Distinct profiles of reactive and proactive aggression in adolescents : associations with cognitive and affective empathy

Background: Aggression comprises a heterogeneous set of behavioral patterns that aim to harm and hurt others. Empathy represents a potential mechanism that inhibits aggressive conduct and enhances prosocial behavior. Nevertheless, research results on the relationship between empathy and aggression are mixed. Subtypes of aggressive behavior, such as reactive and proactive aggression might be differently related to empathy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the interrelations of cognitive and affective empathy with reactive and proactive aggression. Methods: We recruited a sample of 177 (33% female, M age 15.6) adolescents from socio-educational and juvenile justice institutions and a community sample of 77 (36% female, M age 13.1) adolescents from secondary schools. Using bivariate correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis, we firstly investigated associations between cognitive and affective empathy and reactive and proactive aggression. Subsequently, we performed cluster analysis to identify clusters of adolescents with meaningful profiles of aggressive behavior and compared derived clusters on measures of empathy. We applied the Basic Empathy Scale and the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire. Results: Bivariate analysis and hierarchical regression analysis showed that cognitive and affective empathy were negatively associated with proactive aggression, but not with reactive aggression. Cluster-analysis revealed three clusters of adolescents with distinct aggression profiles: a cluster with elevated scores on reactive and proactive aggression, a clusters with high scores on reactive aggression only, and a low aggression cluster. Cluster comparisons revealed that the reactive-proactive aggression cluster showed significantly lower scores on cognitive and affective empathy than both other clusters. Results further indicated that within the reactive-proactive aggression cluster, girls did not differ significantly from boys in empath Conclusions: The present study extends previously published findings, and possibly explains conflicting results in prior research. Our results indicated that cognitive and affective empathy are reduced in adolescents with high levels of reactive and proactive aggression. Our study may contribute to the development of tailored clinical interventions for different aggression clusters

Euler buckling instability and enhanced current blockade in suspended single-electron transistors

Single-electron transistors embedded in a suspended nanobeam or carbon nanotube may exhibit effects originating from the coupling of the electronic degrees of freedom to the mechanical oscillations of the suspended structure. Here, we investigate theoretically the consequences of a capacitive electromechanical interaction when the supporting beam is brought close to the Euler buckling instability by a lateral compressive strain. Our central result is that the low-bias current blockade, originating from the electromechanical coupling for the classical resonator, is strongly enhanced near the Euler instability. We predict that the bias voltage below which transport is blocked increases by orders of magnitude for typical parameters. This mechanism may make the otherwise elusive classical current blockade experimentally observable.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, 1 table; published versio

Discontinuous Euler instability in nanoelectromechanical systems

We investigate nanoelectromechanical systems near mechanical instabilities. We show that quite generally, the interaction between the electronic and the vibronic degrees of freedom can be accounted for essentially exactly when the instability is continuous. We apply our general framework to the Euler buckling instability and find that the interaction between electronic and vibronic degrees of freedom qualitatively affects the mechanical instability, turning it into a discontinuous one in close analogy with tricritical points in the Landau theory of phase transitions.Comment: 4+ pages, 3 figures, published versio

Business consulting para la empresa agroindustrial Pafer S.A.C.

