Validez de contenido del Cuestionario de Ciberagresión

The purpose of this work is to present the content validation process of the Cyberbullying Questionnaire designed in Ireland by Corcoran and Mc Guckin (2014). In this instrumental study, 15 judges with expertise and experience in the subject participated, who quantitatively and qualitatively weighted the questionnaire. Regarding the qualitative analysis, all contributions were taken into account. The quantitative data were systematized using Aiken's V coefficient supplemented with the use of confidence intervals. The results indicate a wide degree of agreement among the judges, as they present confidence intervals greater than .50. Therefore, it is concluded that the Cyber-aggression Questionnaire is an adequate tool to measure this construct in school-going adolescents in Argentina. This study offersthe first valid instrument in Spanish to measure this phenomenon.El propósito de este trabajo es presentar el proceso de validación de contenido del Cuestionario de Ciberagresión diseñado en Irlanda por Corcoran y Mc Guckin (2014). En este estudio instrumental participaron 15 jueces locales, con experticia y trayectoria en la temática, quienes ponderaron cuantitativa y cualitativamente el cuestionario. Se han tomado en cuenta todas las aportaciones realizadas en el análisis cualitativo. Los datos cuantitativos se sistematizaron utilizando el coeficiente V de Aiken complementado con el uso de intervalos de confianza. Los resultados indican un amplio grado de acuerdo entre los jueces, en la medida en que presentan intervalos de confianza superiores a .50. Por todo ello, se concluye que el Cuestionario de Ciberagresión es una herramienta adecuada para medir dicho constructo en adolescentes escolarizados de Argentina. El presente estudio ofrece el primer instrumento en español válido para medir dicho fenómeno

Bullying and cyberbullying studies in the school-aged population on the island of Ireland : a meta-analysis

Background. Bullying research has gained a substantial amount of interest in recent years because of the implications for child and adolescent development. Aim and sample. We conducted a meta-analysis of traditional and cyberbullying studies in the Republic and North of Ireland to gain an understanding of prevalence rates and associated issues (particularly psychological correlates and intervention strategies) among young people (primary and secondary school students). Method. Four electronic databases were searched (PsychArticles, ERIC, PsychInfo and Education Research Complete) for studies of traditional bullying and cyberbullying behaviours (perpetrators, victims or both) published between January 1997 and April 2016. Results. Afinal sample of 39 articles fit our selection criteria.CMAsoftware was used to estimate a pooled prevalence rate for traditional/cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. A systematic review on the psychological impacts for all types of bullying and previously used interventions in an Irish setting is also provided. Conclusions. The results demonstrate the influence moderating factors (e.g., assessment tools, answer scale, time frame) have on reported prevalence rates. These results are discussed in light of current studies, and points for future research are considered

Letter processing and font information during reading: beyond distinctiveness, where vision meets design

Letter identification is a critical front end of the reading process. In general, conceptualizations of the identification process have emphasized arbitrary sets of distinctive features. However, a richer view of letter processing incorporates principles from the field of type design, including an emphasis on uniformities across letters within a font. The importance of uniformities is supported by a small body of research indicating that consistency of font increases letter identification efficiency. We review design concepts and the relevant literature, with the goal of stimulating further thinking about letter processing during reading

Obesity and the Dysregulation of Fatty Acid Metabolism: Implications for Healthy Aging

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Expert Review of Endocrinology & Metabolism on 17/10/2016, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17446651.2016.1245141The population of the world is aging. In 2010, an estimated 524 million people were aged 65 years or older presenting eight percent of the global population. By 2050, this number is expected to nearly triple to approximately 1.5 billion, 16 percent of the world’s population. Although people are living longer, the quality of their lives are often compromised due to ill-health. Areas covered. Of the conditions which compromise health as we age, obesity is at the forefront. Over half of the global older population were overweight or obese in 2010, significantly increasing the risk of a range of metabolic diseases. Although, it is well recognised excessive calorie intake is a fundamental driver of adipose tissue dysfunction, the relationship between obesity; intrinsic aging; and fat metabolism is less understood. In this review we discuss the intersection between obesity, aging and the factors which contribute to the dysregulation of whole-body fat metabolism. Expert Commentary. Being obese disrupts an array of physiological systems and there is significant crosstalk among these. Moreover it is imperative to acknowledge the contribution intrinsic aging makes to the dysregulation of these systems and the onset of disease

