Personal choice: A blessing or a burden,or both? A cross‐cultural investigation on need for closure effects in two Western and two East‐Asian societies

The present study investigates the role of dispositional need for closure (NFC) in how individuals within a particular culture perceive and appreciate choice. Data sets from the US (283 adults), Europe (263 adults and 427 students), China (218 adults and 309 students) and Singapore (258 students) were collected. The results showed that in Western cultures, people perceived choice in a linear way as either a burden or a blessing, whereas in Chinese culture, such opposition between perspectives did not appear, and individuals generally saw choice as both burden and blessing simultaneously. In Western cultures, high dispositional NFC was strongly associated with viewing choice‐as‐a‐burden, whereas Chinese respondents with a high NFC perceived choice as a blessing and a burden simultaneously. The Singaporean results were similar to the Western pattern. These findings are discussed in terms of the NFC literature and cultural differences in dialectic versus differentiation thinking styles.     

From Copenhagen to the consulting room: Pauli and Jung in Copenhagen

In this paper the city of Copenhagen is used as a starting point to highlight some critical historical events, both concerning the exchange of ideas between the physicist Wolfgang Pauli and C.G. Jung and the history of psychotherapy in Scandinavia. Pauli's years in Copenhagen under the influence of Niels Bohr and his philosophy prepared him mentally to receiveC.G. Jung's ideas. The paper also recounts the one occasion that Jung was in Scandinavia, attending the 9th conference of the General Medical Society for Psychotherapy in Copenhagen, just before going to New York in 1937 to give his final seminars on Pauli's dreams. The reason for focusing on these particular events is that they also constitute part of the history of the reception of psychodynamic psychology in Sweden and Scandinavia.     

Interview With Dr. Judith Miranti: A Servant Leader and Advocate for the Association for Spiritual,Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling

Dr. Judith Miranti has contributed over 40 years of service to the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC). The purpose of this article is to highlight and recognize a pioneer and influential leader of ASERVIC. The interview discusses Dr. Miranti's (a) historical knowledge and memories of the development of ASERVIC, (b) involvement in ASERVIC in various leadership roles and with others who influenced her, and (c) hope for the future of ASERVIC.     

Neural processing of intentional biological motion in unaffected siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder: An fMRI study

Despite often showing behaviorally typical levels of social cognitive ability, unaffected siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder have been found to show similar functional and morphological deficits within brain regions associated with social processing. They have also been reported to show increased activation to biological motion in these same regions, such as the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), relative to both children with autism and control children. It has been suggested that this increased activation may represent a compensatory reorganization of these regions as a result of the highly heritable genetic influence of autism. However, the response patterns of unaffected siblings in the domain of action perception are unstudied, and the phenomenon of compensatory activation has not yet been replicated. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to determine the neural responses to intentional biological actions in 22 siblings of children with autism and 22 matched controls. The presented actions were either congruent or incongruent with the actor’s emotional cue. Prior studies reported that typically developing children and adults, but not children with autism, show increased activation to incongruent actions (relative to congruent), within the pSTS and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. We report that unaffected siblings did not show a compensatory response, or a preference for incongruent over congruent trials, in any brain region. Moreover, interaction analyses revealed a sub-region of the pSTS in which control children showed an incongruency preference to a significantly greater degree than siblings, which suggests a localized deficit in siblings. A sample of children with autism also did not show differential activation in the pSTS, providing further evidence that it is an area of selective disruption in children with autism and siblings. While reduced activation to both conditions was unique to the autism sample, lack of differentiation to incongruent and congruent intentional actions was common to both children with ASD and unaffected siblings.     

Cerebral perfusion and neuropsychological follow up in mild traumatic brain injury: Acute versus chronic disturbances?

In a subgroup of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) residual symptoms, interfering with outcome and return to work, are found. With neuropsychological assessment cognitive deficits can be demonstrated although the pathological underpinnings of these cognitive deficits are not fully understood. As the admission computed tomography (CT) often is normal, perfusion CT imaging may be a useful indicator of brain dysfunction in the acute phase after injury in these patients.In the present study, directly after admission perfusion CT imaging was performed in mild TBI patients with follow-up neuropsychological assessment in those with complaints and a normal non-contrast CT. Neuropsychological tests comprised the 15 Words test Immediate Recall, Trailmaking test part B, Zoo Map test and the FEEST, which were dichotomized into normal and abnormal. Perfusion CT results of patients with normal neuropsychological test scores were compared to those with abnormal test scores.In total eighteen patients were included. Those with an abnormal score on the Zoo Map test had a significant lower CBV in the right frontal and the bilateral parieto-temporal white matter. Patients with an abnormal score on the FEEST had a significant higher MTT in the bilateral frontal white matter and a significant decreased CBF in the left parieto-temporal grey matter. No significant relation between the perfusion CT parameters and the 15 Words test and the Trailmaking test part B was present.In conclusion, impairments in executive functioning and emotion perception assessed with neuropsychological tests during follow up were related to differences in cerebral perfusion at admission in mild TBI. The pathophysiological concept of these findings is discussed.     

Can Muslims Befriend Non-Muslims? Debating al-walāʾ wa-al-barāʾ (Loyalty and Disavowal) in Theory and Practice

This article analyzes the polemic on the concept of al-walā? wa-al-barā? (commonly translated as “loyalty and disavowal”). While existing academic literature focuses on the usages of this concept by jihad activists, the article centers on the role “loyalty and disavowal” plays in debates between contemporary salafī and wasa?ī jurists and theologians, specifically in their conflicting agendas for Muslims living as minorities. Salafīs, relying on several qur'anic verses and Prophetic traditions, promote an understanding of “loyalty and disavowal” that requires Muslims to refrain from befriending or loving non-Muslims, or imitating their beliefs and customs. Relying on counter-verses and traditions, in particular Q 60.8, wasa?īs have interpreted the concept of “loyalty and disavowal” more narrowly, arguing that it applies only to non-Muslims who fight against Muslims; as part of their integration-oriented doctrine for Muslims in the West, they have in recent years dedicated considerable efforts to refuting the salafī interpretation of al-walā? wa-al-barā?. The article examines the juristic methodologies utilized in the debate, and how it has affected religious decisions (fatwās) on Islamic life in Western societies.     

原发灶切除在转移性乳腺癌治疗中的地位

无论是国内还是世界其他国家,乳腺癌近年来已成为女性常患恶性肿瘤之首。早期乳腺癌通过手术、化疗、放疗及内分泌治疗等综合治疗后可以达到长期生存。然而对于晚期乳腺癌,特别是伴有远处转移的乳腺癌,疗效却不尽如人意。对于转移性乳腺癌,目前治疗优先选择毒性尽可能小的全身系统性治疗方案;而对于需要缓解症状或避免即将发生并发症（如皮肤溃疡、出血、真菌感染以及疼痛等）的情况可于全身治疗后行相应手术。然而对于转移性乳腺癌是否手术切除原发灶以及是否可从手术中获益,仍然充满争议。