Outcomes were compared with a historical cohort of patients who received idarubicin and cytarabine. RESULTS: The complete remission/complete remission without platelet recovery rate was similar among patients in the CIA and FIA arms (80% and 82%, respectively). The median event-free survival was 13 months and 12 months, respectively (P = .91), and the median overall survival was 24 months and not reached, respectively (P = .23), in the 2 treatment arms. CIA was associated with more adverse events, particularly transaminase elevation, hyperbilirubinemia, and rash. Early mortality was similar in the 2 arms (60-day mortality rate of 4% for CIA vs 1% for FIA; P = .32). In an exploratory analysis of patients aged

We investigate the relationship between attitude instability and both party identity strength and ideology strength. We test the explorative hypotheses that higher party identity strength (H1) and ideology strength (H2) predict more attitude stability using intensive longitudinal data collected in the United States every 2 weeks over 1 year (Study 1, N = 552) and in the Netherlands over 6 months (Study 2, N = 1,670). We found mixed support for H1: In the United States, there was no association between party identity strength and attitude stability. In the Netherlands, people with stronger party identity had more stable attitudes. We found stronger support for H2: Individuals with a stronger ideology than average had more stable attitudes in the United States and the Netherlands. The context-dependent nature of relations is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this registered report, we propose to stress-test existing models for predicting the ideology-prejudice association, which varies in size and direction across target groups. Previous models of this relationship use the perceived ideology, status, and choice in group membership of target groups to predict the ideology-prejudice association across target groups. These analyses show that models using only the perceived ideology of the target group are more accurate and parsimonious in predicting the ideology-prejudice association than models using perceived status, choice, and all of the characteristics in a single model. Here, we stress-test the original models by testing the models' predictive utility with new measures of explicit prejudice, a comparative operationalization of prejudice, the Implicit Association Test, and additional target groups. In Study 1, we propose to directly test the previous models using an absolute measure of prejudice that closely resembles the measure used in the original study. This will tell us if the models replicate with distinct, yet conceptually similar measures of prejudice. In Study 2, we propose to develop new ideology-prejudice models for a comparative operationalization of prejudice using both explicit measures and the Implicit Association Test. We will then test these new models using data from the Ideology 2.0 project collected by Project Implicit. We do not have full access to this data yet, but upon acceptance of our Stage 1 registered report, we will gain access to the complete dataset. Currently, we have access to an exploratory subset of the data that we use to demonstrate the feasibility of the study, but its limited number of target groups prevents conclusions from being made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nucleoside analogues are highly active in patients with hairy cell leukaemia (HCL); however, patients continue to relapse. This phase II study evaluated the efficacy and safety of cladribine followed by rituximab in patients with untreated HCL (N = 59), relapsed HCL (N = 14) and HCL variant (HCLv, N = 7). Cladribine 5·6 mg/m(2) was given intravenously (IV) daily for 5 d and was followed approximately 1 month later with rituximab 375 mg/m(2) IV weekly for 8 weeks. Complete response rate in patients with untreated HCL, relapsed HCL and HCLv was 100%, 100% and 86%, respectively. With a median follow up of 60 months, 5-year failure-free survival (FFS) in patients with untreated HCL, relapsed HCL and HCLv was 95%, 100% and 64%, respectively. Median duration of response to the cladribine followed by rituximab was significantly longer than the first-line cladribine single agent in patients who received this treatment as second-line treatment (72 months vs not reached, P = 0·004). Almost all patients (94%) achieved negative minimal residual disease (MRD) after the treatment. Positive MRD during the follow up did not necessarily result in clinically relevant relapse. Cladribine followed by rituximab is highly effective even in patients with relapsed disease and HCLv, and can achieve durable remission.

The adverse prognosis of internal tandem duplication in the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 gene(s) (FLT3-ITD) in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) may depend on allelic burden. We compared postremission treatment with chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in 169 FLT3-ITDmut intermediate cytogenetic risk AML patients with allelic ratio evaluable at diagnosis who achieved first complete remission (CR1) with induction therapy. To minimize selection bias, the analysis was limited to patients who remained in CR1 for at least 4 months (median time to HSCT) after achieving CR1, and propensity score matching was implemented. Sensitivity analysis including patients who remained in CR1 for at least 3 months was applied as well. HSCT in CR1 was associated with longer relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS), with 3-year estimated rates of 18% and 24%, respectively (P

Two hundred and thirty-five consecutive patients presenting to a single center with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) after breast cancer treatment were compared with matched patients with de novo AML or MDS. There was no significant difference in median overall survival (OS) times between patients with therapy-related AML and those with de novo AML (8.7 months vs.10.2 months; p = 0.17). Patients with therapy-related MDS had slightly lower median baseline platelet counts and a higher frequency of poor cytogenetics than those with de novo MDS, but the two groups had similar OS times (13.6 months vs. 18.9 months; p = 0.06). Multivariate analysis revealed that cytogenetic risk, baseline white blood cell count, age and performance status were predictive for OS time in AML and that cytogenetic risk and performance status were predictive for OS time in MDS. Having therapy-related disease is not an independent risk factor in patients with myeloid neoplasms and with a history of breast cancer. Clinical trials should be designed to serve both populations.

