Minority ethnic students and science participation: a qualitative mapping of achievement, aspiration, interest and capital

In the UK, the ‘leaky pipeline’ metaphor has been used to describe the relationship between ethnicity and science participation. Fewer minority ethnic students continue with science in post-compulsory education, and little is known about the ways in which they participate and identify with science, particularly in the secondary school context. Drawing on an exploratory study of 46 interviews and 22 h of classroom observations with British students (aged 11–14) from Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian and Chinese ethnic backgrounds, this paper identified five ‘types’ of science participation among minority ethnic students. The five types of science participation emerged from an analysis of students’ science achievement, science aspiration, science interest and science capital. The characteristics of the five types are as follows: Science adverse students have no aspirations towards science and lacked interest, achievement and capital in science. Science intrinsic students have high science aspirations, interest and capital but low science attainment. Students who are science intermediate have some aspirations, interest and capital in science, with average science grades. Science extrinsic students achieve highly in science, have some science capital but lacked science aspirations and/or interest. Science prominent students are high science achievers with science aspirations, high levels of interest and capital in science. The findings highlight that minority ethnic students participate in science in diverse ways. Policy implications are suggested for each type as this paper provides empirical evidence to counter against public (and even some academic) discourses of minority ethnic students as a homogeneous group

Diseño de un manual de detección de ansiedad social en adolescentes

Curso de Especial InterésEl objetivo de este trabajo de grado ha sido diseñar un manual dirigido a padres y docentes, en el que se establezcan técnicas de detección de ansiedad social en adolescentes; el diseño de este manual permite un aprendizaje significativo de una forma diferente, en un lenguaje claro y preciso, en formato digital para un fácil acceso y portabilidad del material, logrando de esta forma, que la población adolescente sea beneficiada a través de las acciones que se emprenderán por parte de los padres de familia, docentes y profesionales.142 p.RESUMEN 1. JUSTIFICACIÓN 2. OBJETIVOS 3. ESTUDIO DEL MERCADO 4. PRESENTACIÓN DEL PRODUCTO 5. CLIENTES – SEGMENTACIÓN 6. COMPETENCIA 7. CANALES DE DISTRIBUCIÓN 8. RESULTADOS DEL ESTUDIO DE MERCADO 9. DISCUSIÓN DEL ESTUDIO DE MERCADO 10. PRESUPUESTO 11. RESULTADOS 12. CONCLUSIONES REFERENCIAS APÉNDICESPregradoPsicólog

The interaction between vaginal microbiota, cervical length, and vaginal progesterone treatment for preterm birth risk

© The Author(s) 2017. Background: Preterm birth is the primary cause of infant death worldwide. A short cervix in the second trimester of pregnancy is a risk factor for preterm birth. In specific patient cohorts, vaginal progesterone reduces this risk. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we undertook a prospective study in women at risk of preterm birth (n = 161) to assess (1) the relationship between vaginal microbiota and cervical length in the second trimester and preterm birth risk and (2) the impact of vaginal progesterone on vaginal bacterial communities in women with a short cervix. Results: Lactobacillus iners dominance at 16 weeks of gestation was significantly associated with both a short cervix < 25 mm (n = 15, P < 0.05) and preterm birth < 34+0 weeks (n = 18; P < 0.01; 69% PPV). In contrast, Lactobacillus crispatus dominance was highly predictive of term birth (n = 127, 98% PPV). Cervical shortening and preterm birth were not associated with vaginal dysbiosis. A longitudinal characterization of vaginal microbiota (< 18, 22, 28, and 34 weeks) was then undertaken in women receiving vaginal progesterone (400 mg/OD, n = 25) versus controls (n = 42). Progesterone did not alter vaginal bacterial community structure nor reduce L. iners-associated preterm birth (< 34 weeks). Conclusions: L. iners dominance of the vaginal microbiota at 16 weeks of gestation is a risk factor for preterm birth, whereas L. crispatus dominance is protective against preterm birth. Vaginal progesterone does not appear to impact the pregnancy vaginal microbiota. Patients and clinicians who may be concerned about "infection risk" associated with the use of a vaginal pessary during high-risk pregnancy can be reassured

