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ObjectiveMethodResultsDiscussionWe investigated weight stereotypes in the recognition and referral of eating disorders (EDs) by assessing if recognition, health care referral, perceived acceptability, perceived distress, and perceived prevalence of an ED differ depending on the weight of the subject in the vignette.Community participants (N = 180, age = 19–74) read three different vignettes describing three females with different EDs [anorexia nervosa/atypical anorexia nervosa (AN/AAN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED)] and were randomized to three different experimental conditions concerning an individual with a different weight (overweight, normal, and underweight).Across EDs, participants were more likely to recognize a problem, refer for treatment, and rate a higher perceived level of distress in the vignettes of overweight individuals than in the vignettes of normal weight individuals. For BED, a larger proportion of participants in the overweight condition classified the issue described in the vignette as a form of eating pathology compared to the normal weight condition.These results highlight several weight stereotypes that exist in the recognition and health care referral of EDs. Future ED education and awareness programs should emphasize that EDs can occur in any individual, regardless of their weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Word retrieval during language production slows down with age. However, bilinguals also require language control to manage language competition, in particular when switching languages to cues. The current study examined how this bilingual language control differs between younger and older adults. It also compared bilingual control, and age-group differences, to control that might be applied when alternating between responses within one language. In Experiment 1, 40 younger and 40 older monolingual adults completed a task alternating between noun and verb responses to pictures. The task showed costs associated with language control but these did not differ between age groups. Experiment 2 was completed by 50 older and 50 younger bilingual adults. Older adults showed larger switching costs than younger adults when switching between and within languages, suggesting they experienced more difficulty with reactive control. However, while older adults showed larger mixing costs than younger adults when using two languages in the dual-language environment relative to the single-language environment, they surprisingly showed smaller mixing costs than younger adults in the noun-verb within-language naming task. These findings show that language control, and the way it differs between older and younger adults, is not the same across within- and bilingual-language competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitamin D plays an important role in skeletal muscle function and metabolism. The aim of this review was A) to discuss the clinical evidence of vitamin D supplementation either alone or combined with other strategies in the prevention of sarcopenia in non-sarcopenic individuals and B) to critically discuss the clinical evidence on the effect of vitamin D combined with other strategies on muscle strength, mass and function in sarcopenic individuals without vitamin D deficiency. Sparse clinical data on non-sarcopenic individuals indicate that vitamin D alone has a subtle beneficial effect on knee extensor strength at doses 880–1600 IU/day without improving handgrip strength or muscle mass. When co-administered with other supplements such as protein, mixed effects appear to prevent the decline of muscle mass, possibly delaying the onset of sarcopenia in non-sarcopenic individuals, at doses of 800–1,000 IU/day over 6–12 weeks. In sarcopenic individuals, vitamin D 100–1,000 IU/day co-supplementation with protein results in increased handgrip strength between 9.8–40.5%. However, there is no strong clinical evidence that vitamin D dosage correlates with changes in muscle strength or mass. Potential sources of discrepancy among studies are discussed. Future studies with appropriate experimental design are essential to dissect the net effect of vitamin D on sarcopenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Word retrieval during language production slows down with age. However, bilinguals also require language control to manage language competition, in particular when switching languages to cues. The current study examined how this bilingual language control differs between younger and older adults. It also compared bilingual control, and age-group differences, to control that might be applied when alternating between responses within one language. In Experiment 1, 40 younger and 40 older monolingual adults completed a task alternating between noun and verb responses to pictures. The task showed costs associated with language control but these did not differ between age groups. Experiment 2 was completed by 50 older and 50 younger bilingual adults. Older adults showed larger switching costs than younger adults when switching between and within languages, suggesting they experienced more difficulty with reactive control. However, while older adults showed larger mixing costs than younger adults when using two languages in the dual-language environment relative to the single-language environment, they surprisingly showed smaller mixing costs than younger adults in the noun-verb within-language naming task. These findings show that language control, and the way it differs between older and younger adults, is not the same across within- and bilingual-language competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the activity of Chile’s unique neo-fascist movement from the early 1970s until 1990. Whereas Jaime Guzmán and his ideological group (the gremialistas) believed that the military dictatorship should conclude with the creation of a protected parliamentary democracy, the so-called hardliners thought that the dictatorship’s mission was to institute a fascist-corporatist regime in Chile. First, the article shows that while Guzmán became the regime’s chief ideologue, the hardliners operated as outsiders and harshly opposed both the regime’s neoliberal model and the 1980 Constitution. Second, it examines the hardliners ’campaigns against the constitutional process, and delves into their links with Spanish neofascist elements. It argues that, ironically, these campaigns helped Guzmán propagate the 1980 Constitution as a moderate position between two statist ideological extremes. On the other hand, their intransigence hindered the efforts to unify Chile’s right-wing sectors into a single electoral front ahead of the 1988 constitutional referendum and 1989 elections, thus going against their intentions to control the constitutional process after 1988. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past forty-two years Chile has been governed according to the infamous 1980 Constitution. Bequeathed to the country by its military dictator Augusto Pinochet, this text was originally designed to sustain an infinite de facto dictatorship in Chile. While this did not happen, and despite having been repeatedly amended since 1989, the 1980 Constitution is still considered an illegitimate text by most Chileans, as the 2020 Chilean national plebiscite has illustrated. The introduction provides a genealogy of the 1980 Constitution, explains the right-wing ideology underpinning it, and explores the scholarly debates over its supposed merits and the feasibility of its replacement with a new constitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the ideological character of Juan Carlos Onganía's dictatorship by exploring its ties and dialogue with Francisco Franco's Spain. Known as the "Argentine Revolution," Onganía's regime (1966-70) was, the article shows, one of the first Cold War Latin American dictatorship to overtly use Francoist ideology as its point of reference. While building on the conventional wisdom that the legacies of the Spanish Civil War informed right-wing thought in Latin America, the study then shifts its focus to Spain's 1960s "economic miracle" and technocratic state model, observing them as a prominent discursive toolkit for authoritarian Argentine intellectuals. Drawing on newly discovered correspondence and archival sources, the article first excavates the intellectual networks operating between Franco's Spain and the Argentine right during the 1950s and 1960s. Once handpicked by Onganía to design his regime, these Argentine Franco-sympathizers were to decide the character of the Argentine Revolution. Second, the article sheds light on the intimate collaboration between the two dictatorships, and further explores the reasons for Onganía's downfall. In doing so, the study adds to a burgeoning historiographic field that underscores the significance of the Francoist dictatorship in the Latin American right-wing imaginary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the brain, compact clusters of neuron cell bodies, termed nuclei, are essential for maintaining parameters of host physiology within a narrow range optimal for health. Neurons residing in the brainstem dorsal motor nucleus (DMN) project in the vagus nerve to communicate with the lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract, and other organs. Vagus nerve-mediated reflexes also control immune system responses to infection and injury by inhibiting the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and other cytokines in the spleen, although the function of DMN neurons in regulating TNF release is not known. Here, optogenetics and functional mapping reveal cholinergic neurons in the DMN, which project to the celiacsuperior mesenteric ganglia, significantly increase splenic nerve activity and inhibit TNF production. Efferent vagus nerve fibers terminating in the celiac-superior mesenteric ganglia form varicose-like structures surrounding individual nerve cell bodies innervating the spleen. Selective optogenetic activation of DMN cholinergic neurons or electrical activation of the cervical vagus nerve evokes action potentials in the splenic nerve. Pharmacological blockade and surgical transection of the vagus nerve inhibit vagus nerve-evoked splenic nerve responses. These results indicate that cholinergic neurons residing in the brainstem DMN control TNF production, revealing a role for brainstem coordination of immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

FERM domain–containing protein 6 (FRMD6) is a member of the FERM protein superfamily, which is evolutionary highly conserved and has recently been identified as an upstream regulator of the conserved growth-promoting Hippo signaling pathway. In clinical studies, the FRMD6 gene is correlated with high significance to Alzheimer's disease and cognitive impairment implicating a wider role of this protein in the nervous system. Scare data are available on the localization of endogenous FRMD6 in neural tissues. Using a FRMD6-directed antiserum, we detected specific immunoreactivity in varicose nerve fibers in the rat central and peripheral nervous system. FRMD6-immunoreactive (-ir) neurons were found in the sensory ganglia of cranial nerves, which were marked by a pool of labeled cytoplasmic granules. Cross-species comparative studies detected a morphologically identical fiber population and a comparable fiber distribution in tissues from xenopus and human cranial nerves and ganglia. In the spinal cord, FRMD6-ir was detectable in the terminal endings of primary afferent neurons containing substance P (SP). In the rat diencephalon, FRMD6-ir was co-localized with either SP- or arginine vasopressin–positive fibers in Broca's diagonal band and the lateral septum. Dense fiber terminals containing both FRMD6-ir and growth hormone-releasing hormone were found in the median eminence. The intimate association of FRMD6 with secretory vesicles was investigated in vitro. Induction of exocytotic vesicles in cultured cells by ectopic expression of the SP precursor molecule preprotachykinin A led to a redistribution and co-localization of endogenous FRMD6 with secretory granules closely mimicking the observations in tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explains how the Spanish transition from dictatorship to democracy, as a "model" for a political reform devoid of transitional justice, informed the Argentine and Chilean democratic transition of the 1980s. It indicates that during the mid-1980s, Spanish figures promoted Spain's "pacted transition" in Latin America within particular intellectual networks. While ultimately failing to impact the Argentine democratisation, the Spanish discourse of "consensus" made a more salient impact in Chile during the late 1980s. The goal of this article is ultimately to