RELATIONS BETWEEN GOD-IMAGES AND EARLY MALADAPTIVE SCHEMAS

Our God image not only determines the nature of our relationship with God, it also influences our personality, actions, selfconcept, mindset and social relations. It acts within and through us. Although everyone has a God image - regardless of whether one is a believer or not - same congregation give accounts of diverse God images. Schema is a widely used term in psychology. Schemas describe cognitive structures that filter, encode and interpret the stimuli affecting the person. They can influence the perception of reality, which later impacts the behavior and mood of the individual and in severe cases can result in pathology. The factors influencing the God image and early maladaptive schemas both have proven roots in early childhood and are impacted by the child-parent relationship. Our research focuses on examining the connection between maladaptive schemas and the God image and their relation to parental influence

Evaluation of Microwave Vacuum Drying Combined with Hot-Air Drying and Compared with Freeze- and Hot-Air Drying by the Quality of the Dried Apple Product

In this study, combined microwave vacuum drying (MVD) with hot-air drying was evaluated, and then compared with hot-air drying and freeze drying, by the quality of the created product. The aim was to show that MVD is a strong quality competitor with the conventional hot-air drying and the widely used, but expensive freeze drying. For raw material, Jonathan apple was used. The combined microwave vacuum drying consists of two steps, the hot-air pre-drying, and then the microwave vacuum drying. The MVD was made with a unique batch drying system. Chemical, (total phenolic compounds, free radical-scavenging activity, aromatic content) physical (hardness) and consumer-related (organoleptic, and microbiological) properties were measured as quality parameters. The results show that quality of the product made by MVD combined with hot-air pre-drying is higher than hot-air dried ones. By most of the measured quality parameters, microwave vacuum drying also provided higher quality product than freeze drying

GRATITUDE, RELIGIOUSNESS AND WELL-BEING

Background: Previous researches have identified the positive effects of gratitude on happiness and well-being. It has been found that spirituality can enhance gratitude and well-being. Our study aimed to examine the link between gratitude and subjective wellbeing among religious and non-religious people. Furthermore we tested if a 4-week long gratitude diary has a positive effect on subjective well-being. Subjects and methods: In our online, qualitative investigation the sample consisted of 54 males and 169 females (mean age = 39.13, SD=15.90). 54.1% of respondents rel24.8igious on my own waynd 21.2% as -experimental group (leading a gratitude diary for 4 weeks) with 103 individuals and a control group with 120 individuals with no differences in age, gender and religiousness. We compared the questionna (filled out both before and after the intervention) of the experimental group (n=103) with the results of the control group (n=120) similarly filled out on two different occasions. We applied Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test and Subjective Well-being Scale. Results: Our results showed that religious people showed elevated level of gratitude (F(2, 219)=23.66, p<0.001) but same wellbeing (F(2, 219)=1.97, p=0.142) compared to non-religious groups. In the experiment group the gratitude and the subjective wellbeing both increased (p<0.01), and there was no significant changes in control group. 2x2 ANOVA showed significant interaction effect (Subjective well-being: (F(1, 221)=13.32, p<0.001); Gratitude: F(1, 221)=12.43, p<0.001). Conclusion: Religiousness is linked to higher gratitude and an increase in gratitude can result in an increase in subjective wellbeing. The importance of gratitude diary both among religious and non-religious people will be discussed

CANCER AS A SOURCE OF POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH: A BRIEF REVIEW

The diagnosis and treatment of cancer represents an experience that is potentially psychologically traumatizing for patients. However, cancer can contribute to the experience of positive psychological changes, namely posttraumatic growth. We conducted a review of empirical studies (n=44) on posttraumatic growth in cancer patients. We focused on the relations of posttraumatic growth to socio-demographic, medical, and psychological adjustment correlates. Results from forty-four reviewed articles indicated that age, gender, and ethnicity were consistently associated with posttraumatic growth in cancer. Regarding illness-related factors, the majority of relationships were positive and were found between subjective severity of cancer, chemotherapy, and experienced growth. The review revealed inconsistent relationships between indicators of psychological adjustment (emotional distress, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and quality of life) and perceived positive changes in the case of the cancer patients. Longitudinal studies might resolve this inconsistency by showing that posttraumatic growth has benefits for later psychological adjustment, as other studies have already documented

