Convergent and discriminant validity of time attitude scores on the adolescent time perspective inventory

"In this study, we report on the validity of time attitude scores on the Adolescent Time Perspective Inventory-Time Attitudes (ATPI-TA; Mello/ Worrell 2007) Scales. The ATPI-TA has six subscales: Past Positive, Past Negative, Present Positive, Present Negative, Future Positive, and Future Negative. Participants consisted of 300 adolescents from rural, urban, and suburban schools and a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. All time attitude subscales were interrelated, with correlations in the appropriate directions and the largest correlations occurring within the same time period. Convergent validity analyses indicated that time attitude scores had statistically significant correlations (medium to large effect sizes) with measures of hope, perceived life chances, optimism, perceived stress, and self-esteem. Moreover, the pattern of correlations was in keeping with theory (e.g., perceived life chances had stronger correlations with future attitude scales whereas perceived stress had stronger correlations with present attitude scales). Discriminant validity analyses indicated that time attitudes were not meaningfully related to age, GPA, school belonging, and academic self concept." (author's abstract

Reclaiming an Abandoned Body: A Creative Nonfiction Essay Collection

This thesis explores how a queer adolescent can abandon and reclaim her body. These creative nonfiction essays focus on my personal experiences as a bisexual girl growing up in Southern conservative suburbia. The collection’s title comes from my concept of bodily abandonment, which refers to bodily neglect and the desire to escape one’s physical body. I concentrate on the singular “abandoned body” because the specificity of personal experience is vital to the bodily reclamation process. At the same time, I do not ignore the relational aspect of bodily experiences. The body in this essay shifts in relation to the people with whom it comes in contact, illustrated in “Intermingling Dyes,” “A Conversation Overheard at a Concert,” and “Relational Bodies.” I also consider how regulated social structures influence the queer adolescent body. Keeping in mind Jacqueline Rhodes’ notion that “the discipline of our queer bodies relies on the violent enforcement of Be-ing by narrow gender codes,” this collection considers how queer adolescent bodies are regulated by societal expectations (13). In particular, the narrative persona in the essays pushes against feminine gender expectations. As an infant, she throws lacy socks and pink booties aside because her feet need freedom (“Mommy and Me”). As a child, she compares herself to her hermit crab Minnie, who gets labeled ‘female’ for choosing a feminine Minnie Mouse shell but later migrates into a masculine Batman shell (“Living in Captivity”). As a preteen, she poses as people of various genders on a social networking website (“Fluid”). The narrative persona’s actions can be read both as a resistance to societal gender codes and as a desire to escape the confines of her material body. The struggle with the physical body, then, is at the core of this collection. Above all, this collection proposes that the experiences of the physical body deserve careful attention. The collection considers whether telling stories about bodily experiences can help neglected queer bodies be reclaimed

Variation in how frequently adolescents think about the past, the present, and the future in relation to academic achievement

"In an effort to contribute information on the relationship between time perspective and academic outcomes, we examined the frequency with which adolescents' reported thinking about the past, the present, and the future in relation to self-reported grade point average. Analyses of questions that assessed how often (i.e., never, monthly, weekly, and daily) adolescents thought about the past, the present, and the future yielded several findings: (a) about half of the adolescents' reported thinking about each time period on a daily basis, (b) patterns of responses indicated that daily and weekly occurrences were the most common rate of thinking between time periods, and (c) the frequency with which adolescents' reported thinking about the past predicted academic achievement, with more frequent thoughts about the past associated with higher academic achievement. Results are discussed in light of additional areas for research on time perspective." (author's abstract

Energy Integration in the cement industry

Cement production is an energy intensive industrial process that requires heat to be supplied at high temperature levels under the constraints of gas-solid heat exchange phenomena and the kinetics of chemical reactions. In this paper, the use of Pinch Analysis and Process Integration techniques to optimize the energy efficiency of the cement production will be explored. The aim is to use process modeling to characterize cooling and heating requirements of the process, focusing on the gas-solid heat exchanges while including waste fuel utilization. The heat cascade model is adapted to account for gas-solid and gas-gas heat recovery used to calculate the heat recovery in the process. A mixed integer linear programming problem is solved to calculate the integration of the available heat; this model optimizes the heat recovery and the energy conversion efficiency considering different fuels, heat recovery options and process operating conditions. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

