Layering in structural-functional grammars

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A Pilot Project to Develop a Tool to Assess Gain in Knowledge in Third Graders Participating in a Science Based Drug Prevention Education Curriculum

Drug use and abuse presents a significant problem to individuals, families, and law enforcement in communities across the United States. Methamphetamine is a particular concern in one rural eastern Missouri county. Much work is being done in this county by multiple agencies to decrease methamphetamine production and use. Little attention, however, has been focused on prevention in the elementary schools. Substance use and experimentation may begin as early as 12 years old or even earlier. By initiating a proven drug prevention education curriculum before children begin to experiment with tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs, drug use may be delayed or prevented. Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant funds have supported a collaborative initiative between the University of Missouri St Louis College of Nursing, Partners Responsible 4 Increasing Drug Education (PRIDE), the county Sheriff’s Department, and the County Health Department. This community-based participatory action research process has focused on the implementation of the Brain Power! Junior Scientist Program developed by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The purpose of this specific project is to create a pilot tool to evaluate the effectiveness of the Brain Power! program by determining gain in drug-related scientific knowledge after the presentation of six learning modules for third graders in a rural eastern Missouri county elementary school

La representación de la niñez, la feminidad y el feminismo

Maya Butler – University College London - 0000-0002-0273-9365Miriam E. Aguasanta-Regalado – Universitat de Valencia - 0000-0003-2917-4111Héctor Saiz-Fernández – Universitat de Valencia - 0000-0002-6340-1149Mónica López Iglesias – Universitat de Valencia - 0000-0002-1935-6299Recepción: 16.06.2022 | Aceptado: 23.01.2023Correspondencia a través de ORCID: Miriam E. Aguasanta Regalado - 0000-0003-2917-4111Área o categoría del conocimiento: Educación mediáticaAbstract: Nowadays, media has become one of the main sources of education, complementing the educational process of schools and families. In this way, television series are creators of narratives that alter the perception of one's own identity and of society. In this article, we analyse the representation of gender in three selected episodes from one of the most popular series on Netflix that promotes a feminist narrative, Sex Education. As a methodological approach to describe and analyse the representations of womanhood and feminism, we use critical discourse analysis (CDA) from a gender perspective. We have found that the female protagonists are represented as being subject to adversity as a result of misogyny that they, at times, also perform alongside their male counterparts. Nonetheless, they act in solidarity with each other when this adversity arises given their shared experiences of misogyny which helps them to come to some sort of resolution that brings them closer together, and in some cases, they have access to resources to give them moments of catharsis or closure. We consider that media literacy is the ideal strategy to develop the capacity for critical analysis of audio-visual content and to introduce the analysis of gender representations in the media.Resumen: Hoy en día los medios de comunicación se han convertido en una de las principales fuentes de educación, complementando el proceso educativo de las escuelas y las familias. De esta forma, las series de televisión son creadoras de narrativas que alteran la percepción de la propia identidad y de la sociedad. En este artículo, analizamos la representación de género en tres episodios de una de las series más populares en Netflix que promueve una narrativa feminista, Sex Education. Como aproximación metodológica para describir y analizar las representaciones de la feminidad y la feminidad, utilizamos el análisis crítico del discurso (ACD) desde una perspectiva de género. Hemos encontrado que mientras que las protagonistas femeninas son representadas como sujetas a la adversidad como resultado de la misoginia y a veces también realizan junto a sus contrapartes masculinas dicha acción. Sin embargo, se observa que se presenta una solidaridad grupal cuando entienden que comparten experiencias de misoginia que los ayuda a llegar a algún tipo de resolución que les une. Consideramos que la alfabetización mediática es la estrategia idónea para desarrollar la capacidad de análisis crítico de los contenidos audiovisuales e introducir el análisis de las representaciones de género en los medios.JUT

