Assessment of neuroleptic-induced movement disorders in a naturalistic schizophrenia population

The prevalence and assessment of neuroleptic-induced movement disorders (NIMDs) in a naturalistic schizophrenia population that uses conventional neuroleptics were studied. We recruited 99 chronic schizophrenic institutionalized adult patients from a state nursing home in central Estonia. The total prevalence of NIMDs according to the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) was 61.6%, and 22.2% had more than one NIMD. We explored the reliability and validity of different instruments for measuring these disorders. First, we compared DSM-IV with the established observer rating scales of Barnes Akathisia Rating Scale (BARS), Simpson-Angus Scale (SAS) (for neuroleptic-induced parkinsonism, NIP) and Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) (for tardive dyskinesia), all three of which have been used for diagnosing NIMD. We found a good overlap of cases for neuroleptic-induced akathisia (NIA) and tardive dyskinesia (TD) but somewhat poorer overlap for NIP, for which we suggest raising the commonly used threshold value of 0.3 to 0.65. Second, we compared the established observer rating scales with an objective motor measurement, namely controlled rest lower limb activity measured by actometry. Actometry supported the validity of BARS and SAS, but it could not be used alone in this naturalistic population with several co-existing NIMDs. It could not differentiate the disorders from each other. Quantitative actometry may be useful in measuring changes in NIA and NIP severity, in situations where the diagnosis has been made using another method. Third, after the relative failure of quantitative actometry to show diagnostic power in a naturalistic population, we explored descriptive ways of analysing actometric data, and demonstrated diagnostic power pooled NIA and pseudoakathisia (PsA) in our population. A subjective question concerning movement problems was able to discriminate NIA patients from all other subjects. Answers to this question were not selective for other NIMDs. Chronic schizophrenia populations are common worldwide, NIMD affected two-thirds of our study population. Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of NIMDs warrant more attention, especially in countries where typical antipsychotics are frequently used. Our study supported the validity and reliability of DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for NIMD in comparison with established rating scales and actometry. SAS can be used with minor modifications for screening purposes. Controlled rest lower limb actometry was not diagnostically specific in our naturalistic population with several co-morbid NIMDs, but it may be sensitive in measuring changes in NIMDs.

(Failed) voluntary euthanasia law reform in Australia: Two decades of trends, models and politics

Within Australia, there have been many attempts to pass voluntary euthanasia (VE) or physician-assisted suicide (PAS) legislation. From 16 June 1993 until the date of writing, 51 Bills have been introduced into Australian parliaments dealing with legalising VE or PAS. Despite these numerous attempts, the only successful Bill was the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act 1995 (NT), which was enacted in the Northern Territory, but a short time later overturned by the controversial Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 (Cth). Yet, in stark contrast to the significant political opposition, for decades Australian public opinion has overwhelmingly supported law reform legalising VE or PAS. While there is ongoing debate in Australia, both through public discourse and scholarly publications, about the merits and dangers of reform in this field, there has been remarkably little analysis of the numerous legislative attempts to reform the law, and the context in which those reform attempts occurred. The aim of this article is to better understand the reform landscape in Australia over the past two decades. The information provided in this article will better equip Australians, both politicians and the general public, to have a more nuanced understanding of the political context in which the euthanasia debate has been and is occurring. It will also facilitate a more informed debate in the future.

Investigating the effect of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) on postoperative pain intensity in adolescents undergoing surgery: A randomized controlled trial

Aim To investigate the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing for postoperative pain management in adolescents. Background Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an inexpensive, non-pharmacological intervention that has successfully been used to treat chronic pain. It holds promise in the treatment of acute, postsurgical pain based on its purported effects on the brain and nervous system. Design A randomized controlled trial was used. Methods Fifty-six adolescent surgical patients aged between 12-18 years were allocated to gender-balanced Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (treatment) or non-Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (control) groups. Pain was measured using the Wong-Baker FACES® Pain Rating Scale (WBFS) before and after the intervention (or non-intervention for the control group). Findings A Wilcoxon signed-rank test demonstrated that the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing group experienced a significant reduction in pain intensity after treatment intervention, whereas the control group did not. Additionally, a Mann–Whitney U-test showed that, while there was no significant difference between the two groups at time 1, there was a significant difference in pain intensity between the two groups at time 2, with the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing group experiencing lower levels of pain. Conclusion These results suggest that Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing may be an effective treatment modality for postoperative pain.