Asenapine versus placebo for schizophrenia

Background Background Schizophrenia is a highly prevalent and chronic disorder that comprises a wide range of symptomatology. Asenapine is a recently developed atypical antipsychotic that is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of schizophrenia. Objectives Objectives To determine the clinical effects of asenapine for adults with schizophrenia or other schizophrenia-like disorders by comparing it with placebo. Search methods Search methods We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Trials Register (July 04, 2014) which is based on regular searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, BIOSIS, AMED, PubMed, PsycINFO, and registries of clinical trials. There are no language, date, document type, or publication status limitation for inclusion of records into the register. We inspected references of all included studies for further relevant studies. Selection criteria Selection criteria Our review includes randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing asenapine with placebo in adults (however defined) with schizophrenia or related disorders, including schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder and delusional disorder, again, by any means of diagnosis. Data collection and analysis Data collection and analysis We inspected citations from the searches and identified relevant abstracts, and extracted data from all included studies. For binary data we calculated risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), and for continuous data we calculated mean differences (MD). We used the GRADE approach to produce a 'Summary of findings' table which included our outcomes of interest, where possible. We used a fixed-effect model for our analyses. Main results Main results We obtained and scrutinised 41 potentially relevant records, and from these we could include only six trials (n = 1835). Five of the six trials had high risk of attrition bias and all trials were sponsored by pharmaceutical companies. Results showed a clinically important change in global state (1 RCT, n = 336, RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.97, low-quality evidence) and mental state (1 RCT, n = 336, RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.86, very low-quality evidence) at short-term amongst people receiving asenapine. People receiving asenapine demonstrated significant reductions in negative symptoms (1 RCT, n = 336, MD -1.10, 95% CI -2.29 to 0.09, very low-quality evidence) at short-term. Individuals receiving asenapine demonstrated significantly fewer incidents of serious adverse effects (1 RCT, n = 386, RR 0.29, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.63, very low-quality evidence) at medium-term. There was no clear difference in people discontinuing the study for any reason between asenapine and placebo at short-term (5 RCTs, n = 1046, RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.04, very low-quality evidence). No trial reported data for extrapyramidal symptoms or costs. Authors' conclusions Authors' conclusions There is some, albeit preliminary, evidence that asenapine provides an improvement in positive, negative, and depressive symptoms, whilst minimising the risk of adverse effects. However due to the low-quality and limited quantity of evidence, it remains difficult to recommend the use of asenapine for people with schizophrenia. We identify a need for large-scale, longer-term, better-designed and conducted randomised controlled trials investigating the clinical effects and safety of asenapine

A Delphi-method-based consensus guideline for definition of treatment-resistant depression for clinical trials

Criteria for treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and partially responsive depression (PRD) as subtypes of major depressive disorder (MDD) are not unequivocally defined. In the present document we used a Delphi-method-based consensus approach to define TRD and PRD and to serve as operational criteria for future clinical studies, especially if conducted for regulatory purposes. We reviewed the literature and brought together a group of international experts (including clinicians, academics, researchers, employees of pharmaceutical companies, regulatory bodies representatives, and one person with lived experience) to evaluate the state-of-the-art and main controversies regarding the current classification. We then provided recommendations on how to design clinical trials, and on how to guide research in unmet needs and knowledge gaps. This report will feed into one of the main objectives of the EUropean Patient-cEntric clinicAl tRial pLatforms, Innovative Medicines Initiative (EU-PEARL, IMI) MDD project, to design a protocol for platform trials of new medications for TRD/PRD. © 2021, The Author(s).EU/EFPIA/Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking