Shades of Emotion: Color and Emotion Study

The present study investigated a connection between color combinations, saturation, and emotions. This study collected data from 87 participants from social media sites and the Lindenwood Participant Pool. Participants were asked two sets of questions on an Online Qualtrics survey. The first set exposed participants to images varying in color scheme and saturation and asked them to indicate their emotional reactions toward the images. The second set of questions contained demographic questions. The finding revealed there to be a connection between emotional responses based on color scheme and saturation but not based on both factors. The implications of these findings can help create spaces for individuals in institutions that increase positive emotions and help inspire further research on color combinations and emotions

Teacher Perceptions During the Candidacy Phase of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme

This qualitative case study explores the perceptions of educators during the candidacy phase of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme in a suburban Midwest school. The methodology was comprised of a two-phase research design. During Phase 1, participants responded anonymously through written narrative responses via electronic questionnaire. This data was analyzed for common themes. After initial data analysis, focus group questions were generated using the findings of common themes to ask focus groups what strengths and challenges were faced during the implementation phase of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. The goal of this research was to gain insight on the structures, strategies and support systems that educators found beneficial in the implementation process

Hearing Productivity: Music and Productivity Study

My study aim is to find which music genre increases one’s productivity the most. Participants listened to different genres of music: R&B, Classical, Latin, Rap while they typed as many nonsense words as they could in a minute. Participants were tested four times, each with a different genre of music playing. The preliminary findings will be discussed along with ways in which the results can be applied to everyday life

The role of the endocannabinoid system in stress-related disorders and neuroimmune communication

In the last decades, increasing evidence suggests that inflammatory processes play an important role in the development of psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression. Psychosocial stress – one of the main environmental factors contributing to these disorders – affects immune system activity through neuronal and endocrine signals. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a neuromodulatory system that regulates stress responses via the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1). Blockade of CB1 signalling, either pharmacologically or genetically, increases the sensitivity to stress and the risk to develop stress-related psychiatric pathologies. Whether this is based on a purely neuronal mechanism or whether it is accompanied or mediated by altered immune system regulation is, however, not known. The aim of this study was therefore to analyse how CB1 signalling modulates behavioural, neuroendocrine, and immunological responses in a mouse model of chronic social defeat stress (CSDS). CB1-deficient (Cnr1-/-) mice were extremely sensitive to a standard protocol of CSDS, indicated by an increased mortality rate. Therefore, a mild CSDS protocol was established, which still induced a behavioural phenotype in highly susceptible Cnr1-/- mice. Molecular analysis showed that lack of CB1 receptors alters glucocorticoid levels after mild CSDS, supporting the hypothesis that CB1 signalling regulates hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity and its adaptation during repeated stress exposure. In both humans and rodents, chronic stress is associated with elevated inflammatory signalling. This is indicated by increased numbers of circulating myeloid cells, which possibly infiltrate the brain, and the activation of microglia – the brain-resident immune cells. Mild CSDS induced weak myelopoiesis in the periphery, but did not induce recruitment of myeloid cells to the brain. In contrast, mild CSDS did affect microglial function in Cnr1-/- mice, indicated by increased surface expression of activation markers and altered morphology. Furthermore, microglial parameters were correlated with the severity of the behavioural phenotype in Cnr1-/- mice, thus implicating endocannabinoid-mediated modulation of microglia in the development of stress-related pathologies. In summary, the present study indicates that ECS/CB1 signalling is indeed essential to protect the organism from the physical and emotional harms of chronic stress. These protective mechanisms involve modulation of the HPA axis and microglial function

NEW METHODOLOGY TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGERS FOR ANCA-ASSOCIATED VASCULITIDES

A series of rare autoimmune disorders that affect the blood vessels, vasculitis is chronic and potentially deadly. Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV) comprise three diagnostic forms of this autoimmune disorder: granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), and eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA or Churg-Strauss syndrome). The limited resources available to vasculitis researchers have been mostly targeted toward treatment and relapse prediction with a small amount of research examining genetic and environmental etiologic factors. Therefore, additional research is needed to understand the role of gene-environment interactions in AAV etiology. This thesis reviews the current body of AAV literature with a focus on candidate genes, occupational and environmental exposures, and the hygiene hypothesis. It also designs an original survey and study methodology to further investigate these etiologic factors. A better understanding of AAV etiology will lead to prevention and improved treatment of these costly diseases

Attitudes Toward Statistics in students of grade of Pedagogy of the University of Barcelona

