Let’s sculpt it! Experiencing the role of context in coaching

This exercise aims to familiarize students with the under-discussed topic of the role of context in coaching through a physical activity. It consists of a Group Sculpture – a combination of Socio-drama, Systemic Constellation, Social Presencing Theater – drawing from a coaching case of an ethical dilemma, using the placement and arrangement of participants to represent the stakeholders and context (economic, legal, sociological, etc.). The visual and embodied representation aims to raise awareness and develop understanding of the invisible, but often felt contextual factors at play in coaching, to generate reflection about their influence, and to offer insights on how to identify and embrace them. This activity is primarily aimed for coaching educators and supervisors, but a slightly adapted version could expand its benefits to a more general audience of managers and leaders

Dietary protein restriction reduces circulating VLDL triglyceride levels via CREBH-APOA5-dependent and -independent mechanisms

Hypertriglyceridemia is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Dietary interventions based on protein restriction (PR) reduce circulating triglycerides (TGs), but underlying mechanisms and clinical relevance remain unclear. Here, we show that 1 week of a protein-free diet without enforced calorie restriction significantly lowered circulating TGs in both lean and diet-induced obese mice. Mechanistically, the TG-lowering effect of PR was due, in part, to changes in very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) metabolism both in liver and peripheral tissues. In the periphery, PR stimulated VLDL-TG consumption by increasing VLDL-bound APOA5 expression and promoting VLDL-TG hydrolysis and clearance from circulation. The PR-mediated increase in Apoa5 expression was controlled by the transcription factor CREBH, which coordinately regulated hepatic expression of fatty acid oxidation-related genes, including Fgf21 and Ppara. The CREBH-APOA5 axis activation upon PR was intact in mice lacking the GCN2-dependent amino acid-sensing arm of the integrated stress response. However, constitutive hepatic activation of the amino acid-responsive kinase mTORC1 compromised CREBH activation, leading to blunted APOA5 expression and PR-recalcitrant hypertriglyceridemia. PR also contributed to hypotriglyceridemia by reducing the rate of VLDL-TG secretion, independently of activation of the CREBH-APOA5 axis. Finally, a randomized controlled clinical trial revealed that 4-6 weeks of reduced protein intake (7%-9% of calories) decreased VLDL particle number, increased VLDL-bound APOA5 expression, and lowered plasma TGs, consistent with mechanistic conservation of PR-mediated hypotriglyceridemia in humans with translational potential as a nutraceutical intervention for dyslipidemia

Descripción de la microbiota de los cipríndos (Cyprinus carpio) de la laguna de Salinillas, Anáhuac, Nuevo León, México.

La carpa por su volumen se encuentra posicionada en el lugar 11 de la producción pesquera en México; la tasa media de crecimiento anual en los últimos 10 años es de -1.78%. Se han reportado diversos microorganismos patógenos de carpas, por lo que el presente estudio se centra en describir la microbiota de los ciprínidos de la región. Las muestras de piel, aletas, branquias y órganos internos (riñones, hígado e intestino), se inocularon agar soya tripticasa, agar McConkey y medio Rimler-Shotts. Los aislados se identificaron con API 20E y NFT. La patogenicidad se determinó en lotes de 10 carpas asintomáticos en el laboratorio, como controles se usaron peces no inoculados y peces inoculados con cultivo estéril. La microbiota aislada correspondió a enterobacterias (100%), Pseudomonas sp. (100%), Aeromonas sp. (100%), Alcaligenes sp. (25%), Moraxella sp. (21.4%), Plesiomonas sp. (17.8%), Xanthomonas sp. (39.28%), Acinetobacter calcoaceticus (17.85%) y Achromobacterium anitratus (3.57%). De las cepas analizadas Aeromonas sobria, A. caviae, A. hydrophila, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Alcaligenes sp y Plesiomonas sp presentaron un 100% de mortalidad en los bioensayos

Symmetry breaking perturbations and strange attractors

The asymmetrically forced, damped Duffing oscillator is introduced as a prototype model for analyzing the homoclinic tangle of symmetric dissipative systems with \textit{symmetry breaking} disturbances. Even a slight fixed asymmetry in the perturbation may cause a substantial change in the asymptotic behavior of the system, e.g. transitions from two sided to one sided strange attractors as the other parameters are varied. Moreover, slight asymmetries may cause substantial asymmetries in the relative size of the basins of attraction of the unforced nearly symmetric attracting regions. These changes seems to be associated with homoclinic bifurcations. Numerical evidence indicates that \textit{strange attractors} appear near curves corresponding to specific secondary homoclinic bifurcations. These curves are found using analytical perturbational tools

Empowering Latino parents to transform the education of their children

This article emphasizes the role of parental involvement in the college preparation of Latino elementary and secondary school students. Although literature shows that education is highly valued in Latino families, actual college enrollment rates for Latino youth are below average. This has been attributed to barriers including lack of financial resources, problems in communication with schools, and low familiarity with the college planning process. The American Dream Academy is a university outreach program that is designed to help Latino families overcome these barriers. We conducted a qualitative analysis of speeches that were prepared and delivered by parents at graduation ceremonies of the program from 2007 to 2009. Our analysis revealed six themes: facing challenges, envisioning success, understanding the school system, taking ownership, community raising a child, and creating a supportive home environment. The findings enrich existing literature and help understand the complex systems that are at play with parental involvement in Latino families

Far-infrared observations of a massive cluster forming in the Monoceros R2 filament hub

We present far-infrared observations of Monoceros R2 (a giant molecular cloud at approximately 830 pc distance, containing several sites of active star formation), as observed at 70 μm, 160 μm, 250 μm, 350 μm, and 500 μm by the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) and Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) instruments on the Herschel Space Observatory as part of the Herschel imaging survey of OB young stellar objects (HOBYS) Key programme. The Herschel data are complemented by SCUBA-2 data in the submillimetre range, and WISE and Spitzer data in the mid-infrared. In addition, C18O data from the IRAM 30-m Telescope are presented, and used for kinematic information. Sources were extracted from the maps with getsources, and from the fluxes measured, spectral energy distributions were constructed, allowing measurements of source mass and dust temperature. Of 177 Herschel sources robustly detected in the region (a detection with high signal-to-noise and low axis ratio at multiple wavelengths), including protostars and starless cores, 29 are found in a filamentary hub at the centre of the region (a little over 1% of the observed area). These objects are on average smaller, more massive, and more luminous than those in the surrounding regions (which together suggest that they are at a later stage of evolution), a result that cannot be explained entirely by selection effects. These results suggest a picture in which the hub may have begun star formation at a point significantly earlier than the outer regions, possibly forming as a result of feedback from earlier star formation. Furthermore, the hub may be sustaining its star formation by accreting material from the surrounding filaments

Agentes infecciosos de Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931) y su relación con parámetros físicoquímicos de tres diferentes sistemas de cultivo en el golfo de México.

La producción de camarón aumentó de 33.480 toneladas por año en 2000-2001 a 128 000 t en el período 2008-2009, lo que representa el 69% de la producción total en México. Se colectaron muestras de L. vannamei desde 2008 hasta 2009, durante dos ciclos de producción de tres granjas de camarón en el estado de Tamaulipas. Durante el ciclo 2009, se analizaron un total de 600 organismos; 180 de Reynosa, 180 de La Pesca, y 240 de Morón. Se midio el oxígeno disuelto (OD, mg/L) y la temperatura (°C) dos veces al día (mañana y noche). La salinidad, el pH y la turbidez del agua se midieron diariamente. Durante el ciclo de cultivo del 2008, un total de 660 organismos fueron muestreados. Este estudio representa el primer registro geográfico de la presencia de L. mucor, Zoothamnium sp, Epistylis sp, Acineta sp y Nematopsis sp en L. vannamei de piscifactorías en Tamaulipas

TRPM8, a Versatile Channel in Human Sperm

BACKGROUND:The transient receptor potential channel (TRP) family includes more than 30 proteins; they participate in various Ca(2+) dependent processes. TRPs are functionally diverse involving thermal, chemical and mechanical transducers which modulate the concentration of intracellular Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)]i). Ca(2+) triggers and/or regulates principal sperm functions during fertilization such as motility, capacitation and the acrosome reaction. Nevertheless, the presence of the TRPM subfamily in sperm has not been explored. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Here we document with RT-PCR, western blot and immunocitochemistry analysis the presence of TRPM8 in human sperm. We also examined the participation of this channel in sperm function using specific agonists (menthol and temperature) and antagonists (BCTC and capsazepine). Computer-aided sperm analysis revealed that menthol did not significantly alter human sperm motility. In contrast, menthol induced the acrosome reaction in human sperm. This induction was inhibited about 70% by capsazepine (20 microM) and 80% by BCTC (1.6 microM). Activation of TRPM8 either by temperature or menthol induced [Ca(2+)]i increases in human sperm measured by fluorescence in populations or individual sperm cells, effect that was also inhibited by capsazepine (20 microM) and BCTC (1.6 microM). However, the progesterone and ZP3-induced acrosome reaction was not inhibited by capsazepine or BCTC, suggesting that TRPM8 activation triggers this process by a different signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS:This is the first report dealing with the presence of a thermo sensitive channel (TRPM8) in human sperm. This channel could be involved in cell signaling events such as thermotaxis or chemotaxis