Coping with school bullying: a cross national pilot intervention study

In Australia and Greece the issue of school bullying is a significant concern of educators and students. While victims are not to be blamed for being bullied, research suggests that the strategies utilised by victims to cope with bullying may inadvertently reinforce victimisation. This paper will outline the successful Australian “Coping with School Bullying” (CWSB) program, including the use of a translated Greek version of the CWSB DVD, and describe the outcomes of the replication of the CWSB questionnaire with Greek students to identify effective and ineffective coping. Preliminary research conducted in Greek schools indicates that the CWSB program was successful in significantly reducing bullying amongst Greek students who had reported being seriously bullied pre-program. The intervention will now be rolled out to a larger number of schools in Greece in 2013

Comparison of Transepidermal Water Loss and Laser Scanning Microscopy Measurements to Assess Their Value in the Characterization of Cutaneous Barrier Defects

The exact qualitative and quantitative analysis of wound healing processes is a decisive prerequisite for optimizing wound care and for therapy control. Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) measurements are considered to be the standard procedure for assessing the progress of epidermal wound healing. The damage to the stratum corneum correlates with an increased loss of water through the skin barrier. This method is highly susceptible to failure by environmental factors, in particular by temperature and moisture. This study was aimed at comparing TEWL measurements and in vivo laser scanning microscopy (LSM) for the characterization of the epidermal wound healing process. LSM is a high-resolution in vivo method permitting to analyze the kinetics and dynamics of wound healing at a cellular level. While the TEWL values for the individual volunteers showed a wide scattering, LSM permitted the wound healing process to be clearly characterized at the cellular level. However, a comparison between the two methods was very difficult, because the results provided by LSM were images and not numerical. Therefore, a scoring system was set up which evaluates the stages of wound healing. Thus, the healing process could be numerically described. This method is independent of any environmental factors. Providing morphologically qualitative and numerically quantitative analyses of the wound healing process and being far less vulnerable to failure, LSM is advantageous over TEWL

The role of carotenoids in human skin

The human skin, as the boundary organ between the human body and the environment, is under the constant influence of free radicals (FR), both from the outside in and from the inside out. Carotenoids are known to be powerful antioxidant substances playing an essential role in the reactions of neutralization of FR (mainly reactive oxygen species ROS). Carotenoid molecules present in the tissue are capable of neutralizing several attacks of FR, especially ROS, and are then destroyed. Human skin contains carotenoids, such as α-, γ-, β-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene and their isomers, which serve the living cells as a protection against oxidation. Recent studies have reported the possibility to investigate carotenoids in human skin quickly and non-invasively by spectroscopic means. Results obtained from in-vivo studies on human skin have shown that carotenoids are vital components of the antioxidative protective system of the human skin and could serve as marker substances for the overall antioxidative status. Reflecting the nutritional and stress situation of volunteers, carotenoids must be administered by means of antioxidant-rich products, e.g., in the form of fruit and vegetables. Carotenoids are degraded by stress factors of any type, inter alia, sun radiation, contact with environmental hazards, illness, etc. The kinetics of the accumulation and degradation of carotenoids in the skin have been investigated. © 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Caring for your community: A manual for botanic gardens

This manual represents the results of a recent study which is part of BGCI’s Communities in Nature initiative: an ongoing strategic programme that began in 2009 with the overall aim of supporting botanic gardens to grow their social role. Growing a social role involves ‘botanic gardens developing their commitment to working with their local communities on common issues of social and environmental importance, for the enduring benefit of those communities, the gardens themselves, and towards a sustainable future for our planet’ (Vergou and Willison, 2013). Such a role is inherently linked with achieving social justice and social inclusion – and that, as Cameron (2006) explains, is usually understood in relation to social exclusion as defined by Walker and Walker (1997, p.8) as ‘the dynamic process of being shut out, fully or partially, from any of the social, economic, political and cultural systems which determine the social integration of a person in society.’ Over the years through Communities in Nature it became apparent that botanic gardens do already address social issues, but that they are often unable to clearly articulate the importance of the work they do and the wider impact they have on society. This manual aims to address this gap. The nature of social issues, or problems, is an area that sociology, psychology, political sciences and other fields study and attempt to define. For the purposes of this manual we consider social issues to be ‘conditions that are harmful, complex (the solution is unknown) and characterized by a lack of consensus or agreement’

Pharmacodynamics of TNF-α inhibitors in psoriasis

Over the last two decades, research developments have revolutionized our understanding of the pathogenesis of psoriasis and of the contribution of several cytokines in the manifestation of the disease. The key role of TNF-α in the pathogenesis of psoriasis has been extensively studied and its therapeutic action, initially observed in experimental models, has been clinically translated into therapeutic agents with remarkable efficacy in the treatment of the disease. There are currently two classes of marketed biologic drugs that reduce TNF-α bioavailability and are used clinically in psoriasis: the soluble TNF-α receptor-Fc fusion protein (etanercept) and the anti-TNF-α monoclonal antibodies (adalimumab and infliximab). The present article reviews the pharmacodynamic properties of the three TNF-α inhibitors and discusses possible differences in their mode of action, clinical efficacy and safety profile. © 2011 Expert Reviews Ltd

Comparative study of hair follicle morphology in eight mammalian species and humans

Background: The objective of the present study was the investigation of hair follicle morphology in eight mammalian species in order to evaluate the species-specific contribution of hair follicles to skin penetration particularly with regard to the utilization of the different animal species as skin models for human skin. Methods: Cyanoacrylate skin surface biopsy method (CSSB), light microscopy and also digital photography were used for the measurements of hair follicle morphology. Results: The results revealed species-specific differences regarding the pattern of hair follicle distribution and also differences with regard to hair follicle parameters and characteristics. The results also showed that hair follicles generally possess enormous reservoir capacities, regarding the follicular volume. In all examined species, hair follicles reached at least one-fifth of stratum corneum storage capacity. The results were compared with human data obtained in a previous study. Conclusion: With regard to hair follicle morphology and skin structure, the porcine skin seems to be the most appropriate skin model for human skin analog to previous investigations, whereas the skin of dog, cat, and rabbit showed the most significant differences. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd