Specificity of the Association between Marital Discord and Longitudinal Changes in Symptoms of Depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder in the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing

This longitudinal study was conducted to evaluate actor and partner effects of marital discord on changes in symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in a large population sample of Irish adults (N = 1,445 couples), adjusting for the potential confounds of quality of other social relationships and other psychopathology symptoms. The Actor–Partner Interdependence Model was used to examine actor and partner effects of marital discord on changes in symptoms of depression and GAD at a 2‐year follow‐up. Additional models examined these associations adjusting for family and friend discord and symptoms of the other type of psychopathology (depressive or GAD symptoms). Actor effects of marital discord on depressive and anxiety symptoms were greater for men than for women. There were significant, positive actor effects of marital discord on depressive symptoms for husbands and wives, which remained significant when adjusting for family and friend discord and GAD symptoms. There were significant, positive actor effects of marital discord on GAD symptoms for husbands, which remained significant when adjusting for family and friend discord and depressive symptoms. Results demonstrate that longitudinal associations between marital discord and depressive symptoms (for wives and husbands) and GAD symptoms (for husbands) are incremental to other rival explanations (family and friend discord and the other set of symptoms). Findings provide evidence for a potential causal association leading from marital discord to symptoms of depression and GAD.     

Effects of NMDA receptor channel blockade on aggression in isolated male mice

N‐Methyl‐D ‐aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists are perspective candidates for medication development for a number of diseases/states that are associated with increased aggressiveness (e.g., opioid withdrawal). The prototypic NMDA receptor antagonist phencyclidine (PCP) itself is a widely abused substance and is known to elevate levels of aggression in drug users. The present study was aimed at testing several drugs that share with PCP the ability to block NMDA receptor–associated channel. The resident‐intruder procedure was used to assess drug effects on aggressive behavior in isolated male mice. Resident aggressive mice were administered NMDA channel blockers (PCP; 0.3–10 mg/kg), dizocilpine (MK‐801; 0.01–0.3 mg/kg), memantine (1–30 mg/kg), and MRZ 2/579 (0.1–5.6 mg/kg). The competitive NMDA receptor antagonist D CPPene (0.1–5.6 mg/kg) was also tested as a compound representing an alternative approach to reduce activity of NMDA receptor complex. PCP, dizocilpine, and memantine inhibited expression of aggressive behaviors only at doses that produced ataxia. The novel channel blocker MRZ 2/579 also produced ataxia at the highest dose level but failed to affect aggressiveness. Reduction in aggression with a corresponding increase in sociability was observed after administration of D ‐CPPene. Overall, the present results suggest that NMDA receptor channel blockers do not exert selective effects on aggressive behavior. Aggr. Behav. 25:381–396, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Optimal trade-offs of multiple factors in transfer pricing problems

Transfer pricing problems have been extensively researched by a number of scholars. It is well recognized that transfer pricing problems have a multiple-criteria (objectives) feature and can be formulated as a model of multiple-criteria linear programming. However, few methods have the capability of dealing with all possible optimal trade-offs of multiple criteria in optimal solutions of the models. In this paper a linear multiple-factor model is developed to provide managers with a more systematic and comprehensive scenario of all possible optimal transfer prices depending on both multiple criteria and multiple constraint levels. The trade-offs of all possible optimal transfer prices can be used as a basis for managers of a corporation to make a high-quality decision in selecting their transfer pricing systems for business competition. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Participation in Breast Cancer Genetic Counseling: The Influence of Educational Level, Ethnic Background, and Risk Perception

Genetic counseling has been suggested as a means of providing information and support to women with a family history of breast cancer. Yet women who undergo cancer genetic counseling in the United States generally consist of only a subset of those at risk, namely well-educated, upper-middle class, European American and Jewish women. We report outcomes from a study that provided a unique opportunity to determine whether women of African American, European American, Native American, or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry have varying interest in having cancer genetic counseling. The study offered a genetic counseling session to 97 women with a family history of breast cancer who were participating in a larger interview study designed to assess attitudes toward genetic testing for breast cancer. The study offered genetic counseling free of charge to all study participants with a family history of breast cancer, removing the potential barriers of cost, the need for a physician referral, and lack of awareness of genetic counseling. Fifty women out of the 97 women offered genetic counseling (52%) accepted the offer by completing a session. Those who accepted genetic counseling had a higher educational level, a higher perceived risk of breast cancer, and were more likely to expect a positive BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic test if they were to undergo genetic testing. When controlling for education level, there was no correlation between the participants' ethnic background and acceptance of a genetic counseling session. Outreach efforts to minority populations may increase awareness of the availability of genetic counseling and may facilitate participation by such populations.     

Possible participation of D3 and D4 dopaminergic receptors on genital reflexes induced by cocaine in paradoxical sleep deprived male rats

Previous studies have demonstrated that paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) potentiates cocaine-induced genital reflexes in male rats and both D1 and D2 receptors may play a role in those effects, and to examine the possibility that such might involve other dopaminergic receptors, we investigated the effects of D3 and D4 receptor subtype antagonists on cocaine-induced reflexes in sleep-deprived rats. Separate groups of PSD rats received saline, D3 (U9919A; 0.75, 1.5 and 3 mg/kg) or D4 (L745870; 0.75, 1.5 and 3 mg/kg) antagonists prior to acute cocaine challenge. Results demonstrated that U9919A induced significant reduction in the number of animals that displayed erection and the frequency of erection at two smaller doses, while no significant difference was reported for the D4 receptor antagonist. Although our studies indicate that there is a relevant participation of D3 receptors in male sexual function, D4 receptors seem not to exert an essential role in this model.     

