The Relevance of Unmasking Neoliberal Narratives for a Decolonized Human Rights and Peace Education

Education plays an important role in the dissemination of neoliberal narratives. The neoliberal approach to education focuses on human capital and subordinates people to the pure logic of the market. It shapes educational processes in a considerable way, including Human Rights Education (HRE) and Peace Education (PE). The conscious perception and unmasking of the prevailing neoliberal paradigm should therefore be a high priority in a critical approach to HRE and PE. On the basis of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development in which HRE and PE are considered vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the authors show that it is essential to combine the question of a genuine decolonization of HRE and PE with a critical examination of the neoliberal paradigm

Complementiser agreement

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit dem Thema der sogenannten Komplementiererkongruenz (KK) im Bairischen im Rahmen der generativen Grammatiktheorie. Es sich dabei um das Auftreten von Subjektskongruenz in der C-Domäne von Verbendsätzen. Dies wird im Allgemeinen mit einer Form von Verbalkongruenz am Komplementierer gleichgesetzt und daher in neueren, minimalistischen Ansätzen (cf. Carstens 2003, van Koppen 2005) als die Operation Agree zwischen Komplementierer und Subjekt analysiert. Für diese Arbeit wurde erstmals eine umfangreiche Datenerhebung einer spezifischen Variante des Bairischen, genauer des mittelbairischen Dialektes von Gmunden in Oberösterreich, durchgeführt. Diese Daten werfen ein neues Licht auf das Phänomen, welches ausführlich diskutiert wird. Folglich schlägt die vorliegende Arbeit eine neue Analyse von KK im Bairischen vor

Avaliação de segurança, eficácia e estabilidade de retinoides em sistemas de entrega tópicos para uso cosmético : uma revisão sistemática