El presente informe de consultoría se desarrolló para la empresa Agroindustrial PAFER S.A.C., ubicada en la región Ica, en Perú. Esta empresa se dedica principalmente al cultivo y venta de páprika, y en menor proporción al cultivo de hortalizas y frutas. Agroindustrial PAFER S.A.C tiene como cliente estratégico a la empresa Industrial Comercial Holguin e Hijos S.A, la cual es la primera exportadora nacional de páprika. Se ha realizado un análisis externo e interno de la empresa, lo que ha permitido identificar los principales problemas, y luego de una evaluación y ponderación de cada problema, se identificó como principal a la deficiente gestión de costos de producción. Se plantearon alternativas potenciales de solución a la problemática encontrada y se eligió la que tendría un impacto positivo en el corto plazo, lo que permita concientizar a los gerentes sobre los beneficios de este tipo de proyectos. La alternativa elegida permitió definir proyectos estratégicos, los cuales se sometieron a metodologías de comparación, eligiendo como proyecto prioritario a la estandarización de los procesos operativos y capacitación a los gerentes y mandos medios en gestión estratégica de costos y de operaciones. Como consecuencia de ello, se formó y desarrolló un equipo de mejora continua, así como ciclos de capacitaciones, lo cual permitió resultados cualitativos y cuantitativos en aproximadamente un año. Los beneficios del proyecto se reflejaron principalmente en la disminución del costo de producción con un rendimiento optimizado y aumentando el producto de primera calidad. El impacto de la solución se evidenció en la mejora de los procesos operativos, en la disminución de los costos de producción y en la fijación de un mejor precio de venta del producto. Los resultados también se reflejaron en los estados financieros, ya que se logró un incremento en el margen de utilidad, así como un mejor ROI y ROE para el 2023.This business consulting was developed to the company Agroindustrial PAFER S.A.C., which is located in Ica, Perú. This company is dedicated mainly to the cultivation of paprika, and in lesser proportion to the cultivation of vegetables and fruits. Their main and strategic customer is Comercial Holguin e Hijos S.A, which is the principal national exporter of paprika. An analysis of the company Agroindustrial PAFER has been carried out to identify the main problems. After the evaluation and weighting of each problem, the result was the deficient management of production costs as the main one. Potential alternative solutions to these problems were proposed and the chosen one will have a positive impact in the short term, so it would also allow managers to become aware of the benefits of this type of project, therefore they would continue with initiatives of greater scope. The chosen alternative made it possible to define strategic projects, which were subjected to comparison methodologies, and thus to choose the standardization of operating processes as a priority project, which include training managers and middle managers in strategic management of costs and operations. Thereby, a continuous improvement team was formed and developed, as well as training cycles. Due to this solution, the company would have qualitative and quantitative results in less than a year. The benefits of this project would reflect mainly in the reduction of the cost of production with an optimized performance, and the increase of the product quality. The impact of the solution would be evidenced by the improvement of operating processes, the reduction of production costs, and the fixing of a better product sale price. In Addition, the results of the solution would be also evidenced by the financial statements, since an increase in the profit margin was achieved, as well as a better ROI and ROE in 2023

Super-resolution STED imaging in the inner and outer whole-mount mouse retina

Since its invention, super-resolution microscopy has become a popular tool for advanced imaging of biological structures, allowing visualisation of subcellular structures at a spatial scale below the diffraction limit. Thus, it is not surprising that recently, different super-resolution techniques are being applied in neuroscience, e.g. to resolve the clustering of neurotransmitter receptors and protein complex composition in presynaptic terminals. Still, the vast majority of these experiments were carried out either in cell cultures or very thin tissue sections, while there are only a few examples of super-resolution imaging in deeper layers (30 - 50 µm) of biological samples. In that context, the mammalian whole-mount retina has rarely been studied with super-resolution microscopy. Here, we aimed at establishing a stimulated-emission-depletion (STED) microscopy protocol for imaging whole-mount retina. To this end, we developed sample preparation including horizontal slicing of retinal tissue, an immunolabeling protocol with STED-compatible fluorophores and optimised the image acquisition settings. We labelled subcellular structures in somata, dendrites, and axons of retinal ganglion cells in the inner mouse retina. By measuring the full width at half maximum of the thinnest filamentous structures in our preparation, we achieved a resolution enhancement of two or higher compared to conventional confocal images. When combined with horizontal slicing of the retina, these settings allowed visualisation of putative GABAergic horizontal cell synapses in the outer retina. Taken together, we successfully established a STED protocol for reliable super-resolution imaging in the whole-mount mouse retina at depths between 30 and 50 µm, which enables investigating, for instance, protein complex composition and cytoskeletal ultrastructure at retinal synapses in health and disease

