Glass Half Research Articles

The State of Our Understanding of the Pathophysiology and Optimal Treatment of Depression: Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

Major depressive disorder is a remarkably common and often severe psychiatric disorder associated with high levels of morbidity and mortality. Patients with major depression are prone to several comorbid psychiatric conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and substance use disorders, and medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer, which, coupled with the risk of suicide, result in a shortened life expectancy. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of our current understanding of major depression, from pathophysiology to treatment. In spite of decades of research, relatively little is known about its pathogenesis, other than that risk is largely defined by a combination of ill-defined genetic and environmental factors. Although we know that female sex, a history of childhood maltreatment, and family history as well as more recent stressors are risk factors, precisely how these environmental influences interact with genetic vulnerability remains obscure. In recent years, considerable advances have been made in beginning to understand the genetic substrates that underlie disease vulnerability, and the interaction of genes, early-life adversity, and the epigenome in influencing gene expression is now being intensively studied. The role of inflammation and other immune system dysfunction in the pathogenesis of major depression is also being intensively investigated. Brain imaging studies have provided a firmer understanding of the circuitry involved in major depression, providing potential new therapeutic targets. Despite a broad armamentarium for major depression, including antidepressants, evidence-based psychotherapies, nonpharmacological somatic treatments, and a host of augmentation strategies, a sizable percentage of patients remain nonresponsive or poorly responsive to available treatments. Investigational agents with novel mechanisms of action are under active study. Personalized medicine in psychiatry provides the hope of escape from the current standard trial-and-error approach to treatment, moving to a more refined method that augurs a new era for patients and clinicians alike.

2020 State of the Water Industry: A Glass Half Full

Key TakeawaysWith 3,351 responses, the 2020 State of the Water Industry survey had the largest participation in the survey's history.Respondents answered similarly to the previous year's survey but expressed a little more optimism about the present and future state of the sector.The survey was conducted before the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, and it is uncertain whether perceptions of the water industry will change or be reinforced.

Glass Half Full? The Peril and Potential of Highly Organized Violence

Throughout the twenty-first century, El Salvador has been immersed in a crisis of armed violence, largely explained by an exceptionally high degree of organization of armed violence by three gangs,...

Essential Workflow and Performance Measures for Optimizing Acute Ischemic Stroke Treatment in India.

Essential Workflow and Performance Measures for Optimizing Acute Ischemic Stroke Treatment in India.

2020 State of the Water Industry Survey Suggests Glass Half Full

Before COVID‐19 became humanity's primary focus, water professionals expressed increased optimism for their industry's future in AWWA's 2020 State of the Water Industry (SOTWI) survey. Now in its 16th year, the survey closed in November 2019 with an unprecedented 3,351 responses—up 39 percent from the previous year.

A glass half empty: Limited voices, limited groundwater security for California

Groundwater is a common pool resource that supports agriculture, human communities, and the environment. Public participation in common pool natural resources management can be affected by media representation of stakeholders and perceptions of identity as a stakeholder. Newspaper media has an outsized influence on framing subject matter, expertise, organizations, and who should participate. Media shapes individual, local, and regional perspectives around resource management and defines potential solutions to natural resources management. This study analyzes media coverage about California's new Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) to understand impacts on public participation in common pool natural resources management and to identify represented stakeholders and solutions involved in groundwater sustainability. A total of 365 newspaper articles were collected from California newspapers in three readership locations. We also searched for representation of SGMA in Spanish-language publications. Article characteristics were analyzed through qualitative content analysis and quantitative nonparametric analysis. Results indicate bias for featuring agricultural industry, politician, and water managers' voices. Solutions for managing water resources were focused on new supply, demand reduction and infrastructure investment, though novel solutions were also presented. Most newspaper articles included few stakeholders and solutions, illustrating isolated, short narratives about a common pool resource. The trends and gaps in representation in California media coverage may contribute to the public's low levels of engagement in groundwater planning.

Synthesis, structural, optical and radiation shielding features of tungsten trioxides doped borate glasses using Monte Carlo simulation and phy-X program

A novel glass system consists of six glasses was fabricated using melt quenching process according the chemical formula (60-x) B2O3+20Na2O2+20Bi2O3 +xWO3: x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wt%. Archimedes method was used to determine the density and molar volume of the fabricated glasses. Moreover, the X-ray diffraction technique was used to show the variation of the amorphous phase with the addition of WO3 contents for the fabricated glasses. The optical features such as the refractive index (n), energy gap (Eg), distribution energy (Ed) and oscillation energy (Eo) were calculated based on the absorbance obtained from the UV-visible spectrum. The electromagnetic radiation (gamma ray) shielding capacity was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation (MCNP 5) code in addition to Phy-X program. The results showed that the highest linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) occurred at 0.015 MeV and increased from 99.532 to 138.656 cm−1 for glasses coded as W 1 and W 6 respectively. The obtained results showed an enhancement of gamma ray shielding capacity with the addition of WO3 (wt%) to the fabricated glasses. Based on the estimated LAC, other shielding properties were calculated such as the glass half value layer (HVL), mean free path (MFP) and effective atomic number (Zeff). Finally, the ability of the fabricated glasses to resist the charged particles (alpha and proton) and uncharged neutrons were also estimated using SRIM program and theoretical calculation. The obtained results refer that the insertion of WO3 contents improves the shielding capacity for alpha and protons while it reduces the effective removal cross section of the fabricated glasses.

What's Wrong With Our Technology?

Abstract When thinking about this issue’s theme in the context of cyber security, it became quite difficult to determine what might be the ‘glass half full’ scenarios… writes Ian Fish, Chair of the Information Security Specialist Group.

Trust me, I’m a veterinarian: incorporating entrustable professional activities into veterinary education

In December, the RCVS informed us once again that veterinary surgeons are among the most trusted professionals in the UK.1 Those of us with ‘glass half full’ mindset might have...

Chern-Simons boundary layers in the Casimir effect

Casimir interaction of two SiO2 glass half spaces being substrates for Chern-Simons boundary layers is studied. The separation between two half spaces at which the Casimir energy minimum occurs is strongly increased for dielectric SiO2 glass substrates in comparison with previously considered metal Au and semiconductor Si substrates. Strong reduction in the Casimir force due to presence of Chern-Simons layers is found for SiO2 glass substrate. Influence of modification of the infrared absorption on the Casimir force is studied.

A glass half full: the growing strength of French political science

French political science remains an enigma for the rest of our discipline. Despite its early involvement in establishing the study of politics, today it is relatively small, fraught with internal difficulties and largely unknown in the rest of the world. Notwithstanding these traits, this article argues that, over the last three decades, political science in France has institutionalized, internationalized and deepened its engagement with the public sphere. Indeed, not only are student numbers expanding, but colleagues in our discipline consistently produce original and robust data and publications. Based upon statistics and participatory observation over the last 30 years, this piece’s central claim is that although much could of course be improved, contemporary French political science is now well positioned to make more sustained contributions to our discipline as a whole. Understanding better and highlighting the positive aspects of its trajectory provide ways of striving towards this goal.

Is the glass half full or half empty after PARAGON-HF?

Is the glass half full or half empty after PARAGON-HF?

A Glass Half Full: The International Law Commission’s Draft Articles and the Operational Challenges of International Disaster Response

A Glass Half Full: The International Law Commission’s Draft Articles and the Operational Challenges of International Disaster Response

How laughter and language matter when supporting people with cancer.

What is the best way to make an audience squirm in their seats with discomfort? Starting a stand-up comedy routine with a joke about cancer certainly appeared to work for performers at this summer's Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts event. A trio of comedians used their shows to crack jokes about breast cancer, whereas the focus of jokes was cervical cancer in How To Save A Life by Glass Half Full Theatre, but all shared themes about how people speak about cancer, and how they are spoken to after receiving a cancer diagnosis.

