Artistic expression of emotions on a human motive in preschool-aged children

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je istražiti jesu li djeca sposobna likovno izraziti emociju na prikazu čovjeka, hoće li na prikaz emocije utjecati prethodno pročitana priča te postoji li razlika u prikazu emocija na crtežu s obzirom na dob. Istraživanje je provedeno u mlađoj i starijoj odgojnoj skupini DV „Zvrk“ Đakovo. Uzorak se sastojao od 27 djece, 14 djece u dobi od 4 godine i 13 djece u dobi od 6 godina. Istraživanje je uključivalo čitanje priče s nesretnim i sretnim završetkom, likovni zadatak i prikupljanje dječjih radova. Rezultati su dobiveni na osnovu kvalitativne analize dječjih likovnih radova. Osnovni zaključak istraživanja je da djeca u dobi od četiri godine nisu sposobna prikazati različite emocije na prikazu čovjeka za razliku od djece u dobi od šest godina.The aim of this research paper was to see if children were able to artistically express emotions on a human depiction, if a previously read story would affect their drawings and if there is a difference between children's drawings considering their age. The research was conducted with two groups of children (an older and a younger group) in Zvrk Nursery School in Đakovo. The sample consisted of 27 children, 14 children aged 4 and 13 children aged 6. The research included story reading with a happy and sad ending, a drawing task and collecting children's drawings. The results were obtained from a qualitative analysis of children's drawings. The final conclusion of this research is that children aged 4 are not able to express different types of emotions, while on the other hand children aged 6 are able to express emotions on image of a human

The effects of matching a persuasive message to a recipient's self-concept on attitude change

The paper addresses the question of whether matching a persuasive message to a recipient's self-concept can enhance message processing. A large body of experiments within the Elaboration likelihood model proved that framing a message so as to be perceived as selfrelevant led to more careful argument scrutiny. In this research, we matched the messages with previously assessed need for cognition - tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive tasks. Two possible sources of motivation to process a persuasive message were hereby confronted: dispositional (cognitive style) and situational (matching). Results showed a significant attitude change, but the main hypothesis was not confirmed: matched messages did not produce more argument processing activity than the mismatched. Manipulations did not have any significant effects on message processing of the high need for cognition participants. Contrary to expectations, participants low in their need for cognition elaborated the message more carefully when it was mismatched, that is when the message addressed them as persons inclined to careful thinking. Results can be explained within the framework of self-affirmation theory, which argues that providing people with an opportunity to affirm their sense of selfworth makes them more open to persuasion attempts, as well as more objective. Results are discussed from a wider theoretical and empirical perspective of motivation

Determining the genetic basis of rare neurodegenerative diseases by clinical exome analysis

eurodegenerativne bolesti se odlikuju varijabilnom kliničkom slikom, vremenom početka bolesti, prognozom i odgovorom na lečenje. Najveći broj ovih oboljenja uključuje motorne i kognitivne poremećaje poput Alchajmerove i Parkinsonove bolesti koje su široko rasprostranjene, do izuzetno retkih poput Krojcfeld-Jakobove bolesti. Ovom doktorskom tezom istražena je genetička osnova kognitivnih poremećaja i poremećaja pokreta sekvenciranjem panela klinički egzom kod ukupno 57 nesrodnih bolesnika (15 sa kognitivnim poremećajem i 42 sa poremećajem pokreta). Prednost pri selekciji su imali porodični slučajevi sa ranim početkom bolesti ili složenim fenotipom. Sekvenciranje panela vršeno je na Illumina MiSeq platformi prema uputstvu proizvođača. Rezulati sekvenciranja su analizirani dostupnim softverom za analizu i prethodno razvijenim tokom rada (engl. pipeline). Interpretacija varijanti zasnovana je na analizi setova gena odabranih prema fenotipu bolesnika, pretraživanju literature i baza podataka, učestalosti alela, in silico analizama. Uzročne varijante su potvrđene sekvenciranjem po Sangeru i segregacionim analizama. Utvrđen je verovatan genetički uzrok kod devet nesrodnih bolesnika (četiri sa kognitivnim poremećajem i pet sa poremećajem pokreta). Detektovano je ukupno 11 patoloških varijanti u sedam gena (PSEN1, OPTN, TUBB4A, PANK2, SETX, MFSD8 i ARSA) od kojih su devet varijante sa promenjenim smislom (engl. missense), jedna varijanta bez smisla (engl. nonsense) i jedna varijanta u mestu splajsovanja (engl. splice site). Sve detektovane varijante su u genima koji su u skladu sa kliničkim fenotipom datih bolesnika. Pored toga, detektovane varijante u genima DCTN1, PDGFRB i POLG predstavljaju moguć uzrok bolesti kod tri dodatna slučaja sa poremećajem pokreta. Kod ostalih ispitanika genetička osnova bolesti ostaje nerazjašnjena. Rezultati ove teze ističu značaj analize panela klinički egzom u dijagnostici kognitivnih poremećaja i poremećaja pokreta i daju nam uvid u složenost genetičke pozadine ovih oboljenja.Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by a variable clinical picture, disease onset, prognosis and response to treatment. The largest number of them includes motor and cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, which are widespread, to extremely rare ones such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Here we analysed the genetic basis of cognitive and movement disorders by sequencing a clinical exome panel that comprise coding regions of 4813 genes with surrounding intronic sequencies in 57 unrelated patients (15 with cognitive and 42 with movement disorders). During selection, preference was given to family cases with an early onset of the disease or a complex phenotype. Panel sequencing was performed on the Illumina MiSeq platform according to the manufacturer's instructions. Results were analyzed with available software and an internal pipeline. The interpretation of variants is based on the analysis of gene sets selected according to the patient's phenotype, literature and database searches, allele frequencies, in silico analyses. Causal variants were confirmed by Sanger sequencing, as well as segregation analysis. A probable genetic cause was determined in nine unrelated patients (four with cognitive and five with movement disorder). We detected nine missense, one nonsense and one splice site pathological variants in seven genes (PSEN1, OPTN, TUBB4A, PANK2, SETX, MFSD8, and ARSA) which are in accordance with the clinical phenotype of the given patients. In addition, the detected variants in the DCTN1, PDGFRB, and POLG genes represent a possible cause of movement disorder in three additional cases. The rest of patients remain negative. The results of this thesis highlight the importance of clinical exome panel analysis in the diagnosis of cognitive and movement disorders and give us an insight into the genetic complexity of these diseases

