Effects of testosterone replacement therapy withdrawal and re-treatment in hypogonadal elderly men upon obesity,voiding function and prostate safety parameters

Whether testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is a lifelong treatment for men with hypogonadism remains unknown. We investigated long-term TRT and TRT withdrawal on obesity and prostate-related parameters. Two hundred and sixty-two hypogonadal patients (mean age 59.5) received testosterone undecanoate in 12-week intervals for a maximum of 11 years. One hundred and forty-seven men had TRT interrupted for a mean of 16.9 months and resumed thereafter (Group A). The remaining 115 patients were treated continuously (Group B). Prostate volume, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), residual voiding volume, bladder wall thickness, C-reactive protein (CRP), aging male symptoms (AMS), International Index of erectile function – erectile function (IIEF-EF) and International Prostate Symptoms Scores (IPSS) were measured over the study period with anthropometric parameters of obesity, including weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference. Prior to interruption, TRT resulted in improvements in residual voiding volume, bladder wall thickness, CRP, AMS, IIEF-EF, IPSS and obesity parameters while PSA and prostate volume increased. TRT interruption reduced total testosterone to hypogonadal levels in Group A and resulted in worsening of obesity parameters, AMS, IPSS, residual voiding volume and bladder wall thickness, IIEF-EF and PSA while CRP and prostate volume were unchanged until treatment resumed whereby these effects were reversed. TRT interruption results in worsening of symptoms. Hypogonadism may require lifelong TRT.     

Assessing emotional and social health using photographs: An innovative research method for rural studies and its applicability in a care-farming program for youth

A framework for assessing photographs for the emotional and social health of young people (SHAPE) is described and tested, within the context of a rural program. Two independent raters assessed the photographs of participants. To assess inter-rater reliability, Cohen’ K and Kendall’s W were calculated. The two reviewers’ assessments of photographs were in agreement. The assessment of emotional/behavioural display showed 82% agreement. Agreement between reviewers’ judgements of proxemics (W = .866), interaction (W = .722), engagement (W = .932) and overall impression (W = .804) were all significant (p < .005). The method yielded results indicating that participants found gardening immediately engaging but their approach to equines exhibited a change from fascination to confidence during the program. The visual-diary method is a useful and sensitive method for research: where resources are limited; to complement traditional measures; for use with people who lack appropriate verbal communication or literacy skills to complete questionnaires; young children; other underrepresented groups.     

乡土童年记忆追溯与童年生活变迁的个案分析

童年是社会和个体相互作用的产物，童年生活反映了一个时代所具有的特点。通过对童年记忆的追溯，发现80后和00后童年生活呈现出截然不同的轨迹，并从童年生活的内容、童年生活的方式、童年生活的空间及童年生活体验对其变迁的过程进行了分析。进而从童年赖以生存的地域空间、社会环境、时代背景的影响尤其是信息化时代的影响等方面讨论了童年生活变迁的原因。并从个案出发反思传统童年生活和现代童年生活之间的关系，以及童年生活中儿童的主体性和创造性作用。     

Work as a cure for mental illnesses? Opportunism and seeking ways in psychology and psychiatry in the first decades of state socialism in Hungary

ABSTRACT

In Hungary, until the end of the 1940s, there were two main established methods of occupying the mentally ill who were fit for work. From the end of the nineteenth century, a lesser number of patients underwent work therapy in mental asylums, whereas the others were treated with so-called family therapy (otherwise known as the heterofamilial system), exploiting the capacities of families in the countryside. As an important part of this, the mentally ill helped in housekeeping and agricultural work. However, following the political and ideological turn of 1948, the latter form of treatment became debated, and then it was gradually superseded. Parallel to this process, work therapy came to be the most popular type of treatment for mental illnesses, as work formed the basis of the ideology of the communist state, and thus, healing through work harmonized with the general tendencies of the era. This article examines texts related to work therapy published in neurological–psychiatric and psychological journals and monographs between 1954 and 1964. However, although work therapy appeared to be the “handmaiden of ideology,” and even though it was supposed to fulfil a particular role, in reality, the role and perception of work therapy were a lot more complicated.     

How and why are Theory of Change and Realist Evaluation used in food security contexts? A scoping review

The complex ways in which food security actions lead to nutrition and other health outcomes make it important to clarify what programs work and how, with theory-driven evaluation emerging as a promising approach to evaluate complex programs. However, it is unclear how and why theory-driven evaluation is applied in food security contexts. Our objective is to examine the development and use of Theory of Change and Realist Evaluation to support food security programs globally. Using a systematic search and screening process, we included studies that described a food security program, used a Theory of Change or Realist Evaluation, and presented original research or evaluations. We found a total of 59 relevant Theory of Change studies and eight Realist Evaluation studies. Based on our analysis, Theories of Change arose in response to three main problems: 1) the need to evaluate under complexity; 2) challenges with evaluation; and, 3) information gaps surrounding a program. In contrast, Realist Evaluation was reported to be developed primarily to understand a program’s outcomes. Reflecting on the problem to be addressed in the evaluation would help improve understandings of the evaluation context, which would then inform the choice and design of an evaluation approach.     

Introduction to the Special Section Value Development from Middle Childhood to Early Adulthood—New Insights from Longitudinal and Genetically Informed Research

Research into values at an early age has only started recently, although it has expanded quickly and dynamically in the past years. The purpose of this article is twofold: First, it provides an introduction to a special section that aims to help fill the gap in value development research. The special section brings together four new longitudinal and genetically informed studies of value development from the beginning of middle childhood through early adulthood. Second, this article reviews recent research from this special section and beyond, aiming to provide new directions to the field. With new methods for assessing children's values and an increased awareness of the role of values in children's and adolescents' development, the field now seems ripe for an in‐depth investigation. Our review of empirical evidence shows that, as is the case with adults, children's values are organized based on compatibilities and conflicts in their underlying motivations. Values show some consistency across situations, as well as stability across time. This longitudinal stability tends to increase with age, although mean changes are also observed. These patterns of change seem to be compatible with Schwartz's (1992) theory of values (e.g., if the importance of openness to change values increases, the importance of conservation values decreases). The contributions of culture, family, peers, significant life events, and individual characteristics to values are discussed, as well as the development of values as guides for behavior.     

谭恩美小说《接骨师之女》的国内研究综述

华裔作家谭恩美的小说《接骨师之女》一出版就引起了国内研究者的关注。从最近十年国内公开发表的论文看，不论是文章的数量，还是文章的质量都呈现出持续发展的态势，研究者从不同的角度对作品展开解读。但是，系统回顾小说《接》的国内研究现状，不难发现，当前对该作品的研究仍然存在不少的问题：如主题内容过于集中，研究视角狭窄且多重复，研究的深度有待提高等等。如果这些问题得到妥善解决，小说《接骨师之女》仍然具有较大的研究空间，其前景也令人期待。     

道家杨朱人生哲学新论———从老子到庄子的摆渡

杨朱是一位原始道家哲学人物，他以自然主义感觉论即人是一个感性实体为地基，以物我、人己、生死、名实等范畴为构架，构建了其“重生”“为我” 的自然主义生命哲学体系。与列子一样，杨朱是从老子到庄子的一个极为重要的过渡，丰富了庄子的生命哲学，所以，学界有“老、杨、列、庄”之说。但是，由于史料的不足和认识上的偏颇，自孟子以后，杨朱“轻物重生” “人人为我”的思想被曲解了，成了自私自利的利己主义的化身。实则，杨朱“重生” 的实质是“贵义”，其“为我”的目的是“为人”。杨朱受了老子思想的影响，以“全性保真”为宗旨；在思想上，反儒非墨，认为儒家的仁义道德不但虚伪，而且害性伤真，墨家的兼爱、利他则虚妄不实。因此，具有理想个人主义思想的杨朱主张以“人人不利天下则天下治” 的自治来对抗儒家礼乐的君制，以自爱、自利、尚异来取代墨家的泛爱、利他、尚同。而杨朱张扬主体的思想则富有积极的现代性。     

李杭育寻根小说的文化认同

李杭育是新时期寻根小说的代表作家之一,其"葛川江系列小说"对民族文化中的下述正面因子进行了呈现并给予了赞许、认同的价值立场:搏击凶险、抗争自然、捍卫生命并由此喷薄强力、意志力的生存品格,执拗、倔强、坚韧的生命特质,血气、野性、自由自在、率真的生命形式,重情义、守孝道、讲仁爱、善良的伦理操守。