Psychometric Properties of the Personal and General Belief in a Just World Scales in the Argentine Context

El objetivo principal de este trabajo fue analizar las propiedades psicométricas de las Escalas de Creencia en un Mundo Justo General y Personal. Para tal fin, se examinó la estructura interna de ambas, testeando si evalúan un mismo constructo global o constituyen dos dimensiones diferenciadas, la consistencia interna de cada una y sus relaciones con las orientaciones religiosas. Participaron del estudio 328 estudiantes universitarios de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires con edades entre 18 y 40 años (M = 24,1; DT = 3,88). El 36,6% eran hombres (n = 120) y el 63,4% mujeres (n = 208). Los resultados del estudio sugieren propiedades psicométricas adecuadas para ambas escalas de CMJ. Además, pudo observarse que ambas evaluaciones indagan constructos independientes, aunque relacionados en cuanto a su estructura. Esto último se refuerza al analizar las relaciones entre ambas CMJ y las orientaciones religiosas. Finalmente, este trabajo brinda herramientas válidas y confiables para la evaluación de la Creencia en un Mundo Justo Personal y General en el contexto argentino.The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Personal and General Belief in a Just World (BJW) Scales. Through a confirmatory factor analysis, the internal structure of both scales was examined by testing if they measure the same global construct or if they constitute two different dimensions. The internal consistency of each scale was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha; also, their linear relations with religious orientations were tested. Using convenience sampling, 328 college students from the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, were enrolled in the study. Their ages ranged from 18 to 40 years (M = 24.1, SD = 3.88); 36.6% were men and 63.4% were women. Results suggest appropriate psychometric properties for both BJW scales. In addition, it was observed that both scales refer to independent but related constructs. This finding is reinforeced by analyzing the relation between both types of BJW and religious orientations. Therefore, this study provides valid and reliable tools to evaluate the Personal and General BJW in Argentina.Fil: Barreiro, Alicia Viviana. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Etchezahar, Edgardo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Padro Gascó, Vicente. Universidad de Valencia; Españ

Law Libraries and Laboratories: The Legacies of Langdell and His Metaphor

Law Librarians and others have often referred to Harvard Law School Dean C.C. Langdell’s statements that the law library is the lawyer’s laboratory. Professor Danner examines the context of what Langdell through his other writings, the educational environment at Harvard in the late nineteenth century, and the changing perceptions of university libraries generally. He then considers how the “laboratory metaphor” has been applied by librarians and legal scholars during the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. The article closes with thoughts on Langdell’s legacy for law librarians and the usefulness of the laboratory metaphor

Cerebellar alterations in a model of Down syndrome: The role of the Dyrk1A gene

Down syndrome (DS) is characterized by a marked reduction in the size of the brain and cerebellum. These changes play an important role in the motor alterations and cognitive disabilities observed in this condition. The Ts65Dn (TS) mouse, the most commonly used model of DS, reflects many DS phenotypes, including alterations in cerebellar morphology. One of the genes that is overexpressed in both individuals with DS and TS mice is DYRK1A/Dyrk1A (dual-specificity tyrosine-(Y)-phosphorylation regulated kinase 1A), which has been implicated in the altered cerebellar structural and functional phenotypes observed in both populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Dyrk1A on different alterations observed in the cerebellum of TS animals. TS mice were crossed with Dyrk1A +/- KO mice to obtain mice with a triplicate segment of Mmu16 that included Dyrk1A (TS +/+/+), mice with triplicate copies of the same genes that carried only two copies of Dyrk1A (TS +/+/-), euploid mice that expressed a normal dose of Dyrk1A (CO +/+) and CO animals with a single copy of Dyrk1A (CO +/-). Male mice were used for all experiments. The normalization of the Dyrk1A gene dosage did not rescue the reduced cerebellar volume. However, it increased the size of the granular and molecular layers, the densities of granular and Purkinje cells, and dendritic arborization. Furthermore, it improved the excitatory/inhibitory balance and walking pattern of TS +/+/- mice. These results support the hypothesis that Dyrk1A is involved in some of the structural and functional cerebellar phenotypes observed in the TS mouse model.This work was supported by grants from the Jerome Lejeune Foundation and Fundación Tatiana Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (PSI-2016-76194-R, AEI/FEDER, EU) and “Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED, CB06/05/0037)” from Spain

