The Posttraumatic Growth Process in Young Adult Survivors of Adolescent Cancer: The Relevance of Peer Relationships and Self-esteem

Many youth with cancer experience positive outcomes, such as posttraumatic growth (PTG). This study aimed to understand the process that theoretically precedes PTG, often described as a shattering and rebuilding of world-views, for young adult survivors (YAS) of childhood cancer. Peer relationships (PR) and self-esteem (SE) were evaluated as two world-views that might be vulnerable to change during a youth’s cancer experience. In this study, YAS retrospectively reported their PR and SE before and during their cancer, and currently as survivors, in addition to current PTG. Six patterns of change in PR and SE across the cancer experience were identified. Individuals who endorsed a pattern that mirrored the process that theoretically precedes PTG in their SE, reported higher PTG than individuals who did not endorsed that pattern. Findings provide insight into how YAS remember their cancer experience and its impact on current circumstances and positive adaptation

Quantifying Changes in the Spatial Structure of Trabecular Bone

We apply recently introduced measures of complexity for the structural quantfication of distal tibial bone. For the first time, we are able to investigate the temporal structural alteration of trabecular bone. Based on four patients, we show how bone may alter due to temporal immobilisation

On target: a history of the 863d AAA-AW-BN in the Second World War

From the Foreword: The writing of this book began shortly before V~E day. Together with what had been scribbled in the unit history journal and more carefully entered in the more ostentatious records, refreshing notes and photographs submitted by battery representatives were used in the telling and illustrating of this integrated story of the 863d AAA A W Bn. In this presentation, it was impossible to obtain and relate personal anecdotes involving each man in the battalion. Whether or not you are mentioned specifically, it is our hope that you see yourself described, albeit anonymously, in the experiences and sentiments and moods common to all in this memorable adventure of the 863d. We have tried to gather and utilize all suitable information brought to our attention to give a full, cohesive, readable story of the battalion and all its officers and men, its campaigns, its missions, its organizational experiences, its troublous days and gayer times- in a word, its life as a military organization from date of activation on 1 June 1943 at Fort Totten, Long Island to V-J Day, 14 August 1945, in and around Bad Soden, Germany. Sgt. Benjamin Gise, Editor-in-Chiefhttps://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/ww_reg_his/1111/thumbnail.jp

KAJIAN KREATIVITAS EKSPRESI PADA KARYA PUISI SISWA SMA (Analisis Deskriptif karya siswa di SMAN 9 Bandung)

Penelitian ini dilatarbelakangi oleh permasalahan puisi di sekolah, kurang kreatifnya siswa dalam menuliskan puisi. Seringkali siswa tidak kreatif dalam menuliskan sebuah karya puisi karena keterbatasan penggunaan bahasa dalam puisi. Siswa juga berpendapat menulis puisi adalah kegiatan yang sulit dilakukan karena takut hasil tulisannya tidak bagus. Oleh karena itu, dihadirkan proses dalam penulisan puisi, proses kreatif berhubungan dengan kreativitas karena melibatkan pikiran dan imajinasi. Tahapan yang dilakukan siswa diantaranya pencarian ide, pematangan ide, penulisan, perbaikan/revisi. Untuk melihat seberapa kreatif siswa dalam menulis puisi, terlihat dalam penggunaan makna yang tertulis dalam puisinya. Melalui ekspresi tidak langsung (Riffarete) dan penyimpangan bahasa dipakai untuk mengukur kreativitas yang tereskpresikan dalam sebuah karya puisi. Hal tersebut mendasari unsur kreativitas yang utama yaitu melibatkan pikiran dan imajinasi. Penelitian ini dilakukan di SMAN 9 Bandung kelas XI IPA 1. Hasil analisis yang dilakukan, dari 18 puisi yang didapat, yang memenuhi kriteria dalam kreativitas adalah 4 puisi. Puisi tersebut mengandung perubahan isi dari tahapan penulisan ke perbaikian/revisi. Penggunaan kreativitas yang tereskpresikan dalam makna puisi mendapatkan beberapa unsur penyimpangan dan ekspresi tidak langsung dalam puisi. Dengan demikian dapat disimpulkan kreativitas dalam puisi dapat dinilai dalam makna, dan proses penulisan mendukung kreativitas yang terekspresikan dalam hasil puisi siswa. Kata kunci: puisi, proses kreatif dalam menulis puisi, kreativitas dalam makna puisi. This research is motivated by the problems of poetry in schools, the lack of creativity of students in writing poetry. Often students are not creative in writing a poem because of the limited use of language in poetry. Students also think that writing poetry is a difficult activity to do because they are afraid that their writing will not be good. Therefore, the process of writing poetry is presented, the creative process is related to creativity because it involves the mind and imagination. Stages done by students include idea search, idea maturation, writing, improvement / revision. To see how creative students are in writing poetry, it is seen in the use of the meaning written in the poem. Through indirect expression (Riffarete) and language deviation are used to measure the creativity expressed in a work of poetry. This underlies the main element of creativity, which involves the mind and imagination. This research was conducted at SMAN 9 Bandung class XI IPA 1. The results of the analysis conducted, of the 18 poems obtained, which met the criteria in creativity were 4 poems. The poem contains changes in content from the writing stages to repairs / revisions. The use of creativity expressed in the meaning of poetry gets some elements of deviation and indirect expression in poetry. Thus it can be concluded that creativity in poetry can be valued in meaning, and the writing process supports creativity expressed in students' poetry results. Keywords: poetry, the creative process of writing poetry, creativity in the meaning of poetry