The clinical characteristics, treatment options and outcomes in patients with acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) and hyperleucocytosis remain poorly defined. This study reviewed 242 consecutive patients with APL; 29 patients (12%) had a white blood cell count (WBC) ≥ 50 × 10(9) /l at presentation (median WBC 85·5 × 10(9) /l). Patients with hyperleucocytosis had inferior complete remission (CR) rates (69% vs. 88%; P = 0·004) and higher 4-week mortality (24% vs. 9%; P = 0·018) compared to patients without hyperleucocytosis. We noted a trend towards inferior 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) (69% vs. 80%; P = 0·057) and inferior 3-year overall survival (OS) (74% vs. 92%; P = 0·2) for patients with hyperleucocytosis. Leukapheresis was performed in 11 (38%) of the 29 patients with hyperleucocytosis. CR rate and 3-year OS were not significantly improved in patients who received leukapheresis. CR rate and 3-year OS for the 15 patients with hyperleucocytosis treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) plus arsenic trioxide (ATO) plus cytotoxic therapy (idarubicin or gemtuzumab ozogamicin) combinations were 100% and 100% vs. 57% and 35% for the 14 patients treated with non-ATRA/ATO combinations (P = 0·004 and P = 0·002). Leukapheresis does not improve the outcomes in patients with APL presenting with hyperleucocytosis. ATRA/ATO-based combinations are superior to other regimens in these patients.

Newer approaches are needed for the treatment of relapsed and refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Asparaginase-based regimens are active in the treatment of pediatric ALL and may be important in salvage therapy for adult patients. We conducted a pilot trial combining methotrexate, vincristine, PEGylated-asparaginase, and dexamethasone (MOpAD) in adults with relapsed or refractory ALL. We added tyrosine kinase inhibitors in patients with Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) ALL and rituximab in patients with CD20 positive B-cell ALL. Among 37 patients treated (median age 42 years; median 2 prior therapies), the complete remission (CR) rate was 28% and an overall response rate (ORR) was 39%. The median CR duration was 4.3 months. Patients with Ph+ ALL had CR and ORR of 50% and 67%, respectively and the CR and ORR in patients with T-cell leukemia were 45% and 56%, respectively. The median survival in patients with CR/CRp was 10.4 versus 3.4 months in nonresponders (P = 0.02). The most common grade 3 or 4 nonhematologic toxicities were elevations in bilirubin and transaminases, nausea, peripheral neuropathy, and hyperglycemia, which were managed with supportive care, dose adjustments, and interruptions.

Despite being considered "good-risk" acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), long term outcomes in core binding factor (CBF) AML suggest room for improvement. We report on a regimen consisting of fludarabine, cytarabine, granulocyte colony stimulating factor, and low dose gemtuzumab ozogamicin (FLAG-GO) as front-line therapy of patients with CBF AML. Forty-five patients were enrolled (median age 48 years). Remission rate was 95% with 5% induction deaths. The overall survival (OS) and relapse free survival (RFS) probability at 3 years are 78% and 85%, respectively. FLAG-GO regimen results in high rates of RFS and OS in CBF AML. Our data along with recent data from several large groups strongly argues in favor of incorporation of gemtuzumab ozogamicin in frontline regimens for CBF AML.

We assessed the outcomes of 63 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) arising from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) after hypomethylating agent failure. Their median age was 63 years. All 63 patients had received ≥ 1 salvage regimens for AML, and 35 patients (55%) had received ≥ 2. Of the 31 patients (49%) who had received high-dose cytarabine (HDAC) at first relapse, 2 (6%) achieved complete remission (CR) and 4 (13%) CR with incomplete platelet recovery (overall response rate, 19%). Of the 32 patients (51%) who had received other treatments, including investigational agents, 4 (12%) achieved CR and 4 (12%) CR with incomplete platelet recovery (overall response rate, 24%). The median response duration was 20 weeks. With a median follow-up of 42 months from the AML diagnosis, the median survival (21 weeks) was similar between the 2 groups. The 1- and 2-year survival rate was 19% and 8%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified low albumin, HDAC treatment, and platelet count < 50 × 10(9)/L as independent adverse factors for CR and a platelet count < 50 × 10(9)/L and age > 65 years as independent adverse factors for survival. Thus, the outcome of AML evolving from MDS after hypomethylating agent failure is poor and not improved with HDAC. Novel therapies directed toward this emerging entity are urgently needed.

BackgroundDecitabine is standard therapy in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Current recommendations suggest a dose of 20 mg/m(2) intravenously (IV) daily for 5 days every 4 weeks. However, this therapy is associated with frequent grade 3/4 hematologic toxicity, requiring dose delays and/or dose reductions (DD/DR).ResultsWe investigated the outcomes of 122 patients with MDS who had DD/DR of frontline decitabine therapy. Sixty-five patients (53%) had DR by at least 25% or DD (defined as a delay beyond 5 weeks between cycles). Thirty-five patients (29%) underwent DD/DR after achieving best objective response, 30 patients (25%) underwent DD/DR before best objective response, and 57 (54%) patients had no DD/DR. There was a trend for more durable responses in favor of patients requiring DD/DR after the achievement of best objective response (median not reached) (P = .161). Overall survival rates were significantly higher for patients who had DD/DR after best objective response compared with those who had DD/DR before best objective response or those with no DD/DR (30 vs. 22 vs. 11 months, respectively; P < .001). Progression-free survival (PFS) rates also trended higher for those with DD/DR after best objective response (median not reached) compared with those who required DD/DR before best objective response (median of 15 months) (P = .285).ConclusionDD/DR may be safely accomplished once the patient has achieved best objective response (preferably complete remission [CR]) without impacting outcome. Prospective evaluation of an approach conceived of a loading dose for induction of a best objective response followed by a maintenance schedule is to be considered.