Respiratory rhythms in stingless bee workers: circadian and ultradian components throughout adult development

The workers of the stingless bee, Melipona quadrifasciata, assume different tasks during their adult life. Newly emerged individuals remain inside the nest, without contact with the external environment. Maturing workers go to more peripheral regions and only the oldest, the foragers, leave the nest. As this diversity of activities implies different metabolic patterns, oxygen consumption has been measured in workers of three different ages: 24-48 h (nurses), 10-15 days (builders), and older than 25 days (foragers). Oxygen consumption of individually isolated workers was determined by intermittent respirometry, under constant darkness and temperature of 25 +/- 1 degrees C. Sets of 24-h measurements were obtained from individuals belonging to each of the three worker groups. Rhythmicity has been assessed in the daily (24 h) and ultradian (5-14 h) domains. This experimental design allowed detection of endogenous rhythms without the influence of the social group and without inflicting stress on the individuals, as would be caused by their longer isolation from the colony. Significant 24-h rhythms in oxygen consumption were present in nurses, builders and foragers; therefore, workers are rhythmic from the age of 24-48 h. However, the amplitude of the circadian rhythm changed according to age: nurses showed the lowest values, while foragers consistently presented the largest ones, about ten times larger than the amplitude of nurses` respiratory rhythm. Ultradian frequencies were detected for all worker groups, the power and frequencies of which varied little with age. This means that the ultradian strength was relatively larger in nurses and apparently maintains some relationship with the queen`s oviposition episodes.

Immunological parameters in elderly women: Correlations with aerobic power, muscle strength and mood state

Purpose: Our objective was to relate immunological data for healthy but sedentary elderly women to aerobic power, strength, and mood state. Methods: We measured peak aerobic power and one-repetition maximum strength along with mood (depression and fatigue), quality of life and carbohydrate intake on 42 women aged 60-77 years. Standard immunological techniques determined natural killer cell count and cytotoxic activity (NKCA), proliferative responses to phytohemaglutinin and OKT3, various lymphocyte subpopulations (CD3(+), CD3(-)CD19(+), CD56(+), CD4(+), CD8(+), CD56(dim) and CD56(bright)), and markers of activation, maturation, down-regulation and susceptibility to apoptosis (CD25(+), CD28(+), CD45RA(+), CD45RO(+), CD69(+), CD95(+), HLA-DR+). Results: Correlations of immune parameters with aerobic power and strength were very similar for absolute and relative immunological data. In the group as a whole, the only correlation with aerobic power was -0.35 (relative CD4(+)CD69(+) count), but in subjects with values <22.6 mL kg(-1) min(-1) correlations ranged from -0.57 (relative CD4(+)CD45RO(+)) to 0.92 (absolute CD56(dim)HLA-DR+). In terms of muscle strength, univariate correlation coefficients ranged from -0.34 (relative and absolute CD3(+)CD4(+)CD8(+)) to +0.48 (absolute CD3(+)HLA-DR+.) and +0.50 (absolute CD8(+)CD45RA(+)CD45RO(+)). Neither NKCA nor lymphocyte proliferation were correlated with aerobic power or muscle strength. Although mood state and quality of life can sometimes be influenced by an individual's fitness level, our multivariate analyses suggested that depression, fatigue and quality of life were more important determinants of immune profile than our fitness measures. Conclusions: Psychological changes associated with aging may have a substantial adverse effect upon the immune system, and immunological function may be enhanced more by addressing these issues than by focusing upon aerobic or resistance training. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identity formation at the beginning of the twenty-first century: Intersubjectivity, art, and medicine in Siri Hustvedt’s works

