Mindfulness in social work and social pedagogy education. Concept and outcome of a university teaching project

La Atención Plena gana cada vez más terreno en la medicina y la psicoterapia. Este texto se ocupa de su utilidad y de analizar si resulta posible implementar el concepto de la Atención Plena a la carrera universitaria en el ámbito de la Pedagogía Social. Este artículo se adentra en el concepto didáctico del término aplicado en un curso que forma parte de los estudios de Grado en Pedagogía Social y también en Trabajo Social, en la Ev. Hochschule de Freiburg (Germany). Además, ofrece una vista general de los resultados del curso mencionado. La primera parte se ocupa de la definición de la Atención Plena y de sus orígenes en la práctica. La segunda ofrece una visión sobre los resultados de la investigación de la Atención Plena aplicada a un curso. En la tercera parte del artículo se muestra el concepto didáctico del curso cuatrimestral que forma parte del Grado y que sirve para la enseñanza de la Atención Plena. Y por último, en la cuarta parte se presenta, de manera concisa y global, los resultados del proyecto cualitativo-explorativo.Mindfulness is a topic of great interest and development in medicine and psychotherapy. The main purpose of this paper is the concept of mindfulness from the educational point of view in the field of Social Pedagogy and more specifically in a course that is part of undergraduate studies in Social Pedagogy and Social Work at the Ev . Hochschule Freiburg (Germany). The first part is the definition of Mindfulness and its origins in practice. Later gives an overview on the results of research on Mindfulness. The didactic application of the concept of mindfulness, and the results of the completed project are discussed in the last part of this work

El uso de Internet en las bibliotecas del CSIC

En este artículo nos proponemos hacer una reflexión sobre el efecto que ha tenido Internet en el panorama bibliotecario del CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas). Para ello es necesario hacer referencia al importante proceso de informatización que se ha operado en los 10 últimos años en las bibliotecas del CSIC y que hoy nos permite poder hablar de una red de bibliotecas consolidada

Quantification of diterpene acids in Copaiba oleoresin by UHPLC-ELSD and heteronuclear two-dimensional qNMR

In this study, we present the quantitation of eight diterpene acids in the oleoresin of Copaifera reticulata Ducke by UHPLC-ELSD and quantitative HSQC (heteronuclear single quantum correlation spectroscopy). UHPLC was performed using reversed phase material and external calibration and showed RSD values of ≤ 3% (repeatability) and ≤ 4% (precision), and mean recovery rates of 91.2 to 104.8%. LOQs were determined with 10 and 20 µg/mL, and LODs with 4 and 8 µg/mL, respectively. For the qHSQC method, calibration curves of eight different NMR cross-peaks (furylic, endo- and exocyclic methine signals, exocyclic methylene and methyl signals) were established and normalized with dimethyl terephthalate, which served as internal standard. This approach allowed the direct quantification of four major and one minor diterpene, whereas simple calculation procedures led to the contents of the remaining minor compounds. Comparison with the results of the UHPLC assay showed good agreement for seven of the eight diterpene acids. In terms of precision, the qHSQC method was advantageous for the quantification of the three main compounds, whereas UHPLC-ELSD was superior in the determination of the minor components. In contrast to previous reports, kolavenic acid was identified as a major diterpene acid in the oleoresin of Copaifera reticulata, with amounts of 4.0 ± 0.3%

Cx43 promotes endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis via the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2

The gap junction protein connexin 43 (Cx43) is associated with increased cell migration and to related changes of the actin cytoskeleton, which is mediated via its C-terminal cytoplasmic tail and is independent of its channel function. Cx43 has been shown to possess an angiogenic potential, however, the role of Cx43 in endothelial cell migration has not yet been investigated. Here, we found that the knock-down of Cx43 by siRNA in human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC) reduces migration, as assessed by a wound assay in vitro and impaired aortic vessel sprouting ex vivo. Immunoprecipitation of Cx43 revealed an interaction with the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2, which enhanced its phosphatase activity, as observed in Cx43 expressing HeLa cells compared to cells treated with an empty vector. Interestingly, the expression of a dominant negative substrate trapping mutant SHP-2 (CS) in HMEC, via lentiviral transduction, also impaired endothelial migration to a similar extent as Cx43 siRNA compared to SHP-2 WT. Moreover, the reduction in endothelial migration upon Cx43 siRNA could not be rescued by the introduction of a constitutively active SHP-2 construct (EA). Our data demonstrate that Cx43 and SHP-2 mediate endothelial cell migration, revealing a novel interaction between Cx43 and SHP-2, which is essential for this process

