Cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation of the right Wernicke's area improves comprehension in subacute stroke patients

Previous studies have shown the appearance of right-sided language-related brain activity in right-handed patients after a stroke. Non-invasive brain stimulation such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) have been shown to modulate excitability in the brain. Moreover, rTMS and tDCS have been found to improve naming in non-fluent post-stroke aphasic patients. Here, we investigated the effect of tDCS on the comprehension of aphasic patients with subacute stroke. We hypothesized that tDCS applied to the left superior temporal gyrus (Wernicke’s area) or the right Wernicke’s area might be associated with recovery of comprehension ability in aphasic patients with subacute stroke. Participants included right-handed subacute stroke patients with global aphasia due to ischemic infarct of the left M1 or M2 middle cerebral artery. Patients were randomly divided into three groups: patients who received anodal tDCS applied to the left superior temporal gyrus, patients who received cathodal tDCS applied to the right superior temporal gyrus, and patients who received sham tDCS. All patients received conventional speech and language therapy during each period of tDCS application. The Korean-Western Aphasia Battery (K-WAB) was used to assess all patients before and after tDCS sessions. After intervention, all patients had significant improvements in aphasia quotients, spontaneous speech, and auditory verbal comprehension. However, auditory verbal comprehension improved significantly more in patients treated with a cathode, as compared to patients in the other groups. These results are consistent with the role of Wernicke’s area in language comprehension and the therapeutic effect that cathodal tDCS has on aphasia patients with subacute stroke, suggesting that tDCS may be an adjuvant treatment approach for aphasia rehabilitation therapy in patients in an early stage of stroke.     

EMG and kinematics analysis of the trunk and lower extremity during the sit-to-stand task while wearing shoes with different heel heights in healthy young women

This study investigated the EMG characteristics and the kinematics of the trunk and lower extremity during the sit-to-stand (STS) task while wearing 1-, 4-, and 8-cm high-heeled shoes. We examined differences in the EMG data of the internal oblique, erector spinae, medial hamstring, and rectus femoris muscles during the STS task. The motion of the hip joint during an STS task was measured with a NorAngle Electrogoniometer System. Twelve young healthy women were recruited to this study. EMG characteristics and the hip joint angle were recorded during the performance of an STS task by subjects wearing high-heeled shoes of three different heel heights. The muscle onset time and EMG activity during this task were analyzed. In 8-cm high-heeled shoes, the onset time for the erector spinae muscle was significantly delayed, and the onset latency for the medial hamstring and the rectus femoris was significantly decreased. There was increased activity in the erector spinae and rectus femoris muscle during this task when wearing 8-cm high-heeled shoes. The initial hip flexion angle at the start point of the STS task did not differ among the 1-, 4-, and 8-cm heel-height conditions, but the trunk flexion angle, corresponding to the displacement between the peak hip flexion and initial hip flexion, was significantly larger in the 8-cm heel-height condition than in the 1- and 4-cm heel-height conditions. The findings suggest that excessive heel height has the potential to induce muscle imbalance during the STS task.     

从我国现行法律看安乐死的实施

安乐死作为自然人在特殊情况下对自己生命自主选择的权利,涉及人的生命权益,有关生命权立法是安乐死问题的关键。安乐死的实施与我国现行法律对生命权的严格维护产生冲突,需要我国用法律的形式肯定安乐死,并对现行法律做出适当调整,为安乐死立法留下法律空间。     

The effect of salience on mental accounting: how integration versus segregation of payment influences purchase decisions

Although mental accounting principles are generally robust, the integration‐of‐losses principle often fails. This research argues that when information salience is high, people actively segregate. To demonstrate that effect, this research uses purchase decision making for which the total payment is a key decision factor and compares examples such as the following equivalent total payments: “$120.95 for a stroller plus $19.95 for shipping” (i.e., segregation) versus “$140.90 for a stroller including shipping” (i.e., integration). Two studies demonstrate that integration increases purchase intentions when the salience of the smaller payment is higher. Specifically, integration leads to higher purchase intentions than does segregation when (1) the surcharge is visually more salient, (2) the surcharge is easy to process, and (3) price perceptions are stimulus instead of recall driven. Therefore, this research extends mental accounting by identifying conditions in which the integration‐of‐losses principle is likely to prevail. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