WT1 regulates epicardial epithelial to mesenchymal transition through β-catenin and retinoic acid signaling pathways

AbstractAn epithelial sheet, the epicardium, lines the surface of the heart. In the developing embryo, the epicardium expresses the transcriptional regulator Wilm's Tumor Gene 1 (Wt1). Through incompletely understood mechanisms, Wt1 inactivation derails normal heart development. We investigated mechanisms by which Wt1 regulates heart development and epicardial epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). We used genetic lineage tracing approaches to track and isolate epicardium and epicardium derivatives in hearts lacking Wt1 (Wt1KO). Wt1KO hearts had diminished proliferation of compact myocardium and impaired coronary plexus formation. Wt1KO epicardium failed to undergo EMT. Wt1KO epicardium expressed reduced Lef1 and Ctnnb1 (β-catenin), key components of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Wt1KO epicardium expressed decreased levels of canonical Wnt downstream targets Axin2, Cyclin D1, and Cyclin D2 and exhibited decreased activity of the Batgal Wnt/β-catenin reporter transgene, suggestive of diminished canonical Wnt signaling. Hearts with epicardium-restricted Ctnnb1 loss of function resembled Wt1KO hearts and also failed to undergo epicardial EMT. However, Ctnnb1 inactivation did not alter WT1 expression, positioning Wt1 upstream of canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Wnt5a, a prototypic non-canonical Wnt with enriched epicardial expression, and Raldh2, a key regulator of retinoic acid signaling confined to the epicardium, were also markedly downregulated in Wt1KO epicardium. Hearts lacking Wnt5a or Raldh2 shared phenotypic features with Wt1KO. Although Wt1 has been proposed to regulate EMT by repressing E-cadherin, we detected no change in E-cadherin in Wt1KO epicardium. Collectively, our study shows that Wt1 regulates epicardial EMT and heart development through canonical Wnt, non-canonical Wnt, and retinoic acid signaling pathways

Correlates of Premenstrual Dysphoria in Help-seeking Women

Comparisons were made between the premenstrual changes reported by nontreatment-seekers (NTS) (n = 32) and those of treatment-seekers (TS) (n = 52). The Premenstrual Assessment Form Luteal Phase and Follicular Phase versions were completed and the Beck Depression Inventory, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were completed at both the luteal and follicular phases. Prospective daily ratings were made for two treatment cycles on the Daily Ratings Form and TS were screened for a mood-disorder history. Using the commonly cited 30% decrease in dysphoric levels from the pre- to postmenstrual phases as the criterion of prospective confirmation, women with prospectively confirmed dysphoria (PMD +) were not significantly more symptomatic than those without prospective dysphoric confirmation (PMD -). However, TS were more symptomatic than NTS on measures of depression, anxiety and frequency of negative automatic thoughts but not on mood behaviour and physical changes reflected in the PAF scales. No demographic differences were found between TS and NTS. Results did not support the issue of requiring `confirmation' of self-reports within a help-seeking group or the use of the 30% criterion in particular. Findings further suggest that the 95-item PAF may be inadequate in differentiating TS from others

Conditional deletion of WT1 in the septum transversum mesenchyme causes congenital diaphragmatic hernia in mice

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe birth defect. Wt1-null mouse embryos develop CDH but the mechanisms regulated by WT1 are unknown. We have generated a murine model with conditional deletion of WT1 in the lateral plate mesoderm, using the G2 enhancer of the Gata4 gene as a driver. 80% of G2-Gata4Cre;Wt1fl/fl embryos developed typical Bochdalek-type CDH. We show that the posthepatic mesenchymal plate coelomic epithelium gives rise to a mesenchyme that populates the pleuroperitoneal folds isolating the pleural cavities before the migration of the somitic myoblasts. This process fails when Wt1 is deleted from this area. Mutant embryos show Raldh2 downregulation in the lateral mesoderm, but not in the intermediate mesoderm. The mutant phenotype was partially rescued by retinoic acid treatment of the pregnant females. Replacement of intermediate by lateral mesoderm recapitulates the evolutionary origin of the diaphragm in mammals. CDH might thus be viewed as an evolutionary atavismEspaña, Ministerio de Economía BFU2014- 52299-PJunta de Andalucía P11-CTS-0756

