Social regulation of human gene expression

ABSTRACT— The relationship between genes and social behavior has historically been construed as a one-way street, with genes in control. Recent analyses have challenged this view, by discovering broad alterations in the expression of human genes as a function of differing socio-environmental conditions. The emerging field of social genomics has begun to identity the types of genes subject to social regulation, the biological signaling pathways mediating those effects, and the genetic polymorphisms that moderate socioenvironmental influences on human gene expression.     

Samoan adolescents in American Samoa and Hawaii: Comparison of youth violence and youth development indicators: A study by the Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center

Samoan youths are critically under-studied in research on youth violence prevention and adolescent development. When Samoan adolescents are included in research investigations, they are typically obscured into the much larger aggregated categories of “Pacific Islanders” or “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.” The present study is one of the first to examine Samoans exclusively and compare the differences between Samoan youths residing in American Samoa and those residing in Hawaii. In an effort to gauge the acculturative processes of adolescents in American Samoan and Hawaii, the present study compared these two groups' self-reports of violence, substance use, grade-point average, scholastic aspirations, importance of religion, ethnic identity, parenting discipline style, and family support. Overall, the results indicated higher rates among Samoan adolescents in Hawaii as compared to those in American Samoa on one violence item and on substance use indicators (i.e., alcohol and marijuana). Samoan adolescents in American Samoa also reported higher levels of protective factors related to the importance of religion (especially for girls), ethnic identity, and family support. However, Samoan adolescents in Hawaii had higher scholastic aspirations than those in American Samoa, despite having lower grade-point averages. In general, Samoan students who did not self-report engaging in violence had higher rates of protective factors as compared to those who indicated engaging in violence. Statistically significant interactions reflected more complex effects. The implications of these findings in conjunction with the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) are discussed in the context of Samoan culture, acculturation, and youth development.     

Human factors in GIScience laboratory at the Pennsylvania State University

The human factors in GIScience Laboratory (Human Factors Lab) of The Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Geography is located in University Park, PA (USA). University Park and bordering State College, PA are found in the heart of PA between the cities of New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA, and Pittsburgh, PA. The laboratory is directed by Dr. Alexander Klippel and is part of the GeoVISTA Center. The Human Factors Lab contributes to Penn State Geography’s strong tradition as a leader in research on map perception, spatial cognition, and behavior in spatial environments. This report focuses upon basic research topics in spatial cognition, including: (1) perceptual and cognitive factors in map symbolization and design, (2) the creation of cognitively ergonomic route directions for next generation location based services (LBS), (3) You-Are-Here maps and the creation of a sense of place through map-like representations, (4) the conceptualization and representation of dynamic phenomena (i.e., geographic movement pattern), and (5) the relationship between linguistic and non-linguistic conceptualization.     

Social neuroscience of child and adolescent depression

The social neuroscience of child and adolescent depression is inherently multidisciplinary. Depressive disorders beginning early in life can have serious developmental and functional consequences. Psychopathology research has described depression's defining clinical and contextual features, and intervention research has characterized its response to treatment and prevention programs. Neuroendocrine, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging studies have identified core neurobiological aspects of early-onset mood disorders. These areas are reviewed using a developmental social neuroscience perspective for integrating disparate observations. The paper introduces a dynamic adaptive systems framework, and it discusses hedonic capacity, stress sensitivity, ruminative self-focus, and attentional impairments as fundamental components of mood disorders.     

唐山市三甲医院住院费用的灰色关联分析

利用灰色关联分析方法探索引起“看病贵”的主要因素,并提出有效的策略和措施。以唐山市2所三甲医院2004年出院的800名住院患者的医疗费用为研究对象,利用灰色关联分析法进行分析。提出灰色关联模型更加科学和合理;药费是造成外科疾病医疗费用过高的关键因素;需进一步改革医疗服务价格体系。     

患者认知因素对病人满意度的影响与对策研究

揭示了患者的认知因素对满意度的重要影响,提出医务工作者应改变仅是从自我做起,提高病人满意度的传统做法,强调要注重从患方入手,既要降低病人不现实的期望值,又要提高病人对医护服务的感知度.这样,在付出等量医技服务的情况下,通过矫正患者的认知误区,改善患者的认知状况,可获得更高的病人满意度.     

癌症患者生存质量研究进展

随着癌症患者生存时间和生存人数的增加,生存者本人和家属更加重视生存质量。本文总结分析近年来国内外癌症患者生存质量的研究状况,以期在癌症治疗过程中,不仅关注躯体功能和疾病本身以及由治疗带来的症状和体征,同时注重心理和社会职能。     

《中国人群死亡及其危险因素：流行水平、趋势和分布》的研究思路

回顾了该研究的思路,指出进行这样的研究,关键是建立一个有代表性的监测系统,针对同一监测人群,开展综合监测,发展规范的现场工作程序,确保获得高质量数据。建立标准的、动态的人口库、出生、死亡和危险因素个案库,是完成这项研究的前提,世界卫生组织专家称这是中国人在流行病学监测中的天才创新。     

Middle school student perceptions of school climate: Examining protective functions on subsequent adjustment problems

The present study examined the roles of student perceptions of four aspects of school climate (friction, cohesion, competition among students, and satisfaction with classes) as moderators of the relations between effortful control and subsequent conduct problems and depressive symptoms. Participants were 488 10-to-14-year old students involved in two waves, with one year between each wave, of a study. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that high levels of perceived friction predicted more subsequent conduct problems and depressive symptoms, even after baseline levels of these problems were partialled out. Low levels of effortful control also elevated risk for subsequent conduct problems. However, perceptions of the school as high in cohesion offset the risk associated with low levels of effortful control. Perceived satisfaction with classes also offset this risk, but only for females. Contrary to expectations, student perceptions of school climate did not interact with effortful control to predict subsequent depressive symptoms.     

Parent characteristics, economic stress and neighborhood context as predictors of parent involvement in preschool children's education

This study examines factors related to three dimensions of parent involvement in preschool: school-based involvement, home-based involvement, and the parent–teacher relationship. Participants were 154 predominantly African American parents recruited from two Head Start programs. Results of bivariate and canonical correlation analyses support the validity of a multi-dimensional, ecological conceptualization of parent involvement. Perceived context variables, including economic stress and neighborhood social disorder, related negatively to parent involvement. Parent characteristics, including sense of efficacy regarding education and level of education, related positively to parent involvement. Regression analyses detected different patterns of association between predictors and the three dimensions of parent involvement. Parent characteristics were associated with home involvement, while perceived context variables were predictive of the teacher–parent relationship. Implications of differential predictors for different domains of parent involvement and directions for future research and intervention with low-income families are discussed.