Visualizing the Transition Out of High-Demand Religions

This research uses a questionnaire and a bridge drawing directive to explore the lived experience of transitioning out of a high-demand religion. Subjects include disaffiliated Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Fundamentalist Protestants who were recruited through a dedicated website via limited promotion in online communities for disaffiliates. Visual and textual responses are analyzed through qualitative coding, with additional analysis performed on the artwork using Hays and Lyons’ (1981) bridge drawing criteria. Results reveal the psychological, social, behavioral, identity, and existential effects of disaffiliation. Results also produce seven emergent themes: ambivalence; embracing uncertainty; social justice; simultaneous transitions; freedom and constraint; growth; and remaining ties. The paper then explores the subjects’ lived experiences, latent content in the artwork, and the role and value of artmaking in healing from these difficult transitions. Lastly, this paper discusses treatment considerations, limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research on religious struggles and disaffiliation

Early Results of a Helmetless-Tackling Intervention to Decrease Head Impacts in Football Players

To test a helmetless-tackling behavioral intervention for reducing head impacts in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I football players

Multicenter clinical trial of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I in patients with acute renal failure

Multicenter clinical trial of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I in patients with acute renal failure.BackgroundPatients with acute renal failure (ARF) have high morbidity and mortality rates, particularly if they have serious comorbid conditions. Several studies indicate that in rats with ARF caused by ischemia or certain nephrotoxins, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) enhances the recovery of renal function and suppresses protein catabolism.MethodsOur objective was to determine whether injections of recombinant human IGF-I (rhIGF-I) would enhance the recovery of renal function and is safe in patients with ARF. The study was designed as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in intensive care units in 20 teaching hospitals. Seventy-two patients with ARF were randomized to receive rhIGF-I (35 patients) or placebo (37 patients). The most common causes of ARF in the rhIGF-I and placebo groups were, respectively, sepsis (37 and 35% of patients) and hypotension or hemodynamic shock (42 and 27% of patients). At baseline, the mean (± sd) APACHE II scores in the rhIGF-I and placebo-treated groups were 24 ± 5 and 25 ± 8, respectively. In the rhIGF-I and placebo groups, the mean (median) urine volume and urinary iothalamate clearances (glomerular filtration rate) were 1116 ± 1037 (887) and 1402 ± 1183 (1430)ml/24hr and 6.4 ± 5.9 (4.3) and 8.7 ± 7.2 (4.4)ml/min and did not differ between the two groups. Patients were injected subcutaneously every 12hours with rhIGF-I, 100 μg/kg desirable body weight, or placebo for up to 14days. Injections were started within six days of the onset of ARF. The primary end-point was a change in glomerular filtration rate from baseline. Other end points included changes from baseline in urine volume, creatinine clearance and serum urea, creatinine, albumin and transferrin, frequency of hemodialysis or ultrafiltration, and mortality rate.ResultsDuring the treatment period, which averaged 10.7 ± 4.1 and 10.6 ± 4.5days in the rhIGF-I and placebo groups, there were no differences in the changes from baseline values of the glomerular filtration rate, creatinine clearance, daily urine volume, or serum urea nitrogen, creatinine, albumin or transferrin. In patients who did not receive renal replacement therapy, there was also no significant difference in serum creatinine and urea between the two groups. Twenty patients in the rhIGF-I group and 17 placebo-treated patients underwent dialysis or ultrafiltration. Twelve rhIGF-I–treated patients and 12 placebo-treated patients died during the 28days after the onset of treatment.ConclusionsrhIGF-I does not accelerate the recovery of renal function in ARF patients with substantial comorbidity

What works with men? A systematic review of health promoting interventions targeting men

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A proposed new bacteriophage subfamily: “Jerseyvirinae”

© 2015, Springer-Verlag Wien. Based on morphology and comparative nucleotide and protein sequence analysis, a new subfamily of the family Siphoviridae is proposed, named “Jerseyvirinae” and consisting of three genera, “Jerseylikevirus”, “Sp3unalikevirus” and “K1glikevirus”. To date, this subfamily consists of 18 phages for which the genomes have been sequenced. Salmonella phages Jersey, vB_SenS_AG11, vB_SenS-Ent1, vB_SenS-Ent2, vB_SenS-Ent3, FSL SP-101, SETP3, SETP7, SETP13, SE2, SS3e and wksl3 form the proposed genus “Jerseylikevirus”. The proposed genus “K1glikevirus” consists of Escherichia phages K1G, K1H, K1ind1, K1ind2 and K1ind3. The proposed genus “Sp3unalikevirus” contains one member so far. Jersey-like phages appear to be widely distributed, as the above phages were isolated in the UK, Canada, the USA and South Korea between 1970 and the present day. The distinguishing features of this subfamily include a distinct siphovirus morphotype, genomes of 40.7-43.6kb (49.6-51.4mol% G+C), a syntenic genome organisation, and a high degree of nucleotide sequence identity and shared proteins. All known members of the proposed subfamily are strictly lytic

Genome-wide Analyses Identify KIF5A as a Novel ALS Gene

To identify novel genes associated with ALS, we undertook two lines of investigation. We carried out a genome-wide association study comparing 20,806 ALS cases and 59,804 controls. Independently, we performed a rare variant burden analysis comparing 1,138 index familial ALS cases and 19,494 controls. Through both approaches, we identified kinesin family member 5A (KIF5A) as a novel gene associated with ALS. Interestingly, mutations predominantly in the N-terminal motor domain of KIF5A are causative for two neurodegenerative diseases: hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG10) and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2 (CMT2). In contrast, ALS-associated mutations are primarily located at the C-terminal cargo-binding tail domain and patients harboring loss-of-function mutations displayed an extended survival relative to typical ALS cases. Taken together, these results broaden the phenotype spectrum resulting from mutations in KIF5A and strengthen the role of cytoskeletal defects in the pathogenesis of ALS.Peer reviewe