Functional rewiring across spinal injuries via biomimetic nanofiber scaffolds

The regrowth of severed axons is fundamental to reestablish motor control after spinal-cord injury (SCI). Ongoing efforts to promote axonal regeneration after SCI have involved multiple strategies that have been only partially successful. Our study introduces an artificial carbon-nanotube based scaffold that, once implanted in SCI rats, improves motor function recovery. Confocal microscopy analysis plus fiber tracking by magnetic resonance imaging and neurotracer labeling of long-distance corticospinal axons suggest that recovery might be partly attributable to successful crossing of the lesion site by regenerating fibers. Since manipulating SCI microenvironment properties, such as mechanical and electrical ones, may promote biological responses, we propose this artificial scaffold as a prototype to exploit the physics governing spinal regenerative plasticity

Targeted gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for CD163 detection in atherosclerosis by MRI

CD163 is a membrane receptor expressed by macrophage lineage. Studies performed in atherosclerosis have shown that CD163 expression is increased at inflammatory sites, pointing at the presence of intraplaque hemorrhagic sites or asymptomatic plaques. Hence, imaging of CD163 expressing macrophages is an interesting strategy in order to detect atherosclerotic plaques. We have prepared a targeted probe based on gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles vectorized with an anti-CD163 antibody for the specific detection of CD163 by MRI. Firstly, the specificity of the targeted probe was validated in vitro by incubation of the probe with CD163(+) or (−) macrophages. The probe was able to selectively detect CD163(+) macrophages both in human and murine cells. Subsequently, the targeted probe was injected in 16 weeks old apoE deficient mice developing atherosclerotic lesions and the pararenal abdominal aorta was imaged by MRI. The accumulation of probe in the site of interest increased over time and the signal intensity decreased significantly 48 hours after the injection. Hence, we have developed a highly sensitive targeted probe capable of detecting CD163-expressing macrophages that could provide useful information about the state of the atheromatous lesionsThis work was funded by Spanish Government through a Plan Nacional (CTQ2011–27268), FEDER funds through the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (PI10/00072, PI13/00051, PI13/00395, PI13/00802, PI14/00883 and PI14/00386), CIBERDEM group, RETICS RD12/0042/0038, Programa Miguel Servet (CP10/00479) and cvREMOD CENIT project (CEN-20091044), the Basque Government through Etortek 2011 (IE11–301), and Fundacion Lilly, Spanish Society of Atherosclerosis, Spanish Society of Nephrology and Fundacion Renal Iñigo Alvarez de Toled

Prevalence of Chromosomally Integrated Human Herpesvirus 6 in Patients with Human Herpesvirus 6–Central Nervous System Dysfunction

AbstractWe identified 37 hematopoietic cell transplantation recipients with human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) central nervous system dysfunction and tested donor-recipient pairs for chromosomally integrated HHV-6 (ciHHV-6). One patient had ciHHV-6A with possible HHV-6A reactivation and encephalitis. There was no ciHHV-6 enrichment in this group, but larger studies are needed to determine if patients with ciHHV-6 are at increased risk for HHV-6–associated diseases or other complications

Assessing the Potential of Intra-specific Biodiversity towards Adaptation of Irrigated and Rain-fed Italian Production Systems to Future Climate

