The Positive Experiences of Becoming a Psychologist: A Master’s Student’s Journey

Since most research on the topic of experiences related to becoming a psychologist is conducted from a pathogenic paradigm, the study reported in this paper aimed to describe the journey of a clinical master’s student from the perspective of positive psychology. A strengths-based paradigm allowed the researcher and the participant to understand the journey through the lens of personal growth, professional development, coping strategies, and attempts to make sense of the related difficulties. In this study, a qualitative research approach was used and a single case study design was employed. Data analysis followed the procedure of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Themes that were conceptualized and operationalized within the structure of psychological well-being (Ryff, 1989) comprised six well-being domains, namely (a) personal growth; (b) purpose in life; (c) autonomy; (d) self-acceptance; (e) positive relationships with others; and (f) environmental mastery. The most prominent finding was that, while the experience of becoming a psychologist is known to be a long and difficult journey, it can also be rewarding and positive, and holds the potential to enhance psychological well-being

Inverse Cotton-Mouton effect of the Vacuum and of atomic systems

In this letter we calculate the Inverse Cotton-Mouton Effect (ICME) for the vacuum following the predictions of Quantum ElectroDynamics. We compare the value of this effect for the vacuum with the one expected for atomic systems. We finally show that ICME could be measured for the first time for noble gases using state-of-the-art laser systems and for the quantum vacuum with near-future laser facilities like ELI and HiPER, providing in particular a test of the nonlinear behaviour of quantum vacuum at intensities below the Schwinger limit of 4.5x10^33 W/m^2.Comment: Submitted to EP

Observation of the Inverse Cotton-Mouton Effect

We report the observation of the Inverse Cotton-Mouton Effect (ICME) i.e. a magnetization induced in a medium by non resonant linearly polarized light propagating in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. We present a detailed study of the ICME in a TGG crystal showing the dependence of the measured effect on the light intensity, the optical polarization, and on the external magnetic field. We derive a relation between the Cotton-Mouton and Inverse Cotton-Mouton effects that is roughly in agreement with existing experimental data. Our results open the way to applications of the ICME in optical devices

Characterization of an outbreak of equine coronavirus infection in adult horses in Switzerland.

INTRODUCTION Outbreaks of equine coronavirus (ECoV) infections have been described in different parts of the world including Europe. The aim of this report was to describe clinical signs, diagnostic work-up and outcome of the first documented outbreak of ECoV in Switzerland in order to raise the awareness for the disease and its various clinical presentations. The outbreak occurred on a farm with 26 horses. Of these, seven horses developed clinical disease ranging from mild signs such as fever and anorexia to severe signs of acute colitis. One horse died due to severe endotoxemia and circulatory shock secondary to severe acute necrotizing enteritis and colitis. Out of the 26 horses, five horses tested positive for ECoV, including two ponies without any clinical signs of infection. The low number of positive cases should nevertheless be interpreted with caution as testing was only performed on one occasion, over a month after the onset of clinical signs in the first suspected case. This report highlights the importance of diagnostic testing and early implementation of biosecurity measures on a farm with an ECoV outbreak. It should furthermore raise the awareness for unspecific and mild clinical signs such as fever and anorexia in affected animals that are potentially able to spread the disease

Differential expression of collectins in human placenta and role in inflammation during spontaneous Labor.

© 2014 Yadav et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Collectins, collagen-containing Ca2+ dependent C-type lectins and a class of secretory proteins including SP-A, SP-D and MBL, are integral to immunomodulation and innate immune defense. In the present study, we aimed to investigate their placental transcript synthesis, labor associated differential expression and localization at feto-maternal interface, and their functional implication in spontaneous labor. The study involved using feto-maternal interface (placental/decidual tissues) from two groups of healthy pregnant women at term (≥37 weeks of gestation), undergoing either elective C-section with no labor ('NLc' group, n = 5), or normal vaginal delivery with spontaneous labor ('SLv' group, n = 5). The immune function of SP-D, on term placental explants, was analyzed for cytokine profile using multiplexed cytokine array. SP-A, SP-D and MBL transcripts were observed in the term placenta. The 'SLv' group showed significant up-regulation of SP-D (p = 0.001), and down-regulation of SP-A (p = 0.005), transcripts and protein compared to the 'NLc' group. Significant increase in 43 kDa and 50 kDa SP-D forms in placental and decidual tissues was associated with the spontaneous labor (p<0.05). In addition, the MMP-9-cleaved form of SP-D (25 kDa) was significantly higher in the placentae of 'SLv' group compared to the 'NLc' group (p = 0.002). Labor associated cytokines IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α and MCP-1 showed significant increase (p<0.05) in a dose dependent manner in the placental explants treated with nSP-D and rhSP-D. In conclusion, the study emphasizes that SP-A and SP-D proteins associate with the spontaneous labor and SP-D plausibly contributes to the pro-inflammatory immune milieu of feto-maternal tissues.Funding provided by BT/PR15227/BRB/10/906/2011) Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India http://dbtindia.nic.in/index.asp (TM) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)/Senior Research Fellowship (SRF), Government of India, www.icmr.nic.in (AKY)