„Ich bin, weil du bist“ – so lautet eines der Schlüsselzitate in What I Loved, dem 2003 erschienenen dritten Roman der zeitgenössischen amerikanischen Autorin Siri Hustvedt. Die Bedeutung von Beziehung und Interaktion für die Identitätsbildung spielt eine zentrale Rolle nicht nur in diesem Roman, sondern auch in ihrem Gesamtwerk, das vier Romane, ein memoir, drei Essay-Sammlungen und einen Lyrikband umfasst. Hustvedt erforscht die Identität als ein vielschichtiges Produkt bewusster und unbewusster Verknüpfungen innerhalb der sozialen und biologischen Umwelt. Das Bewusstsein wird als eine dialogisch geprägte Entität gezeigt, dessen Identität erst durch die Beziehung auf ein Anderes geformt werden kann. Um dem Mysterium der menschlichen Identitätsfindung nachzuspüren, bedient sich Hustvedt sowohl philosophischer, psychoanalytischer, biologischer als auch kunsttheoretischer Diskurse. In ihren Romanen stellt sich die Frage nach der Erklärung von Identität als komplexe Problematik dar: Ist die Beziehung zu anderen Menschen vor allem durch unsere Entwicklung als Kind und die Nähe zu Bezugspersonen geprägt? In welchem Ausmaß ist das Empfinden von Subjektivität beeinflusst von körperlichen und unbewussten Mechanismen? Inwiefern ist die Wahrnehmung visueller Kunst eine Kooperation zwischen Betrachter und Künstler? rnDiesen und anderen Fragen geht diese Dissertation nach, indem sie Hustvedts Werk als Anlass für eine Analyse intersubjektiver Strukturen der Identität nimmt. Die Intersubjektivitätsphiloso¬phien von Hegel, Buber, Bakhtin, Husserl, und Merleau-Ponty dienen hierbei als Ausgangspunkt für die Interpretation von relationaler Identität in Hustvedts Werken. Die Dissertation konzentriert sich auf Hustvedts Darstellung der Beziehung zwischen Selbst und Anderem in der Photographie und in der Malerei, der Überschreitung von Körpergrenzen in Hysterie und Anorexie sowie der Auswirkung des Verlustes von Bezugspersonen auf die persönliche Identität. Entscheidend für den Hustvedtschen Kunstbegriff ist das Zusammenspiel von Kunstobjekt, Künstler und Betrachter. Die Grenzen zwischen Innerem und Äußeren werden aufgelöst: mal wird der Rezipient Teil des Kunstwerks, mal verschmilzt der Künstler förmlich mit seinem Objekt. Auch hier wird wiederum deutlich, dass Identität nur in Wechselbeziehung und als zwischenmenschliche Kooperation entsteht. Hustvedt betritt durch ihre einzigartige Auseinandersetzung mit den Wechselbeziehungen und fragilen Grenzen zwischen Ich und Umwelt Neuland auf dem Gebiet der literarischen Identitätsforschung, da sie ihr Prinzip des „mixing,“ des unausweichlichen Eindringens fremder Substanz in die eigene Identität, aus dem Blickwinkel dieser verschiedenen Erklärungsansätze beleuchtet. rn

Measuring attitudes, behaviours, and influences in inner city victims of interpersonal violence (VIVs) - a Swiss emergency room pilot study

Background Switzerland is confronted with the problem of interpersonal violence. Violence is in the increase and the potential for aggression seems to be rising. Observations by hospitals discern an appalling increase of the severity of the injuries. The aim of this study is to collect accurate information about the social environment, the motivation and possible reasons for violence. We also intend to investigate whether sociocultural, or ethnic differences among male victims exist. Materials and methods For the first time in Switzerland, this survey employed a validated questionnaire from the division of violence prevention, Atlanta, Georgia. The first part of the questionnaire addressed social and demographic factors which could influence the risk of violence: age, gender, duration of stay in Switzerland, nationality and educational level. Beside these social structural factors, the questionnaire included questions on experience of violent offences in the past, information about the most recent violent offence and intra and interpersonal facts. The questionnaire itself consists of 27 questions, translated into German and French. In a pilot study, the questionnaire was checked with adolescents for feasibility and comprehensibility. Results 69 male VIVs were interviewed at two hospitals in the Canton of Bern. Most of the adolescents emphasised that weapons were not used during their confrontations. It is astonishing that all of the young men considered themselves to be victims. Most of the brawls were incited after an exchange of verbal abuse and provocations with unfamiliar individuals. The rivals could neither be classified with the help of ethnic categories nor identifiable groups of the youth scenes. The incidents took place in scenes, where violence was more likely to happen. Interestingly and contrary to a general perception the offenders are well integrated into sport and leisure clubs. A further surprising result of our research is that the attitude towards religion differs between young men with experience of violence and non-violent men. Discussion Youth violence is a health issue, which concerns us globally. The human and economic toll of violence on victims and offenders, their families, and on society in general is high. The economic costs associated with violence-related illness and disability is estimated to be millions of Swiss francs each year. Physicians and psychologists are compelled to identify the factors, which cause young people to be violent, to find out which interventions prove to be successful, and to design effective prevention programs. The identification of effective programs depends on the availability of reliable and valid measures to assess changes in violence-related attitudes. In our efforts to create healthier communities, we need to investigate; document and do research on the causes and circumstances of youth violence.

