The impact of conflict on children: The Palestinian experience

Violence permeates all parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Since the onset of the Al-Aqsa Intifada on the September, 28, 2000, through October 31, 2003, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been injured and 2700 have been killed. Palestinian children suffer from various physical aliments due to their disadvantaged situation, including 10% who suffer from moderate to severe malnutrition. The children also suffer from significant mental health disorders, including 33% with acute levels of posttraumatic stress disorder, 49% with moderate levels and 15.6% low levels. In “hot” areas, 55% of the children have acute levels of posttraumatic stress disorder, 35% moderate levels, and 9% low levels. Key words: children, Palestinians, posttraumatic stress disorder, wa

The biochemistry and molecular biology of intercellular adhesion in plant tissue culture

The adhesion between neighbouring plant cells is established as cells are formed during cytokinesis through the middle lamella that is made principally of pectins and proteins. Pectins are secreted into the cell wall in a highly methylesterified form and subsequently de-esterified in muro by pectin methyl esterase (PME, E.C. 3.1.11). The present study reports on the biochemical characterization and immunochemical analyses of phosphate buffer/EDTA pectic extracts associated with cell-cell adhesion in suspension cultures of wild type (WT), salt tolerant (HHS) cell lines and synchronized Arabidopsis suspension cultures. Using the synchronized cultures, The PME-mediated configuration of pectins at the onset of adhesion during cytokinesis, was assessed through the analysis of the expression patterns of the PME isoforms annotated to be expressed throughout the cell cycle The wild type Arabidopsis seemed to maintain the intercellular adhesion through the gelling of the highly methylated JIM7 recognized homogalacturonans that were shown to be abundant in the primary cell walls, middle lamellae and cellular junctions, possibly due to the hydrophobic interactions between the methoxy groups. The rhamnogalacturonan-I fraction was rich in arabinan side chains reflecting the proliferative state of the cells. The increase in arabinan content was accompanied by a reduction in the galactan content 4 days after subculturing. The cell walls of salt tolerant Arabidopsis contained the JIM7 and LM7recognized epitopes along with a high degree of branching of rhamnogalacturonan-I carrying galactans and arabinans as side chains. The change in the detected epitopes is thought to play a role in the ability of the cells to withstand the high osmotic pressure and increase the in the level of adhesion between cells. The JIM5 low methylesterified HGs were less abundant in both cultures, and the absence of the 2F4 antibody recognizing the Ca2+ egg boxes could be attributed to the scarce amounts of Ca2+ present in the culturing medium The immunochemical studies of the pectin extracted from the synchronized Arabidopsis suspension cultures after washing out aphidicolin indicated that the recognition of both of JIM7 and JIM5 varied in parallel during the cell cycle, whereas, the recognition of arabinan increased during the cell division. The sequence and phylogenetic analysis of ten PME isoforms that were annotated to be expressed at one or more phases of the cell cycle of synchronized Arabidopsis thaliana suspension cultures (Menges and Murray, 2002 and 2003), revealed that only five of these genes could be PMEs. The genes At4g02330, At1g02810, At2g26440, and At2g47550 were thought to be of type II PMEs which have a pre-pro-catalytic domains and At5g47500 is a type I PME that lack the pro-region. The amino acid sequence of At4g12390 showed similarities with the N-terminal pro-peptides of plant PME and invertase inhibitors. The expression of several PME genes was studied in suspension cultures of Arabidopsis thaliana synchronised using aphidicolin. Semi-quantitative PCR experiments showed that the expression of At5g47500 transcript was always detected during M phase of the cell cycle. The rest of the genes failed to show consistent patterns of expression. Northern blots revealed that mRNA coding for At5g47500 decreases during S and G2 phases and accumulates during the M phase of the cell cycle. Our results suggest that this PME isoform is involved in the modulations of the cell walls as the cells are going through division and cytokinesis

