Enfoques comunitarios de la SMAPS

Los límites operativos en contextos humanitarios no siempre permiten dedicar el tiempo y los recursos suficientes a los procesos participativos vitales para establecer enfoques comunitarios de SMAPS

Bub3 Is a Spindle Assembly Checkpoint Protein Regulating Chromosome Segregation during Mouse Oocyte Meiosis

In mitosis, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) prevents anaphase onset until all chromosomes have been attached to the spindle microtubules and aligned correctly at the equatorial metaphase plate. The major checkpoint proteins in mitosis consist of mitotic arrest-deficient (Mad)1–3, budding uninhibited by benzimidazole (Bub)1, Bub3, and monopolar spindle 1(Mps1). During meiosis, for the formation of a haploid gamete, two consecutive rounds of chromosome segregation occur with only one round of DNA replication. To pull homologous chromosomes to opposite spindle poles during meiosis I, both sister kinetochores of a homologue must face toward the same pole which is very different from mitosis and meiosis II. As a core member of checkpoint proteins, the individual role of Bub3 in mammalian oocyte meiosis is unclear. In this study, using overexpression and RNA interference (RNAi) approaches, we analyzed the role of Bub3 in mouse oocyte meiosis. Our data showed that overexpressed Bub3 inhibited meiotic metaphase-anaphase transition by preventing homologous chromosome and sister chromatid segregations in meiosis I and II, respectively. Misaligned chromosomes, abnormal polar body and double polar bodies were observed in Bub3 knock-down oocytes, causing aneuploidy. Furthermore, through cold treatment combined with Bub3 overexpression, we found that overexpressed Bub3 affected the attachments of microtubules and kinetochores during metaphase-anaphase transition. We propose that as a member of SAC, Bub3 is required for regulation of both meiosis I and II, and is potentially involved in kinetochore-microtubule attachment in mammalian oocytes

Determination of nutrient salts by automatic methods both in seawater and brackish water: the phosphate blank

9 páginas, 2 tablas, 2 figurasThe main inconvenience in determining nutrients in seawater by automatic methods is simply solved: the preparation of a suitable blank which corrects the effect of the refractive index change on the recorded signal. Two procedures are proposed, one physical (a simple equation to estimate the effect) and the other chemical (removal of the dissolved phosphorus with ferric hydroxide).Support for this work came from CICYT (MAR88-0245 project) and Conselleria de Pesca de la Xunta de GaliciaPeer reviewe

Legacies of the 1994 Rwandan genocide : Organized violence, family violence, mental health and post-conflict related attitudes examined among families of genocide survivors and former prisoners

War, genocide and ethnic cleansing have long-lasting and devastating effect at both the individual and community level. Numerous studies from Cambodia, former Yugoslavia or Rwanda reported elevated levels of mental and physical illness among survivors of organized violence. Less studied are the consequences for perpetrators of organized violence. Besides a focus on trauma-related disorders in this field, the results also demonstrate a risk to pass down individual experiences of violence from one generation to another.In an epidemiological cross-sectional survey we examined the consequences of the 1994 Rwandan genocide among a community sample in Muhanga, part of the Southern Province, 16 years after. A team of seven local psychologists (BA level) from the National University of Rwanda (NUR) with great expertise in carrying out structured clinical interviews conducted 360 interviews in four sectors (administrative unit) of Muhanga. They were supervised by the author of the present thesis. We recruited genocide survivors and former prisoners namely presumed genocide perpetrators whose children were between 13 and 15 years old (n = 59) or between 19 and 31 years old (n = 129). In all three present studies, trauma confrontation was assessed by means of an event scale adapted to the Rwandan context (Schaal & Elbert, 2006). Symptom severity and the diagnostic status of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were measured by the PTSD Symptom Scale- Interview (PSS-I, Foa & Tolin, 2000). In the first and second study depressive and anxious symptoms were assessed by means of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25, Derogatis et al., 1974). Additionally, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ, Bernstein & Fink, 1998) was applied in the second study to assess child maltreatment retrospectively. Finally, the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-32, Horowitz et al., 1988) was applied in the third study as well as semi structured scales assessing intergroup behavior, attitudes toward local reconciliation and justice processes, perceived sense of justice and the attribution of responsibility of violence.The aim of the first study (N = 360) was to assess the consequences of genocide on mental health and psychosocial conditions among genocide survivors in comparison to former prisoners and their respective children. Survivors reported the highest level of exposure to traumatic events. Compared to former prisoners they showed significantly higher levels of depressive and anxious symptoms but not regarding the diagnostic status of PTSD (24.7% versus 22.0%). This was due to the fact that former prisoners reported the same amount of intrusive symptomatology. However, they reported traumatic events that were related to their experience of flight and their time spent in prison rather than to the period of genocide itself. While groups did not differ significantly regarding their status of social integration, former prisoners showed a higher economic level. The number of reported traumatic events, physical illness and the level of social integration proved to be predictors of the level of PTSD among the adult generation. The group of descendants of survivors presented with higher levels of distress than descendants of former prisoners. The group of descendants born after 1994 did not show any clinically relevant mental disorder.The objective of the second study was to estimate prevalence rates and predictors of child maltreatment such as physical, sexual and emotional violence and neglect among descendants who were either born before or after the genocide (N = 188). In a second step we examined predictors separately for either the level of depressive and anxious symptoms or PTSD. The results revealed low prevalence rates of child maltreatment (less than 10%) whereas 60% of the respondents according to the CTQ potentially underreported their experience of violence at home. Female sex, poverty, the death of one’s mother, the number of traumatic event types and the parents’ level of PTSD as well as their own experience of child maltreatment proved to be significant predictors of reported child maltreatment. Furthermore, the results showed that cumulative stress comprising both the experience of organized violence and family violence increases the risk to develop depressive and anxious symptoms but not symptoms of PTSD.In the third study (N = 129), we analyzed how the consequences of genocide trauma and a family’s characteristics are related to interpersonal problems, attitudes toward local justice and reconciliation, and openness to intergroup contact across former ethnic lines among the youth born before 1994. According to the IIP-32, descendants of survivors reported a higher level of interpersonal problems in general and on the sub scales being too cold, socially avoidant and vindictive in specific compared to descendants of former prisoners. They had a more negative perception of local processes of post-conflict justice and reconciliation, were less open toward intergroup relationships with peers of the “out-group” and attributed the responsibility of genocidal violence more commonly to the individual level than to situational circumstances. Parental attitudes toward local justice and reconciliation and the perceived sense of post-conflict justice reported by descendants, proved to be predictors of attitudes toward local justice and reconciliation among the latter. Vindictive behavior as a potential consequence of exposure to trauma rather than the level of PTSD itself explained whether descendants were less open toward the out-group or not

