Investigating the effects of arousal state on cognitive performance in individuals with and without mild head injury

We examined the cognitive and emotional sequelae following mild head injury (MHI; e.g., concussion) in high-functioning individuals and whether persons with MHI pre~ent, both physiologically and via self-report, in a manner different from (i.e., underaroused) that of persons who have no history of head injury. We also investigated the effect arousal state ~as on the cognitive performance of this population. Using a quasiexperimental research design (N = 91), we examined changes in attention, working memory, and cognitive flexibility (subtests ofthe WAIS-III, 1997,WMS-III, 1997, & DKEFS, 2002) as a function of manipulated arousal (i.e., induced psychosocial stress/activation; reduced activation/relaxation). In addition to self-reported arousal and state anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; Speilberger, 1983a) measures, physiological indices of arousal state (i.e., electrodermal responsivity, heart rate, and respiration activity) were recorded (via Polygraph Professional Suite, 2008) across a 2.5 hour interval while completing various cognitive tasks. Students also completed the Post-concussive Symptom Checklist (Gouvier et aI., 1992). The results demonstrate that university students who report a history ofMHI (i.e., "altered state of consciousness") experience significantly lower levels of anxiety, were physiologically underaroused, and were less responsive to stressors in their environment, compared to their non-~HI cohorts. As expected, cognitive flexibility (but not other neuropsychological measures of cognition) was advantaged with increased stress, and disadvantaged with reduced stress, in persons with reported MHI, but not for those without reported MHI which provided limited support for our hypothesis. Further, university students who had no complaints related to their previous MHI endorsed a greater number of traditional post-concussive symptoms in terms of intensity, duration and frequency as compared to students who did not report a MHI. The underarousal in traumatic brain injury has been associated with (ventromedial prefrontal cortex) VMPFC disruption and may be implicated in MHI generally. Students who report sustaining a previous MHI may be less able to physiologically respond and/or cognitively appraise, stressful experiences as compared to their no-MHI cohort and experience persistent, long-lasting consequences despite the subtle nature of a history of head injury.

Higher Education Governance in Vietnam: University Action, the State and Changing Relationships

Diese Dissertation stellt eine Studie da, welche sich mit den Änderungen in der Governance der Hochschulbildung in Vietnam beschäftigt. Das zentrale Ziel dieser Forschungsarbeit ist die Untersuchung der Herkunft und Änderung in der Beziehung der Mächte zwischen dem vietnamesischen Staat und den Hochschulbildungsinstituten (HI), welche hauptsächlich aus der Interaktion dieser beiden Akteure resultiert. Die Macht dieser beiden Akteure wurde im sozialen Bereich konstruiert und ist hauptsächlich durch ihre Nützlichkeit und Beiträge für die Hochschulbildung bestimmt. Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich dabei besonders mit dem Aspekt der Lehrqualität. Diese Studie nimmt dabei die Perspektive einer allgemeinen Governance ein, um die Beziehung zwischen Staat und HI zu erforschen. Zudem verwendet sie die „Resource Dependence Theory“ (RDT), um das Verhalten der HI in Bezug auf die sich verändernde Umgebung zu untersuchen, welche durch die Politik und eine abnehmende Finanzierung charakterisiert ist. Durch eine empirische Untersuchung der Regierungspolitik sowie der internen Steuerung und den Praktiken der vier führenden Universitäten kommt die Studie zu dem Schluss, dass unter Berücksichtigung des Drucks der Schaffung von Einkommen die vietnamesischen Universitäten sowohl Strategien als auch Taktiken entwickelt haben, um Ressourcenflüsse und Legitimität zu kontrollieren. Die Entscheidungs- und Zielfindung der Komitees, die aus einer Mehrheit von Akademikern bestehen, sind dabei mächtiger als die der Manager. Daher werden bei initiativen Handlungen der Universitäten größtenteils Akademiker mit einbezogen. Gestützt auf die sich entwickelnden Muster der Ressourcenbeiträge von Akademikern und Studierenden für die Hochschulbildung prognostiziert die Studie eine aufstrebende Governance Konfiguration, bei der die Dimensionen der akademischen Selbstverwaltung und des Wettbewerbsmarktes stärker werden und die Regulation des Staates rational zunimmt. Das derzeitige institutionelle Design und administrative System des Landes, die spezifische Gewichtung und die Koordinationsmechanismen, auch als sogenanntes effektives Aufsichtssystem zwischen den drei Schlüsselakteuren - der Staat, die HI/Akademiker und die Studierenden – bezeichnet, brauchen eine lange Zeit zur Detektion und Etablierung. In der aktuellen Phase der Suche nach einem solchen System sollte die Regierung Management-Tools stärken, wie zum Beispiel die Akkreditierung, belohnende und marktbasierte Instrumente und das Treffen informations-basierter Entscheidungen. Darüber hinaus ist es notwendig die Transparenz der Politik zu erhöhen und mehr Informationen offenzulegen.

Scales and voices in World Historical Archaeology

This paper briefly sets the scene for the articles that follow, introducing some key debates that have characterized the recent practice of historical archaeology. The definition of historical archaeology is explored according to parameters of chronology and methodology, drawing a distinction between New World traditions that define the subject as 'post-Columbian' and Old World approaches that establish broader connections with the 'documentary archaeology' of all literate societies. Current issues in European and American historical archaeology are highlighted, including the gradual breakdown of the medieval/post-medieval divide and the call for a global 'modern-world archaeology' to address the 'grand historical narratives' of the period, such as capitalism, economic improvement, and consumerism. The resistance to this global research agenda is explored with reference to archaeologies of diaspora and postcolonialism, which demand local perspectives to explore diversity and meaning. Finally, the innovative use of community archaeology and multi-vocality is introduced, with particular reference to the experimental narratives pursued by American historical archaeologists, in their new role as 'storytellers'.

Introduction: scales and voices in world historical archaeology

This paper briefly sets the scene for the articles that follow, introducing some key debates that have characterized the recent practice of historical archaeology. The definition of historical archaeology is explored according to parameters of chronology and methodology, drawing a distinction between New World traditions that define the subject as 'post-Columbian' and Old World approaches that establish broader connections with the 'documentary archaeology' of all literate societies. Current issues in European and American historical archaeology are highlighted, including the gradual breakdown of the medieval/post-medieval divide and the call for a global 'modern-world archaeology' to address the 'grand historical narratives' of the period, such as capitalism, economic improvement, and consumerism. The resistance to this global research agenda is explored with reference to archaeologies of diaspora and postcolonialism, which demand local perspectives to explore diversity and meaning. Finally, the innovative use of community archaeology and multi-vocality is introduced, with particular reference to the experimental narratives pursued by American historical archaeologists, in their new role as 'storytellers'.

Human amygdala responses during presentation of happy and neutral faces: correlations with state anxiety

BACKGROUND: Previous functional imaging studies demonstrating amygdala response to happy facial expressions have all included the presentation of negatively valenced primary comparison expressions within the experimental context. This study assessed amygdala response to happy and neutral facial expressions in an experimental paradigm devoid of primary negatively valenced comparison expressions. METHODS: Sixteen human subjects (eight female) viewed 16-sec blocks of alternating happy and neutral faces interleaved with a baseline fixation condition during two functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. RESULTS: Within the ventral amygdala, a negative correlation between happy versus neutral signal changes and state anxiety was observed. The majority of the variability associated with this effect was explained by a positive relationship between state anxiety and signal change to neutral faces. CONCLUSIONS: Interpretation of amygdala responses to facial expressions of emotion will be influenced by considering the contribution of each constituent condition within a greater subtractive finding, as well as 1) their spatial location within the amygdaloid complex; and 2) the experimental context in which they were observed. Here, an observed relationship between state anxiety and ventral amygdala response to happy versus neutral faces was explained by response to neutral faces.

Development and application of a novel algorithm for steady-state optimising control using dynamic information

A novel optimising controller is designed that leads a slow process from a sub-optimal operational condition to the steady-state optimum in a continuous way based on dynamic information. Using standard results from optimisation theory and discrete optimal control, the solution of a steady-state optimisation problem is achieved by solving a receding-horizon optimal control problem which uses derivative and state information from the plant via a shadow model and a state-space identifier. The paper analyzes the steady-state optimality of the procedure, develops algorithms with and without control rate constraints and applies the procedure to a high fidelity simulation study of a distillation column optimisation.

Places, perceptions, boundaries and tasks: rethinking landscapes in wetland archaeology

This paper is an elaboration of one of the chapters in our Rethinking Wetland Archaeology (Van de Noort & O'Sullivan 2006), and concerns the archaeological study of wetland landscapes. In this book, we argue that many approaches to the archaeology of wetlands have failed to influence our peers and colleagues in the broader field of landscape archaeology and, indeed, archaeology itself, and thus the great promise of wetland archaeology remains unfulfilled (Coles 2001).

Monastic and church archaeology

Major advances in church and monastic archaeology are discussed in terms of two distinct waves, ca. 1970–1995 and 1995 to the time of writing (2014). The first wave was influenced by landscape history and processual archaeology; scholarship focused principally on historical, economic, and technological questions and targeted individual sites and monuments for study. The second wave has been informed by postprocessual approaches and considers change and complexity in religious landscapes and perspectives on religious space, embodiment, and agency. In conclusion, this article calls for a more holistic approach to the archaeology of medieval Christian belief, one which moves beyond the focus on institutions and monuments that has characterized monastic and church archaeology and extends archaeological study to include the performative rituals of Christian life and death in the Middle Ages.

