An Exploration of Resilience and Post-traumatic Growth Following Traumatic Death

It is really a paradox that the most violent, traumatic death can lead to transformative growth. Increased resilience, and a new understanding of the value of relationships, assists bereaved in blending the loss of their loved one into their own understanding of what they want life to mean. This systematic review attempted to answer the question of whether resilience and growth can come from a traumatic death. To answer this, the review used empirically based, peerreviewed articles published after 1995. The search of academic journals and sites included, Social Work Abstracts, SocIndex, PsycInfo, and ATLA. Key words searched were, traumatic death, resilience, posttraumatic growth, complicated grief, and prolonged grief disorder, spirituality, and post-death meaning, meaning making, protective factors, death attitudes, and death and dying. Upon completion of the search, 18 articles met inclusion criteria and were used in this final review. Through the thematic analysis of the eighteen articles, five themes emerged that answered whether growth and resilience are possible following traumatic death; 1) violent and traumatic death increase risk of complicated or prolonged grief; 2) sense-making; 3) spirituality; 4) protective factors; 5) growth. The research seems to affirm that making meaning and resilience are intertwined. Traumatic loss, often triggers a reordering of life’s priorities, renewed appreciation of relationships, and integrating the deceased into their new world view. Further research is indicated to understand post-loss meaning-reconstruction and how that can be facilitated in a therapeutic setting

An Exploration of Resilience and Post-traumatic Growth Following Traumatic Death

It is really a paradox that the most violent, traumatic death can lead to transformative growth. Increased resilience, and a new understanding of the value of relationships, assists bereaved in blending the loss of their loved one into their own understanding of what they want life to mean. This systematic review attempted to answer the question of whether resilience and growth can come from a traumatic death. To answer this, the review used empirically based, peerreviewed articles published after 1995. The search of academic journals and sites included, Social Work Abstracts, SocIndex, PsycInfo, and ATLA. Key words searched were, traumatic death, resilience, posttraumatic growth, complicated grief, and prolonged grief disorder, spirituality, and post-death meaning, meaning making, protective factors, death attitudes, and death and dying. Upon completion of the search, 18 articles met inclusion criteria and were used in this final review. Through the thematic analysis of the eighteen articles, five themes emerged that answered whether growth and resilience are possible following traumatic death; 1) violent and traumatic death increase risk of complicated or prolonged grief; 2) sense-making; 3) spirituality; 4) protective factors; 5) growth. The research seems to affirm that making meaning and resilience are intertwined. Traumatic loss, often triggers a reordering of life’s priorities, renewed appreciation of relationships, and integrating the deceased into their new world view. Further research is indicated to understand post-loss meaning-reconstruction and how that can be facilitated in a therapeutic setting

Identification of a WNT5A-Responsive Degradation Domain in the Kinesin Superfamily Protein KIF26B.

Noncanonical WNT pathways function independently of the β-catenin transcriptional co-activator to regulate diverse morphogenetic and pathogenic processes. Recent studies showed that noncanonical WNTs, such as WNT5A, can signal the degradation of several downstream effectors, thereby modulating these effectors' cellular activities. The protein domain(s) that mediates the WNT5A-dependent degradation response, however, has not been identified. By coupling protein mutagenesis experiments with a flow cytometry-based degradation reporter assay, we have defined a protein domain in the kinesin superfamily protein KIF26B that is essential for WNT5A-dependent degradation. We found that a human disease-causing KIF26B mutation located at a conserved amino acid within this domain compromises the ability of WNT5A to induce KIF26B degradation. Using pharmacological perturbation, we further uncovered a role of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) in WNT5A regulation of KIF26B degradation. Lastly, based on the identification of the WNT5A-responsive domain, we developed a new reporter system that allows for efficient profiling of WNT5A-KIF26B signaling activity in both somatic and stem cells. In conclusion, our study identifies a new protein domain that mediates WNT5A-dependent degradation of KIF26B and provides a new tool for functional characterization of noncanonical WNT5A signaling in cells

Spg Directs Arp2/3 Mediated F-actin Networks to Support Syncytial Furrow Ingression in Drosophila

In the Drosophila embryo, nuclear divisions 10-13 occur in a syncytium with transient membrane furrows separating neighboring nuclei before the occurrence of cellularization. This process is driven by cytoskeletal and membrane trafficking networks, and while RalA and Rab8 have been identified to drive membrane addition to furrows, less is known about the control of dynamic F-actin networks needed for furrow formation. Here, the role of the DOCK protein Sponge (Spg) in furrow formation is explored through shRNA knockdown and live-imaging of syncytial Drosophila embryos. I have found that Spg is required for furrow ingression and that without Spg, furrows can only reach 25% of their wild-type length. This is due to a lack of branched F-actin on apical caps and furrows, and Spg is found to be a key regulator in bringing components of the Arp pathway to these structures. Finally, I have demonstrated the requirement for this branched F-actin network in potentiating ingression and linear F-actin networks that are localized along the length of syncytial furrows

Cost – Benefit Analysis of Austin Public Health’s Peer to Peer Adolescent Sexual Health Education Program

Background Despite the rapid decline in teen pregnancy rates in recent years, teen pregnancies and STIs remain a significant concern, especially for minority youth. As a result, numerous sexual health programs have been introduced, with some success. In Austin, Texas, an implementation of “Making Proud Choices” entitled Peer-to-Peer (P2P) was introduced in 2015 and serves between 750 and 800 students of largely Hispanic origin annually. Methods In this study, we assessed whether P2P was cost-beneficial. We used a Bernoulli model to estimate averted cases of pregnancies, key STIs and their sequelae: HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, human papillomavirus and pelvic inflammatory disease based on changes in sexual activity and contraceptive use. We estimated costs by multiplying these averted outcomes by their costs. Interpretation of the results was hampered by low power, a pre-post methodology with serial cross-section design. We therefore also substituted results from two widely-cited meta-analyses. Results Results from P2P when using data from the program evaluation were adverse, with increases in all of our negative outcomes. Therefore, P2P was not cost-beneficial. Using results from our meta-analyses yielded positive outcomes, but the results still were not cost-beneficial. Sensitivity analyses were performed based on a Monte Carlo simulation. They reveal that when the most advantageous values of certain parameters were included, P2P would be cost-beneficial in some instances. Discussion or Conclusion Our results were largely driven by the fact that condom use did not increase in the P2P program, nor did sexual activity decline. However, our Monte Carlo simulation revealed that in some instances, P2P was cost beneficial. However, this study, along with others revealing mixed outcomes, shows that the intervention needs modification to be successful

Hemoparasites (Apicomplexa: Hepatozoon; Kinetoplastida: Trypanosoma) of Green Frogs, Rana clamitans (Anura: Ranidae) from Arkansas

The green frog, Rana clamitans, has been reported as a host of several hemoparasites, including trypanosomes and Hepatozoon spp. In Arkansas, however, there are no reports of any hemoparasites in R. clamitans nor from any other anuran from the state. We collected 9 green frogs from Polk County and blood was taken from their facial musculocutaneous vein in heparinized capillary tubes. Thin blood smears were also made and stained with DipQuick stain. Seven out of 9 (78%) R. clamitans were infected with hematozoans. Three (33%) were infected with an unknown species of Hepatozoon and 4 (44%) were infected with trypanosomes of 3 distinct morphologies. Mixed infections were found in 5 (56%) of the hosts. Here, we provide the first report of hemoparasites in R. clamitans from Arkansas, including morphometric data and photomicrographs of the infections