“Growing from an Invisible Wound” A Humanistic-Existential Approach to PTSD

From a humanistic and existential perspective, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be understood as a normal response to a threatening existential event. The humanistic-existential approach to understanding and treating PTSD also places particular emphasis on the meaning of the traumatic experience and on the awareness of the existential part of the self. Such an understanding conveys to a different approach to trauma assessment and potential for healing in the clinical encounter. In this chapter, we wish to provide a humanistic-existential understanding of trauma. To do so, we review the key humanistic-existential concepts for trauma conceptualization, assessment, and intervention. Afterwards, we present two different short case studies to illustrate and understand the humanistic-existential psychotherapeutic process and its diversity. In conclusion, we discuss the contribution and limits of a humanistic-existential approach to trauma conceptualization, assessment, and healing

A Meta-Analysis of Genome-Wide Association Scans Identifies IL18RAP, PTPN2, TAGAP, and PUS10 As Shared Risk Loci for Crohn's Disease and Celiac Disease

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

A Fast Scan Submillimeter Spectroscopic Technique

A new fast scan submillimeter spectroscopic technique (FASSST) has been developed which uses a voltage tunable backward wave oscillator (BWO) as a primary source of radiation, but which uses fast scan (~105 Doppler limited resolution elements/s) and optical calibration methods rather than the more traditional phase or frequency lock techniques. Among its attributes are (1) absolute frequency calibration to ~1/10 of a Doppler limited gaseous absorption linewidth (\u3c0.1 MHz, 0.000 003 cm-1), (2) high sensitivity, and (3) the ability to measure many thousands of lines/s. Key elements which make this system possible include the excellent short term spectral purity of the broadly (~100 GHz) tunable BWO; a very low noise, rapidly scannable high voltage power supply; fast data acquisition; and software capable of automated calibration and spectral line measurement. In addition to the unique spectroscopic power of the FASSST system, its implementation is simple enough that it has the prospect of impacting a wide range of scientific problems

Global warming will change the thermal structure of Lough Feeagh, a sentinel lake in the Irish landscape, by the end of the twenty-first century

Peer reviewedRecent developments in impact modelling of global warming on lakes have resulted in a greater understanding of how these vital ecosystems are likely to respond. However, there has been little quantitative analysis of this in an Irish context, despite the importance of lakes in the island's landscape. Here, we explore the impact of global warming on the hydrodynamics and thermal structure of a sentinel Irish lake under future climate scenarios. A 1D lake model, Simstrat, was calibrated and validated using water temperature data collected from Lough Feeagh, a site of long-term ecological research in the west of Ireland. Once validated, the model was then driven by daily climate model projections to generate informative thermal metrics for the time period of 2006–2099. Despite the moderating influence of the Atlantic, projections indicate that global warming will have a marked effect on the thermal structure of Feeagh, with surface water temperatures set to warm by 0.75°C under a more stringent mitigation pathway (RCP 2.6) and 2.42°C under a non-mitigation pathway (RCP 8.5). While warming was projected to be greatest in summer in the epilimnion, winter warming was greater than in other seasons in the hypolimnion. Stratification is projected to become more stable and earlier, and the growing season to be longer by 11 to 47 days, depending on mitigation pathways. Future studies could use a similar modelling workflow to investigate the possible implications of global warming on other Irish lakes, particularly those of specific societal importance or those of conservation interest

Integrins Form an Expanding Diffusional Barrier that Coordinates Phagocytosis

Phagocytosis is initiated by lateral clustering of receptors, which in turn activates Src-family kinases (SFKs). Activation of SFKs requires depletion of tyrosine phosphatases from the area of particle engagement. We investigated how the major phosphatase CD45 is excluded from contact sites, using single-molecule tracking. The mobility of CD45 increased markedly upon engagement of Fcγ receptors. While individual CD45 molecules moved randomly, they were displaced from the advancing phagocytic cup by an expanding diffusional barrier. By micropatterning IgG, the ligand of Fcγ receptors, we found that the barrier extended well beyond the perimeter of the receptor-ligand engagement zone. Second messengers generated by Fcγ receptors activated integrins, which formed an actin-tethered diffusion barrier that excluded CD45. The expanding integrin wave facilitates the “zippering” of Fcγ receptors onto the target and integrates the information from sparse receptor-ligand complexes, coordinating the progression and ultimate closure of the phagocytic cup

Drivers of phytoplankton responses to summer wind events in a stratified lake: A modeling study

Extreme wind events affect lake phytoplankton by deepening the mixed layer and increasing internal nutrient loading. Both increases and decreases in phytoplankton concentration after strong wind events have been observed, but the precise mechanisms driving these responses remain poorly understood or quantified. We coupled a one-dimensional physical model to a biogeochemical model to investigate the factors regulating short-term phytoplankton responses to summer wind events, now and under expected warmer future conditions. We simulated physical, chemical, and biological dynamics in Lake Erken, Sweden, and found that strong wind could increase or decrease the phytoplankton concentration in the euphotic zone 1 week after the event, depending on antecedent lake physical and chemical conditions. Wind had little effect on phytoplankton concentration if the mixed layer was deep prior to wind exposure. Higher incoming shortwave radiation and hypolimnetic nutrient concentration boosted phytoplankton concentration, whereas higher surface water temperatures decreased concentrations after wind events. Medium-intensity wind events resulted in more phytoplankton than high-intensity wind. Simulations under a future climate scenario did not show marked differences in the way wind events affect phytoplankton concentration. These findings help to better understand how wind impacts vary as a function of local environmental conditions and how climate warming and changing extreme weather dynamics will affect lake ecosystems