suggest that while Chilean reformers designed their transitional model building on both the Spanish and Argentine precedents, their discourse bore a strong consistency with the core principles of the Spanish political reform, a fact that should be attributed to a decade of Chilean-Spanish dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews evidence bearing on whether antisemitism has recently reemerged as a dangerous and global sociopolitical problem. Two empirical studies then explore how psychologists and other social scientists have investigated anti–Jewish bigotry. The first looks at research trends in major social scientific databases since the 1940s. The second is a content analysis of abstracts of psychological studies on antisemitism since 1990. The article concludes, among other findings, that while social scientific aspects of the Holocaust have been studied in some detail, contemporary anti-Jewish hostility has been underestimated, and antisemitism from the Muslim/Arab world has been largely ignored. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this study we investigated mediators' thinking in twenty real-life civil case mediations. We found evidence that their thinking unfolds along two planes: one intuitive (system 1) and the other rational (system 2). On the former, mediators frame the mediation as a distributive process, instinctively evaluate the situation as well as the parties, and engage in habitual interventions. On the rational plane, the mediators develop goals, rationally evaluate the situation, mentally map what is going on, and choose among a variety of rational steps, such as pressing, delaying the mediation, and extracting offers, in order to accomplish their goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we will discuss the challenges and opportunities for imaging journals in the next decades. These include: the importance of optimizing online communication to enhance exchange of ideas in the sciences and the necessity to facilitate the development of quantitative tools that will aid in risk stratification, diagnosis, monitoring of therapy, and disease surveillance in an era of "P4 medicine". Journals will also need to promote the evidence-based evaluation of promising technologies so that the resources expended in healthcare may be most effectively used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using high-throughput methods for mutagenesis, protein isolation and charge-separation functionality, we have assayed 40 Rhodobacter capsulatus reaction center (RC) mutants for their P + Q B − yield (P is a dimer of bacteriochlorophylls and Q is a ubiquinone) as produced using the normally inactive B-side cofactors B B and H B (where B is a bacteriochlorophyll and H is a bacteriopheophytin). Two sets of mutants explore all possible residues at M131 (M polypeptide, native residue Val near H B ) in tandem with either a fixed His or a fixed Asn at L181 (L polypeptide, native residue Phe near B B ). A third set of mutants explores all possible residues at L181 with a fixed Glu at M131 that can form a hydrogen bond to H B . For each set of mutants, the results of a rapid millisecond screening assay that probes the yield of P + Q B − are compared among that set and to the other mutants reported here or previously. For a subset of eight mutants, the rate constants and yields of the individual B-side electron transfer processes are determined via transient absorption measurements spanning 100 fs to 50 μs. The resulting ranking of mutants for their yield of P + Q B − from ultrafast experiments is in good agreement with that obtained from the millisecond screening assay, further validating the efficient, high-throughput screen for B-side transmembrane charge separation. Results from mutants that individually show progress toward optimization of P + H B − → P + Q B − electron transfer or initial P* → P + H B − conversion highlight unmet challenges of optimizing both processes simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The therapeutic community (TC) Client Assessment Inventory (CAI), Client Assessment Summary (CAS), and Staff Assessment Summary (SAS) are instruments developed from a comprehensive theory of TC treatment and recovery. They measure client self-report and staff evaluation of client progress along 14 domains of behavior, attitude, and cognitive change. The present article reports on the development of the instruments and findings from an analysis of data on 346 clients in TC treatment; including scale properties and cross-sectional client differences by treatment tenure. The instruments were administered over a 1-year period at two residential TC facilities. Findings indicate that both client and staff instruments reliably differentiate client clinical changes during treatment and client self-ratings are initially consistently higher than staff ratings. Clarifying and measuring changes in the individual during treatment is the first step in the effort to understand the change process and what steps can be taken to improve treatment effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are personality trait concepts merely descriptive of behaviors or do they describe causes? Social psychologists have differing views. Thus we looked at lexical decision response times (RTs) in a list context paradigm, which presents prime–target pairs embedded in lists of different contexts. In lists of associated pairs, traits did not affect RTs to related behaviors. But in lists of causally related pairs, traits primed RTs to behavioral words. Causality was never mentioned, and RTs were short enough to suggest automatic processing. This is consistent with other research on priming thematic relations. It also indicates that traits are implicit causes rather than mere descriptions of behavior, at least among Western participants. This challenges some current formulations in the social psychology of impression formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the crystal structures of reaction centers (RCs) from purple photosynthetic bacteria, two pathways for electron transfer (ET) are apparent but only one pathway (the A side) operates in the native protein-cofactor complex. Partial activation of the B-side pathway has unveiled the true inefficiencies of ET processes on that side in comparison to analogous reactions on the A side. Of significance are the relative rate constants for forward ET and