Organisational Culture and Workplace Corruption in Government Hospitals

This study examines corruption attitudes and norms in government hospitals in the Philippines. It tests a culture-building model that advocates communication of desired values, leadership role modelling, employee role modelling, alignment of systems and structures, training and evaluation, and reinforcement. Results reveal components that influence corruption attitudes and norms. Communication predicted individual attitudes or acceptability of corrupt acts. Leadership, systems, and controls predicted the prevalence of corrupt acts. Employee role modelling predicted both acceptability of and the prevalence of corrupt acts. In addition, there is a positive relationship between individual attitudes and organisation norms reinforcing the dyadic relationship between the two

Thermodynamics of charged and rotating black strings

We study thermodynamics of cylindrically symmetric black holes. Uncharged as well as charged and rotating objects have been discussed. We derive surface gravity and hence the Hawking temperature and entropy for all these cases. We correct some results in the literature and present new ones. It is seen that thermodynamically these black configurations behave differently from spherically symmetric objects

The Development and Initial Evaluation of Katatagan: A Resilience Intervention for Filipino Disaster Survivors

This paper documents the development, pilot, and initial evaluation of Katatagan, a group-based resilience program designed to hone coping skills of Filipino disaster survivors. The paper describes vulnerabilities and protective factors of Filipino survivors based on previous research and key informant interviews. It also explains how Luthar and Cicchetti’s (2000) resilience framework and guidelines for the development of interventions were incorporated in the objectives and the design of the resilience intervention. The intervention consists of six modules that aim to improve self-ecacy, adaptive coping skills, and well-being of Filipino survivors. The paper presents an initial evaluation of Katatagan among college students in Tacloban. Results revealed signicant improvements in adaptive coping behaviors and a decrease in anxiety and depressive symptoms. Although more robust evaluations are necessary, the results provide encouraging evidence for the value of group-based and culturally-nuanced interventions. Moreover, the paper describes a collaborative and systematic process of designing a needs- based resilience interventions for Filipino disaster survivors

Síndrome de Cushing: una causa infrecuente de hiperglucemia.

El síndrome de Cushing ectópico (SCE) se produce como resultado de la producción de la hormona adrenocorticotropa (ACTH) desde neoplasias extrahipofisarias. El SCE es un problema médico poco frecuente y difícil de diagnosticar. Se presenta el caso de un varón de 55 años, fumador activo, sin antecedentes médicos relevantes, que acude al servicio de urgencias por polidipsia y poliuria. Finalmente, tras diversas pruebas complementarias, se establece el juicio clínico de síndrome de Cushing secundario a un carcinoma de célula pequeña

The Development of a Community-Based Drug Intervention for Filipino Drug Users

This article documents the development of a community-based drug intervention for low- to mild-risk drug users who surrendered as part of the Philippine government\u27s anti-drug campaign. It highlights the importance of developing evidence-informed drug recovery interventions that are appropriate to the Asian culture and to developing economies. Interviews and consultations with users and community stakeholders reveal the need for an intervention that would improve the drug recovery skills and life skills of users. Evidence-based interventions were adapted using McKleroy and colleagues’ (2006) Map of Adaptation Process (MAP) framework. The resulting intervention reflected the country\u27s collectivist culture, relational values, propensity for indirect and non-verbal communication, and interdependent self-construal. The use of small groups, interactive and creative methodologies, and the incorporation of music and prayer also recognised the importance of these in the Philippine culture

Integrating knowledge exchange and the assessment of dryland management alternatives – A learning-centered participatory approach

