Autogenic regulation training (ART), sickness absence, personal problems, time and the emotional-physical stress of student nurses in general training : a report of a longitudinal field investigation

A field investigation was carried out with student nurses entering General Training in a School of Nursing.  Autogenic Regulation Training (ART), sickness absence, personal problems, time and their emotional physical  experience was evaluated. Measures used in the study included:The Sickness Absence Record (SAR)The Mooney Problem Checklist (MPC)The Crown-Crisp Experiential Index (CCEI)and The Personal Observations Inventory (POI)Data was collected at different time periods early in their nurse education. The study was carried out to  investigate the effectiveness of ART in providing a method of coping with individual stress. Analyses were made  between and within an ART group of student nurses and a comparison group who did not receive training in  ART. Consideration was also given to individual differences of student nurses in each group.Particular attention was paid to the hypotheses that 1) ART is associated with reduced sickness absence in  student nurses when analysed against a comparison group' of student nurses not trained in ART; and 2) ART is  associated with reduced stress in student nurses when compared with student nurses not trained in ART. 'It  is generally concluded that student nurses trained in ART may reduce their level of sickness absence and can  alleviate stress for some student nurses. However, examination of individual student nurse reports of ART and  its usefulness and practice within these group data, suggest more complex interpretations of the study. Despite  the study limitations, implications for methods of stress control for nurses, curriculum development and  cost-effective savings for nursing administrations are suggested, and possibilities for the development of  comprehensive counselling services for nurses are raised. These issues it is suggested, should be examined within a broader programme of research into coping with stress amongst nurses

Social infrastructure importance for modern city and the ways of its urban development

The present study objective is to determine the importance of social infrastructure for modern city and to identify the ways of its urban development (Moscow, as an example). Statistics data (taken from official municipal and regional sources), results of systematic, typological, functional and structural analysis, sociological survey of population was used. Assessment of society development current challenges, analysis of scientific research in economy, education, culture, allowed the author to determine the importance of social infrastructure for modern city as a tool for urban environment transformation, quality improvement of human asset, strengthening the economic basis of the city. The author offered the periods of Moscow social infrastructure development from the early 20th century until present by identifying basic political and economic tasks, which determined the role and directions of cultural and consumer services sphere development. Within existing structural deformations of the system of cultural and consumer services for the population, the lack of territorial resources in the established development areas, the ways of social infrastructure improvement were proposed. These ways include planning optimization of the territory, clarifying typology and structure of public centers, working out the model of functional and spatial organization of the service system, techniques for intensifying the territory usage, sociological factor accounting, monitoring the level of social infrastructure urban development. The newness of the present study from the scientific point of view is a comprehensive approach to improvement of the city social infrastructure, including planning, sociological, architectural and spatial aspects

CLEAR CELL-PAPILLARY RENAL CELL CARCINOMA

Il carcinoma renale papillare a cellule chiare e il carcinoma renale con stroma leiomuscolare sono due entit\ue0 recentemente descritte in letteratura, a comportamento biologico non aggressivo e composte da elementi a citoplasma chiaro e basso grado nucleare, la cui distinzione dai principali istotipi renali e in particolare dal carcinoma renale a cellule chiare di tipo convenzionale risulta spesso complessa. In questa tesi sono stati studiati 14 carcinomi renali papillari a cellule chiare e 7 carcinomi renali con stroma leiomuscolare, utilizzando un ampio pannello immunoistochimico e diverse metodiche di biologia molecolare, allo scopo di definirne maggiormente i caratteri comuni e permettere una loro distinzione pi\uf9 efficace dai pi\uf9 comuni istotipi tumorali renali. Entrambe le entit\ue0 descritte hanno presentato diffusa espressione di CK7, CAIX e costante negativit\ue0 per AMACR. E\u2019 stata inoltre evidenziata la frequente positivit\ue0 per i marcatori 34\u3b2E12 e GATA3. I tumori hanno evidenziato inoltre un profilo genetico stabile, l\u2019assenza di alterazioni del gene VHL e di perdita del cromosoma 3p. Un solo caso, con caratteristiche morfologiche e in parte immunofenotipiche e genetiche del gruppo dei carcinomi renali papillari a cellule chiare, ha presentato negativit\ue0 per 34\u3b2E12, GATA3 e presenza di alterazioni a carico del gene VHL ed \ue8 pertanto stato riclassificato come carcinoma renale a cellule chiare. L\u2019insieme dei caratteri descritti, comuni ai carcinomi renali papillari a cellule chiare e a quelli con stroma leiomuscolare, permettono di distinguerli dagli istotipi renali \u201cconvenzionali\u201d e di ipotizzare una loro origine comune. Tuttavia, la presenza di casi con caratteri in parte sovrapponibili al carcinoma renale a cellule chiare sottolinea la necessit\ue0 dell\u2019utilizzo di pi\uf9 metodiche diagnostiche per loro il riconoscimento nella pratica clinica.Clear cell papillary renal cell carcinoma (CCPRCC) is renal neoplasm that has been recently proposed to be added to the current WHO classification of renal tumors. We collected and described a series of these neoplasms, in order to get insights to their clinico-pathological and molecular profiles. We identified 14 CCPRCC. A first level of Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using CK7, CD10, AE1/AE3, alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase, PV, S100A1, \u3b1-SMA, caldesmon and desmin. We also performed FISH analysis using probes for chromosome 3 and 3p25, array CGH, VHL sequencing and methylation analysis on a part of the cases. Than with a second level of immunoistochemical analysis, we investigated the immunoexpression of 34\u3b2E12, CK1, CK5, CK10, CK14 and GATA3, looking for specific markers. The mean age of the patients was 61, including 9 males and 5 females. The average tumor diameter was 2,62 cm. CCPRCC presented a thick encapsulation and a tubule-papillary or tubule-cystic morphology composed of clear cells with low-grade nuclei. With the first level of immunoistochemical analyses all cases were positive for CK7 and AE1-AE3 and negative for P504S, Parvalbumin, HMB45 and cathepsin K; 75% and 62% of cases were positive respectively for CD10 and S100A1. No deletion of chromosome 3p, significant VHL methylation or changes in copy number was detected in any case, whereas only one CCPRCC showed VHL mutation and presented deletions in chromosome 3 and 6 at CGH analysis. The second level immunoistochemical analysis showed that 13 of 14 cases of CCPRCC express 34\u3b2E12. The immunoexpression of CK14 had the same result of 34\u3b2E12. All cases were negative for Ck1 and CK10; only 4 cases of CCPRCC were positive for CK5. GATA3 was expressed in 7 of 13 (54%) cases of CCPRCC. Comparing as control the immunoexpression of 292 cases of conventional clear cell RCC 34\u3b2E12 (or CK14) was expressed in 0,3% and GATA3 was expressed in 1% of the cases giving to them a strong specific meaning. We concluded that CCPRCC show strong and diffuse positivity for CK7 and do not show 3p deletion, VHL mutation or methylation abnormalities. These tumors show a genomic stability after wide whole genomic analysis. We propose the immunoistochemical markers 34\u3b2E12 (or CK14) and GATA3 as specific markers useful for the identification of these distinct renal neoplasms

ETHICS (Pre-clinical Experimental and THeoretical studies to Improve treatment and protection by Charged particleS),

Medical applications of charged particles, such as hadrotherapy and radionuclide therapy, involve the exposure of normal cells composing the tissues and organs proximal to the tumour from either external or internal sources. Clinical implementation of biologically-optimised treatment plans and a safer use of cancer cell-targeting radionuclides are hampered by the uncertainties inherent to the radiobiology of healthy tissue response to densely ionising radiations, which may lead to increased risks of secondary cancers, hence needing to be urgently addressed. A better understanding of the effects on normal cells following the exposure to charged particles, on the other hand, may also benefit the general public because of the contribution to the collective dose from natural sources, such as indoor radon. The main objective of this research project is, therefore, to study the basic mechanisms underlying the biological effects brought about by charged particles that are of relevance for the integrity and normal functions of healthy tissues/organs. To achieve such a goal, both in vitro and in vivo experiments are planned at INFN as well as external facilities, involving a vast network of national and international collaborations and in conjunction with theoretical studies and medical physics-based approaches. The action of a number of ions will be investigated employing a wide array of assays and state-of-the art techniques. The ultimate aim is to help develop strategies that may limit high-LET radiation detrimental consequences for human health while improving their therapeutic benefits

Becoming Artifacts: Medieval Seals, Passports and the Future of Digital Identity

What does a digital identity token have to do with medieval seals? Is the history of passports of any use for enabling the discovery of Internet users\u27 identity when crossing virtual domain boundaries during their digital browsing and transactions? The agility of the Internet architecture and its simplicity of use have been the engines of its growth and success with the users worldwide. As it turns out, there lies also its crux. In effect, Internet industry participants have argued that the critical problem business is faced with on the Internet is the absence of an identity layer from the core protocols of its logical infrastructure. As a result, the cyberspace parallels a global territory without any identification mechanism that is reliable, consistent and interoperable across domains. This dissertation is an investigation of the steps being taken by Internet stakeholders in order to resolve its identity problems, through the lenses of historical instances where similar challenges were tackled by social actors. Social science research addressing the Internet identity issues is barely nascent. Research on identification systems in general is either characterized by a paucity of historical perspective, or scantily references digital technology and online identification processes. This research is designed to bridge that gap. The general question at its core is: How do social actors, events or processes enable the historical emergence of authoritative identity credentials for the public at large? This work is guided by that line of inquiry through three broad historical case studies: first, the medieval experience with seals used as identity tokens in the signing of deeds that resulted in transfers of rights, particularly estate rights; second, comes the modern, national state with its claim to the right to know all individuals on its territory through credentials such as the passport or the national identity card; and finally, viewed from the United States, the case of ongoing efforts to build an online digital identity infrastructure. Following a process-tracing approach to historical case study, this inquiry presents enlightening connections between the three identity frameworks while further characterizing each. We understand how the medieval doctrines of the Trinity and the Eucharist developed by schoolmen within the Church accommodated seals as markers of identity, and we understand how the modern state seized on the term `nationality\u27 - which emerged as late as in the 19th century - to make it into a legal fiction that was critical for its identification project. Furthermore, this investigation brings analytical insights which enable us to locate the dynamics driving the emergence of those identity systems. An ordering of the contributing factors in sequential categories is proposed in a sociohistorical approach to explain the causal mechanisms at work across these large phenomena. Finally this research also proposes historically informed projections of scenarios as possible pathways to the realization of authoritative digital identity. But that is the beginning of yet another story of identity