Disaster and Mental Health: The Palestinian experience

Background: The Middle East conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis is a deadly battle between two victims. The Israelis, survivors of a long history of persecution and discrimination, are still bearing the scars of victimization. They are trapped in their collective memories of brutal suffering, which culminated in the horrors of the Holocaust. In their attempt to escape their history and to create a better future, they were led by the Zionist movement to establish a Jewish home and a Jewish nation. Their choice was the Biblical land of Palestine and their victims were to become the Palestinians. The modern Palestinian tragedy goes back to the late part of the 19th centaury when the Zionist movement was created in the wake of nationalism which spread in Europe. Zionism’s declared goal was to fulfill the dream of establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The British colonial government which was mandated over Palestine responded favorably by issuing the Balfour declaration in 1917

Personality and trauma: Adult attachment and posttraumatic distress among former political prisoners

Attachment patterns are especially salient in facing danger and threats to one's life. Earlier research has suggested that secure persons are protected and insecure persons vulnerable in conditions of traumatic stress. We argued that the general view may not apply to the complex person-trauma interaction that is characteristic to torture and ill-treatment. Rather, as Crittenden maintains, each attachment pattern involves a unique strategy that is the most adaptive solution, depending on the nature of the trauma. We hypothesized that the general view of the secure attachment pattern being protective, and the insecure patterns being unprotective, would apply when political prisoners are exposed to physical torture and ill-treatment. Whereas, when exposed to psychological torture involving interpersonal cruelty, securely attached persons would be more vulnerable than insecure. The hypotheses were examined among

Prevalence and determinants of PTSD among Palestinian children exposed to military violence

Abstract. The prevalence and determinants of PTSD were assessed among 121 Palestinian children (6–16 years; 45% girls and 55% boys) living in the area of bombardment. The mothers (21–55 years) and the children themselves reported their exposure to military violence (being personally the target of violence or witnessing it towards others) and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD: intrusion, avoidance and hypervigilance). The results showed that 54% of the children suffered from severe, 33.5 % from moderate and 11 % from mild and doubtful levels of PTSD. Girls were more vulnerable; 58% of them suffered from severe PTSD, and none scored on the mild or doubtful levels of PTSD. The child’s gender and age, mother’s education and PTSD symptoms were significant, and the exposure to traumatic experiences marginally significant determinants of children’s PTSD

Adult attachment and emotional responses to traumatic memories among Palestinian former political prisoners

The association between attachment styles and emotional responses to traumatic memories was examined among 153 Palestinian former political prisoners. Self-report tools revealing adult attachment and intensity and valence of emotional responses were applied. As hypothesized, a high intensity of cognitive appraisal and a low intensity of affective responses characterized the emotional profile of insecure-dismissing men. By contrast, the emotional profile of insecure-preoccupied men was characterized by low cognitive and high affective responses, and intensive behavioral urge to act. Secure men in turn had a moderate and balanced emotional profile involving both cognitive and affective responses. In accordance with the activation hypothesis, when exposed to a high level of torture and ill-treatment, the insecure-preoccupied men showed especially intensive affective and behavioral responses. Contrary to

Adult attachment, posttraumatic growth and negative emotions among former political prisoners

Although traumatic events are generally associated with negative psychosocial consequences, trauma survivors also report positive changes in themselves, human relationships and spirituality. Our aims are, first to study associations between exposure to torture and ill-treatment and posttraumatic growth and negative emotions, and second, to examine the role of adult attachment in moderating the association between exposure and positive growth. The participants were 275 Palestinian men imprisoned in a political context. They completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), adult attachment questionnaire (AAQ) and reported exposure to traumatic events. The results show that a high level of torture and ill-treatment was associated with a low level of posttraumatic growth and a high level of negative emotions. However, adult attachment style moderated that association, among men with secure attachment

Can psychosocial intervention improve peer and sibling relations among war‐affected children? Impact and mediating analyses in a randomized controlled trial

Social resources are considered important protectors in traumatic conditions, but few studies have analyzed their role in psychosocial interventions among war‐affected children. We examined (1) whether a psychosocial intervention (teaching recovery techniques, TRT) is effective in improving peer and sibling relations, and (2) whether these potentially improved relations mediate the intervention's impacts on children's mental health. Participants were 428 Palestinian children [10–13 (mean = 11.29, standard deviation SD = .68)‐year‐old girls (49.4 percent) and boys (50.6 percent)], who were cluster‐randomized into the TRT and wait‐list control groups. They reported the quality of peer (friendship and loneliness) and sibling (intimacy, warmth, conflict, and rivalry) relations, and posttraumatic stress, depressive and psychological distress symptoms, as well as psychosocial well‐being at baseline (T1

