Drinking and moral order: Drunken comportment revisited

MacAndrew and Edgerton's seminal Drunken Comportment revealed that normative expectations to drunken behaviour differ greatly across cultures. Such variation also exists within cultures, where different drinking contexts may be associated with great normative variation. However, why social regulation of drunken comportment varies has largely been left unexplored. To examine the basis of such differences, two Norwegian drinking contexts are compared: (i) the high school graduation celebration and (ii) the two introduction weeks at university. Data comprise 71 qualitative interviews and field notes from participant observation. The two practices take place within a time span of only four months and involve many of the same participants. Alcohol plays a key role in both contexts. However, while the first context allows for heavy intoxication, sexual explorations and violating norms that ordinarily regulate behaviour in public, the second context is associated with much more control. We argue that the basis of this difference may be found in the differing value priorities of these practices, with participants' behaviour being guided primarily by hedonism and social integration, respectively. When applied to drinking practices in general this conceptual apparatus might elucidate the basis of context-specific norms and intra-cultural variation in drunken comportment.     

Assessing the impact of upper limb disability following stroke: a qualitative enquiry using internet-based personal accounts of stroke survivors

Purpose: Upper limb disability following stroke may have multiple effects on the individual. Existing assessment instruments tend to focus on impairment and function and may miss other changes that are personally important. This study aimed to identify personally significant impacts of upper limb disability following stroke. Methods: Accounts by stroke survivors, in the form of web-based diaries (blogs) and stories, were sought using a blog search engine and in stroke-related web-sites. Thematic analysis using the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) was used to identify personal impacts of upper limb disability following stroke. Results: Ninety-nine sources from at least four countries were analysed. Many impacts were classifiable using the ICF, but a number of additional themes emerged, including emotional, cognitive and behavioural changes. Blogs and other web-based accounts were easily accessible and rich sources of data, although using them raised several methodological issues, including potential sample bias. Conclusions: A range of impacts was identified, some of which (such as use of information technology and alienation from the upper limb) are not addressed in current assessment instruments. They should be considered in post-stroke assessments. Blogs may help in the development of more comprehensive assessments.

• Implications for Rehabilitation

• A comprehensive assessment of the upper limb following stroke should include the impact of upper limb problems on social participation, as well as associated emotional, cognitive and behavioural changes.

• Using personalised assessment instruments alongside standardised measures may help ensure that these broader domains are considered in discussions between clinicians and patients.

• Rehabilitation researchers should investigate whether and how these domains could be addressed and operationalised in standard upper limb assessment instruments.

     

Utility Values Associated with Diabetic Retinopathy in Chennai,India

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to estimate utility values associated with different severity stages of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in India by a direct elicitation method (time-trade off, TTO) and indirectly by questionnaire.

Methods: People with diabetes aged 40 years and over were recruited from an on-going DR epidemiology study and a laser clinic in Chennai, India. Utility values were elicited using the direct TTO method and indirectly through a validated questionnaire (EQ-5D).

Results: Of 249 participants, 30 had no DR, 73 had non-proliferative DR, 114 had sight-threatening DR, and 32 were blind from DR (bilateral visual acuity <6/60). The mean TTO utility value was 0.73 (standard deviation, SD, 0.31). TTO utility values decreased with increasing severity of DR (p?<?0.001) and were significantly lower among participants with sight threatening DR (0.70, SD 0.33) and blindness (0.55, SD 0.24) compared to those with no DR (0.89, SD 0.25) after adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical factors. Blindness from DR was independently associated with a lower EQ-5D utility value. The utility value derived from EQ-5D (0.06) associated with being blind from DR was substantially lower than that of the TTO utility value (0.55).

Conclusions: This study provides estimates of utility values that can be used in economic evaluations of DR screening strategies in India. The relatively low utility values associated with blindness highlights the importance of screening programs for early detection of the sight-threatening stages to prevent vision loss from DR in this setting.     