急诊室濒死病人临床诊治决策的影响因素

正确、合理的临床决策为病人提供理想的诊疗方案。在急诊室濒死病人的诊治过程中,急诊医生应本着以人为本的原则,根据病情的轻重缓急,抓住重点进行紧急处理。其中,病人疾病的性质与预后、疾病严重程度、医生技术水平、医院护理水平、医院的医疗设备与管理水平、诊治费用、医患关系、家属对待诊治的态度、医德医风、政策法规等对医生的临床诊治决策均有不同程度的影响。     

急诊室濒死病人临床诊治决策的影响因素

正确、合理的临床决策为病人提供理想的诊疗方案.在急诊室濒死病人的诊治过程中,急诊医生应本着以人为本的原则,根据病情的轻重缓急,抓住重点进行紧急处理.其中,病人疾病的性质与预后、疾病严重程度、医生技术水平、医院护理水平、医院的医疗设备与管理水平、诊治费用、医患关系、家属对待诊治的态度、医德医风、政策法规等对医生的临床诊治决策均有不同程度的影响.     

Effects of Internet use on college students' political efficacy.

This study examines the relationship between three types of Internet use (information, entertainment, and interactive contacts) and two types of political efficacy (external and internal) among U.S. college students. Information related Internet use and interactive contacts predict college students' internal political efficacy. An unexpected finding was that visiting public agency sites negatively influenced college students' external political efficacy. This implies that the quality of current public sites is below the expectation of college students and that respondents who visited those sites might develop political cynicism. This study also reveals that online news sites are becoming a primary news source for college students.     

态射的建构与发展:发生认识论的一种动态形式化

发生认识论主要研究认识的心理发生及其形式化。对于后者的研究,上个世纪30年代皮亚杰建构了“群集”结构来解释儿童前运算阶段的思维方式,70年代又引入了数学范畴论来解释形式运算阶段的认知发展,再一次对儿童思维的发展与科学发展两者间的连续性给出了明证。数学范畴论是对数学对象的结构间变换进行形式化的一个数学分支,建构的思想以及对所建构结构进行转换是范畴论的本质,而其中作为范畴对象的态射与态射组合体现了其建构本质,且能最为妥贴地描述认识的动态发生与发展。新的理论建模将对应与转换揉合在一起更好地阐释认知发展过程中每一转换过程的机制与结构发展。本文试图通过介绍认识发生过程中对应、转换的发展,以及所引入数学范畴论中态射的概念,来阐释认识发生中认知生成工具———态射———的建构与发展,以及认知结构的系统发展,从而对皮亚杰晚年这一形式化工作予以简单说明与评价。     

Infant withdrawal and behavior problems in urban Chinese toddlers: Roles of maternal sensitivity to infant distress and emerging delay ability

Using a longitudinal design, this study examined the associations between infant temperamental withdrawal and behavior problems during toddlerhood and tested the moderating effects of maternal sensitivity to infant distress (MSID) and toddlers’ ability to delay gratification (ADG) in urban Chinese families. Participants were 84 Chinese children (37 boys, 47 girls) and their mothers. When the infants were 6 months old (T1: infancy), their mothers reported their temperamental withdrawal, and research assistants observed and coded MSID by using a subscale of the Maternal Behavior Q-Sort during free-play interaction. When the toddlers were 1 year old (T2: early toddlerhood), their mothers reported their internalizing and externalizing problems. When the toddlers were 2 years old (T3: late toddlerhood), their mothers again reported their internalizing and externalizing problems, and their abilities of delay gratification were assessed through a laboratory-based procedure. Infant temperamental withdrawal was associated with increased internalizing problems in early toddlerhood and increased externalizing problems during middle to late toddlerhood; infants whose mothers were extremely high sensitive or low sensitive to their distress or those with late poor ability of delay gratification were at particular risk. The findings highlight the importance of matching parenting and promotion of self-control for temperamental withdrawn children's optimal development.