Benefits of belonging: experimental manipulation of social inclusion to enhance psychological and physiological health parameters.

OBJECTIVE: Acute changes in social belonging are important triggers for alterations in health and well-being, yet research has emphasised the negative effects of 'exclusion' at the expense of evaluating the potentially positive effects of 'inclusion'. This study examined the impact of acute belonging on physiological and psychological outcomes. DESIGN AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A healthy population (N = 138) were randomly allocated to 'included' or 'excluded' conditions. Condition-dependent differences in pre/during-task heart rate and pre/post-task self-reports of negative/positive mood, and social self-esteem, were assessed. RESULTS: Included participants showed decreased heart rate and negative mood, and increased social self-esteem. No inclusion-related change in positive mood was shown. An increase in heart rate was observed in excluded participants though no changes in negative/positive mood or social self-esteem were shown. Shifts in social self-esteem acted as a mechanism through which inclusion/exclusion impacted upon negative and positive mood alterations. Results remained significant in presence of covariates (sex, global self-esteem, rumination and social anxiety). CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that acting to enhance belonging through 'inclusion' resulted in adaptive physiological and psychological outcomes. Neutral and potentially protective responses were observed in the immediate aftermath of 'exclusion'. Self-esteem served as one route through which these effects were transmitted

A Molecular Platinum Cluster Junction: A Single-Molecule Switch

We present a theoretical study of the electronic transport through single-molecule junctions incorporating a Pt6 metal cluster bound within an organic framework. We show that the insertion of this molecule between a pair of electrodes leads to a fully atomically engineered nano-metallic device with high conductance at the Fermi level and two sequential high on/off switching states. The origin of this property can be traced back to the existence of a HOMO which consists of two degenerate and asymmetric orbitals, lying close in energy to the Fermi level of the metallic leads. Their degeneracy is broken when the molecule is contacted to the leads, giving rise to two resonances which become pinned close to the Fermi level and display destructive interference.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Reprinted (adapted) with permission from J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013, 135 (6), 2052. Copyright 2013 American Chemical Societ

Right ventricular dysfunction after resuscitation predicts poor outcomes in cardiac arrest patients independent of left ventricular function.

OBJECTIVE: Determination of clinical outcomes following resuscitation from cardiac arrest remains elusive in the immediate post-arrest period. Echocardiographic assessment shortly after resuscitation has largely focused on left ventricular (LV) function. We aimed to determine whether post-arrest right ventricular (RV) dysfunction predicts worse survival and poor neurologic outcome in cardiac arrest patients, independent of LV dysfunction. METHODS: A single-center, retrospective cohort study at a tertiary care university hospital participating in the Penn Alliance for Therapeutic Hypothermia (PATH) Registry between 2000 and 2012. PATIENTS: 291 in- and out-of-hospital adult cardiac arrest patients at the University of Pennsylvania who had return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and post-arrest echocardiograms. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 291 patients, 57% were male, with a mean age of 59 ± 16 years. 179 (63%) patients had LV dysfunction, 173 (59%) had RV dysfunction, and 124 (44%) had biventricular dysfunction on the initial post-arrest echocardiogram. Independent of LV function, RV dysfunction was predictive of worse survival (mild or moderate: OR 0.51, CI 0.26-0.99, p CONCLUSIONS: Echocardiographic findings of post-arrest RV dysfunction were equally prevalent as LV dysfunction. RV dysfunction was significantly predictive of worse outcomes in post-arrest patients after accounting for LV dysfunction. Post-arrest RV dysfunction may be useful for risk stratification and management in this high-mortality population

Inter-rater reliability of post-arrest cerebral performance category (CPC) scores.

PURPOSE: Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) scores are often an outcome measure for post-arrest neurologic function, collected worldwide to compare performance, evaluate therapies, and formulate recommendations. At most institutions, no formal training is offered in their determination, potentially leading to misclassification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified 171 patients at 2 hospitals between 5/10/2005 and 8/31/2012 with two CPC scores at hospital discharge recorded independently - in an in-house quality improvement database and as part of a national registry. Scores were abstracted retrospectively from the same electronic medical record by two separate non-clinical researchers. These scores were compared to assess inter-rater reliability and stratified based on whether the score was concordant or discordant among reviewers to determine factors related to discordance. RESULTS: Thirty-nine CPC scores (22.8%) were discordant (kappa: 0.66), indicating substantial agreement. When dichotomized into favorable neurologic outcome (CPC 1-2)/ unfavorable neurologic outcome (CPC 3-5), 20 (11.7%) scores were discordant (kappa: 0.70), also indicating substantial agreement. Patients discharged home (as opposed to nursing/other care facility) and patients with suspected cardiac etiology of arrest were statistically more likely to have concordant scores. For the quality improvement database, patients with discordant scores had a statistically higher median CPC score than those with concordant scores. The registry had statistically lower median CPC score (CPC 1) than the quality improvement database (CPC 2); p\u3c0.01 for statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: CPC scores have substantial inter-rater reliability, which is reduced in patients who have worse outcomes, have a non-cardiac etiology of arrest, and are discharged to a location other than home

How Valid Are Measures of Children’s Self-Concept/ Self-Esteem? Factors and Content Validity in Three Widely Used Scales

Children’s self-esteem/self-concept, a core psychological construct, has been measured in an overwhelming number of studies, and the widespread use of such measures should indicate they have well-established content validity, internal consistency and factor structures. This study, sampling a demographically representative cohort in late childhood/early adolescence in Dublin, Ireland (total n = 651), examined three major self-esteem/self-concept scales designed for late childhood/early adolescence: Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale for Children 2 (Piers et al. 2002), Self-Description Questionnaire I (Marsh 1992) and Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter 1985). It also examined findings in light of the salient self factors identified by participants in a linked mixed-methods study. The factor structure of Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale was not replicated. The Self-Description Questionnaire I and Self-Perception Profile for Children were replicated only in part although in similar ways. In all three scales, a global/ appearance self evaluation factor accounted for the largest variance in factor analyses. Sport/athletic ability, school ability, school enjoyment, maths and reading ability/enjoyment, behaviour, peer popularity, and parent factors were also identified but did not always reflect existing scale structures. Notably, the factors extracted, or items present in these scales, often did not reflect young people’s priorities, such as friendship over popularity, the importance of family and extended family members, and the significance of incremental personal mastery in activities rather than assessing oneself as comparatively good at preferred activities. The findings raise questions about how self-esteem/self-concept scales are used and interpreted in research with children and young people