Family childhood experiences reports in depressed patients: comparison between 2 time points

Research has shown some discrepancies in the reports of experiences from childhood when an individual is depressed, because a depressed mood may have biasing effects on autobiographical memory. The present study sought to clarify this issue by examining whether there is temporal stability in the report of childhood experiences in depressed subjects, or rather, if these experiences are influenced by the mood at the time of report. The study therefore carries implications for the credibility of childhood reports of depressed adults, for the validity of the questionnaire used – Family Background Questionnaire (FBQ), adapted from Melchert (1991) – and for the conclusions it might yield. We hypothesized that the report of the same childhood family experiences across the year would not be influenced by the mood disorder. To test this prediction, we solicited reports of family experiences in 25 depressed subjects (76% women and 24% men) across the course of one year . The diagnosis of Major Depressive Episode at the outset of the study was confirmed in all subjects with the use of Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to quantify level of depressive mood (M = 19.80, SD = 10.68). The report of childhood and family experiences was collected with the FBQ (Melchert, 1991; Melchert & Sayger, 1998), which consists of 124 items comprising 14 subscales. As hypothesized, results demonstrated that the reporting of childhood experiences in dthe family after approximately 1 year was not influenced by mood state of depression, which reinforces the reliability of childhood reports and the adequate reliability of the FBQ. However, there were significant differences between the first and second moment in the mood of the subjects (BDI), with a significant mood improvement after one year. These results are consistent with those of other authors which confirms that the use of questionnaires with more objective and specific items reduce the risk of biased responses on self-reporting childhood experiences

The importance of family context in alcoholism

In the present study, 56 chronic alcoholics were compared with 56 controls with no excessive drinking habits, all of them male. The drinking habits of their parents were studied, as were parental rearing, dyadic relations with the spouses, attachment to significant people, and the education they gave to their own children. It was noted that the alcoholics' parents had heavier drinking habits and could have acted as learning models. As regards the other characteristics, the dyadic cohesion, the global score of the education received from the father and the personal style of criticism/rejection in the education of their own children were underline

O auto-conceito

O auto-conceito pode ser definido como a percepção que o indivíduo tem de si próprio e o conceito que, devido a isso, forma de si. É um constructo que ajuda a compreender aspectos importantes do comportamento humano, como a uniformidade, a consciência e a coerência da conduta observável, a noção de identidade e a manutenção de certos estereótipos de acção na continuidade do tempo. O auto-conceito pode ser classificado em diversos tipos, como os auto-conceitos académico, emocional, social ou físico. Cada qual liga-se a aspectos diferentes do comportamento humano. Entre os constituintes intrínsecos do autoconceito realça-se a auto-estima. Esta deriva dos processos de avaliação que o indivíduo faz das suas qualidades, desempenhos ou virtudes. Ocupa, por isso, um lugar proeminente na compreensão e na explicação dos transtornos emocionais. O auto-conceito desempenha, assim, um papel significativo em diversos contextos, particularmente na prática clínica. Encontra- se intimamente relacionado não só com outros conceitos psicológicos relevantes, como com numerosos fenómenos de natureza psicopatológica. No presente artigo é dada uma noção destes aspectos, bem como de algumas tentativas, dispersas pela literatua, para melhorar o autoconceito do indivíduo

The neuroinflammatory hypothesis of delirium

Delirium is a neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by a sudden and global impairment in consciousness, attention and cognition. It is particularly frequent in elderly subjects with medical or surgical conditions and is associated with short- and long-term adverse outcomes. The pathophysiology of delirium remains poorly understood as it involves complex multi-factorial dynamic interactions between a diversity of risk factors. Several conditions associated with delirium are characterized by activation of the inflammatory cascade with acute release of inflammatory mediators into the bloodstream. There is compelling evidence that acute peripheral inflammatory stimulation induces activation of brain parenchymal cells, expression of proinflammatory cytokines and inflammatory mediators in the central nervous system. These neuroinflammatory changes induce neuronal and synaptic dysfunction and subsequent neurobehavioural and cognitive symptoms. Furthermore, ageing and neurodegenerative disorders exaggerate microglial responses following stimulation by systemic immune stimuli such as peripheral inflammation and/or infection. In this review we explore the neuroinflammatory hypothesis of delirium based on recent evidence derived from animal and human studies

