The Structure of Psychopathology and Its Relationship to Personality and EEG

The factor structure of psychopathology has been debated in the literature, with studies showing support for several models, including one-, two-, and three-factor solutions. The factor structures often vary as a function of what symptoms and diagnoses are included, and when a wide array of diagnoses are present, a three-factor solution is often found. Personality has been shown to be related to psychopathology and its higher order structures, but there is little research regarding neurobiological associations that take into account the factor structure of psychopathology along with personality. This dissertation examined the factor structure of a wide range of psychopathology, and its associations with both personality and neurobiological correlates using EEG paradigms in a sample of college students. When total scores were examined, a three-factor structure was supported, and a six-factor structure was supported when examining subscales. Feelings of alienation and a tendency to become stressed were related to most psychopathologies. EEG findings suggest that symptom clusters not typically captured in the internalizing-externalizing factor structure are less likely to experience emotional reactions, and possibly a lack of attention and engagement in general

Objective Circumstances of the Death and Complicated Grief: Examining Indirect Associations Through Meaning Made of Loss

It has been proposed that losses by violent means and loss of primary attachment figures may increase the likelihood of developing a chronic and severe grief response (often referred to as complicated grief). Specifically, these losses may be more likely to violate cherished beliefs about the safety, security, and predictability of the world, and as a result, make it more difficult to find some benign (or even positive) meaning in the event. This study aims to test this hypothesis using path analysis. Participants include 741 bereaved young adults who lost someone within the past two years. Participants were recruited from introductory undergraduate psychology courses and completed surveys online for class credit. Direct and indirect effects showed that meaning made of the loss, as measured by the Integration of Stressful Life Experiences Scale (ISLES), mediated the relationship between objective risk factors (i.e., cause of death, relationship to the deceased) and Complicated Grief (CG) symptoms. Meaning made of the loss fully mediated the association for cause of death and partially mediated the association for relationship to the deceased. The Comprehensibility subfactor of the ISLES acted as a better mediator for cause of death than the Footing in the World subfactor. These findings show that, for the most part, meaning made out of loss statistically accounts for the association between objective risk factors and CG. These results have important clinical implications. Specifically, assessment tools and interventions have been developed that are based on a model of grief that views meaning making as a crucial determinant of adjustment to loss. These findings provide empirical evidence for such a model, and by extension, they indirectly support clinical applications based on a meaning-oriented theoretical model

Utopia do Outro

O texto trata de ideias e projetos em cultura e artes, especialmente, artes visuais e artes cênicas no Brasil, voltadas para a construção da identidade por meio da resistência pós-colonial misturadas com as utopias modernistas do século 20. A América do Sul, libertando-se da opressão colonial, teve que redefinir sua identidade nacional e cultural. A crença utópica de encontro com o Outro, o representante das culturas tradicionais como portador da renovação caracteriza a busca de muitos artistas e pensadores do século XX. A experiência do modernismo brasileiro, do tropicalismo e da performance brasileira , todas elas evocam, de várias maneiras, a figura dos índios americanos. A arte brasileira do século XX, usando conceito de antropofagia simbólica, quer “devorar” a Europa, mas como mostram os estudos decoloniais contemporâneos, o modernismo brasileiro, transformando o índio em figura retórica e estética, acaba devorando o próprio indígena. Os conceitos decoloniais e, por fim, a perspectiva ameríndia contemporânea trazem sua própria resposta, desconstruindo e expondo os escondidos preconceitos da cultura brasileira

Free Appropriate Public Education, the U.S. Supreme Court, and developing and implementing Individualized Education Programs

In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1990) established the essential obligation of special education law, which is to develop a student’s individualized special education program that enables them to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE was defined in the federal law as special education and related services that: (a) are provided at public expense, (b) meet the standards of the state education agency, (c) include preschool, elementary, or secondary education, and (d) are provided in conformity with a student’s individualized education program (IEP). Thus, the IEP is the blueprint of an individual student’s FAPE. The importance of FAPE has been shown in the number of disputes that have arisen over the issue. In fact 85% to 90% of all special education litigation involves disagreements over the FAPE that students receive. FAPE issues boil down to the process and content of a student’s IEP. In this article, we differentiate procedural (process) and substantive (content) violations and provide specific guidance on how to avoid both process and content errors when drafting and implementing students’ IEPs

Impact of hormonal contraceptives on sex differences in fear conditioning and fear extinction in PTSD.

Sex differences in the neurobiological mechanisms involved in fear conditioning and extinction have been suggested to contribute to differential vulnerability for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women compared with men. Reproductive hormones, such as estradiol, have been shown to facilitate fear conditioning and extinction learning and may explain some of these differences. However, the effect of commonly used hormonal contraceptives on the neurobiological mechanisms of fear conditioning and extinction is poorly understood. A laboratory study was conducted in trauma-exposed men and women with and without full or partial PTSD to examine effects of sex and use of hormonal birth control on fear conditioning, fear extinction learning, and extinction retention. Participants underwent fear conditioning with stimuli that were paired (CS+) or unpaired (CS-) with shock. Extinction learning occurred 72 h later, and extinction retention was tested 1 wk after extinction. Women on hormonal contraceptives (HCs) demonstrated enhanced acquisition of fear conditioning and enhanced extinction of fear as compared with women off hormonal birth control and men. While clinical implications have yet to be determined, these results suggest that hormonal contraceptives may facilitate learning during both fear acquisition and extinction. Understanding the impact of sex and hormones on fear conditioning and extinction processes may lead to new insights into the pathophysiology of PTSD and result in advancements in treatment that may vary by sex

Synthesis, structural characterization, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of aziridine, 2-aminoethylaziridine and azirine complexes of copper(II) and palladium(II).

The synthesis, spectroscopic and X-ray structural characterization of copper(II) and palladium(II) complexes with aziridine ligands as 2-dimethylaziridine HNCH2CMe2 (a), the bidentate N-(2-aminoethyl)aziridines C2H4NC2H4NH2 (b) or CH2CMe2NCH2CMe2NH2 (c) as well as the unsaturated azirine NCH2CPh (d) are reported. Cleavage of the cyclometallated Pd(II) dimer [μ-Cl(C6H4CHMeNMe2-C,N)Pd]2 with ligand a yielded compound [Cl(NHCH2CMe2)(C6H4CHMe2NMe2-C,N)Pd] (1a). The reaction of the aziridine complex trans-[Cl2Pd(HNC2H4)2] with an excess of aziridine in the presence of AgOTf gave the ionic chelate complex trans-[(C2H4NC2H4NH2-N,N′)2Pd](OTf)2 (2b) which contains the new ligand b formed by an unexpected insertion and ring opening reaction of two aziridines (“aziridine dimerization”). CuCl2 reacted in pure HNC2H4 or HNCH2CMe2 (b) again by “dimerization” to give the tris-chelated ionic complex [Cu(C2H4NC2H4NH2-N,N′)3]Cl2 (3b) or the bis-chelated complex [CuCl(C2H2Me2NC2H2Me2NH2-N,N′)2]Cl (4c). By addition of 2H-3-phenylazirine (d) to PdCl2, trans-[Cl2Pd(NCH2CPh)2] (5d) was formed. All new compounds were characterized by NMR, IR and mass spectra and also by X-ray structure analyses (except 3b). Additionally the cytotoxic effects of these complexes were examined on HL-60 and NALM-6 human leukemia cells and melanoma WM-115 cells. The antimicrobial activity was also determined. The growth of Gram-positive bacterial strains (S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. faecalis) was inhibited by almost all tested complexes at the concentrations of 37.5–300.0 μg mL−1. However, MIC values of complexes obtained for Gram-negative E. coli and P. aeruginosa, as well as for C. albicans yeast, mostly exceeded 300 μg mL−1. The highest antibacterial activity was achieved by complexes 1a and 2b. Complex 2b also inhibited the growth of Gram-negative bacteria. Graphical abstract: Synthesis, structural characterization, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of aziridine, 2-aminoethylaziridine and azirine complexes of copper(ii) and palladium(ii