Experiences of university life for students with Asperger’s Syndrome: a comparative study between Spain and England

Research has consistently shown that young people with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) are likely to experience increased anxiety during new social situations; yet, studies have been regionally and culturally bound. The aim of this study was to explore how higher education students with AS experienced attending university in two European countries: the UK and Spain. The objective was to find out if experiences differed between the two countries in relation to contrasting support arrangements and what kinds of interventions might aid students’ social well-being at university, an important learning outcome for future practice. This small-scale comparative exploratory study incorporated life-history interviews with nine students with AS. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four superordinate themes significant to both groups of students in Spain and the UK emerged from the data: social relationships, ‘special interests’, ‘environment’ and ‘support mechanisms’. Students with AS need and want clear, unambiguous and structured information from academics; support to get to know others in ‘small special interest groups’; more designated ‘quiet zones’ across campuses; and above all, a move away from ableist notions of AS. To our knowledge, this is the only Spanish–UK comparative study of university students with AS.     

联合应用抗精神病药物致恶性综合征1例分析

目的:了解抗精神病药物所致恶性综合征(NMS)的临床特征并探讨NMS发生的影响因素。方法:对某院1例恶性综合征患者病例资料进行分析并复习相关文献资料。结果:抗精神病药物所致NMS男多于女,青壮年居多,传统抗精神病药物与多种抗精神病药物联用、增加剂量过快是产生NMS的危险因素。结论:NMS病情凶险,死亡率高,临床上要认真评估抗精神病药物应用指征,综合考虑患者的个体素质、营养、躯体及精神征状等多种因素来选用抗精神病药物,使用中密切观察病人耐受性,缓慢增加药物剂量,特别是对精神发育迟滞患者、老年患者、有器质性病变及夏季应用吩噻嗪类药物的患者应仔细观察,减少危险因素,有效预防NMS。     

Containing the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome in external knowledge absorption and open innovation: The role of indirect countermeasures

This paper builds new theory and provides supporting evidence to contain the Not-Invented-Here Syndrome (NIHS) – a persistent decision-making error arising from an attitude-based bias against external knowledge. Conceptually, we draw on the 4i framework of organizational learning to develop a novel process perspective on NIHS. This allows us not only to unpack how and where NIHS impedes organizational learning, but also to identify the key requirements for effective NIHS countermeasures. Importantly, countermeasures fall into two categories: those that seek to change the negative attitude directly (direct NIHS countermeasures) and those that seek to attenuate the behavioral impact of negative attitudes without addressing the attitudes as such (indirect NIHS countermeasures). While the evidence base on direct NIHS countermeasures has grown over the last decade, indirect NIHS countermeasures have received little research attention. To address this gap, we adopt a mixed methods research design composed of two complementary empirical studies – the first qualitative and the second quantitative. Study 1 explores the prevalence of distinct NIHS countermeasures in collaborative R&D practice. Based on 32 interviews and three focus group meetings with R&D employees, we find that a broad array of primarily direct NIHS countermeasures is employed in R&D practice. Study 2 addresses the scarcity of scholarly and managerial insights on indirect NIHS countermeasures by testing the effectiveness of perspective taking as a debiasing technique to contain negative attitudes at the level of the individual. Based on quantitative survey data from 565 global R&D projects, it provides empirical evidence not only for the prevalence and negative effects of NIHS on project success as mediated by external knowledge absorption, but also for the effectiveness of perspective taking as an exemplary indirect NIHS countermeasure.     

SARS相关冠状病毒与其他已知冠状病毒的膜蛋白的多序列联配

1　Introduction　SARSisthefirstnewlyidentifiedseriousinfectiousdiseasethathumanbeingisfacingatthebeginningofthe 2 1stcentury .Ithasbeen primarilyrecognizedthatavariantofvirusfromthecoronavirusfamilymightbethecandidatepathogenofSARS ,asreportedbyWHO (WorldHealthOrganization)onApril 2 9,2 0 0 3(http ://www .who .int/csr/sarscountry/en) .　Coronaviruseswerefirstisolatedfromchickensin1937.Therearenowapproximately 15speciesinthisfamily.Coronavirusparticlesareirregularlyshaped ,roundabout 6 0 …     

