Conceptos sobre el trabajo y aspiraciones de niños y niñas de un barrio del centro de la ciudad y de un barrio periférico

El objeto de este estudio ha sido el de explorar y comparar los conceptos, las actitudes y aspiraciones que los niños y niñas tienen respecto al trabajo y a la profesión que ejercerán en el futuro. Además, el estudio ha analizado estos modelos de pensamiento a partir de una muestra compuesta por: a) una muestra de alumnos/as afroamericanos/as de un barrio degradado del centro de la ciudad y de familias con un bajo nivel socioeconómico; y b) una muestra de alumnos/as blancos/as de un barrio residencial y de familias con un alto nivel socioeconómico de una gran área metropolitana del sudeste de los Estados Unidos. Con cada uno de los alumnos se llevó a cabo una entrevista en la que se plantearon una serie de preguntas. Éste es un estudio interpretativo. La intención ha sido aclarar aspectos del pensamiento y probablemente modelos cognitivos o emocionales hoy aún sin explicar o no suficientemente comprendidos. Los resultados de esta investigación, más que principios explicativos, son sobre todo hipótesis para una investigación complementaria.The purpose of this study was to explore and compare the concepts, attitudes, and aspirations that young children have about work and their own career. Furthermore, the study examined these patterns of thought in a sample of inner-city African-American students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and from a sample of suburban white students from high socio-economic backgrounds within a large metropolitan area in the Southeastern United States. An interview was conducted with each student using some questions. This was an interpretive study. The intent was to illuminate aspects of thought and possibly patterns of cognition or emotion heretofore unexplained or not clearly understood. The outcomes of such an inquiry are hypotheses for further investigation rather than explanatory principles.El objeto de este estudio ha sido el de explorar y comparar los conceptos, las actitudes y aspiraciones que los niños y niñas tienen respecto al trabajo y a la profesión que ejercerán en el futuro. Además, el estudio ha analizado estos modelos de pensamiento a partir de una muestra compuesta por: a) una muestra de alumnos/as afroamericanos/as de un barrio degradado del centro de la ciudad y de familias con un bajo nivel socioeconómico; y b) una muestra de alumnos/as blancos/as de un barrio residencial y de familias con un alto nivel socioeconómico de una gran área metropolitana del sudeste de los Estados Unidos. Con cada uno de los alumnos se llevó a cabo una entrevista en la que se plantearon una serie de preguntas. Éste es un estudio interpretativo. La intención ha sido aclarar aspectos del pensamiento y probablemente modelos cognitivos o emocionales hoy aún sin explicar o no suficientemente comprendidos. Los resultados de esta investigación, más que principios explicativos, son sobre todo hipótesis para una investigación complementaria

Eritrocitosi nel gatto: casistica personale

L’eritrocitosi primaria è un raro disturbo mieloproliferativo scarsamente descritto nella specie felina e difficilmente oggetto di osservazioni in un lungo periodo di tempo. In questa tesi è stata revisionata la letteratura su questo disturbo con ampi riferimenti alla medicina umana. Inoltre, è stato documentato il procedimento diagnostico che ha permesso di arrivare alla diagnosi di eritrocitosi primaria nei casi sospetti e di seguire, quando possibile, il decorso dei soggetti sottoposti a terapia. Infatti da maggio 2006 a marzo 2008 sono stati riferiti al Dipartimento di Clinica Medica Veterinaria dell’Università di Pisa cinque casi di eritrocitosi primaria. Per tutti i pazienti il piano diagnostico prevedeva la misurazione dell’eritropoietina, risultata per ogni paziente bassa o normale. Di due soggetti è stato disponibile un decorso di circa 18 mesi. Il primo di questi due è stato inizialmente trattato con idrossiurea e ASA, ma con i dosaggi riportati in letteratura non vi sono stati significativi miglioramenti. E’ stato aumentato il dosaggio di idrossiurea e i valori dell’ematocrito sono diminuiti, ma si è avuta la comparsa di corpi di Heinz. A questa iniziale terapia è stato aggiunto interferone felino omega, ma senza una significativa diminuzione dell’ematocrito. Il paziente è attualmente in terapia con il pipobromano, l’ematocrito si è stabilizzato su valori medio-alti e ogni 2-3 mesi deve essere eseguito un salasso. Il secondo paziente inizialmente non ha risposto al trattamento con l’idrossiurea ai dosaggi riportati in letteratura, ma, aumentando le dosi, l’ematocrito si è stabilizzato senza altri interventi terapeutici e si è verificata la comparsa di corpi di Heinz.. In conclusione è possibile affermare che i soggetti di questo studio hanno risposto maggiormente alla terapia con idrossiurea, anche se sono stati necessari dosaggi maggiori rispetto a quelli segnalati in letteratura. Questi elevati dosaggi di idrossiurea hanno portato alla formazione invariabilmente di corpi di Heinz, ipotizzando che il meccanismo di riduzione della quota eritrocitaria derivi da un duplice meccanismo sia inibitorio a livello midollare e sia emolitico per riduzione dell’emivita degli eritrociti a causa dell’ossidazione emoglobinic