Artistic expression of emotions on a human motive in preschool-aged children

Cilj ovog istraživanja bio je istražiti jesu li djeca sposobna likovno izraziti emociju na prikazu čovjeka, hoće li na prikaz emocije utjecati prethodno pročitana priča te postoji li razlika u prikazu emocija na crtežu s obzirom na dob. Istraživanje je provedeno u mlađoj i starijoj odgojnoj skupini DV „Zvrk“ Đakovo. Uzorak se sastojao od 27 djece, 14 djece u dobi od 4 godine i 13 djece u dobi od 6 godina. Istraživanje je uključivalo čitanje priče s nesretnim i sretnim završetkom, likovni zadatak i prikupljanje dječjih radova. Rezultati su dobiveni na osnovu kvalitativne analize dječjih likovnih radova. Osnovni zaključak istraživanja je da djeca u dobi od četiri godine nisu sposobna prikazati različite emocije na prikazu čovjeka za razliku od djece u dobi od šest godina.The aim of this research paper was to see if children were able to artistically express emotions on a human depiction, if a previously read story would affect their drawings and if there is a difference between children's drawings considering their age. The research was conducted with two groups of children (an older and a younger group) in Zvrk Nursery School in Đakovo. The sample consisted of 27 children, 14 children aged 4 and 13 children aged 6. The research included story reading with a happy and sad ending, a drawing task and collecting children's drawings. The results were obtained from a qualitative analysis of children's drawings. The final conclusion of this research is that children aged 4 are not able to express different types of emotions, while on the other hand children aged 6 are able to express emotions on image of a human

Strategije psihološke odbrane od straha od smrti

In the present study, we set out to explore the psychological strategies engaged to defend oneself from the basic existential insight: the one of the inevitable personal mortality. We wished to examine how young individuals reacted to reminders of mortality and whether these reactions were also related to the socio-cultural context and the important groups they identify with. For these goals, we applied the framework of Terror management theory proposing that people achieve protection from a potentially paralysing fear of death through investing in valued worldviews and maintaining a positive image of themselves as part of these worldviews. Individuals who believe that they are an important part of a meaningful universe can achieve a symbolic transcendence of their inherently mortal nature. We investigated the psychological strategies of defence in a series of five experiments, with a total of 465 participants. After subtle reminders of personal mortality, we investigated whether participants would engage in intensified efforts to enhance and protect the collective self-image stemming from identification with an important group (i.e. the ethnic group; Experiment II) or the individual self-image (Experiment III and IV). We also explored whether the preference for individual vs. collective enhancement would depend on personal value orientations, i.e. the level of individualism/ collectivism of the participants (Experiment V). To provide a more stringent test of the basic tenets of the theory, we compared the effects of mortality reminders to reminders of other existential concerns (i.e. life uncertainty), as well as more everyday concerns of the participants (i.e. exam anxiety). We also investigated the cognitive and affective mediating processes...U aktuelnoj studiji želeli smo da istražimo strategije psihološke odbrane kojima se ljudi služe prilikom suočavanja sa osnovnim egzistencijalnim uvidom: o neizbežnosti lične smrtnosti. Želeli smo da ispitamo kako mlade osobe reaguju na podsetnike na vlastitu smrtnost i da li su ove reakcije povezane sa socio-kulturnim kontekstom i značajnim grupama sa kojima se identifikuju. U ovom cilju, sagledali smo istraživački problem u okvirima teorije upravljanja strahom, koja pretpostavlja da ljudi postižu zaštitu od potencijalno parališućeg straha od smrti kroz ulaganje u vrednovane poglede na svet i očuvanje pozitivne slike o sebi samima, kao delu tih svetova. Osoba koja veruje da je značajan deo smislenog univerzuma, time postiže simboličku transcendenciju vlastite smrtne prirode..