A Glass Half Full?

Abstract Much has been said about the shortcomings of the two-element test for customary international law, the traditional methodology on which the ILC has focused in its recently completed study on the identification of custom. But custom as a source of law is notoriously elusive and slippery, and the deficiencies of the traditional methodology, for which there is no easy fix, are a reflection of a decentralised international legal system lacking a legislature and a system of courts with compulsory jurisdiction. The article offers some thoughts on the character of the two-element approach as an evaluative test, and the functions that it performs in structuring and constraining international legal reasoning in a way that safeguards the equality of States. By reflecting on the methodology’s constructive role, the article cautions against overly alarmist predictions that customary international law is a dancefloor.

Globalization and health: political grand challenges

The central task of any critical social science is speaking truth about power. After a brief review of ‘glass half full’ and ‘glass half empty’ perspectives on recent developments in global health, I argue that such a critical perspective need not answer the question about the glass, but rather ask what more could have been achieved under different social arrangements. I continue with a discussion of how globalization has re-scaled distributional conflicts so they need no longer be resolved within national borders, and enhanced the power of transnational corporations and the ultra-wealthy to the probable detriment of national policy space. I then examine the structural adjustment programs of the 1980s and the 1990s as an early step in the normalization of austerity, and the associated human collateral damage. I conclude by arguing that the constraints in improving health and reducing health inequalities associated with globalization are substantial, while suggesting that they should not be overstated – a point underscored by the selective nature of the policy choices comprising austerity.

Why is your Glass Half Empty? The Neural Circuitry of Pessimism Revealed.

It is the anticipation of negative outcome in a given situation due to when the individual considers only the downside rather than the potential benefit.

Effect of Surface Treatment and Cement on Fracture Load of Traditional Zirconia (3Y), Translucent Zirconia (5Y), and Lithium Disilicate Crowns.

To determine if surface treatment and cement selection for traditional 3 mol% yttria partially stabilized zirconia (3Y-PSZ), "translucent" 5 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (5Y-Z), or lithium disilicate crowns affected their fracture load. Crowns with 0.8 mm uniform thickness (96, n = 8/group) were milled of 3Y-PSZ (Lava Plus), 5Y-Z (Lava Esthetic), or lithium disilicate (e.max CAD) and sintered/crystallized. Half the crowns were either particle-abraded with 30 µm alumina (zirconias) or etched with 5% hydrofluoric acid (lithium disilicate), and the other half received no surface treatment. Half the crowns from each group were luted with resin-modified glass ionomer (RMGI, RelyX Luting Plus) and half were luted with a resin cement (RelyX Unicem 2) to resin composite dies. Crowns were load cycled (100,000 cycles, 100 N force, 24°C water) and then loaded with a steel indenter until failure. A three-way ANOVA examined the effects of material, cement, and surface treatment on fracture load. Post-hoc comparisons were performed with the Tukey-Krammer method. Fracture load was signficiantly different for materials and cements (p<0.0001) but not surface treatments (p = 0.77). All lithium disilicate crowns luted with RMGI failed in fatigue loading cycling; 3Y-PSZ and 5Y-Z crowns luted with resin showed a higher fracture load compared with RMGI (p<0.001). With resin cement, there was no signficant difference in fracture load between 5Y-Z and lithium disiliciate (p = 1) whereas 3Y-PSZ had a higher fracture load (p < 0.0001). Cement type affected fracture load of crowns but surface treatment did not. The 0.8 mm uniform thick crowns tested benefited from using resin cement regardless of type of ceramic material. Crowns fabricated from 5Y-Z may be particle-abraded if luted with resin cement.

Your year is half over—is your glass half full?

Your year is half over—is your glass half full?

Book Review: Sanjay Kathuria, A Glass Half Full: The Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia

Book Review: Sanjay Kathuria, <i>A Glass Half Full: The Promise of Regional Trade in South Asia</i>