The relationship between organized violence, family violence and mental health : findings from a community-based survey in Muhanga, Southern Rwanda

Background: The relationship between organized violence and family violence, and their cumulative effect on mental health in post-conflict regions remains poorly understood.Objective: The aim of the present study was to establish prevalence rates and predictors of family violence in post-conflict Rwanda. And to examine whether higher levels of war-related violence and its socio-economicconsequences would result in higher levels of violence within families and whether this would be related to an increase of psychological distress in descendants.Method: One hundred and eighty-eight parent child pairs from four sectors of the district Muhanga, Southern Province of Rwanda, were randomly selected for participation in the study. Trained local psychologistsadministered structured diagnostic interviews. A posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis was established using the PTSD Symptom Scale Interview (PSS-I) and child maltreatment was assessed by means ofthe Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Additionally, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL-25) assessed symptoms of depression and anxiety in descendants.Results: Prevalence rates of child abuse and neglect among descendants were below 10%. Ordinal regression analyses revealed that the level of child maltreatment in descendants was predicted by female sex, poverty,loss of the mother, exposure to war and genocide as well as parents’ level of PTSD and reported child maltreatment. Poor physical health, exposure to war and genocide, parental PTSD symptoms, and reported childhood trauma were significantly associated with depressive and anxious symptoms, while only exposure to war and genocide and poor physical health predicted the level of PTSD.Conclusion: The results indicate that cumulative stress such as exposure to organized violence and family violence in Rwandan descendants poses a risk factor for the development of depressive and anxious symptoms.Besides the support for families to cope with stress, awareness-raising initiatives challenging the current discourse of discipline toward children in schools or at home need to be fostered

Rwanda - lasting imprints of a genocide : trauma, mental health and psychosocial conditions in survivors, former prisoners and their children

The 1994 genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda left about one million people dead in a period of only three months. The present study aimed to examine the level of trauma exposure, psychopathology, and risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors and former prisoners accused of participation in the genocide as well as in their respective descendants

Psychische Gesundheit und Rückkehrvorstellungen am Beispiel von Flüchtlingen aus dem ehemaligen Jugoslawien

Theoretischer Hintergrund: Viele Flüchtlinge aus dem ehemaligen Jugoslawien leben seit ca. 11 Jahren in Deutschland. Es fehlt bislang an Daten zu den Langzeitfolgen der traumatischen Kriegsereignisse und der Einflüsse von Exilfaktoren auf die psychische Gesundheit in dieser Population. Auch sind Zusammenhänge zwischen diesen Faktoren sowie die Einstellung zur Rückkehr nicht ausreichend untersucht.Fragestellung: Wie ist die psychische Gesundheit dieser Flüchtlinge nach durchschnittlich 11 Jahren im Exilland Deutschland einzuschätzen? Welche Motive sprechen aus Sicht der Betroffenen für und gegen eine freiwillige Rückkehr ins Herkunftsland?Methoden: n = 50 Flüchtlinge wurden zu ihrer aktuellen Lebenssituation, ihrer Einstellung zum Heimatland und zu freiwilliger Rückkehr befragt, sowie zu ihrer psychischen Gesundheit mit dem strukturierten Interview M.I.N.I. und den Fragebögen PDS und EUROHIS untersucht.Ergebnisse: Bei 78.0% liegt mindestens eine psychische Störung vor, es zeigen sich Zusammenhänge zwischen Lebenssituation in Deutschland, Rückkehrbereitschaft und psychischer Gesundheit.Schlussfolgerungen: Die psychische Belastung der Befragten ist sehr hoch, Ursachen hierfür sind sowohl die erhöhte Vulnerabilität auf Grund der Kriegsereignisse als auch die Belastung durch Postmigrationsfaktoren im Exil. Diese Faktoren sollten im Umgang mit Flüchtlingen in Deutschland berücksichtigt werden und haben auch Implikationen für die Planung von Rückkehrhilfeprogrammen

Community-based approaches to MHPSS

The limits of operating within humanitarian contexts do not always allow for sufficient time and resources to be devoted to the participatory processes that are vital to establishing community-based approaches to MHPSS