Resistance responses blocking systemic movement of Potato virus A in potato

Peruna kestää A-virusta estämällä sen leviämistä Peruna on maissin ohella maailman kolmanneksi tärkein ravintokasvi vehnän ja riisin jälkeen. Perunaa lisätään kasvullisesti mukuloita istuttamalla, jolloin virukset siirtyvät sairaiden siemenmukuloiden välityksellä kasvukaudesta toiseen. Virustauteja voi torjua ainoastaan terveen siemenperunan ja kestävien lajikkeiden avulla. Kestävyys perustuu usein siihen, että kasvi estää viruksen leviämisen tartuntakohdasta välttyäkseen virustaudilta. Tässä työssä tutkittiin kolmea perunan A-viruksen (PVA) liikkumista estävää kestävyysmekanismia perunassa. Lisäksi työn kokeelliseen osaan oleellisesti kuuluvaa virustartutusta varten kehitettiin uusi paranneltu versio geenipyssystä. Tämä itse rakennettu laite optimoitiin PVA:n tartuttamiseen mahdollisimman helposti ja pienin käyttökustannuksin. Tutkimuksen kohteena olleessa perunan risteytysjälkeläistössä oli PVA:ta kestäviä kasveja (ryhmä nnr), jotka estivät viruksen liikkumisen aiheuttamatta oireita tartutuskohdassa, sekä kasveja, joissa PVA aiheutti kuolioläikkinä näkyvän yliherkkyysvasteen (ryhmä HR). Molemmissa kestävyystyypeissä virus pystyi monistumaan ja leviämään solusta soluun paikallisesti, mutta liikkuminen muihin kasvinosiin nilan kautta estyi. Ryhmän nnr kasveissa PVA-tartunta ei aiheuttanut tilastollisesti merkitsevää muutosta useimpien geenien ilmenemiseen tartuntakohdassa. Ainoastaan geeniperhe, joka ilmentää tiettyä proteinaasi-inhibiittoria (PI), reagoi PVA:han 24 tuntia tartutuksesta. Kun tämän PVA:han reagoivan geeniperheen jäsenet hiljennettiin nnr- perunalinjoissa, ne muuttuivat alttiiksi PVA:lle ja virus levisi tartuntakohdasta muihin kasvinosiin. Tulos osoittaa, että PI on viruskestävyystekijä. Lisäksi muut tutkimuksessa saadut tulokset tukevat mahdollisuutta, että PI estää PVA:n P1-proteinaasin toimintaa. HR-linjoissa todettiin erilaisiin puolustusvasteisiin liittyvien PR-geenien aktivoitumista PVA-tartunnan seurauksena, mutta myös ilman sitä kasvien kasvettua mullassa noin neljä viikkoa. Sen sijaan solukkoviljelyssä tai vasta kaksi viikkoa mullassa kasvaneissa kasveissa vastaavaa ei vielä todettu. Tulos viittaa siihen, että HR-perunat reagoivat herkemmin ympäristöön ja/tai kasvin kehitysasteeseen laukaisten puolustusvasteita, jotka saattavat parantaa kestävyyttä taudinaiheuttajia vastaan. Kolmas tutkittu kestävyystyyppi havaittiin Pito-perunalajikkeessa. Se muistutti nnr-kestävyyttä siten, että myös siinä viruksen liikkuminen nilassa muihin kasvinosiin estyi. PVA:n todettiin pysähtyvän vasta lehtiruodin tyvelle muodostuvaan irtoamisvyöhykkeeseen, mitä havainnollistettiin käyttämällä muunnettua PVA-rotua, joka tuotti UV-valossa fluoresoivaa vihreää valoa. Tulos viittaa siihen, että virus ei pääse kulkemaan vyöhykkeeseen kuuluvan suojaavan kerroksen läpi, jollei sillä ole pääsyä nilaan. Tällainen kestävyys on tarpeen, jotta virus ei voi korvata nilakuljetusta solusta soluun leviämisellä. Tulokset tuovat uusia näkökulmia kasvien viruskestävyyteen ja auttavat selittämään viruksen nilakuljetuksen estymistä sekä solusta soluun leviämisen pysähtymistä kestävissä kasveissa.

