Indian Health Care Professionals’ Attitude Towards Spiritual Healing and Its Role in Alleviating Stigma of Psychiatric Services

Persons with mental illnesses in India and rest of developing world continue to consult religious/spiritual (R/S) healers or traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM) professionals prior to seeking psychiatric services that are devoid of spiritual components of care. We aim to understand TCAM and allopathic professionals’ perspectives on patients’ R/S needs within mental health services, cross-sectional study was conducted at five TCAM and two allopathic tertiary care hospitals in three different Indian states; 393 participants completed RSMPP, a self-administered, semi-structured survey questionnaire. Perspectives of TCAM and allopathic health professionals on role of spirituality in mental health care were compared. Substantial percentage, 43.7 % TCAM and 41.3 % allopathic, of participants believe that their patients approach R/S or TCAM practitioners for severe mental illness; 91.2 % of TCAM and 69.7 % of allopaths were satisfied with R/S healers (p = 0.0019). Furthermore, 91.1 % TCAM and 73.1 % allopaths (p = 0.000) believe that mental health stigma can be minimized by integrating with spiritual care services. Overall, 87 % of TCAM and 73 % of allopaths agreed to primary criterion variable: ‘spiritual healing is beneficial and complementary to psychiatric care.’ A quarter of allopaths (24.4 %) and 38 % of TCAM physicians reportedly cross-refer their grieving patients to religious/TCAM healer and psychiatrist/psychologist, respectively; on logistic regression, significant (p < 0.05) predictors were clinical interactions/references to r/s healers. Providing spiritual care within the setup of psychiatric institution will not only complement psychiatric care but also alleviate stigma against mental health services. Implications on developing spiritual care services like clinical chaplaincy are discussed.     

HIGH-Tc superconductivity in perovskite oxides of the Y─Ba─Cu─O system

Abstract

Several biphasic compositions of the type Y_3?xBa_3+xCu₆O₁₄ show an onset of superconductivity in the 90-115K range, attaining zero resistance in the 70-85K range. The phase responsible for superconductivity in these compositions is a perovskite oxide of composition YBa₂Cu₃ O₇. This oxide annealed in oxygen shows the onset of superconductivity at 120K and zero resistance at 87K. YBa₂,Cu₃O₇ shows the highest Meissner effect of all oxide superconductors. The superconducting behaviour of the two perovskite oxides, Y_0.95Ba_1.95,Cu₃O₇ and Y_1.05Ba_1.95Cu₃O₇ show interesting features; a marked decrease in resistivity is observed from room temperature itself in the former oxide with zero resistance at 89K. Electron microscopy and infrared spectra of these oxides are briefly discussed.     

On the Escaig obstacle hypothesis for cross-slip in face-centered-cubic materials

There is a significant body of literature wherein a linear approximation of Escaig's model is used to justify the large experimentally measured activation-volumes for cross-slip in face-centered-cubic copper. Here, by examining the error between the linear approximation and the original theory, we show that this explanation is not satisfactory. The calculated value for activation volume in copper, using Escaig's original equations, yields ～60b ³ (b?=?Burgers vector) while the linear approximation yields 200b ³, the latter result fortuitously matching the experimental values.     

Attention and Short-Term Memory in Normal Children,Aggressive Children,and Non-Aggressive Children with Attention-Deficit Disorder

In the present study, fifteen 7- to 9-year-old male school children with attention deficit disorder (ADD) as well as matched groups of aggressive and normal children were compared on scores obtained for initial acquisition of information and its maintenance in the short-term score under various attentional loads. Bi-colored, alphanumeric arrays were used in a partial-report technique. Retention was measured 0, 5, 10, and 20 s, after pre- and postexposure under both rehearsal and nonrehearsal conditions. ADD children (a) were deficient in original acquisition, (b) were unable to take sufficient advantage of decreased load conditions, and (c) showed decrements over time that paralleled those of the control group (CG). The results have been interpreted in light of maturational lag and the differences between ADD and aggressive groups.     

