Macbeth: The self of evil.

This article advances the thesis that Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, is best understood as a drama which centers on the alteration in the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Lord Macbeth, the hero of the realm, is revealed to be a man whose self required an archaic self-object--Lady Macbeth--to maintain its cohesiveness. As the play unfolds and Lady Macbeth becomes fragmented, Macbeth experiences a profound disarray with tragic consequences for all in the kingdom, including wholesale murder and the killing of "innocent babes." Shakespeare's play is dominated from beginning to end by the vicissitudes of a failed self/self-object relationship and the attempted repair of this relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dynamics of scapegoating: The expulsion of evil.

In 8 self-analytic groups, members who were objects of group-wide criticism were studied to determine what kinds of members groups move against. The 1st or only drop-out in 5 groups had been attacked by other members for displaying characteristics similar to the consultant role: analytic, distant, and nondisclosing. Members who behaved counter to sex-role expectations—women expressing anger and men expressing distress—were objects of group-wide attack in all groups. It was theorized that, in the most extreme form, groups act out the myth that their survival depends on some point of view being suppressed; thus, scapegoating reflects a group's interface with its limitations and its mortality. Interventions in the scapegoating process require that a group learn to describe rather than act out the tensions that arise out of internal diversity. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Speak no evil?

Responds to comments by T. P. O'Brien and P. Cox (1997), and M. L. Perla (1997) regarding the author's (G. W. Albee, see record 84-09296) article on prevention science. Albee discusses the problems in Perla's call for more public visibility for prevention programs using social marketing principles, and disagrees with O'Brien and Cox's argument for the separation of science and politics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation management versus evil karma.

Comments on D. C. McClelland's (see record 1979-07509-001) argument that freedom can be increased by having motivation managed. The author criticizes McClelland's illustrations such as parents' nonuse of a mechanical device to cure bed wetting and the scornful treatment of the metaphysical view, and points out the inaccuracies in the discussion of religion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The dark side of social encounters: Prospects for a neuroscience of human evil.

This article discusses how findings from social, cognitive, and affective neuroscience might contribute to our understanding of human evil. Integrating theories of personality and social psychology as well as the notions of deindividuation and dehumanization with recent neuroscientific insight, the authors elaborate on the nature of human evil and its potential roots in brain systems associated with affective processing and cognitive control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactive cytometry, chance or evil of bias?

Interactive selection of a limited number of cells in imaging cytometry for determining the DNA histogram of breast cancer cells as the best known prognosticator at the moment, implies statistical and systematic sampling problems. Analysis of histograms of 361 breast cancer aspirate specimens measured in two laboratories demonstrate the expected high statistical variations in view of the only 100 cells measured per case but also slight systematic differences. Controlled systematic sampling without pathological bias results in a somewhat higher malignancy grading than selective biased sampling. For this finding we have no explanation. The main result is, however, that we did not find the expected contrary which makes the argument for at least this application invalid that expert pathologists are needed for reliable interactive sampling.     

Beyond good and evil: The time-course of neural activity elicited by specific picture content.

The present study examined electrocortical evidence for a negativity bias, focusing on the impact of specific picture content on a range of event-related potentials (ERPs). To this end, ERPs were recorded while 67 participants viewed a variety of pictures from the International Affective Picture System. Examination of broad categories (i.e., pleasant, neutral, unpleasant) found no evidence for a negativity bias in two early components, the N1 and the Early Posterior Negativity (EPN), but revealed that unpleasant images did elicit a larger late positive potential (LPP) than pleasant pictures. However, images of erotica and mutilation elicited comparable LPP responses, as did affiliative and threatening images. Exciting (i.e., sports) images and disgusting images elicited smaller LPPs than other emotional images, similar to neutral images containing people—which were associated with the largest LPPs among neutral pictures. When these three anomalous categories (exciting, disgusting, and scenes with people) were excluded, unpleasant images no longer elicited a larger LPP than pleasant images. Thus, including exciting images in pleasant ERP averages disproportionately reduces the LPP. The present findings are discussed in light of the motivational significance of specific picture subtypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The percutaneous retrieval of vascular foreign bodies

Intravascular foreign bodies can cause significant complications: thrombosis, pulmonary and peripheral embolism, etc. It is therefore necessary to remove them, and this may be accomplished through surgery or by means of radiotherapy techniques. In the past year we have percutaneously extracted three foreign bodies originating in vascular access pathways.     

The effect of cellular energetics on foreign protein production

Escherichia coli strain F-122 was used to determine if there are additional physiological effects, other than decreasing energetic efficiency accompanied by the excretion of the acetate, on foreign protein production. This organism was the host for expressing HIV582-beta-galactosidase fusion protein under the control of the trp promoter, with ampicillin resistance. By comparing parallel batch cultures with and without acetate addition, it was found that the presence of acetate in the media did not influence beta-galactosidase activity. In these experiments, it appears that the low protein productivity often observed during acetate formation is the result of inefficient cell metabolism, rather than acetate acting as a specific inhibitor of protein production.     

