Death Threat Letters: Allegories of American Authorship in the Age of Terrorism

This dissertation examines novels that use terrorism to allegorize the threatened position of the literary author in contemporary culture. Allegory is a term that has been differently understood over time, but which has consistently been used by writers to articulate and construct their roles as authors. In the novels I look at, the terrorist challenge to authorship results in multiple deployments of allegory, each differently illustrating the way that allegory is used and authorship constructed in the contemporary American novel. Don DeLillo’s Mao II (1991), first puts terrorists and authors in an oppositional pairing. The terrorist’s ability to traffic in spectacle is presented as indicative of the author’s fading importance in contemporary culture and it is one way that terrorism allegorizes threats to authorship. In Philip Roth’s Operation Shylock (1993), the allegorical pairing is between the text of the novel and outside texts – newspaper reports, legal cases, etc. – that the novel references and adapts in order to bolster its own narrative authority. Richard Powers’s Plowing the Dark (1999) pairs the story of an imprisoned hostage, craving a single book, with employees of a tech firm who are creating interactive, virtual reality artworks. Focusing on the reader’s experience, Powers’s novel posits a form of authorship that the reader can take into consideration, but which does not seek to control the experience of the text. Finally, I look at two of Paul Auster’s twenty-first century novels, Travels in the Scriptorium (2007) and Man in the Dark (2008), to suggest that the relationship between representations of authors and terrorists changed after 9/11. Auster’s author-figures forward an ethics of authorship whereby novels can use narrative to buffer readers against the portrayal of violent acts in a culture that is suffused with traumatizing imagery.

Self-titration by experienced e-cigarette users: blood nicotine delivery and subjective effects

Rationale Self-titration is well documented in the tobacco literature. The extent to which ecigarette users (vapers) self-titrate is unknown. Objective This study explored the effects of high and low nicotine strength liquid on puffing topography, nicotine delivery and subjective effects in experienced vapers. Methods Eleven experienced male vapers completed 60 minutes of ad libitum vaping under low (6 mg/mL) and high (24 mg/mL) nicotine liquid conditions in two separate sessions. Measurements included: puffing topography (puff number, puff duration, volume of liquid consumed); and changes in: plasma nicotine levels, craving, withdrawal symptoms, selfreported hit, satisfaction and adverse effects. Results Liquid consumption and puff number were higher, and puff duration longer, in the low nicotine strength condition (all ps < 0.01). The mean difference in nicotine boost from baseline in the low condition was 8.59 (7.52) ng/mL, 16.99 (11.72) ng/mL and 22.03 (16.19) ng/mL at 10, 30 and 60 minutes respectively. Corresponding values for the high condition were 33.77 (34.88) ng/mL, 35.48 (28.31) ng/mL and 43.57 (34.78) ng/mL (ps < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between conditions in self-reported craving, withdrawal symptoms, satisfaction, hit or adverse effects. Conclusions Vapers engaged in compensatory puffing with lower nicotine strength liquid, doubling their consumption. Whilst compensatory puffing was sufficient to reduce craving and withdrawal discomfort, self-titration was incomplete with significantly higher plasma nicotine levels in the high condition.

DSM-5. Trastornos por consumo de sustancias: ¿son problemáticos los nuevos cambios en el ámbito forense?

La reciente publicación del Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los Trastornos Mentales en su 5ª edición (DSM-5) por la American Psychiatric Association ha supuesto varios y significativos cambios, así como encendidos debates y críticas. Este artículo se centra en el trastorno por consumo de sustancias. Uno de los principales cambios en relación a este trastorno es el enfoque dimensional. Las categorías de abuso y dependencia se incluyen dentro de un trastorno, y se aplica a cada una de las sustancias requiriendo dos o más de los once síntomas especificados. Se incluye el craving y han desaparecido los "problemas legales" porque han mostrado una pobre discriminación para el diagnóstico. La desaparición de las categorías del abuso y la dependencia puede causar cierta confusión entre los operadores judiciales. A partir de ahora, los peritos tendrán que hacer un esfuerzo para explicar a los tribunales las características específicas de acuerdo a los ítems aprobados en el DSM-5.