Retail Salesperson Attributes and the Role of Dependability in the Selection of Durable Goods

This study examines the importance which consumers place on various salesperson attributes in the retail purchase of durable goods. From an original list of 25 salesperson characteristics, exploratory factor analysis was used to identify seven underlying dimensions, and trustworthiness was found to be of greatest importance. Because past research had suggested that dependability was a critical buyer concern, the extent to which retail salespeople were considered dependable in providing a number of specific selling services was also examined as an additional part of the present study. This analysis generally showed that while consumers place great importance on sales rep dependability, they do not have high levels of confidence in the current retail sales force providing it.     

Social skills and social phobia: An investigation of DSM-IV subtypes

Social phobia is characterized as pervasive social timidity in social settings. Although much is known about this disorder, aspects of its clinical presentation remain unexplored, in particular characteristics that distinguish the generalized and non-generalized subtypes. For example, it remains unclear whether patients with the non-generalized subtype display social skills deficits in social interactions, and if so, are these deficits clinically, as well as statistically, significant? In this study, adults with either the non-generalized (NGSP; n = 60) or generalized (GSP; n = 119) subtype of social phobia and adults with no psychological disorder (n = 200) completed an extensive behavioral assessment of social skill and social anxiety. As expected, adults with NGSP and GSP reported equal distress and displayed similar rates of avoidance during an Impromptu Speech Task when compared to adults with no disorder. In contrast, the three groups were distinctly different when interacting with another person in various social situations. Adults with NGSP displayed social skill deficits when compared to individuals with no disorder, but they had fewer deficits than the GSP subtype. However, the identified skill deficits were clinically as well as statistically significant only for the GSP subtype. The results are discussed in terms of the contribution of skill deficits to the conceptualization and treatment of social phobia.     

The influence of skin tone, hair length, and hair colour on ratings of women's physical attractiveness, health and fertility

The present study investigated the role of skin tone, hair colour and hair length in perceptions of women's physical attractiveness, health and fertility. One-hundred and thirty men and 112 women rated a series of 12 line drawings that varied in three levels of skin tone, two levels of hair colour and two levels of hair length. Results showed a number of interactions between the three variables, suggesting that these phenotypes are highly intercorrelated. However, there were also significant main effects of each of the variables, with hair colour generally explaining the greatest amount of variance. In general, light-toned figures were rated the most positively. Contrary to expectations, however, brunettes were rated more positively than blondes, and hair length had only a weak effect on ratings of attractiveness. Implications of these findings and the limitations of the use of line drawings are discussed in conclusion.     

语素意识、语音意识和快速命名在学前儿童言语能力发展中的预测作用:来自追踪研究的证据*

为探讨语素意识、语音意识和快速命名三种认知技能对汉语儿童口语词汇、汉字识别和阅读理解等言语能力发展的预测作用,本研究对74名学前儿童进行了一年半的追踪测查,结果发现:(1) 学前儿童的各项认知技能和言语能力随时间均有显著提高;(2)在控制了因变量的自回归效应和其他两种认知技能后,语音意识对一年半后的口语词汇成绩仍有独特的解释作用,快速命名能预测一年半后的汉字识别成绩,而语素意识是解释一年半后儿童汉字识别和阅读理解能力发展的重要变量。     

Effect of 45‐Day −6° Head‐Down Bed Rest on Cooperation and Aggression

High levels of cooperation and low aggression seem obviously vital to the successful implementation of space missions. To elucidate the effect of microgravity on these behaviors, we investigated whether cooperative and aggressive behaviors would be affected in 16 male volunteers during 45‐day ?6° head‐down bed rest, which is a reliable simulation model for most physiological effects of spaceflight. We used an ultimatum game task to evaluate the cooperative behavior and a revised competitive reaction time test to evaluate the aggressive behavior simultaneously. We found that (1) the participants became less cooperative in the post‐bed rest phase in comparison with the pre‐bed rest phase and (2) the participants became more aggressive in the in‐bed rest phase in comparison with the pre‐bed rest phase. These findings provide evidence that head‐down bed rest may affect both cooperative and aggressive behaviors in males, suggesting an important perspective for future studies in space psychology.Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.