Avoimesti sitoutuneena : Lähetystyö kristillisessä kasvatuksessa ja vapaaehtoistyössä

In this study the junction of Christian mission, Christian education and voluntary work are examined in the Christian student voluntary association Opiskelijain Lähetysliitto (OL), which is the Finnish successor to the Student Volunteer Movement. The main subjects are the structure and content of the mission education as one aspect of Lutheran education and the reasons for expressing the mission interest through voluntary work. The research questions are as follows: What kind of organization has the OL been? What has mission education been like in the OL? Why have the former chairpersons participated in the OL? How have purposiveness and intentionality arisen among the former chairpersons? The study is empirical despite having a historical and retrospective view, since the OL is explored during the period 1972 2000. The data consists of the OL s annual reports, membership applications (N=629) and interviews of all 25 former chairmen. Data is analysed by qualitative and quantitative content analysis in a partly inductive and partly deductive manner. The pedagogical framework arises from situational learning theory (Lave - Wenger 1991), which was complemented with the criteria for meaningful learning (Jonassen 1995), the octagon model of volunteer motivation (Yeung 2004) and the definitions of intentionality and purposiveness in the theory of teachers pedagogical thinking (Kansanen et al. 2000). The analysis of the archive data showed that the activities of the OL are reminiscent of those of the missions of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church congregations. The biggest difference was that all OL participants were young adults, the age group that is the greatest challenge to the Church. The OL is therefore an interesting context in which to explore mission education and mission interest. The key result of the study was the forming of a model of mission educa-tion. The model has three educational components: values, goals and methods. The gist of the model is formed by the goals. The main goal is the arousing and strengthening of mission interest which has emotional, cognitive and practical aspects. The subgoals create the horizontal vertical and inward outward dimensions of the model, which are the metalevels of mission education. The subgoals reveal that societal and religious education may embody a missionary dimension when they are understood as missionary training. Further, a distinction between mission education and missionary training was observed. The former emphasizes the main goal of the model and the latter underlines the subgoals. Based on the vertical dimension of the model the study suggests that the definition of religious competence needs to be complemented with missional competence. Reasons for participating in the OL were found to be diverse as noted in other studies on volunteering and motivating factors, and were typical to young people such as the importance of social relations. The study created new motivational themes that occurred in the middle of the continuity newness and the distance proximity dimensions, which were not found in Yeung s research. Mission interest as voluntary work appeared as oriented towards one s own spirituality or towards the social community. On the other hand, mission interest was manifested as intentional education in order to either improve the community or to promote the Christian mission. In the latter case the mission was seen as a purpose in life and as a future profession. Keywords: mission, Christian education, voluntary work, mission education, mission interest, stu-dent movement

The Electronic Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon): An Open Access Journal Using an Un-paid, Volunteer-Based Organization

Introduction This case study is based on the experiences with the Electronic Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon), founded in 1995. Development This journal is an example of a particular category of open access journals, which use neither author charges nor subscriptions to finance their operations, but rely largely on unpaid voluntary work in the spirit of the open source movement. The journal has, after some initial struggle, survived its first decade and is now established as one of half-a-dozen peer reviewed journals in its field. Operations The journal publishes articles as they become ready, but creates virtual issues through alerting messages to “subscribers”. It has also started to publish special issues, since this helps in attracting submissions, and also helps in sharing the work-load of review management. From the start the journal adopted a rather traditional layout of the articles. After the first few years the HTML version was dropped and papers are only published in PDF format. Performance The journal has recently been benchmarked against the competing journals in its field. Its acceptance rate of 53% is slightly higher and its average turnaround time of seven months almost a year faster compared to those journals in the sample for which data could be obtained. The server log files for the past three years have also been studied. Conclusions Our overall experience demonstrates that it is possible to publish this type of OA journal, with a yearly publishing volume equal to a quarterly journal and involving the processing of some fifty submissions a year, using a networked volunteer-based organization.