[EN] The article presents the results of a study that measured the attitudes of students of Education of the University of Barcelona to the Statistics, through scale EAE by Auzmendi (1992). Research has shown neutral-low level of general attitude towards the matter, but has also identified groups of students with different profiles: a group with an attitude unfavorably, but not especially anxious, just knowledge of statistics and very few numerical skills; another group is characterized by a positive attitude, who like statistics, but that worry and anxiety also shows; and a third group that stands out above all for anxiety before statistics. Given the potential relationship between academic achievement and attitude, the findings point to the need to explore strategies for Adaptive education for different groups.[ES] El artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio en el que se midieron las actitudes de los estudiantes de Pedagogía de la Universidad de Barcelona hacia la Estadística, a través de la escala EAE de Auzmendi (1992). La investigación ha evidenciado niveles neutros-bajos de actitud general hacia la materia, pero también ha identificado grupos de estudiantes con perfiles diferenciados: un grupo con una actitud desfavorable, pero no especialmente ansioso, con apenas conocimientos previos de Estadística y muy pocas habilidades numéricas; otro grupo caracterizado por una actitud positiva, al que le gusta la Estadística, pero que muestra preocupación y ansiedad también; y un tercer grupo que destaca sobre todo por la ansiedad ante la Estadística. Dada la potencial relación entre actitud y logro académico, las conclusiones apuntan hacia la necesidad de explorar estrategias de enseñanza adaptativa para los diferentes grupos.Vilà Baños, R.; Rubio Hurtado, M. (2016). Actitudes hacia la Estadística en el alumnado del grado de Pedagogía de la Universidad de Barcelona. REDU. Revista de Docencia Universitaria. 14(1):131-150. doi:10.4995/redu.2016.5766.SWORD13115014

Cannabinoid 1 Receptor Signaling on Hippocampal GABAergic Neurons Influences Microglial Activity

Microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, play important roles in defending the brain against pathogens and supporting neuronal circuit plasticity. Chronic or excessive pro-inflammatory responses of microglia damage neurons, therefore their activity is tightly regulated. Pharmacological and genetic studies revealed that cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor activity influences microglial activity, although microglial CB1 receptor expression is very low and activity-dependent. The CB1 receptor is mainly expressed on neurons in the central nervous system (CNS)—with an especially high level on GABAergic interneurons. Here, we determined whether CB1 signaling on this neuronal cell type plays a role in regulating microglial activity. We compared microglia density, morphology and cytokine expression in wild-type (WT) and GABAergic neuron-specific CB1 knockout mice (GABA/CB1−/−) under control conditions (saline-treatment) and after 3 h, 24 h or repeated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treatment. Our results revealed that hippocampal microglia from saline-treated GABA/CB1−/− mice resembled those of LPS-treated WT mice: enhanced density and larger cell bodies, while the size and complexity of their processes was reduced. No further reduction in the size or complexity of microglia branching was detected after LPS-treatment in GABA/CB1−/− mice, suggesting that microglia in naïve GABA/CB1−/− mice were already in an activated state. This result was further supported by correlating the level of microglial tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) with their size. Acute LPS-treatment elicited in both genotypes similar changes in the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β)). However, TNFα expression was still significantly elevated after repeated LPS-treatment in WT, but not in GABA/CB1−/− mice, indicating a faster development of tolerance to LPS. We also tested the possibility that the altered microglia activity in GABA/CB1−/− mice was due to an altered expression of neuron-glia interaction proteins. Indeed, the level of fractalkine (CX3CL1), a neuronal protein involved in the regulation of microglia, was reduced in hippocampal GABAergic neurons in GABA/CB1−/− mice, suggesting a disturbed neuronal control of microglial activity. Our result suggests that CB1 receptor agonists can modulate microglial activity indirectly, through CB1 receptors on GABAergic neurons. Altogether, we demonstrated that GABAergic neurons, despite their relatively low density in the hippocampus, have a specific role in the regulation of microglial activity and cannabinoid signaling plays an important role in this arrangement

The measurement of psychological literacy: A first approximation

Psychological literacy, the ability to apply psychological knowledge to personal, family, occupational, community and societal challenges, is promoted as the primary outcome of an undergraduate education in psychology. As the concept of psychological literacy becomes increasingly adopted as the core business of undergraduate psychology training courses world-wide, there is urgent need for the construct to be accurately measured so that student and institutional level progress can be assessed and monitored. Key to the measurement of psychological literacy is determining the underlying factor-structure of psychological literacy. In this paper we provide a first approximation of the measurement of psychological literacy by identifying and evaluating self-report measures for psychological literacy. Multi-item and single-item self-report measures of each of the proposed nine dimensions of psychological literacy were completed by two samples (N = 218 and N = 381) of undergraduate psychology students at an Australian university. Single and multi-item measures of each dimension were weakly to moderately correlated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of multi-item measures indicated a higher order three factor solution best represented the construct of psychological literacy. The three factors were reflective processes, generic graduate attributes, and psychology as a helping profession. For the measurement of psychological literacy to progress there is a need to further develop self-report measures and to identify/develop and evaluate objective measures of psychological literacy. Further approximations of the measurement of psychological literacy remain an imperative, given the construct's ties to measuring institutional efficacy in teaching psychology to an undergraduate audience

Newsletter Networks in the Feminist History and Archives Movement

This article examines how networks have been critical to the construction of feminist histories. The author examines the publication Matrices: A Lesbian/Feminist Research Newsletter (1977–1996), to argue that a feminist network mode can be traced through the examination of small-scale print newsletters that draw on the language and function of networks. Publications such as Matrices emerge into wide production and circulation in the 1970s alongside feminist community archives, and newsletters and archives work together as interconnected social movement technologies. Newsletters enabled activist-researchers writing feminist histories to share difficult-to-access information, resources, and primary sources via photocopying and other modes of print reproduction.  Looking from the present, the author examines how network thinking has been a feature of feminist activism and knowledge production since before the Internet, suggesting that publications such as Matrices are part of a longer history of networked communications media in feminist contexts