Growing up beside you: a relational sociology of early childhood

This article will begin by outlining influential attempts by historians and sociologists to develop a more adequate theoretical understanding of past and contemporary childhoods, focusing on the major problems that stem from the pivotal role that ‘developmentalism’ plays in their arguments. I will argue that sociologists can overcome some of their deepest fears about the role of developmental psychology by developing a relational approach that integrates the biological and social aspects of children’s development. In the development of a relational sociology of early childhood we need to make important connections with closely related disciplines, but at the same time draw on and integrate research findings from relevant areas within the social and natural sciences. An alternative perspective drawn from the writings of Norbert Elias will be put forward and illustrated by discussing some of the key concepts that Elias and Vygotsky used to explain the language development of young children

Childhood in Sociology and Society: The US Perspective

The field of childhood studies in the US is comprised of cross-disciplinary researchers who theorize and conduct research on both children and youth. US sociologists who study childhood largely draw on the childhood literature published in English. This article focuses on American sociological contributions, but notes relevant contributions from non-American scholars published in English that have shaped and fueled American research. This article also profiles the institutional support of childhood research in the US, specifically outlining the activities of the ‘Children and Youth’ Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA), and assesses the contributions of this area of study for sociology as well as the implications for an interdisciplinary field.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Circulating microparticles: square the circle

Background: The present review summarizes current knowledge about microparticles (MPs) and provides a systematic overview of last 20 years of research on circulating MPs, with particular focus on their clinical relevance. Results: MPs are a heterogeneous population of cell-derived vesicles, with sizes ranging between 50 and 1000 nm. MPs are capable of transferring peptides, proteins, lipid components, microRNA, mRNA, and DNA from one cell to another without direct cell-to-cell contact. Growing evidence suggests that MPs present in peripheral blood and body fluids contribute to the development and progression of cancer, and are of pathophysiological relevance for autoimmune, inflammatory, infectious, cardiovascular, hematological, and other diseases. MPs have large diagnostic potential as biomarkers; however, due to current technological limitations in purification of MPs and an absence of standardized methods of MP detection, challenges remain in validating the potential of MPs as a non-invasive and early diagnostic platform. Conclusions: Improvements in the effective deciphering of MP molecular signatures will be critical not only for diagnostics, but also for the evaluation of treatment regimens and predicting disease outcomes

Intracoronary microparticles and microvascular obstruction in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary percutaneous intervention

AimsMicroparticles (MP) are cell-derived fragments known to be increased in the blood of patients with acute coronary syndromes. We aimed to assess, in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the systemic and local (in the culprit coronary artery) levels of platelet-derived MP (PMP, CD42+CD31+) and endothelial-derived MP (EMP, CD42-CD31+) and their relation to indexes of microvascular obstruction (MVO).Methods and resultsIn 78 STEMI patients undergoing successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention, blood samples were sequentially drawn from the aorta and the culprit coronary artery for cytofluorimetric MP detection. Thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow, thrombus score (TS), corrected TIMI frame count (cTFC), myocardial blush grade (MBG), quantitative blush evaluator (QuBE) score, and 90 min ST resolution (\u3a3STR) were calculated. Both PMP and EMP levels were significantly higher in the intracoronary than in the aortic blood samples. Intracoronary PMP and EMP levels were positively related to TS and cTFC and inversely related to MBG and QuBE. Aortic PMP (but not EMP) levels were related to TS and cTFC and, inversely, to QuBE. Intracoronary PMP were independently related to angiographic and electrocardiographic MVO in a multivariate model.ConclusionThe correlations of intracoronary EMP and of both systemic and intracoronary PMP levels with TS support the role of MP as markers of ongoing thrombosis. Moreover, the correlation of intracoronary MP with indexes of microvascular dysfunction suggests, for the first time, a possible direct role of MP in the pathogenesis of MVO