Risk Assessment and Genetic Counseling for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer: Recommendations of the National Society of Genetic Counselors

These cancer genetic counseling recommendations describe the medical, psychosocial and ethical implications of identifying at-risk individuals for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) through cancer risk assessment, with or without genetic susceptibility testing. They were developed by members of the Practice Issues Subcommittee of the National Society of Genetic Counselors’ Familial Cancer Risk Counseling Special Interest Group. The information contained in this document is derived from extensive review of the current literature on cancer genetic risk assessment as well as the professional expertise of genetic counselors with significant experience in education and counseling regarding hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. Critical components of the process include the ascertainment of medical and family histories, determination and communication of cancer risk, assessment of risk perception, education regarding the genetics of HBOC, discussion of molecular testing for HBOC if appropriate (including benefits, risks and limitations) and any necessary follow-up. These recommendations do not dictate an exclusive course of management or guarantee a specific outcome. Moreover, they do not replace the professional judgment of a health care provider based on the clinical situation of a client.     

Intrahippocampal administration of A beta(1-40) impairs spatial learning and memory in hyperglycemic mice

Age-related neurodegenerative dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease (AD), may be exacerbated by several interacting risk factors including genetic predisposition, beta amyloid (A beta) protein accumulation, environmental toxins, head trauma, and abnormal glycolytic metabolism. We examined the spatial learning and memory effects of A beta(1-40) administration on hyperglycemic mice by their performance in the Morris water maze. Chronic hyperglycemia was induced in male C57BL/6J mice to mimic diabetes mellitus by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ), which specifically destroys pancreatic beta-islet cells. Ten days after STZ treatment, intrahippocampal infusion of vehicle, monomer, or oligomer A beta(1-40) was given to these hyperglycemic mice. Our results demonstrate that in comparison with vehicle or monomer A beta(1-40), oligomer A beta(1-40) induced significant deficits of spatial learning and memory in hyperglycemic mice. Apoptotic signals were identified in the CA1 and dentate gyrus of hippocampus in hyperglycemic mice. A beta accumulation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in the CA1 region were more intensive in hyperglycemic mice than that in normoglycemic mice after acute treatment with oligomer A beta(1-40) peptide treatment. These results indicate that CA1 apoptosis was enhanced by oxidative stress resulting from accumulation of A beta. Considered together, these findings suggest that hyperglycemic mice are more vulnerable to the A beta-induced-oxidative stress than normal subjects. We therefore propose that A beta accumulation would be enhanced by hyperglycemia, and the oxidative stress caused by A beta accumulation would in turn enhance the AD symptoms.     

Can the Dead be Brought into Disrepute?

Queen Christina of Sweden was unconventional in her time, leading to hypotheses on her gender and possible hermaphroditic nature. If genetic analysis can substantiate the latter claim, could this bring the queen into disrepute 300 years after her death? Joan C. Callahan has argued that if a reputation changes, this constitutes a change only in the group of people changing their views and not in the person whose reputation it is. Is this so? This paper analyses what constitutes change and draws out the implications to the reputation of the dead. It is argued that a reputation is a relational property which can go through changes. The change is “real” for the group changing their views on Queen Christina and of a Cambridge kind for the long dead queen herself. Cambridge changes result in new properties being acquired, some of which can be of significance. Although the dead cannot go through any non-relational changes, it is possible for the dead to change properties through Cambridge changes. In this sense changes in reputation do affect the dead, and thus Queen Christina can acquire a new property, in this case possibly a worse reputation.     

人格心理学的学科架构初探

人格心理学作为心理学体系中的重要分支之一,自创立以来却一直缺乏一个完整统一的学科架构。这种状况极大地限制了该学科的发展。文章回顾了人格心理学的起源和发展,探讨了学科发展的趋势,呈现了当下几种主要的学科架构。在综合比较的基础上,对其中有代表性的Clonlinger人格“描述—动力—发展”的“3D”模型进行了修正：（1）增加了人格理论;（2）把第一个“D”由“人格描述”改为“人格表现”;（3）对原有“3D”的内容进行补充和完善。得出了对人格心理学学科架构的“3D”修正模型：即理论加“3D”     

基于P2P网络的自组织个性化推荐系统(英文)

个性化推荐系统可以帮助人们找到感兴趣的内容,这些系统正在全世界内被广泛使用着。混和式的P2P推荐系统通过将共享的项目和计算任务分布到各个用户,从而能够解决基于C/S的推荐系统中存在的一些问题。本文描述了我们最近研究的基于P2P网络的自组织文章推荐系统,它同时也是一个多Agent系统,该系统内将每个Agent作为一个对等点,能够保存文档,并自动向其他的用户共享和推荐这些文档。我们主要研究了如何将推荐系统改造成适合混和式的P2P网络,以及如何能够迎合用户的内子需求。我们提出了多个模型来提高我们系统的推荐性能,并通过仿真实验来评价和分析这些模型。实验结果显示使用推荐阈值代替Top-N阈值以及引入推荐权威度能够带来系统性能上的很大提高。