Unhappiness, health and cognitive ability in old age

Background To test whether scores on depression inventories on entry to a longitudinal study predict mental ability over the next 4–16 years. Method Associations between scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and on tests of intelligence, vocabulary and memory were analysed in 5070 volunteers aged 49–93 years after differences in prescribed drug consumption, death and drop-out, sex, socio-economic advantage and recruitment cohort effects had also been considered. Results On all cognitive tasks Beck scores on entry, even in the range 0–7 indicating differences in above average contentment, affected overall levels of cognitive performance but not rates of age-related cognitive decline suggesting effects of differences in life satisfaction rather than in depression. Conclusions A new finding is that, in old age, increments in life satisfaction are associated with better cognitive performance. Implications for interpreting associations between depression inventory scores and cognitive performance in elderly samples are discussed

San Francisco Predictable Scheduling and Fair Treatment for Formula Retail Employees Ordinance

Economic and labor force changes since the Great Recession of 2007 have changed the way many American workers support themselves and their families. Today, Americans who would prefer full-time stable work are more likely to work in part-time jobs, and have little control over their work schedules. As employers seek new ways to maximize scheduling efficiency and profit, worker advocate groups have raised concerns about the implications of these scheduling practices on the lives of employees. This issue brief highlights some of the research on the growth of unstable work schedules, and describes the provisions of recently introduced legislation in San Francisco that seeks to increase predictable scheduling among certain retail and food service workers. San Francisco's is the first such legislation to be introduced at the local level in the natio

The Desire for Unique Consumer Products: A Moderator of the Scarcity Polarization Phenomenon?

Previous research has provided conflicting evidence for whether or not perceived scarcity extremitizes evaluations (e.g., Ditto & Jemmott, 1989; Harris, Lynn, & Clair, 1991). In the present study, the potential moderating role of different types of uniqueness needs was examined. Seventy-three introductory psychology students read descriptions of one consumer and one non-consumer target. Target valence (healthful vs. harmful) and prevalence (scarce vs. common) were manipulated. Participants completed measures assessing the desire for unique consumer products (DUCP, Lynn & Harris, 1997), need-for-uniqueness (NU, Snyder & Fromkin, 1977), and desirability of the targets. Although the results of a series of ANOVAs were non-significant (p > .05), all of the trends were in the predicted direction: perceived scarcity of consumer products polarized the ratings of high, but not low, DUCP participants; moreover, scarcity’s effect on the non-consumer target was not moderated by DUCP. Potential causes of these null results are discussed. Advisor: Thomas E. NygrenArts and Sciences Undergraduate Research ScholarshipSocial and Behavioral Sciences Undergraduate Research GrantNo embarg

Shifting Gears: Building New Pathways for Low-Skilled Workers to Succeed in the 21st Century Economy

This program specifically focuses on innovative strategies that connected a state's adult basic education system with its community and technical college system. It purposely examines the extent to which the six Shifting Gears states gained "traction on the ground" by incorporating these innovative strategies into existing programs. Gaining this traction among adult basic education providers and community and technical colleges signals that states may be on a positive trajectory toward systems change. By the end of the five-year period, four of the six Shifting Gears states had implemented innovative strategies to serve low-skilled adults. Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin succeeded in enrolling a total of about 4,000 low-skilled adults in their innovative programs -- a modest number that is expected to grow considerably during the next several years as these strategies and program are embraced by more organizations within the states. Each of the four states Shifting Gears teams pursued a "career pathway framework," creating new programs to help low-skilled adults transition from adult basic education to community and technical colleges and gain credentials with economic value. The state teams stopped using Joyce resources to finance local projects at the start of Phase Two. Instead, they financed local program development and implementation by leveraging state dollars, encouraging use of traditional funding streams and engaging other stakeholders within state government and in the community (e.g., local philanthropy, community non-profits). These funding strategies have moved the Shifting Gears initiative beyond a "boutique" effort and closer to the desired goal of systems change

The Weatherization Assistance Program shows that successful state implementation of federal policies depends on preexisting state regulations

The US system of government means that the states have to implement federal policies at the local level. In new research which uses the federal Weatherization Assistance Program as a case study, Jessica Terman looks at the influence of preexisting state regulatory environments on the implementation of federal programs. She finds that although state and federal programs can have similar goals, in practice, they may impede the performance of one another

Marketing Motherhood: Rights and Responsibilities of Egg Donors in Assisted Reproductive Technology Agreements

