An Evaluation of Change Over Time in Everyday Cognitive Competence Among Alzheimer’s Patients

This short-term longitudinal study was designed to examine the pattern of change in everyday cognitive competence as assessed by an objective measure (i.e. the Test of Everyday Problem Solving for Cognitively Challenged Elderly; EPCCE; Willis, 1993) and by self- and caregiver reports (i.e. Instrumental Activities of Daily Living; IADL; Lawton & Brody, 1969). Patient and caregiver characteristics and clinical assessments were explored as predictors. Participants included 100 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and their caregivers who were part of the Stanford Longitudinal Study. Four waves of data were examined via hierarchical linear modeling. Major findings revealed that the EPCCE and the patient IADL formed a linear pattern of decline while the caregiver IADL demonstrated a curvilinear form. Second, different sets of predictors explained the variance in the competence measures at initial status. Finally, the predictors did not account for a significant amount of variance in the instantaneous rate of change on any of the measures; however, a portion of the variance in the acceleration in the caregiver IADL was explained.     

Cattle discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics by using only head visual cues

Faces have features characteristic of the identity, age and sex of an individual. In the context of social communication and social recognition in various animal species, facial information is relevant for discriminating between familiar and unfamiliar individuals. Here, we present two experiments aimed at testing the ability of cattle (Bos taurus) to visually discriminate between heads (including face views) of familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics represented as 2D images. In the first experiment, we observed the spontaneous behaviour of heifers when images of familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics were simultaneously presented. Our results show that heifers were more attracted towards the image of a familiar conspecific (i.e., it was chosen first, explored more, and given more attention) than towards the image of an unfamiliar one. In the second experiment, the ability to discriminate between images of familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics was tested using a food-rewarded instrumental conditioning procedure. Eight out of the nine heifers succeeded in discriminating between images of familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics and in generalizing on the first trial to a new pair of images of familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics, suggesting a categorization process of familiar versus unfamiliar conspecifics in cattle. Results of the first experiment and the observation of ear postures during the learning process, which was used as an index of the emotional state, provided information on picture processing in cattle and lead us to conclude that images of conspecifics were treated as representations of real individuals.     

Effects of cognitive impairment on prosodic parameters of speech production planning in multiple sclerosis

Cognitive impairment (CI) affects 40–65% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). CI can have a negative impact on a patient's everyday activities, such as engaging in conversations. Speech production planning ability is crucial for successful verbal interactions and thus for preserving social and occupational skills. This study investigates the effect of cognitive-linguistic demand and CI on speech production planning in MS, as reflected in speech prosody. A secondary aim is to explore the clinical potential of prosodic features for the prediction of an individual's cognitive status in MS. A total of 45 subjects, that is 22 healthy controls (HC) and 23 patients in early stages of relapsing-remitting MS, underwent neuropsychological tests probing specific cognitive processes involved in speech production planning. All subjects also performed a read speech task, in which they had to read isolated sentences manipulated as for phonological length. Results show that the speech of MS patients with CI is mainly affected at the temporal level (articulation and speech rate, pause duration). Regression analyses further indicate that rate measures are correlated with working memory scores. In addition, linear discriminant analysis shows the ROC AUC of identifying MS patients with CI is 0.70 (95% confidence interval: 0.68–0.73). Our findings indicate that prosodic planning is deficient in patients with MS-CI and that the scope of planning depends on patients’ cognitive abilities. We discuss how speech-based approaches could be used as an ecological method for the assessment and monitoring of CI in MS.     

Perceptual,affective, and cognitive judgments of odors: pleasantness and handedness effects

The present study sought to examine the differential processing of pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant odors. The effects of the nostril stimulated (left or right) and the type of judgment (perceptual, affective, or cognitive) performed on the olfactory stimuli were also studied. To this end, 64 subjects were asked to smell pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant odors under four conditions (detection, intensity, pleasantness, and familiarity tasks). The participants were to perform these tasks as quickly as possible, while response times were recorded. The results showed that (i) unpleasant odors were assessed more rapidly than neutral or pleasant odors, and that this was specifically true (ii) during right nostril stimulation, and (iii) during pleasantness assessment, suggesting possible differential cerebral hemisphere involvement, with a right-side advantage for processing of unpleasant affect in olfaction. A handedness effect on familiarity judgment is also discussed.     

