Hemispheric Language Asymmetry in First Episode Psychosis and Schizotypy: The Role of Cannabis Consumption and Cognitive Disorganization

Cannabis use has been related to an elevated psychosis risk and attenuated cognitive functioning. Cannabis-related cognitive impairments are also observed in populations along the psychosis dimension. We here investigated whether a potential behavioral marker of the psychosis dimension (attenuated functional hemispheric asymmetry) is even further attenuated in individuals using cannabis (CU) vs those not using cannabis (nCU). We tested 29 patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP; 11 CU) and 90 healthy controls (38 CU) on lateralized lexical decisions assessing left-hemisphere language dominance. In patients, psychotic symptoms were assessed by Positive & Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). In controls, self-reported schizotypy was assessed (The Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences: O-LIFE). Results indicated that nCU FEP patients had a relative reduced hemispheric asymmetry, as did controls with increasing cognitive disorganization (CogDis) scores, in particular when belonging to the group of nCU controls. Positive, disorganized and negative PANSS scores in patients and negative and positive schizotypy in controls were unrelated to hemispheric asymmetry. These findings suggest that cannabis use potentially balances rather than exacerbates uncommon hemispheric laterality patterns. Moreover, in healthy populations, the potential stabilization of typical hemispheric asymmetry in CU might be most relevant to individuals with elevated CogDis. We discuss the potential beneficial and harmful effects of cannabis use along the psychosis dimension together with propositions for future studies that should account for the mediating role of additional substances (eg nicotine), cannabis composition (eg cannabidiol content), and individual differences (eg physical health, or absence of significant polysubstance use

Deficiência, cinema, imaginário e formação docente

In this article we intend to articulate the relationship between cinema, imaginary, Deficiency and teacher training reflecting on the possibilities of intervention / teacher training in the perspective of inclusive education. Understanding cinema as art, communication, entertainment and culture transmitting device, observe the power of this artifact as a mediator of media relations involving the various subjects of special education in multiple instances that overwhelm the relations of teaching / learning. We return to the idea of meaningful cinema as an educational resource enhancer communicative and expressive power of audiovisual language. To do so we must think of cinema as culture, the transmitting device in the educational field that requires mastery of a certain knowledge about the art that, in turn, drives the process of teacher training through the aesthetic mediation. The valuation of knowledge of cinema (REIS, 2005) teams up with this other configuration than we dare to call new grammar of special education in inclusive perspective that may broaden the training goes beyond the boundaries of classrooms and reframes the processes of reading construction of knowledge and teaching.Neste artigo, pretendemos articular as relações entre cinema, imaginário, deficiência e formação docente, refletindo acerca das possibilidades de intervenção/formação pedagógica na perspectiva da educação inclusiva. Entendendo o cinema como arte, comunicação, diversão e dispositivo transmissor de cultura, apostamos na potência deste artefato midiático como mediador das relações que envolvem os diferentes sujeitos da educação especial nas múltiplas instâncias que submergem às relações de ensino/aprendizagem. Achamos significativo retomar a ideia de cinema como recurso pedagógico potencializador da força comunicativa e expressiva da linguagem audiovisual. Para tanto, é preciso pensar o cinema como dispositivo transmissor de cultura, o que exige, no campo educacional, o domínio de certo saber sobre arte que, por sua vez, movimenta os processo de formação docente através da mediação estética. A valorização do saber do cinema (REIS, 2005) se alia a esta outra configuração do que ousamos chamar de nova gramática da educação especial na perspectiva inclusiva, que amplia os espaços de formação, extrapola os limites das salas de aula e ressignifica os processos de leitura e de construção de conhecimento docente. Palavras-chave: Deficiência; Cinema; Imaginário; Formação docente

Violencia institucional en materia de salud sexual y reproductiva: Una mirada del ejercicio del derecho de las/los adolescentes en Posadas y Gran Posadas. 16H304