The biochemistry and molecular biology of intercellular adhesion in plant tissue culture

The adhesion between neighbouring plant cells is established as cells are formed during cytokinesis through the middle lamella that is made principally of pectins and proteins. Pectins are secreted into the cell wall in a highly methylesterified form and subsequently de-esterified in muro by pectin methyl esterase (PME, E.C. 3.1.11). The present study reports on the biochemical characterization and immunochemical analyses of phosphate buffer/EDTA pectic extracts associated with cell-cell adhesion in suspension cultures of wild type (WT), salt tolerant (HHS) cell lines and synchronized Arabidopsis suspension cultures. Using the synchronized cultures, The PME-mediated configuration of pectins at the onset of adhesion during cytokinesis, was assessed through the analysis of the expression patterns of the PME isoforms annotated to be expressed throughout the cell cycle The wild type Arabidopsis seemed to maintain the intercellular adhesion through the gelling of the highly methylated JIM7 recognized homogalacturonans that were shown to be abundant in the primary cell walls, middle lamellae and cellular junctions, possibly due to the hydrophobic interactions between the methoxy groups. The rhamnogalacturonan-I fraction was rich in arabinan side chains reflecting the proliferative state of the cells. The increase in arabinan content was accompanied by a reduction in the galactan content 4 days after subculturing. The cell walls of salt tolerant Arabidopsis contained the JIM7 and LM7recognized epitopes along with a high degree of branching of rhamnogalacturonan-I carrying galactans and arabinans as side chains. The change in the detected epitopes is thought to play a role in the ability of the cells to withstand the high osmotic pressure and increase the in the level of adhesion between cells. The JIM5 low methylesterified HGs were less abundant in both cultures, and the absence of the 2F4 antibody recognizing the Ca2+ egg boxes could be attributed to the scarce amounts of Ca2+ present in the culturing medium The immunochemical studies of the pectin extracted from the synchronized Arabidopsis suspension cultures after washing out aphidicolin indicated that the recognition of both of JIM7 and JIM5 varied in parallel during the cell cycle, whereas, the recognition of arabinan increased during the cell division. The sequence and phylogenetic analysis of ten PME isoforms that were annotated to be expressed at one or more phases of the cell cycle of synchronized Arabidopsis thaliana suspension cultures (Menges and Murray, 2002 and 2003), revealed that only five of these genes could be PMEs. The genes At4g02330, At1g02810, At2g26440, and At2g47550 were thought to be of type II PMEs which have a pre-pro-catalytic domains and At5g47500 is a type I PME that lack the pro-region. The amino acid sequence of At4g12390 showed similarities with the N-terminal pro-peptides of plant PME and invertase inhibitors. The expression of several PME genes was studied in suspension cultures of Arabidopsis thaliana synchronised using aphidicolin. Semi-quantitative PCR experiments showed that the expression of At5g47500 transcript was always detected during M phase of the cell cycle. The rest of the genes failed to show consistent patterns of expression. Northern blots revealed that mRNA coding for At5g47500 decreases during S and G2 phases and accumulates during the M phase of the cell cycle. Our results suggest that this PME isoform is involved in the modulations of the cell walls as the cells are going through division and cytokinesis.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Predictors of psychological distress and positive resources among Palestinian adolescents: Trauma, child, and mothering characteristics

Objective The aim was to examine how traumatic and stressful events, responses to violence, child characteristics, and mothering quality, as measured in middle childhood predict psychological distress and positive resources in adolescence. Method The participants were 65 Palestinian adolescents (17 ± .85 years; 52% girls), who had been studied during the First Intifada (T1), during the Palestinian Authority rule (T2) and before the Second Al Aqsa Intifada (T3) in Gaza. Psychological distress was indicated by PTSD, and depressive symptoms and positive resources by resilient attitudes and satisfaction with quality of life, all measured at T3. The predictors that were measured at T1 were exposure to military violence, active coping with violence and children's intelligence, cognitive capacity, and neuroticism. Mothering quality and stressful life-events were measured at T2, the former reported by both the mother and