The Politics of Purchasing Power: Feminist Tourism and Women's Development in Nepal

My purpose in this essay is to explore how ideas about women and development are created and circulated at the moment of consumption of wares produced at a women's development project in Nepal. I analyze the project as an example of the ways that women's development is an object of material and discursive consumption. Artifacts produced and sold by Nepali women, and purchased by tourists from the "first world," become part of an international exchange of power, money, and meaning. Based on a survey of consumers and ethnographic observations, I conclude that feminist tourists forge relations with disempowered "Others" through the pleasurable activity of an alienated market transaction. Consumers of crafts produced at a women's development project assume a position of empowerment and enlightenment, ready to help out their "women" counterparts through their support of an enterprise with circular logic: within the industry of development (although not necessarily for feminist tourists themselves), at least one of the central projects of development is the development project itself. At the same time, feminist tourists locate themselves outside the oppressive structures and ideologies affecting their "third-world sisters." This is a relation of sympathy and imagined empathy, with no sense of differential location within systems of oppression. They fail to examine or articulate the global link between their own purchasing power and local living conditions of Maithil women; the connection is effectively built out of the discourse.

Social cognition as a mediator variable between neurocognition and functional outcome in schizophrenia: empirical review and new results by structural equation modeling

Cognitive impairments are currently regarded as important determinants of functional domains and are promising treatment goals in schizophrenia. Nevertheless, the exact nature of the interdependent relationship between neurocognition and social cognition as well as the relative contribution of each of these factors to adequate functioning remains unclear. The purpose of this article is to systematically review the findings and methodology of studies that have investigated social cognition as a mediator variable between neurocognitive performance and functional outcome in schizophrenia. Moreover, we carried out a study to evaluate this mediation hypothesis by the means of structural equation modeling in a large sample of 148 schizophrenia patients. The review comprised 15 studies. All but one study provided evidence for the mediating role of social cognition both in cross-sectional and in longitudinal designs. Other variables like motivation and social competence additionally mediated the relationship between social cognition and functional outcome. The mean effect size of the indirect effect was 0.20. However, social cognitive domains were differentially effective mediators. On average, 25% of the variance in functional outcome could be explained in the mediation model. The results of our own statistical analysis are in line with these conclusions: Social cognition mediated a significant indirect relationship between neurocognition and functional outcome. These results suggest that research should focus on differential mediation pathways. Future studies should also consider the interaction with other prognostic factors, additional mediators, and moderators in order to increase the predictive power and to target those factors relevant for optimizing therapy effects.

Concordance Probability and Discriminatory Power in Proportional Hazards Regression

The concordance probability is used to evaluate the discriminatory power and the predictive accuracy of nonlinear statistical models. We derive an analytic expression for the concordance probability in the Cox proportional hazards model. The proposed estimator is a function of the regression parameters and the covariate distribution only and does not use the observed event and censoring times. For this reason it is asymptotically unbiased, unlike Harrell's c-index based on informative pairs. The asymptotic distribution of the concordance probability estimate is derived using U-statistic theory and the methodology is applied to a predictive model in lung cancer.