Each year thousands of young women enter the American gamete market as egg providers. This Comment examines the rights and responsibilities of egg providers in assisted reproductive technology (ART) arrangments. Section One describes the rising demand for alienable eggs and analyzes the ways in which American courts have provided an incentive to ART clinics to move away from traditional surrogacy arrangements toward arrangements involving egg providers. Section Two focuses on the current state of federal and state regulation of egg transfer and includes a discussion of the current bifurcated system of body part alienability, in which eggs may be bought and sold, while organs may only be acquired through gratuitous donation. Finally, section Three addresses three looming questions in the area of egg provider fertility arrangements. First, do egg providers retain any legal responsibilities for a genetic child born as a result of their donation? Second, can egg providers ever sue for shared custody of their genetic children? And third, if egg providers come to believe that their eggs have been misused, can they pursue contract claims against intended parents and fertility clinics

Marketing Motherhood: Rights and Responsibilities of Egg Donors in Assisted Reproductive Technology Agreements

Each year thousands of young women enter the American gamete market as egg providers. This Comment examines the rights and responsibilities of egg providers in assisted reproductive technology (ART) arrangments. Section One describes the rising demand for alienable eggs and analyzes the ways in which American courts have provided an incentive to ART clinics to move away from traditional surrogacy arrangements toward arrangements involving egg providers. Section Two focuses on the current state of federal and state regulation of egg transfer and includes a discussion of the current bifurcated system of body part alienability, in which eggs may be bought and sold, while organs may only be acquired through gratuitous donation. Finally, section Three addresses three looming questions in the area of egg provider fertility arrangements. First, do egg providers retain any legal responsibilities for a genetic child born as a result of their donation? Second, can egg providers ever sue for shared custody of their genetic children? And third, if egg providers come to believe that their eggs have been misused, can they pursue contract claims against intended parents and fertility clinics

Gain control with A-type potassium current: IA as a switch between divisive and subtractive inhibition

Neurons process information by transforming barrages of synaptic inputs into spiking activity. Synaptic inhibition suppresses the output firing activity of a neuron, and is commonly classified as having a subtractive or divisive effect on a neuron's output firing activity. Subtractive inhibition can narrow the range of inputs that evoke spiking activity by eliminating responses to non-preferred inputs. Divisive inhibition is a form of gain control: it modifies firing rates while preserving the range of inputs that evoke firing activity. Since these two "modes" of inhibition have distinct impacts on neural coding, it is important to understand the biophysical mechanisms that distinguish these response profiles. We use simulations and mathematical analysis of a neuron model to find the specific conditions for which inhibitory inputs have subtractive or divisive effects. We identify a novel role for the A-type Potassium current (IA). In our model, this fast-activating, slowly- inactivating outward current acts as a switch between subtractive and divisive inhibition. If IA is strong (large maximal conductance) and fast (activates on a time-scale similar to spike initiation), then inhibition has a subtractive effect on neural firing. In contrast, if IA is weak or insufficiently fast-activating, then inhibition has a divisive effect on neural firing. We explain these findings using dynamical systems methods to define how a spike threshold condition depends on synaptic inputs and IA. Our findings suggest that neurons can "self-regulate" the gain control effects of inhibition via combinations of synaptic plasticity and/or modulation of the conductance and kinetics of A-type Potassium channels. This novel role for IA would add flexibility to neurons and networks, and may relate to recent observations of divisive inhibitory effects on neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figure

Gain Control With A-Type Potassium Current: IA As A Switch Between Divisive And Subtractive Inhibition

Neurons process and convey information by transforming barrages of synaptic inputs into spiking activity. Synaptic inhibition typically suppresses the output firing activity of a neuron, and is commonly classified as having a subtractive or divisive effect on a neuron’s output firing activity. Subtractive inhibition can narrow the range of inputs that evoke spiking activity by eliminating responses to non-preferred inputs. Divisive inhibition is a form of gain control: it modifies firing rates while preserving the range of inputs that evoke firing activity. Since these two “modes” of inhibition have distinct impacts on neural coding, it is important to understand the biophysical mechanisms that distinguish these response profiles. In this study, we use simulations and mathematical analysis of a neuron model to find the specific conditions (parameter sets) for which inhibitory inputs have subtractive or divisive effects. Significantly, we identify a novel role for the A-type Potassium current (IA). In our model, this fast-activating, slowly-inactivating outward current acts as a switch between subtractive and divisive inhibition. In particular, if IA is strong (large maximal conductance) and fast (activates on a time-scale similar to spike initiation), then inhibition has a subtractive effect on neural firing. In contrast, if IA is weak or insufficiently fast-activating, then inhibition has a divisive effect on neural firing. We explain these findings using dynamical systems methods (plane analysis and fast-slow dissection) to define how a spike threshold condition depends on synaptic inputs and IA. Our findings suggest that neurons can “self-regulate” the gain control effects of inhibition via combinations of synaptic plasticity and/or modulation of the conductance and kinetics of A-type Potassium channels. This novel role for IA would add flexibility to neurons and networks, and may relate to recent observations of divisive inhibitory effects on neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract