Qualidade das relações de amizade e regulação emocional em adolescentes isolados-retraídos.

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao ISPA – Instituto UniversitárioA presente investigação tem como principal objetivo, compreender a relação entre a qualidade da amizade e a regulação emocional, nos adolescentes isolados-retraídos. A adolescência caracteriza-se por ser uma fase de desenvolvimento humano onde os indivíduos sofrem profundas alterações a nível fisiológico, psicológico e social. Nesta etapa, as relações de amizade assumem igualmente uma enorme importância no desenvolvimento psicossocial e bem-estar dos indivíduos. Assim, o isolamento dos adolescentes, ativo e passivo, assume-se como um preditor para um desajustamento psicossocial que poderá resultar numa ineficaz regulação emocional. Partindo deste pressuposto, aplicaram-se os questionários Extended Class Play (ECP), Friendship Quality Questionaire (FQQ), Emotion Regulation Index for Children and Adolescents (ERICA) e Emotion Regulation Questionaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ_CA), a um grupo de adolescentes entre os 12 e 15 anos de um colégio particular da zona da Grande Lisboa. Os resultados demonstram que, pelas suas características intrínsecas, os adolescentes isolados-retraídos possuem relações de amizade de fraca qualidade e, por isso, não adquirem competências psicossociais necessárias para uma eficaz regulação emocional. Por outro lado, estes indivíduos destacam-se por recorrer a estratégias de supressão como forma de modelar as suas experiências emocionais, o que tem consequências negativas tanto a nível afetivo como cognitivo e social. No que concerne ao género as raparigas possuem no geral relações de amizade de melhor qualidade e por isso mais capacidade de regulação emocional. No entanto, os rapazes isolados-retraídos possuem relações de melhor qualidade mas tendem a ter menos aptidão para modelar as suas emoções quando comparados com as raparigas.ABSTRACT: This research aims to understand the relationship between the friendship quality and emotion regulation in withdrawn adolescents. Adolescence is characterized by being a stage in human development where individuals experience profound physiological, psychological and social changes. At this period, the friendship relations also play a critical role in individuals’ psychosocial development and well-being. Therefore, adolescent’s social withdrawal, both active and passive, it is assumed to be a predictor of psychosocial maladjustment that could result in ineffective emotion regulation. Having this assumption as framework, the questionnaires Extended Class Play (ECP), Friendship Quality Questionnaire (FQQ), Emotion Regulation Index for Children and Adolescents (ERICA) and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ_CA), were applied to a range of adolescents aged 12-15 years from a private school in Great Lisbon. The results show that, due to its inherent characteristics, these withdrawn adolescents maintain poor friendship quality relationships and therefore do not get necessary psychosocial skills for developing an effective emotion regulation. On the other hand, these individuals stand out by using suppression strategies as a way to model their emotional experiences, which has negative consequences on emotional, cognitive and social levels. Concerning gender issues, girls have better friendship quality and therefore more ability to regulate emotion. However, social withdrawn boys have better relationship quality but tend to have less ability to shape their emotions when compared with girls

Non-Lethal Detection of Ranavirus in Fish

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Streptococcus canis Are a Single Population Infecting Multiple Animal Hosts Despite the Diversity of the Universally Present M-Like Protein SCM

Streptococcus canis is an animal pathogen which occasionally causes infections in humans. The S. canis M-like protein (SCM) encoded by the scm gene, is its best characterized virulence factor but previous studies suggested it could be absent in a substantial fraction of isolates. We studied the distribution and variability of the scm gene in 188 S. canis isolates recovered from companion animals (n = 152), wild animal species (n = 20), and humans (n = 14). Multilocus sequence typing, including the first characterization of wildlife isolates, showed that the same lineages are present in all animal hosts, raising the possibility of extensive circulation between species. Whole-genome analysis revealed that emm-like genes found previously in S. canis correspond to divergent scm genes, indicating that what was previously believed to correspond to two genes is in fact the same scm locus. We designed primers allowing for the first time the successful amplification of the scm gene in all isolates. Analysis of the scm sequences identified 12 distinct types, which could be divided into two clusters: group I (76%, n = 142) and group II (24%, n = 46) sharing little sequence similarity. The predicted group I SCM showed extensive similarity with each other outside of the N-terminal hypervariable region and a conserved IgG binding domain. This domain was absent from group II SCM variants found in isolates previously thought to lack the scm gene, which also showed greater amino acid variability. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the possible host interacting partners of the group II SCM variants and their role in virulence

