Validity and measurement invariance of the Unified Multidimensional Calling Scale (UMCS): A three-wave survey study

The accumulation of scientific knowledge on calling is limited by the absence of a common theoretical and measurement framework. Many different models of calling have been proposed, and we do not know how much research results that refer to a specific model are generalizable to different theoretical accounts of calling. In this article, we investigate whether two leading models of calling tackle the same construct. The two models were merged into a comprehensive framework that measures calling across seven facets: Passion, Purposefulness, Sacrifice, Pervasiveness, Prosocial Orientation, Transcendent Summons, and Identity. We then developed the Unified Multidimensional Calling Scale (UMCS) drawing from previous published items. Across two surveys involving college students (N = 5886) and adult employees (N = 205) the UMCS was proved to be valid and reliable. We also observed that the UMCS is invariant across time and calling domains. Finally, we found that facets of calling have very different relationships with outcomes and concurrent measures, suggesting that results obtained with a smaller set of facets are not generalizable to the higher-order construct of calling or to a different model that does not share the same facets. \ua9 2018 Vianello 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

Preliminary evaluation results of the extraction methods for Fipronil and its metabolites and Amitraz in chicken eggs

Fipronil and Amitraz are broadly used insecticides for the treatment or prevention for animal health, indoor pest control, and commercial crop protection. As the use of Fipronil or Amitraz on food-producing animals was not allowed by the EU legislation, the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) values of Fipronil and Amitraz were set at the detection limit of 5 ng mL-1 and 10 ng mL-1, respectively. According to the database of Rapid alert system for food and feed (RASFF), after the Belgian authority reported Fipronil residues in chicken eggs in 2017, there were 719 follow-up reports from 34 countries. Fipronil and Amitraz are included in the Italian National Residue Program so it is necessary to develop a selective, sensitive, specific and rapid method. Three extraction methods were evaluated on fresh egg blank samples to determine the presence of Fipronil, as well as its metabolites and Amitraz. In the solvent-salt method the sample was added by water, NaCl and formic acetonitrile, followed by hexane to remove potential fat. In the Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe (QuEChERS) method the sample was extracted by Superl® Que Citrate powder and acetonitrile, followed by Superl® PSA powder. In the water-associated QuEChERS method the sample was mixed with water and acetonitrile, followed by Superl® Que Citrate powder, then the supernatant was collected and mixed with CaCl2. The analyses of the extracts were performed with high performance liquid chromatography coupled to Q-Exactive Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometer (LC-HRMS). Furthermore, Thompson (2000) mentioned that the Coefficient of variation (CV) is acceptable if it is lower than 22%. Based on the obtained recovery values (72 to 113%) and CV (1.67 to 14.69%), the water-associated QuEChERS method was selected because the recoveries rates obtained with the other methods were lower than 70%.Calibration curves exhibited correlation values ranging from 0.9653 to 0.9999(Figure 1); the limits of detection ranged from 0.08 to 1.21 ng mL-1, and the limits of quantification were from 0.28 to 4.04 ng mL-1. The preliminary results fulfilled the European criteria for the validation of the analytical methods. Further analyses have been performed to evaluate the repeatability and reproducibility

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to Study Mechanisms of Laminopathies: Focus on Epigenetics

Laminopathies are a group of rare degenerative disorders that manifest with a wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes, including both systemic multi-organ disorders, such as the Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS), and tissue-restricted diseases, such as Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, dilated cardiomyopathy and lipodystrophies, often overlapping. Despite their clinical heterogeneity, which remains an open question, laminopathies are commonly caused by mutations in the LMNA gene, encoding the nuclear proteins Lamin A and C. These two proteins are main components of the nuclear lamina and are involved in several biological processes. Besides the well-known structural function in the nucleus, their role in regulating chromatin organization and transcription has emerged in the last decade, supporting the hypothesis that the disruption of this layer of regulation may be mechanism underlying the disease. Indeed, recent studies that show various epigenetic defects in cells carrying LMNA mutations, such as loss of heterochromatin, changes in gene expression and chromatin remodeling, strongly support this view. However, those findings are restricted to few cell types in humans, mainly because of the limited accessibility of primary cells and the difficulties to culture them ex-vivo. On the other hand, animal models might fail to recapitulate phenotypic hallmarks of the disease as of humans. To fill this gap, models based on induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSCs) technology have been recently generated that allowed investigations on diverse cells types, such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), vascular and smooth muscle cells and cardiomyocytes, and provided a platform for investigating mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of laminopathies in a cell-type specific human context. Nevertheless, studies on iPSC-based models of laminopathy have expanded only in the last few years and, with the advancement of reprogramming and differentiation protocols, their number is expecting to further increase over time. This review will give an overview of models developed thus far, with a focus on the novel insights on epigenetic mechanisms underlying the disease in different human cellular contexts. Perspectives and future directions of the field will be also given, highlighting the potential of those models for preclinical studies for identifying molecular targets and their translational impact on patients' cure

Intracellular Signal Transduction and Modification of the Tumor Microenvironment Induced by RET/PTCs in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

RET gene rearrangements (RET/PTCs) represent together with BRAF point mutations the two major groups of mutations involved in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) initiation and progression. In this review, we will examine the mechanisms involved in RET/PTC-induced thyroid cell transformation. In detail, we will summarize the data on the molecular mechanisms involved in RET/PTC formation and in its function as a dominant oncogene, on the activated signal transduction pathways and on the induced gene expression modifications. Moreover, we will report on the effects of RET/PTCs on the tumor microenvironment. Finally, a short review of the literature on RET/PTC prognostic significance will be presented

Fixed points for asymptotic contractions of integral Meir-Keeler type

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Expression of Tight Junction and Drug Efflux Transporter Proteins in an in vitro Model of Human Blood–Brain Barrier

Interendothelial cell tight junctions (TJs) proteins contribute to maintain the structural and functional integrity of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and several efflux transporters regulate transport of compounds across BBB. A unique double compartment-model of the BBB, consisting of cerebral endothelial cells isolated from cryopreserved human glial tumors, alone and in the presence of human astroglial cells derived from the same tissue preparation was established. Endothelial cell viability and transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) were measured in this model and three representative TJ proteins – occludin (OCLN), zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and claudin-5 (CLN-5) – as well as several drug efflux transporters – P-glycoprotein (P-gp), multidrug resistance protein-1 and 2 (MRP-1 and MRP-2), organic anion-transporting polypeptide-1 and 3 (oatp1 and oatp3) were analyzed at both the protein and gene transcript level. Functional activity of P-gp and MRP-1 was also assessed. Endothelial cell viability as well as TEER significantly increased in the presence of glial cells. A significant increase of expression of OCLN, ZO-1, and CLN-5 proteins as well as of several drug transporter proteins except oatp3 and MRP-1, was also found in the presence of glial cells. All the gene transcripts protein analyzed were found to be significantly increased in the presence of glial cells. A suitable functional activity of P-gp and MRP-1 was also found. These results demonstrate that this brain endothelium culture system mimics a physiologically relevant situation and may therefore provide a new tool for studying the effects of biological fluids such as serum and cerebrospinal fluid from patients with neurological disorders underlying a BBB alteration in disease pathogenesis