Orientadora: Profa. Dra. Helena Hiemisch Lobo BorbaCoorientador: Dr. Rodrigo Makowiecky StuartDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas. Defesa : Curitiba, 14/03/2023Inclui referências: p. 63-70Resumo: O grupo dos retinoides é formado pelo retinol (vitamina A) e seus derivados naturais, como retinaldeído, ácido retinóico e ésteres de retinol, e derivados sintéticos, como adapaleno e tazaroteno. Os retinoides são fundamentais ao organismo e estão envolvidos em muitos processos biológicos: embriogênese, reprodução, visão, crescimento, diferenciação, proliferação e apoptose celular. Na década de 1970, os retinoides foram introduzidos para tratamento de desordens cutâneas e, desde então, seu uso em produtos cosméticos vem aumentando gradativamente. Contudo, a utilização de retinoides em produtos cosméticos apresenta algumas dificuldades como sua estabilidade em formulações e seu potencial de causar reações adversas na pele. Para contornar esses problemas, sistemas de entrega vêm sendo utilizados na indústria cosmética visando aumentar a estabilidade e eficácia de retinoides, bem como reduzir reações adversas provocadas por eles. Dessa forma, a presente revisão sistemática, conduzida de acordo com as recomendações do Instituto Joanna Briggs e reportada de acordo com Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), tem como objetivo explorar e sintetizar evidências sobre os aspectos de estabilidade, eficácia e segurança de retinol e palmitato de retinol em sistemas de entrega tópicos para uso cosmético. Foram realizadas buscas de estudos nas bases de dados Pubmed, Scopus e Web of Science contendo os descritores "Retinoid*", "Delivery System" e "Skin", bem como seus sinônimos. As etapas de triagem, elegibilidade e extração de dados foram realizadas por dois revisores de forma independente. No total, 37 estudos foram incluídos na presente revisão, dos quais foram extraídos dados referentes às características dos estudos (autor, ano de publicação, tipo de retinoide utilizado, concentração de retinoide e tipo de sistema de entrega utilizado) e relacionados à estabilidade (potencial zeta, tamanho de partícula, índice de polidispersão e eficiência de encapsulamento), eficácia (teste de permeação cutânea) e segurança (teste de viabilidade celular e irritação cutânea). Foram reportados 12 tipos de sistema de entrega, sendo eles nanopartícula lipídica sólida (NLS), nanocápsula (NC), microcápsula (MC), nanopartícula polimérica (NP), carreador lipídico nanoestruturado (CLN), lipossoma (LS), nanoemulsão (NE), emulsão pickering (EP), etossoma (ES), nanopartícula de silicone (PS), partícula com smart lipids (PSL) e transferossoma (TS). Resultados de estabilidade (n = 37) foram os mais reportados pelos estudos, seguidos dos de eficácia (n = 25), e poucos reportaram dados de segurança (n = 7). Apesar de nenhum estudo contemplar os três aspectos em sua pesquisa, de forma geral, os sistemas CLN, ES e NLS foram os mais bem avaliados, pois apresentaram resultados para a maioria deles e esses valores estavam dentro dos parâmetros considerados. Devido à heterogeneidade dos dados e ao número reduzido de resultados para segurança, não foi possível comparar os estudos entre si para esse parâmetro. Desse modo, esse estudo traz subsídios para orientar empresas nos processos de desenvolvimento de produtos cosméticos contendo retinoides em sistemas de entrega, bem como incentivar pesquisas futuras sobre o tema, especialmente relacionadas ao aspecto de segurança.Abstract: The group of retinoids is formed by retinol (vitamin A) and its natural derivatives, such as retinaldehyde, retinoic acid, and retinol esters, and synthetic derivatives, such as adapalene and tazarotene. Retinoids are fundamental to the body and are involved in many biological processes: embryogenesis, reproduction, vision, growth, differentiation, proliferation, and cell apoptosis. In the 1970s, retinoids were introduced for the treatment of skin disorders and, since then, their use in cosmetic products has gradually increased. However, the use of retinoids in cosmetic products presents some difficulties, such as their stability in formulations and their potential to cause adverse skin reactions. To circumvent these problems, delivery systems have been used in the cosmetic industry to increase the stability and effectiveness of retinoids, as well as reduce adverse reactions caused by them. Thus, this systematic review, conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute manual and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), aims to explore and synthesize evidence on aspects of stability, efficacy, and safety of retinol and retinol palmitate in topical delivery systems for cosmetic use. Studies were searched in the Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases containing the descriptors "Retinoid*", "Delivery System" and "Skin", as well as their synonyms. The screening, eligibility, and data extraction steps were performed by two reviewers independently. In total, 37 studies were included in the present review, from which data were extracted regarding the characteristics of the studies (author, year of publication, type of retinoid used, retinoid concentration, and type of delivery system used) and related to stability (potential zeta, particle size, polydispersion index, and encapsulation efficiency), efficacy (skin permeation test) and safety (cell viability and skin irritation test). Twelve types of delivery system were reported: solid lipid nanoparticle (NLS), nanocapsule (NC), microcapsule (MC), polymeric nanoparticle (NP), nanostructured lipid carrier (CLN), liposome (LS), nanoemulsion (NE), pickering emulsion (EP), ethosoma (ES), silicone nanoparticle (PS), particle with smart lipids (PSL) and transferosome (TS). Stability results (n = 37) were the most reported by studies, followed by efficacy (n = 25), and few reported safety data (n = 7). Although no study contemplates the three aspects in its research, the CLN, ES, and NLS systems were the best evaluated, as they presented results for most of them and these values were within the considered parameters. Due to the heterogeneity of the data and the reduced number of results for safety, it was not possible to compare the studies with each other for this parameter. Thus, this study provides subsidies to guide companies in the development processes of cosmetic products containing retinoids in delivery systems, as well as to encourage future research on the subject, especially related to the safety aspect

Taurolidine: a novel anti-neoplastic agent induces apoptosis of osteosarcoma cell lines

Summary: Taurolidine, the active agent of Taurolin®, is a broad spectrum anti-biotic that has been used for over 15years for the treatment of severe surgical infections. Recently, taurolidine has been shown to possess anti-neoplastic properties in vitro and in vivo against a variety of cancers including ovarian, colon and prostate. In this study we assessed the cytotoxic activity of taurolidine against human osteosarcoma (OS) cell lines and normal human bone cells. Treatment with taurolidine inhibited the growth of all ten osteosarcoma cell lines tested and taurolidine was equally potent against cell lines with and without distinct genetic defects (i.e. p53, Rb). Moreover, taurolidine-induced growth inhibition was found to be associated with a dose dependent increase in the number of apoptotic cells and apoptosis was shown to be caspase-dependent. Taurolidine treatment was also found to inhibit adhesion of OS cell lines. Compared to OS cell lines, normal bone cells in primary culture were found to be less sensitive to the cytotoxic and anti-adhesive effects of taurolidine. These data indicate that taurolidine possesses potent anti-neoplastic activity against osteosarcoma cell lines and may have potential as a novel OS chemotherapeutic agen

The FDA-Approved Drug Cobicistat Synergizes with Remdesivir To Inhibit SARS-CoV-2 Replication In Vitro and Decreases Viral Titers and Disease Progression in Syrian Hamsters

