Allergic rhinitis in the child and associated comorbidities

Allergic rhinitis (AR) typically presents after the second year of life, but the exact prevalence in early life is unknown. AR affects 10-30% of the population, with the greatest frequency found in children and adolescents. It appears that the prevalence has increased in the pediatric population. As the childs` immune system develops between the 1st and 4th yr of life, those with an atopic predisposition begin to express allergic disease with a clear Th(2) response to allergen exposure, resulting in symptoms. In pediatric AR, two or more seasons of pollen exposure are generally needed for sensitization, so allergy testing to seasonal allergens (trees, grasses, and weeds) should be conducted after the age of 2 or 3 years. Sensitization to perennial allergens (animals, dust mites, and cockroaches) may manifest several months after exposure. Classification of AR includes measurement of frequency and duration of symptoms. Intermittent AR is defined as symptoms for < 4 days/wk or < 4 consecutive weeks. Persistent AR is defined as occurring for more than 4 days/wk and more than 4 consecutive weeks. AR is associated with impairments in quality of life, sleep disorders, emotional problems, and impairment in activities such as work and school productivity and social functioning. AR can also be graded in severity - either mild or moderate/severe. There are comorbidities associated with AR. The chronic effects of the inflammatory process affect lungs, ears, growth, and others. AR can induce medical complications, learning problems and sleep-related complaints, such as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and chronic and acute sinusitis, acute otitis media, serous otitis media, and aggravation of adenoidal hypertrophy and asthma.

Altered gray matter morphometry and resting-state functional and structural connectivity in social anxiety disorder

In social anxiety disorder (SAD), impairments in limbic/paralimbic structures are associated with emotional dysregulation and inhibition of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFq. Little is known, however, about alterations in limbic and frontal regions associated with the integrated morphometric, functional, and structural architecture of SAD. Whether altered gray matter volume is associated with altered functional and structural connectivity in SAD. Three techniques were used with 18 SAD patients and 18 healthy controls: voxel-based morphometry; resting-state functional connectivity analysis; and diffusion tensor imaging tractography. SAD patients exhibited significantly decreased gray matter volumes in the right posterior inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) and right parahippocampal/hippocampal gyrus (PHG/HIP). Gray matter volumes in these two regions negatively correlated with the fear factor of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. In addition, we found increased functional connectivity in SAD patients between the right posterior ITG and the left inferior occipital gyrus, and between the right PHF/HIP and left middle temporal gyms. SAD patients had increased right MPFC volume, along with enhanced structural connectivity in the genu of the corpus callosum. Reduced limbic/paralimbic volume, together with increased resting-state functional connectivity, suggests the existence of a compensatory mechanism in SAD. Increased MPFC volume, consonant with enhanced structural connectivity, suggests a long-time overgeneralization of structural connectivity and a role of this area in the mediation of clinical severity. Overall, our results may provide a valuable basis for future studies combining morphometric, functional and anatomical data in the search for a comprehensive understanding of the neural circuitry underlying SAD. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social anxiety disorder women easily recognize fearfull, sad and happy faces: The influence of gender

Background: It has been suggested that individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are exaggeratedly concerned about approval and disapproval by others. Therefore, we assessed the recognition of facial expressions by individuals with SAD, in an attempt to overcome the limitations of previous studies. Methods: The sample was formed by 231 individuals (78 SAD patients and 153 healthy controls). All individuals were treatment naive, aged 18-30 years and with similar socioeconomic level. Participants judged which emotion (happiness, sadness, disgust, anger, fear, and surprise) was presented in the facial expression of stimuli displayed on a computer screen. The stimuli were manipulated in order to depict different emotional intensities, with the initial image being a neutral face (0%) and, as the individual moved on across images, the expressions increased their emotional intensity until reaching the total emotion (100%). The time, accuracy, and intensity necessary to perform judgments were evaluated. Results: The groups did not show statistically significant differences in respect to the number of correct judgments or to the time necessary to respond. However, women with SAD required less emotional intensity to recognize faces displaying fear (p = 0.002), sadness (p = 0.033) and happiness (p = 0.002), with no significant differences for the other emotions or men with SAD. Conclusions: The findings suggest that women with SAD are hypersensitive to threat-related and approval-related social cues. Future studies investigating the neural basis of the impaired processing of facial emotion in SAD using functional neuroimaging would be desirable and opportune. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of the web to provide learning support for a large metabolism and nutrition class

To support student learning in a large Metabolism and Nutrition class, we have introduced a web-based package, using a commercially available program, WebCT. The package was developed at a minimal cost and with limited resources. In addition to downloadable (PDF) versions of lecture Powerpoint presentations, tutorial outlines and a practical class exercise, web-based self-directed learning exercises were included to reinforce and extend lecture material in an active learning environment. The web-site also contained a variety of formative and summative assessment tasks that examined both factual recall and higher order thinking Detailed course information, timetables and a bulletin board were also readily accessible. Student usage of the site was generally high, but varied widely between individual students. Students who achieved a high overall score for the course completed on average three times as many formative assessment items and achieved a higher score for all tests than students who did poorly. Student feedback about the site was very positive with the majority of students reporting that the course material and assessment items that were available were useful to their learning. Administration of the course was also facilitated. (C) 2001 IUBMB. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Who supports? The providers of social support to dual-parent families caring for young children

Previous research points to the importance of both kin and non-kin ties within social networks as sources of social support. This study examines the kin and non-kin providers of specific types of support to dual-parent low-income Australian families caring for young children. The study highlights the importance of family and friends as support providers. Study Participants tended to rely on family, including parents, siblings and other family members, and friends for emotional and information support. Parents also tended to provide material and practical support. While neighbors and community agencies offered some emotional and information support, overall, these sources were minimal. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Early intervention: Narratives of learning, discipline and enculturation

