RESILIENCY OF WOMEN SURVIVORS OF THE TSUNAMI 2004 IN SOUTH INDIA

This is a research study on wives of the fishermen who lost their lives in the Tsunami of 2004. It utilizes the qualitative and some Quantitative data. It focuses on the strengths based approach. The study presents an understanding of the survivors’ thoughts on their resiliency and provides suggestions for improving social work practice and education. Resiliency is not a new concept. Researchers have tried to understand this human tendency to strive for a healthier and more positive development for approximately the last 50 years. The strengths perspective in the practice of social work has been a long-standing form of approach of social workers towards helping clients. By examining the subjects’ thoughts on their resiliency, it is possible to develop theory and prove the existing theories in terms of this strength based approach in social work. This study in a way is a follow up of the disaster close to eight years after the event. Researchers often place emphasis, and focus their research and discussions on the disaster itself and its immediate impact on the community (Kalayjian, 1999) rather than what happens after that. This study bridges the gap in knowledge by identifying how women survivors of the Tsunami have exhibited resilience in south Indian villages

Works councils, collective bargaining and apprenticeship training

In this paper, we investigate the effects of works councils on apprenticeship training in Germany. The German law attributes works councils substantial information and co-determination rights to training-related issues. Thus, works councils may also have an impact on the cost-benefit relation of workplace training. Using detailed firm-level data containing information on the costs and benefits of apprenticeship training, we find that firms with works councils make a significantly higher net investment in training compared with firms without such an institution. We also find that the fraction of former trainees still employed with the same firm five years after training is significantly higher in the presence of works councils, thus enabling firms to recoup training investments over a longer time horizon. Furthermore, all works council effects are much more pronounced for firms covered by collective bargaining agreements

Understanding the practice of \u27Specialling\u27 older people with cognitive impairment in hospital by using Concept Analysis

Population ageing is a success story of our time. Unfortunately healthcare, especially in hospitals has been slow to adapt to the changing needs of the community

Learning lessons from Earth and Space towards Sustainable Multi-planetary Design

Off-Earth structural design has been a subject of fascination and research for decades. Given that the vision of permanent lunar and Martian human presence is materialising, it is an opportune moment to reflect on the future applicability and challenges of off-Earth design. This article investigates contemporary thinking about off-Earth structural design – specifically focused on large-scale infrastructure such as habitats – and assesses it in terms of its sustainability. We suggest that the extra-terrestrial setting, which is characterised by resource, construction, and labour constraints, is to be analysed as an extreme case of the built environment on Earth. Subsequently, we propose that structural design methodologies originating on Earth can benefit both the off-Earth context, through their inherent material efficiency and use of local materials, and the on-Earth context, where unsustainable growth and material inefficiency dominate our built environment. As our planet rapidly heads towards a scarcity of construction materials and disruptive environmental change, what sustainability lessons can we learn from our past, and how can we apply these to extra-terrestrial construction? Finally, how can we use these lessons to futureproof our built environment

Akt activity protects rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts from Fas-induced apoptosis by inhibition of Bid cleavage

Introduction Synovial hyperplasia is a main feature of rheumatoid arthritis pathology that leads to cartilage and bone damage in the inflamed joints. Impaired apoptosis of resident synoviocytes is pivotal in this process. Apoptosis resistance seems to involve defects in the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of PI3Kinase/Akt and the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in the resistance of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) fibroblast like synovial cells (FLS) to Fas-mediated apoptosis. Methods Apoptosis was assessed by ELISA quantification of nucleosomal release, Hoechst staining and activated caspase-3/7 measure in cultured RA FLS stimulated with anti-Fas antibody. Two Phosphoinositol-3-kinase/protein Kinase B (PI3 Kinase) inhibitors, Wortmannine and LY294002, were used before anti-Fas stimulation. Proapoptotic BH3 interacting domain death agonist (Bid) was suppressed in RA FLS by small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection. Bid was overexpressed by transfection with the pDsRed2-Bid vector. Phosphorylated Akt, caspase-9, and Bid expression were analysed by western blot. Results PI3 kinase inhibition sensitizes RA FLS to Fas-induced apoptosis by increasing cleavage of Bid protein. Bid suppression completely abrogated Fas-induced apoptosis and Bid overexpression highly increased apoptotic rate of RA FLS in association with cleavage of caspase-9. Conclusions In RA FLS, phosphorylation of Akt protects against Fas-induced apoptosis through inhibition of Bid cleavage. The connection between the extrinsic and the intrinsic apoptotic pathways are critical in this Fas- mediated apoptosis and points to PI3Kinase as potential therapeutic target for RAThis work was supported by grant 06/0681, by RETICS Program, RD08/0075 (RIER), both from Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, Instituto de Salud Carlos III within the VI PN de I+D+I 2008-2011 with participation of FEDER funds (European Union) and by a grant for Fundación Mutua Madrileña. S.G. is supported by Xunta de GaliciaS

Involvement of Interferon-System in the Regulation of Cell Growth and Differentiation