Brown adipose tissue in obesity: Fractalkine-receptor dependent immune cell recruitment affects metabolic-related gene expression.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays essential role in metabolic- and thermoregulation and displays morphological and functional plasticity in response to environmental and metabolic challenges. BAT is a heterogeneous tissue containing adipocytes and various immune-related cells, however, their interaction in regulation of BAT function is not fully elucidated. Fractalkine is a chemokine synthesized by adipocytes, which recruits fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1)-expressing leukocytes into the adipose tissue. Using transgenic mice, in which the fractalkine receptor, Cx3cr1 gene was replaced by Gfp, we evaluated whether deficiency in fractalkine signaling affects BAT remodeling and function in high-fat-diet - induced obesity. Homo- and heterozygote male CX3CR1-GFP mice were fed with normal or fat enriched (FatED) diet for 10weeks. Interscapular BAT was collected for molecular biological analysis. Heterozygous animals in which fractalkine signaling remains intact, gain more weight during FatED than CX3CR1 deficient gfp/gfp homozygotes. FatED in controls resulted in macrophage recruitment to the BAT with increased expression of proinflammatory mediators (Il1a, b, Tnfa and Ccl2). Local BAT inflammation was accompanied by increased expression of lipogenic enzymes and resulted in BAT "whitening". By contrast, fractalkine receptor deficiency prevented accumulation of tissue macrophages, selectively attenuated the expression of Tnfa, Il1a and Ccl2, increased BAT expression of lipolytic enzymes (Atgl, Hsl and Mgtl) and upregulated genes involved thermo-metabolism (Ucp1, Pparg Pgc1a) in response to FatED. These results highlight the importance of fractalkine-CX3CR1 interaction in recruitment of macrophages into the BAT of obese mice which might contribute to local tissue inflammation, adipose tissue remodeling and regulation of metabolic-related genes

Xenoestrogens Ethinyl Estradiol and Zearalenone Cause Precocious Puberty in Female Rats via Central Kisspeptin Signaling

Xenoestrogens from synthetic or natural origin represent an increasing risk of disrupted endocrine functions including the physiological activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonad axis. Ethinyl estradiol (EE2) is a synthetic estrogen used in contraceptive pills, whereas zearalenone (ZEA) is a natural mycoestrogen found with increasing prevalence in various cereal crops. Both EE2 and ZEA are agonists of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and accelerate puberty. However, the neuroendocrine mechanisms that are responsible for this effect remain unknown. Immature female Wistar rats were treated with EE2 (10 mu g/kg), ZEA (10 mg/kg) or vehicle for 10 days starting from postnatal day 18. As a marker of puberty, vaginal opening was recorded and neuropeptide- and related transcription factor mRNA levels were measured by quantitative real time PCR and in situ hybridization histochemistry. Both ZEA and EE2 accelerated vaginal opening, increased uterine weight and the number of antral follicles in the ovary and resulted in increased central expression of gnrh. These changes occurred in parallel with an earlier increase of kiss1 mRNA in the anteroventral and rostral periventricular (AVPV/PeV) hypothalamus, and increased kisspeptin (KP) fiber density and KP-GnRH appositions in the preoptic area. These changes are compatible with a mechanism in which xenoestrogens overstimulate the developmentally unprepared reproductive system, which results in advanced vaginal opening and enlargement of the uterus at the periphery. Within the hypothalamus, ZEA and EE2 directly activate AVPV KP neurons to stimulate GnRH mRNA. However, GnRH and gonadotropin release and ovulation are disrupted due to xenoestrogen-mediated inhibitory KP signaling in the arcuate nucleus

The fractalkine/Cx3CR1 system is implicated in the development of metabolic visceral adipose tissue inflammation in obesity.

Diet-induced obesity and related peripheral and central inflammation are major risk factors for metabolic, neurological and psychiatric diseases. The chemokine fractalkine (Cx3CL1) and its receptor Cx3CR1 play a pivotal role in recruitment, infiltration and proinflammatory polarization of leukocytes and micoglial cells, however, the role of fractalkine signaling in the development of metabolic inflammation is not fully resolved. To address this issue, fractalkine receptor deficient (Cx3CR1 gfp/gfp) mice were exposed to normal or fat-enriched diet (FatED) for 10weeks and physiological-, metabolic- and immune parameters were compared to those animals in which the fractalkine signaling is maintained by the presence of one functioning allele (Cx3CR1 +/gfp). Mice with intact fractalkine signaling develop obesity characterized by increased epididymal white fat depots and mild glucose intolerance, recruit leukocytes into the visceral adipose tissue and display increased expression of subset of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines when exposed to fat-enriched diet. By contrast, Cx3CR1-deficient (gfp/gfp) mice gain significantly less weight on fat-enriched diet and have smaller amount of white adipose tissue (WAT) in the visceral compartment than heterozygote controls. Furthermore, Cx3CR1 gfp/gfp mice fed a fat-enriched diet do not develop glucose intolerance, recruit proportionally less number of gfp-positive cells and express significantly less MCP-1, IL-1alpha and TNFalpha in the WAT than control animals with fat-enriched diet induced obesity. Furthermore, heterozygote obese, but not fractalkine receptor deficient mice express high levels of anti-inflammatory IL-10 and arginase1 markers in the visceral fat. The effect of fat-enriched diet on cytokine expression pattern was specific for the WAT, as we did not detect significant elevation of interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and monocyte chemotacting protein (MCP-1) expression in the liver or in the hypothalamus in either genotype. These results highlight the importance of fractalkine signaling in recruitment and polarization of adipose tissue immune cells and identify fractalkine as a target to fight obesity-induced inflammatory complications