Relaxation with biofeedback-assisted guided imagery: The importance of breathing rate as an index of hypoarousal

Fifteen men and 35 women, suffering from a number of psychological and somatic disorders, were taught to relax by biofeedback-assisted deep-diaphragmatic breathing together with guided mental imagery. No instructions were given about rate. Breathing rate and pattern, PETCO2, and EEG were monitored before training and after the first three 2-minute training trials (session 1). In 27 subjects (54%), breathing patterns and rate were noted to resemble those reported by meditation practitioners (3 to 5 b/min). The PETCO2 and EEG changes support a hypothesis of metabolic hypoarousal. Four subjects spontaneously reported experiencing altered awareness. A centrally mediated hypoarousal response is tentatively implicated.     

The dental awareness and needs of a Parkinson's disease population

The dental awareness and needs of a population with Parkinson's disease were assessed by means of postal questionnaires sent to members of Parkinson's disease societies of Belfast and London. A total of 228 valid replies were received representing a response rate of 31%. Results showed that dental problems were reported often, xerostomia and burning sensation being at least twice that of the general population. Satisfaction with dental care was high although it was significantly reduced in those with loose dentures and burning sensation. The results of this study support a greater participation by dentists in the planning and provision of healthcare for sufferer of Parkinson's disease.     

Self-awareness in dreaming.

The process by which self-awareness or subjective experience (consciousness) is maintained has been conceptually and phenomenologically associated primarily with the waking state. In the present study the authors investigate, through introspective reports, the existence and variety of self-awareness in dreaming and whether this phenomenon could, under certain conditions, be distinguished into primary and reflective consciousness. For consistency with theory and dreaming research, instead of reflective consciousness we used the term 'reflective awareness.' Findings indicate that self-awareness in dreaming can be found in its both primary and reflective modes. Phenomenologically, primary consciousness exists in four basic modalities: perceptual, experiential, cognitive, and memory-based recognition. Expressions of these primary consciousness modalities are accessible through introspective interviews during waking. Based on participants' statements, reflective consciousness (awareness) in dreaming was initiated by noticing positive and negative feelings and by personally defined oddities. These findings point to a possible oscillation between primary and reflective consciousness in dreaming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reflections on the meanings of dreams prompted by reading Stekel.

What does it mean to interpret a dream? While reading Stekel, an underappreciated but fascinating author, I was struck both by his keen insights as well as his interpretive limitations. This led to broader questions concerning the polyvocal concept of “meaning” in the interpretation of dreams. This article suggests the meaning of dreams can include wish fulfillments, univocal translations, clarifying the life context, morphological equivalences, associations, and personal history. Stepping back, even the question of “interpretation” versus “appreciation” reminds us that the need, if any, for interpretation will vary depending on who is asking the question. Indeed, reflections on the “who” or ego in the dream leads beyond dreaming to ultimate questions concerning the reality of ego and meditative reflections on what it means to truly be awake and aware of life as it is. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

天津医务人员和患者双向转诊知晓度及意愿性的调查

目的 了解天津市医务人员和患者对社区卫生服务及双向转诊的知晓利用情况;调查医患双方对双向转诊实施的意愿性,分析其影响因素,为顺利实施双向转诊制度提供理论和政策依据。方法 采用目的抽样方法,抽取天津市内六区3家三级医院和8家社区医院的18周岁及以上的医务人员和患者进行问卷调查,整理录入问卷并分析。结果 （1）医患双方对双向转诊的认知度低。（2）科室、职称和工作年限3个因素是医务人员参与双向转诊意向的影响因素。（3）医务人员在进行双向转诊遇到的问题：转诊标准不统一、医疗机构缺乏信息交流、经济利益驱使、医疗保险政策影响、病人不接受。结论 天津市医务人员和患者对社区卫生服务内容、双向转诊知晓情况普遍较低,但是大部分比较赞同开展双向转诊。应加强对双向转诊制度的宣传和医院与社区机构的沟通交流,平衡医疗机构间经济利益,并且坚持以患者为中心,政府在推动医院和社区卫生服务机构双向转诊发展过程中发挥主导作用。     

Trap‐shyness subsidence is a threshold function of mark–recapture interval in brown mudfish Neochanna apoda populations

The influence of capture interval on trap shyness, and temperature, rainfall and drought on capture probability (p) in 827 brown mudfish Neochanna apoda was quantified using mark–recapture models. In particular, it was hypothesized that the loss of trapping memory in marked N. apoda would lead to a capture‐interval threshold required to minimize trap shyness. Neochanna apoda trap shyness approximated a threshold response to capture interval, declining rapidly with increasing capture intervals up to 16·5 days, after which p remained constant. Tests for detecting trap‐dependent capture probability in Cormack–Jolly–Seber models failed to detect trap shyness in N. apoda capture histories with capture intervals averaging 16 days. This confirmed the applicability of the 16 day capture‐interval threshold for mark–recapture studies. Instead, N. apoda p was positively influenced by water temperature and rainfall during capture. These results imply that a threshold capture interval is required to minimize the trade‐off between the competing assumptions of population closure and p homogeneity between capture occasions in closed mark–recapture models. Moreover, environmental factors that influence behaviour could potentially confound abundance indices, and consequently abundance trends should be interpreted with caution in the face of long‐term climate change, such as with global warming.     