En este proyecto se aborda la problemática de la violencia institucional en relación a las oportunidades y posibilidades reales de ejercicio de los derechos de las/los adolescentes en materia de salud sexual y reproductiva. La investigación se focaliza en adolescentes de la ciudad de Posadas y de zonas aledañas, a las cuales se considera formando parte del complejo que puede denominarse Gran Posadas. Como dimensiones de análisis, se explora el régimen jurídico, los dispositivos organizacionales, las condiciones materiales y las prácticas sociales, en relación con el ejercicio efectivo de los derechos de las/los adolescentes en materia de salud sexual y reproductiva. Mediante el relevamiento y análisis de la información que pueda obtenerse de fuentes secundarias y de los propios actores, se interpretará teóricamente el problema de investigación y se buscará identificar, describir e interpretar los factores más relevantes que intervienen en relación a las oportunidades y posibilidades reales de ejercicio efectivo de los derechos en materia de salud sexual y reproductiva. Se buscará construir no sólo una interpretación crítica de la situación de las/los adolescentes en relación a tales derechos, sino, además, se buscará plantear una propuesta de líneas de acción que persigan como logro la transformación de dicha situación

Relaciones de género y poder en la política. La configuración de las prácticas políticas en la Unión Cívica Radical y el Partido Justicialista de Misiones entre 1983 y 2003. 16H260

Se trata de las actividades efectivamente realizadas durante el período de referencia. Pueden ser las mismas que las incluidas en el Proyecto, pero también pueden aparecer nuevas actividades que no hayan sido previstas originalmente. Esta sección puede ser publicada en la página de la Facultad y de la Universidad

The price of tumor control

Ipilimumab, a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) blocking antibody, has been approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and induces adverse events (AE) in up to 64% of patients. Treatment algorithms for the management of common ipilimumab-induced AEs have lead to a reduction of morbidity, e.g. due to bowel perforations. However, the spectrum of less common AEs is expanding as ipilimumab is increasingly applied. Stringent recognition and management of AEs will reduce drug-induced morbidity and costs, and thus, positively impact the cost-benefit ratio of the drug. To facilitate timely identification and adequate management data on rare AEs were analyzed at 19 skin cancer centers. Patient files (n = 752) were screened for rare ipilimumab-associated AEs. A total of 120 AEs, some of which were life-threatening or even fatal, were reported and summarized by organ system describing the most instructive cases in detail. Previously unreported AEs like drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), granulomatous inflammation of the central nervous system, and aseptic meningitis, were documented. Obstacles included patientś delay in reporting symptoms and the differentiation of steroid-induced from ipilimumab-induced AEs under steroid treatment. Importantly, response rate was high in this patient population with tumor regression in 30.9% and a tumor control rate of 61.8% in stage IV melanoma patients despite the fact that some patients received only two of four recommended ipilimumab infusions. This suggests that ipilimumab-induced antitumor responses can have an early onset and that severe autoimmune reactions may reflect overtreatment. The wide spectrum of ipilimumab-induced AEs demands doctor and patient awareness to reduce morbidity and treatment costs and true ipilimumab success is dictated by both objective tumor responses and controlling severe side effects

Talking to the dead in the classroom. How a supposedly psychic event impacts beliefs and feelings

Paranormal beliefs (PBs) are common in adults. There are numerous psychological correlates of PBs and associated theories, yet, we do not know whether such correlates reinforce or result from PBs. To understand causality, we developed an experimental design in which participants experience supposedly paranormal events. Thus, we can test an event’s impact on PBs and PB-associated correlates (Mohr, Lesaffre, & Kuhn, 2018). Here, 419 naïve students saw a performer making contact with a confederate’s deceased kin. We tested participants’ opinions and feelings about this performance, and whether these predicted how participants explain the performance. We assessed participants’ PBs and repetition avoidance (PB related cognitive correlate) before and after the performance. Afterwards, participants rated explanations of the event and described their opinions and feelings (open-ended question). Overall, 65% of participants reported having witnessed a genuine paranormal event. The open-ended question revealed distinct opinion and affect groups, with reactions commonly characterized by doubt and mixed feelings. Importantly, paranormal explanations were more likely when participants reported their feelings than when not reported. Beyond these results, we replicated that 1) higher pre-existing PBs were associated with more psychic explanations (confirmation bias), and 2) PBs and repetition avoidance did not change from before to after the performance. Yet, PBs reminiscent of the actual performance (spiritualism) increased

