From early markers to neuro-developmental mechanisms of autism

A fast growing field, the study of infants at risk because of having an older sibling with autism (i.e. infant sibs) aims to identify the earliest signs of this disorder, which would allow for earlier diagnosis and intervention. More importantly, we argue, these studies offer the opportunity to validate existing neuro-developmental models of autism against experimental evidence. Although autism is mainly seen as a disorder of social interaction and communication, emerging early markers do not exclusively reflect impairments of the “social brain”. Evidence for atypical development of sensory and attentional systems highlight the need to move away from localized deficits to models suggesting brain-wide involvement in autism pathology. We discuss the implications infant sibs findings have for future work into the biology of autism and the development of interventions.     

‘A nation of vicars and merchants’: religiosity and Dutch MEPs

Religion is a major driving force in the Dutch political system and as European integration has progressed, it is often argued that these national practices affect how national representatives act in the European Parliament (EP). Our aim in this study is to determine to what extent the religious divide impacts upon the work of Dutch MEPs in the European political arena. On the basis of the RelEP survey and interviews, we argue that religious or secular views are very salient to Dutch MEPs, but that their impact is largely indirect. Moreover, we find that Dutch MEPs actively use the EP and its committee system in an attempt to redefine the relationship between church and state in the Netherlands. And finally, we argue that the European arena offers new opportunities for mobilisation among those promoting secularist interests.     

Belief in a just world mediates the relationship between institutional trust and life satisfaction among the elderly in China

This study investigated the relationship between institutional trust and life satisfaction, and the mediating role of belief in a just world (BJW) among the elderly. The General Belief in a Just World Scale (GBJW) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were employed. A self-developed Institutional Trust questionnaire was used to measure participant’ levels of trust in eight institutions. The aggregate score for all eight items represented the level of institutional trust. The questionnaires were completed by 19,352 retirees ranging in age from 50 to 99 (M = 69.7, SD = 8.0). The results showed the following: (1) overall, the retirees tended to report high institutional trust and high life satisfaction; (2) institutional trust was positively associated with life satisfaction; and (3) more importantly, the relationships between institutional trust and life satisfaction were partially mediated by GBJW. This finding provides a new insight into the psychological mechanisms by which institutional trust relates to individual happiness. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings, as well as the study’s limitations, are discussed.     

日本731部队细菌战与人体试验研究：《陆军军医学校防疫研究报告》第2部·第1册解析

《陆军军医学校防疫研究报告》是日本陆军军医学校(东京)的内部刊物,《陆军军医学校防疫研究报告》第2部·第1册是第2部第1号~第100号,主编为731部队长石井四郎,收录了1939年7月~1941年底日军细菌战方面的研究成果,包括陆军军医学校、731部队、东京帝国大学等机构成员撰写的专题研究报告共计96篇,缺失4篇。日军在1939年~1945年在华多次发动细菌战,从报告发布时间看,全部发表于日本全面侵华战争之后和细菌战开始之前;从报告内容看,有关血清、细菌培养、滤水器使用、疫苗研究等主要内容可以反映出细菌战研究为开展细菌战所做的准备。     

《四分律》中的耆婆医案探析

耆婆在中印医学交流中发挥了重要作用,《四分律》中关于耆婆医案的记载最为集中,案例涉及疾病病种有头痛、痔疮、肠扭结、水肿,治疗方法涉及外治法、内治法、手术疗法。通过对耆婆的生平、《四分律》中关于耆婆的六则医案以及医案反映出的医学思想等三个方面进行介绍,说明耆婆在我国医学发展史上的重要地位,突出耆婆在医学上丰富的诊疗经验和高超的医学技术,有助于准确把握耆婆诊疗方式、手术治疗特点、用药特色,挖掘当时医学的发展进程,有助于梳理耆婆医学思想在医学发展史上的历史意义以及更好地指导临床实践。     

转基因技术安全性的生态伦理浅析

以转基因技术为基础的生物技术是本世纪最具影响力的高新技术产业带。转基因技术在农业、食品、医药、环保等方面有广泛应用,它给人类社会的发展带来巨大的经济效益和社会效益的同时,也存在着潜在危险,即有可能影响生态环境,危害人类健康。本文试图从生态伦理的角度来思考转基因技术的安全性问题。     

Child Care in The Netherlands: Trends in Quality Over the Years 1995-2005

The authors assessed the quality of child care in a representative national sample of 42 child-care centers in the Netherlands and compared it with the quality of care that researchers have found using similar samples in 1995 (M. H. van IJzendoorn, L. W. C. Tavecchio, G. J. J. M. Stams, M. J. E. Verhoeven, & E. J. Reiling, 1998) and 2001 (M. J. J. M. Gevers Deynoot-Schaub & J. M. A. Riksen-Walraven, 2005). In the present study, results showed a low level of overall process quality for the 2005 sample, measured by the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised (T. Harms, D. Cryer, & R. M. Clifford, 2003) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (T. Harms, R. M. Clifford, & D. Cryer, 1998). The present authors found a significant decline in process quality in comparison with the 1995 and 2001 findings. They concluded that, from an international perspective, the Netherlands has lost its leading position in child-care quality compared with that from 10 years ago.     

The distressed (Type D) and Five-Factor Models of personality in young,healthy adults and their association with emotional inhibition and distress

The distressed (Type D) personality (the combination of negative affectivity and social inhibition traits) has been associated with adverse health outcomes. This study investigated the validity of the Type D construct against the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality, and its association with emotional control and distress. In total 498 university students (mean age 28.9 ± 8.4 years) completed the Type D scale (DS14), and measurements for the FFM of personality, emotional control, anxiety, depression and stress. The construct validity of the Icelandic DS14 was confirmed. The Type D components negative affectivity and social inhibition were strongly associated with neuroticism and extraversion of the FFM (r = 0.82 and r = −0.67, respectively). Negative affectivity also correlated with rehearsal/rumination (r = 0.58) and social inhibition with emotional inhibition (r = 0.54), indicative of emotional control. Type D personality (40% of sample) was associated with higher levels of anxiety, depression and stress. The Type D personality components were associated with the FFM of personality, emotional control and emotional distress. Importantly, social and emotional inhibition were closely related, providing novel information about the presence of emotional inhibition within the social inhibition trait.     

When emotion does and does not impair performance: A Garner theory of the emotional Stroop effect

It takes people longer to name the ink colour of emotion or threat words than that of neutral words, the emotional Stroop effect (ESE). In three experiments with normal and patient populations, we show that the ESE is a special case of a generic attention model and effect entailed in Garner's speeded classification paradigm. Guided by the Garner model we demonstrate that task-irrelevant dimensions that differ in salience can produce the ESE and mimic it with neutral stimuli. When each word appears in a constant colour, as mandated in the correlation condition of the Garner design, the ESE is eliminated. This important result is consistent with the attention account of the ESE. We conclude that when emotion stimuli appear in a random fashion they interfere with task performance. However, when emotion stimuli are correlated with features of the ongoing task they help task performance not least due to their extreme salience.