SYNTHESIS OF GRAPHENE AND ITS APPLICATIONS FOR DYE-SENSITIZED SOLAR CELLS

Graphene, which is a two-dimensional carbon material, exhibits unique properties that promise its potential applications in photovoltaic devices. Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a representative of the third generation photovoltaic devices. Therefore, it is important to synthesize graphene with special structures, which possess excellent properties for dye-sensitized solar cells. This dissertation research was focused on (1) the effect of oxygen content on the structure of graphite oxide, (2) the stability of graphene oxide solution, (3) the application of graphene precipitate from graphene oxide solution as counter electrode for DSSCs, (4) the development of a novel synthesis method for the three-dimensional graphene with honeycomb-like structure, and (5) the exploration of honeycomb structured graphene (HSG) as counter electrodes for DSSCs. Graphite oxide is a crucial precursor to synthesize graphene sheets via chemical exfoliation method. The relationship between the oxygen content and the structures of graphite oxides was still not explored. In this research, the oxygen content of graphite oxide is tuned by changing the oxidation time and the effect of oxygen content on the structure of graphite oxide was evaluated. It has been found that the saturated ratio of oxygen to carbon is 0.47. The types of functional groups in graphite oxides, which are epoxy, hydroxyl, and carboxylgroups, are independent of oxygen content. However, the interplanar space and BET surface area of graphite oxide linearly increases with increasing O/C ratio. Graphene oxide (GO) can easily dissolve in water to form a stable homogeneous solution, which can be used to fabricate graphene films and graphene based composites. This work is the first research to evaluate the stability of graphene oxide solution. It has been found that the introduction of strong electrolytes (HCl, LiOH, LiCl) into GO solution can cause GO precipitation. This indicates that the electrostatic repulsion plays a critical role in stabilizing aqueous GO solution. Furthermore, the HCl-induced GO precipitation is a feasible approach to deposit GO sheets on a substrate as a Pt-free counter electrode for a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), which exhibited 1.65% of power conversion efficiency. To explore broad and practical applications, large-scale synthesis with controllable integration of individual graphene sheets is essential. A novel strategy for the synthesis of graphene sheets with three-dimensional (3D) Honeycomb-like structure has been invented in this project based on a simple and novel chemical reaction (Li2O and CO to graphene and Li2CO3). The simultaneous formation of Li2CO3 with graphene not only can isolate graphene sheets from each other to prevent graphite formation during the process, but also determine the locally curved shape of graphene sheets. After removing Li2CO3, 3D graphene sheets with a honeycomb-like structure were obtained. This would be the first approach to synthesize 3D graphene sheets with a controllable shape. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that the 3D Honeycomb-Structured Graphene (HSG) possesses excellent electrical conductivity and high catalytic activity. As a result, DSSCs with HSG counter electrodes exhibit energy conversion efficiency as high as 7.8%, which is comparable to that of an expensive noble Pt electrode.

A Case Study of Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Power Responses to a 6-Week High Intensity Training Program

We evaluated the muscular strength, endurance, and power responses of 12 college students, ranging in age from 19-40 years, who participated in a 6-wk high-intensity training program commonly used to improve muscular endurance. Muscular strength was measured by a one repetition maximum (1RM) bench press test and a 1RM Hammer bench press test; muscular endurance was measured by administering a 70-percent 1RM test to failure on the Hammer bench press; and upper body power was measured by adminstering a medicine ball throw test. We observed a 4.8-percent improvement of 2.7 kg on the bench press, a 14.6-percent improvement of 10.5 kg on the Hammer bench press, a 45.5-percent improvement with an average increase of five repetitions on the submaximal test to failure and an average improvement of ~ 20 percent, 60 cm, for the medicine ball throw. Foe our subjects, a commonly used high-intensity training muscular endurance program resulted in improved performance on tests measuring muscular strength, endurance, and power, and resulted in zero reported injuries during training or assessment procedures.

Impaired verbal memory in Parkinson disease: relationship to prefrontal dysfunction and somatosensory discrimination

OBJECTIVE: To study the neurocognitive profile and its relationship to prefrontal dysfunction in non-demented Parkinson's disease (PD) with deficient haptic perception. METHODS: Twelve right-handed patients with PD and 12 healthy control subjects underwent thorough neuropsychological testing including Rey complex figure, Rey auditory verbal and figural learning test, figural and verbal fluency, and Stroop test. Test scores reflecting significant differences between patients and healthy subjects were correlated with the individual expression coefficients of one principal component, obtained in a principal component analysis of an oxygen-15-labeled water PET study exploring somatosensory discrimination that differentiated between the two groups and involved prefrontal cortices. RESULTS: We found significantly decreased total scores for the verbal learning trials and verbal delayed free recall in PD patients compared with normal volunteers. Further analysis of these parameters using Spearman's ranking correlation showed a significantly negative correlation of deficient verbal recall with expression coefficients of the principal component whose image showed a subcortical-cortical network, including right dorsolateral-prefrontal cortex, in PD patients. CONCLUSION: PD patients with disrupted right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex function and associated diminished somatosensory discrimination are impaired also in verbal memory functions. A negative correlation between delayed verbal free recall and PET activation in a network including the prefrontal cortices suggests that verbal cues and accordingly declarative memory processes may be operative in PD during activities that demand sustained attention such as somatosensory discrimination. Verbal cues may be compensatory in nature and help to non-specifically enhance focused attention in the presence of a functionally disrupted prefrontal cortex.