Value congruence and job satisfaction among nurses: a human relations perspective

The relationship between job satisfaction and value congruence within four organizational value areas was studied among nurses at surgery wards. Congruence between perceived and desired human relations values and social climate independently determined attitudes toward the nurse's ward. Social climate was operationalized as the habit of chatting with colleagues, and was inversely related to time pressure. Ward attitudes predicted job satisfaction, although structural equation modeling suggested that human relations value congruence also predicted job satisfaction directly, in addition to its effect through ward attitudes. Human relations value congruence thus appeared as an important ingredient of person-organization fit in nursing.     

Reference values for cardiopulmonary exercise testing in healthy subjects – an updated systematic review

Introduction: Reference values for cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) parameters provide the comparative basis for answering important questions concerning the normalcy of exercise responses in patients, and significantly impacts the clinical decision-making process.

Areas covered: The aim of this study was to provide an updated systematic review of the literature on reference values for CPET parameters in healthy subjects across the life span.

A systematic search in MEDLINE, Embase, and PEDro databases were performed for articles describing reference values for CPET published between March 2014 and February 2019.

Expert opinion: Compared to the review published in 2014, more data have been published in the last five years compared to the 35 years before. However, there is still a lot of progress to be made. Quality can be further improved by performing a power analysis, a good quality assurance of equipment and methodologies, and by validating the developed reference equation in an independent (sub)sample. Methodological quality of future studies can be further improved by measuring and reporting the level of physical activity, by reporting values for different racial groups within a cohort as well as by the exclusion of smokers in the sample studied. Normal reference ranges should be well defined in consensus statements.     

Changing Selves in Changing Worlds: Youth Suicide on the Fault-Lines of Colliding Cultures

Abstract

A time series study of the Japanese suicide rate from 1970 to 1989 indicated that the establishment of suicide prevention centers may have been associated with a reduced suicide rate above and beyond the impact of social and economic factors. The effect was small and significant at only the 0.07 level, but sufficiently stable as to encourage further research to evaluate the effectiveness of suicide prevention centers.     

Regulation of male sex hormones strongly heightens copulation behavior indices in rat's model administered Cocos nucifera husks extract

BackgroundCocos nucifera (Coconut, Arecaceae family) is consumed as dietary fruit but little is known of it as sex enhancer.ObjectiveTo investigate male sex hormones and copulation behavior indices in male Wistar rats administered husks extract.Materials and MethodsRats were grouped into control A, and treatment B to E (n=4); and administered husks extract at varying doses: 125mg/kg, 250mg/kg, 375mg/kg and 500mg/kg for 48days by oral intubation. Copulation behavior was assessed by introducing female rats to males (1:1) in a rectangular Plexiglas chamber and monitored by veterinary Anatomists. Blood samples for male sex hormones were collected and assayed by ELISA method.ResultsCopulation behavior (500mg/kg treatment): mounting (9.66±0.79 to 29.08±2.16), ejaculation (7.66±0.38 to 16.93±0.76), intromission (22.01±1.67 to 38.11±3.35) frequencies, and ejaculation latency (7.92±0.43 to 12.28±0.41) increased remarkably (Group E). Correspondingly, mounting (133.31±1.18 to 93.39±0.43) and, intromission (88.13±3.12 to 74.55±1.19) latencies; post-ejaculation (3.16±0.14 to 2.18±0.34), inter-intromission (19.48±0.26 to 14.32±1.65) intervals reduced significantly (P≤0.05). Testosterone levels (Group E) increased: 3.82±0.6ng/dL to 5.14±0.3ng/dL while, LH and FSH values reduced: 2.92±0.6IU/L to 2.13±0.3IU/L and 2.28±0.7IU/L to 1.58±0.3IU/L significantly (p ≤ 0.05) while changes were dose-related.ConclusionC. nucifera husks extract improves sexuality indices by regulating male sex hormones in male Wistar rats.