Self-reported delinquency among Alberta's youth: findings from a survey of 2,001 junior and senior high school students

This article draws on data from a 1999 survey on youth victimization, crime and delinquency in Alberta conducted by the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family in collaboration with researchers from the University of Alberta. The survey included 2,001 youth attending Grades 7 to 12 in public and Catholic schools in selected urban and rural areas in the province. Analyses focus on self-reported past-year delinquency. Statistically significant results were found for relationships between extent of delinquency and gender, grade level, psychosocial problems (as measured by conduct, hyperactivity, and emotional problems), and extent of past-year victimization. For low/moderate delinquency, females were comparable to males, and even reported slightly higher rates for low/moderate violence-related delinquency. Younger students were more likely to indicate engaging in violence-related delinquency, while older students were more likely to report property-related delinquent acts. Overall, Grade 9 students had the highest rates of delinquency. For personal characteristics, a high score on conduct problems was most strongly correlated with moderate/high delinquency. The relationship between high levels of delinquency and victimization was stronger for violence-related delinquency than for property-related delinquency.     

Ethnicities and social adjustment in Canadian adolescents

Canada is a complex plural society made of groups with multiple ethnic and linguistic origins. It is uncertain whether government support for multiculturalism is reflected in retention of ethnic identities in the majority of the population in the face of both acculturative social forces and publicly expressed political arguments against multiculturalism. The degree to which ethnic identity or identities are retained in young people is explored through secondary analysis of data gathered on some 2,100 Alberta adolescents, with analysis of various kinds of social adjustment that may be linked to expressed ethnic origins or ancestries. Nearly half of the adolescents retained a single ethnic allegiance, with the remainder expressing multiple ethnic identities. Many non-random patterns were found in terms of association of declared ethnic allegiance and variables such as home language; religious affiliation and observance; scholastic achievement; sexual behaviour; alcohol and drug use; family structure; and parental education family discord, and selfesteem. Three groups (South Asian, Chinese, and Spanish and Portuguese) emerged as having strong family systems, conservative social habits and high achievement aspirations. Correlation of variables across ethnic groupings indicated a coherent pattern, with students of German, Polish, and Italian ancestry forming a group; Dutch and Ukrainian-ancestry students another; French, Scots, and Irish-ancestry a further group; and Scandinavian and English-ancestry students another group. The results are promising enough for us to propose that further research on comlex ethnic identities and social behaviours in youth should be undertaken.     

为什么我不是基督徒(续)

伸张正义的论点此外,关于道德的论点还有一种奇怪的形式,那就是他们说,为了给世界带来正义,我们就需要上帝的存在,在整个宇宙的我们知道的这一部分中,确实存在着极大的不公平,好人总是受气遭殃,坏人往往青云直上,很难说哪种情况更加可     

Changes in contraceptive method mix in developing countries

CONTEXT: Understanding shifts in contraceptive method mix is key to helping policymakers, program managers and donor agencies meet current contraceptive demand and estimate future needs in developing countries. METHODS: Data from Demographic and Health Surveys, Reproductive Health Surveys and other nationally representative surveys were analyzed to describe trends and shifts in method mix among married women of reproductive age from 1980 to 2005. The analysis included 310 surveys from 104 developing countries. RESULTS: Contraceptive use among married women of reproductive age increased in all regions of the developing world, reaching 66% in Asia and 73% in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2000-2005, though only 22% in Sub- Saharan Africa. The proportion of married contraceptive users relying on the IUD declined from 24% to 20%, and the proportion using the pill fell from 16% to 12%. The share of method mix for injectables rose from 2% to 8%, and climbed from 8% to 26% in Sub-Saharan Africa, while the share for condoms was 5-7%. The overall proportion of users relying on female sterilization ranged from 29% to 39%, reaching 42-43% in Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2000-2005; on average, the share of all method use accounted for by male sterilization remained below 3% for all periods. Use of traditional methods declined in all regions; the sharpest drop-from 56% to 31% of users-occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. CONCLUSIONS: To meet the rising demand for modern methods, it is critical that future programmatic efforts provide methods that are both accessible and acceptable to users.     

Jung's “Multicolored Arabesques”: Their Renderings and Intentions in the Pictorial Vocabulary of The Red Book

Paintings say more than what they seemingly show. Jung's pictorial vocabulary as a painter and illustrator is not gratuitous and deserves close study. At first Jung tried various styles, naïve or academic. Then he developed “multicolored arabesques” quite extensively, obviously enjoying drawing and painting virtuoso variations on the theme. These beautiful artistic forms can possibly be analyzed as pictorial representations of the unconscious, of the archetypes and their ever-flowing energies. For such vivid subjects that are impossible to describe or portray in either words or images, Jung, in his precious Red Book, has achieved a creation, by pencil and brush, of a superb array of “good-enough” renderings in images of their psychological reality.