The role of post-translational modifications on STAT3 interactions

"The JAK/STAT3 pathway is involved in multiple biological phenomena, mostly related to stress or tissue damage, but also development and cancer. A rate-limiting step of the pathway involves STAT3 dimerization, phosphorylation and translocation to the nucleus. Originally, it was thought that STAT3 dimerized upon phosphorylation by JAKs on Y705. However, current evidence indicates that STAT3 exists as a dimer prior to phosphorylation and activation, and that phosphorylation only induces a change in the conformation of the dimer.(...)"N/

Observer sans juger, de la théorie à la pratique

« Le langage nous engage à parler de stabilité, de constantes, alors que nous vivons dans un monde dynamique » (Rosenberg, 2016). Cette citation met en lumière une contradiction non négligeable de la communication, avec laquelle tout un chacun doit composer. Cette présente recherche est basée sur le postulat que la communication au sujet d’un élève relève d’une complexité contextuelle et se compose d’enjeux importants. Ceci aura des conséquences au niveau de l’identité individuelle des sujets ainsi qu’au niveau des relations enseignant·e·s-élèves. Par ce travail, il s’agira de croiser les liens théoriques ainsi que les discours d’enseignant·e·s. afin de comprendre comment l’enseignant·e conscientise la notion de « jugement » et le principe « d’observer sans juger », et de comprendre de quelle manière l’enseignant·e s’engage dans une posture réflexive en regard de cette complexité. Finalement, un des buts est de questionner la pratique ainsi que l’éthique de notre profession

Barriers and facilitators of maternal healthcare utilisation in the perinatal period among women with social disadvantage: A theory-guided systematic review

Background: Women with social disadvantage have poorer perinatal outcomes compared to women in advantaged social positions, which may be linked to poorer healthcare utilisation. Disadvantaged groups may experience a greater diversity of barriers (e.g., feeling embarrassed about pregnancy, lack of transportation) or barriers judged to be particularly difficult (e.g., embarrassment about pregnancy). They may also experience barriers more frequently (e.g., depression). Using Levesque et al.’s (2013) framework of healthcare access, our review identifies the barriers and facilitators that affect maternal healthcare utilisation in the perinatal period among women with social disadvantage in high-income nations. Objectives: Our review searches for the barriers and facilitators affecting maternal healthcare utilisation in the perinatal period, from pregnancy to the first year postpartum, among women with social disadvantage (Prospero registration CRD42020151506). Design: We conducted a theory-guided systematic review. PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Social Science Citation Index databases were searched for publications between 1999 and 2018. Findings: 37 articles out of 12’972 were included in the qualitative synthesis. 19 domains of barriers and facilitators were extracted. Domains on the provider side includes ‘information regarding available treatments’ and ‘trustful relationships.’ On the user-side, domains include ‘awareness of pregnancy’ and ‘unplanned/unwanted pregnancy’ Key conclusions: Provider- and user-side characteristics interact to affect access. User-side characteristics that pose a barrier can be offset by provider-side characteristics that lower barriers to access. Implications for practice: User-side characteristics (e.g., lack of awareness of pregnancy) play an important role in the initial steps toward access. Among women with social disadvantage, reducing barriers may require active outreach on the part of providers

Mixed methods instrument validation: Evaluation procedures for practitioners developed from the validation of the Swiss Instrument for Evaluating Interprofessional Collaboration.