the competing charge recombination reactions. On the B side, these rate constants are nearly equal for the secondary charge-separation step (ET from bacteriopheophytin to quinone), relegating the yield of this process to < 50%. Herein we report efforts to optimize this step. In surveying all possible residues at position 131 in the M subunit, we discovered that when glutamic acid replaces the native valine the efficiency of the secondary ET is nearly two-fold higher than in the wild-type RC. The positive effect of M131 Glu is likely due to formation of a hydrogen bond with the ring V keto group of the B-side bacteriopheophytin leading to stabilization of the charge-separated state involving this cofactor. This change slows charge recombination by roughly a factor of two and affords the improved yield of the desired forward ET to the B-side quinone terminal acceptor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I address a vexing, but curiously understudied subject: How do mediators decide what to do under the volatile, unpredictable, and fast moving circumstances under which they work? There are two familiar responses to this question. One is that mediator decisionmaking is "intuitive," especially for highly experienced professionals. Another is couched in terms of mediator identification with some formal model of practice such as facilitative or transformative mediation. There are good reasons to believe that neither intuition nor reliance on a formal model provide a satisfying answer to questions about mediator decisionmaking. I summarize the findings from three in-depth studies using reflective case study methods that suggest a more complete answer to the question. These studies include an investigation of divorce mediation, a study of the work of ombuds-mediators working at the National Institutes of Health, and a study of mediators brought into the psychology laboratory to mediate a simulated conflict between two college roommates. We have learned from these investigations that tacit knowledge--which we have variously described under headings like mediator "styles," "mental models," or "schemas of practice, "--plays a powerful role in such decisionmaking, is often at striking variance with what practitioners consciously believe they are doing, and can be gotten at by methods that help practitioners access their tacit decisionmaking knowledge. The methodological and practical implications of these findings for future research on mediator decisionmaking are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survival outcomes for liver retransplantation ( LRTx) after graft loss in HCV patients ( HCV- LRTx) are generally considered inferior to those after non- HCV- LRTx. Between January 1, 2005 and June 30, 2011, our center performed 663 LTx, including 116 (17.5%) LRTx, 41 (35.3%) of which were more than 90 d after the LTx. Twenty-nine (70.7%) LRTx were performed in HCV antibody-positive individuals. We compared patient demographics, baseline characteristics and outcomes of our HCV- LRTx group with the HCV- LRTx patients from the most recent OPTN database covering the same time period. Our Kaplan-Meier HCV- LRTx one-, three-, and five-yr HCV- LRTx patient survival rates were 86.2%, 79.0%, and 72.4%, respectively compared with the OPTN one-, three-, and five-yr HCV- LRTx survival rates of 73.3%, 59.0%, and 51.3% respectively. Likewise, our graft survival rates were higher than OPTN rates at all time points studied. We performed a higher percentage of HCV- LRTx as simultaneous liver/kidney transplants ( SLK) (37.9% vs. 21.8%) and recorded shorter warm (30 ± 4 vs. 45 ± 23 min) and cold ischemic times (5:44 ± 1:53 vs. 7:36 ± 3:12 h:min). Conclusion: In our experience, HCV- LRTx patient and graft survival rates are comparable to LTx survival rates and are higher than the rates described by OPTN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores mediator stylistic variations in a sample of professional and novice mediators. Participants mediated the same simulated conflict and reported on their in-session thinking using a stimulated recall procedure. Mediators described themselves as stylistically eclectic, but this was not borne out by observational data. Multidimensional scaling identified two dimensions underlying mediator performance: stylistic orientation (relational versus settlement oriented) and level of empathic attunement. Qualitative analysis identified facilitative and evaluative variants of the settlement orientation and transformative and diagnostic variants of the relational orientation. The facilitative and diagnostic mediators performed more skillfully than their evaluative and transformative counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human beliefs in resurrection and life after death, based on lasting exchanges between earth and heaven that prevail in human societies ubiquitously, are presented here and analysed with regard to the customs and rituals of the Negev Bedouin. The article looks at patterns of the mourning process and the different social functions and outcomes of that process. The influence of mystics and the Bedouin's views on death are discussed. Pre-Islamic burial practices and grave visits that reflect both legend and tradition are shown to be on the verge of change as they collide with proper Islam and modernity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosynthetic reaction centers convert light energy into chemical energy in a series of transmembrane electron transfer reactions, each with near 100% yield. The structures of reaction centers reveal two symmetry-related branches of cofactors (denoted A and B) that are functionally asymmetric; purple bacterial reaction centers use the A pathway exclusively. Previously, site-specific mutagenesis has yielded reaction centers capable of transmembrane charge separation solely via the B branch cofactors, but the best overall electron transfer yields are still low. In an attempt to better realize the architectural and energetic factors that underlie the directionality and yields of electron transfer, sites within the protein-cofactor complex were targeted in a directed molecular evolution strategy that implements streamlined mutagenesis and high throughput spectroscopic screening. The polycistronic approach enables efficient construction and expression of a large number of variants of a heteroligomeric complex that has two intimately regulated