ADHD: a hidden comorbidity in adult psychiatric patients

Adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (aADHD) has recently been better recognized and treated in many European countries. In spite of this development, aADHD still features as a "hidden" comorbidity, often not diagnosed even in patients under psychiatric treatment for other psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence rates of unrecognized aADHD in academic centers providing regular psychiatric services in the Czech Republic and Hungary. In a population of psychiatric in-and outpatients, Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale was administered. All positively and about half of the negatively screened subjects were clinically interviewed and the DSM diagnosis of ADHD was determined based on the symptom list and Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale. The estimated point prevalence rate of unrecognized comorbid aADHD among psychiatric in-and out patients was 6.99% (95% lower CI: 5.11, 95% upper CI 8.86) according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria and 9.27% (95% lower CI: 7.13, 95% upper CI 11.40) according to the DSM-5 criteria. Current suicide risk was significantly associated with the presence of undiagnosed aADHD; however, life time suicide attempts, depression, dysthymia, alcohol and substance dependence, anxiety and stress related disorders were not. Further educational efforts are needed to improve the recognition and treatment of aADHD in adults

A One Medicine Mission for an Effective Rabies Therapy

Despite the disease's long history, little progress has been made toward a treatment for rabies. The prognosis for patient recovery remains dire. For any prospect of survival, patients require aggressive critical care, which physicians in rabies endemic areas may be reluctant or unable to provide given the cost, clinical expertise required, and uncertain outcome. Systematic clinical research into combination therapies is further hampered by sporadic occurrence of cases. In this Perspective, we examine the case for a One Medicine approach to accelerate development of an effective therapy for rabies through the veterinary care and investigational treatment of naturally infected dogs in appropriate circumstances. We review the pathogenesis of rabies virus in humans and dogs, including recent advances in our understanding of the molecular basis for the severe neurological dysfunction. We propose that four categories of disease process need to be managed in patients: viral propagation, neuronal degeneration, inflammation and systemic compromise. Compassionate critical care and investigational treatment of naturally infected dogs receiving supportive therapy that mimics the human clinical scenario could increase opportunities to study combination therapies that address these processes, and to identify biomarkers for prognosis and therapeutic response. We discuss the safety and ethics of this approach, and introduce the Canine Rabies Treatment Initiative, a non-profit organization with the mission to apply a One Medicine approach to the investigation of diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic options for rabies in naturally infected dogs, to accelerate transformation of rabies into a treatable disease for all patients

Evidence for nucleotide excision repair as a modifying factor of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase-mediated innate chloroethylnitrosourea resistance in human tumor cell lines

SUMMARY We examined the O 6 -methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) protein as well as MGMT activity levels and the excision repair cross-complementing rodent repair deficiency gene, ERCC2 (XPD), protein levels in 14 human tumor cell lines not selected for chloroethylnitrosourea (CENU) resistance. These results were compared with 1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) cytotoxicity and UV light sensitivity. MGMT protein correlated significantly with MGMT activity (r ϭ 0.9497, p ϭ 0.0001). There was no significant linear correlation between BCNU cytotoxicity and MGMT content as determined by both Western analysis (r ϭ 0.139, p ϭ 0.6348) and activity assay (r ϭ 0.131, p ϭ 0.6515). However, MGMT-rich cell lines were found to be more resistant than MGMT-poor cell lines to BCNU (t ϭ 2.2375, p ϭ 0.0225) but not to UV (t ϭ 1.1734, p ϭ 0.1317). Furthermore, the most BCNU-sensitive cell lines were all MGMT-poor. UV sensitivity was significantly correlated to BCNU cytotoxicity (r ϭ 0.858, p ϭ 0.0001). Significant correlations were found between ERCC2 protein levels and BCNU cytotoxicity (r ϭ 0.786, p ϭ 0.0009) or UV sensitivity (r ϭ 0.874, p ϭ 0.0001). Our results confirm that MGMT plays an important role in CENU resistance, but not in UV resistance. The correlation of UV sensitivity with BCNU cytotoxicity suggests that nucleotide excision repair is an important modifying factor of MGMT-mediated innate CENU resistance in human tumor cell lines, especially in highly resistant cell lines. ERCC2 may be implicated in this process