Ethnicity and stress at work: a Literature review and suggestions for future research

Aims: Ethnicity and culture represent a novel topic in the literature on stress and wellbeing at work because there has not been enough consideration of them in studies of work stress. This paper aims to present a critical review and evaluate recent articles investigating ethnicity in the literature on stress and wellbeing at work to identify limitations of previous research concerning all the aspects related to the cultural dimensions in this research area. Methodology: Pubmed, PsycInfo and Scopus databases were searched for articles dealing with ethnicity and occupational health for the years 1985 to 2014. The studies were divided into three categories as follows: ethnicity and occupational mental health, ethnicity and occupational physical health, ethnicity and work stress. Results: Sixty articles were selected, 26 on occupational mental health, 13 on physical health and 21 on work stress. None of the studies used a transactional perspective or took as a framework of reference general models of stress that integrate all the aspects related to ethnicity with work-related dimensions. Most of the reviewed studies measured ethnicity as a descriptive category of the working population studied (i.e. country of birth, nationality, language, skin colour, origin, racial group) or focused on the differences between ethnic groups and it has failed to consider the salient cultural aspects such as acculturation strategy, cultural identity and perceived racial discrimination. Conclusions: The gap in the work stress literature on different aspects of ethnicity suggests further consideration of the potential role of cultural dimensions as individual differences or as potential sources of stress in work stress models and shows the need to develop and test a general model that integrates ethnicity and work-related stress in a transactional perspective

Pharmacokinetics of ketamine and norketamine following intramuscular administration combined with dexmedetomidine in tigers (Panthera tigris)

In zoo practice, for physical examination or medical procedure in captive tigers, chemical immobilization is needed and ketamine (KET) in association with sedatives is an option frequently used (Clark-Price et al., 2015). Aims of the study is the assessment of the pharmacokinetics of KET and its main metabolite, norketamine (NORKET), after its intramuscular administration in combination with dexmedetomidine in tigers.Nineteen adult captive tigers, from different zoos, were scheduled for periodic physical examination or diagnostic procedures at the Milan University facilities. All animals were administered with a combination of KET at 2 mg/kg and dexmedetomidine at 10 µg/kg, given intramuscularly through blowpipe darts. If necessary, tigers where re-administered with variable doses of KET and dexmedetomidine or other drugs. When animals were sufficiently sedated, blood samples were collected every 5-10 min for the time tigers were safely approachable. Nine animals were assigned to standard protocol group (KET 2 mg/kg and dexmedetomidine 10 µg/kg) and ten animals to non-standard protocol group (tigers administered with different doses of KET, 2 – 2.5 mg/kg, and dexmedetomidine 10 – 30 µg/kg or with any other necessary drug, such as titrate-to-effect propofol and isoflurane, respectively for anaesthesia induction and maintenance). Ketamine and NORKET were extracted from plasma according to a validated HPLC-UV method (Zonca et al., 2012). For pharmacokinetic assessment, KET and NORKET concentrations were analysed with a noncompartmental approach (Phoenix® 7.0, Pharsight). Differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters between groups were statistically analysed (SPSS 25.0, SPSS Inc.).This is the first study that evaluates the pharmacokinetics of KET and NORKET in tigers. Due to the harmful attitude of these animals, samples collection was limited to the period of sedation, a short time for a complete pharmacokinetic evaluation. Nevertheless, we observed a favorable kinetic profile of KET and NORKET and, from a clinical point of view, all animals showed a good recovery, no adverse effects and a good level of sedation.     Standard Protocol              (mean ± s.d.)Non-Standard protocol             (mean ± s.d.)     KetamineHL_Lambda_zmin77.62 ± 54.5076.14 ± 67.32 Tmaxmin27.78 ± 7.9049.70 ± 29.64 Cmaxug/mL0.63 ± 0.170.67 ± 0.19 AUClastmin*ug/mL23.84 ±6.40*35.97 ± 12.84* AUMClastmin*min*ug/mL802.24 ± 331.03*2054.97 ± 1018.88* MRTlastmin32.88 ± 5.71*54.38 ± 19.71*     NorketamineTmaxmin51.89 ± 8.95*77.10 ± 24.41* Cmaxug/mL0.24 ± 0.070.23 ± 0.09 AUClastmin*ug/mL7.30 ± 3.9811.07 ± 5.46 AUMClastmin*min*ug/mL291.94 ± 227.01*701.87 ± 424.80* MRTlastmin36.95 ± 7.32*58.65 ± 19.58*HL_Lambda_z = Elimination Half-Life; Tmax = Time to Maximum concentration; Cmax = Maximum Concentration; AUClast = Area Under the Curve to the last concentration; AUMClast = Area under the first Moment Curve to the last concentration ;MRTlast = Mean Residence Time to the last concentration  Tab.1: Pharmacokinetic parameters of ketamine and norketamine in nineteen adult captive tigers after intramuscular administration of 2 mg/kg of ketamine, with or without variation from the standard protocol, in combination with dexmedetomidine (with * are indicated results with p < 0.05)

