What lies behind postnatal depression: is it only a mood disorder?

Postnatal depression (PND) is a common condition that has been extensively researched specifically because of its negative impact on the mother-infant relationship. Psychiatric research has looked at comorbidity of major depressive disorder and found it to be strongly associated with Axis II disorders. This study's principal aim was to investigate whether there is a greater incidence of personality disorder (PD) among a PND population than among a non-PND population at 3 months postpartum. A secondary aim was to define the different types of PD. Depression was assessed with the Montgomery and Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and PD was assessed with the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders (SIDP-IV) in 109 women with their 12-week-old infants. Twice as many depressed mothers had PD. The PND group presented a greater number of severe clinical symptoms than the nondepressed group (p < .002). Further research is necessary to reexamine the heterogeneity of PND and reassess its impact on infant development.     

Perceived stress correlates with disturbed sleep: a link connecting stress and cardiovascular disease

The association between stress and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is becoming established. A mechanistic link clarifying the intermediate steps between the experience of stress and the development of CVD would support this association. We sought to examine the role of perceived stress as a factor associated with disturbed sleep with the goal of providing an explanation for the stress-CVD connection. We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data recorded by subjects at entry to our CVD prevention program. Data collection included questionnaire surveys, anthropometrics, and a CVD-relevant laboratory panel. Of 350 consecutively enrolled subjects (mean age 54.4 ± 12.4 [SD] years, 138 men, 39%), 165 (47%) scored above the mean for stress measures. These high-stress subjects displayed an increased cardiovascular risk profile including elevated body mass index (mean ± SD 31.1 ± 5.9 vs. 29.0 ± 5.9, r(s) = 0.175), increased waist circumference (102 ± 17 cm vs. 98 ± 14, r(s) = 0.135), and elevated high-sensitivity serum C-reactive protein (0.384 mg/dl vs. 0.356, r(s) = 0.109). High-stress subjects also demonstrated greater daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale: 10.4 ± 5.0 vs. 7.8 ± 4.8, r(s) < 0.316), greater fatigue (fatigue scale: 5.4 ± 2.2 vs. 3.4 ± 2.4, r(s) = 0.484), poorer sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: 8.5 ± 4.4 vs. 5.9 ± 4.0, r(s) = 0.416), and shorter sleep duration (20 min less/24 h, r(s) = negative 0.177) with a higher risk for sleep apnea (60% at high risk vs. 40%, p = 0.003) than low-stress subjects. High stress was associated with significant disturbances in sleep duration and sleep quality. Stress levels also correlated with daytime consequences of disturbed sleep. The stress-sleep connection may be an important mechanistic mediator of the association between stress and CVD.     

Original ontological roots of Ancient Chinese philosophy

This is a new attempt at an analysis of classical Chinese (Confucian) ethics which is still inappropriately explained by Western philosophy as a traditional normative ethical system. Special conditions of ancient Chinese anthropogeny and social and economic development gave rise in this cultural region to an original theory of being, which in modern terminology can be referred to as an ontological model of a fundamental Yin‐Yang dialectic of a bipolar and non‐homogeneous synergy of being. This theory of being became a cornerstone for the whole complex of ancient Chinese philosophy, socio‐anthropology and ethics. Its most leading representatives—several ancient Taoist philosophers as well as the whole ancient Confucian ethical philosophy—proposed an original approach to issues which could be, for the modem world of philosophical research, a very suggestive source of inspiration.     

Environmentalism and Political Participation: Toward a New System of Social Beliefs and Values?

This study examines the social beliefs and values of the Spanish population with regard to environmentalism. A questionnaire on environmental beliefs was produced and administered to two sample groups. The first group, to be called "activists" (comprising 86 subjects), is characterized by belonging to one or other environmental organization. The other, termed "nonactivists" (comprising 410 subjects), is composed of people not belonging to any environmentalist organization. We conclude that, as in other Western countries, environmentalism has moved from being a set of beliefs held by a small group of people to becoming a central element in the system of beliefs characterizing our society. In other words, the beliefs of the environmentalist movement are being gradually built into a new ideology. However, we found differences between activists and nonactivists, which we interpret both in terms of Milbrath's theoretical model and as contradictions of postmodernist culture.     

