Einbezug der Eltern in die personen- und klientenzentrierte Spieltherapie in Österreich

Diese Diplomarbeit beschäftigt sich mit dem Thema des personenzentrierten, bzw. klienten- zentrierten Einbezugs der Eltern in die Spieltherapie in Österreich. Aufgrund der wenigen theoretischen Auseinandersetzung der Fachwelt mit dem Thema der therapiebegleitenden Eltern- gespräche, ist die Forschungsfrage explorativ gestaltet, um die gegenwärtige Situation der Praxis festzuhalten und damit weitere Theoriebildung zu ermöglichen. Der Theorieteil der Arbeit zeigt die vielfältigen Möglichkeiten des personenzentrierten Arbeitens mit Eltern, sowie dessen Ziel- setzungen und Schwierigkeiten auf. Die personenzentrierten Konzepte der Elternarbeit werden in eltern-, familien- und kindzentrierte Formen gegliedert. Mittels leitfadengestützter ExpertInnen- interviews wurden sechs personenzentrierte Kinder- und JugendlichenpsychotherapeutInnen aus Österreich zum Thema der Elternarbeit befragt. Die Gepflogenheiten der spieltherapiebegleitenden Elterngespräche in der freien Praxis, sowie Begründungen für die Notwendigkeit des Einbezugs der Eltern wurden in Erfahrung gebracht. Die erhobenen Daten wurden mit der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse ausgewertet. Ergebnis dieser Arbeit ist ein detailliertes Bild der gegenwärtigen, österreichischen Praxis der therapiebegleitenden Elterngespräche, eine Einschätzung der Bedeutung des Einbezugs der Eltern für den Therapieerfolg des Kindes, sowie Anregungen für weitere Forschung zu diesem Thema.The subject of this thesis is the analysis of person- and client-centered parental involvement in play therapy in Austria. Due to the insufficient theoretical discourse in the academic community concerning ongoing parent consultations during play therapy, the thesis question is contructed in an explorative way in order to record the current practical situation and to suggest further possibilities in formulating theories of parental involvement. The theory part of the thesis discusses the multiple possibilities of person-centered parental involvement, its goals and difficulties. The concepts of person-centered parental involvement are structured into parental-, family-, or child-centered forms. Six Austrian-based experts specializing in person-centered child and adolescent psychotherapy have been led through a guided interview that explores the issue of parental involvement. Practical application in parental involvement in play therapy, as well as justifications for the necessity of parental involvement have been discussed. The data gathered was then assessed according to the paradigms set forth by the qualitative analysis of contents. The results of this thesis is a detailed picture of the current practical application of the ongoing parent consultations during play therapy in Austria, an estimate of the relevance of parental involvement for a successful therapy of the child, as well as suggestions for further research into this field

Modelling of interactions of polar and nonpolar pollutants with soil minerals and soil organic matter

Environmental pollution of soils by organic contaminants such as pesticides is one of the serious problems of our civilization. Contaminants can undergo various physical, chemical and biological transformation processes in soils governing behaviour, distribution, and fate of organic species in environment and subsequent environmental risks. Mechanistic understanding of molecular interactions of organic pollutants with main soil components represents a key factor for estimating the behaviour of contaminants in soils. Molecular modelling offers an opportunity to investigate and characterize various details of these interactions at molecular level providing specifications, which are difficult to obtain at the experimental level. This work represents a comprehensive overview of our investigations of the molecular interactions of organic contaminants with selected soil components. Particularly, we focused on the characterization of the structure and the surface complexation of the phenoxyacetic acid derivatives (herbicides MCPA and 2,4-D) and typical soil minerals such as clay minerals (kaolinite and montmorillonite) and iron oxyhydroxides (goethite and lepidocrocite). Further, interactions of several representative nonpolar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g. naphthalene, anthracene, pyrene, and phenanthrene) with iron oxyhydroxides were modelled, as well. It was found that in case of polar species, hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions play an important role in the formation of the surface complexes. In case of nonpolar PAHs, dispersion forces dominate in the planar stacking of the PAHs molecules on mineral surfaces. Another study focused at a complex 3D model representing humic substances firstly, featuring polar hydrophilic and nonpolar hydrophobic domains and also a nanopore SOM structure. This model was taken to simulate trapping and interactions of MCPA (polar) and naphthalene (nonpolar) species inside of the nanopore. It was found that MCPA is preferentially stabilized close to polar functional groups (carboxyl) whereas naphthalene interacts mostly with nonpolar aliphatic chains through dispersion interactions

A new mechanically-interlocked [Pd2L4] cage motif by dimerization of two peptide-based lemniscates

Most metallo-supramolecular assemblies of low nuclearity adopt simple topologies, with bridging ligands spanning neighboring metal centers in a direct fashion. Here we contribute a new structural motif to the family of host compounds with low metal count (two) that consists of a pair of doubly-interlocked, Figure-eight-shaped subunits, also termed “lemniscates”. Each metal is chelated by two chiral bidentate ligands, composed of a peptidic macrocycle that resembles a natural product with two pyridyl-terminated arms. DFT calculation results suggest that dimerization of the mononuclear halves is driven by a combination of 1) Coulomb interaction with a central anion, 2) π-stacking between intertwined ligand arms and 3) dispersive interactions between the structure's compact inner core bedded into an outer shell composed of the cavitand-type macrocycles. The resulting cage-like architecture was characterized by NMR, MS and X-ray structure analyses. This new mechanically bonded system highlights the scope of structural variety accessible in metal-mediated self-assemblies composed of only a few constituents

The desoxazoline asidiacyclamide analogue cyclo(Gly–Thr–D-Val–Thz–Ile–Thr–D-Val–Thz) acetonitrile monosolvate

The title peptide [systematic name: 4-(butan-2-yl)-7,20-bis­(1-hy­droxy­eth­yl)-10,23-bis­(propan-2-yl)-12,25-dithia-3,6,9,16,19,22,27,28-octa­aza­tricyclo­[22.2.1.111,14]octa­cosa-1(26),11(28),13,24(27)-tetra­ene-2,5,8,15,18,21-hexone acetonitrile monosolvate], C32H48N8O8S2·CH3CN, an analogue of ascidiacyclamide (ASC) [cyclo(–Ile–Oxz–D-Val–Thz–)2], lies about a twofold rotation axis, so that the glycine (Gly) and isoleucine (Ile) residues are each disordered over two sites with equal occupancies. The acetonitrile mol­ecule is also located on a twofold axis passing through the C and N atoms. In the peptide, the thia­zole rings are faced to each other with a dihedral angle of 9.63 (15)° and intra­molecular N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are observed. A bifurcated N—H⋯(O,O) hydrogen bond links the peptide mol­ecules into a layer parallel to the ab plane

3,5,7-Tripropyl-1-aza­adamantane-4,6,10-triol

The title compound, C18H33NO3, was prepared according to a highly diastereoselective hydrogenation procedure from 3,5,7-triallyl-1-aza­adamantane-4,6,10-trione. The crystal structure of the title compound contains two crystallographically independent mol­ecules (Z′ = 2), which are linked by inter­molecular hydrogen bonding into chains. In contrast to the aza­adamantanones, the aza­adamantanetriol core of the title compound does not show any particular C—C bond elongation

Optical control of insulin secretion using an incretin switch

Incretin mimetics are set to become a mainstay of type 2 diabetes treatment. By acting on the pancreas and brain, they potentiate insulin secretion and induce weight loss to preserve normoglycemia. Despite this, incretin therapy has been associated with off‐target effects, including nausea and gastrointestinal disturbance. A novel photoswitchable incretin mimetic based upon the specific glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor (GLP‐1R) agonist liraglutide was designed, synthesized, and tested. This peptidic compound, termed LirAzo, possesses an azobenzene photoresponsive element, affording isomer‐biased GLP‐1R signaling as a result of differential activation of second messenger pathways in response to light. While the trans isomer primarily engages calcium influx, the cis isomer favors cAMP generation. LirAzo thus allows optical control of insulin secretion and cell survival