Pay as you wish as a museum pricing mechanism

Currently, museums show difficulty in setting their ticket prices, as well as in increasing their revenue while remaining inclusive. Pay As You Wish is a pricing mechanism in which visitors are allowed to pay whatever value they wish for the museum visit, including zero. In order to evaluate if this pricing mechanism could be profitable in a museum while increasing inclusivity, online experiments were conducted to evaluate people’s willingness to pay. The results have shown that PAYW can be a profitable pricing mechanism in museum settings, translating into an increase of almost 40% in the museum’s return

Avaliação do impacto da crise de 2009 no setor do comércio automóvel

Mestrado em FinançasO ano de 2009 foi marcado pela confirmação de uma crise financeira internacional apenas comparada à Grande Depressão dos anos 30. Portugal, embora sendo uma economia de pequena dimensão à escala mundial, presenciou o impacto deste cenário externo na sua própria economia, com efeitos severos a nível económico, financeiro e social. O setor do comércio automóvel, fortemente dependente do poder de compra das populações foi afetado pelo abrandamento do crescimento económico. Este trabalho final de mestrado tem como objetivo avaliar o impacto da atual crise macroeconómica no setor do comércio automóvel em Portugal. Neste sentido, para além de abordagem económica, onde se considera um conjunto alargado de indicadores económicos como o valor acrescentado, entre outros, realiza-se ainda uma análise de vários indicadores financeiros das empresas do setor. A investigação desenvolvida conclui da existência de uma relação estatística entre a degradação dos fatores macroeconómicos e microeconómicos e a performance das empresas que compõem o setor automóvel. Apurou-se, ainda, que os principais indicadores económico-financeiros deste setor de atividade refletem o impacto da crise, não havendo sinais concretos de retoma no setor.The year 2009 was marked by the confirmation of an international financial crisis just compared to the Great Depression of the 30s. Portugal, although a small economy in the world wide economy, has witnessed the impact of this external scenario in its own economy, with severe effects on the economic, financial and social aspects. The automobile sector, heavily dependent on the purchasing power, was affected by the slowdown of economic activity. This final work of masters aims to evaluate the impact of the current macroeconomic crisis in the automobile trade in Portugal. In this sense, beyond an economic approach, which considers a wide range of economic indicators such as value added, among others, we present also an analysis of several financial indicators of the companies belong to the sector. The research carried concludes the existence of a statistical relationship between the degradation of macroeconomic and microeconomic factors and the performance of the companies comprising the automobile sector. It was found also that the main economic and financial indicators of activity in this sector reflect the impact of the crisis, still with no concrete signs of recovery

Antropometria, Maturidade Biológica e Posição no Campo em Futebolistas Adolescentes : Influência na Aptidão Física.

Dissertação de Mestrado em Medicina Desportiva, apresentada à Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto

The Cholinergic System and Inflammation: Common Pathways in Delirium Pathophysiology

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether delirium is associated with an unbalanced inflammatory response or a dysfunctional interaction between the cholinergic and immune systems. DESIGN: Cohort observational study. SETTING: General hospital orthopedic ward. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred one individuals aged 60 and older with no previous cognitive impairment undergoing elective arthroplasty. MEASUREMENTS: Incidence of postoperative delirium, plasma cholinesterase activity (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE)) and inflammatory mediators (C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-1 beta, tumor necrosis factor alpha, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10) before and after surgery. RESULTS: Thirty-seven participants developed postoperative delirium and had greater production of CRP and proinflammatory to anti-inflammatory ratio after surgery. In participants with delirium, but not in controls, preoperative levels of plasma cholinesterase activity correlated with ΔCRP (AChE: ρ = 0.428, P = .008 and BuChE: ρ = 0.423, P = .009), ΔIL-6 (AChE: ρ = 0.339, P = .04), and ΔP/A ratio (AChE: ρ = 0.346, P = .04). CONCLUSION: Delirium was associated not only with an unbalanced inflammatory response, but also with a dysfunctional interaction between the cholinergic and immune systems. Comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the cholinergic and immune systems is crucial to developing new insights into delirium pathophysiology and novel therapeutic intervention