Validation study of human figure drawing test in a Colombian school children population

The aim of this article was to assess the validity of the emotional and developmental components of the Koppitz human figure drawing test. 2420 children's drawings available in a database resulting from a previous cross sectional study designed to determine the prevalence of neurological diseases in children between 0 and 12 years old in Bogota schools were evaluated. They were scored using the criteria proposed by Koppitz, and classified into 16 groups according to age, gender, and presence/absence of learning or attention problems. The overall results were then compared with the normative study to assess whether descriptive parameters of the two populations were significantly different. There were no significant differences associated with presence/absence of learning and attention disorders or school attended within the overall sample. An Interrater reliability test has been made to assure the homogeneity of scoring by the evaluator team. There were significant differences between this population and that of the original study. New scoring tables contextualized for our population based on the frequency of appearance in this sample are presented. We can conclude that various ethnic, social, and cultural factors can influence the way children draw the human figure. It is thus important to establish local reference values to adequately distinguish between normality and abnormality. The new scoring tables proposed here should be followed up with a clinical study to corroborate their validity. © 2011 by The Spanish Journal of Psychology

Critical periods of increased fetal vulnerability to a maternal high fat diet

Background: Fetal adaptations to high fat (HF) diet in utero (IU) that may predispose to Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) in adulthood include changes in fetal hepatic gene expression. Studies were performed to determine whether maternal exposure to HF diet at different stages during pregnancy had different effects on the fetus, including hepatic gene expression. Methods: Female wild type mice were fed either a HF or breeding chow (C) for 2 wks prior to mating. The experimental groups were composed of embryonic day (e) 18.5 fetuses obtained from WT female mice that were fed HF (HF, 35.5% fat) or breeding chow (C, 9.5% fat) for 2 wk before mating until e9.5 of pregnancy (periconception-midpregnancy). At e9.5 dams were switched to the opposite diet (C-HF or HF-C). Results: Exposure to HF diet throughout pregnancy reduced maternal weight gain compared to C diet (p \u3c 0.02 HF vs. C). HF-C dams had significantly decreased adiponectin levels and litter size when compared to C-HF (p \u3c 0.02 HF-C vs C-HF). Independent of the timing of exposure to HF, fetal weight and length were significantly decreased when compared to C diet (HF, C-HF and HF-C vs. C p \u3c 0.02). HF diet during the second half of pregnancy increased expression of genes in the fetal liver associated with fetal growth (C-HF vs C p \u3c 0.001), glucose production (C-HF vs C p \u3c 0.04), oxidative stress and inflammation (C-HF vs C p \u3c 0.01) compared to C diet. Conclusions: This model defines that there are critical periods during gestation in which the fetus is actively shaped by the environment. Early exposure to a HF diet determines litter size while exposure to HF during the second half of pregnancy leads to dysregulation of expression of key genes responsible for fetal growth, hepatic glucose production and oxidative stress. These findings underscore the importance of future studies designed to clarify how these critical periods may influence future risk of developing MetS later in life

miR-146a rs2431697 identifies myeloproliferative neoplasm patients with higher secondary myelofibrosis progression risk

Myelofibrosis (MF) occurs as part of the natural history of polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET), and remarkably shortens survival. Although JAK2V617F and CALR allele burden are the main transformation risk factors, inflammation plays a critical role by driving clonal expansion toward end-stage disease. NF-κB is a key mediator of inflammation-induced carcinogenesis. Here, we explored the involvement of miR-146a, a brake in NF-κB signaling, in MPN susceptibility and progression. rs2910164 and rs2431697, that affect miR-146a expression, were analyzed in 967 MPN (320 PV/333 ET/314 MF) patients and 600 controls. We found that rs2431697 TT genotype was associated with MF, particularly with post-PV/ET MF (HR = 1.5; p < 0.05). Among 232 PV/ET patients (follow-up time=8.5 years), 18 (7.8%) progressed to MF, being MF-free-survival shorter for rs2431697 TT than CC + CT patients (p = 0.01). Multivariate analysis identified TT genotype as independent predictor of MF progression. In addition, TT (vs. CC + CT) patients showed increased plasma inflammatory cytokines. Finally, miR-146a−/− mice showed significantly higher Stat3 activity with aging, parallel to the development of the MF-like phenotype. In conclusion, we demonstrated that rs2431697 TT genotype is an early predictor of MF progression independent of the JAK2V617F allele burden. Low levels of miR-146a contribute to the MF phenotype by increasing Stat3 signaling

A decision support system for integrated tourism development: rethinking tourism policies and management strategies

Identifying the most appropriate institutional structures and strategies to integrate the views and coordinate the actions of diverse tourism stakeholders is a key stage in the development of integrated tourism in rural and lagging areas. In this work a Decision Support System (DSS) is developed which combines tools to assist in the analysis of the views, concerns and planned strategies of a wide range of tourism stakeholders in the face of given trends in tourists' expectations. The role and suitability of such an approach is examined in the real situation of three case-study areas in Auvergne (France), umava Mountains (Czech Republic) and Evrytania (Greece). Two major sets of results are discussed. Firstly, there are the impacts of given hypothetical tourism policies developed by simulating the views and strategies of the different tourism stakeholders. Secondly, the paper considers the relative benefits and disadvantages for integrated tourism if collaborative negotiations take place among the different tourism stakeholders. The paper concludes by examining the usefulness of such an approach for tourism planners

Validation study of human figure drawing test in a Colombian school children population

The aim of this article was to assess the validity of the emotional and developmental components of the Koppitz human figure drawing test. 2420 children's drawings available in a database resulting from a previous cross sectional study designed to determine the prevalence of neurological diseases in children between 0 and 12 years old in Bogota schools were evaluated. They were scored using the criteria proposed by Koppitz, and classified into 16 groups according to age, gender, and presence/absence of learning or attention problems. The overall results were then compared with the normative study to assess whether descriptive parameters of the two populations were significantly different. There were no significant differences associated with presence/absence of learning and attention disorders or school attended within the overall sample. An Interrater reliability test has been made to assure the homogeneity of scoring by the evaluator team. There were significant differences between this population and that of the original study. New scoring tables contextualized for our population based on the frequency of appearance in this sample are presented. We can conclude that various ethnic, social, and cultural factors can influence the way children draw the human figure. It is thus important to establish local reference values to adequately distinguish between normality and abnormality. The new scoring tables proposed here should be followed up with a clinical study to corroborate their validity. © 2011 by The Spanish Journal of Psychology