Carbonic anhydrase activity of dinuclear CuII complexes with patellamide model ligands

The dicopper(ii) complexes of six pseudo-octapeptides, synthetic analogues of ascidiacyclamide and the patellamides, found in ascidians of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, are shown to be efficient carbonic anhydrase model complexes with k up to 7.3 × 10 s (uncatalyzed: 3.7 × 10 s; enzyme-catalyzed: 2 × 10 -1.4 × 10 s) and a turnover number (TON) of at least 1700, limited only by the experimental conditions used. So far, no copper-based natural carbonic anhydrases are known, no faster model systems have been described and the biological role of the patellamide macrocycles is so far unknown. The observed CO hydration rates depend on the configuration of the isopropyl side chains of the pseudo-octapeptide scaffold, and the naturally observed R*,S*, R*,S* geometry is shown to lead to more efficient catalysts than the S*,S*,S*,S* isomers. The catalytic efficiency also depends on the heterocyclic donor groups of the pseudo-octapeptides. Interestingly, the dicopper(ii) complex of the ligand with four imidazole groups is a more efficient catalyst than that of the close analogue of ascidiacyclamide with two thiazole and two oxazoline rings. The experimental observations indicate that the nucleophilic attack of a Cu- coordinated hydroxide at the CO carbon center is rate determining, i.e. formation of the catalyst-CO adduct and release of carbonate/bicarbonate are relatively fast processes

Mobility of Cr, Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn in a loamy sand soil : a comparative study

Interest in soil contamination has been growing in recent years due to the ongoing degradation of soil environments. Therefore, the development of remediation techniques and the study of contaminant sorption and migration are areas of intense research. In this study, the authors sought to evaluate the scenario of co-contamination of a loamy sand soil by multiple heavy metals. To that end, the sorption and transport of five metals—Cr, Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn—was evaluated using representative samples of a soil from the north of Portugal. The tests were conducted in batch and continuous systems using single- and multiple-metal acid solutions to evaluate the effect of metal competition. In accordance with the type of assay—batch or continuous—Langmuir or Convection Dispersion Two-Site Nonequilibrium models were adjusted to explain the sorption/transport data. FTIR analyses were performed on the final samples of the continuous systems. Generally, the results revealed good fitting of the tested models for the metals in competitive and noncompetitive scenarios, with the exception of Zn that was originally present in soil samples at higher concentrations. As expected, the influence of competition was observed in both batch and continuous systems, but with different tendencies. The FTIR spectra also revealed a strong influence of clay minerals and organic matter on the sorption of the metals.The PhD grants of Bruna Fonseca and Hugo Figueiredo and the research grant of Joana Rodrigues were financially supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, Ministerio da Ciencia e Tecnologia, Portugal and Fundo Social Europeu (FSE)

Membrane-Type 1 Matrix Metalloproteinase Cleaves Cd44 and Promotes Cell Migration

Migratory cells including invasive tumor cells frequently express CD44, a major receptor for hyaluronan and membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) that degrades extracellular matrix at the pericellular region. In this study, we demonstrate that MT1-MMP acts as a processing enzyme for CD44H, releasing it into the medium as a soluble 70-kD fragment. Furthermore, this processing event stimulates cell motility; however, expression of either CD44H or MT1-MMP alone did not stimulate cell motility. Coexpression of MT1-MMP and mutant CD44H lacking the MT1-MMP–processing site did not result in shedding and did not promote cell migration, suggesting that the processing of CD44H by MT1-MMP is critical in the migratory stimulation. Moreover, expression of the mutant CD44H inhibited the cell migration promoted by CD44H and MT1-MMP in a dominant-negative manner. The pancreatic tumor cell line, MIA PaCa-2, was found to shed the 70-kD CD44H fragment in a MT1-MMP–dependent manner. Expression of the mutant CD44H in the cells as well as MMP inhibitor treatment effectively inhibited the migration, suggesting that MIA PaCa-2 cells indeed use the CD44H and MT1-MMP as migratory devices. These findings revealed a novel interaction of the two molecules that have each been implicated in tumor cell migration and invasion