Métodos biológico e alternativo no controle da mancha aquosa no meloeiro / Biological and alternative methods to control watery spot in melon

O meloeiro (Cucumis melo L.) é uma das hortaliças mais relevantes no mundo. Devido ao manejo inadequado inúmeras doenças como a mancha aquosa vem acometendo está cultura, causando prejuízos econômicos pela redução da quantidade e/ou qualidade de frutos comercializados. As medidas eficientes para controle da doença são escassas, e após introduzida em uma área, é de difícil erradicação. Assim, alternativas para o seu controle devem ser avaliadas e, dentre elas, cita-se os controles: biológico e alternativo, através de leveduras biocontroladoras e o uso de silício. A presente revisão teve como objetivo elucidar os métodos biológico e alternativo no controle da mancha-aquosa no meloeiro. A mancha aquosa vem sendo assinalada como uma doença de grande impacto econômico mundial, com riscos elevados para cucurbitáceas, principalmente para o meloeiro. No entanto, o estabelecimento de algumas estratégias alternativas através do biocontrole utilizando as leveduras e o Silício, vem demonstrando resultados promissores para o manejo da doença, possibilitado a redução das perdas nos campos de produção e garantido a melhoria na qualidade dos frutos

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure < 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

Emotional stimulation processing and empathy in aggressive adolescents

Dysfunctional emotional processing has a negative impact on human behavior. In children and adolescents, deviant perception and understanding of emotional stimulation and reduced empathic functioning impair the development of important social skills. The present thesis aimed to better understand dysfunctional emotional processing in subgroups of children and adolescents with aggressive and antisocial behavior. We investigated dysfunctions in specific neurocognitive components and their influence on reactive and proactive forms of aggression. Further, characteristics defining subgroups of aggressive and antisocial children and adolescents with distinct dysfunctions in emotional processing were examined. Article 1 addresses the question if cognitive control is more susceptible to the deleterious influence of distressing emotional stimulation in patients with conduct disorder than in healthy controls. In an experimental paradigm we measured performance on a color-word Stroop test under the influence of distressing emotional stimulation. Results indicated that unlike in healthy controls, cognitive control is impaired in reactive aggressive adolescents when subjected to distressing emotional stimulation. In Article 2 we investigated the interrelation of empathy and behavior. In a sample of high-risk adolescent girls and boys we addressed the question whether cognitive and affective facets of empathy are involved in the inhibition of reactive and proactive forms of aggression and the motivation of prosocial behavior. Our data indicated that empathy is only involved in the inhibition of proactive aggression, but not in the inhibition of reactive aggression. Further, results showed that both facets of empathy contribute positively to motivate prosocial behavior. With Article 3, we aimed to identify characteristics which define subgroups of aggressive children and adolescents with specific patterns of dysfunctional emotional processing. Using model-based cluster analysis, we disaggregated variants of adolescents with conduct disorder based on anxiety symptoms and callous-unemotional traits. Variants differed in comorbid psychopathologies and personality development. We also found a gender-specific affiliation to identified variants that supports the assumption of the gender paradox in children and adolescents with conduct disorder. In conclusion, the research presented in this dissertation indicates that reactive and proactive forms of aggression are associated with distinct dysfunctions in emotional processing and supports a better understanding of factors involved in specific phenotypes of aggressive behavior. Based on the results it can be assumed that (1) impaired cognitive control in situations of emotional distress provokes reactive aggression and (2) insufficient understanding of others’ emotions enhances the risk for proactive aggression. Variants of aggressive and antisocial adolescents may by identified based on characteristics associated with these neurocognitive deficits. Findings emphasize the importance of specific treatment approaches tailored to subgroups of aggressive and antisocial children and adolescents with unique characteristics