AbstractThe study addresses the biophysical dimension of adaptation. It illustrates and applies a framework to evaluate options for adaptation by identifying cultivars optimally adapted to expected climate conditions, building on existing crops intra-specific biodiversity. The aim is to reduce the vulnerability of current production systems without altering the pattern of current species and cultivation systems.Adaptability is assessed through a three-step approach that involves: 1) evaluation of indicators of expected thermal and hydrological conditions within the specific landscape and production system; 2) determination, for a set of cultivars, of cultivar- specific thermal and hydrological requirements to attain the desirable yield; 3) identification, as options for adaptation, of the cultivars for which expected climate conditions match the climatic requirements. The approach relies on a process-based simulation model of water flow in the soil-plant-atmosphere system for the calculation of hydrological indicators. Thermal indicators are derived by means of phenological models. Empirical functions of cultivars yield response to water availability are used to determine cultivar-specific hydrological requirements, whereas cultivars thermal requirements are estimated through phenological observations.In a future climate case (2021-2050) three case-studies are analyzed: 1) a system dominated by rain-fed crops (olive, winegrapes, durum wheat) in a hilly area of southern Italy; 2) irrigated fruit crops (peach, pear) in the Po Valley; 3) maize and tomato crop in an irrigated plain of southern Italy.Cultivars adapted to the future climate have been identified for rain-fed crops (e.g. 5 olive cvs). For irrigated crops we have evaluated adaptability for optimal and deficit irrigation schedules, accounting for site-specific soils hydrological properties. Options for adaptations have been identified as a combination of cultivars, soils and irrigation schedules (e.g 2 tomato cvs and 3 maize hybrids have been identified as options for adaptation at scarce water availability). Moreover, in the case of fruit crops, accounting for phenological changes highlighted the impact on irrigation water requirements of the interaction between phenology and the intra-annual distribution of precipitation

Assessing the Potential of Molecular Imaging for Myelin Quantification in Organotypic Cultures

Ex vivo models for the noninvasive study of myelin-related diseases represent an essential tool to understand the mechanisms of diseases and develop therapies against them. Herein, we assessed the potential of multimodal imaging traceable myelin-targeting liposomes to quantify myelin in organotypic cultures. Methods: MRI testing was used to image mouse cerebellar tissue sections and organotypic cultures. Demyelination was induced by lysolecithin treatment. Myelin-targeting liposomes were synthetized and characterized, and their capacity to quantify myelin was tested by fluorescence imaging. Results: Imaging of freshly excised tissue sections ranging from 300 µm to 1 mm in thickness was achieved with good contrast between white (WM) and gray matter (GM) using T2w MRI. The typical loss of stiffness, WM structures, and thickness of organotypic cultures required the use of diffusion-weighted methods. Designed myelin-targeting liposomes allowed for semiquantitative detection by fluorescence, but the specificity for myelin was not consistent between assays due to the unspecific binding of liposomes. Conclusions: With respect to the sensitivity, imaging of brain tissue sections and organotypic cultures by MRI is feasible, and myelin-targeting nanosystems are a promising solution to quantify myelin ex vivo. With respect to specificity, fine tuning of the probe is required. Lipid-based systems may not be suitable for this goal, due to unspecific binding to tissues

On becoming a Collaborative Professional: From Paradigm Shifting to Transformative Learning through Critical Reflection and Dialogue

In Part II, I provide a brief overview of CL and its underlying assumptions. A description of CL training and learning objectives follows in Parts III and IV. In Parts V and VI, I review the paradigm shifting and transformative learning literature. I provide an overview of the study in Part VII, followed by my analysis of the data in Parts VIII and IX. In Part X, I conclude with a discussion of critical reflection and dialogue in a CL training context

The Efficacy of Short-Term Supplemental Nutrition Education on Nutrition Knowledge and Dietary Behaviors of Urban Middle School Children

Background: Children and adolescents are not meeting the dietary guidelines and overweight and obesity related diseases are on the rise among youth in the United States. However, research is inconsistent with regard to the most effective method of educating urban youth. Purpose: To determine the effect of a supplemental nutrition education on the knowledge and behaviors of urban school students. Methods: Six nutrition lessons were provided to students attending the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta (BGCMA) in Atlanta, GA. A pre- and posttest was administered to assess differences in students’ nutrition knowledge and behaviors. Chi-square analysis compared the number of correct answers for the entire intervention population and after stratification by gender and number of classes missed. The Wilcoxon signed rank test compared the median number of correct answers in pre- vs. posttest responses for all participants and by the number of classes missed. Results: 15 students enrolled in the study. 2 students did not complete the study. A significant but negative change in knowledge was found in 1 of 15 nutrition questions. A significant negative change in the median number of total answers correct on the pre- vs. posttest was also observed (p=0.049). Approximately 60% of the participants reported that they were more likely to make positive, nutrition-related behavior changes after the intervention. Conclusion: We found a negative association between the nutrition education intervention and knowledge gain. This study suggests that nutrition education alone does not have a significant effect on nutrition knowledge of urban youth