Ecology of the Asian Elephant in Southern India. I. Movement and Habitat Utilization Patterns

The movement and habitat utilization patterns were studied in an Asian elephant population during 1981-83 within a 1130 km2 area in southern India (110 30' N to 120 0' N and 760 50' E to 770 15' E). The study area encompasses a diversity of vegetation types from dry thorn forest (250-400 m) through deciduous forest (400-1400 m) to stunted evergreen shola forest and grassland (1400-1800 m). Home range sizes of some identified elephants were between 105 and 320 km2. Based on the dry season distribution, five different elephant clans, each consisting of between 50 and 200 individuals and having overlapping home ranges, could be defined within the study area. Seaso- nal habitat preferences were related to the availability of water and the palatability of food plants. During the dry months (January-April) elephants congregated at high densities of up to five individuals kM-2 in river valleys where browse plants had a much higher protein content than the coarse tall grasses on hill slopes. With the onset of rains of the first wet season (May- August) they dispersed over a wider area at lower densities, largely into the tall grass forests, to feed on the fresh grasses, which then had a high protein value. During the second wet season (September-December), when the tall grasses became fibrous, they moved into lower elevation short grass open forests. The normal movement pattern could be upset during years of adverse environmental con- ditions. However, the movement pattern of elephants in this region has not basically changed for over a century, as inferred from descriptions recorded during the nineteenth century.

Globalization and the Political : in the Borderlands with the Zapatista Movement

This study explores the meaning, content and significance of the political as manifest in the Mexican Zapatista movement as historically and geopolitically situated struggle. The case study undertakes a critical analysis of the development, organization, practice and discourse of the movement by drawing on fieldwork experiences, interviews, discussions, documents, films and other material produced by the movement, and the critical engagement with the research of others, especially in Latin America and Mexico. The dissertation poses the need to reconsider what constitutes and what we understand by the political , related particularly to the challenges provided by the critical globalization literature, decolonization and the study of social movements. The analysis encompasses several inter-related levels: the theoretical knowledge regarding the conceptualization of the political; the methodological level, regarding how such research can and should be conducted and knowledge claims formulated given the inescapable context and effects of global power relations; and the substantive level of adding specific information and analytical insights to existing knowledge of the Zapatista movement. As a result of conceptualization of a range of practices and processes, distinct understandings of the political can be underlined. Firstly, the conception of the indigenous and the struggles as indigenous movements as specifically political, not just a cultural or ethnic identity or a static quality but rather, an active consciousness integrally linked both to a longer history of oppression and as political articulation in the concrete context and lived experience of contemporary struggle. Secondly, the practice of autonomy as central to an understanding of the political in the context of the Zapatista struggle as a practical response to the situation of oppression, counter-insurgency, siege and conflict in Chiapas, as well as a positively informed mode of political self-understanding, expression and practice in its own right. Thirdly, the notion of geopolitical positioning as important to understanding of the political that encompasses the historicity of specific context and the power relations which shape that context, developed in two different ways: in regard to the positioning of the researcher and knowledge production with and about the Zapatistas, and in regard to the practice and knowledge of the Zapatistas as a decolonizing force in their encounters, interaction and relations with others, especially the global civil society. Finally, the role of silence, absence, invisibility, revelation and hiding in political practice as a deliberate strategy in response to oppressive power. -

Molecular background of three lethal fetal syndromes

This study identified the molecular defects underlying three lethal fetal syndromes. Lethal Congenital Contracture Syndrome 1 (LCCS1, MIM 253310) and Lethal Arthrogryposis with Anterior Horn Cell Disease (LAAHD, MIM 611890) are fetal motor neuron diseases. They affect the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement, and eventually result in severe atrophy of spinal cord motor neurons and fetal immobility. Both LCCS1 and LAAHD are caused by mutations in the GLE1 gene, which encodes for a multifunctional protein involved in posttranscriptional mRNA processing. LCCS2 and LCCS3, two syndromes that are clinically similar to LCCS1, are caused by defective proteins involved in the synthesis of inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6), an essential cofactor of GLE1. This suggests a common mechanism behind these fetal motor neuron diseases, and along with accumulating evidence from genetic studies of more late-onset motor neuron diseases such as Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), implicates mRNA processing as a common mechanism in motor neuron disease pathogenesis. We also studied gle1-/- zebrafish in order to investigate whether they would be a good model for studying the pathogenesis of LCCS1 and LAAHD. Mutant zebrafish exhibit cell death in their central nervous system at two days post fertilization, and the distribution of mRNA within the cells of mutant zebrafish differs from controls, encouraging further studies. The third lethal fetal syndrome is described in this study for the first time. Cocoon syndrome (MIM 613630) was discovered in a Finnish family with two affected individuals. Its hallmarks are the encasement of the limbs under the skin, and severe craniofacial abnormalities, including the lack of skull bones. We showed that Cocoon syndrome is caused by a mutation in the gene encoding the conserved helix-loop-helix ubiquitous kinase CHUK, also known as IκB kinase α (IKKα). The mutation results in the complete lack of CHUK protein expression. CHUK is a subunit of the IκB kinase enzyme that inhibits NF-κB transcription factors, but in addition, it has an essential, independent role in controlling keratinocyte differentiation, as well as informing morphogenetic events such as limb and skeletal patterning. CHUK also acts as a tumor suppressor, and is frequently inactivated in cancer. This study has brought significant new information about the molecular background of these three lethal fetal syndromes, as well as provided knowledge about the prerequisites of normal human development.

