Paper: Investigating the Work of William Styron: the Perpetuation of the Fantastic Hegemonic Imagination

William Styron\u27s Confessions of Nat Turner depicts a fictitious characterization of the historical Nat Turner. Styron, a white southerner, assumes Turner\u27s perspective in order to tell a speculative story about his slave rebellion of 1831. Similarly, he tells the story of a fictional holocaust survivor in his novel, Sophie\u27s Choice. The decision to take on these perspective evinces some arrogance on Styron\u27s part, and the way in which he executes the narrative of each novel delivers their stories with varying levels of respect to their subjects: Styron\u27s indirect telling of Sophie\u27s story allows Styron some freedom to speculate, while his direct assumption of Turner\u27s point of view fails to deliver the content of the novel without perpetuating the fantastic hegemonic imagination

The Influence of Exposure to Unbalanced Sex Ratios on Perceived Vocal Attractiveness

The population sex ratio greatly impacts human behavior, especially mating patterns. Recent research shows that visual exposure to unbalanced sex ratios influences perceived facial attractiveness for opposite-sex faces. When opposite-sex faces are scarce in exposure, subsequent opposite-sex faces are rated as more attractive than when they are plentiful during exposure. The current work examines an auditory analog of this effect by exposing listeners to unbalanced ratios of male and female voices and measuring the perceived attractiveness of subsequently presented opposite sex voices. A 2x2 ANOVA was conducted with participant sex and sex ratio exposure as the between-subject factors. Results showed that when participants were in the low-exposure group, ratings of opposite-sex voices were significantly greater than the ratings from participants who were in the high-exposure group. These findings present new evidence that could further explain the effect of unbalanced sex ratios of local populations on mating-related behaviors in humans

Designing Pavements With Interlayers

In this session we provide training on the latest information, technology, and application of pavement interlayers, including pavement mats and grids, VRAM void reducing asphalt membrane, and FiberMat stress absorbing membrane. Products from all major manufacturers—Ten Cate Mirafi, Tensar, Asphalt Materials, and Colas—will be discussed

Olanzapine approved for the acute treatment of schizophrenia or manic/mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adolescent patients

Ann E Maloney1,2, Linmarie Sikich31Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Scarborough, ME, USA; 2Department of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; 3Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USABackground: Severe and persistent mental illnesses in children and adolescents, such as early-onset schizophrenia spectrum (EOSS) disorders and pediatric bipolar disorder (pedBP), are increasingly recognized. Few treatments have demonstrated efficacy in rigorous clinical trials. Enduring response to current medications appears limited. Recently, olanzapine was approved for the treatment of adolescents with schizophrenia or acute manic/mixed episodes in pedBP.Methods: PubMed searches were conducted for olanzapine combined with pharmacology, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. Searches related to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were limited to children and adolescents. The bibliographies of the retrieved articles were hand-checked for additional relevant studies. The epidemiology, phenomenology, and treatment of EOSS and pedBP, and olanzapine’s pharmacology are reviewed. Studies of olanzapine treatment in youth with EOSS and pedBP are examined.Results: Olanzapine is efficacious for EOSS and pedBP. However, olanzapine is not more efficacious than risperidone, molindone, or haloperidol in EOSS and is less efficacious than clozapine in treatment-resistant EOSS. No comparative trials have been done in pedBP. Olanzapine is associated with weight gain, dyslipidemia, and transaminase elevations in youth. Extrapyramidal symptoms, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and blood dyscrasias have also been reported but appear rare.Conclusions: The authors conclude that olanzapine should be considered a second-line agent in EOSS and pedBP due to its risks for significant weight gain and lipid dysregulation. Awareness of the consistent weight and metabolic changes observed in olanzapine-treated youth focused attention on the potential long-term risks of atypical antipsychotics in youth.Keywords: early-onset schizophrenia, pediatric bipolar disorder, antipsychoti

Olanzapine approved for the acute treatment of schizophrenia or manic/mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adolescent patients

