Aspects of alcohol use disorder affecting social cognition as assessed using the Mini Social and Emotional Assessment (mini-SEA).

BACKGROUND: Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is associated with problems with processing complex social scenarios. Little is known about the relationship between distinct AUD-related factors (e.g., years of problematic drinking), aspects of cognitive function and dysfunction in individuals diagnosed with AUD, and the relative impact these may have on social cognition. AIMS: To explore differences in social cognition between a group of participants diagnosed with AUD and controls, using a clinical measure, the Mini Social and Emotional Assessment (mini-SEA). The mini-SEA was used to evaluate social and emotional understanding through a facial emotional recognition task and by utilising a series of social scenes some of which contain a faux pas (social error). METHODS: Eighty-five participants (individuals with AUD and controls) completed demographic questions and a general cognitive and social cognitive test battery over three consecutive days. RESULTS: Between group analyses revealed that the participants with AUD performed less well on the faux pas test, and differences were also revealed in the emotional facial recognition task. Years of problematic alcohol consumption was the strongest predictor of poor ToM reasoning. CONCLUSION: These results suggest a strong link between AUD chronicity and social cognition, though the direction of this relationship needs further elucidation. This may be of clinical relevance to abstinence and relapse management, as basic social cognition skills and ability to maintain interpersonal relationships are likely to be crucial to recovery.

Cost effectiveness of preoperative screening for healthy patients undergoing robotic hysterectomy.

The objective of this study was to determine whether routine preoperative type and screen blood testing is cost effective and medically warranted for benign diagnosis in healthy patients undergoing robotic hysterectomy. The study was designed as a cross sectional retrospective descriptive study. Four hundred and twenty two medical records of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Classifications I and II patients undergoing robotically-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy between 1 June 2011 and 31 May 2014 at a 211 bed regional medical center were analysed. The results from this study paralleled the findings of other published research. Preoperative type and screen testing was performed on 249 (59%) of the patients in the study. Ten patients (2.4% of the group) converted to open laparotomy. Mean estimated blood loss was 59.59ml. No perioperative transfusions were required. The results indicate that preoperative type and screen testing is not warranted for patients meeting the inclusion criteria.

Recreational Diving Impacts on Coral Reefs and the Adoption of Environmentally Responsible Practices within the SCUBA Diving Industry.

Recreational diving on coral reefs is an activity that has experienced rapidly growing levels of popularity and participation. Despite providing economic activity for many developing coastal communities, the potential role of dive impacts in contributing to coral reef damage is a concern at heavily dived locations. Management measures to address this issue increasingly include the introduction of programmes designed to encourage environmentally responsible practices within the dive industry. We examined diver behaviour at several important coral reef dive locations within the Philippines and assessed how diver characteristics and dive operator compliance with an environmentally responsible diving programme, known as the Green Fins approach, affected reef contacts. The role of dive supervision was assessed by recording dive guide interventions underwater, and how this was affected by dive group size. Of the 100 recreational divers followed, 88 % made contact with the reef at least once per dive, with a mean (±SE) contact rate of 0.12 ± 0.01 per min. We found evidence that the ability of dive guides to intervene and correct diver behaviour in the event of a reef contact decreases with larger diver group sizes. Divers from operators with high levels of compliance with the Green Fins programme exhibited significantly lower reef contact rates than those from dive operators with low levels of compliance. The successful implementation of environmentally responsible diving programmes, which focus on influencing dive industry operations, can contribute to the management of human impacts on coral reefs.

Fragmentation in social security old-age benefit provision in China.

Currently, in many countries most workers are covered by a national social security benefits program that applies equally in all parts of the country. In China, however, social security old-age benefits are provided in a highly fragmented manner. This article documents the high degree of fragmentation. It discusses both why that has occurred and the effects of the fragmentation on participants. It examines effects of the fragmentation on benefit levels, focusing on variations in the generosity of benefit formulas but also considering other measures of benefit adequacy. Fragmentation is seen to cause differences in benefit levels even within a single city. While the new National Rural Pension Scheme is a major improvement in the provision of retirement security for rural workers, important differences still exist in the social security programs for urban and rural workers.

A comparison of early retirement pensions in the United States and Russia: the pensions of musicians.

Early retirement pensions for particular occupations free national policy to establish the social security early retirement age at a later age that is more appropriate for the population as a whole. This paper focuses on early retirement pensions in the United States and the Russian Federation. While comparing early retirement pensions generally, the paper provides a more detailed discussion of the pensions for musicians. While this is an unconventional group to choose for the study of pensions, study of their pensions yields insights into the principles underlying retirement age policy in the two countries.

Coral reefs of the Mascarenes, Western Indian Ocean.

The reefs of the Mascarenes differ in structure and stage of development. Mauritius is the oldest island, bound by a discontinuous fringing reef and small barrier reef, with large lagoon patch reefs. Rodrigues has nearly continuous fringing reefs bounding an extensive lagoon with deep channels and few patch reefs. Reunion, the youngest island, has short stretches of narrow fringing reefs along southwestern coasts. The islets of St Brandon are bound to the east by an extensive arc of fringing reef. Reef mapping of the Mascarenes using satellite imagery provides an estimate of 705 km2 of shallow reef habitats. These areas have been modified over geological time by changes in sea level, ocean-atmosphere disturbances and biological and chemical forcing. Further modification has resulted from historical changes in land-use patterns. Recent economic development has placed many of these reefs at risk from anthropogenic impact. The reefs of the Mascarenes have escaped mass mortality from bleaching to date, which increases their conservation significance within the wider Indian Ocean. The reefs are poorly protected. A case study shows how a geographic information system incorporating reef-habitat maps can help formulate and demonstrate Marine Protected Area boundaries.