The Environmental Reward Observation Scale (EROS): Development, Validity, and Reliability

Researchers have established a strong association between the frequency and duration of environmental reward and affective mood states, particularly in relation to the etiology, assessment and treatment of depression. Given behavioral theories that outline environmental reward as a strong mediator of affect and the unavailability of an efficient, reliable and valid self-report measure of environmental reward, we developed the Environmental Reward Observation Scale (EROS) and examined its psychometric properties. In Experiment one, an exploratory factor analysis supported a unidimensional 10-item measure with strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability. When administered to a replication sample, confirmatory factor analysis suggested an excellent fit to the one-factor model and convergent/discriminant validity data were supportive of the construct validity of the measure. In Experiment two, further support for the convergent validity of the EROS was obtained via moderate correlations with the Pleasant Events Schedule (PES; MacPhillamy & Lewinsohn, 1976). In Experiment three, hierarchical regression analyses supported the ecological validity of the EROS toward predicting daily diary reports of time spent in highly rewarding behaviors and activities. The EROS may represent a reliable and valid measure of environmental reward that may improve the psychological assessment of negative mood states such as clinical depression

Behavioral Activation of Religious Behaviors: Treating Depressed College Students with a Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Although spiritual or religious behaviors are sometimes targeted within behavioral activation protocols (Hopko & Lejuez, 2007; Hopko, Lejuez, Ruggiero, & Eifert, 2003), the efficacy of a protocol that exclusively develops a religiously-based behavioral repertoire has not been investigated. This randomized controlled study investigated the efficacy of a brief protocol for religious action in behavioral activation (PRA-BA) relative to a no-treatment “support” condition among mild to moderately depressed undergraduate students (n = 50). PRA-BA consisted of an individualized one-session intervention and 2-week activation interval. Clinical outcomes assessed depression, environmental reward, anxiety, and quality of life. Repeated measures ANOVAs indicated that the PRA-BA group had significantly greater decreases in depression and anxiety and increases in environmental reward at post-treatment. There was also a statistical trend indicating that PRA-BA may improve quality of life. At one-month follow-up, treatment gains were maintained for the PRA-BA participants. This study provides encouraging support for the efficacy of a strictly religiously-based behavioral intervention toward attenuating symptoms of depression in college students

Carboxypeptidase E reduces Glioblastoma migration through modulation of motility-associated gene expression and signaling cascades

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and most malignant brain tumor in humans. The prognosis is poor since GBM is highly-resistant to therapy and possesses a strong migratory and invasive potential, making complete surgical resection impossible. Previous work demonstrated that Carboxypeptidase E (CPE), originally identified as a neuropeptide processing enzyme, is secreted by a subcohort of malignant glioma and, if overexpressed in glioma cells, exerts anti-migratory, but pro-proliferative activity, suggesting that CPE might be a ‘‘Go or Grow’’ switch factor. Here we describe CPE mainly as an anti-migratory protein in glioma cells and we aim in deciphering the mechanism by which CPE modulates glioma cell behavior. Using transcriptome analyses, followed by Ingenuity Pathway Analyses (IPA) and investigation of several signaling cascades, we found that in CPE-overexpressing cells a variety of motility-associated mRNAs and miRNAs were differentially regulated and connected to motility-associated networks including FAK, PAK, CDC42, integrin, STAT3, TGF-β as well as ERK1/2. In particular SNAI2/SLUG, a transcription factor known to induce tumor cell motility and metastasis, was downregulated. Matrix-Metallo-Proteases (MMP) as well as MMP-activity inducing factors, all necessary for glioma cell invasion, were reduced in CPE-overexpressing cells. SNAI2/SLUG expression was regulated via ERK1/2 since inhibition of ERK1/2 activation abolished CPE-mediated SLUG downregulation and reduction of cell migration. Moreover, we showed a synergistic effect of CPE overexpression in combination with standard glioma therapy (Temozolomide and radiation) in the clonogenic survival of GBM cells. In vivo, the anti-migratory capacity of CPE translated in prolonged survival of mice bearing CPE-overexpressing tumors. These data help to understand the role of migration in glioma aggressiveness and how CPE is involved in this process

Regulation of the endocycle/gene amplification switch by Notch and ecdysone signaling

The developmental signals that regulate the switch from genome-wide DNA replication to site-specific amplification remain largely unknown. Drosophila melanogaster epithelial follicle cells, which begin synchronized chorion gene amplification after three rounds of endocycle, provide an excellent model for study of the endocycle/gene amplification (E/A) switch. Here, we report that down-regulation of Notch signaling and activation of ecdysone receptor (EcR) are required for the E/A switch in these cells. Extended Notch activity suppresses EcR activation and prevents exit from the endocycle. Tramtrack (Ttk), a zinc-finger protein essential for the switch, is regulated negatively by Notch and positively by EcR. Ttk overexpression stops endoreplication prematurely and alleviates the endocycle exit defect caused by extended Notch activity or removal of EcR function. Our results reveal a developmental pathway that includes down-regulation of Notch, activation of the EcR, up-regulation of Ttk to execute the E/A switch, and, for the first time, the genetic interaction between Notch and ecdysone signaling in regulation of cell cycle programs and differentiation