Spinal cord injury: assessment of autonomic state-dependent control of cardiovascular system and body core temperature

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results not only in paralysis; but it is also associated with a range of autonomic dysregulation that can interfere with cardiovascular, bladder, bowel, temperature, and sexual function. The entity of the autonomic dysfunction is related to the level and severity of injury to descending autonomic (sympathetic) pathways. For many years there was limited awareness of these issues and the attention given to them by the scientific and medical community was scarce. Yet, even if a new system to document the impact of SCI on autonomic function has recently been proposed, the current standard of assessment of SCI (American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) examination) evaluates motor and sensory pathways, but not severity of injury to autonomic pathways. Beside the severe impact on quality of life, autonomic dysfunction in persons with SCI is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Therefore, obtaining information regarding autonomic function in persons with SCI is pivotal and clinical examinations and laboratory evaluations to detect the presence of autonomic dysfunction and quantitate its severity are mandatory. Furthermore, previous studies demonstrated that there is an intimate relationship between the autonomic nervous system and sleep from anatomical, physiological, and neurochemical points of view. Although, even if previous epidemiological studies demonstrated that sleep problems are common in spinal cord injury (SCI), so far only limited polysomnographic (PSG) data are available. Finally, until now, circadian and state dependent autonomic regulation of blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR) and body core temperature (BcT) were never assessed in SCI patients. Aim of the current study was to establish the association between the autonomic control of the cardiovascular function and thermoregulation, sleep parameters and increased cardiovascular risk in SCI patients.

State Pharmaceutical Assisstance for the Elderly and Disabled: Planning Issues for Program and Non-Program States

The Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act (MCCA) would have mandated federal assistance for Medicare beneficiaries who have high annual prescription medication costs, High national expenditures for such drugs have encouraged the development of private and state insurance programs to help with these costs. Ten state pharmaceutical assistance programs (SPAPs), designed to help certain elderly, low income, or disabled people, exist for those ineligible for Medicaid or unable to purchase coverage privately. Coordination of state and federal benefits was a consideration for established programs, and programs being planned needed to determine the feasibity of integration of federal assistance. But the enactment and subsequent appeal of the Act affected both planning and policy implications for these SPAPs. All U.S. states and territories were surveyed before the bill's repeal to collect data on the effects of MCCA for those with prescription drug programs and those without. The repeal of the federal program places pressure on the nonprogram states to proceed, perhaps more cautiously, to initiate program; for their own residents, given increasing out-of-pocket and insurance costs, and no federal program.

"The State Starts from the Family": Peace and Harmony in Tajikistan's Eastern Pamirs

Based on anthropological fieldwork between 2008 and 2011, this article focuses on how people in Tajikistan's eastern Pamirs conceptualize well-being through the establishment of peace and harmony. An exploration of the interactional use of the terms ‘peace’ and ‘harmony’ in Kyrgyz and Tajik (tynchtyk, yntymak, tinji, and vahdat) makes manifest that the meanings of these terms are connected to the fields of ‘family’, ‘leadership’, and ‘state’. Basing their reasoning on the officially promoted analogy between family and state, people in the eastern Pamirs distinguish between social spaces that are related to well-being and those that are not. As a factor of distinction, and crucial to the establishment of peace and harmony, the moral quality of leadership plays an important role. Positive experiences of such leadership as balanced and morally pure are mainly identified and witnessed within families and neighbourhoods and only occasionally in state institutions. This discrepancy raises the question of where to locate boundaries between good and bad, moral and immoral, harmonious and conflictual. Thus, this article contributes not only to the study of local concepts of well-being in Central Asia but also to the study of local concepts of ‘ill-being’ which challenge them.

Wetland-Archaeology in the Alpine Space. Overview and actual research issues.

First indications of prehistoric sites in lakes of Switzerland go back more than 200 years and in 1854 Ferdinand Keller (1800-1881) published his famous book The Celtic Pile Dwellings in Swiss Lakes. Since these times, large-scale rescue excavations as well as survey and research projects have extended our knowledge about Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements in lakes, bogs and rivers around the European Alps. In 2011 a representative choice of 111 sites out of nearly 1000 in six countries around the Alps (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland) were recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage committee as serial World Heritage. The lecture will give a general overview on prehistoric lake dwellings around the Alps (distribution, types of lakes/bogs and environment of sites, chronology/cultural units in the time scale 5300 to 800 BC) and present examples of well-documented settlement structures. The intense use of dendrochronological dating allowed the building up of a well-fixed chronological framework. In some cases dendrochronology is the basis for year-by-year reconstructions of prehistoric village biographies and detailed insights in the life cycle of early agrarian settlements. Beside these local events the grouped repartition of lake dwelling remains on the time scale makes a more global correlation between Holocene lake levels and the preservation of archaeological layers likely.