Fecal corticosterone assessment in the epaulette shark, Hemiscyllium ocellatum.

The present study examined the feasibility of measuring the steroid hormone corticosterone in fecal extracts of epaulette sharks, Hemiscyllium ocellatum. Six immature, captive-raised epaulette sharks (four females and two males) were obtained from two different zoos and were maintained in a closed-system, 530-liter aquarium. After a one-month adaptation, fecal samples were collected daily from each animal for 33 days. Five-day sets of samples were pooled within animals to insure sufficient material for analysis. Fecal hormone extraction was achieved using repeated cycles of dichloromethane and aqueous washes. The levels of corticosterone were measured by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Corticosterone presence in HPLC eluent peaks from fecal extracts was determined by comparison of the elution pattern of corticosterone standard with the elution patterns of fecal extracts with and without the addition of tritiated corticosterone or exogenous, unlabeled corticosterone. Exclusive presence of corticosterone in HPLC eluent peaks presumed to be corticosterone was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance mass spectrometry. Corticosterone levels, calculated from a 10-point standard curve, ranged from 1.2 to 20.9 ng/g feces across all sharks, with 92.3% of values being < or =13.5 ng/g. Within individuals, the lowest average for corticosterone levels across 33 days was 2.6+/-0.4 ng/g feces, and the highest average was 8.4+/-2.2 ng/g feces. This study demonstrated that corticosterone was extractable from and reliably measurable in fecal extracts of epaulette sharks. This is the first evidence of this hormone in epaulette sharks and the first report of fecal corticosterone in elasmobranchs.

Social security in Asia and the Pacific: a brief overview.

In terms of numbers of people, the global challenges facing social security systems are largely Asian. Because of rapid population aging in Asia, while it accounted for 28% of the world's population aged 60 and older in 1985, that percentage will more than double to 58% in 2050. Provident funds are a prominent feature of retirement income systems in the region-Asia and the Pacific contain the majority of the world's countries with provident funds. These programs typically provide lump-sum benefits, and thus, do not provide annuity protection against outliving one's resources. Because of the influence of Confucian philosophy with its emphasis on family responsibility for elders, countries in the region have been relatively slow in developing social security programs. China does not have a social security program for workers who do not work for the government or in government-owned enterprises.

Social security in Africa: a brief review.

Africa is the poorest region of the world and has the youngest and least developed social security programs. Most Africans are not covered by social security programs. The high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in some sub-Saharan countries and internal armed conflicts in others have created difficult problems in some countries for social security programs. As a result, some countries do not have functioning social security programs. The social security programs that do exist in Africa are influenced by their colonial heritage, with the programs in English-speaking Africa differing from those in French-speaking Africa. Six different patterns of social security provision can be identified.

Social security in the Middle East: a brief review.

The countries of the Middle East all have traditional social insurance type social security programs. The move towards defined contribution individual accounts that is occurring in some regions has not affected this region The social security programs in the Middle East are not facing the problems of financing found in Europe and North America, in part because they still have relatively high fertility rates and are thus little affected by population aging. They tend to have low retirement ages and some of the wealthy countries of the region provide very generous benefits. Many of them need to consider reforms that raise retirement ages. A characteristic of many of the social security old-age benefit programs of the region is that they exclude foreign workers, who in some countries account for more than half the workforce.

Remote assessment of stress in white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) and black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) by measurement of adrenal steroids in feces.

This study monitored fecal cortisol and corticosterone levels in 14 black rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis) and in seven white rhinoceroses (Certotherium simum) under various conditions of captivity, including translocation. Free cortisol and free corticosterone were measured in methylene chloride extracts of feces, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The extraction-assay method was validated for quantitative measurement of these hormones by mass spectroscopy analysis, chemical derivitization, and radiolabel tracking and recovery. Both cortisol and corticosterone were extractable from feces and routinely detectable by HPLC. In three nonstressed, captivity-adapted white rhinoceroses monitored across 21 days of routine activity, fecal cortisol ranged from 2.0 to 7.3 ng/g dry feces and corticosterone from 4.0 to 10.8 ng/g dry feces, with no observable trend. Matched plasma, urine, and fecal samples in these rhinoceroses yielded corticosterone:cortisol ratios of 2.0:1.0, 2.7:1.0, and 2.2:1.0, respectively. Both black rhinoceroses (n = 5) and white rhinoceroses (n = 4) exhibited higher fecal cortisol (6.9- to 10.0-fold) and corticosterone (3.2- to 4.5-fold) levels in association with restraint-translocation than in limited free-roaming conditions. In five black rhinoceroses monitored across 6 wk after release from translocation, fecal levels of both cortisol and corticosterone decreased significantly between week 1 and weeks 4-6. In general, cortisol and corticosterone paralleled each other, with cortisol exhibiting a greater range of response. Measurement of either hormone in feces appears to be reliable for adrenal axis monitoring in the white and the black rhinoceroses.