Comparison of centralized and decentralized energy supply systems

Communal energy programs are often embedded in a conception of a decentralized energy supply system where electricity is produced by a number of smaller power plants. For a comprehensive survey the question arises whether these decentralized systems are more advantageous than centralized systems with regard to the criterions energy consumption, safety of supply, environmental compatibility and economy. In the following, after a definition of the term "decentralized", the present structure of the energy supply system in the Federal Republic of Germany is examined under the point of view whether it is more centralized or more decentralized. Then, a detailed investigation into effects of a decentralized compared to more centralized energy supply system is presented. Assuming two alternatives of supply, different energy generating plants are exemplary discussed. At last, problems concerning the organization of decentralized energy supply system which are of special interest for local and regional energy strategies are considered

PopGenome : an efficient swiss army knife for population genomic analyses in R

Although many computer programs can perform population genetics calculations, they are typically limited in the analyses and data input formats they offer; few applications can process the large data sets produced by whole-genome resequencing projects. Furthermore, there is no coherent framework for the easy integration of new statistics into existing pipelines, hindering the development and application of new population genetics and genomics approaches. Here, we present PopGenome, a population genomics package for the R software environment (a de facto standard for statistical analyses). PopGenome can efficiently process genome-scale data as well as large sets of individual loci. It reads DNA alignments and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data sets in most common formats, including those used by the HapMap, 1000 human genomes, and 1001 Arabidopsis genomes projects. PopGenome also reads associated annotation files in GFF format, enabling users to easily define regions or classify SNPs based on their annotation; all analyses can also be applied to sliding windows. PopGenome offers a wide range of diverse population genetics analyses, including neutrality tests as well as statistics for population differentiation, linkage disequilibrium, and recombination. PopGenome is linked to Hudson's MS and Ewing's MSMS programs to assess statistical significance based on coalescent simulations. PopGenome's integration in R facilitates effortless and reproducible downstream analyses as well as the production of publication-quality graphics. Developers can easily incorporate new analyses methods into the PopGenome framework. PopGenome and R are freely available from CRAN () for all major operating systems under the GNU General Public License

Inactivation of the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2 drives vascular dysfunction in sepsis

Background: Sepsis, the most severe form of infection, involves endothelial dysfunction which contributes to organ failure. To improve therapeutic prospects, elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying endothelial vascular failure is of essence. Methods: Polymicrobial contamination induced sepsis mouse model and primary endothelial cells incubated with sepsis serum were used to study SHP-2 in sepsis-induced endothelial inflammation. SHP-2 activity was assessed by dephosphorylation of pNPP, ROS production was measured by DCF oxidation and protein interactions were assessed by proximity ligation assay. Vascular inflammation was studied in the mouse cremaster model and in an in vitro flow assay. Findings: We identified ROS-dependent inactivation of the tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2 to be decisive for endothelial activation in sepsis. Using in vivo and in vitro sepsis models, we observed a significant reduction of endothelial SHP-2 activity, accompanied by enhanced adhesion molecule expression. The impaired SHP-2 activity was restored by ROS inhibitors and an IL-1 receptor antagonist. SHP-2 activity inversely correlated with the adhesive phenotype of endothelial cells exposed to IL-1β as well as sepsis serum via p38 MAPK and NF-κB. In vivo, SHP-2 inhibition accelerated IL-1β-induced leukocyte adhesion, extravasation and vascular permeability. Mechanistically, SHP-2 directly interacts with the IL-1R1 adaptor protein MyD88 via its tyrosine 257, resulting in reduced binding of p85/PI3-K to MyD88. Interpretation: Our data show that SHP-2 inactivation by ROS in sepsis releases a protective break, resulting in endothelial activation. Fund: German Research Foundation, LMU Mentoring excellence and FöFoLe Programme, Verein zur Förderung von Wissenschaft und Forschung, German Ministry of Education and Research. Keywords: Endothelial cells, IL-1β, MyD88, ROS, SHP-2, Sepsi