Stress in factory workers in Italy: an application of the Ethnicity and work-related stress model in Moroccan factory workers

The ethnicity and work-related stress model (EWS; Capasso, Zurlo, & Smith, 2018, British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science, 15, 1–20) integrated EWS dimensions in a multidimensional perspective combining demographic (sex, education) and individual characteristics (coping styles, Type A and Type D), cultural dimensions (acculturation strategies, perceived racial discrimination), work characteristics (work demands, work resources, rewards) and appraisals (job stress/satisfaction), in the prediction of psychophysical health conditions in migrant workers. The current research aimed to test the application of the EWS in a sample of Moroccan factory workers and hypothesised significant and specific profiles of associations between individual, ethnic and work characteristics, with psychophysical health outcomes. A questionnaire consisting of five sections measuring sociodemographics and individual differences (coping styles/personality), cultural dimensions (acculturation strategies), work characteristics, appraisals (job satisfaction/stress) and subjectives reports of health was administered to 250 Moroccan factory workers in Italy. Data were analysed using logistic regression to evaluate the independent and combined effects of all dimensions reported on the risk of suffering health problems. Data revealed specific and significant associations of individual characteristics, cultural dimensions and job characteristics with health outcomes. Findings will be useful in defining psychological interventions to promote well-being in specific workplaces supporting the dimensions suggested by the model applied

Differences in DNA methylation profile of Th1 and Th2 cytokine genes are associated with tolerance acquisition in children with IgE-mediated cow's milk allergy

Epigenetic changes in DNA methylation could regulate the expression of several allergy-related genes. We investigated whether tolerance acquisition in children with immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated cow's milk allergy (CMA) is characterized by a specific DNA methylation profile of Th2 (IL-4, IL-5) and Th1 (IL-10, IFN-γ)-associated cytokine genes

CL316,243, a β3-adrenergic receptor agonist, induces muscle hypertrophy and increased strength.

Studies in vitro have demonstrated that β3-adrenergic receptors (β3-ARs) regulate protein metabolism in skeletal muscle by promoting protein synthesis and inhibiting protein degradation. In this study, we evaluated whether activation of β3-ARs by the selective agonist CL316,243 modifies the functional and structural properties of skeletal muscles of healthy mice. Daily injections of CL316,243 for 15 days resulted in a significant improvement in muscle force production, assessed by grip strength and weight tests, and an increased myofiber cross-sectional area, indicative of muscle hypertrophy. In addition, atomic force microscopy revealed a significant effect of CL316,243 on the transversal stiffness of isolated muscle fibers. Interestingly, the expression level of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) downstream targets and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS) was also found to be enhanced in tibialis anterior and soleus muscles of CL316,243 treated mice, in accordance with previous data linking β3-ARs to mTOR and NOS signaling pathways. In conclusion, our data suggest that CL316,243 systemic administration might be a novel therapeutic strategy worthy of further investigations in conditions of muscle wasting and weakness associated with aging and muscular diseases