subunits with high sequence similarity, common features of many prokaryotic and eukaryotic transmembrane protein assemblies. The strategy has succeeded in the discovery of several mutant reaction centers with increased efficiency of the B pathway; they carry multiple substitutions that have not been explored or linked using traditional approaches. This work expands our understanding of the structure-function relationships that dictate the efficiency of biological energy-conversion reactions, concepts that will aid the design of bio-inspired assemblies capable of both efficient charge separation and charge stabilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of men swapping daughters for wives or nieces as daughters-in-law is evident among the Bedouin. Although this pattern has its roots in ancient Arab culture and is a unique exception to theories of exchange marriage (EM), there is little reference to the circumstances of its occurrence in the anthropological literature. This article reviews the background of and suggests explanations for this practice. EM is shown to be a strategy that largely serves the desire for upward mobility of small and hence lowly graded groups of agnates. The article demonstrates how EM operates in an olden 'urfi setting, dominated by patrilineages, while shar'i courts tend to oppose it. We argue that, although it entails structural implications, this behavioural pattern does not have a structural end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latent growth curve analysis was used to assess motivation change across 3 time points for 120 therapeutic community residents. Models included the time-in-variant predictor of readiness for treatment, which significantly predicted initial treatment motivation but not the rate of motivation change over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Traits can be either descriptive or causal, summarizing people and behavior, or explaining behavior. We hypothesized that isolated traits are primarily causal. Participants made rapid judgments of causal relations between 128 word pairs, including 32 trait-action pairs. Fenker, Waldmann, and Holyoak (2005) showed that causal relations are identified faster when words appear in a predictive sequence (cause→effect) than in a diagnostic sequence (effect→cause). They hypothesized that this occurs because causes always occur before effects. However traits are always inferred after behavioral observations. Nevertheless, if they are causally linked, participants may identify predictive sequences (clumsy→stumble) faster than diagnostic sequences (blush→shy). Participants did just that, and just as strongly as for nonsocial causes, suggesting that traits are primarily causal concepts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

William Stiles (2009) makes a cogent argument for the value of case study methods for building practice relevant theory in psychotherapy. My use of case study methods in the domain of conflict mediation, an area of professional practice in which more traditional empirical methods have largely failed to answer questions of most interest to practitioners, well illustrates many of Stiles' points. Although mediation has more delimited objectives than psychotherapy and is practiced by many individuals with little if any mental health training, its practitioners face the same challenge of exerting influence in situations of considerable tension, ambivalence, and unpredictability. Stiles' argument for the case study as a theory building device resonates most strongly with my own experience in three major ways: (1) The value of the case study for connecting theory to practice; (2) the capacity of the case study to capitalize on problematic or unique experiences; and (3) the ability of case studies to generate the kind of rich observations that allow theories to be productively modified and adapted. I illustrate these points by describing my gradual movement towards a theory of expert mediation practice in a series of case study investigations in three diverse domains: divorce mediation in a family court; the management of conflict in a university medical center; and the mediation of conflict among scientists by ombudsmen- mediators at The National Institutes of Health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: In recent years high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1), soluble intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1), fibrinogen, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were recognized as risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between these vascular and systemic markers of low-grade inflammation and traditional risk factors, the metabolic syndrome (MetS) or insulin resistance (IR). Methods and results: In 137 adults (41–78 years) with at least 2 risk factors for atherosclerosis the following parameters were determined: hsCRP, sVCAM-1, sICAM-1, PAI-1, fibrinogen, waist circumference (WC), blood pressure, Body Mass Index (BMI), fasting serum glucose (FSG), insulin, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), LDL, and HDL. The presence or absence of MetS according to the AHA/NHLBI Scientific Statement criteria was assessed. IR was defined using the homeostasis model (HOMA-IR). Subjects with MetS had significantly higher values of hsCRP, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, PAI-1, fibrinogen (each P <0.05) and lower HDL-levels (P <0.05) compared with subjects without MetS. Similar results were found using HOMA-IR-quartiles. Subjects in the bottom quartile (HOMA-IR≤1.32) had significantly lower levels of hsCRP, sVCAM-1, sICAM-1, and PAI-1 (each P <0.05) than subjects in the top quartile (HOMA-IR≥5.03). HDL was significantly higher (P <0.05) in subjects in the lowest quartile versus those in the highest quartile. Incidentally we found no significant differences in total and LDL cholesterol among MetS, HOMA, and traditional CVD risk factor groups, respectively. Conclusion: Systemic and vascular markers of inflammation showed significant associations with IR and the MetS and may be incorporated into traditional CVD risk prediction models. Such models should be established and validated in forthcoming large scale prospective studies on CVD risk. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Clients (N = 185) involved in civil court cases completed the CPR Institute's Mediation Screen (CPRMS; CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, 2002), which is designed to assist in making a decision about pursuing mediation. The authors modeled data using hierarchical classes analysis (HICLAS), a clustering algorithm that places clients into 1 set of classes and CPRMS items into another set of classes. HICLAS then links the sets of classes so that any class of clients can be identified in terms of the classes of items they endorsed. HICLAS-derived item classes reflected 2 underlying themes: (a) suitability of the dispute for a problem-solving process and (b) potential benefits of mediation. All clients who perceived that mediation would be beneficial also believed that the context of their conflict was favorable to mediation; however, not all clients who saw a favorable context believed they would benefit from mediation. The majority of clients who agreed to pursue mediation endorsed items reflecting both contextual suitability and perceived benefits of mediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, anti-Jewish bigotry in the Muslim and Arab world has reached dangerous proportions, yet psychologists, sociologists, and other social scientists have produced scant research on the topic. This paper seeks to understand why there is so much hostility, paying particular attention to four potential sources: (1) Islamic history and theology, (2) frustration, anger and scapegoating, (3) socialization practices, and (4) the political context of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Advance directives promise to preserve patient autonomy, but research indicates that end-of-life preferences can be influenced by the way in which questions are posed. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether preferences expressed by geriatric patients on advance directives are influenced by the default response inherent in the question. DESIGN: Mailed survey containing 1 of 3 versions of an advance directive. SETTING: General internal medicine outpatient medical practice. PARTICIPANTS: Outpatients aged 65 or older (n=106, response rate=27%). INTERVENTIONS: In the "withhold" version of the survey, participants indicated situations where they would want treatments withheld (i.e., the default preference was in favor of treatment). In the "provide" version, participants indicated situations where they would want treatment provided (i.e., the default preference was against treatment). In the forced-choice control version, participants made an explicit decision to withhold or provide treatment for each situation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Participants' treatment preferences. RESULTS: Preferences differed by condition, F(2, 103) = 3.61, MSE=0.09, η2=.07, p=.03. Participants tended to express the default preference, and thus, were more likely to favor treatment in the "withhold" condition than in the "provide" condition. Preferences in the forced-choice control condition were intermediate. CONCLUSIONS: The default inherent in a question can impact preferences for medical treatment. This default effect limits the utility of advance directives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study which intends to address reasons for the maintenance of flocks, emphasizing the labor division among members of Bedouin families in the central and northern Negev, Israel. This research analyzes the uses of flocks by 24 Bedouin families who live in scattered rural settlements in Negev. The findings reveal that keeping wives at home and preventing children from non-acceptable behavior contribute to the maintenance of flock and employment. It also shows that shepherding may likewise provide employment to men who lack other occupations. The results indicates that raising flocks enhances dependence and the need of solidarity and cohesion among family members.

This article describes the strategic style approach to the mediation role. The hallmark of the approach is the mediator's attempt to address the underlying dysfunction that is fueling the conflict. Versions of the strategic style are illustrated in divorce mediation in a family court, the mediation of conflict among scientists at the National Institutes of Health, and the mediation of health care conflicts in a university teaching hospital. Despite this evidence, the strategic style is infrequently discussed in the practitioner literature and largely undocumented by researchers. Possible reasons for the low visibility of the strategic style are discussed, including the dominance of the alternative dispute resolution field by disciplines lacking developed notions of latent causes of conflict, the strong normative pressures on mediators to espouse the role of nondirective neutrals, the tendency of experts to lose conscious awareness of their schemas of practice, and the close ties between the strategic style and local conditions that may not be widely distributed in the universe of mediation practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an account of Morton Deutsch's influence on the study of 3rd-party conflict mediation. Written in the spirit of a personal memoir, it emphasizes how Deutsch's theoretical interests, as well as his personal approach to research and research collaboration, have influenced the empirical study of mediation. On the personal side, the key elements have been his enthusiasm for "real world" problems, his disinclination to see theory and practice as 2 separate realms, his methodological pluralism, and his egalitarian approach to research collaboration. His conceptual influence on mediation research is traceable to his focus on identifying the conditions that give rise to constructive, rather than destructive, processes of conflict resolution; his curiosity about what mediators do to constructively manage conflict; and his interest in the intersection between the individual—in this case the mediating individual—and the social structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the corporate waiver of corporate attorney-client privilege in the U.S. The author explains that a corporate director, sued in his individual capacity concerning corporate misconduct, often seeks to raise the defense that he relied on the advice of the corporation's counsel that the proposed course of conduct was legal. However, a litigation standstill may arise if the corporation, as sole holder of the attorney-client privilege, refuses to waive its privilege.

