Metformin: from antidiabetic to cancer therapeutic

Epidemiology studies have found that type 2 diabetics treated with metformin are at a lower risk for developing cancer. It was speculated that the lowered risk might be attributed metformin's indirect physiological effect of lowering blood insulin levels, which is the opposite of many other antidiabetic drugs. However, further study of metformin's mechanism of action at the cellular level helped develop an understanding of its effect on the individual cell. This helped show why, mechanistically, it makes sense to use metformin for the treatment of cancer. As an activator of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) via inhibition of complex 1 of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, metformin causes suppression of tumor growth and cell cycle arrest by acting on the mTOR pathway and cyclin/CDKs, respectively. Metformin has been most extensively studied in breast cancer, showing great efficacy in numerous breast cancer cell lines that include ER positive, HER2 positive, and triple negative breast cancer cell lines. This compilation of data and results of metformin's efficacy in various cancer subtypes will help push metformin forward as a new chemotherapeutic for breast cancer, and eventually for other cancer types as well

Sense of Coherence, a Worthy Factor toward Nursing Student and New Graduate Satisfaction with Nursing, Goal Setting Affinities, and Coping Tendencies (Le sens de la cohérence, un facteur déterminant de la satisfaction des étudiantes et des diplômées de leur carrière en sciences infirmières, de leur propension à établir des objectifs et à trouver des mécanismes de coping)