Malnutrition-inflammation-atherosclerosis syndrome in Chronic Kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease is becoming a major health problem globally and in India an alarming number of about 8 million people are suffering from this disease. Patients undergoing hemodialysis have a high prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition and inflammation. As these two conditions often occur concomitantly in hemodialysis patients, they have been referred together as ‘malnutrition-inflammation-atherosclerosis syndrome’ to emphasize the important association with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The three factors related to the pathophysiology in these patients are dialysis related nutrient loss, increased protein catabolism and hypoalbuminemia. Inflammation in Chronic Kidney disease is the most important factor in the genesis of several complications in renal disease. Pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-1 and TNF-alpha play a major role in the onset of metabolic alterations in Chronic Kidney disease patients. Atherosclerosis is a very frequent complication in uremia due to the coexistence of hypertension, hyperhomocysteinemia, inflammation, malnutrition and increased oxidative stress, generation of advanced glycation end products, advanced oxidation protein products, hyperlipidemia and altered structural and functional ability of HDL. LDL-cholesterol, apolipoprotein (A), apolipoprotein (B), and Lp(a) are also associated with atherosclerosis. Studies have now provided enormous data to enable the evaluation of the severity of malnutrition-inflammation-atherosclerosis syndrome as well as effective monitoring of these patients.     

CFS的诊治及其运动处方的应用

查阅了近十几年的HIGHWIRE和MEDLINE上有关慢性疲劳综合症预后的文献,进行了系统的综述,介绍了慢性疲劳综合症(CFS)的诊断标准及病理机制,同时对各疗法效果进行了比较.结果表明,科学的制定运动处方,采用"阶梯运动疗法"能有效改善患者疲劳程度,减轻并发症状,提高运动能力.同时没有任何副作用.建议采用"阶梯运动疗法"治疗CFS,并对运动疗法处方的构成进行了归纳.     

Behavioural phenotypes in the classroom: a qualitative study of parental and teacher knowledge of classroom guidelines and teacher views on best practices

Research suggests that genetic syndromes associated with intellectual disability often have specific cognitive and behavioural profiles. It has been suggested that educational approaches need to reflect these profiles. Parents (n = 381) and teachers (n = 204) of children with one of four syndromes, fragile X syndrome, Prader–Willi syndrome, Williams syndrome and velo‐cardio‐facial syndrome were surveyed. Syndromes were compared with respect to what parents and teachers had researched or been told with respect to appropriate educational approaches. Parent and teacher reports were subsequently compared with actual published guidelines on the syndromes. Teachers were also surveyed on what they felt were successful approaches based on actual experiences of teaching the children. Parent and teacher reports of efficacious strategies for supporting their children based on what they had been researched or been told differed across syndromes as might be anticipated. However, differences between parents and teachers and between parent/teacher reports and the published guidelines suggest that parent and teacher knowledge of guidelines is deficient and/or that parents and teachers are accessing knowledge elsewhere. With respect to teaching practices, there were much less differences between the syndromes than in the published guidelines indicating that differences between syndromes in guidelines may not be as evident in practice.     

Writing readiness and children with Down Syndrome in an Irish context

There is a dearth of studies investigating writing readiness in children with Down Syndrome (DS) and limited information on appropriate interventions. This article reports on a study conducted in the Republic of Ireland. An uncontrolled pretest‐posttest design was implemented using writing readiness measures specifically adapted/developed from the literature to collect data on the writing readiness skills of 28 school‐aged children with DS attending mainstream schools in the Republic of Ireland. Teacher/parent perspectives were also gathered during focus groups. The children presented with complex needs in relation to posture, pencil grasp, copying basic shapes, name/letter copying. Teacher and parent reports highlighted the need for collaborative intervention with occupational therapy. Findings from the study support the need for targeted early collaborative syndrome‐specific intervention to support the development of writing readiness in children with DS as an important part of school readiness. Intervention should include adopting a broader emergent literacy approach, teacher education regarding writing readiness and parental involvement in intervention.     

Facilitating Support for Students with Asperger's Syndrome

The number of students with Asperger's Syndrome enrolled at tertiary institutions in the United States continues to increase. This can be attributed to: (a) the passage of legislations such as the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA); (b) revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM); and (c) early intervention and treatment. Although the increase may be an indicator that a climate of inclusion for individuals with Asperger's Syndrome has been created, many institutions are not adequately prepared to accommodate these students. In order to serve students with Aspergers's Syndrome effectively, collaboration between several university entities is necessary. The authors highlight the pivotal role that college counselors can play in providing direct support to students with Asperger's Syndrome and in facilitating and coordinating inputs from other sectors of the college environment such as disability services, faculty members, and residence-life staff.