Neuropilin 1 mediates epicardial activation and revascularization in the regenerating zebrafish heart

Unlike adult mammals, zebrafish can regenerate their heart. A key mechanism for regeneration is the activation of the epicardium, leading to the establishment of a supporting scaffold for new cardiomyocytes, angiogenesis and cytokine secretion. Neuropilins are co-receptors mediating signaling of kinase receptors for cytokines known to play critical roles in zebrafish heart regeneration. We investigated the role of neuropilins in response to cardiac injury and heart regeneration. All four neuropilin isoforms nrp1a, nrp1b, nrp2a and nrp2b were upregulated by the activated epicardium and a nrp1a knockout mutant showed a significant delay in heart regeneration and displayed persistent collagen deposition. The regenerating hearts of nrp1a mutants were less vascularized and epicardial-derived cell migration and re-expression of the developmental gene wt1b was impaired. Moreover, cryoinjury-induced activation and migration of epicardial cells in heart explants was reduced in nrp1a mutant. These results identify a key role for Nrp1 in zebrafish heart regeneration, mediated through epicardial activation, migration and revascularization

Functional molecules in mesothelial to mesenchymal transition revealed by transcriptome analyses

Peritoneal fibrosis is a common complication of abdominal and pelvic surgery, and can also be triggered by peritoneal dialysis, resulting in treatment failure. In these settings, fibrosis is driven by activated myofibroblasts that are considered to be partly derived by mesothelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (MMT). We hypothesized that, if the molecular signature of MMT could be better defined, these insights could be exploited to block this pathological cellular transition. Rat peritoneal mesothelial cells were purified by the use of an antibody against HBME1, a protein present on mesothelial cell microvilli, and streptavidin nanobead technology. After exposure of sorted cells to a well‐known mediator of MMT, transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1, RNA sequencing was undertaken to define the transcriptomes of mesothelial cells before and during early‐phase MMT. MMT was associated with dysregulation of transcripts encoding molecules involved in insulin‐like growth factor (IGF) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling. The application of either recombinant BMP4 or IGF‐binding protein 4 (IGFBP4) ameliorated TGF‐β1‐induced MMT in culture, as judged from the retention of epithelial morphological and molecular phenotypes, and reduced migration. Furthermore, peritoneal tissue from peritoneal dialysis patients showed less prominent immunostaining than control tissue for IGFBP4 and BMP4 on the peritoneal surface. In a mouse model of TGF‐β1‐induced peritoneal thickening, BMP4 immunostaining on the peritoneal surface was attenuated as compared with healthy controls. Finally, genetic lineage tracing of mesothelial cells was used in mice with peritoneal injury. In this model, administration of BMP4 ameliorated the injury‐induced shape change and migration of mesothelial cells. Our findings demonstrate a distinctive MMT signature, and highlight the therapeutic potential for BMP4, and possibly IGFBP4, to reduce MMT

Cardiac Explant-Derived Cells Are Regulated by Notch-Modulated Mesenchymal Transition

Progenitor cell therapy is emerging as a novel treatment for heart failure. However the molecular mechanisms regulating the generation of cardiac progenitor cells is not fully understood. We hypothesized that cardiac progenitor cells are generated from cardiac explant via a process similar to epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT).Explant-derived cells were generated from partially digested atrial tissue. After 21 days in culture, c-Kit+ cells were isolated from cell outgrowth. The majority of explant-originated c-Kit+ cells expressed the epicardial marker Wt1. Cardiac cell outgrowth exhibits a temporal up-regulation of EMT-markers. Notch stimulation augmented, while Notch inhibition suppressed, mesenchymal transition in both c-Kit+ and c-Kit- cells. In c-Kit+ cells, Notch stimulation reduced, while Notch inhibition up-regulated pluripotency marker expressions such as Nanog and Sox2. Notch induction was associated with degradation of β-catenin in c-Kit- cells. In contrast, Notch inhibition resulted in β-catenin accumulation, acquisition of epitheloid morphology, and up-regulation of Wnt target genes in c-Kit- cells.Our study suggests that Notch-mediated reversible EMT process is a mechanism that regulates explant-derived c-Kit+ and c-Kit- cells