自然分娩与剖宫产的比较研究

剖宫产不是一种分娩方式,而是解决难产的手段。日益增高的剖宫产率成为人们关注的热点话题,自然分娩和剖宫产对母婴的健康和卫生资源的影响,有很多的研究和争议,对于没有医学指征要求剖宫产目前倾向于在知情同意的情况下尊重患者的自主权和选择权,但控制剖宫产率在一个理性的范围之内,是一个系统工程,值得全社会的关注。     

An evaluation of two differential reinforcement procedures with escape extinction to treat food refusal

Consumption of solids and liquids occurs as a chain of behaviors that may include accepting, swallowing, and retaining the food or drink. In the current investigation, we evaluated the relative effectiveness of differential reinforcement of the first behavior in the chain (acceptance) versus differential reinforcement for the terminal behavior in the chain (mouth clean). Three children who had been diagnosed with a feeding disorder participated. Acceptance remained at zero when differential reinforcement contingencies were implemented for acceptance or mouth clean. Acceptance and mouth clean increased for all 3 participants once escape extinction was added to the differential reinforcement procedures, independent of whether reinforcement was provided for acceptance or for mouth clean. Maintenance was observed in 2 children when escape extinction was removed from the treatment package. The mechanism by which consumption increased is discussed in relation to positive and negative reinforcement contingencies.     

Should Hispanic persons from different countries of origin be combined into one sample for analysis?

Hispanic respondents to 21 nationwide surveys were grouped on the basis of country of origin into Mexican Americans (n = 402), Puerto Ricans (n = 119), and Other Latin Americans (n = 105). Analysis showed no significant over-all differences among subgroups. No significant subgroup differences in work attitudes were found for women and only one for men. Analysis of subgroup attitudes across age, education, occupation, family income, and personal income also gave no significant differences. These results provide tentative evidence that Hispanic respondents from different countries of origin may be aggregated into a single sample for analysis. There may be no more reason to analyze their responses separately by country of origin than there is to do so for persons of European or African origin.     

Artificial grammar learning in Alzheimer’s disease

Patients with early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) exhibit impaired declarative memory although some forms of nondeclarative memory are intact. Performance on perceptual nondeclarative memory tasks is often preserved in AD, whereas conceptual nondeclarative memory is often impaired. A conceptual nondeclarative learning task that has been studied in amnesic patients is the artificial grammar learning (AGL) task. Healthy participants and patients with impaired declarative memory both acquire information about an underlying rule structure in this task and exhibit the ability to identify rule-conforming items, despite the subjective experience of guessing at the response. In this study, 12 patients diagnosed with early AD were tested on the AGL task and a matched recognition task. The patients were able to reliably distinguish rule-conforming items from others, indicating successful AGL. Performance of the AD patients was impaired, relative to controls, on a similar recognition task, although they were found to use information about the grammaticality of study items in an attempt to improve their recognition performance. The AD patients showed a dissociation similar to that seen in anterograde amnesia: impaired recognition memory in conjunction with successful AGL. This finding suggests that the brain areas that support AGL are not compromised early in the course of AD. In addition, the nondeclarative memory of the AD patients acquired during AGL appeared to influence their performance on a declarative memory task, suggesting an interaction between this nondeclarative memory task and declarative memory.     

Adults returning to school: the impact on family and work

The authors examined the impact of attending a Weekend College (WEC) program on adult students' family, work, and social life. Student participants responded to a 26-item questionnaire and three open-ended questions. Regression analyses of the 566 completed surveys revealed that satisfaction with school and support from family and the work place were predictive of lower levels of stress. Content analyses of responses to open-ended questions showed that expected stress was the result of time constraints but also highlighted the positive aspects of continuing one's education. The study includes suggestions for designing programs to meet the needs of adult students.     

Lack of association of apolipoprotein E polymorphism in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) could be considered a neurodevelopmental disorder, from several lines of evidence. One of the most widely studied genes in these disorders is the apolipoprotein E gene, particularly allele 4. We analyzed for association among patients with OCD versus normal controls and cognitively impaired patients. There were no significant differences between OCD probands compared with population controls. However, the cognitively impaired group showed a higher frequency of allele apolipoprotein E gene compared with normal controls and patients with OCD.     

On Negation for Non-classical Set Theories

We present a case study for the debate between the American and the Australian plans, analyzing a crucial aspect of negation: expressivity within a theory. We discuss the case of non-classical set theories, presenting three different negations and testing their expressivity within algebra-valued structures for ZF-like set theories. We end by proposing a minimal definitional account of negation, inspired by the algebraic framework discussed.

     

Diabetes distress,illness perceptions and glycaemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes

The emotional distress associated with adjusting to and living with diabetes has been termed diabetes distress. Diabetes distress is associated with glycaemic control but interventions to reduce diabetes distress have failed to consistently improve diabetes control. Various illness perceptions have previously been linked with both diabetes distress and glycaemic control but interrelationships between these features have not been previously investigated. We hypothesised that illness perceptions mediate the relationship between diabetes distress and glycaemia. Participants with type 2 diabetes attending diabetes outpatient clinics (n = 84) provided demographic and clinical information and completed the Diabetes Distress Scale-17 and the Brief Illness Perceptions Questionnaire. Using regression analysis we demonstrated that the illness perceptions of personal control, regimen-related distress, socioeconomic status and insulin use were significant contributors in the final model predicting HbA_1c. Higher levels of personal control were associated with better glycaemic control. Conversely, regimen-related distress was associated with hyperglycaemia. Mediation analyses showed that the relationship between regimen-related distress and HbA_1c was mediated by personal control. Our work suggests that psychological interventions designed to reduce diabetes distress may be more efficacious in improving glycaemic control if they address an individual’s perception of personal control.