In this report we review the current knowledge on the involvement of the interferon (IFN) system in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation. We also summarize our own data which provide evidence for the strong correlation between IFN-mediated growth-arrest of transformed cells and the elevated enzymatic activity of an IFN-induced protein. Similarly, it is demonstrated that elevated levels of IFN-induced proteins accompany the early phases of in-vitro cell differentiation. IFN-treatment of NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblasts transformed by Moloney-murine sarcoma virus ( MSV) resulted in a significant reduction in the rates of cell growth, protein synthesis and cloning efficiency. In parallel, 2-5A-synthetase activity was induced ten-fold above the background level. Treatment of these cells for 3 days with 450 international units (lU)/ml of IFN followed by its removal, resulted in a gradual increase in all parameters associated with cell growth while the 2-5A-synthetase activity was reduced to its normal level. However, almost no recovery occurred when cells were treated with 1,800 IU/ml. In parallel, 2-5A-synthetase activity remained highly elevated even at 3 days after the removal of IFN. In these cells, the expression of both c-myc and v-mos was reduced rapidly following IFN treatment. Upon removal of IFN after 24 h of treatment, the expression of both genes was resumed but with a different kinetics, suggesting that different mechanisms are responsible for the reduction in gene expression. In rat skeletal muscle cultures which differentiate to form myotubes, the level of both 2-5A-synthetase and protein kinase activities was transiently elevated, reaching a peak at 3 days followed by a decrease to background levels. This peak activity precedes the appearance of the major muscle differentiating proteins

Estudio de las fluctuaciones del nivel del agua en la laguna de Gallocanta (Aragón, España) mediante imágenes satelitales de Sentinel-2

En este estudio se ha realizado un seguimiento de cinco años mediante imágenes satelitales de Sentinel-2, en diferentes estaciones del año, de las fluctuaciones del nivel del agua de la Laguna de Gallocanta (entre las provincias de Teruel y Zaragoza. Aragón, España) considerado un humedal hipersalino y endorreico, el cual posee características que la hacen única en la zona geográfica en la que se encuentra, así como para el funcionamiento del sistema. Las precipitaciones en la zona poseen una amplia variación, dándose las máximas en los meses de mayo y junio y las mínimas en enero y febrero, produciéndose considerables fluctuaciones en el nivel del agua desde la desecación casi total de la laguna hasta el llenado con una profundidad aproximada de 3 metros

Internalizing and externalizing symptoms in Spanish children aged 6-8: Results of a latent profile analysis

Background Internalizing and externalizing problems are widely addressed in research. However, most studies use variable-centred approaches and ignore the possible co-occurrence of both types of symptoms. This study aimed to identify homogeneous groups of children with similar psychological difficulties and strengths, using latent profile analysis as a person-centred approach. Methods The parents of 107 Spanish children aged 6 to 8 years completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results The results revealed the existence of four latent groups. The children who belonged to the high difficulties group showed the most severe symptoms in emotional problems, peer problems and hyperactivity. The children classified in the externalizing group showed high levels of hyperactivity, behavioral problems, and emotional problems. On another hand, the internalizing profile grouped children with emotional and peer problems. Finally, the well-adjusted group showed an adequate psychological adjustment in all evaluated variables. High difficulties were associated with lower educational attainment of their parents. Limitations Data were reported from a single source of information, father or mother. Also, the socio-demographic variables that were related to each one of the four profiles only considered the age and educational level of the main informant. Conclusions These data suggest that co-occurrence of symptoms is very high in young Spanish children. It is essential to carry out clinical assessments that include both types of symptoms. Considering externalization and internalization as independent and exclusive phenomena can compromise the effectiveness of psychological treatments and preventive programs

FGF4 retrogene on CFA12 is responsible for chondrodystrophy and intervertebral disc disease in dogs.

Chondrodystrophy in dogs is defined by dysplastic, shortened long bones and premature degeneration and calcification of intervertebral discs. Independent genome-wide association analyses for skeletal dysplasia (short limbs) within a single breed (PBonferroni = 0.01) and intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) across breeds (PBonferroni = 4.0 × 10-10) both identified a significant association to the same region on CFA12. Whole genome sequencing identified a highly expressed FGF4 retrogene within this shared region. The FGF4 retrogene segregated with limb length and had an odds ratio of 51.23 (95% CI = 46.69, 56.20) for IVDD. Long bone length in dogs is a unique example of multiple disease-causing retrocopies of the same parental gene in a mammalian species. FGF signaling abnormalities have been associated with skeletal dysplasia in humans, and our findings present opportunities for both selective elimination of a medically and financially devastating disease in dogs and further understanding of the ever-growing complexity of retrogene biology

Os sentidos do lazer produzidos por jovens do curso de turismo de um campus universitário do interior

analisou os sentidos do Lazer propostos por jovens estudantes de Turismo, sob uma abordagem qualitativa, com aplicação de questionários semiabertos e tratamento das informações pela perspectiva da técnica da Análise de Conteúdo. Os resultados demostraram que os estudantes denotam sentidos de Lazer de acordo com as experiências socioculturais e acadêmicas. Portanto, a área do Lazer tem uma fundamental contribuição não somente para a formação do profissional, mas na constituição de um indivíduo sociocultural