The adoption of sustainable land management strategies and practices that respond to current climate and human pressures requires both assessment tools that can lead to better informed decision-making and effective knowledge-exchange mechanisms that facilitate new learning and behavior change. We propose a learning-centered participatory approach that links land management assessment and knowledge exchange and integrates science-based data and stakeholder perspectives on both biophysical and socio-economic attributes. We outline a structured procedure for a transparent assessment of land management alternatives, tailored to dryland management, that is based on (1) principles of constructivism and social learning, (2) the participation of stakeholders throughout the whole assessment process, from design to implementation, and (3) the combination of site-specific indicators, identified by local stakeholders as relevant to their particular objectives and context conditions, and science-based indicators that represent ecosystem services of drylands worldwide. The proposed procedure follows a pattern of eliciting, challenging, and self-reviewing stakeholder perspectives that aims to facilitate learning. The difference between the initial baseline perspectives and the final self-reviewed stakeholder perspectives is used as a proxy of learning. We illustrate the potential of this methodology by its application to the assessment of land uses in a Mediterranean fire-prone area in East Spain. The approach may be applied to a variety of socio-ecological systems and decision-making and governance scales.The PRACTICE protocol was developed in the framework of the project PRACTICE: Prevention and Restoration Actions to Combat Desertification. An integrated Assessment, funded by the European Commission (GA226818). This research was also funded by the European project CASCADE (GA283068), and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellowship of the European Union (GA 629677) “S4S, Science for Society Solutions”, awarded to B.J.O

Microvessel changes after post-ischemic benign and malignant hyperemia: experimental study in rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The present investigation was designed to elucidate the use of dynamic contrast enhanced perfusion MR imaging (DCE pMRI) in characterizing hyperemia, including microvessel changes, and to examine whether DCE pMRI can predict benign or malignant hyperemia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sprague-Dawley rats underwent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) by intraluminal suture placement. All rats were randomized to 4 groups: MCAO for 0.5 hours followed by saline treatment (10 ml/kg; group 1); MCAO for 3 hours followed by treatment with saline (group 2) or urokinase (25000 IU/kg; group 3); and MCAO for 6 hours followed by urokinase treatment (group 4). Relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and relative maximum slope of increase of the signal intensity time curve (rMSI) were quantitatively analyzed from MRI. Microvessel diameter and blood-brain barrier disruption obtained by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) as well as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were obtained for correlative study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Benign hyperemia was noticed only in group 1; malignant hyperemia was seen in group 3. Although the rCBV of malignant hyperemia was slightly higher than in benign hyperemia (<it>P </it>> 0.05), the rMSI, on the other hand, was significantly lower (<it>P </it>< 0.05). Fluoro-isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-dextran) extravasations, marked glial end-foot process swelling, and significant vasodilatation were seen in malignant hyperemia, while no or mild leakage of FITC-dextran and slight glial end-foot process swelling occurred in benign hyperemia.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings indicate that DCE pMRI can characterize post-ischemic hyperemia and correlates well with microvascular damage.</p

CCL25/CCR9 Interactions Regulate Large Intestinal Inflammation in a Murine Model of Acute Colitis

CCL25/CCR9 is a non-promiscuous chemokine/receptor pair and a key regulator of leukocyte migration to the small intestine. We investigated here whether CCL25/CCR9 interactions also play a role in the regulation of inflammatory responses in the large intestine.Acute inflammation and recovery in wild-type (WT) and CCR9(-/-) mice was studied in a model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Distribution studies and phenotypic characterization of dendritic cell subsets and macrophage were performed by flow cytometry. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) scores were assessed and expression of inflammatory cytokines was studied at the mRNA and the protein level.CCL25 and CCR9 are both expressed in the large intestine and are upregulated during DSS colitis. CCR9(-/-) mice are more susceptible to DSS colitis than WT littermate controls as shown by higher mortality, increased IBD score and delayed recovery. During recovery, the CCR9(-/-) colonic mucosa is characterized by the accumulation of activated macrophages and elevated levels of Th1/Th17 inflammatory cytokines. Activated plasmacytoid dendritic cells (DCs) accumulate in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) of CCR9(-/-) animals, altering the local ratio of DC subsets. Upon re-stimulation, T cells isolated from these MLNs secrete significantly higher levels of TNFα, IFNγ, IL2, IL-6 and IL-17A while down modulating IL-10 production.Our results demonstrate that CCL25/CCR9 interactions regulate inflammatory immune responses in the large intestinal mucosa by balancing different subsets of dendritic cells. These findings have important implications for the use of CCR9-inhibitors in therapy of human IBD as they indicate a potential risk for patients with large intestinal inflammation