On the chemical biology of the nitrite/sulfide interaction

Sulfide (H2S/HS(-)) has been demonstrated to exert an astounding breadth of biological effects, some of which resemble those of nitric oxide (NO). While the chemistry, biochemistry and potential (patho)physiology of the cross-talk between sulfide and NO has received considerable attention lately, a comparable assessment of the potential biological implications of an interaction between nitrite and sulfide is lacking. This is surprising inasmuch as nitrite is not only a known bioactive oxidation product of NO, but also efficiently converted to S-nitrosothiols in vivo; the latter have been shown to rapidly react with sulfide in vitro, leading to formation of S/N-hybrid species including thionitrite (SNO(-)) and nitrosopersulfide (SSNO(-)). Moreover, nitrite is used as a potent remedy against sulfide poisoning in the clinic. The chemistry of interaction between nitrite and sulfide or related bioactive metabolites including polysulfides and elemental sulfur has been extensively studied in the past, yet much of this information appears to have been forgotten. In this review, we focus on the potential chemical biology of the interaction between nitrite and sulfide or sulfane sulfur molecules, calling attention to the fundamental chemical properties and reactivity of either species and discuss its possible contribution to the biology, pharmacology and toxicology of both nitrite and sulfide

Índice general de la Revista Op. Cit., 1985-1999 (Núms. 1-11)

Este número celebra los quince años de publicación continua de la revista Op. Cit. Por tal motivo, concluímos que era el momento propicio para elaborar un índice general de todos los artículos publicados a lo largo de estos años. El índice se compone de tres secciones: por autor, por título del artículo y por temas para aquellos que están escudriñando referencias para investigación. Se utilizaron categorias generales en armonia con los temas presentados a lo largo de los años.&nbsp

Training manual for facilitators of teacher training seminars on education for responsible living

The Partnership for Education and Research about Responsible Living (PERL) comprises educators, researchers and practitioners from over 120 institutions in more than 50 countries. This partnership stems from an awareness of the urgent need for individuals and society to significantly rethink and reorient the choices they make and the manner in which they live their lives in order to reduce the negative impacts of climate change and financial instability, to ensure more just distribution of resources and to foster sustainable, dignified human development for all. Based on six years of work by the Consumer Citizenship Network (CCN), PERL partners develop projects, methods and materials to encourage people to contribute to constructive change through the way they choose to live. PERL is contributing to the Marrakech Process on Sustainable Consumption and Production, as well as to the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), which boasts the active participation of UNEP, UNESCO, the Italian Task Force on Education for Sustainable Consumption and the Swedish Ministry of the Environment. PERL is based both in Europe as an Erasmus Academic Network and established in Asia Pacific, Africa and Latin America. The PERL network is a large multi-disciplinary organisation which has a core of working group members supported by a larger group which constitutes the Consultants network. PERL is coordinated from the Hedmark University College in Norway. The Norwegian Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion also supports PERL. One of the PERL working groups is focusing on ‘Active Learning Methodologies’ and its objectives are to develop resources that build on the criteria and student-centred constructive methods of the original “Images and Objects” Active Methodology Toolkit and the YouthXchange Training Kit.peer-reviewe

The Plant-Derived Chalcone 2,2′,5′-Trihydroxychalcone Provides Neuroprotection against Toll-Like Receptor 4 Triggered Inflammation in Microglia

Chalcones are plant metabolites with potential for therapeutic exploitation as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiproliferative agents. Here we explored the neuroprotective effects of 2,2′,5′-trihydroxychalcone (225THC), a potent antioxidant with radical-scavenging properties. 225THC was found to be a potent inhibitor of apoptosis in stimulated primary rat neuronal cultures. This was likely mediated by an anti-inflammatory effect on microglial cells since 225THC inhibited LPS-stimulated TNF-α and IL-6 secretion from primary rat microglia and modulated the cytokine/chemokine profile of BV2 microglial cells. Additionally, 225THC inhibited LPS-evoked inducible nitric oxide synthase expression but did not influence endogenous superoxide generation. Microglial flow cytometric analyses indicated the 225THC treatment induced a shift from an M1-like phenotype to a more downregulated microglial profile. Taken together these data suggest that the chalcone 2,2′,5′-trihydroxychalcone can modulate neuroinflammatory activation in brain-derived microglia and holds promise as a therapeutic in neuroinflammatory conditions

Dopamine D2/3 receptor availability in alcohol use disorder and individuals at high risk: Towards a dimensional approach

