Stability of diurnal cortisol measures across days, weeks, and years across middle childhood and early adolescence: Exploring the role of age, pubertal development, and sex.

Effective regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis) has been linked to numerous health outcomes. Within-person variation in diurnal measures of HPA-axis regulation assessed over days, months, and years can range between 50-73% of total variation. In this study of 59 youth (ages 8-13), we quantified the stability of the cortisol awakening response (CAR), the diurnal slope, and tonic cortisol concentrations at waking and bedtime across 8 days (2 sets of 4 consecutive days separated by 3 weeks), 3 weeks, and 3 years. We then compared the stability of these indices across three key developmental factors: age, pubertal status, and sex. Youth provided 4 saliva samples per day (waking, 30 min post-waking, before dinner, and before bedtime) for 4 consecutive days during the 3rd week of an ongoing 8-week daily diary study. Youth repeated this same sampling procedure 3 weeks and 3 years later. Using multi-level modeling, we computed the amount of variance in diurnal HPA-axis regulation that was accounted for by nesting an individual's diurnal cortisol indices within days, weeks, or years. Across days, diurnal slope was the most stable index, whereas waking cortisol and CAR were the least stable. All indices except bedtime cortisol were similarly stable when measured across weeks, and all indices were uniformly stable when measured across 3 years. Boys, younger participants, and youth earlier in their pubertal development at study enrollment exhibited greater HPA-axis stability overall compared with females and older, more physically mature participants. We conclude that important within- and between-subjects questions can be answered about health and human development by studying HPA-axis regulation, and selection of the index of interest should be determined in part by its psychometric characteristics. To this end, we propose a decision tree to guide study design for research in pediatric samples by longitudinal timeframe and sample characteristics

Understanding the selective etching of electrodeposited ZnO nanorods

ZnO nanotubes were prepared by selective dissolution of electrodeposited nanorods. The effect of solution pH, rod morphology, and chloride ion concentration on the dissolution mechanism was studied. The selective etching was rationalized in terms of the surface energy of the different ZnO crystal faces and reactant diffusion. The nanorod diameter and chloride concentration are the most influential parameters on the dissolution mechanism because they control homogeneous dissolution or selective etching of the (110) and (002) surfaces. Bulk solution pH only has an effect on the rate of dissolution. By accurate control of the dissolution process, the nanomorphology can be tailored, and the formation of rods with a thin diameter (10-20 nm), cavity, or ultra-thin-walled tubes (2-5 nm) can be achieved

Measuring the Plasticity of Social Approach: A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Effects of the PEERS Intervention on EEG Asymmetry in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study examined whether the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS: Social skills for teenagers with developmental and autism spectrum disorders: The PEERS treatment manual, Routledge, New York, 2010a) affected neural function, via EEG asymmetry, in a randomized controlled trial of adolescents with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a group of typically developing adolescents. Adolescents with ASD in PEERS shifted from right-hemisphere gamma-band EEG asymmetry before PEERS to left-hemisphere EEG asymmetry after PEERS, versus a waitlist ASD group. Left-hemisphere EEG asymmetry was associated with more social contacts and knowledge, and fewer symptoms of autism. Adolescents with ASD in PEERS no longer differed from typically developing adolescents in left-dominant EEG asymmetry at post-test. These findings are discussed via the Modifier Model of Autism (Mundy et al. in Res Pract Persons Severe Disabl 32(2):124, 2007), with emphasis on remediating isolation/withdrawal in ASD

F18RS SGR No. 18

A RESOLUTION TO COMMEND THE LSU STUDENT HEALTH CENTER AND STUDENT HEALTH CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, D’ANN MORRIS FOR PROPERLY USING STUDENT FEES IN ITS OPERATIONS AND SERVICE

Feminist Subjectivities: sources for a politicised practice of women's personal development education

This thesis offers an account of the processes through which feminist subjectivities are constructed. Subjectivity is a central theoretical concept of the work and is conceptualised throughout from a poststructuralist perspective. Implicit in this perspective is the understanding that subjectivity is social, dynamic and multiple. Drawing in particular on feminist poststructuralist and psychodynamic thought, the theoretical objective of the work is to advance theories of adult politicisation, human agency and critical adult education. Based on original fieldwork with self-defined feminist women, feminist subjectivity is characterised as a three-way production involving a) different feminist discourses, b) relations in present situations and c) emotional responses. Taking into account the complex picture of feminist subjectivity which the research provides, the thesis also asks if politicised subjectivities can be produced within the context of women’s personal development education. This is a timely question, given the enormous popularity of women’s personal development education in Ireland. Such education is predominantly practised within a human relations psychology framework which in turn draws on liberal humanist assumptions about the person, power and the nature of social change. Such practice is shown in this work to have depoliticising effects. It is argued that personal development education can be practised in politically radical ways, if it draws on theoretical resources outside liberal humanism. The thesis builds on its own picture of feminist subjectivities to make proposals for a practice of personal development education which meets the stated needs of many women for attention to the personal, but without sliding into a depoliticised individualism. The proposals are living, practical and specifically designed for an educational context. The thesis concludes by arguing that the training of personal development facilitators needs to be informed by a wide range of feminist discourses, especially including feminist poststructuralist theories. It also recommends that critical adult education provide the theoretical resources for politically radical personal development education, by addressing questions of subjectivity and human agency, and by treating gender differences as produced and open to change, rather than as given

China: Do the Uighurs represent a serious threat?

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) utilization of harsh ethnic control policies coupled with extreme and violent enforcement by the People’s Armed Police (PAP) will likely drive the Uighurs to become a security threat to the PRC and disrupt international relationships. The Uighurs do not currently constitute a security threat to the PRC based on their limited connection to terrorist organizations and attacks. Due to several underlying factors, the Uighurs represent a political concern to the PRC and the conflict between the PRC and the Uighurs is fueled by ethnic tensions. Ongoing security operations in the Uighurs’ home province of Xinjiang exacerbate tensions as the PAP enforce harsh ethnic control policies. As the international community is becoming increasingly aware of the situation in Xinjiang, the PRC has come under pressure to explain its actions. These underlying forces could plausibly drive the Uighurs to become a security threat to the PRC in the future