Automated Nuclear Analysis of Leishmania major Telomeric Clusters Reveals Changes in Their Organization during the Parasite's Life Cycle

Parasite virulence genes are usually associated with telomeres. The clustering of the telomeres, together with their particular spatial distribution in the nucleus of human parasites such as Plasmodium falciparum and Trypanosoma brucei, has been suggested to play a role in facilitating ectopic recombination and in the emergence of new antigenic variants. Leishmania parasites, as well as other trypanosomes, have unusual gene expression characteristics, such as polycistronic and constitutive transcription of protein-coding genes. Leishmania subtelomeric regions are even more unique because unlike these regions in other trypanosomes they are devoid of virulence genes. Given these peculiarities of Leishmania, we sought to investigate how telomeres are organized in the nucleus of Leishmania major parasites at both the human and insect stages of their life cycle. We developed a new automated and precise method for identifying telomere position in the three-dimensional space of the nucleus, and we found that the telomeres are organized in clusters present in similar numbers in both the human and insect stages. While the number of clusters remained the same, their distribution differed between the two stages. The telomeric clusters were found more concentrated near the center of the nucleus in the human stage than in the insect stage suggesting reorganization during the parasite's differentiation process between the two hosts. These data provide the first 3D analysis of Leishmania telomere organization. The possible biological implications of these findings are discussed

Double Dissociation of Amygdala and Hippocampal Contributions to Trace and Delay Fear Conditioning

A key finding in studies of the neurobiology of learning memory is that the amygdala is critically involved in Pavlovian fear conditioning. This is well established in delay-cued and contextual fear conditioning; however, surprisingly little is known of the role of the amygdala in trace conditioning. Trace fear conditioning, in which the CS and US are separated in time by a trace interval, requires the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. It is possible that recruitment of cortical structures by trace conditioning alters the role of the amygdala compared to delay fear conditioning, where the CS and US overlap. To investigate this, we inactivated the amygdala of male C57BL/6 mice with GABA A agonist muscimol prior to 2-pairing trace or delay fear conditioning. Amygdala inactivation produced deficits in contextual and delay conditioning, but had no effect on trace conditioning. As controls, we demonstrate that dorsal hippocampal inactivation produced deficits in trace and contextual, but not delay fear conditioning. Further, pre- and post-training amygdala inactivation disrupted the contextual but the not cued component of trace conditioning, as did muscimol infusion prior to 1- or 4-pairing trace conditioning. These findings demonstrate that insertion of a temporal gap between the CS and US can generate amygdala-independent fear conditioning. We discuss the implications of this surprising finding for current models of the neural circuitry involved in fear conditioning

The Effect of Particulate Air Pollution on Emergency Admissions for Myocardial Infarction: A Multicity Case-Crossover Analysis

Recently, attention has focused on whether particulate air pollution is a specific trigger of myocardial infarction (MI). The results of several studies of single locations assessing the effects of ambient particular matter on the risk of MI have been disparate. We used a multicity case-crossover study to examine risk of emergency hospitalization associated with fine particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter < 10 μm (PM(10)) for > 300,000 MIs during 1985–1999 among elderly residents of 21 U.S. cities. We used time-stratified controls matched on day of the week or on temperature to detect possible residual confounding by weather. Overall, we found a 0.65% [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.3–1.0%] increased risk of hospitalization for MI per 10 μg/m(3) increase in ambient PM(10) concentration. Matching on apparent temperature yielded a 0.64% increase in risk (95% CI, 0.1–1.2%). We found that the effect size for PM(10) doubled for subjects with a previous admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or a secondary diagnosis of pneumonia, although these differences did not achieve statistical significance. There was a weaker indication of a larger effect on males but no evidence of effect modification by age or the other diagnoses. We also found that the shape of the exposure–response relationship between MI hospitalizations and PM(10) is almost linear, but with a steeper slope at levels of PM(10) < 50 μg/m(3). We conclude that increased concentrations of ambient PM(10) are associated with increased risk of MI among the elderly