Helping family doctors detect vulnerable caregivers after an emergency department visit for an elderly relative: results of a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: Family doctors have been ascribed a role in monitoring patients and their informal caregivers. Little is known about the factors that might alert physicians to changing circumstances or needs of the caregivers. The study objective was to examine changes in family caregivers' quality of life following an emergency department (ED) visit by an older community-dwelling relative that might cue doctors to subsequent caregiver distress. METHODS: A longitudinal study with follow-up at 1- and 4-months was conducted in the EDs of 4 hospitals in Montreal, Canada. Caregivers reported on demographics and quality of life (SF-36). Patients reported on demographics and functional disability. Multiple linear regression for repeated measures was used to evaluate changes in caregiver quality of life and factors related to these changes. RESULTS: 159 caregivers (60.5 yrs ± 15.8%; 73.0% female), including 68 (42.8%) spouses, 60 (37.7%) adult children, and 31 (19.5%) other relatives participated. Following an initial ED visit by older relatives, caregiver general health and physical functioning declined over time, while mental health status improved. Compared to the other relative caregiver group, spouses were at increased risk for decline in general health, mental health, and physical functioning at 1 month, while adult children were at increased risk for decline in physical health at 1 month. CONCLUSION: Spouses were most at risk for decline in quality of life. Primary care physicians who become aware of an ED visit by an elderly person may be alerted to possible subsequent deterioration in family caregivers, especially spouses

Cortisol in hair measured in young adults - a biomarker of major life stressors?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stress as a cause of illness has been firmly established. In public health and stress research a retrospective biomarker of extended stress would be an indispensible aid. The objective of this pilot study was to investigate whether concentrations of cortisol in hair correlate with perceived stress, experiences of serious life events, and perceived health in young adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Hair samples were cut from the posterior vertex area of (n = 99) university students who also answered a questionnaire covering experiences of serious life events, perceived Stress Scale and perceived health during the last three months. Cortisol was measured using a competitive radioimmunoassay in methanol extracts of hair samples frozen in liquid nitrogen and mechanically pulverised.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean cortisol levels were significantly related to serious life events (p = 0.045), weakly negatively correlated to perceived stress (p = 0.025, r = -0.061) but nor affected by sex, coloured/permed hair, intake of pharmaceuticals or self-reported health. In a multiple regression model, only the indicator of serious life events had an independent (p = 0.041) explanation of increased levels of cortisol in hair. Out of four outliers with extremely high cortisol levels two could be contacted, both reported serious psychological problems.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These findings suggest that measurement of cortisol in hair could serve as a retrospective biomarker of increased cortisol production reflecting exposure to major life stressors and possibly extended psychological illness with important implications for research, clinical practice and public health. Experience of serious life events seems to be more important in raising cortisol levels in hair than perceived stress.</p

Fibronectin Matrix Assembly Suppresses Dispersal of Glioblastoma Cells

Glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive and most common form of primary brain tumor, has a median survival of 12–15 months. Surgical excision, radiation and chemotherapy are rarely curative since tumor cells broadly disperse within the brain. Preventing dispersal could be of therapeutic benefit. Previous studies have reported that increased cell-cell cohesion can markedly reduce invasion by discouraging cell detachment from the tumor mass. We have previously reported that α5β1 integrin-fibronectin interaction is a powerful mediator of indirect cell-cell cohesion and that the process of fibronectin matrix assembly (FNMA) is crucial to establishing strong bonds between cells in 3D tumor-like spheroids. Here, we explore a potential role for FNMA in preventing dispersal of GBM cells from a tumor-like mass. Using a series of GBM-derived cell lines we developed an in vitro assay to measure the dispersal velocity of aggregates on a solid substrate. Despite their similar pathologic grade, aggregates from these lines spread at markedly different rates. Spreading velocity is inversely proportional to capacity for FNMA and restoring FNMA in GBM cells markedly reduces spreading velocity by keeping cells more connected. Blocking FNMA using the 70 KDa fibronectin fragment in FNMA-restored cells rescues spreading velocity, establishing a functional role for FNMA in mediating dispersal. Collectively, the data support a functional causation between restoration of FNMA and decreased dispersal velocity. This is a first demonstration that FNMA can play a suppressive role in GBM dispersal

Association between Urinary Excretion of Cortisol and Markers of Oxidatively Damaged DNA and RNA in Humans

Chronic psychological stress is associated with accelerated aging, but the underlying biological mechanisms are not known. Prolonged elevations of the stress hormone cortisol is suspected to play a critical role. Through its actions, cortisol may potentially induce oxidatively generated damage to cellular constituents such as DNA and RNA, a phenomenon which has been implicated in aging processes. We investigated the relationship between 24 h excretion of urinary cortisol and markers of oxidatively generated DNA and RNA damage, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanosine, in a sample of 220 elderly men and women (age 65 – 83 years). We found a robust association between the excretion of cortisol and the oxidation markers (R2 = 0.15, P<0.001 for both markers). Individuals in the highest quartile of cortisol excretion had a 57% and 61% higher median excretion of the DNA and RNA oxidation marker, respectively, than individuals in the lowest quartile. The finding adds support to the hypothesis that cortisol-induced damage to DNA/RNA is an explanatory factor in the complex relation between stress, aging and disease

Response time variability and response inhibition predict affective problems in adolescent girls, not in boys: the TRAILS study

The present study examines the relationship between neurocognitive functioning and affective problems through adolescence, in a cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective. Baseline response speed, response speed variability, response inhibition, attentional flexibility and working memory were assessed in a cohort of 2,179 adolescents (age 10–12 years) from the TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS). Affective problems were measured with the DSM-oriented Affective Problems scale of the Youth Self Report at wave 1 (baseline assessment), wave 2 (after 2.5 years) and wave 3 (after 5 years). Cross-sectionally, baseline response speed, response time variability, response inhibition and working memory were associated with baseline affective problems in girls, but not in boys. Longitudinally, enhanced response time variability predicted affective problems after 2.5 and 5 years in girls, but not in boys. Decreased response inhibition predicted affective problems after 5 years follow-up in girls, and again not in boys. The results are discussed in light of recent insights in gender differences in adolescence and state–trait issues in depression

Candidiasis, Bacterial Vaginosis, Trichomoniasis and Other Vaginal Conditions Affecting the Vulva

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biology and biotechnology of Trichoderma

Fungi of the genus Trichoderma are soilborne, green-spored ascomycetes that can be found all over the world. They have been studied with respect to various characteristics and applications and are known as successful colonizers of their habitats, efficiently fighting their competitors. Once established, they launch their potent degradative machinery for decomposition of the often heterogeneous substrate at hand. Therefore, distribution and phylogeny, defense mechanisms, beneficial as well as deleterious interaction with hosts, enzyme production and secretion, sexual development, and response to environmental conditions such as nutrients and light have been studied in great detail with many species of this genus, thus rendering Trichoderma one of the best studied fungi with the genome of three species currently available. Efficient biocontrol strains of the genus are being developed as promising biological fungicides, and their weaponry for this function also includes secondary metabolites with potential applications as novel antibiotics. The cellulases produced by Trichoderma reesei, the biotechnological workhorse of the genus, are important industrial products, especially with respect to production of second generation biofuels from cellulosic waste. Genetic engineering not only led to significant improvements in industrial processes but also to intriguing insights into the biology of these fungi and is now complemented by the availability of a sexual cycle in T. reesei/Hypocrea jecorina, which significantly facilitates both industrial and basic research. This review aims to give a broad overview on the qualities and versatility of the best studied Trichoderma species and to highlight intriguing findings as well as promising applications