How Does Confucianism Influence Health Behaviors,Health Outcomes and Medical Decisions? A Scoping Review

Journal of Religion and Health - The aim of this study is to analyze the influence of Confucianism on health behaviors, health outcomes and medical decisions. The research was conducted using the...     

Complexities of Genetic Counseling for ALS: A Case of Two Siblings with Discordant Genetic Test Results

Rapid advances in the genetics of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have dramatically changed the approach of clinicians and researchers to the motor neuron diseases. We report two siblings in whom the genetic study provided conflicting results, hence raising a number of issues which deserve to be considered by clinicians involved in genetic testing for ALS. The first patient died within 2 years of ALS onset, while her brother still manages to walk unaided, 7 years into onset. Genetic analyses, performed on the first patient as part of a research protocol, and as clinical genetic testing on the brother, provided different results. Results for Patient 1 were negative for all investigated genes, thus suggesting that her disease may be a phenocopy, while her brother carried an autosomal dominant TARDBP mutation (p.A382T). A multidisciplinary approach may help patients and clinicians face the emerging dilemmas in such a complex field. Sharing and updating of advances, not to mention uncertainties inherent to current knowledge, with patients and families may prove to be an effective way to support them and to make them aware of the present limits of our knowledge and of the blurred border between research and clinical practice.     

The Processing Costs of Presupposition Accommodation

The present study investigates the processing of presupposition accommodation. In particular, it concerns the processing costs and the time-course of accommodation as compared to presupposition satisfaction. Data collected in a self-paced word-by-word reading times experiment support three results. First, independently on the presupposition trigger in use, accommodation is costlier than satisfaction. Second, presupposition accommodation takes places immediately just as the trigger becomes available and proceeds incrementally during the sentence processing. Third, accommodated information is harder to be recalled. The results offer evidence for the on-line processing of presuppositions and, consistently with the traditional semantic framework, support the idea that, presuppositions are semantic properties encoded in the lexical meaning of the presupposition triggers.     

Decline in working memory updating through ageing: Intrusion error analyses

The present research examines the decline in working memory updating through age. Two experiments compared groups of participants in different age ranges (young‐old, 55–65 years, old, 66–75 years and old‐old, more than 75 years and, in Experiment 2 only, young, 20–30 years). Memory updating tasks were administered, which required participants to remember the smallest items in each list. To perform the task correctly, participants had to update information efficiently, reducing interference from items no longer relevant. Intrusion errors were computed and in the first experiment these were described as “intrusions of irrelevant items” (immediate exclusion) and “intrusions of once relevant items” (delayed exclusion). The oldest adults performed worse in memory updating and made a greater number of intrusion errors of once relevant information. In the second experiment results showed that increases in memory load (number of items that had to be remembered) and updating demand (number of potentially relevant items) impaired performance. The oldest adults had greater difficulty when the task demand was increased. Furthermore, they produced a higher number of intrusion errors, particularly when the updating demand was increased. It therefore appears that elderly people have specific difficulty in updating information in working memory by excluding irrelevant information.     

The role of action in a creative theory of personality

Abstract

Psychoanalysis is a technique to let creativity develop, and thought must be a prelude to action, rather than its substitute. Megalomania, redefined according to Bion as the capacity to act responsibly, lies at the extreme positive end of the spectrum of personality.     

The human message in politics: the impact of emotional slogans on subtle conformity

The present work directly tests the persuasive potential of emotions in political slogans. Previous research that distinguished emotions on the human dimension found that individuals conform differently to the opinion of members of the in-group or the out-group when these targets expressed themselves in terms of uniquely human emotions (Vaes, Paladino, Castelli, Leyens, & Giovanazzi, 2003). In line with these findings, the present experiment tested the hypothesis that political slogans that express a uniquely human emotion and that are associated with the campaign of a political candidate who has the same political affiliation as participants (i.e., in-group) will induce more conformity reactions than a candidate of the opposing coalition (i.e., out-group) who presents similar kinds of slogans. Results confirmed this hypothesis on a subtle conformity measure and are discussed as a consequence of an infrahumanization process. Finally, possible applications of the presented findings and new avenues for future research are proposed.     

Changes in body dissatisfaction relative to gender and age: the modulating character of BMI

This study examines the level of body satisfaction in adolescents, and its association with age, sex and body mass index. A non-clinical group was made up of 935 adolescents (484 boys and 451 girls), aged between 10 and 18 years. The body image was assessed by the Body Dissatisfaction scale within the Eating Disorder Inventory (Garner, 1998, 2004) and by the indirect indicator Ideal Body Mass Index. The results showed that the Body Mass Index is an important covariable in the study of body dissatisfaction. Body dissatisfaction mean values increased in the female sample. The males' values did not change throughout adolescence.     

Psychiatric Symptoms and Quality of Life in Patients Affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa

The aim of our study was to provide a psychosocial and psychiatric evaluation of patients with epidermolysis bullosa (EB; a rare genetic disorder characterized by skin fragility), to assess psychological status, ascertain the presence of any psychiatric disorders and understand the impact of EB on quality of life. Twenty-five patients were assessed using a case record form and several standardized instruments. In 82% of patients, EB had a negative impact on quality of life and 80% of patients experienced psychiatric symptoms. Our findings revealed a high prevalence of psychosocial problems and psychiatric symptoms in patients with EB and suggested that a combined bio-psychosocial approach is the most appropriate therapeutic intervention.