Ghrelin level negatively predicts quality of life in obese women

A cross-sectional cohort study was conducted to investigate whether ghrelin level in obese women predicts the quality of life (QOL). A total of 307 subjects fulfilled the criteria: (1) age between 20 and 65 years old, (2) body mass index ≥27 kg/m² (3) waist circumference ≥80 cm were enrolled in the study. All subjects were assigned to one of the plasma ghrelin level categories according to the quartiles. The median of age and BMI of the 307 obese women were 45 ± 18 years and 29.9 ± 4.1 kg/m², respectively. The main outcome evaluated is the associations of plasma ghrelin level and QOL, which were evaluated using multiple linear regression analysis. Results of linear trend test show significant statistical difference in plasma lipoproteins (triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL-cholestero and LDL-cholesterol = and levels of obesity-related hormone peptides, including leptin, adiponectin, insulin among quartiles of ghrelin. Multiple liner regression analysis of serum obesity-related hormone peptide level and QOL using stepwise method shows ghrelin concentration was the only predictor of QOL, including PCS-12 level (β = ?0.18, p = 0.001), MCS-12 level (β = ?0.14, p = 0.009), WHOQOL-BREF scores: physical (β = ?0.13, p = 0.03), psychological (β = ?0.16, p = 0.007), social (β = ?0.21, p?= < 0.001), and environmental (β = ?0.22, p?= <0.001), after adjusting other factors for obese female subjects. This study demonstrated that ghrelin concentration is strongly associated with QOL level among obese women. Hence, ghrelin concentration might be a valuable marker to be monitored in obese women.     

Metaphorical mapping between raw–cooked food and strangeness–familiarity in Chinese culture

Previous research has demonstrated metaphorical mappings between physical coldness–warmth and social distance–closeness. Since the concepts of interpersonal warmth are frequently expressed in terms of food-related words in Chinese, the present study sought to explore whether the concept of raw–cooked food could be unconsciously and automatically mapped onto strangeness–familiarity. After rating the nutritive value of raw or cooked foods, participants were presented with morphing movies in which their acquaintances gradually transformed into strangers or strangers gradually morphed into acquaintances, and were asked to stop the movies when the combined images became predominantly target faces. The results demonstrated that unconscious and automatic metaphorical mappings between raw–cooked food and strangeness–familiarity exist. This study provides a foundation for testing whether Chinese people can think about interpersonal familiarity using mental representations of raw–cooked food and supports cognitive metaphor theory from a crosslinguistic perspective.     

Characterizing observers using external noise and observer models: assessing internal representations with external noise

External noise methods and observer models have been widely used to characterize the intrinsic perceptual limitations of human observers and changes of the perceptual limitations associated with cognitive, developmental, and disease processes by highlighting the variance of internal representations. The authors conducted a comprehensive review of the 5 most prominent observer models through the development of a common formalism. They derived new predictions of the models for a common set of behavioral tests that were compared with the data in the literature and a new experiment. The comparison between the model predictions and the empirical data resulted in very strong constraints on the observer models. The perceptual template model provided the best account of all the empirical data in the visual domain. The choice of the observer model has significant implications for the interpretation of data from other external noise paradigms, as well as studies using external noise to assay changes of perceptual limitations associated with observer states. The empirical and theoretical development suggests possible parallel developments in other sensory modalities and studies of high-level cognitive processes.     

The Structure and Stability of Subjective Well-Being: a Structure Equation Modelling Analysis

The purpose of the study is to test the structure and the stability of Subjective Well-Being (SWB), measured through cognitive and affective self-report measures, in global and specific levels of analysis. A sample of 303 adult students was collected and replicated in a 2 month interval. The best model of SWB shows an intercorrelated four-factor structure—Satisfaction with Life, Negative Affect, Positive Affect and Global Subjective Well-being. Results suggest that Global Happiness and Global Satisfaction are measuring the same aspect of SWB. All measures of SWB, in study, show good construct validity and reliability in a 2 month replication. Positive and Negative Affect are significantly weakly correlated. Positive Affect is the most stable variable of SWB, in a short-term interval. Researchers must be aware of the issues related to the measurement of SWB as the order of the items in a questionnaire and the implications of using global or specific measures, cognitive or affective dimensions of the concept, that represent different aspects of the concept. Further study is needed to analyse the structure of SWB with different measures and the relationship between its components.

评“自己讲”、“讲自己”的哲学史观——与张立文先生商榷

近年来,走出中国哲学的合法性危机、探索中国哲学史研究的范式创新是学者们关注较多的话题。在讨论中,也出现了一些有建设性的意见。其中,著名学者张立文先生的“自己讲”、“讲自己”的观点尤其引人瞩目。张先生在此方面的系列观点,对于增进中国学者研究中国哲学的自主性来说,有一定的积极意义。然而,张先生关于“自己讲”、“讲自己”、“中国哲学转生规律”以及“和合学”的论述尚存在诸多待改进的方面。全面、客观地评价“自己讲”、“讲自己”的哲学史观,对于提高中国哲学研究的理论水平来说具有重要意义。     

我国中等职业学校青少年学生情感素质的现状

本研究采用自编的《青少年情感素质调查问卷》对全国3类地区9大城市1767名中等职业学校青少年学生进行了问卷调查。结果表明：我国中职生情感素质总体处于积极正向、亟待提高的状况;女生的情感素质稍优于男生,但存在结构性差异;情感素质与中职生学业自评呈正相关;居住情况和父母学历对中职生情感素质影响不大;与同龄高中生在情感总体上没有显著差异,仅理智情感发展低于高中生,并主要表现在自信感和好奇心方面;师生关系良好、教师有情施教对中职生各方面情感素质发展具有极为重要的促进作用,应引起教育部门的高度关注。     

儿童和青少年的应对发展研究新进展

本文从发展心理学的视角,综合有关儿童和青少年应对的研究,对应对的理论发展,儿童和青少年应对发展的特点和趋势以及影响因素等问题进行了梳理,并概述了该领域的研究动向。应对的理论发展体现出从静态到动态,从单因素向多因素,从单维度向多水平的特点。儿童和青少年的应对发展需要某些认知能力的支持,并和调节过程具有密切的联系。作为心理学重要研究领域的应对,对其本身结构、相关研究方法以及应对对个体心理发展的作用机制等问题的探索还有待进一步的深入。     

高中生人际信任、疏离感和公民责任意识的关系研究*

探讨高中生的人际信任、疏离感、公民责任意识三者之间的关系。以《高中生人际信任量表》、《青少年学生疏离感量表》和《公民责任意识问卷》为测试工具,在天津市中学随机抽取316名在校学生为被试,进行调查研究。统计结果表明：高中学生人际信任、疏离感和公民责任意识之间存在显著相关。对这三个变量进行中介效应分析,结果发现,疏离感分别部分中介了人际信任的三个维度人品信任、能力信任、行为一致性与公民责任意识之间的关系。人际信任的三个维度既可以直接地影响公共责任意识,也可以通过疏离感来间接地影响高中生的公民责任意识。     

两种科学观:本质主义与非本质主义

科学是现代文明的主要智力源泉,现代科技则是现代文明发展的主动力,是现代文明最炫目的一部分。如果说现代文明已陷入深重危机(如全球性生态危机、核战争的潜在危险和现代生物技术以及人工智能技术的应用风险),那么这深重危机与现代科技的理念、方法和发展方向直接相关。反思现