Catch-up growth assessment in long-term physically neglected and emotionally abused preschool age male children

OBJECTIVE: To assess the catch-up growth of long-term physically neglected and emotionally abused preschool male children who have entered foster residential care and remained 1 year after initial placement. METHOD: Longitudinal study over a 7-year period (1994-2001). So that a child was eligible for the study, three selection criteria were included: (1) aged between 24 and 48 months at the time of entry into residential facility, (2) having suffered both long-term (more than 6 months) physically neglected and emotionally abused, and (3) having stayed in foster care for 1 year after initial placement. Weight, height, and head circumference were established upon entry and re-assessed 1 year after initial placement, calculating the annual growth velocity. Results were compared with normal regional longitudinal standards of reference (Z score). Student's t test was used to assess statistically significant differences. RESULTS: During the study period, 87 children aged between 24 and 48 months (54 male/33 female) were admitted to residential facility after having suffered both long-term physical neglect and emotional abuse. Nevertheless, only 20 children (23% of the total admissions) met the third selection criteria (having remained 1 year after initial placement). Of these children, all were males and at placement they were between the ages of 30 and 42 months, with an average age of 36 months (1.9 SD). At placement, the analyzed parameters were below the normal standards, showing a statistically significant difference for height (Z score = -1.29; p = .008) and weight (Z score = -.75; p = .038). The annual growth velocity for all parameters was above the normal standards showing a statistically significant difference for height (Z score = +1.43; p = .009). One year after initial placement, the significant differences for height (Z score = -.68; p = .102) and weight (Z score = -.31; p = .435) with respect to the normal standards disappeared, though still remained below, showing a significant catch-up growth for height (improvement height Z = +.61 SD). CONCLUSIONS: At placement, the both long-term physically neglected and emotionally abused preschool age male children showed a mild form of chronic malnutrition with growth failure. Growth failure was reversible after the first year of stay, which demonstrates that this delay in growth was secondary to nutritional and psychosocial factors. Placement in foster residential care was beneficial for the catch-up growth of these patients.     

Assessment of ghrelin and leptin receptor levels in postmenopausal women who received oral or transdermal menopausal hormonal therapy

Objective  

In postmenopausal women, an increased leptin concentration and reduced levels of ghrelin and adiponectin were observed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of the active form of ghrelin, total ghrelin, leptin receptor, lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)), and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) in postmenopausal women who received oral or transdermal menopausal hormonal therapy (MHT).     

气候变化对中国农业气候资源的影响

气候变化将对我国的农业气候资源产生重要影响,评估其潜在影响可为制定未来农业区域发展和应对气候变化策略提供科学依据。本研究基于区域气候模式PRECIS在IPCC SRES A2和B2情景下21世纪末期（2071年-2100年）的气候预估数据,利用农业生态地带模型AEZ（Argo-ecological Zones）模拟气候...     

质量与研究生教育:通往卓越之路

认为研究生教育对一个国家至关重要,教师的质量、学生的质量及教育培训的方式是影响研究生教育质量的最重要要素;分析了一门高质量的研究生课程所面临的挑战;对实现高质量的研究生教育提出了五方面的对策和建议.     

杜威实用主义美学视野下的课程观

实用主义美学是杜威一生哲学思想的深化与完善。它超越了传统美学拘泥于纯艺术鉴赏的窠臼而主张审美回归日常生活体验,为诠释其经验课程理论提供了最佳的哲学视角和方法。杜威美学视野下的课程观认为,课程的设计和实施应该着眼于创造美的体验,因为只有充分展现美、创造美和享受美的体验才最贴近教育的本质,具有最佳和最充分的效果。杜威美学的价值意蕴不仅可帮助人们超越功利性的课程思维,更为师生共同创造富有生命力的课程体验提供了新的思路和衡量尺度。     