Efforts and Models of Education for Parents: the Danish Approach

The report examines the relationship between day care institutions, schools and so called “parents unfamiliar to education” as well as the relationship between the institutions. With in Danish public and professional discourse concepts like parents unfamiliar to education are usually referring to environments, parents or families with either no or just very restricted experience of education except for the basic school (folkeskole). The “grand old man” of Danish educational research, Prof. Em. Erik Jørgen Hansen, defines the concept as follows: Parents who are distant from or not familiar with education, are parents without tradition of education and by that fact they are not able to contribute constructively in order to back up their own children during their education. Many teachers and pedagogues are not used to that term; they rather prefer concepts like “socially exposed” or “socially disadvantaged” parents or social classes or strata. The report does not only focus on parents who are not capable to support the school achievements of their children, since a low level of education is usually connected with social disadvantage. Such parents are often not capable of understanding and meeting the demands from side of the school when sending their children to school. They lack the competencies or the necessary competence of action. For the moment being much attention is done from side of the Ministries of Education and Social Affairs (recently renamed Ministry of Welfare) in order to create equal possibilities for all children. Many kinds of expertise (directions, counsels, researchers, etc.) have been more than eager to promote recommendations aiming at achieving the ambitious goal: 2015 95% of all young people should complement a full education (classes 10.-12.). Research results are pointing out the importance of increased participation of parents. In other word the agenda is set for ‘parents’ education’. It seems necessary to underline that Danish welfare policy has been changing rather radical. The classic model was an understanding of welfare as social assurance and/or as social distribution – based on social solidarity. The modern model looks like welfare as social service and/or social investment. This means that citizens are changing role – from user and/or citizen to consumer and/or investor. The Danish state is in correspondence with decisions taken by the government investing in a national future shaped by global competition. The new models of welfare – “service” and “investment” – imply severe changes in hitherto known concepts of family life, relationship between parents and children etc. As an example the investment model points at a new implementation of the relationship between social rights and the rights of freedom. The service model has demonstrated that weakness that the access to qualified services in the field of health or education is becoming more and more dependent of the private purchasing power. The weakness of the investment model is that it represents a sort of “The Winner takes it all” – since a political majority is enabled to make agendas in societal fields former protected by the tripartite power and the rights of freedom of the citizens. The outcome of the Danish development seems to be an establishment of a political governed public service industry which on one side are capable of competing on market conditions and on the other are able being governed by contracts. This represents a new form of close linking of politics, economy and professional work. Attempts of controlling education, pedagogy and thereby the population are not a recent invention. In European history we could easily point at several such experiments. The real news is the linking between political priorities and exercise of public activities by economic incentives. By defining visible goals for the public servants, by introducing measurement of achievements and effects, and by implementing a new wage policy depending on achievements and/or effects a new system of accountability is manufactured. The consequences are already perceptible. The government decides to do some special interventions concerning parents, children or youngsters, the public servants on municipality level are instructed to carry out their services by following a manual, and the parents are no longer protected by privacy. Protection of privacy and minority is no longer a valuable argumentation to prevent further interventions in people’s life (health, food, school, etc.). The citizens are becoming objects of investment, also implying that people are investing in their own health, education, and family. This means that investments in changes of life style and development of competences go hand in hand. The below mentioned programmes are conditioned by this shift.