BackgroundSevere and persistent mental illnesses in children and adolescents, such as early- onset schizophrenia spectrum (EOSS) disorders and pediatric bipolar disorder (pedBP), are increasingly recognized. Few treatments have demonstrated efficacy in rigorous clinical trials. Enduring response to current medications appears limited. Recently, olanzapine was approved for the treatment of adolescents with schizophrenia or acute manic/mixed episodes in pedBP.MethodsPubMed searches were conducted for olanzapine combined with pharmacology, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder. Searches related to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were limited to children and adolescents. The bibliographies of the retrieved articles were hand-checked for additional relevant studies. The epidemiology, phenomenology, and treatment of EOSS and pedBP, and olanzapine’s pharmacology are reviewed. Studies of olanzapine treatment in youth with EOSS and pedBP are examined.ResultsOlanzapine is efficacious for EOSS and pedBP. However, olanzapine is not more efficacious than risperidone, molindone, or haloperidol in EOSS and is less efficacious than clozapine in treatment-resistant EOSS. No comparative trials have been done in pedBP. Olanzapine is associated with weight gain, dyslipidemia, and transaminase elevations in youth. Extrapyramidal symptoms, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and blood dyscrasias have also been reported but appear rare.ConclusionsThe authors conclude that olanzapine should be considered a second-line agent in EOSS and pedBP due to its risks for significant weight gain and lipid dysregulation. Awareness of the consistent weight and metabolic changes observed in olanzapine-treated youth focused attention on the potential long-term risks of atypical antipsychotics in youth

Individual and Population Level Resource Selection Patterns of Mountain Lions Preying on Mule Deer along an Urban-Wildland Gradient

Understanding population and individual-level behavioral responses of large carnivores to human disturbance is important for conserving top predators in fragmented landscapes. However, previous research has not investigated resource selection at predation sites of mountain lions in highly urbanized areas. We quantified selection of natural and anthropogenic landscape features by mountain lions at sites where they consumed their primary prey, mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), in and adjacent to urban, suburban, and rural areas in greater Los Angeles. We documented intersexual and individual-level variation in the environmental conditions present at mule deer feeding sites relative to their availability across home ranges. Males selected riparian woodlands and areas closer to water more than females, whereas females selected developed areas marginally more than males. Females fed on mule deer closer to developed areas and farther from riparian woodlands than expected based on the availability of these features across their home ranges.We suggest that mortality risk for females and their offspring associated with encounters with males may have influenced the different resource selection patterns between sexes. Males appeared to select mule deer feeding sites mainly in response to natural landscape features, while females may have made kills closer to developed areas in part because these are alternative sites where deer are abundant. Individual mountain lions of both sexes selected developed areas more strongly within home ranges where development occurred less frequently. Thus, areas near development may represent a trade-off for mountain lions such that they may benefit from foraging near development because of abundant prey, but as the landscape becomes highly urbanized these benefits may be outweighed by human disturbance

Early Pharmacological Treatment of Autism: A Rationale for Developmental Treatment

Autism is a dynamic neurodevelopmental syndrome in which disabilities emerge during the first three postnatal years and continue to evolve with ongoing development. We briefly review research in autism describing subtle changes in molecules important in brain development and neurotransmission, in morphology of specific neurons, brain connections and in brain size. We then provide a general schema of how these processes may interact with particular emphasis on neurotransmission. In this context, we present a rationale for utilizing pharmacologic treatments aimed at modifying key neurodevelopmental processes in young children with autism. Early treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is presented as a model for pharmacologic interventions because there is evidence in autistic children for reduced brain serotonin synthesis during periods of peak synaptogenesis; serotonin is known to enhance synapse refinement; and exploratory studies with these agents in autistic children exist. Additional hypothetical developmental interventions and relevant published clinical data are described. Finally, we discuss the importance of exploring early pharmacologic interventions within multiple experimental settings in order to develop effective treatments as quickly as possible while minimizing risks