Shape analysis for automated sulcal classification and parcellation of MRI data

We describe geometric invariants that characterize the shape of curves and surfaces in 3D space: curvature, Gauss integrals and moments. We apply these invariants to neuroimaging data to determine if they have application for automatically classifying and parcellating cortical data. The curves of sulci and gyri on the cortical surface can be obtained by reconstructing cortical surface representations of the human brain from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. We reconstructed gray matter surfaces for 15 subjects, traced 10 sulcal curves on each surface and computed geometric invariants for each curve. These geometric features were used classify the curves into sulcal and hemispheric classes. The best classification results were obtained when moment-based features were computed on the sulcal curves in native space. Gauss integral measures showed that they were useful for differentiating the hemispheric location of a single sulcus. These promising results may indicate that moment invariants are useful for characterizing shape on a global scale. Gauss integral invariants are potentially useful measures for characterizing cortical shape on a local, rather than global scale. Gauss integrals have found biological significance in characterizing proteins so it is worthwhile to consider their possible application to neuroscientific data.     

Cycles of shame: Menstrual shame,body shame,and sexual decision‐making

Although numerous factors have been implicated in women's sexual decision‐making, less attention has been focused on how their feelings about their bodies and reproductive functions affect these processes. Recent findings link menstrual shame to lower levels of sexual activity and higher levels of sexual risk; however, the mechanisms behind these relations remain unexplored. Accordingly, this study investigates the contributions of menstrual shame and global body shame to sexual decision‐making among 199 undergraduate women. Using structural equation modeling, we evaluated a mediated model, whereby menstrual shame is indirectly associated with sexual decision‐making via body shame. As expected, women who reported feeling more comfort about menstruation also reported more body comfort and, in turn, more sexual assertiveness, more sexual experience, and less sexual risk.     

The Impact of Educational Efforts on First-Year University Students' Acceptance of Meningococcal Vaccine

Abstract

The authors measured the impact of educational efforts on the number of college students who received meningococcal vaccine. First-year Brown University students from the classes of 2004 (n = 1,562) and 2005 (n = 1,518) received educational vaccine materials before they arrived on campus, whereas students from the class of 2003 (n = 1,441) did not. Students in the class of 2003, 13% (n = 184) of whom had received vaccine before their arrival on campus, served as the baseline. These educational efforts by the college health services before students arrived on campus increased the number of students immunized before campus arrival to 46% (n = 724) for the class of 2004, and 60% (n = 913) for the class of 2005. Education about the benefits of meningococcal vaccine before students' arrival on campus increased both the number of immunized students and the overall immunization rate among students.     

Dissolving borders: Reframing risk,delinquent peers,and youth violence

Although “association with delinquent peers” is commonly identified as “a risk factor for youth violence,” this framework leads us to blame individuals and ignore the complex lives of youth who face state, symbolic, and interpersonal violence. This study is based on interviews with young adults about their adolescence in a low-income immigrant gateway neighborhood of Oakland, California. Most of the interviewees have peer networks that are racially/ethnically diverse and also include both delinquent and conforming peers. We show that having these “doubly diverse” friendship networks helps youth move through their neighborhood safely and feel anchored to their community even when they leave to attend college. Even successful youth in our study do not erect borders between themselves and “delinquent peers.” It is easy to assign blame to youth for their friendships, their violent behavior, their lack of education, their unstable and low-paying jobs, but this calculus ignores both the structural factors that constrain youth choices and the benefits that seem to be linked to diverse friendships, even with delinquent peers. Growing up in a site of global capital accumulation and disinvestment in the era of neoliberalism, our interviewees challenge us to reframe risk.     

Community‐based evaluations in the UK: scientific concerns and practical constraints

As preventive initiatives gather momentum in the UK, the need for rigorous evaluation of effective practice becomes more urgent. However, researchers, practitioners and policy makers may have different priorities when it comes to implementing evaluations in community settings. This article considers the competing demands that may be placed on evaluators in relation to three dimensions: the service (characteristics of the intervention itself); the sample (people who are participating); and the methodology or research design. It explores compromises that may be required between scientific ideals and real‐world limitations, and assesses the implications for obtaining meaningful results in evaluation research. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coping resources,coping strategies and adjustment to organizational change: Direct or buffering effects?

Abstract

This study examined the effects of personal and social resources, coping strategies and appraised stress on employees' levels of anxiety and depression. In relation to the effects of resources and coping strategies, two different models were tested. The main effects model proposes that, irrespective of the level of stress, coping resources and coping strategies have direct effects on well-being. In contrast, the buffering model predicts that the buffering effects of coping resources ad strategies are only evident at high levels of stress. One hundred lawyers completed a structured self-administered questionnaire that measured their personal and social resources, use of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies, and appraisals of the stressfulness of the situation. Results revealed generally strong support for the main effects model in the prediction of employee levels of anxiety and depression. Lower levels of anxiety were linked to judgements of lower levels of organizational change, greater self-confidence, greater internality of control beliefs and less use of emotion-focused coping strategies. Lower levels of depression in employees were also linked to judgements of lower levels of organizational change, greater use of resources and less appraised stress. There was only limited support for the buffering effects model. Due to the small size of the sample, the findings need to be explored further in other contexts.     

Does antenatal education affect labour and birth? A structured review of the literature

ObjectiveTo undertake a structured review of the literature to determine the effect of antenatal education on labour and birth, particularly normal birth.MethodOvid Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane and Web of Knowledge databases were searched to identify research articles published in English from 2000 to 2012, using specified search terms in a variety of combinations. All articles included in this structured review were assessed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA).FindingsThe labour and birthing effects on women attending antenatal education may include less false labour admissions, more partner involvement, less anxiety but more labour interventions.ConclusionThis literature review has identified that antenatal education may have some positive effects on women's labour and birth including less false labour admissions, less anxiety and more partner involvement. There may also be some negative effects. Several studies found increased labour and birth interventions such as induction of labour and epidural use. There is contradictory evidence on the effect of antenatal education on mode of birth. More research is required to explore the impact of antenatal education on women's birthing outcomes.