Visual hallucinations

Research into visual hallucinations has accelerated over the last decade from around 350 publications per year in 2000 to over 500 in 2010. Increased recognition of the frequent occurrence of visual hallucinations in a number of common disorders, coupled with improvements in the measurement of phenomenology, and more sophisticated imaging techniques have allowed the development and initial testing of sophisticated models. However, key questions remain unanswered. Amongst these are: whether there is a satisfactory definition of hallucinations in a constructive visual system; whether there are one, two or several core varieties of hallucinations; what are the underlying brain mechanisms for hallucinations; and what, if anything, can be done to treat them when they lead to distress? Looking across research in several clinical areas suggests a tentative integrative model that allows the possibility of answering these questions, but much work remains to be done.

Tracks of immigrant political incorporation

Models of Immigrant Political Incorporation brings together a multidisciplinary group of scholars to consider pathways by which immigrants may be incorporated into the political processes of western democracies. It builds on a rich tradition of studying immigrant incorporation, but each chapter innovates by moving beyond singular accounts of particular groups and locations toward a general causal model with the scope and breadth to apply across groups, places, and time. Models of Immigrant Political Incorporation addresses three key analytic questions: what, if anything, are the distinctive features of immigrants or immigrant groups? How broadly should one define and study politics? What are the initial premises for analyzing pathways toward incorporation; does one learn more by starting from an assumption of racialization and exclusion or from an assumption of engagement and inclusion? While all models engage with all three key analytic questions, chapters vary in their relative focus on one or another, and in the answers they provide. Most include graphical illustrations of the model, as well as extended examples applying the model to one or more immigrant populations. At a time when research on immigrant political incorporation is rapidly accumulating - and when immigrants are increasingly significant political actors in many democratic polities — this volume makes a timely and valuable intervention by pushing researchers to articulate causal dynamics, provide clear definitions and measurable concepts, and develop testable hypotheses. Furthermore, the wide array of frameworks examining how immigrants become part of a polity or are shunted aside ensure that activists and analysts alike will find useful insights. By including historians, sociologists, and political scientists, by ranging across North America and Western Europe, by addressing successful and failed incorporative efforts, this handbook offers guides for anyone seeking to develop a dynamic, unified, and supple model of immigrant political incorporation.

[Elevated transaminases - what to do if everything was done?]

Transaminases, gamma-GT and alcalic phosphatase are classically termed as liver enzymes, however they can be found in almost every organ. Elevated levels of the transaminases ALAT (alanin-aminotransferase) and ASAT (aspartat-aminotransferase) are signs of disturbed permeability of the cells, in which these enzymes can be found. In contrast to ALAT, which is mainly liver-specific, the ASAT is found in other organs as well, e.g. heart and skeletal muscle. At a mild elevation of these enzymes a reevaluation is recommended, however if an elevation persists and is suspicious for a liver disease, a specific work up is necessary. In this manuscript, we discuss often overlooked problems and provide a diagnostic algorithm for the workup of elevated liver enzymes.