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Bad copies. How popular media represent cloning as an ethical problem.

The media, perhaps more than any other slice of culture, influence what we think and talk about, what we take to be important, what we worry about. And this was especially true when news of Dolly hit the airwaves and newstands. Most Americans received training in the ethics of cloning before they knew what cloning was. Media coverage fixed the content and outline of the public moral debate, both revealing and creating the dominant public worries about cloning humans. The primary characterization of cloning as an ethical issue centers around three connected concerns: the loss of human uniqueness and individuality, the pathological motivations of a cloner, and the fear of out-of-control scientists.

Animals↗

[Melatonin: a popular hormone].

This contribution makes an attempt to critically reassess the impressive career of melatonin (MEL) from a stepchild of hormone research to a best-seller of drug marketing. Melatonin, the hormone of the pineal gland, provides temporal information on diurnal and seasonal variation to the body and brain and it is involved in the synchronization of many different aspects of circadian systems to the light-dark cycle. In addition to these receptor-mediated functions, MEL may act as a modulator of intracellular signal transduction to enhance or suppress the responses of many different cells to other incoming signals. Melatonin is also a potent scavenger of reactive oxygen species and may thus protect cells and tissues against radical-mediated damages. The production of MEL declines with increasing age, and circulating MEL levels are affected by certain pharmacological or physiological manipulations. Animal and cell culture experiments suggest that MEL may have beneficial effects on certain aspects of aging and age-associated diseases. Of particular interest in this respect are reports on the influence of MEL on the brain and the immune system. The sole sufficiently investigated indication in humans is the treatment of certain sleep disorders from the group of sleep-wake-rhythm disturbances. These manifest themselves by sleep time of the day, i.e. in shift workers, after flights across time zones and in some aged persons. Clinical studies need to be performed in order to identify possible side effects of long-term MEL treatment. Serious concerns are raised about the use of uncontrolled, impure, or partially degraded MEL preparations.

Adolescent↗

[Rorschach response process in schizophrenia].

Although H. Rorschach considered the Rorschach test as a perceptual experiment, little research has been done on the experiment. Moreover, the Rorschach signs of perceptual impairment in schizophrenia, which he indicated and many scholars have supported, have never been examined by the perceptual experiments. The purpose of this study is to make clear the relationship between the Rorschach response and the perceptual process in schizophrenia by investigating cognitive activities using eye-mark recorder. Four Rorschach cards were selected, achromatic cards I and V, and chromatic cards II and VIII. Thirty chronic schizophrenic inpatients (who met DSM-III-R for "Residual Type", and whose negative symptoms were evaluated according to SANS) and 20 normals were all administered the Rorschach test in the used manner but they wore an eye-mark recorder. Their eye movements during reporting the initial response to each card were recorded on the VTR connected with the eye-mark recorder. On the response of each card, five eye movement items (1.total response time; 2.number of eye-fixation movements/sec.; 3.mean eye-fixation time; 4.mean eye-fixation tracking length, and 5.eye-fixation frequency on each detail area) were measured and analyzed. By their initial response, subjects were divided into 3 response groups: Popular response group, non-Popular response group and Rejection group. On the achromatic cards I and V, cognitive activities during delivering Popular response in schizophrenia were examined in comparing with those of normals. On the chromatic cards II and VIII, after the eye movements of Popular response group in schizophrenia were compared with those of Normals, scanning activities of the non-Popular group, the Rejection group and the Popular group were investigated in comparing with each other among schizophrenics. On the achromatic cards with the most solid blots; Cards I and V, the schizophrenics could easily give a Popular response the same as normals. However, the visual scanning activity of schizophrenics was limited on a small detail area and inactive compared with normals. The results show the discrepancy between the response and the cognitive activity. On the achromatic cards, this suggests that the Rorschach response process in schizophrenia is different from those of normal's, even if the responses of schizophrenia is the same as those of normals. On the chromatic cards with the most broken blots; Cards II and VIII, most of schizophrenics failed to give any response, hardly gave a Popular response but a non Popular response. Among schizophrenics, the few Popular groups indicated a limited pattern with poor scanning on the blot. Besides in SANS, their negative symptoms showed high attentional impairment. Although the non-Popular group gave many color responses, they avoided looking at the color areas, As for the Rejection group, although eye-fixation shifted and searched all over the blots, the subjects failed to give any response. Particularly on Card II, some of their visual focal points scattered on the white space areas out of the blot. This implies the failure of perception focusing on the appropriate blots as the relative stimulus. This implies the impairment of selective attention in schizophrenia. These results suggest that it didn't reveal in the usual manner of Rorschach test until the observation with eye-mark recorder made it possible to show us the response process in schizophrenia.