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is the most common substance use disorder worldwide. Although dopamine-related findings were often observed in AUD, associated neurobiological mechanisms are still poorly understood. Therefore, in the present study, we investigate D2/3 receptor availability in healthy participants, participants at high risk (HR) to develop addiction (not diagnosed with AUD), and AUD patients in a detoxified stage, applying F-18-fallypride positron emission tomography (F-18-PET). Specifically, D2/3 receptor availability was investigated in (1) 19 low-risk (LR) controls, (2) 19 HR participants, and (3) 20 AUD patients after alcohol detoxification. Quality and severity of addiction were assessed with clinical questionnaires and (neuro)psychological tests. PET data were corrected for age of participants and smoking status. In the dorsal striatum, we observed significant reductions of D2/3 receptor availability in AUD patients compared with LR participants. Further, receptor availability in HR participants was observed to be intermediate between LR and AUD groups (linearly decreasing). Still, in direct comparison, no group difference was observed between LR and HR groups or between HR and AUD groups. Further, the score of the Alcohol Dependence Scale (ADS) was inversely correlated with D2/3 receptor availability in the combined sample. Thus, in line with a dimensional approach, striatal D2/3 receptor availability showed a linear decrease from LR participants to HR participants to AUD patients, which was paralleled by clinical measures. Our study shows that a core neurobiological feature in AUD seems to be detectable in an early, subclinical state, allowing more individualized alcohol prevention programs in the future

Small glutamine-rich tetratricopeptide repeat-containing protein alpha (SGTA) ablation limits offspring viability and growth in mice

Small glutamine-rich tetratricopeptide repeat-containing protein α (SGTA) has been implicated as a co-chaperone and regulator of androgen and growth hormone receptor (AR, GHR) signalling. We investigated the functional consequences of partial and full Sgta ablation in vivo using Cre-lox Sgta-null mice. Sgta+/− breeders generated viable Sgta−/− offspring, but at less than Mendelian expectancy. Sgta−/− breeders were subfertile with small litters and higher neonatal death (P < 0.02). Body size was significantly and proportionately smaller in male and female Sgta−/− (vs WT, Sgta+/− P < 0.001) from d19. Serum IGF-1 levels were genotype- and sex-dependent. Food intake, muscle and bone mass and adiposity were unchanged in Sgta−/−. Vital and sex organs had normal relative weight, morphology and histology, although certain androgen-sensitive measures such as penis and preputial size, and testis descent, were greater in Sgta−/−. Expression of AR and its targets remained largely unchanged, although AR localisation was genotype- and tissue-dependent. Generally expression of other TPR-containing proteins was unchanged. In conclusion, this thorough investigation of SGTA-null mutation reports a mild phenotype of reduced body size. The model’s full potential likely will be realised by genetic crosses with other models to interrogate the role of SGTA in the many diseases in which it has been implicated

Incubation period of COVID-19: a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis of observational research

Objectives: The aim of this study was to conduct a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis of estimates of the incubation period of COVID-19.Design: Rapid systematic review and meta-analysis of observational research.Setting: International studies on incubation period of COVID-19.Participants: Searches were carried out in PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane Library as well as the preprint servers MedRxiv and BioRxiv. Studies were selected for meta-analysis if they reported either the parameters and CIs of the distributions fit to the data, or sufficient information to facilitate calculation of those values. After initial eligibility screening, 24 studies were selected for initial review, nine of these were shortlisted for meta-analysis. Final estimates are from meta-analysis of eight studies.Primary outcome measures: Parameters of a lognormal distribution of incubation periods.Results: The incubation period distribution may be modelled with a lognormal distribution with pooled mu and sigma parameters (95% CIs) of 1.63 (95% CI 1.51 to 1.75) and 0.50 (95% CI 0.46 to 0.55), respectively. The corresponding mean (95% CIs) was 5.8 (95% CI 5.0 to 6.7) days. It should be noted that uncertainty increases towards the tail of the distribution: the pooled parameter estimates (95% CIs) resulted in a median incubation period of 5.1 (95% CI 4.5 to 5.8) days, whereas the 95th percentile was 11.7 (95% CI 9.7 to 14.2) days.Conclusions: The choice of which parameter values are adopted will depend on how the information is used, the associated risks and the perceived consequences of decisions to be taken. These recommendations will need to be revisited once further relevant information becomes available. Accordingly, we present an R Shiny app that facilitates updating these estimates as new data become available