BACKGROUND Quantitative and qualitative procedures are necessary components of instrument development and assessment. However, validation studies conventionally emphasise quantitative assessments while neglecting qualitative procedures. Applying both methods in a mixed methods design provides additional insights into instrument quality and more rigorous validity evidence. Drawing from an extensive review of the methodological and applied validation literature on mixed methods, we showcase our use of mixed methods for validation which applied the quality criteria of congruence, convergence, and credibility on data collected with an instrument measuring interprofessional collaboration in the context of Swiss healthcare, named the Swiss Instrument for Evaluating Interprofessional Collaboration. METHODS We employ a convergent parallel mixed methods design to analyse quantitative and qualitative questionnaire data. Data were collected from staff, supervisors, and patients of a university hospital and regional hospitals in the German and Italian speaking regions of Switzerland. We compare quantitative ratings and qualitative comments to evaluate the quality criteria of congruence, convergence, and credibility, which together form part of an instrument's construct validity evidence. RESULTS Questionnaires from 435 staff, 133 supervisors, and 189 patients were collected. Analysis of congruence potentially provides explanations why respondents' comments are off topic. Convergence between quantitative ratings and qualitative comments can be interpreted as an indication of convergent validity. Credibility provides a summary evaluation of instrument quality. These quality criteria provide evidence that questions were understood as intended, provide construct validity, and also point to potential item quality issues. CONCLUSIONS Mixed methods provide alternative means of collecting construct validity evidence. Our suggested procedures can be easily applied on empirical data and allow the congruence, convergence, and credibility of questionnaire items to be evaluated. The described procedures provide an efficient means of enhancing the rigor of an instrument and can be used alone or in conjunction with traditional quantitative psychometric approaches

Anwendung und Optimierung des Schweizer Interprofessionalitäts-Evaluations-Instrumentariums SIPEI

Das Schweizer Interprofessionalitäts-Evaluations-Instrumentarium SIPEI wurde entwickelt, um die in der Praxis umgesetzte interprofessionelle Zusammenarbeit (IPZ) an Institutionen des Gesundheitswesens zu evaluieren. Das Instrumentarium wurde als Teil des Förderprogramms «Interprofessionalität» des Bundesamts für Gesundheit erarbeitet und sollte im Rahmen dieses Projekts erstmalig eingesetzt werden. Ziel des Projekts war es, das Instrumentarium SIPEI durch den Einsatz in verschiedenen Settings auf Validität und Reliabilität zu prüfen. Ferner sollten Möglichkeiten zur Optimierung des Instrumentariums aufgezeigt werden

Chromatographie en phase supercritique : nouvelles perspectives dans le domaine de l'analyse pharmaceutique

L'attention prêtée aux préceptes de la chimie verte est en nette augmentation. Elle se traduit par de nombreux efforts consentis dans toutes les disciplines de la chimie afin minimiser leur impact environnemental. La chimie analytique n'y fait pas exception. Dans ce domaine, la contrainte relative à la hausse des coûts d'approvisionnement et de recyclage des solvants organiques, utilisés par la technique chromatographique de référence en phase liquide (LC), plaide également en faveur du recours à des options plus écologiques. La chromatographie en phase supercritique (SFC) constitue une alternative élégante puisqu'elle remplace la majeur partie des solvants par du CO2 pressurisé. La présente contribution se concentre sur l'évaluation des performances analytiques de la SFC portée par une instrumentation ultra-moderne. L'applicabilité de la SFC pour l'analyse d'un vaste spectre de composés pharmaceutiques ainsi que les modalités de couplage à la spectrométrie de masse (MS) y sont également explorées. Elles mettent en évidence à la fois la complémentarité, l'orthogonalité et la compétitivité de la SFC face à la LC, mais également son potentiel pour l'analyse de matrices biologiques

Symptom Validity Scale - Version 2 (EVS-2): Concurrent validity studies in community and forensic context

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Psicologia apresentada à Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da EducaçãoComparativamente a outros contextos, na avaliação (neuro)psicológica forense, o exagero ou a produção intencional de sintomas é potencialmente superior com base na presença de uma motivação externa significativa. No sentido de identificar a presença de comportamentos de simulação, torna-se necessária a integração de Testes de Validade de Sintomas (TVS) no protocolo de avaliação. O presente estudo pretende contribuir para a validação da Escala de Validade de Sintomas – Versão 2 (EVS-2), um instrumento de avaliação da validade de sintomas que pretende identificar a presença de comportamentos de simulação, exagero relativamente a sintomas psicopatológicos e queixas cognitivas. Este trabalho inclui dois estudos. O Estudo I concentra-se na comparação das propriedades psicométricas das duas escalas – EVS-VE (versão experimental) e EVS-2 (versão definitiva), numa amostra da comunidade (n=101) e em contexto médico-legal (n=43). O Estudo II incide no estudo da validade concorrente da EVS-2, utilizando, como critério de validação externo os resultados no Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS) – medida de construto similar – e, ainda, na análise da relação com os restantes instrumentos que integram o protocolo de investigação nomeadamente, o Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), medida de psicopatologia; Escala de Neuroticismo do Questionário de Personalidade de Eysenck – Forma Revista (EPQ-R), medida de personalidade; e a Escala de Desejabilidade Social de 20 itens (EDS-20), medida de desejabilidade social. Em geral, e em termos comparativos com a EVS-VE, os resultados relativos à consistência interna e validade da EVS-2, mostraram valores mais elevados de precisão e validade desta versão em ambos os contextos. Relativamente à comparação de comportamentos de simulação nos subgrupos – "Outras Avaliações" e "Responsabilidades Parentais" – que constituem a amostra médico-legal, foram encontradas diferenças estatisticamente significativas nos resultados (pontuações da EVS-2 mais elevadas no subgrupo “Outras Avaliações”). Relativamente à validade concorrente da EVS-2 com o SIMS, os resultados confirmam que os dois instrumentos medem o mesmo constructo, uma vez que existe uma forte convergência de pontuações. Na relação da EVS-2 com a medida de psicopatologia (BSI) e a Escala de Neuroticismo do EPQ-R foi observada uma correlação positiva e estatisticamente significativa, indicando assim uma vulnerabilidade da EVS-2 (sensibilidade das suas pontuações à presença de psicopatologia). A correlação estatisticamente não significativa obtida entre as pontuações na EVS-2 e na medida de desejabilidade social (EDS-20) sugere que os dois instrumentos avaliam estilos de resposta diferentes.Comparatively to other contexts, in the process of forensic (neuro)psychological assessment, the exaggeration or intentional production of symptoms is potentially higher based on the presence of a significant external motivation. In order to identify the presence of simulation behaviors, it is necessary to incorporate Symptoms Validity Tests (SVT) in the evaluation protocol. The present study aims to contribute to the validation of the Symptom Validity Scale – Version 2 (EVS-2), an instrument for evaluating the validity of symptoms in order to identify the presence of simulation behaviors, exaggeration regarding psychopathological symptoms and cognitive complaints. This work includes two studies. The Study I focuses on the comparison of the psychometric properties of the two scales – EVS-VE (experimental version) and EVS-2 (final version) in a community sample (n=101) and in a medical-legal context (n=43). The Study II focuses in the study of the concurrent validity of the EVS-2, using as a criterion of external validation the results in the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS) – measure of similar construct – and, in the observation of the relationship of the EVS-2 with the other instruments of the evaluation protocol, namely, the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) measure of psychopathology; Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Neuroticism Scale – Revised Form (EPQ-R) measure of personality; and the Social Desirability Scale of 20 items (EDS-20), measure of social desirability. In general, and in terms of comparison with EVS-VE, the results regarding the internal consistency and validity of EVS-2, showed higher values of accuracy and validity in both contexts. Concerning the comparison of simulation behavior in the subgroups – "Other evaluations" and "Parental responsibilities" – that constitute the medical-legal sample, we found statistically significant differences in the comparison results (EVS-2 scores highest in the "Other evaluations" subgroup). Regarding the concurrent validity of EVS-2 with SIMS, the results confirmed that these two instruments measure the same construct, since there was a strong convergence of scores. In the relationship of EVS-2 with the psychopathology measure (BSI) and with the EPQ-R Neuroticism Scale, we found a positive correlation with a statistically significance, revealing a vulnerability of EVS-2 (sensitivity of their scores to the presence of psychopathology). The statistically non-significant correlation obtained between scores on EVS-2 and the measure of social desirability (EDS-20) suggests that the two instruments evaluate different response styles