Combinations of direct-acting antivirals are needed to minimize drug resistance mutations and stably suppress replication of RNA viruses. Currently, there are limited therapeutic options against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and testing of a number of drug regimens has led to conflicting results. Here, we show that cobicistat, which is an FDA-approved drug booster that blocks the activity of the drug-metabolizing proteins cytochrome P450-3As (CYP3As) and P-glycoprotein (P-gp), inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication. Two independent cell-to-cell membrane fusion assays showed that the antiviral effect of cobicistat is exerted through inhibition of spike protein-mediated membrane fusion. In line with this, incubation with low-micromolar concentrations of cobicistat decreased viral replication in three different cell lines including cells of lung and gut origin. When cobicistat was used in combination with remdesivir, a synergistic effect on the inhibition of viral replication was observed in cell lines and in a primary human colon organoid. This was consistent with the effects of cobicistat on two of its known targets, CYP3A4 and P-gp, the silencing of which boosted the in vitro antiviral activity of remdesivir in a cobicistat-like manner. When administered in vivo to Syrian hamsters at a high dose, cobicistat decreased viral load and mitigated clinical progression. These data highlight cobicistat as a therapeutic candidate for treating SARS-CoV-2 infection and as a potential building block of combination therapies for COVID-19

Berufliche Rehabilitation: Fakten - Analysen - Entwicklungstendenzen; Evaluation von Leistungen zur Teilhabe behinderter Menschen am Arbeitsleben; Zwischenbericht

Die Leistungen zur Teilhabe behinderter Menschen am Arbeitsleben in den Bereichen der Arbeitsförderung und der Grundsicherung für Arbeitsuchende sind eine bedeutende Komponente der Arbeitsmarktpolitik. Mit der mehrstufig angelegten Evaluation von Leistungen zur Teilhabe behinderter Menschen am Arbeitsleben sollen Ansatzpunkte für die Optimierung der praktischen Umsetzung und die Fortentwicklung des rechtlichen Rahmens dieser Leistungen ermittelt werden. Bislang wurden drei Forschungsmodule durchgeführt. Deren Ergebnisse werden mit dem hier vorliegenden Bericht veröffentlicht. Inhaltsverzeichnis: Teil A: Basisstudie zur Evaluation von Leistungen zur Teilhabe behinderter Menschen am Arbeitsleben; Zusammenfassender Bericht. Teil B: Implementationsstudie 1 zur Evaluation von Leistungen zur Teilhabe behinderter Menschen am Arbeitsleben; Zusammenfassender Bericht. Teil C: Beratung zu wirkungsanalytischen Ansätzen für die Evaluation von Leistungen zur Teilhabe behinderter Menschen am Arbeitsleben: Zusammenfassender Bericht

Association between two distinct executive tasks in schizophrenia: a functional transcranial Doppler sonography study

BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder involving impairments in executive functioning, which are important cognitive processes that can be assessed by planning tasks such as the Stockings of Cambridge (SOC), and tasks of rule learning/abstraction such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). We undertook this study to investigate the association between performance during separate phases of SOC and WCST, including mean cerebral blood flow velocity (MFV) measurements in chronic schizophrenia. METHODS: Functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD) was used to assess bilateral MFV changes in the middle (MCA) and anterior (ACA) cerebral arteries. Twenty-two patients with chronic schizophrenia and 20 healthy subjects with similar sociodemographic characteristics performed SOC and WCST during fTCD measurements of the MCA and the ACA. The SOC was varied in terms of easy and difficult problems, and also in terms of separate phases, namely mental planning and movement execution. The WCST performance was assessed separately for maintaining set and set shifting. This allowed us to examine the impact of problem difficulty and the impact of separate phases of a planning task on distinct intervals of WCST. Simultaneous registration of MFV was carried out to investigate the linkage of brain perfusion during the tasks. RESULTS: In patients, slowing of movement execution during easy problems (SOC) was associated with slowing during maintaining set (WCST) (P < 0.01). In healthy subjects, faster planning and movement execution during predominantly difficult problems were associated with increased performance of WCST during set shifting (P < 0.01). In the MCA, patients showed a significant and positive correlation of MFV between movement execution and WCST (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate performance and brain perfusion abnormalities in the association pattern of two different tasks of executive functioning in schizophrenia, and they support the notion that executive functions have a pathological functional correlate predominantly in the lateral hemispheres of the brain. This study also underpins the scientific potential of fTCD in assessing brain perfusion in patients with schizophrenia