La influència de les dinàmiques de grup en la millora de la cohesió de grup i l’estabilitat emocional dels infants

Curs 2012-2013En aquest estudi qualitatiu s’investiga la influència de les dinàmiques de grup en la millora de la cohesió de grup i l’estabilitat emocional dels infants. La mostra està constituïda per 24 infants, d’edats compreses entre els 5 i 6 anys, i per una mestra de 58 anys. Es realitza una intervenció educativa, basada en quatre dinàmiques de grup diferents, per tal d’avaluar la seva incidència en relació a la cohesió de grup i l’estabilitat emocional dels infants. Els instruments utilitzats són de naturalesa qualitativa, concretament, l’entrevista i l’observació, que s’apliquen pre i post intervenció per tal d’identificar possibles canvis. En els resultats, no es poden observar grans canvis a nivell de cohesió de grup ni d’estabilitat emocional dels infants, però sí, una actitud positiva i de motivació en relació a l’aplicació de dinàmiques de grup. La curta durada de la intervenció educativa ha estat la principal limitació d’aquesta investigació, fet pel qual no s’han pogut extreure uns resultats significatius. És per això que a les conclusions es mostren un seguit d’aspectes a tenir en compte en futurs estudis.This is a qualitative study mainly focused on the effect of group dynamics to improve group cohesiveness and children’s emotional stability. The sample contains 24 infants, from 5 to 6 years old, and a 58 year-old teacher. An educational intervention based on four different group dynamics is implemented so as to assess its influence on the group cohesiveness and the children’s emotional stability. The interview and the observation are the qualitative tools that have been used in this study. They have been employed before and after the educational intervention in order to identify possible changes. The results from this research don’t provide important changes regarding group cohesiveness and emotional stability. However, a positive and motivational attitude towards the application of group dynamics has been observed. The short period of the educational intervention has been the main limitation of this study; this is the reason why meaningful results haven’t been extracted. Hence, many aspects to take into account in the future are included in the conclusions

Evolutionary scenarios for the origin of an Antarctic tardigrade species based on molecular clock analyses and biogeographic data

The origin of the Antarctic continental extant fauna is a highly debated topic, complicated by the paucity of organisms for which we have clear biogeographic distributions and understanding of their evolutionary timescale. To shed new light on this topic, we coupled molecular clock analyses with biogeographic studies on the heterotardigrade genus Mopsechiniscus. This taxon includes species with endemic distributions in Antarctica and other regions of the southern hemisphere. Molecular dating using different models and calibration priors retrieved similar divergence time for the split between the Antarctic and South American Mopsechiniscus lineages (32\u201348 Mya) and the estimated age of the Drake Passage opening that led to the separation of Antarctica and South America. Our divergence estimates are congruent with other independent studies in dating Gondwanan geological events. Although different analyses retrieved similar results for the internal relationships within the Heterotardigrada, our results indicated that the molecular dating of tardigrades using genes coding for ribosomal RNA (18S and 28S rDNA) is a complex task, revealed by a very wide range of posterior density and a relative difficulty in discriminating between competing models. Overall, our study indicates that Mopsechiniscus is an ancient genus with a clear Gondwanan distribution, in which speciation was probably directed by a cooccurrence of vicariance and glacial events

Flat Foot in Children

Ravno stopalo je stopalo s većom dodirnom površinom s podlogom zbog smanjenje visine ili potpune odsutnosti medijalnog svoda. Pedijatrijsko ravno stopalo se najčešće dijeli na patološko, kruto ravno stopalo i fiziološko, fleksibilno ravno stopalo. Patološko spušteno stopalo pokazuje određeni stupanj ukočenosti i značajno ograničenje pokreta subtalarnog zgloba. Često uzrokuje poteškoće i obično zahtijeva konzerativno ili kiruško liječenje. Fiziološko fleksibilno ravno stopalo je pomično i mekano, predstavlja više kozmetički nego funkcionalni problem. Ono čini ∼95% slučajeva ravnih stopala u djece i pretežno je asimptomatsko. U asimptomatskih pacijenata, nema dokaza koji bi poduprli preventivnu ulogu uložaka, ortoza ili operacija s ciljem odgađanja ili uklanjanja eventualnih budućih simptoma. Rano postavljanje uložaka, koji podržavaju svod stopala ne utječe na njegovu visinu u kasnijoj dobi. Teški oblici fleksibilnog ravnog stopala tijekom vremena mogu izazivati bolove i funkcionalne probleme i tada zahtijevaju liječenje. Općenita preporuka za prevenciju ravnog stopala je podržavanje prirodnih obrazaca kretanja u dojenačkoj dobi koji će omogućiti pravilan razvoj svodova te hodanje bez obuće i reguliranje tjelesne težine. Unatoč širokoj rasprostranjenosti, u literaturu nema usuglašenih klasifikacija i smjernica za liječenje dječjeg ravnog stopala te je potrebno provesti daljnja istraživanja sa ciljem postavljanja univerzalnih smjernica za klasifikaciju, dijagnozu, prevenciju i liječenje ravnih stopala u djece.A flat foot is a foot with a larger contact area with the ground due to a reduction in height or the complete absence of a medial arch. Pediatric flat feet are most commonly divided into pathological, rigid flat feet and physiological, flexible flat feet. Pathologi-cally flat foot shows a certain degree of stiffness and significant limitation of movement of the subtalar joint. It often causes difficul-ties and usually requires treatment either conservatively or surgically. Physiologically flexible flat foot is movable and soft, and is more of a cosmetic than a functional problem. It accounts for ∼95% of flat feet in children and is predominantly asymptomatic. In asymptomatic patients, there is no evidence to support the preventive role of insoles, orthoses, or surgery to delay or eliminate po-ssible future symptoms. Early placement of insoles, which support the arch of the foot does not affect its height at a later age. Severe forms of flexible flat feet can cause pain and functional problems over time and then require treatment. The general recommendation for the prevention of flat feet is to support natural patterns of movement in infancy that will allow proper development of the arches, walking without shoes and regulating body weight. Despite its wide distribution, there are no harmonized classifications and guide-lines for the treatment of childhood flat feet in the literature, and further research is needed to establish universal guidelines for the classification, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of flat feet in children

Prikaz slučaja kronične Bellove pareze: koje su mogućnosti rehabilitacije?

Bell’s palsy, or idiopathic peripheral facial nerve palsy is a neurologic condition characterized by unilateral weakness of facial muscles. The evidence-based guidelines mostly consider the acute treatment of Bell’s palsy. However, chronic cases of Bell’s palsy are not supported by strong evidence regarding treatment options, except for a weak recommendation to utilize physical therapy. This case report has presented an application of a combination of physical therapy modalities (Mirror Book Therapy, High Intensity Laser Therapy, and Acupuncture) within 10 weeks, to treat a patient with long-term sequelae. This combination of therapies has resulted in a significant improvement in the level of recovery measured by facial grading scales. However, further research is necessary to provide stronger evidence regarding the benefits of this treatment option.Bellova pareza ili periferna idiopatska pareza facijalisa, neurološko je stanje koju karakterizira jednostrana slabost mišića lica. Smjernice za liječenje su uglavnom utemeljene na dokazima o preporukama za liječenje akutnih stadija Bellove pareze. Međutim, kronični slučajevi Bellove pareze nisu potkrijepljeni dovoljno snažnim dokazima o mogućnostima liječenja, osim slabe preporuke u smjeru primjene terapijskih vježbi. Ovaj prikaz slučaja predstavlja primjenu kombinacije modaliteta fizikalne terapije (akupunktura, laser visokog intenziteta i terapija zrcalom) unutar 10 tjedana, za liječenje bolesnika s dugotrajnim posljedicama Bellove pareze. Ova kombinacija terapija rezultirala je značajnim poboljšanjem razine oporavka mjerenog kliničkim ljestvicama. Međutim, potrebna su daljnja istraživanja kako bi se pružili snažniji dokazi o prednostima ove kombinacije terapija

Evolutionary scenarios for the origin of an Antarctic tardigrade species based on molecular clock analyses and biogeographic data

The origin of the Antarctic continental extant fauna is a highly debated topic, complicated by the paucity of organisms for which we have clear biogeographic distributions and understanding of their evolutionary timescale. To shed new light on this topic, we coupled molecular clock analyses with biogeographic studies on the heterotardigrade genus Mopsechiniscus. This taxon includes species with endemic distributions in Antarctica and other regions of the southern hemisphere. Molecular dating using different models and calibration priors retrieved similar divergence time for the split between the Antarctic and South American Mopsechiniscus lineages (32–48 Mya) and the estimated age of the Drake Passage opening that led to the separation of Antarctica and South America. Our divergence estimates are congruent with other independent studies in dating Gondwanan geological events. Although different analyses retrieved similar results for the internal relationships within the Heterotardigrada, our results indicated that the molecular dating of tardigrades using genes coding for ribosomal RNA (18S and 28S rDNA) is a complex task, revealed by a very wide range of posterior density and a relative difficulty in discriminating between competing models. Overall, our study indicates that Mopsechiniscus is an ancient genus with a clear Gondwanan distribution, in which speciation was probably directed by a co-occurrence of vicariance and glacial events

Case Report: First Report of Fatal Legionella pneumophila and Klebsiella pneumoniae Coinfection in a Kidney Transplant Recipient

A very rare case of pulmonary Klebsiella pneumoniae-Legionella pneumophila coinfection in a double kidney transplanted man affected by the chronic renal disease is described. Cases of Legionnaires’ disease with an incubation period of 14 days have rarely been documented. Despite the long period of hospitalization, typing of clinical and environmental L. pneumophila strains demonstrated that the patient’s home water distribution system was the source of infection, highlighting that Legionella house contamination can be a hidden risk, especially for immune-compromised people

Combining genomics and epidemiology to track mumps virus transmission in the United States.

Unusually large outbreaks of mumps across the United States in 2016 and 2017 raised questions about the extent of mumps circulation and the relationship between these and prior outbreaks. We paired epidemiological data from public health investigations with analysis of mumps virus whole genome sequences from 201 infected individuals, focusing on Massachusetts university communities. Our analysis suggests continuous, undetected circulation of mumps locally and nationally, including multiple independent introductions into Massachusetts and into individual communities. Despite the presence of these multiple mumps virus lineages, the genomic data show that one lineage has dominated in the US since at least 2006. Widespread transmission was surprising given high vaccination rates, but we found no genetic evidence that variants arising during this outbreak contributed to vaccine escape. Viral genomic data allowed us to reconstruct mumps transmission links not evident from epidemiological data or standard single-gene surveillance efforts and also revealed connections between apparently unrelated mumps outbreaks

Performance of Legiolert Test vs. ISO 11731 to Confirm Legionella pneumophila Contamination in Potable Water Samples

Detection and enumeration of Legionella in water samples is of great importance for risk assessment analysis. The plate culture method is the gold standard, but has received several well-known criticisms, which have induced researchers to develop alternative methods. The purpose of this study was to compare Legionella counts obtained by the analysis of potable water samples through the plate culture method and through the IDEXX liquid culture Legiolert method. Legionella plate culture, according to ISO 11731:1998, was performed using 1 L of water. Legiolert was performed using both the 10 mL and 100 mL Legiolert protocols. Overall, 123 potable water samples were analyzed. Thirty-seven (30%) of them, positive for L. pneumophila, serogroups 1 or 2–14 by plate culture, were used for comparison with the Legiolert results. The Legiolert 10 mL test detected 34 positive samples (27.6%) and the Legiolert 100 mL test detected 37 positive samples, 27.6% and 30% respectively, out of the total samples analyzed. No significant di_erence was found between either the Legiolert 10 mL and Legiolert 100 mL vs. the plate culture (p = 0.9 and p = 0.3, respectively) or between the Legiolert 10 mL and Legiolert 100 mL tests (p = 0.83). This study confirms the reliability of the IDEXX Legiolert test for Legionella pneumophila detection and enumeration, as already shown in similar studies. Like the plate culture method, the Legiolert assay is also suitable for obtaining isolates for typing purposes, relevant for epidemiological investigations