Wildlife trade,consumption and conservation awareness in southwest China

Commercial trade in wildlife is the major cause of species endangerment and a main threat to animal welfare in China and its neighboring countries. Driven by consumptive use for food and traditional medicine, the large volume of both legal and illegal trade in wildlife has caused great destruction to ecosystems and pushed many species to the brink of extinction. Data gathered from trading hubs at ports, boundary markets, city markets and stores, indicates the large amount of wildlife traded in the region of Guangxi, Yunnan and Qinghai provinces, a direct result of the numerous wildlife markets available. In a survey distributed in various trading places, while about half of the respondents agreed that wildlife should be protected, 60% of them had consumed wildlife at some point in the last 2 years. The results also indicated that law and regulation on wildlife trade control is insufficient. Wildlife trade controls are very limited because of bias on the utilization of wildlife as a natural resource to be exploited by the government agencies. The survey also shows that the current situation of wildlife consumption in key cities in China is serious, especially the consumption for food. The main consumption groups in China are male and young people with high education levels and good incomes. The key in public awareness publicity and education is to give them more information on the negative impacts of wildlife consumption and knowledge of protection.     

How to Create and Use Binocular Rivalry

Each of our eyes normally sees a slightly different image of the world around us. The brain can combine these two images into a single coherent representation. However, when the eyes are presented with images that are sufficiently different from each other, an interesting thing happens: Rather than fusing the two images into a combined conscious percept, what transpires is a pattern of perceptual alternations where one image dominates awareness while the other is suppressed; dominance alternates between the two images, typically every few seconds. This perceptual phenomenon is known as binocular rivalry. Binocular rivalry is considered useful for studying perceptual selection and awareness in both human and animal models, because unchanging visual input to each eye leads to alternations in visual awareness and perception. To create a binocular rivalry stimulus, all that is necessary is to present each eye with a different image at the same perceived location. There are several ways of doing this, but newcomers to the field are often unsure which method would best suit their specific needs. The purpose of this article is to describe a number of inexpensive and straightforward ways to create and use binocular rivalry. We detail methods that do not require expensive specialized equipment and describe each method''s advantages and disadvantages. The methods described include the use of red-blue goggles, mirror stereoscopes and prism goggles.     

An analogue study of the initial carryover effects of meditation,hypnosis, and relaxation Using naive college students

An analogue study involving two experiments was conducted to test the initial carryover effects of hypnosis, meditation, and relaxation upon self-reports of awareness. In the first experiment, concentrative meditators reported fewer nonsensorial events than controls. In the second experiment, concentrative meditators again reported fewer nonsensorial events, but covariate analysis and pretest/posttest comparisons revealed that it was the controls who had changed, increasing their nonsensorial reports. In addition, the relaxation group increased its reports of somatic awareness. Results were discussed in terms of the effects of performance demands and the possibility that meditation and hypnosis might be able to disinhibit awareness processes otherwise inhibited by normal daily routines.This article represents in part findings from a masters thesis completed at Appalachian State University, Donald L. Clark, Ph.D., Director, and a doctoral dissertation completed at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, David P. Rogers, Ph.D., and George S. Welsh, Ph.D., Co-Directors. The research was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid of Research from Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, with additional monies from the Smith Fund for graduate research at the University of North Carolina. Thanks go to Michelle Batchelder, Elizabeth Barbee, Lisa Barboun, Susan Durham, Lee Earl, Elizabeth Evans, Pam Gilmore, Sally Hall, Willian Hatch, Anne Mahaffie, Sally Parker, Lee Pusser, Susan Roach, Jennifer Rosenbaum, Skip Salguerro, Jeannette Smith, Michael Smith, Sylvia Sutton, and Lourdes Vinuales for their help in conducting the second experiment, with special thanks also to Susan Woodard (Experiment 1) and Alisa Huffman and Melanie Thackston (Experiment 2) for their help in coding the data. Helpful comments were made by Arthur N. Wiens, Ruth G. Matarazzo, Mary Lawrence Cawthon, W. Grant Dahlstrom, and Aija Ozolins on earlier drafts of this article.     

辽宁省重化工业地区公众的环境意识调查与评价

公众环境意识对国家环境保护政策的制定与实施具有重要影响.辽宁省中部重化工业区公众环境意识水平的调查对象为5个城市的居民、决策者、教师、学生、企业职工与农民,主要调查内容包括公众对环境质量变化的评价、对所居住社区环境的满意程度、公众关注的环境问题、环境污染类型、环境污染和生态破坏的原因、造成地区环境质量差异的原因、对环境保护的认知程度及国家未来的发展目标等.调查表明,78.7%的公众认为环境质量同5年前相比明显好转;但65.3%的公众认为居住社区环境一般,公众对于环保经费的使用排序为垃圾处理＞植树造林＞建污水处理厂＞改善空气质量.总体来看,多数公众缺乏必要的环境保护知识,对水体、食品污染的严重性普遍认识不足;居民环保意识差对环境质量改善具有明显制约作用;公众对环境意识宣传具有很强要求.本调查结果可为研究辽宁地区的环境保护、生态建设、经济可持续发展和政府部门制定各种环保政策法规提供依据.