Adult↗

The role of sports as a social status determinant for children.

This study was designed to examine children's attitudes toward the role of sports in determining social status, as well as the activities in which children prefer to participate. A total of 227 boys and 251 girls in Grades 4, 5, and 6 completed a questionnaire to determine which criteria were most important in determining personal, female, and male popularity. Personal popularity was answered by the girls and boys according to "what would make you well liked by your classmates." Female and male popularity was determined by asking both girls and boys to decide "what would make (girls, for female subjects, and boys, for male subjects) well liked by your classmates." A comparison of results from the Buchanan, Blankenbaker, and Cotten (1976) investigation and the present study indicated that, in the last 15 years, appearance has become more important and academic achievement less important in determining personal popularity for girls. For boys, the comparison revealed that sports have become more important and academic achievement less important in determining personal popularity. Boys reported sports to be the most important determinant of personal and male popularity and appearance as the most important determinant of female popularity. Sports and appearance became more important for boys with each higher grade level. Girls reported appearance to be the most important determinant of personal, male, and female popularity. For girls, appearance became more important with each higher grade level. A comparison of results from the Buchanan et al. (1976) and the present study indicated that the activities in which girls and boys preferred to participate have changed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Age Factors↗

Peers, schools, and adolescent cigarette smoking.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of popularity, best friend smoking, and cigarette smoking within the peer networks on current smoking of seventh- through 12th-grade students. These factors were examined for adolescents attending schools with varying rates of student cigarette smoking. METHODS: This study used data from the saturated school sample of National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative school-based sample. The sample for the present study was 2525 adolescents in Grades 7-12 who completed an in-school questionnaire and an in-home interview. Information from the in-school questionnaire was used to construct measures of school smoking prevalence and popularity. Using peer nominations from the in-home interview, best friend smoking, and peer network smoking exposure were constructed using the peers' own reports of their cigarette smoking. Multiple regression techniques were used to estimate the risk of current cigarette smoking as a function of popularity, best friend smoking, peer network smoking, and school smoking prevalence, and all first-order interactions between measures of peer and school smoking prevalence. RESULTS: Adjusting for age, gender, race/ethnicity, parent education, school, and availability of cigarettes in the home, the risk of current smoking was significantly associated with peer networks in which at least half of the members smoked [odds ratio (OR) = 1.91], one or two best friends smoked (OR = 2.00), and with increasing rates of school smoking prevalence (OR = 1.73). In addition, there was a significant interaction of popularity and school smoking prevalence such that risk of current smoking was somewhat greater among popular students in schools with high smoking prevalence than among popular students in schools with low smoking prevalence. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that school environments are important contexts for understanding peer group influences on adolescent cigarette smoking.

Adolescent↗

Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets for weight loss and heart disease risk reduction: a randomized trial.