The development of the therapeutic alliance and the emergence of alliance ruptures

Objetivos: Este estudio evaluó el desarrollo de la alianza terapéutica y la aparición de rupturas de alianzas, en una muestra de pacientes con diferentes diagnósticos y resultados terapéuticos. Diseño: Se analizaron los datos longitudinales de 38 díadas terapéuticas que recibieran terapia cognitivo-conductual. La muestra incluyó a casos de abandonos, así como casos exitosos y no exitosos. La muestra incluyó a casos con trastornos del Eje I y Eje II. Método: Al final de cada sesión, los pacientes evaluaron la alianza mediante el Inventario de Alianza de Terapéutica (WAI). Seis jueces entrenados en la observación de los marcadores de ruptura de alianza con un sistema de observación de rupturas, codificaran 201 sesiones terapéuticas grabadas en vídeo. Se aplicaran modelos estadísticos longitudinales a los datos. Resultados: Se encontró que el patrón de desarrollo de la alianza de los casos de éxito era diferente de la de los casos sin éxito y abandonos. En media, los pacientes con trastornos de la personalidad iniciaran la terapia con una menor puntuación en el WAI que disminuyó con el tiempo, mientras que los pacientes con trastornos del Eje I iniciaran la terapia con una mayor puntuación en el WAI que aumentó con el tiempo.Objectives: This study evaluated the development of the therapeutic alliance and the emergence of alliance ruptures, in a sample of patients with different diagnosis and different therapeutic outcome. Design: We examined the longitudinal data of 38 therapeutic dyads receiving cognitive-behavioural therapy, including dropouts as well as successful and unsuccessful cases. The sample included cases with Axis I and Axis II disorders. Method: At the end of each session, patients evaluated the alliance using the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI). Six judges trained in the observation of alliance rupture markers with an observational system of ruptures, rated 201 videotaped sessions. Longitudinal statistical models were applied to the data. Results: We found that the pattern of alliance development of successful cases was different from the unsuccessful and dropouts cases. In addition on average, patients with personality disorders began therapy with a lower WAI score that decreased over time, whereas patients with Axis-I disorders began therapy with a higher WAI score that increased over time

Non-Lethal Detection of <i>Ranavirus</i> in Fish

Emergent infectious diseases have an increasing impact on both farmed animals and wildlife. The ability to screen for pathogens is critical for understanding host–pathogen dynamics and informing better management. Ranavirus is a pathogen of concern, associated with disease outbreaks worldwide, affecting a broad range of fish, amphibian, and reptile hosts, but research has been limited. The traditional screening of internal tissues, such as the liver, has been regarded as the most effective for detecting and quantifying Ranavirus. However, such methodology imposes several limitations from ethical and conservation standpoints. Non-lethal sampling methods of viral detection were explored by comparing the efficacy of both buccal swabbing and fin clipping. The study was conducted on two Iberian, threatened freshwater fish (Iberochondrostoma lusitanicum and Cobitis paludica), and all samples were screened using qPCR. While for C. paludica both methods were reliable in detecting Ranavirus, on I. lusitanicum, there was a significantly higher detection rate in buccal swabs than in fin tissue. This study, therefore, reports that fin clipping may yield false Ranavirus negatives when in small-bodied freshwater fish. Overall, buccal swabbing is found to be good as an alternative to more invasive procedures, which is of extreme relevance, particularly when dealing with a threatened species