Alternative Ways to Mental Health: Exploring Psychological Determinants of Preference for CAM Treatments

Research suggests a trend toward an increased interest in CAM, complementary and alternative therapies for treating mental health problems, which is paralleled by a relatively favorable attitude of mental health professionals. This study explored psychological predictors of attitude toward CAM therapies: frustration tolerance (measured by the 28-item Frustration Discomfort Scale), self-esteem (measured by the 16-item Revised Version of the Self-Liking/Self-Competence Scale), cognitive styles (measured by REI Scale-short version) and irrational health beliefs (measured by CAM Health Belief Questionnaire – CHBQ). Participants (N = 294) reacted to vignettes describing Bach flower remedies and neuro-linguistic programming to indi-cate their attitude toward CAM. CAM health beliefs (e.g., belief that health is a balance of life forces) and self-esteem positively predicted attitude toward CAM, while the rational style of thinking was a negative predictor. As suggested by mediation analysis, the intuitive thinking style affected the attitude toward CAM via an increase in CAM beliefs. We discuss the implications of our findings for encouraging rational decision-making when seeking help with mental health problems

The effect of the Satureja montana ethanol extract on the morphological changes of erythrocytes

The present study investigated the antioxidant activity of ethanol extracts of the leaves of Satureja montana and their influence on the membrane stability of erythrocytes ex vivo. The ethanol extracts showed a very potent antioxidant activity of EC50 = 0.055mg/ml. Rat blood samples were treated with 96% ethanol extracts in different concentrations of 100 µg/ml, 200 µg/ml, and 300 µg/ml, and morphological analyses were carried out. The results showed significant differences in the shape of the erythrocytes incubated with higher extract concentrations. Considerable morphological changes were observed at a concentration of 200 µg/ml which was characterised by the highest percentage of stomatocytes, while the highest percentage of echinocyte formation was observed at a concentration of 300 µg/ml. The results of this investigation indicated that the ethanol extracts of S. montana exhibited a possible protective effect on the membrane stability of erythrocytes

Cross-cultural comparison of the Benign and Malicious Envy Scale (BeMaS) across Serbian and US samples and further validation

The aim of this research was to validate the dual conception of envy in Serbian culture, measured by the Benign and Malicious Envy Scale (BeMaS). In Study 1 (N = 404), the results confirmed cross-cultural invariance of the Malicious Envy scale across Serbian and US samples, with the US sample obtaining higher scores. However, two items in the Benign Envy scale showed significant differential item functioning across samples. Nonetheless, both scales in Serbian showed adequate measurement precision (information) and the expected distinction in relations with narcissistic admiration, narcissistic rivalry, and self-esteem, with more aversive characteristics associated with Malicious Envy. In Study 2 (N = 404), Malicious Envy showed a negative relation with Conscientiousness and Openness, as well as higher negative correlations with Honesty-Humility, Agreeableness, psychopathy, and sadism compared to Benign Envy. Furthermore, Malicious Envy showed higher positive correlations with psychological distress, while Benign Envy showed negative correlations with some aspects of distress. The results support good psychometric properties of BeMaS scores of the Serbian adaptation and add to the cross-cultural validity of the dual conception of envy

