Making sense of the evolving nature of depression narratives and their inherent conflicts

Originally a psychiatric diagnosis fashioned by Western psychiatry in the 20th Century, depression evolved to encompass varying lineages of discourse and care. This article elucidates some of the current challenges – as well as emerging discourses – influencing the category of depression. Depression-like experiences are shaped by (at times conflicting) subjectivities, claims to knowledge, material realities, social contexts and access to resources. With no unified understanding of the category of ‘depression’ available, lay people, social and neuro scientists, GPs, psychiatrists, talking therapists and pharmaceutical companies all attempt to shape narratives of depression. The current paper focuses on patient narratives about depression – in the context of these wider debates – to better elucidate the ways in which depression discourses are publically developing along varying lines. In conclusion, the paper suggests that we could better conceptualise the resulting ‘depression(s)’ with concepts such as ‘society of mind’ and notions of subjectivity unbounded by individuals

PENGARUH PEMAHAMAN DAN KESADARAN PERPAJAKAN TERHADAP KEPATUHAN PAJAK (Studi Pada Pelaku UMKM di Kecamatan Coblong Kota Bandung)

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh pemahaman dan kesadaran perpajakan atas kepatuhan pajak pelaku usaha kecil di kecamatan Coblong kota Bandung. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode verifikasi kuantitatif deskriptif. Metode analisis yang digunakan adalah regresi linier berganda analisis. Sampel dalam penelitian ini berjumlah 82 responden yang memiliki kriteria jenis makanan dan bisnis minuman dengan omzet Rp. 300.000.000 - Rp. 2.500.000.000 per tahun. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa pemahaman perpajakan dan kesadaran perpajakan berpengaruh terhadap perpajakan kepatuhan pelaku usaha kecil di Kota Bandung, baik secara parsial maupun simultan

Intraocular pressure measurement at the choroid surface: a feasibility study with implications for implantable microsystems

AIMS—To demonstrate that a sensor, which is inserted through the sclera and placed in intimate contact with the choroid, can reliably detect changes in the intraocular pressure (IOP).
METHODS—A manometer was used to control the IOP of three cadaver eyes in steps of 7 mm Hg. A piezoresistive pressure sensor was used to measure the pressure at the choroid through a 2.5 mm diameter hole that was surgically removed from the sclera. Data were collected for two configurations; with the sensor: (i) rigidly attached to a miniature positioning stage, and (ii) sutured to the sclera.
RESULTS—Both configurations accurately tracked the manometer pressure from 10 mm Hg to 47 mm Hg. For the fixed sensor cases, the average difference between the pressure measured at the choroid and in the anterior chamber was 0.8 mm Hg for the three eyes. For the sutured sensor case, the average difference was 2.1 mm Hg—although a significant portion of this was attributed to an initial offset. The standard deviations at each pressure level for all of the choroid measurements were under 1.0 mm Hg.
CONCLUSIONS—Small changes in IOP can be accurately measured by a sensor in contact with the surface of the choroid, for both a fixed sensor configuration and for a sensor sutured to the sclera. These results are the first step in the realisation of a surgically implantable microsensor to monitor IOP for patients suffering from low tension and other difficult to manage forms of glaucoma.


Natural Reno-Protective Agents against Cyclosporine A-Induced Nephrotoxicity: An Overview

CA (cyclosporine A) is a powerful immunosuppressing agent that is commonly utilized for treating various autoimmune illnesses and in transplantation surgery. However, its usage has been significantly restricted because of its unwanted effects, including nephrotoxicity. The pathophysiology of CA-induced kidney injury involves inflammation, apoptosis, tubular injury, oxidative stress, and vascular injury. Despite the fact that exact mechanism accountable for CA’s effects is inadequately understood, ROS (reactive oxygen species) involvement has been widely proposed. At present, there are no efficient methods or drugs for treating CA-caused kidney damage. It is noteworthy that diverse natural products have been investigated both in vivo and in-vitro for their possible preventive potential in CA-produced nephrotoxicity. Various extracts and natural metabolites have been found to possess a remarkable potential for restoring CA-produced renal damage and oxidative stress alterations via their anti-apoptosis, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidative potentials. The present article reviews the reported studies that assess the protective capacity of natural products, as well as dietary regimens, in relation to CA-induced nephrotoxicity. Thus, the present study presents novel ideas for designing and developing more efficient prophylactic or remedial strategies versus CA passive influences

On the perversity of an imagined psychological solution to very real social problems of unemployment (work-lessness) and social exclusion (worth-lessness): A group analytic critique.

This article explores some ethical and professional implications of social policies that aim to achieve social inclusion through Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) for the un(der)employed (the work-less) and the ‘socially excluded’ (the worth-less) in the UK. A major ethical concern at the heart of this critique is that such policies establish a boundary between domains of inclusion and domains of exclusion that perversely maintain the very problem they are designed to solve. The article explores how we, as a society, are invited to live in a split world and to hold contradictory conceptualizations about un(der)employment, (workless-ness) and social exclusion (worthless-ness). On the one hand we seem to know that these problems are a consequence of the vagaries and vicissitudes of national and international economic policies, yet on the other hand are invited to believe that these problems are a result of individuals’ psychological failures. In these ways dissembling conversations about an ‘imagined’ psychological depression replaces conversations about the very real socio-political and economic ‘depression’ that underlies it—and ‘psychotherapy’ is in danger of becoming the medium through which this dissembling is operationalized