Cell Line Data Base: structure and recent improvements towards molecular authentication of human cell lines

The Cell Line Data Base (CLDB) is a well-known reference information source on human and animal cell lines including information on more than 6000 cell lines. Main biological features are coded according to controlled vocabularies derived from international lists and taxonomies. HyperCLDB (http://bioinformatics.istge.it/hypercldb/) is a hypertext version of CLDB that improves data accessibility by also allowing information retrieval through web spiders. Access to HyperCLDB is provided through indexes of biological characteristics and navigation in the hypertext is granted by many internal links. HyperCLDB also includes links to external resources. Recently, an interest was raised for a reference nomenclature for cell lines and CLDB was seen as an authoritative system. Furthermore, to overcome the cell line misidentification problem, molecular authentication methods, such as fingerprinting, single-locus short tandem repeat (STR) profile and single nucleotide polymorphisms validation, were proposed. Since this data is distributed, a reference portal on authentication of human cell lines is needed. We present here the architecture and contents of CLDB, its recent enhancements and perspectives. We also present a new related database, the Cell Line Integrated Molecular Authentication (CLIMA) database (http://bioinformatics.istge.it/clima/), that allows to link authentication data to actual cell lines

CFH Loss in Human RPE Cells Leads to Inflammation and Complement System Dysregulation via the NF-ƙB Pathway

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss in the elderly, is a degenerative disease of the macula, where retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells are damaged in the early stages of the disease, and chronic inflammatory processes may be involved. Besides aging and lifestyle factors as drivers of AMD, a strong genetic association to AMD is found in genes of the complement system, with a single polymorphism in the complement factor H gene (CFH), accounting for the majority of AMD risk. However, the exact mechanism of CFH dysregulation confers such a great risk for AMD and its role in RPE cell homeostasis is unclear. To explore the role of endogenous CFH locally in RPE cells, we silenced CFH in human hTERT-RPE1 cells. We demonstrate that endogenously expressed CFH in RPE cells modulates inflammatory cytokine production and complement regulation, independent of external complement sources, or stressors. We show that loss of the factor H protein (FH) results in increased levels of inflammatory mediators (e.g., IL-6, IL-8, GM-CSF) and altered levels of complement proteins (e.g., C3, CFB upregulation, and C5 downregulation) that are known to play a role in AMD. Moreover, our results identify the NF-κB pathway as the major pathway involved in regulating these inflammatory and complement factors. Our findings suggest that in RPE cells, FH and the NF-κB pathway work in synergy to maintain inflammatory and complement balance, and in case either one of them is dysregulated, the RPE microenvironment changes towards a proinflammatory AMD-like phenotype

Brief cognitive behavioral therapy in primary care: a hybrid type 2 patient-randomized effectiveness-implementation design

BACKGROUND: Despite the availability of evidence-based psychotherapies for depression and anxiety, they are underused in non-mental health specialty settings such as primary care. Hybrid effectiveness-implementation designs have the potential to evaluate clinical and implementation outcomes of evidence-based psychotherapies to improve their translation into routine clinical care practices. METHODS: This protocol article discusses the study methodology and implementation strategies employed in an ongoing, hybrid, type 2 randomized controlled trial with two primary aims: (1) to determine whether a brief, manualized cognitive behavioral therapy administered by Veterans Affairs Primary Care Mental Health Integration program clinicians is effective in treating depression and anxiety in a sample of medically ill (chronic cardiopulmonary diseases) primary care patients and (2) to examine the acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary outcomes of a focused implementation strategy on improving adoption and fidelity of brief cognitive behavioral therapy at two Primary Care-Mental Health Integration clinics. The study uses a hybrid type 2 effectiveness/implementation design to simultaneously test clinical effectiveness and to collect pilot data on a multifaceted implementation strategy that includes an online training program, audit and feedback of session content, and internal and external facilitation. Additionally, the study engages the participation of an advisory council consisting of stakeholders from Primary Care-Mental Health Integration, as well as regional and national mental health leaders within the Veterans Administration. It targets recruitment of 320 participants randomized to brief cognitive behavioral therapy (n = 200) or usual care (n = 120). Both effectiveness and implementation outcomes are being assessed using mixed methods, including quantitative evaluation (e.g., intent-to-treat analyses across multiple time points) and qualitative methods (e.g., focus interviews and surveys from patients and providers). Patient-effectiveness outcomes include measures of depression, anxiety, and physical health functioning using blinded independent evaluators. Implementation outcomes include patient engagement and adherence and clinician brief cognitive behavioral therapy adoption and fidelity. CONCLUSIONS: Hybrid designs are needed to advance clinical effectiveness and implementation knowledge to improve healthcare practices. The current article describes the rationale and challenges associated with the use of a hybrid design for the study of brief cognitive behavioral therapy in primary care. Although trade-offs exist between scientific control and external validity, hybrid designs are part of an emerging approach that has the potential to rapidly advance both science and practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01149772 at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT0114977