Mother-child interactions in the context of socioeconomic disadvantage : predictors and the effectiveness of an attachment-based intervention program

Tese de doutoramento em Psicologia (especialidade de Psicologia Clínica)Attachment theory strongly contributes to parenting science by evidencing the major influence of parental care on child developmental trajectories. Research also describes parenting as being determined by multiple influences, amongst which we can find parents’ personal characteristics and contextual features of the environment. Parents in socioeconomic disadvantage are reported to experience an accumulation of risk factors and to be more vulnerable in terms of parental functioning, with negative impact on their children’s development. In face of this deleterious scenario, evidence-based interventions to support at risk socioeconomically disadvantaged families are crucial. The present doctoral dissertation integrates two separate studies, focused on parenting in socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers and their young aged children, relying on solid observational measures. The first study investigates determinants of maternal behaviors in play and discipline interaction contexts. Results point to the relevance of maternal attachment representation in defining mother-child interactions, detailing that: a more dismissing attachment representation relates to higher structuring; a more preoccupied state of mind relates to lower sensitivity and structuring; a more secure attachment representation relates to more psychologically controlling discipline tactics, putting in evidence the relevance of sociocultural framework within which parenting takes place. The second study presents the implementation and effectiveness evaluation of the Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD, Juffer, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & Van IJzendoorn, 2008) through a randomized controlled trial. The VIPP-SD is an early intervention attachment-based program aimed at improving parental sensitivity and adequate discipline strategies. The VIPP-SD proved to be effective in enhancing positive mother-child interactions and positive family relations in a severely deprived context. More in detail, VIPP-SD positively impacted perceived family cohesion, as well as observed maternal intrusiveness, child responsiveness and involvement, assembling VIPP-SD as an effective parenting program with socio-economically deprived families who struggle with multiple stress factors. Research findings and conclusions are discussed regarding clinical implications for intervening in the context of socio-economic disadvantage.A teoria da vinculação é fundamental para a investigação no âmbito da parentalidade, na medida em que salienta a influência da qualidade da prestação de cuidados nas trajetórias de desenvolvimento infantil. A investigação tem mostrado a parentalidade como sendo determinada por múltiplos fatores, entre os quais se inscrevem as características pessoais dos pais e os aspetos contextuais. Os pais em situação de risco socioeconómico experienciam uma acumulação de fatores de stress que tornam mais vulnerável o seu funcionamento parental, afetando negativamente o desenvolvimento dos seus filhos. Face a este cenário problemático, torna-se evidente a pertinência de intervenções empiricamente validadas que respondam às necessidades de famílias em risco socioeconómico. A presente dissertação de doutoramento integra dois estudos focados na parentalidade em circunstância de risco socioeconómico, envolve mães e crianças pequenas e recorre a medidas observacionais. O primeiro estudo examina os determinantes do comportamento interativo materno em contexto de jogo e de disciplina. Os resultados indicam a relevância da representação da vinculação, evidenciando que a representação mais desligada está relacionada com maiores níveis de estruturação; a representação mais preocupada associase a menores níveis de sensibilidade e estruturação; a representação mais segura relacionase com maiores níveis de controlo psicológico como estratégia disciplinar, remetendo para a importância de considerar o contexto sociocultural em que a interação ocorre. O segundo estudo apresenta a implementação e avaliação de eficácia do programa Video-feedback Intervention to promote Positive Parenting and Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD, Juffer, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & Van IJzendoorn, 2008) através de um ensaio clínico randomizado. O VIPP-SD é um programa de intervenção baseado na teoria da vinculação que tem como objetivo a promoção da sensibilidade parental e de estratégias de disciplina positiva. O VIPP-SD provou ser eficaz na melhoria da qualidade da interação mãe-criança e da qualidade das relações familiares em famílias em risco socioeconómico. Mais especificamente, o VIPP-SD demonstrou ter um impacto positivo na coesão familiar percebida, assim como na intrusividade materna, na responsividade e envolvimento da criança, avaliados através de medidas observacionais. Assim, o VIPP-SD assume-se como um programa de intervenção parental eficaz em famílias socioeconomicamente desfavorecidas imersas num contexto de multi-desafio. Os resultados são discutidos salientando as implicações clínicas para a intervenção no contexto de risco socioeconómico