Føllesdal on the notion of the noema: A critique

Conclusion In this paper, I have demonstrated that Føllesdal's famous interpretation of Husserl's concept of the noema is mistaken due to a fundamental misunderstanding of Husserlian terminology. I have given what I consider to be a correct explanation of the notion of the noema and of Husserlian terminology and have backed my claims with direct references to the text. I have then compared and contrasted these with Føllesdal's interpretation and, thereby, have explained the nature of his mistakes with regards to terminology. I have also shown that two of Føllesdal's faithful followers, Smith and McIntyre, have walked a similarly erroneous path with regards to their interpretation of Husserl's theory of meaning in theIdeas.I do not know where the key to the reconciliation of phenomenology and analytic philosophy lies. But, I do know that it does not lie in the claim that Husserl shared Frege's view on the nature of meaning as an abstract intensionalSinn nor does it lie in the related view that Husserl radically changed his conception of the relation of meanings to intending acts. Hopefully, this paper has shed light on this widely debated issue and has clarified the nature of the mistakes in recent interpretations of Husserl's concept of the noema.     

Spatial Scaling in Young Children

This article examines the emergence of the ability to use a simple map to acquire information about distance in a larger space. It is commonly believed that scaling is a late achievement in childhood. The present study examined the origins of this ability by using the simplest of situations. In two experiments, we presented preschool children with a dot in a long thin rectangle, and asked them to use that representation to find an object in a corresponding location in a much larger sandbox. All 4-year-olds and a majority of 3-year-olds performed well on this task. We present a model that posits a simpler mechanism for scaling than that proposed in the existing literature.     

The marriage checkup: An indicated preventive intervention for treatment-avoidant couples at risk for marital deterioration

Prior to dissolution, it is likely that couples that become severely distressed first pass through an at-risk stage in which they experience early symptoms of marital deterioration but have not yet suffered irreversible damage to their marriage. It is during this “at-risk” stage when couples might benefit most from early intervention. In response to this need we have developed an indicated intervention program called the Marriage Checkup (MC) based on the principles of motivational interviewing. The current randomized study provides preliminary evidence for the attractiveness, tolerability, efficacy, and mechanisms of change of the MC.     

Dispositional resistance to change: measurement equivalence and the link to personal values across 17 nations

The concept of dispositional resistance to change has been introduced in a series of exploratory and confirmatory analyses through which the validity of the Resistance to Change (RTC) Scale has been established (S. Oreg, 2003). However, the vast majority of participants with whom the scale was validated were from the United States. The purpose of the present work was to examine the meaningfulness of the construct and the validity of the scale across nations. Measurement equivalence analyses of data from 17 countries, representing 13 languages and 4 continents, confirmed the cross-national validity of the scale. Equivalent patterns of relationships between personal values and RTC across samples extend the nomological net of the construct and provide further evidence that dispositional resistance to change holds equivalent meanings across nations.     

Emergence of syntax: commonalities and differences across children

This paper presents the results of a longitudinal examination of syntactic skills, starting at the age of emergence of simple sentences and continuing through the emergence of complex sentences. We ask whether there is systematic variability among children from different socioeconomic backgrounds in the early stages of sentence production. The results suggest a different answer for simple versus complex sentences. We found a striking similarity across SES groups on the measures tapping early mastery of basic syntactic rules of simple sentences. At the same time, there was a significant difference between SES groups in the mastery of complex sentence structures. This difference emerged at the earliest stages of production of multi-clause sentences and persisted throughout the period of observation. The implications of these findings for the understanding of mechanisms of syntactic development are discussed.     

Effects of repetitive stress during the acute phase of Trypanosoma cruzi infection on chronic Chagas' disease in rats

The effect of repetitive stress during acute infection with Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) on the chronic phase of ensuing Chagas' disease was the focus of this investigation. The aim of this study was to evaluate in Wistar rats the influence of repetitive stress during the acute phase of infection (7 days) with the Y strain of T. cruzi on the chronic phase of the infection (at 180 days). Exposure to ether vapor for 1 min twice a day was used as a stressor. Repetitive stress enhanced the number of circulating parasites and cardiac tissue disorganization, from a moderate to a severe diffuse mononuclear inflammatory process and the presence of amastigote burden in the cardiac fibers. Immunological parameters revealed that repetitive stress triggered a reduced concanavalin A induced splenocyte proliferation in vitro with major effects on the late chronic phase. Serum interleukin-12 concentration decreased in both stressed and infected rats in the early phase of infection although it was higher on 180 days post-infection. These results suggest that repetitive stress can markedly impair the host's immune system and enhance the pathological process during the chronic phase of Chagas' disease.