CONTEXT: The scarcity of data addressing the health effects of popular diets is an important public health concern, especially since patients and physicians are interested in using popular diets as individualized eating strategies for disease prevention. OBJECTIVE: To assess adherence rates and the effectiveness of 4 popular diets (Atkins, Zone, Weight Watchers, and Ornish) for weight loss and cardiac risk factor reduction. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A single-center randomized trial at an academic medical center in Boston, Mass, of overweight or obese (body mass index: mean, 35; range, 27-42) adults aged 22 to 72 years with known hypertension, dyslipidemia, or fasting hyperglycemia. Participants were enrolled starting July 18, 2000, and randomized to 4 popular diet groups until January 24, 2002. INTERVENTION: A total of 160 participants were randomly assigned to either Atkins (carbohydrate restriction, n=40), Zone (macronutrient balance, n=40), Weight Watchers (calorie restriction, n=40), or Ornish (fat restriction, n=40) diet groups. After 2 months of maximum effort, participants selected their own levels of dietary adherence. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: One-year changes in baseline weight and cardiac risk factors, and self-selected dietary adherence rates per self-report. RESULTS: Assuming no change from baseline for participants who discontinued the study, mean (SD) weight loss at 1 year was 2.1 (4.8) kg for Atkins (21 [53%] of 40 participants completed, P = .009), 3.2 (6.0) kg for Zone (26 [65%] of 40 completed, P = .002), 3.0 (4.9) kg for Weight Watchers (26 [65%] of 40 completed, P < .001), and 3.3 (7.3) kg for Ornish (20 [50%] of 40 completed, P = .007). Greater effects were observed in study completers. Each diet significantly reduced the low-density lipoprotein/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol ratio by approximately 10% (all P<.05), with no significant effects on blood pressure or glucose at 1 year. Amount of weight loss was associated with self-reported dietary adherence level (r = 0.60; P<.001) but not with diet type (r = 0.07; P = .40). For each diet, decreasing levels of total/HDL cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and insulin were significantly associated with weight loss (mean r = 0.36, 0.37, and 0.39, respectively) with no significant difference between diets (P = .48, P = .57, P = .31, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Each popular diet modestly reduced body weight and several cardiac risk factors at 1 year. Overall dietary adherence rates were low, although increased adherence was associated with greater weight loss and cardiac risk factor reductions for each diet group.

Adult↗

Healers, deities, saints and doctors: elements for the analysis of medical systems.

This article provides the basic elements for the discussion and analysis of medical systems and their inter-dependency, with special reference to Latin America and, in particular, to the Andean countries. In a culturally diverse and socially stratified population, such as in contemporary Latin America, medical systems constitute a social representation resulting from the historical relationship between autochtonous medical cultures and those from other latitudes. The impregnation of scientific and popular knowledge results not only in the incorporation (and often expropriation) of folk in professional or scientific medicine, but also in the increasing 'medicalisation' of popular and traditional therapeutic practices. The emergent 'popular' medical system draws from both the professional and folk models, and in its actual practice, integrates both popular beliefs and materia medica with elements drawn from popular religions and pre-Hispanic deities. The degree of competitiveness, co-operation or 'integration' among medical systems depends mainly on the asymmetrical distribution of power and resources, and is conditioned by the population's behaviour in the management of disease. Existing pluralist systems of health care reveal a valuable array of survival strategies, which far outreach the proposals for integration called for by official sectors. On the other hand, knowledge derived from traditional medicine can contribute to the development of new models of clinical practice and to the expansion of the conventional epidemiological model.

Cultural Characteristics↗

A sexual selection theory longitudinal analysis of sexual segregation and integration in early adolescence.

The three objectives in this longitudinal study were motivated by sexual selection theory. The theory specifies the role of sexually segregated groups and the effects of dominance in male groups and relational/indirect aggression in female groups for heterosexual relationships. Using a multi-method, multi-informant, longitudinal design we studied youngsters (N=138) across their first two years of middle school. First, we examined the nature of change in segregation and dating popularity across two years during early adolescence. Second, a model derived from sexual selection theory is tested to explain the ways in which boys and girls are nominated for hypothetical dates (dating popularity). Third, we examined the role of "poke and push courtship" behavior in boys' and girls' dating popularity. Results indicate that although groups did not become more integrated with time, changes in peer group sexual integration co-varied dynamically with dating popularity. Secondly, dominance-related strategies were more important for boys than girls in dating popularity whereas indirect, or relational, aggression strategies were more important for girls than boys. Third, "poke and push courtship" behaviors did not influence peer group integration or dating.

Adolescent↗