Microplastic-Associated Biofilms: A Comparison of Freshwater and Marine Environments

Microplastics (<5 mm particles) occur within both engineered and natural freshwater ecosystems, including wastewater treatment plants, lakes, rivers, and estuaries. While a significant proportion of microplastic pollution is likely sequestered within freshwater environments, these habitats also constitute an important conduit of microscopic polymer particles to oceans worldwide. The quantity of aquatic microplastic waste is predicted to dramatically increase over the next decade, but the fate and biological implications of this pollution are still poorly understood. A growing body of research has aimed to characterize the formation, composition, and spatiotemporal distribution of microplastic-associated (“plastisphere”) microbial biofilms. Plastisphere microorganisms have been suggested to play significant roles in pathogen transfer, modulation of particle buoyancy, and biodegradation of plastic polymers and co-contaminants, yet investigation of these topics within freshwater environments is at a very early stage. Here, what is known about marine plastisphere assemblages is systematically compared with up-to-date findings from freshwater habitats. Through analysis of key differences and likely commonalities between environments, we discuss how an integrated view of these fields of research will enhance our knowledge of the complex behavior and ecological impacts of microplastic pollutants

Sexual Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors among unmarried migrant female workers in China: a comparative analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent years, many studies have focused on adolescent's sex-related issues in China. However, there have been few studies of unmarried migrant females' sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, which is important for sexual health education and promotion.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A sample of 5156 unmarried migrant female workers was selected from three manufacturing factories, two located in Shenzhen and one in Guangzhou, China. Demographic data, sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors were assessed by self-administered questionnaires. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the factors associated with premarital sexual intercourse.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The average age of the unmarried female workers included in the sample was 20.2 years, and majority of them showed a low level of sex-related knowledge. Females from the west of China demonstrated a significant lower level of sex-related knowledge than those from the eastern or central provinces (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Approximately 13% of participants held a favorable attitude towards premarital sexual intercourse, and youths from the east/central were more likely to have favorable attitudes compared with those from the west (<it>p </it>< 0.05). About 17.0% of the unmarried female workers reported having engaged in premarital sexual intercourse, and females from the east/central were more likely to have experienced premarital sexual intercourse than those from the west (<it>p </it>< 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that age, education, current residential type, dating, sexual knowledge, attitudes, and pattern of communication were significantly associated with premarital sexual intercourse.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The unmarried migrant female workers lack sexual knowledge and a substantial proportion of them are engaged in premarital sexual behaviors. Interventions aimed at improving their sexual knowledge and related skills are needed.</p

Parents’ marital status and child physical abuse potential: the mediation of depression symptoms

Informed by a social interactional framework of stress and parenting, the aim of this study was to examine the mediating effect of depression symptoms on the asso- ciation between parents’ marital status (married and divorced parents) and child physical abuse potential, in a Portuguese community sample. It was hypothesized that the possible observed differences between divorced and married parents in the child physical abuse potential would be explained by their depression symptoms. Parents (N = 892) were assessed in their marital status, severity of depression symptoms and child physical abuse potential. Results showed that, when compared with married parents, divorced parents had higher child physical abuse potential. However, parents’ depression symptomatology was found as a mediator of the effect of marital status differences on child physical abuse potential. The influence of the status of divorced parents on the increase of child physical abuse potential was explained by the increase of the parents’ depression symptoms. This finding suggested that parents’ divorced status had no longer an effect on child physical abuse potential when parents’ depression symptomatology was tested as a mediator vari- able. The present mediation model explained 47 % of the variability in the child physical abuse potential score. Prac- tical implications of these findings for prevention and psy- chological intervention are also discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio