Smoking and raven IQ

Nicotine has recently been shown to enhance measures of information processing speed including the decision time (DT) component of simple and choice reaction time and the string length measure of evoked potential waveform complexity. Both (DT and string length) have been previously demonstrated to correlate with performance on standard intelligence tests (IQ). We therefore hypothesised that nicotine is acting to improve intellectual performance on the elementary information processing correlates of IQ. In the current experiment we tested this hypothesis using the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) test. APM scores were significantly higher in the smoking session compared to the non-smoking session, suggesting that nicotine acts to enhance physiological processes underlying performance on intellectual tasks.     

Mechanism of long-term degeneration of arterialized vein grafts

This study examined long-term changes in the morphology and cellular kinetics of rabbit vein grafts transplanted into the carotid artery. Six grafts were studied 1 year after implantation. Although the circumference and thickness of the wall were not different than at 12 weeks, degenerative changes occurred. The endothelial lining of the graft appeared intact, but large segments of the graft surface no longer excluded Evans blue dye, suggesting increased permeability. Collections of red blood cells were noted within the intima. Several grafts had extensive subendothelial fibrin deposits, often associated with foam cells, and evidence of previous hemorrhage, but these changes did not stimulate significant smooth muscle cell proliferation. Increased permeability with entrance of proteins and erythrocytes into the intima may result from increased wall tension or from low shear rates at the wall. Similar changes may lead to atherosclerosis in human vein grafts at late times.     

A critical reflection on the personal impact of managerial hegemony within nurse education

This paper, written by two male nurse teachers, describes and analyses their experience of working in a nurse education culture permeated by the philosophy of business management The introduction of business management practices to nurse education is discussed as a reflection of the current political hegemony of market forces and individualism The authors discuss the implications for nurse teachers of being continually exposed to these politically motivated forces which increasingly provide the paradigm for service developments within the United Kingdom health services In discussing the impact of this exposure it is argued that at the personal level individual teachers are experiencing a degree of apathy and personal dissonance which undermines their professional value system, resulting in emotional distress and a crisis of identity It provides a critical reflection on the way organizational dynamics and power relations influence the subjective sense-making of individuals The authors use a multiplicity of perspectives, including those provided by individual psychology, power relations, feminism and personhood, to argue for the need to develop an alternative paradigm which is characterized by the valuing of individual persons, empathic sensitivity and the fostering of creativity been important to us from a personal and professional     

Perioperative cardiac events in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery: a review of the magnitude of the problem, the pathophysiology of the events and methods to estimate and communicate risk

THIS IS THE FIRST OF 2 ARTICLES EVALUATING cardiac events in patients undergoing noncardiac surgery. In this article, we review the magnitude of the problem, the pathophysiology of these events, approaches to risk assessment and communication of risk. The number of patients undergoing noncardiac surgery worldwide is growing, and annually 500 000 to 900 000 of these patients experience perioperative cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI) or nonfatal cardiac arrest. Although the evidence is limited, a substantial proportion of fatal perioperative MIs may not share the same pathophysiology as nonoperative MIs. A clearer understanding of the pathophysiology is needed to direct future research evaluating prophylactic, acute and long-term interventions. Researchers have developed tools to facilitate the estimation of perioperative cardiac risk. Studies suggest that the Lee index is the most accurate generic perioperative cardiac risk index. The limitations of the studies evaluating the ability of noninvasive cardiac tests to predict perioperative cardiac risk reveals considerable uncertainty as to the role of these popular tests. Similarly, there is uncertainty as to the predictive accuracy of the American College of Cardiology / American Heart Association algorithm for cardiac risk assessment. Patients are likely to benefit from improved estimation and communication of cardiac risk because the majority of noncardiac surgeries are elective and accurate risk estimation is important to allow informed patient and physician decision-making.     

Measurement of maximum variability within event related potentials in schizophrenia.

One limitation of averaging individual late component event related potential (ERP) responses is that a single average ERP cannot reflect the variability of responses from epoch to epoch. In this article, we describe a method to quantify this variability and determine if any part of the overall ERP reflects a maximum variance through the use of response variance curves. We then apply this method to one disorder, schizophrenia, in which variability of information processing is hypothesized to underlie aspects of the symptomatology. Response variance curves in a group of unmedicated schizophrenic patients reveal systematic differences, maximal between 190 and 250 ms, compared with those in a group of medicated schizophrenic patients and normal control subjects.     

Resilience in Families with Children and Adult Members with Intellectual Disabilities: Tracing Elements of A Psycho‐Social Model

Aim This paper seeks to illumine how families with children and adult members with intellectual disabilities manage to manifest a buoyant and durable capacity over time. It is therefore concerned centrally with the idea of resilience. Method Drawing from diverse theoretical literatures from child development and protection and gerontology, the paper begins with a review of constructions of resilience. In an attempt to assess where there seems to be support for resilience in families, the core of the paper tests empirical evidence about positive experiences of families supporting children and adults with intellectual disabilities against the theoretical literature on resilience. Result and Conclusions The findings are used to suggest conditions under which resilience is produced and maintained, and to identify emergent elements of a psycho‐social model of resilience in families with children and adult members with intellectual disabilities.