Examination of a Biopsychosocial Model for the Relationship between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Chronic Pain

High rates of comorbidity have been reported between PTSD and musculoskeletal pain (e.g., Asmundson & Hadjistavropolous, 2006; Asmundson et al., 1998). Comorbid PTSD and chronic pain have been associated with elevated levels of affective distress, greater perceptions of pain, interference in daily activities, and high rates of disability (Otis et al., 2003; Sherman et al., 2000). Overall, comorbid conditions of PTSD and chronic pain are associated with large personal costs for the individual and economic costs for society. The triple vulnerability model was originally proposed to account for anxiety symptoms in general, and it was later applied to the specific development of PTSD (Barlow, 2000; Barlow, 2002; Keane & Barlow, 2002). Otis and colleagues (2003) further proposed that the triple vulnerability model may account for the relationship between PTSD and chronic pain. According to the triple vulnerability model, individuals must present with a generalized biological, generalized psychological, and a specific psychological vulnerability for either of these conditions to develop (Keane & Barlow, 2002; Otis et al., 2003). In the current study, aspects of the triple vulnerability model were examined within the following groups of women: women who have PTSD without chronic pain (n = 11), women who have musculoskeletal pain without PTSD (n = 10), women with both PTSD and musculoskeletal pain (n = 10), and women without PTSD and chronic pain (n = 15). Cortisol reactivity and anxious mood were assessed before and after the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST). Participants also completed questionnaires to assess for other potential indicators of the triple vulnerability model. Results indicate that: 1) the roles of generalized biological, generalized psychological, and specific psychological vulnerabilities toward developing PTSD were supported; 2) limited findings supported the potential role of these vulnerabilities toward developing chronic pain; however, results of these measures were not similar to that of PTSD (e.g., family history of chronic pain); 3) it is not thought that PTSD and chronic pain are associated with the same vulnerabilities; 4) having a diagnosis of PTSD and chronic pain was associated with an increase in symptoms across many measures utilized in the current study

A precision study of the fine tuning in the DiracNMSSM

Recently the DiracNMSSM has been proposed as a possible solution to reduce the fine tuning in supersymmetry. We determine the degree of fine tuning needed in the DiracNMSSM with and without non-universal gaugino masses and compare it with the fine tuning in the GNMSSM. To apply reasonable cuts on the allowed parameter regions we perform a precise calculation of the Higgs mass. In addition, we include the limits from direct SUSY searches and dark matter abundance. We find that both models are comparable in terms of fine tuning, with the minimal fine tuning in the GNMSSM slightly smaller.Comment: 20 pages + appendices, 10 figure

Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Cognitive effects of cancer chemotherapy in adult cancer survivors: Cognitive-behavioral management.

Problems of memory and attention following cancer chemotherapies have gained increasing research attention in the last 2 decades. The President’s Cancer Panel and the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship formally recognized the problem as a quality of life matter in the 1990s (Ferrell and Hassey in Oncology 11:565–576, 1997; President’s Cancer Panel in Cancer Care Issues in the United States: Quality of Care, Quality of Life, National Cancer Program, National Cancer Institute, 1999). In combination with an aging population, advances in biomedical technologies for detection and treatment of life-threatening cancers, more people than ever are living with cancer or have been diagnosed and treated for cancer. An estimated 10-million individuals living in the U.S. are considered to be in “cancer survivorship” (Institute of Medicine 2005). Given the potential large scope of the problem of cognitive effects of cancer chemotherapies, there is a strong demand to address this survivorship matter and develop methods to optimally manage it. This article will summarize the current knowledge of chemotherapy-related cognitive change and describe a developing cognitive-behavioral treatment that is being studied to aid survivors with chemotherapy-related cognitive problems

Discrete Determinants in ArfGAP2/3 Conferring Golgi Localization and Regulation by the COPI Coat

From yeast to mammals, two types of GTPase-activating proteins, ArfGAP1 and ArfGAP2/3, control guanosine triphosphate (GTP) hydrolysis on the small G protein ADP-ribosylation factor (Arf) 1 at the Golgi apparatus. Although functionally interchangeable, they display little similarity outside the catalytic GTPase-activating protein (GAP) domain, suggesting differential regulation. ArfGAP1 is controlled by membrane curvature through its amphipathic lipid packing sensor motifs, whereas Golgi targeting of ArfGAP2 depends on coatomer, the building block of the COPI coat. Using a reporter fusion approach and in vitro assays, we identified several functional elements in ArfGAP2/3. We show that the Golgi localization of ArfGAP3 depends on both a central basic stretch and a carboxy-amphipathic motif. The basic stretch interacts directly with coatomer, which we found essential for the catalytic activity of ArfGAP3 on Arf1-GTP, whereas the carboxy-amphipathic motif interacts directly with lipid membranes but has minor role in the regulation of ArfGAP3 activity. Our findings indicate that the two types of ArfGAP proteins that reside at the Golgi use a different combination of protein–protein and protein–lipid interactions to promote GTP hydrolysis in Arf1-GTP