Approximately a thousand Bedouin families living in unrecognized, scattered settlements in the Negev desert, Israel, raise sheep and goats even though this enterprise shows marginal profits and, sometimes, losses. The aim of this study was to examine the uses of flocks among Bedouin households. It emerged that the flocks were kept for status, preservation of social networks, source of income, employment, family cohesion and maintaining land claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study about forest fire control and Bedouin pastoralism in afforested drylands in Israel. Background on the use of afforestation; Reason behind the higher risk of fires in ungrazed or under-grazed forests; Concern on pasture scarcity in Negev; Advantages of using grazing for fire control.

Examines the danger posed by growing antisemitism in Muslim and Arab countries. Quotations of remarks by Arabs and Muslims broadcast on the radio or television and published in newspapers which contain virulent antisemitism; Information on Muslim and Arab intellectuals and religious leaders who openly preach hatred against Jews and Israel and call for their annihilation; Discussion on social science research that investigates the roots and dangers of antisemitism; Correlation between antisemitism and anti-Americanism in Muslim and Arab countries.

Presents information on several non-governmental organizations sharing a commitment to better the future of India's rural communities by improving the quality of production, which would raise standard of living, thus improving quality of life. Bharatiya Agro-Industries Foundation; Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology; Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan.

Simple Summary: We used an automatic activity-monitoring system to determine onset of estrus in dairy cows. Within 5 h of onset, we administered a single injection of GnRH analogue to improve fertility during the summer and autumn. The treatment increased pregnancy per insemination during the autumn, but not in the summer. The subgroups for which the treatment specifically tended to improve conception risk during the autumn were: mature (2nd plus parity) cows and cows with uterine disease and ketosis after calving. Detection of estrus onset by activity monitoring and GnRH administration shortly thereafter could be incorporated into a synchronization program, to improve fertility of positively-responding subpopulations of cows. We examined gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) administration at onset of estrus (OE), determined by automatic activity monitoring (AAM), to improve fertility of dairy cows during the summer and autumn. The study was performed on two dairy farms in Israel. The OE was determined by AAM recorded every 2 h, and a single im dose of GnRH analogue was administered shortly after OE. Pregnancy was determined by transrectal palpation, 40 to 45 d after artificial insemination (AI). Conception risk was analyzed by the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS. Brief visual observation of behavioral estrus indicated that about three-quarters of the events (n = 40) of visually detected OE occurred within 6 h of AAM-detected OE. Accordingly, the GnRH analogue was administered within 5 h of AAM-detected OE, to overlap with the expected endogenous preovulatory LH surge. Overall, pregnancy per AI (P/AI) was monitored over the entire experimental period (summer and autumn) in 233 first, second or third AI (116 and 117 AI for treated and control groups, respectively). Least square means of P/AI for treated (45.8%) and control (39.4%) groups did not differ, but group-by-season interaction tended to differ (p = 0.07), indicating no effect of treatment in the summer and a marked effect of GnRH treatment (n = 58 AI) compared to controls (n = 59 AI) on P/AI in the autumn (56.6% vs. 28.5%, p < 0.03). During the autumn, GnRH-treated mature cows (second or more lactations), and postpartum cows exhibiting metabolic and uterine diseases, tended to have much larger P/AI than their control counterparts (p = 0.07–0.08). No effect of treatment was recorded in the autumn in first parity cows or in uninfected, healthy cows. In conclusion, administration of GnRH within 5 h of AAM-determined OE improved conception risk in cows during the autumn, particularly in those exhibiting uterine or metabolic diseases postpartum and in mature cows. Incorporation of the proposed GnRH treatment shortly after AAM-detected OE into a synchronization program is suggested, to improve fertility of positively responding subpopulations of cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the efficacy of psychological consultation in assisting university academic departments in engaging in instructional change in the United States. Application of consultation by the staff of a faculty development center; Evaluation of the consultation experiences; Impact of consultation on instructional change.