Tratamento endodôntico de um canino geminado - caso clínico

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Calcium- and hormone-driven regulation of secondary metabolism and cell wall enzymes in grape berry cells

Supplementary material related to this article can be found, in the online version, at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2018.08.011.The efficacy of calcium sprays for improving fleshy fruit resistance to abiotic/biotic stress and enhancement of fruit shelf life has increasingly been explored. However, because calcium is a powerful secondary messenger in many signaling pathways, including those driven by abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonates, it may interfere with the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites highly important for fruit and wine quality, such as phenolic compounds. In this study, a combination of biochemical and molecular biology approaches were applied to grape cell cultures and detached grape berries, in order to investigate the effect of calcium in the modulation of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds and in cell wall organization. Concentrations up to 10mM CaCl2 did not affect cell growth, size or viability, but triggered modifications in total phenolics content, particularly in anthocyanin levels in grape cell suspensions. The effects of calcium applied alone or in combination with ABA or methyl jasmonate (MeJA) were visible in several branches of specialized metabolic pathways, confirming that the calcium-hormone interplay regulates the expression of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), stilbene synthase (STS), dihydroflavonol reductase (DFR) and UDP-glucose:flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase (UFGT). The activity of PAL and UFGT enzymes was also specifically modulated by calcium, ABA and MeJA. These results closely correlated to the modifications observed in the expression of VvAM1 and VvABCC1 encoding vacuolar anthocyanin transporters. Modulation of the expression and activity of pectin methyl esterases (PME) and polygalacturonases (PG) by calcium was also evident, confirming an important role of calcium in cell wall organization via the regulation of enzyme activity, besides its well-known role in the formation of cross links between pectin molecules. Overall, this study uncovers important biochemical mechanisms induced by calcium and stress hormones on grape berries, and highlights the need to consider the consequences of calcium treatments and stress for fruit quality.This work was supported by European investment funds by FEDER/COMPETE/POCI-Operacional Competitiveness and Internationalization Programme, under the Projects INTERACT-NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017-Linha VitalityWine-ON 0013 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006958, and by National Funds by FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2013, and CherryCrackLess (PTDC/AGR-PRO/7028/2014). VM was supported by a FCT postdoctoral Grant (SFRH/BPD/107905/2015).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Calcium- and hormone-driven regulation of secondary metabolism and cell wall enzymes in grape berry cells

Supplementary material related to this article can be found, in the online version, at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2018.08.011.The efficacy of calcium sprays for improving fleshy fruit resistance to abiotic/biotic stress and enhancement of fruit shelf life has increasingly been explored. However, because calcium is a powerful secondary messenger in many signaling pathways, including those driven by abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonates, it may interfere with the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites highly important for fruit and wine quality, such as phenolic compounds. In this study, a combination of biochemical and molecular biology approaches were applied to grape cell cultures and detached grape berries, in order to investigate the effect of calcium in the modulation of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of phenolic compounds and in cell wall organization. Concentrations up to 10mM CaCl2 did not affect cell growth, size or viability, but triggered modifications in total phenolics content, particularly in anthocyanin levels in grape cell suspensions. The effects of calcium applied alone or in combination with ABA or methyl jasmonate (MeJA) were visible in several branches of specialized metabolic pathways, confirming that the calcium-hormone interplay regulates the expression of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), stilbene synthase (STS), dihydroflavonol reductase (DFR) and UDP-glucose:flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase (UFGT). The activity of PAL and UFGT enzymes was also specifically modulated by calcium, ABA and MeJA. These results closely correlated to the modifications observed in the expression of VvAM1 and VvABCC1 encoding vacuolar anthocyanin transporters. Modulation of the expression and activity of pectin methyl esterases (PME) and polygalacturonases (PG) by calcium was also evident, confirming an important role of calcium in cell wall organization via the regulation of enzyme activity, besides its well-known role in the formation of cross links between pectin molecules. Overall, this study uncovers important biochemical mechanisms induced by calcium and stress hormones on grape berries, and highlights the need to consider the consequences of calcium treatments and stress for fruit quality.This work was supported by European investment funds by FEDER/COMPETE/POCI-Operacional Competitiveness and Internationalization Programme, under the Projects INTERACT-NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000017-Linha VitalityWine-ON 0013 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006958, and by National Funds by FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the project UID/AGR/04033/2013, and CherryCrackLess (PTDC/AGR-PRO/7028/2014). VM was supported by a FCT postdoctoral Grant (SFRH/BPD/107905/2015).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cytogenetic characterization and genome size of the medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don

The genome size and organization of the important medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus is shown to correspond to 1C = 0.76 pg (~738 Mbps) and 2n = 16 chromosomes. The data provide a sound basis for future studies including cytogenetic mapping, genomics and breeding

Integrative transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches to unravel the resistance profile of Kawisari coffee against Hemileia vastatrix

29th Conference of Association for the Science and Information on Coffee, 11 Sept. - 14 Sept. 2023 Hanoi, Vietnaminfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of the transcriptional signatures associated with resistance and susceptibility to Hemileia vastatrix in the Kawisari coffee hybrid

Coffee leaf rust (CLR), a disease caused by the biotrophic fungus Hemileia vastatrix (Hv), is the main threat to the worldwide production of Arabica coffee. The gradual breakdown of resistance in coffee varieties in the last years has highlighted the need for novel sources of resistance to CLR. This work aimed to unveil the cellular and molecular resistance profile of the Kawisari hybrid (C. arabica x C. liberica), a genotype used as a resistance donor in Arabica breeding programs in India. This coffee genotype was inoculated with two Hv races that triggered either resistance or susceptibility. Progress of infection was monitored using light microscopy. Simultaneously, we conducted a time-course RNA-seq characterization of the transcriptional responses. The microscopic studies showed that the post-haustorial resistance of Kawisari was associated with the hypersensitive response, accumulation of phenolic-like compounds and haustorium encasement with callose. The transcriptomic analysis suggest the downregulation of host primary metabolism genes at the early onset of infection, followed later by activation of genes functionally associated with multiple plant defense responses, including salicylic acid and jasmonate hormonal signaling. Resistance was also accompanied by the differential regulation of genes associated with phenylpropanoid metabolism and lignin biosynthesis. Our results, further validated by qPCR, provide important new insight into the molecular mechanisms underpinning resistance against CLR in this coffee genotype.Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and FEDER funds through PORNorte under the project CoffeeRES PTDC/ASPPLA/ 29779/2017 and by FCT UNIT LEAF (UID/AGR/04129/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive hybridization with local wild relatives in Western European grapevine varieties

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) diversity richness results from a complex domestication history over multiple historical periods. Here, we used whole-genome resequencing to elucidate different aspects of its recent evolutionary history. Our results support a model in which a central domestication event in grapevine was followed by postdomestication hybridization with local wild genotypes, leading to the presence of an introgression signature in modern wine varieties across Western Europe. The strongest signal was associated with a subset of Iberian grapevine varieties showing large introgression tracts. We targeted this study group for further analysis, demonstrating how regions under selection in wild populations from the Iberian Peninsula were preferentially passed on to the cultivated varieties by gene flow. Examination of underlying genes suggests that environmental adaptation played a fundamental role in both the evolution of wild genotypes and the outcome of hybridization with cultivated varieties, supporting a case of adaptive introgression in grapevine.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Subfunctionalization of Paralog Transcription Factors Contributes to Regulation of Alkaloid Pathway Branch Choice in Catharanthus roseus

Catharanthus roseus produces a diverse range of specialized metabolites of the monoterpenoid indole alkaloid (MIA) class in a heavily branched pathway. Recent great progress in identification of MIA biosynthesis genes revealed that the different pathway branch genes are expressed in a highly cell type- and organ-specific and stress-dependent manner. This implies a complex control by specific transcription factors (TFs), only partly revealed today. We generated and mined a comprehensive compendium of publicly available C. roseus transcriptome data for MIA pathway branch-specific TFs. Functional analysis was performed through extensive comparative gene expression analysis and profiling of over 40 MIA metabolites in the C. roseus flower petal expression system. We identified additional members of the known BIS and ORCA regulators. Further detailed study of the ORCA TFs suggests subfunctionalization of ORCA paralogs in terms of target gene-specific regulation and synergistic activity with the central jasmonate response regulator MYC2. Moreover, we identified specific amino acid residues within the ORCA DNA-binding domains that contribute to the differential regulation of some MIA pathway branches. Our results advance our understanding of TF paralog specificity for which, despite the common occurrence of closely related paralogs in many species, comparative studies are scarce.</jats:p