Uticaj pandemijskog obrazovanja na ponašanje učenika osnovne škole

Zdravstvena kriza izazvana pandemijom virusa COVID-19 dovela je do značajnih promena u funkcionisanju obrazovno-vaspitnog sistema i načinu sprovođenja programa nastave i učenja u svim osnovnim školama u Republici Srbiji. Izmenjeni uslovi organizacije nastavnog procesa postavili su brojne izazove u domenu ostvarivanja očekivanih ishoda učenja i standarda znanja, ali i na planu očuvanja mentalnog zdravlja, psihološke dobrobiti i optimalnog socijalnog funkcionisanja učenika. Uvažavajući specifičnosti i izazove obrazovanja tokom pandemije, grupa istraživača sa Univerziteta u Beogradu – Fakulteta za specijalnu edukaciju i rehabilitaciju, Instituta za pedagoška istraživanja i Instituta za kriminološka i sociološka istraživanja, u organizaciji CEPORA – Centra za pozitivan razvoj dece i omladine i uz podršku Misije OEBS-a u Srbiji, sprovela je nacionalno istraživanje, na uzorku od 817 nastavnika razredne i predmetne nastave iz 86 gradova u Republici Srbiji, sa ciljem sagledavanja potreba škola u izmenjenim okolnostima obrazovno-vaspitnog rada.Knjiga apstrakataVI kongres sa međunarodnim učešćem Mentalno zdravlje dece i mladih - nove realnosti, iskustva i znanja, 26 - 28. maj 2022., Vrnjačka Banj

Tumor necrosis factor alpha and alpha-1 antitrypsin gene variants in Serbian pediatric arterial ischemic stroke patients

Etiologija arterijskog ishemijskog moždanog udara (AIS) kod dece je veoma kompleksna i razlikuje se od one kod odraslih. Iako je redak, moždani udar kod dece predstavlja značajan uzrok mortaliteta i morbiditeta. Sve je više podataka o ulozi genetičkih faktora, uključujući tu i medijatore inflamacije, u nastanku i ishodu moždanog udara. U ovoj studiji, odabrali smo da ispitamo ulogu polimorfizma -308G/A u genu za faktor nekroze tumora-alfa (eng. Tumor Necrosis Factor α -TNFα), kao i mutacija S i Z u genu za alfa1-antitripsin (AAT)u etiologiji moždanog udara kod dece. Polimorfizam -308G/A u genu za TNFα dovodi do povećanja koncentracije ovog proteina u plazmi, što bi moglo da doprinese patologiji moždanog udara. Pokazano je i da povišena koncentracija AAT može da predstavlja rizik za nastanak moždanog udara kod dece. S obzirom da mutacije S i Z u genu za AAT dovode do smanjenja koncentracije ovog proteina u plazmi, one bi mogle da imaju protektivnu ulogu kada je u pitanju moždani udar.Genske varijante TNFα (-308G/A) i AAT (S i Z) su ispitivane u grupi od 26 dece sa AIS i 100 odraslih osoba PCR/RFLP metodom.Nije nađena statistički značajna razlika u učestalosti -308G/A TNFα polimorfizma između pacijenata i kontrola, tako da u našoj grupi pacijenata TNFα najverovatnije nije imao značajnu ulogu u razvoju bolesti. Ni kod jednog pacijenta nije pronađena nijedna od ispitivanih mutacija u genu za AAT, što je bilo u skladu sa potencijalnom protektivnom ulogom ovih varijanti.AIS je multifaktorijalno oboljenje, u čijoj patologiji veliki broj gena ima -ulogu, tako da je potrebna dalja analiza zajedničkog delovanja većeg broja genskih varijanti da bi se rasvetlila njihova uloga kao genetičkih faktora rizika i njihovog uticaja na razvoj i ishod moždanog udara.The etiology of arterial ischemic stroke (AIS) in children is complex, and different from that in adults. Although rare, stroke in children is an important cause of mortality and morbidity. There is increasing evidence that genetic factors, including inflammation mediators, have a role in occurrence and outcome of stroke. We have chosen to assess the role of polymorphism -308G/A in the promoter of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) gene and S and Z mutations in alpha 1-antitrypsin (AAT) gene in the etiology of stroke in children. TNFα polymorphism affects plasma levels of this proinflamatory cytokine, and this could contribute to stroke pathology. It has been shown that increased AAT concentration may present a risk for AIS in children. Since S and Z mutations in AAT gene reduce its levels in plasma they could have a protective role in pediatric stroke. In this study twenty six children with AIS and 100 unrelated individuals from Serbian general population were investigated by PCR/RFLP for these gene variations. No statistically significant difference was observed between patients and general population in distribution of genotypes for -308G/A TNFα polymorphism, so its contributory role in the etiology of stroke was not evident in our group of patients. None of the tested AAT gene mutations were found in patients, which is in concordance with the proposed protective role of deficient AAT variants. AIS is a multifactorial disease, with many genes having a modest role in its pathophysiology, so further analyses of their combined effect are needed to elucidate genetic risk factors in the etiology and outcome of stroke in pediatric patients