High-Resolution Conformational Analysis of RGDechi-Derived Peptides Based on a Combination of NMR Spectroscopy and MD Simulations

The crucial role of integrin in pathological processes such as tumor progression and metastasis formation has inspired intense efforts to design novel pharmaceutical agents modulating integrin functions in order to provide new tools for potential therapies. In the past decade, we have investigated the biological proprieties of the chimeric peptide RGDechi, containing a cyclic RGD motif linked to an echistatin C-terminal fragment, able to specifically recognize αvβ3 without cross reacting with αvβ5 and αIIbβ3 integrin. Additionally, we have demonstrated using two RGDechi-derived peptides, called RGDechi1-14 and ψRGDechi, that chemical modifications introduced in the C-terminal part of the peptide alter or abolish the binding to the αvβ3 integrin. Here, to shed light on the structural and dynamical determinants involved in the integrin recognition mechanism, we investigate the effects of the chemical modifications by exploring the conformational space sampled by RGDechi1-14 and ψRGDechi using an integrated natural-abundance NMR/MD approach. Our data demonstrate that the flexibility of the RGD-containing cycle is driven by the echistatin C-terminal region of the RGDechi peptide through a coupling mechanism between the N- and C-terminal regions

Psychosocial assessment of families caring for a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, epilepsy or asthma: Psychosocial risk as network of interacting symptoms

The purpose of this study is to assess psychosocial risk across several pediatric medical conditions and test the hypothesis that different severe or chronic pediatric illnesses are characterized by disease specific enhanced psychosocial risk and that risk is driven by disease specific connectivity and interdependencies among various domains of psychosocial function using the Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT). In a multicenter prospective cohort study of 195 patients, aged 5-12, 90 diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 42 with epilepsy and 63 with asthma, parents completed the PAT2.0 or the PAT2.0 generic version. Multivariate analysis was performed with disease as factor and age as covariate. Graph theory and network analysis was employed to study the connectivity and interdependencies among subscales of the PAT while data-driven cluster analysis was used to test whether common patterns of risk exist among the various diseases. Using a network modelling approach analysis, we observed unique patterns of interconnected domains of psychosocial factors. Each pathology was characterized by different interdependencies among the most central and most connected domains. Furthermore, data-driven cluster analysis resulted in two clusters: Patients with ALL (89%) mostly belonged to cluster 1, while patients with epilepsy and asthma belonged primarily to cluster 2 (83% and 82% respectively). In sum, implementing a network approach improves our comprehension concerning the character of the problems central to the development of psychosocial difficulties. Therapy directed at problems related to the most central domain(s) constitutes the more rational one because such an approach will inevitably carry over to other domains that depend on the more central function

A Case of Tuberculosis Cutis Colliquativa Treated with Rifampicin and Isoniazid

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Ultra diffuse galaxies in the Hydra I cluster from the LEWIS Project: Phase-Space distribution and globular cluster richness

Although ultra diffuse galaxies (UDGs) are found in large numbers in clusters of galaxies, the role of the cluster environment in shaping their low surface brightness and large sizes is still uncertain. Here we examine a sample of UDGs in the Hydra I cluster (D = 51 Mpc) with new radial velocities obtained as part of the LEWIS (Looking into the faintest with MUSE) project using VLT/MUSE data. Using a phase-space, or infall diagnostic, diagram we compare the UDGs to other known galaxies in the Hydra I cluster and to UDGs in other clusters. The UDGs, along with the bulk of regular Hydra I galaxies, have low relative velocities and are located near the cluster core, and thus consistent with very early infall into the cluster. Combining with literature data, we do not find the expected trend of GC-rich UDGs associated with earlier infall times. This result suggests that quenching mechanisms other than cluster infall should be further considered, e.g. quenching by strong feedback or in cosmic sheets and filaments. Tidal stripping of GCs in the cluster environment also warrants further modelling.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, MNRAS, 525, 9