Is there a need for “healthy” chocolate? Systematic literature review

Antecedentes: El chocolate tiene propiedades especiales que ayudan a proteger el cuerpo humano de enfermedades cardiovasculares, incrementa el colesterol HDL y reduce la presión sanguínea. El consumo de chocolate también ayuda a reducir el estrés, eleva el ´animo y reduce el cansancio. El propósito de esta revisión es identificar, seleccionar, organizar y resumir estudios que investiguen el chocolate en relación con la salud, las características sensoriales y las actitudes de las personas. Este artículo es parte de la tesis de maestría: Is there a need for “healthy” chocolate? Systematic literature review and consumer research in Belgium and in Denmark (Es necesario el chocolate “saludable”? Revisión sistemática de la literatura y estudio al consumidor en Bélgica y Dinamarca), presentada por la autora en Junio del 2015 a la Universidad de Aalborg en Copenhague. Métodos: Este estudio presenta tres áreas relacionadas con el chocolate: Chocolate y su relación con la salud; características sensoriales y aceptación del chocolate; y actitudes hacia el chocolate. Una revisión sistemática de la literatura fue realizada para identificar, seleccionar, organizar y resumir estudios que investiguen al chocolate en relación con estas tres áreas. Cuatro bases de datos fueron escogidas: PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus y Web of Science por sus extensiones y porque superponen investigaciones interdisciplinarias.Resultados: Se obtuvieron un total de 2062 hits en las cuatro bases de datos. Un total de sesenta artículos cumplieron los criterios y fueron identificados como relevantes. Los artículos fueron clasificados de acuerdo a las tres áreas incluidas en el estudio. En relación a la salud, se ha indicado en muchos estudios que los polifenoles en el chocolate pueden mejorar la salud, especialmente en enfermedades cardiovasculares. De acuerdo a las características sensoriales y aceptación del chocolate, se ha dicho que la forma del chocolate tiene una influencia en la percepción del mismo. Los polifenoles causan astringencia y amargor al chocolate, haciéndolo no muy apetecido para los consumidores; sin embargo, por razones de salud, los polifenoles deben ser conservados. Acerca de las actitudes hacia el chocolate, hay muchos factores que llevan al deseo incontrolable de consumir chocolate. El chocolate es el alimento más apetecido en Norte América, éste influencia el estado anímico y crea una sensación de saciedad. Conclusión: Con base en esta revisión se puede concluir que un chocolate “saludable” puede ser parte de una dieta saludable, a la gente le gusta disfrutar del chocolate, mujeres más que hombres. La literatura respalda las propiedades saludables que tiene el consumo del chocolate, por esto es necesario trabajar en el desarrollo de productos de chocolate.

Design and conduct of a pragmatic randomized controlled trial to enhance smoking-cessation outcomes with exercise: The Fit2Quit study

Background: Most smokers want to stop smoking and many try to quit. However abstinence rates are low and most smokers do not manage to abstain for even a week. Relapse to smoking can be related to the occurrence of tobacco withdrawal symptoms (e.g., sleep disturbance, irritability, and craving) and weight gain. If regular exercise mitigates these effects it could have potential as an aid to smoking cessation. The aim of the Fit2Quit study is to determine the effects of a home and community-based exercise intervention on smoking abstinence at six months when used as an adjunct to usual care (telephone smoking-cessation counseling and nicotine replacement therapy; NRT). Methods/design: A prospective parallel two-arm randomized controlled trial. Participants (n = 1400, 700 per arm) will be randomized to a structured home and community-based exercise program plus usual care (behavioral counseling and NRT) or to usual-care alone. It is targeted that at least 25% of the sample will be of Mori ethnicity (New Zealand indigenous). Outcomes to be measured using intention-to-treat analysis include: seven-day point prevalence of smoking abstinence verified by salivary cotinine (primary outcome); 6 months continuous abstinence; body mass index (BMI); cardio-respiratory fitness; physical activity levels; and cost effectiveness. Discussion: The Fit2Quit study is an example of a large, pragmatic randomized controlled trial in a community setting. Specific components of the exercise intervention are outlined in detail. Trial registration: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12609000637246.

A potential role for N-acetylcysteine in the management of methamphetamine dependence

Methamphetamine dependence is a growing problem in Australia and globally. Currently, there are no approved pharmacotherapy options for the management of methamphetamine dependence. N-acetylcysteine is one potential pharmacotherapy option. It has received growing attention as a therapy for managing addictions because of its capacity to restore homeostasis to brain glutamate systems disrupted in addiction and thereby reduce craving and the risk of relapse. N-acetylcysteine also has antioxidant properties that protect against methamphetamine-induced toxicity and it may therefore assist in the management of the neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive effects of methamphetamine. This commentary overviews the actions of N-acetylcysteine and evidence for its efficacy in treating addiction with a particular focus on its potential utility for methamphetamine dependence. We conclude that the preliminary evidence indicates a need for full-scale trials to definitively establish whether N-acetylcysteine has a therapeutic benefit and the nature of this benefit, for managing methamphetamine dependence.