Effects of a feint on reactive agility performance

This study compared reactive agility between higher-standard (n = 14) and lower-standard (n = 14) Australian footballers using a reactive agility test incorporating a life-size video image of another player changing direction, including and excluding a feint. Mean agility time in the feint trials was 34% (509 ± 243 ms; p < 0.001; effect size 3.06) longer than non-feint trials. In higher-standard players, agility time was shorter than for lower-standard players in both feint (114 ± 140 ms; p = 0.18; effect size 0.52; likely beneficial) and non-feint (32 ± 44 ms; p = 0.22; effect size 0.47; possibly beneficial) trials. Additionally, the inclusion of a feint resulted in movement time increasing over three times more in the lower-standard group (197 ± 91 ms; p = 0.001; effect size 1.07; almost certainly detrimental) than the higher-standard group (62 ± 86 ms; p = 0.23; effect size 0.66; likely detrimental). There were weak correlations between the feint and non-feint trials (r = -0.13-0.14; p > 0.05), suggesting that reactive agility involving a feint is a unique skill. Also, higher-standard players are more agile than their lower-standard peers, whose movement speed deteriorates more as task complexity increases with the inclusion of a feint. These results support the need for specific training in multi-turn reactive agility tasks.     

Semi-analytical Monte Carlo simulation of laser-induced fluorescence propagation in an optically participating spray

A semi-analytical Monte Carlo (SMC) simulation was developed to simulate the propagation of laser-induced fluo- rescence (LIF) in an optically participating spray, which simultaneously exhibits spectrally dependent emission, anisotropic scattering, absorption, and re-emission. The SMC simulation is described and then applied to an experimental configuration of a cloud of polydisperse droplets composed of water and sulforhodamine B dye. In the SMC simulation, the collected LIF flux on the remote receptor element is calculated as the global contribution from the emissive source, single, twice, … and nth collision events in any sequence. The effects on the fluorescence photons propagation of spray parameters like the dye concentration, droplets concentration, and droplets size are examined. Three spectral bands representing different optical properties are chosen to analyze the interference of absorption, scattering and re-emission on the detected LIF flux. The obtained spectral LIF flux distribution on the receptor demonstrates a “red shift” phenomenon.     

Child abuse,dissociation, and core beliefs in bulimic disorders

OBJECTIVE: This study of bulimic women examined the relationship between the severity of four forms of reported child abuse (emotional abuse, neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse) and bulimic pathology. ln addition, it investigated the relationship of abuse with dissociation and core beliefs. METHOD: A sample of 23 women with bulimic disorders completed standardized self-report measures of child abuse, dissociation, core beliefs, and bulimic symptomatology. They also completed diary records of bulimic behaviors. RESULTS: No dimensional relationship was found between any form of child abuse and bulimic pathology. However, within this group of bulimics, neglect and sexual abuse were correlated with dissociation. In addition, a subset of core beliefs was associated with child abuse, with different cognitive profiles associated with each form of trauma. CONCLUSIONS: The findings need to be interpreted with caution because of the small, heterogeneous sample involved. Further research involving larger, homogenous samples is needed to investigate the generalizability of these findings, in order to determine if particular abusive experiences and core beliefs need to be addressed therapeutically in such cases. In addition, future research should consider the relationships between abuse, core beliefs and other impulsive behaviors.     

友谊与团结

这里刊发的是 2 0 0 2年 6月中国芜湖“诠释学国际研讨会”的第二组论 (译 )文 (第一组见本刊今年第三期 )。此次会议是由安徽师范大学诠释学研究所、上海中西方哲学与文化比较研究会、国际本体诠释学学会主办 ,与会学者 40余人 ,分别来自美国、加拿大、中国大陆及香港地区 ,收到论文 30余篇 ,反映了国际诠释学研究的最新动向 ,本刊还将选择部分文章陆续刊发。———编者     

Social and asocial cues about new food: Cue reliability influences intake in rats

Dietary generalists often treat new foods with caution and may rely on social cues to identify new foods that are safe to eat. However, not all generalists show the same degree of caution, nor do they all rely on social cues to the same extent. The cue reliability approach (CRA) attempts to account for this variation by quantifying the costs and benefits of sampling a new food for the first time. The experiments reported here tested predictions of the CRA, and the results suggested that rats eat more new food when asocial cues predict that new foods will prove more profitable than familiar foods. The experimental results also suggested that rats are more likely to seek out social cues when asocial cues are unreliable.