Tsoi Yuen Resistance and Post-80s Generation: A new wave of domestic social movement

Hong Kong was once a British colony and has been under the sovereignty of People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1997. However, some of the unjust practices and colonial legacies are infiltrated into the development ideology as well as the social structures. The construction of intercity express railway project announced in 2008 causing the demolishment of Tsoi Yuen Tsuen, a “non-indigenous” agricultural village in Hong Kong, was one of the current examples. Tsoi Yuen village was established under the former colonial sovereignty sixty years ago. Approximately 450 populations were affected that they had to relocate their homeland involuntarily. However, these villagers were very attached to their homelands and were unwilling to move, and meanwhile they found that they were absent in the government’s consultation and decision-making process. Soon they began their resistance and demanded for “No Move! No Demolish!”. Their movement was strongly supported by a group of “Post-80s generation” and turned into the most important social movement of the city in recent years. In fact, demolition of Tsoi Yuen Village for city development is not an isolated case in the city. Meanwhile the situation is getting worse in Mainland China. I chose the case study of Tsoi Yuen Resistance from 2008 to 2011 for revelation of the complicated colonial history and postcolonial era of Hong Kong. I focused on discussing the Tsoi Yuen Resistance and the Post-80s movement, and how they have exposed the tension between top-down urban planning and development and public movements fighting for a more democratic process in choosing their way of living. Through the study of a village movement which as well as the rationale behind the Post-80s’ support, I hoped to illustrate how this movement has awaken a different sense of living for the new generations in the midst of the high-sounding urban development. It is an opportunity to examine Hong Kong’s colonial epoch in a different perspective: through studying the Tsoi Yuen Village, let them (subalterns) speak for themselves. Furthermore, the significance of this resistance, taking place eleven years after the handover to the PRC, is an important fact that I shall not miss in later discussion. Last but not least, during the resistance, advanced technology and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, iPhone were used by Post 80s generation to spread the latest information in order to attract public’s concern and participation. Therefore, apart from studying Tsoi Yuen Resistance as a local social movement, I also regard it as a part of the global movement in perusing ecological lifestyle and civil society. How Post 80s’ generation manipulates the global idea in a local context will also be examined.

Voluntary Energy Harvesting Relays and Selection in Cooperative Wireless Networks

The use of energy harvesting (EH) nodes as cooperative relays is a promising and emerging solution in wireless systems such as wireless sensor networks. It harnesses the spatial diversity of a multi-relay network and addresses the vexing problem of a relay's batteries getting drained in forwarding information to the destination. We consider a cooperative system in which EH nodes volunteer to serve as amplify-and-forward relays whenever they have sufficient energy for transmission. For a general class of stationary and ergodic EH processes, we introduce the notion of energy constrained and energy unconstrained relays and analytically characterize the symbol error rate of the system. Further insight is gained by an asymptotic analysis that considers the cases where the signal-to-noise-ratio or the number of relays is large. Our analysis quantifies how the energy usage at an EH relay and, consequently, its availability for relaying, depends not only on the relay's energy harvesting process, but also on its transmit power setting and the other relays in the system. The optimal static transmit power setting at the EH relays is also determined. Altogether, our results demonstrate how a system that uses EH relays differs in significant ways from one that uses conventional cooperative relays.

Tracing water movement by means of Escherichia coli bacteriophages

Tiivistelmä: Escherichia coli bacteriofaagit merkkiaineena vesien kulkeutumistutkimuksissa