Examines the correlation between job and degree satisfaction among social science graduates. Factors influencing satisfaction with the undergraduate major; Design of the alumni survey; Determinants of career contentment among the graduates.

The article discusses the dissatisfaction of social psychologists with the style, focus, originality and caliber of research within the discipline. Many social psychologists admit to general dissatisfaction with the style, focus, originality and caliber of much research within the discipline. For the past two decades and consistent with these survey findings, social psychology journals have been inundated with articles criticizing the field for a wide range of theoretical and methodological shortcomings. One source of failed reform is intellectually based theoretical, methodological, and epistemological disagreement with analyses made in the critical literature. However, it is the thesis of this article that a comprehensive understanding of the crisis in contemporary social psychology requires us to look beyond intellectual matters. Much of social psychologists' reported discontent with the field stems from problems that are not generally disputed on intellectual grounds. It is surprising that most critical analyses of social psychology have been based upon the assumption -- curious for social psychologists--that scientists engage primarily in rational choice designed to ensure maximum intellectual payoff for the discipline when they select topics, methods, styles and theoretical orientations for research. Although no comprehensive analysis of the nonintellectual underpinnings of the crisis in social psychology has appeared, a few commentators have questioned the assumption that critiques directed solely toward upper-level cognitive processes will lead to significant change. When social psychologists attempt to address interdisciplinary questions without adequate background or assistance in the neighboring fields, the result is often unsatisfactory. According to many critics, social psychologists display a lamentable lack of familiarity with relevant research from outside the field.

This article presents information about the book "The Web of Violence: From Interpersonal to Global," edited by Jennifer Turpin and Lester R. Kurtz. The cover of this book promises an examination of the nature of violence "from many perspectives, at different levels, and using multiple methodologies." One might expect such a book to explore the social psychology, politics, and backgrounds of those who assault, abuse, murder, rape, and torture innocent victims. What the book offers instead is a group of articles connected by a common ideology that is sometimes promoted as a collection of proven facts, sometimes as an emerging body of sociological theory and most often by a network of self-evident assumptions that all right-thinking social scientists must make. Most contributors to the book show considerable concern with the application of ideology, but much less with studying concrete occurrences of violence. Thus, the actual situations in Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia, East Timor, Bangladesh, and Nazi Germany are ignored or glossed over quickly. Most contributors save their deepest condemnations for the American police, military, courts, and legislature which are portrayed as the tools and progenitors of state-sanctioned violence. Although one can legitimately identify excesses in all these institutions, failure to accept police and military functions as a matter of principle can have dangerous consequences.

Focuses on the changing views of social psychologists and sociologists on antisemitism in the United States. Attention on black-white relations; Disappearance on discrimination against Jews; Description of antisemitism.

Discusses the status of semiconductor light sources for optic communication. Information on heterojunction structures; Importance of the reliability of equipment; Forecasts on future devices.

Explains the social impact of business strategies employed by Bulgarians to adjust to the country's economic changes. Examination of the practice of trader tourism in the country; Relevance of the practice to the concept of economic boundaries; Consideration of the reactions of the population to the post-1989 economic crisis.

While empirical studies have generally demonstrated the value of mediation in divorce, little research has been conducted on the specific models of mediation that are most efficacious in such disputes. This article reports the results of an intensive analysis of 32 cases of custody mediation conducted at the Essex County (NJ) Family Court. One-half of the cases represented predivorce parental disputes; one-half were postdivorce disputes. Nearly half of the cases were characterized by extremely high levels of parental conflict. Mediator behavior was assessed in one 1½--2 -hour closing case conferences, supplemented by the examination of audio or video recordings of mediation in 62% of the cases. The effectiveness of mediation was assessed by a postmediation telephone interview and by an analysis of court records, both conducted approximately 18 months after the termination of mediation. Two contrasting styles of enacting the mediator role were identified: The settlement-oriented style (SOS) and the problem-solving style (PSS). Mediators tended to use one or the other style. The SOS mediators were primarily concerned with getting a "settlement" and staying "neutral"; PSS mediators were more focused on understanding the causes of the conflict through persistent question asking and were willing to depart from strict "neutrality" in cases where the conflict was being fueled by particularly destructive behaviors in one of the parents. SOS was the mediator style in 59% of the cases, PSS in 41%. Compared to SOS, PSS produced a more structured and vigorous approach to conflict resolution during mediation, more frequent and durable settlements, and a generally more favorable attitude toward the mediation experience. SOS was not necessarily bad, but PSS was better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]