Carlos G. Reigosa: La agonía del león

Review of: Carlos G. Reigosa. La agonía del león. Madrid, Alianza Editorial, 1996, 252 pp

Underlying dimensions of social cohesion in a rural community affected by wartime violence in Colombia

War deteriorates the quality of life of the population and profoundly alters social dynamics. We discuss a rural community in northern Colombia whose population was the victim of a massacre and examine the main components that model social cohesion: (a) positive attitudes towards the community, (b) prosocial behaviours and (c) interpersonal relationships. This investigation is a cross-sectional empirical study that includes an analysis of social support networks. The research involved 106 residents, (81.1%, women), with an average age of 42.5 years (standard deviation (SD) = 16.4), who have lived in the community an average 28.8 years (SD = 18.75). Cluster analysis shows that there are two types of personal networks based on homophily and the duration of the ego-alter relationship. The networks that provide the most types of social support shows a moderate level of homophily according to the type of relationship and place of origin and in which the duration of the ego-alter relationship is shorter, compared to networks characterized by high homophily and in which the duration of the ego-alter relationship is longer (χ2 = 5.609, p < 0.018). Homophily based on place of residence actively affects the sense of community and social cohesion. Moreover, the sense of community is the variable that most affects social cohesion (β = 0.650; p < 0.001) and is, in turn, determined by prosocial behaviour (β = 0.267; p < 0.006). However, prosocial behaviours do not significantly affect interpersonal relationships or community cohesion. The results are discussed to promote social development strategies aimed at building individual, organizational and community capacity to foster psychosocial well-being in post-war contexts.e Centro para la Investigación, el Desarrollo y la Innovación, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana 202-01/17/G-00

Daughters of Tradition: women in Yiddish Culture in the 16th-18th Centuries

This article focuses on the cultural world of Jewish women in Eastern Europe between the 16th century and the beginning of the 19th century. It reveals the extent to which Yiddish language and literature were a means of gaining knowledge for such women. This is because Yiddish - a Jewish language that developed around 1000 years ago among the Jews living in Ashkenaz - was the language of the people, of ordinary life, of business and social relations, and also of the home and the kitchen. It was the language of female spaces, stigmatized by its ‘humble’ associations with women and uncultivated persons. In turn, Yiddish literature was closely associated with women and a female readership

Early Gabapentin Treatment during the Latency Period Increases Convulsive Threshold, Reduces Microglial Activation and Macrophage Infiltration in the Lithium-Pilocarpine Model of Epilepsy

The lithium-pilocarpine model of epilepsy reproduces several features of temporal lobe epilepsy in humans, including the chronological timeline of an initial latency period followed by the development of spontaneous seizures. Epilepsy therapies in humans are implemented, as a rule, after the onset of the spontaneous seizures. We here studied the potential effect on epileptogenesis of starting an early treatment during the latency period, in order to prevent the development of spontaneous seizures. Adult male Wistar rats were treated with 3 mEq/kg LiCl, and 20 h later 30 mg/kg pilocarpine. Once status epilepticus (SE) was achieved, it was allowed to last for 20 min, and then motor seizures were controlled with the administration of 20 mg/kg diazepam. At 1DPSE (DPSE, days post-status epilepticus), animals started to receive 400 mg/kg/day gabapentin or saline for 4 days. At 5DPSE, we observed that SE induced an early profuse microglial and astroglial reactivity, increased synaptogenic trombospondin-1 expression and reduced AQP4 expression in astroglial ending feet. Blood brain barrier (BBB) integrity seemed to be compromised, as infiltrating NG2+ macrophages and facilitated access to the CNS was observed by transplanting eGFP+ blood cells and bone marrow-derived progenitors in the SE animals. The early 4-day gabapentin treatment successfully reduced microglial cell reactivity and blood-borne cell infiltration, without significantly altering the mRNA of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and TNFα immediately after the treatment. After 21DSPE, another group of animals that developed SE and received 4 days of gabapentin treatment, were re-exposed to subconvulsive accumulative doses of pilocarpine (10 mg/kg/30 min) and were followed by recording the Racine scale reached. Early 4-day gabapentin treatment reduced the Racine scale reached by the animals, reduced animal mortality, and reduced the number of animals that achieved SE (34% vs. 72%). We conclude that early gabapentin treatment following SE, during the latency period, is able to reduce neuroinflammation and produces a persistent effect that limits seizures and increases convulsive threshold, probably by restricting microglial reactivity and spurious synaptogenesis.Fil: Rossi, Alicia Raquel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia ; ArgentinaFil: Murta, Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia ; ArgentinaFil: Auzmendi, Jerónimo Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia ; ArgentinaFil: Ramos, Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Biología Celular y Neurociencia ; Argentin

Síndrome de Burnout en cañicultores que elaboran licor de caña de azúcar

El síndrome de Burmout es el ddesgaste profesional definido por la OMS como &nbsp;un factor asociado al riesgo laboral por el cual se decide realizar esta investigación con el objetivo de conocer en&nbsp; los cañicultores de la parroquia Facundo Vela, Cantón Guaranda, Provincia Bolívar, padecen de este&nbsp; síndrome por estar sometidos por largo tiempo a trabajos forzados, asimismo se busca identificar otros factores que pudieran influir en dicho padecimiento en esa población específica. Se aplicó una encuesta a 100 trabajadores de la zona, la&nbsp; metodología de recolección de información, fue el Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI); encontrando altos niveles de cansancio emocional en la mayoría, con el hallazgo 24 de los 100 encuestados que no padecen Síndrome de Burnout, lo que indica que 76% de los encuestados presentan signos de padecimiento de acuerdo a los valores referenciales. Finalmente se planteó una propuesta que permita mejorar las caracteristicas de vida de los agricultores y prevenir el Síndrome de Burnout en ellos