Actor and partner effects of self-esteem on relationship satisfaction and the mediating role of secure attachment between the partners

We examined actor and partner effects of self-esteem on relationship satisfaction, using the actor-partner interdependence model and data from five independent samples of couples. The results indicated that self-esteem predicted the individual’s own relationship satisfaction (i.e., an actor effect) and the relationship satisfaction of his or her partner (i.e., a partner effect), controlling for the effect of the partner’s selfesteem. Gender, age, and length of relationship did not moderate the effect sizes. Moreover, using one of the samples, we tested whether secure attachment to the current partner (assessed as low attachment-related anxiety and avoidance) mediated the effects. The results showed that attachment-related anxiety and avoidance independently mediated both the actor and the partner effect of self-esteem on relationship satisfaction.

Is the relation between early post-session reports and treatment outcome an epiphenomenon of intake distress and early response? A multi-predictor analysis in outpatient psychotherapy

The early phase of psychotherapy has been regarded as a sensitive period in the unfolding of psychotherapy leading to positive outcomes. However, there is disagreement about the degree to which early (especially relationship-related) session experiences predict outcome over and above initial levels of distress and early response to treatment. The goal of the present study was to simultaneously examine outcome at post treatment as a function of (a) intake symptom and interpersonal distress as well as early change in well-being and symptoms, (b) the patient's early session-experiences, (c) the therapist's early session-experiences/interventions, and (d) their interactions. The data of 430 psychotherapy completers treated by 151 therapists were analyzed using hierarchical linear models. Results indicate that early positive intra- and interpersonal session experiences as reported by patients and therapists after the sessions explained 58% of variance of a composite outcome measure, taking intake distress and early response into account. All predictors (other than problem-activating therapists' interventions) contributed to later treatment outcomes if entered as single predictors. However, the multi-predictor analyses indicated that interpersonal distress at intake as well as the early interpersonal session experiences by patients and therapists remained robust predictors of outcome. The findings underscore that early in therapy therapists (and their supervisors) need to understand and monitor multiple interconnected components simultaneously

Bodily and Embodied: Being Human in the Tradition of the Hebrew Bible

A depiction of the ancient Hebrew understanding of the human being must take into account the fact that the Bible does not contain a systematic anthropology, but unfolds the multiplicity of human existence inductively, aspectively, and in narrative fashion. In comparison to Greek body/soul dualism, but also in the context of body-(de-)construction and gender debates, this circumstance makes it a treasure trove of interesting, often contrasting recollections and insights with liberating potential. This assertion will be illustrated concretely in terms of the nexus points of the human body (throat, heart, and womb), the relationship of humans to animals and angels, and the questions of the power and value of a human being.

Marital split-up and widowhood in old age: Differential impact on psychological and social well-being

Marital split-up and spousal loss are among the most stressful critical life events. Numerous studies have documented their detrimental effects on well-being, yet the large individual differences in psychological adaptation are still not well understood. Whereas in old age bereavement is normative and can be anticipated, divorce is an “off-time” transition for this age group. In contrast to bereavement which has been amply studied, research on later life divorce is still missing despite the increasing relevance of the topic due to the significant increase of divorces in older age. Based on a modified and extended view of Amato’s divorce-stress-adjustment model (2000), the aim of this contribution is to explore the differential impact of marital split-up and widowhood in older age on psychological (life satisfaction) and social well-being (social loneliness), and the adaptation to these critical life events. Our analyses are based on data gathered in a questionnaire study, which is part of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES. In a first step we compared three groups of individuals aged 60 to 75 years: a sample of 251 persons with a marital split-up (127 women; 123 men), a sample of 270 widowed persons (170 women; 100 men), and a group of 221 continuously married people (110 women; 111 men), which served as control group. In a second step, we investigated the role of socio-demographic variables, intrapersonal and interpersonal resources and variables of the context of loss as predictors for the psychological adaptation to a marital break-up and loss in old age. First results by ANCOVA indicate significant differences with regard to life satisfaction among the three groups, with divorced persons with the lowest scores, followed by the bereaved ones, and the married controls with the highest. Regarding social loneliness, divorced individuals report higher social loneliness than the bereaved group and the married controls (no significant difference between widowed and the married). In both loss groups, financial and intrapersonal resources, as well as the emotional valence of the loss are the most important predictors for the psychological and social adaptation. However, happiness in the past relationship is an important resource regarding the indicators for adaptation for the widowers, but not for individuals with a marital dissolution.