Current understandings about literacy have moved away from the belief that literacy is simply a process that individuals do in their heads. These understandings do not negate the importance of the individual aspects of literacy learning, but they emphasize understandings of literacy as a social practice. In many cases, responses to early literacy intervention seem to be grounded in theories that appear out of step with current literacy research and consequent evidence that literacy is socially and culturally constructed. One such response is the Reading Recovery programme based on Clay’s theory of literacy acquisition. Clay (1992) describes the programme as a second chance to learn. However, others have suggested that programmes like Reading Recovery may in fact work toward the marginalization of particular groups, thereby helping to maintain the status quo along class, gender and ethnic lines. This article allows two professionals to bring their insider’s knowledge of Reading Recovery to an analysis of the construction of the programme. The article interweaves this analysis with the personal narratives of the researchers as they negotiated the borders between different understandings and beliefs about literacy and literacy pedagogy.

Expectations of the effects of drinking on couple relationship functioning: An assessment of women in distressed relationships who consume alcohol at harmful levels

Based on a cognitive-social learning model of alcohol use, it was hypothesised that women with both alcohol and relationship problems would endorse more positive expectations of the effects of alcohol consumption on their relationship and would report lower relational efficacy than women without relationship or alcohol problems. Measures of relationship-referent alcohol expectancies and relational efficacy were completed by 174 married women with both alcohol and relationship problems (n = 20), alcohol problems alone (it = 26), relationship problems alone (n = 30), or neither problem (n = 98). Women without either alcohol or relationship problems strongly rejected expectations of enhanced relationship functioning (e.g., enhanced intimacy, increased emotional expression) following alcohol consumption, whereas women with both alcohol and relationship problems were ambivalent about these positive expectations. Women with both problems also reported lower relational efficacy than the other groups of women. Negative expectations about the effect of alcohol consumption on relationships in women with low relational efficacy may inhibit harmful drinking. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparing students for the virtual organisation: an evaluation of learning with virtual learning technologies

The paper explores the development of learning behaviours in a virtual management course and the factors that impacted on this development. Data suggest that most teams experienced three kinds of learning behaviours – social, operational and content learning. We propose that the need for technical expertise and team participation will vary during these different stages of learning. Addressing the characteristics of these stages, we comment on the development of a ‘completion phase’ of team development. We argue that the extent to which teams demonstrate different learning stages has a significant impact on the development of on-line learning behaviours. Discussing these results, we suggest why different teams develop distinct learning behaviours, with accordant emphasis on teaching as a moderating and co ordinating role, despite current virtual team pedagogical expectations.

Exploring the role of market learning capability in competitive strategy

It has been argued that a firm's capacity to learn from its market is a source of both innovation and competitive advantage. However, past research has failed to conceptualize market-focused learning activity as a capability having the potential to contribute to competitive advantage. Prior innovation research has been biased toward technological innovation. However, there is evidence to suggest that both technological and non-technological innovations contribute to competitive advantage reflecting the need for a broader conceptualization of the innovation construct. Past research has also overlooked the critical role of entrepreneurship in the capability building process. Competitive advantage has been predominantly measured in terms of financial indicators of performance. In general, the literature reflects the need for comprehensive measures of organizational innovation and competitive advantage. This paper examines the role of market-focused learning capability in organizational innovation-based competitive strategy. The paper contributes to the strategic marketing theory by developing and refining measures of entrepreneurship, market-focused learning capability, organizational innovation and sustained competitive advantage, testing relationships among these constructs.

Emergence of joint attention: Relationships between gaze following, social referencing, imitation, and naming in infancy

The authors investigated the extent to which the joint-attention behaviors of gaze following, social referencing, and object-directed imitation were related to each other and to infants vocabulary development in a sample of 60 infants between the ages of 8 and 14 months. Joint-attention skills and vocabulary development were assessed in a laboratory setting. Split-half reliability analyses on the joint-attention measures indicated that the tasks reliably assessed infants' capabilities. In the main analysis, no significant correlations were found among the joint-attention behaviors except for a significant relationship between gaze following and the number of names in infants' productive vocabularies. The overall pattern of results did not replicate results of previous studies (e.g., M. Carpenter, K. Nagell, & M. Tomasello, 1998) that found relationships between various emerging joint-attention behaviors.

Los desaf??os de las pol??ticas y la gesti??n social en Am??rica Latina

La pobreza est?? aumentando en t??rminos absolutos de manera sistem??tica desde 1990 y, desde comienzos del nuevo siglo, tambi??n en valores relativos. Hay, sin embargo, una buena nueva: el gasto p??blico social ha aumentado tambi??n de manera sistem??tica desde entonces. ??Qu?? se ha hecho con la enorme magnitud de recursos destinada a financiar las pol??ticas sociales? Hay, por un lado, limitaciones que surgen de la forma en que ellas se dise??an e implementan. La gesti??n social tradicional asume que el impacto perseguido se producir?? autom??ticamente como resultado de la mera entrega de los bienes o servicios a la poblaci??n destinataria. Aparece, adem??s, la masiva introducci??n de mecanismos de mercado en las pol??ticas sociales, bajo el supuesto que permitir??an mejorar su eficiencia e impacto. Teniendo en cuenta las limitaciones precedentes, se sugieren en este art??culo tres senderos, estos son: la superaci??n del estilo tradicional de gestionar los programas y proyectos sociales; el aprendizaje por medio de la experiencia de la evaluaci??n de impacto y del monitoreo; y la generaci??n de un estilo m??s participativo en el proceso de dise??o, gesti??n y evaluaci??n de las pol??ticas sociales.