外储换资源的战略——金融危机后中国的外汇储备思路

中国拥有迄今为止世界上最大的外汇储备,这是靠在国际市场上长期间接出售自身的廉价资源.当中国自身的资源已无法满足出口和国内的建设需求,而开始需要大量进口国外资源时,全球资源价格便开始暴涨.次贷危机引发的金融危机压制了发达国家的超前消费需求,导致资源价格回落,它实际上给资源短缺的中国提供了继续低成本发展的机遇.因此,中国的资源战略应该是将外汇储备尽可能地转让给其他拥有资源的国家和机构,以直接换取国外资源或未来资源的开发控制权,即外储换资源.     

Esophageal foreign bodies

BACKGROUND: Recent epidemiologic studies in Europe using antigliadin (AGA) and anti-endomysium antibodies (AEA) for initial screening have shown that the overall prevalence of celiac disease (CD) is about 1:300. There are no comparable scientific data for the USA, where CD is considered rare. The main aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of increased AEA in healthy blood donors in the USA. METHODS: Sera from 2000 healthy blood donors were screened for IgG AGA and IgA AGA with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. All those with increased AGA levels, those with intermediate levels, and random samples with low levels were tested for AEA, using both monkey esophagus (ME) and human umbilical cord (HUC) cryosections as substrates. RESULTS: The mean age of the blood donors was 39 years, with 52% being men, 85.2% being Caucasian, 11.8% African-American, 1.5% Asian, and 1.5% Hispanic. Eight healthy blood donors had positive AEA tests on both monkey esophagus and human umbilical cord. Among the eight subjects with increased AEA levels seven were Caucasian and one was African-American. All the four examined AEA-positive donors carried the known susceptibility alleles for CD. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of increased AEA levels in healthy blood donors in the USA is 1:250 (8:2000). This is similar to that reported in countries in Europe, where subsequent small-intestinal biopsies have confirmed CD in all those with AEA positivity. On the basis of a high positive predictive value of the AEA antibody test, it is likely that the eight blood donors identified in this study have CD. These data suggest that CD is not rare in the USA and that there is need for a large-scale epidemiologic study to determine the precise prevalence of the disease in the USA.     

Intraretinal foreign bodies

PURPOSE: To present our experience with the removal of intraretinal foreign bodies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 9 intraretinal foreign bodies were removed by pars plana vitrectomy. Laser photocoagulation of the retina surrounding the foreign body was performed either before surgery or intraoperatively (endolaser). Pars plana vitrectomy with foreign body removal through the sclerotomy site with endomagnet and/or forceps was performed. In some cases fluid-gas exchange was done. RESULTS: The average follow-up period was 6.2 months. Seven of nine foreign bodies were magnetic and two were nonmagnetic. Five of seven magnetic foreign bodies had negative magnetic traction as the first surgical procedure. In these 9 eyes, final visual acuity was below 1/50 in 2 eyes and over 5/50 in 7 eyes. CONCLUSION: Pars plana vitrectomy should be the method of choice in removal of intraretinal foreign bodies.     

The problem of lower respiratory tract foreign bodies in children

The authors treat the problem of lower respiratory tract foreign bodies in children on the basis of their own longterm experience. In the years 1972-1991 in the Pediatric E.N.T. Clinic of the Pediatric Institute, Academy of Medicine in Poznań, 147 foreign bodies were removed. A positive history of foreign body aspiration was obtained in 45.7% of the cases. 44.7% of the foreign bodies were removed during the first 24 hours after their aspiration. Broncho-pulmonary complications occurred in 59.1% of the cases.     

系统功能语法对外语教学的启示

系统功能语法可以最大限度地把语法教学和学生的交际能力的提高有效地结合起来,促使学生把所学语法知识和文化知识尽快转化为语言能力,将所学知识应用于语言交际中。功能语法在教学中着眼点放在了语篇整体的分析上,这是与传统的教学法的最大差别,也是对外语教学对大的启示。     

Open letter: To a friend who thinks the IQ is a social evil.

Comments on the overreaction to A. K. Jensen's critics concerning the assumption that children from deprived environments may have low IQs but still have high intelligence. However, the same lack that lowers IQ also lowers intelligence except in children who come from an intellectually adequate environment but speak another language. (0 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examples of foreign countries

In France we are not well aware of the health of people in situation of poverty: they have not resources enough to care of oneself, not knowing the services of social welfare, and not identified by these services. 1) Some studies in Great Britain and in U.S. have followed up some deprived groups with health index on a long duration: life expectancy at birth, number of stillbirths in the group, low birth weight, casualty during childhood, violent deaths among teen agers and young men. Disparities between rich and poor are dramatic, unskilled men have a mortality three times that of professional men; advantage is given to people who had had some education and a steady family home during childhood, compared with those who have not. 2) In France investigations have been more accurate on the health of deprived individuals: where are they taken care of, who cures them for which diseases? According to the results, they are not abandoned. Places for reception and care are many, the public institutions welcome them even without social security guarantee, almost a hundred non profit associations may help them: these discreet institutions are poorly known even by the public administration.