Abstract Background Nursing student readiness for practice is a relevant topic for educators aimed to ready students for a difficult practice environment, and healthcare employers challenged with the high attrition rates of new graduates. The literature suggests that stressors toward burnout may begin in the undergraduate setting with student nurses experiencing feelings of burnout being at significantly higher risk of leaving their position after only 10 to 15 months (Rudman & Gustavsson, 2012; Rudman, Gustavsson, & Hultell, 2014). Readiness for practice as a student informs how new graduate nurses will come into the practice environment. Their sense of coherence, ability to set and achieve goals, and coping skills are important factors toward surviving and thriving in their place of work. This study includes fourth-year nursing students on their final day of school, standing at the threshold of their nursing careers. Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between sense of coherence scores of nursing students upon completion of their undergraduate program with their level of satisfaction in nursing as a career choice, coping skills, and goal setting tendencies. Methods The study uses a cross-sectional survey using quantitative and qualitative methods. Sense of coherence scores were obtained through the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (Antonovsky, 1987). In addition, data is gathered relating to age, coping habits, and goal setting tendencies. Open-ended questions are used to ascertain suggestions to enhance undergraduate curriculum efforts in the aforementioned topic areas. Data was obtained from 51 Western Canadian Baccalaureate nursing students in their last day as an undergraduate. Results Quantitative results demonstrate a positive association between sense of coherence and satisfaction in nursing as a career choice; those with higher sense of coherence scores also demonstrating high levels of satisfaction with nursing. Those who regularly abuse substances to cope with stress were more likely to have lower sense of coherence scores. Additionally, those who were older were more likely to value formal goal setting. Qualitative data, elicited through open-ended questions within the questionnaire, suggested that students want more focused and student-centered curriculum on self-awareness, coping skill development, and goal ownership. Conclusions Sense of coherence is a significant factor for nursing students prior to practice entry. Specifically, it relates to their satisfaction with nursing as a career choice and their risks of engaging in substance abuse to cope with workplace stressors. In addition, age and goal-setting tendencies were also positively correlated. These findings are relevant to undergraduate student and educator practice readiness efforts and to new graduate nurse retention efforts. Résumé Contexte Le degré de préparation des étudiantes à la pratique en sciences infirmières est un sujet pertinent pour les professeures dédiées à les préparer à un milieu de pratique exigeant, mais aussi pour les employeurs des milieux de la santé confrontés à des taux élevés d’attrition chez les nouvelles diplômées. La littérature scientifique suggère que les facteurs de stress menant à l’épuisement professionnel apparaissent dès le premier cycle, et que les étudiantes infirmières qui ressentent cet épuisement présentent un risque considérablement plus élevé d’abandonner leur poste après seulement 10 à 15 mois (Rudman & Gustavsson, 2012; Rudman, Gustavsson & Hultell, 2014). Le degré de préparation d’une étudiante à la pratique renseigne sur la façon dont les nouvelles diplômées s’intègrent dans le milieu de la santé. Leur sens de la cohérence et leur capacité à s’adapter, à établir et à atteindre des objectifs constituent des facteurs essentiels à leur survie et à leur épanouissement dans leur milieu de travail. Cette étude inclut des étudiantes en sciences infirmières au dernier jour de leur quatrième année de formation et à l’orée de leur carrière. Objectifs Cette étude avait pour but d’examiner la relation entre les résultats au sens de la cohérence chez des étudiantes en sciences infirmières à la fin de leur programme de premier cycle et leur niveau de satisfaction quant aux sciences infirmières comme choix de carrière, leur capacité d’adaptation et leur propension à établir des objectifs. Méthodologie La méthode d’enquête transversale par questionnaire comportant une composante quantitative et une qualitative a été utilisée. Les scores liés au sens de la cohérence ont été obtenus à l’aide du questionnaire Orientation to Life Questionnaire (Antonovsky, 1987). De plus, des données relatives à l’âge, aux habitudes de coping et à la propension à établir des objectifs ont été recueillies. Les questions ouvertes visaient à obtenir des suggestions afin d’améliorer l’apport des programmes de premier cycle aux sujets susmentionnés. Les données ont été recueillies auprès de 51 étudiantes au dernier jour de leur programme de baccalauréat en sciences infirmières dans l’Ouest canadien. Résultats Les résultats quantitatifs indiquent une relation positive entre le sens de la cohérence et la satisfaction quant aux sciences infirmières comme choix de carrière; ainsi, les participantes ayant obtenu les plus hauts scores au sens de la cohérence démontrent un degré élevé de satisfaction par rapport aux sciences infirmières. Les participantes qui abusent régulièrement de substances pour gérer le stress ont plutôt obtenu des scores faibles au sens de la cohérence. En outre, les participantes plus âgées avaient davantage tendance à valoriser l’établissement formel d’objectifs. Les données qualitatives, obtenues par les questions ouvertes, indiquent que les étudiantes souhaitent un programme d’études plus axé sur les étudiantes, favorisant la conscience de soi, le développement d’habiletés de coping et l’appropriation de ses objectifs. Conclusions Le sens de la cohérence est un facteur essentiel à développer chez les étudiantes en sciences infirmières avant l’entrée dans la pratique. Il est plus précisément lié à leur satisfaction quant aux sciences infirmières comme choix de carrière et au risque d’opter pour l’abus de substances afin de gérer les facteurs de stress au travail. De plus, une corrélation positive entre l’âge et la propension à établir des objectifs a été établie. Ces résultats sont pertinents au regard des efforts de préparation à la pratique des étudiantes par les professeures de premier cycle, ainsi que de rétention des nouvelles diplômées en sciences infirmières

Brasil e Portugal: Intercâmbio Acadêmico sobre Ficção Televisiva

Entrevista com Isabel Ferin Cunha

Expanding Paradigms of Reading After the Affective and the Objective Turn— The Place of the Non-human in J.G. Ballard’s Novel The Atrocity Exhibition

Thinking about the problem of reading contemporary literary production opens up a question of theoretical paradigms which would move beyond the concept of form (if we take as a given the assumption that any definition of a literary, as well as any other artefact by means of form is nowadays superfluous). In the context of the recent considerable change in the status and meaning of the concept of art, this problem is doubly complex. By moving away from the work to the text, and then from the text to the context in new materialist, as well as speculative realist tendencies which are tied to the affective and the objective turn, there arises a new relationship towards the concept of the context. Thus in the aesthetic and literary theories of new materialism in the place of context one finds the affective encounter (reading is thus revealed as an embodied activity), while in speculative realism (also of materialist provenance), the context will take the place of the object, which is an absolute value (reading is thus shown to be a materialist practice). In this article taking up the idea of the overlap between the destruction of illusion about the natural relationship between the narrative content and the narrative discourse (in poststructuralist narratology) and the unravelling of the hierarchical order between the signifier and the signified (in poststructuralist theory of the sign), it is pointed to the inadequacy of such an approach when applied to the analysis of the novel The Atrocity Exhibition by James Graham Ballard thus posing the question of the modernist and postmodernist legacy; i.e., contributing to the study of modernity. The Atrocity Exhibition is considered as a neo-avant-garde, situationist text and by applying the method of incomplete induction, the conclusion will be drawn about its anticipatory nature—a type of modernist practice which heralds new, contemporary (expanded) paradigms of reading offering a possible solution for contemporary aesthetic antinomies related to the impossibility to discern the quality of the contemporary within the regime of its coexistence with the remains of the past (tendencies of modernity and postmodernity). Our thesis is that both theoretical-philosophical platforms, new materialism and speculative realism, offer diverse extra-discursive models of thought. Thematizing the place of the non-human in The Atrocity Exhibition and using the method of critical analysis of a comparative, interdisciplinary kind, it will be demonstrated that Ballard’s novel in the regime of aesthetics after aesthetics ceases to work as a concept in literature (accessible via poststructuralism) and becomes a materialist text-context

Análise dos motivos de participação e permanência de idosos em programas de atividade física

O acentuado e crescente envelhecimento da populaçao é um fenômeno mundial. Juntamente com essa transiçao demográfica expande-se o interesse em relaçao à velhice nos mais variados âmbitos políticos, econômicos, culturas e acadêmicos. Na área da Educaçao Física, especificamente, verificamos o desenvolvimento crescente da preocupaçao em promover a qualidade de vida por meio da prática de exercício físico junto aos idosos. Para esse fim, entre as estratégias criadas, os programas de atividades físicas para idoso em universidade sao exemplos. A fim de compreender os motivos de adesao e permanência de idosos participantes do Projeto de extensao universitária "Sem Fronteiras: atividades corporais para adultos e idosos", da UFPR, realizamos esse estudo. A pesquisa é de caráter descritivo e abordagem qualitativa. O grupo de idosos pesquisado foi composto de quinze pessoas, selecionadas de acordo com o tempo de participaçao no projeto. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi uma entrevista semiestruturada. Dos resultados os principais motivos de adesao ao Projeto foram: indicaçao médica para a melhoria da saúde e o convívio com pessoas da mesma idade. Já os fatores relacionados à permanência foram: à socializaçao entre idosos e professores; os ganhos na saúde; o gosto pela prática de atividade física; a melhoria de qualidade de vida e interaçao social. Conclui-se que o projeto contribui para a melhora da execuçao das atividades da vida diária e por consequência, da qualidade de vida dos idosos. Com isso há um maior tempo de permanência de idosos neste projet

Smart house with Arduino platform

U ovom radu opisana je izrada i funkcionalnost pametne kuće s Arduino platformom te komponente koje će se koristiti pri izradi i realizaciji rada. Sve korištene komponente povezane su na maketi pametne kuće. Rad je zamišljen tako da se preko mobitela/web-stranice upravlja Arduino uređajem koji upravlja kamerom, senzorom za temperaturu, servomotorima i rasvjetom. U prvom dijelu rada opisani su cilj i namjena izrade makete i njezinih funkcionalnih dijelova. Dalje su nabrojani i opisani svi dijelovi potrebni za izradu, njihova namjena, način funkcioniranja i karakteristike. Za ostvarivanje funkcionalnosti korištena je Arduino platforma za kreiranje elektroničkih prototipova na koju su spojeni servomotori potrebni za otvaranje/zatvaranje vrata i prozora, temperaturni senzor za očitavanje temperature i LED diode za paljenje i gašenje svjetla na maketi kuće. U svrhu upravljanja maketom korišten je Orange Pi Zero koji preko usmjerivača omogućava korisnički pristup navedenim funkcijama preko korisničkoga sučelja. Nakon definiranja komponenata opisani su načini njihova spajanja i komuniciranja popraćeni shemama i slikama spojeva te programskim kodom. Za svaku od cjelina napravljena su testiranja kako bi se utvrdilo pravilno funkcioniranje čitave strukture. Prigodom izrade rada trebalo je ujediniti znanje iz područja elektrotehnike, digitalnih elektroničkih sklopova i programiranja u jednu cjelinu spojenu na maketi pametne kućice. Na kraju ovoga rada prikazan je funkcionalan završni proizvod na kojem je korisniku omogućeno intuitivno upravljanje spojenim komponentama preko web-stranice ili mobitela. Pomoću ovog projekta prikazani su način i svrha automatizacije kuća koje su sve traženije na tržištu zbog modernizacije i lakšeg upravljanja tehnologijom u svakodnevnom životu. U završnom radu koristit će se Arduino Mega, temperaturni senzor TMP36, Orange Pi Zero, servomotori JX servo PDI-9180MG, web-kamera Sweex WC070 i LED diode

Panorama midiático da região de Carajás

Neste artigo procuramos contextualizar a região de Carajás, no Pará, no âmbito do bioma Amazônia, para compreender a situação do cenário midiático comparativamente a outras regiões. Também, buscamos traçar um panorama dos meios de comunicação na região por meio de uma abordagem descritiva e coleta de dados nos 32 municípios. Observamos o perfil dos veículos existentes e sua relação com os índices de desenvolvimento locais. Partindo de conceitos sobre geografias e políticas de comunicação, assumimos a premissa de que o alcance e a pluralidade de informação proporcionam um ambiente favorável para o desenvolvimento social. Percebeu-se uma rigorosa concentração das indústrias de mídia em centros urbanos de mais alta hierarquia em Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano Municipal (IDHM), como capitais regionais e centros regionais

Mídias digitais no desenvolvimento de competências escolares: dinâmicas dos estudantes do interior do Pará durante a pandemia de Covid-19

This article aims to understand how students at Macário Dantas State School, in São Geraldo do Araguaia, in southeastern Pará, make use of the internet and digital media, and how this use favors the development of school skills. The school is located in the eastern Amazon region, which, like the entire northern region, experiences a lack of techno-democratic public policies. From a perspective based on studies on media literacy, a multiperspective analysis was carried out with students living in urban and rural areas, in the year 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Questionnaires were applied to understand and compare the statistical indicators of inclusion and accessibility to the internet and a focus group was carried out to observe the protagonism of young people in digital media and whether this protagonism favors the development of skills. The conclusions indicate that there is a disparity between access and consumption of the internet between young people from the city and the countryside, which weakens the protagonism in cyberculture and, consequently, the participation of this portion of youth in democratic citizenship processes.Este artigo tem como objetivo compreender como os alunos da Escola Estadual Macário Dantas, em São Geraldo do Araguaia, no sudeste do Pará, fazem uso da internet e das mídias digitais, e como essa utilização favorece o desenvolvimento de competências escolares. A escola situa-se na região da Amazônia Oriental que, como toda a região Norte, vivencia a falta de políticas públicas tecnodemocráticas. A partir de uma perspectiva baseada nos estudos sobre media literacy, foi realizada uma análise multiperspectiva com alunos, moradores da zona urbana e da zona rural, dos terceiros anos do ensino médio, no ano de 2021, durante a pandemia da Covid-19. Foram aplicados questionários para se compreender e comparar os indicadores estatísticos da inclusão e acessibilidade à internet e realizado um grupo focal para observar o protagonismo dos jovens nas mídias digitais e se esse protagonismo favorece o desenvolvimento de competências. As conclusões apontam que existe uma disparidade entre o acesso e o consumo da internet entre os jovens da cidade e do campo, o que fragiliza o protagonismo na cibercultura e consequentemente a participação dessa parcela da juventude nos processos de cidadania democrática