The use and efficacy of question type and an attentive interviewing style in adult rape interviews

Police interviewers find the investigation of sexual crimes ‘technically difficult’ and ‘stressful’ to conduct by having to make sense of very powerful and painful emotions. In addition, such interviews often contain inappropriate as opposed to appropriate questions and interviewers often find it difficult to be ‘attentive’ to the specific needs of victims. Through the analysis of interviews with adult rape victims (N = 25) in England, we wanted to establish whether the ‘quantity’ and ‘quality’ of investigation relevant information (IRI) obtained would be impacted as a function of different question typologies (e.g. appropriate versus inappropriate), and overall interviewer attentiveness. We hypothesised that: (i) more inappropriate questions would be asked compared to appropriate questions; (ii) responses to appropriate questions would contain more items of IRI than responses to inappropriate questions; (iii) attentive interviews would contain more appropriate questions than non-attentive interviews, and; (iv) attentive interviews would contain more IRI than non-attentive interviews. Results found that interviewers asked significantly more appropriate questions that elicited significantly more items of IRI. However, there were no significant differences in the number of appropriate questions asked or the impact on the amount of IRI obtained between interviews as a function of interviewer attentiveness. Implications for practice are discussed

Características químicas e estoque de carbono dos solos sob diferentes coberturas vegetais e em sistemas tradicionais de uso da terra na região do Alto Solimões - Amazonas.

As atividades humanas transformam os ambientes naturais com diferentes intensidades de manejo e uso do solo. Com o objetivo de verificar as alterações causadas nos solos pelo manejo realizado por agricultores da região, foram feitas seis grades amostrais (janelas), com cento e um pontos ao todo, contendo os sistemas de uso da terra: floresta primária (FP), floresta secundária (FS > sete anos), florestas secundárias (CAP < sete anos), sistemas agroflorestais (SAF?s), roças (RÇ) e pastagens (PAS), no município de Benjamin Constant

'Intentional genetic manipulation' as a conservation threat

Wildlife ranching including the hunting, collection, sales and husbandry of wild animals in captivity, is practised worldwide and is advocated as an approach towards the conservation of wild species. While many authors have explored the biological impacts of intensive wild population management, primarily with respect to disease transmission (especially in ungulates and fish), the evolutionary and demographic effects of wildlife ranching have been examined less intensively. We discuss this issue through the case of intensive wildlife management in southern Africa. The genetic consequences of this global practice, with an emphasis on Africa, were addressed by a motion passed at the 2016 IUCN World Congress- ‘Management and regulation of intensive breeding and genetic manipulation of large mammals for commercial purposes’. Here, we highlight concerns regarding intensive breeding programs used to discover, enhance and propagate unusual physical traits, hereafter referred to as ‘Intentional Genetic Manipulation’. We highlight how ‘Intentional Genetic Manipulation’ potentially threatens the viability of native species and ecosystems, via genetic erosion, inbreeding, hybridisation and unregulated translocation. Finally, we discuss the need for better policies in southern Africa and globally, regarding ‘Intentional Genetic Manipulation’, and the identification of key knowledge gaps

Adolescent Experiences with Self-Asphyxial Behaviors and Problematic Drinking in Emerging Adulthood

Self-asphyxial behavior to achieve a euphoric high (The Choking Game; TCG), occurs most often during early adolescence. Participants in TCG often engage in other risky behaviors. This study investigated the relationship between prior experience with TCG and problematic drinking behaviors in emerging adulthood. Emerging adults, 18 to 25 years old (N = 1248), 56% female, and 78% Caucasian completed an online survey regarding knowledge of and prior engagement in TCG and current drinking behaviors. Participants who personally engaged in TCG during childhood/adolescence or were familiar with TCG reported significantly more problematic drinking behaviors during emerging adulthood. Those present when others engaged in TCG but resisted participation themselves reported significantly less current problematic drinking behaviors than those who participated, but significantly more current problematic drinking behaviors than those never present. Emerging adults with increased social familiarity with TCG during adolescence endorsed greater problematic drinking behaviors. Results suggest resistance skills may generalize across time/activities

Inhibition of FGF-Induced ␣A-Crystallin Promoter Activity in Lens Epithelial Explants by TGF␤

PURPOSE. Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) plays a key role in normal lens biology, and recent studies suggest that transforming growth factor (TGF)-␤ is involved in the origin of certain forms of cataract. In the current study, the effects of FGF and TGF␤ on ␣A-crystallin promoter activity were investigated. METHODS. Rat lens epithelial explants were cultured with or without growth factors after transfecting with the firefly luciferase reporter gene driven by either the mouse ␣A-crystallin promoter region or a control simian virus (SV)40 promoter. RESULTS. FGF-2, at a concentration that induced lens fiber differentiation, strongly stimulated ␣A-crystallin promoter activity in explants at 3 to 4 days of culture, whereas SV40 promoter control specimens showed no comparable increase. At lower concentrations of FGF, sufficient to induce cell proliferation but not differentiation, there was only a slight increase in ␣A-crystallin promoter activity. Stimulation of ␣A-crystallin promoter activity induced by the fiber-differentiating concentration of FGF was virtually abolished by as little as 25 pg/ml TGF␤2, but the onset of fiber-specific ␤-crystallin accumulation was not prevented at this concentration. Phase-contrast microscopy revealed overt cataractous changes only at concentrations of TGF␤ more than 25 pg/ml. CONCLUSIONS. The stimulation of ␣A-crystallin promoter activity by FGF is consistent with its role in inducing accumulation of crystallins in explants. The blocking effect of TGF␤ on this process, even at a concentration too low to induce obvious pathologic changes, indicates the potential for TGF␤ to disturb ␣A-crystallin gene expression during early fiber differentiation. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Renal vasculitis in Colombia

A retrospective review of publications about primary vasculitis cases was performed from the Colombian medical literature, the clinical and pathological features are described.The Renal vasculitis occurred in 33.9% of cases of primary vasculitis reviewed and was more frequent in women. The main clinical, hematological, immunological variables and nephropathology and immunosuppressive treatments used findings are described

A phenome-wide comparative analysis of genetic discordance between obesity and type 2 diabetes

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are causally related, yet there is considerable heterogeneity in the consequences of both conditions and the mechanisms of action are poorly defined. Here we show a genetic-driven approach defining two obesity profiles that convey highly concordant and discordant diabetogenic effects. We annotate and then compare association signals for these profiles across clinical and molecular phenotypic layers. Key differences are identified in a wide range of traits, including cardiovascular mortality, fat distribution, liver metabolism, blood pressure, specific lipid fractions and blood levels of proteins involved in extracellular matrix remodelling. We find marginal differences in abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes bacteria in the gut. Instrumental analyses reveal prominent causal roles for waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure and cholesterol content of high-density lipoprotein particles in the development of diabetes in obesity. We prioritize 17 genes from the discordant signature that convey protection against type 2 diabetes in obesity, which may represent logical targets for precision medicine approaches.</p

Atributos químicos e estoque de carbono dos solos com diferentes coberturas vegetais e sistemas tradicionais de uso da terra na região do Alto Solimões - Amazonas.

Com o objetivo de verificar as alterações nos atributos químicos e estoque de carbono dos solos causados pelo manejo realizado por agricultores nas comunidades Guanabara II (G) e Nova Aliança (NA) e na sede do município de Benjamin Constant (BC) na região do Alto Solimões, foram feitas seis grades amostrais (janelas) com cento e poucos abrangendo: floresta primária (FP), floresta secundária (FS > sete anos), florestas secundárias (CAP < sete anos), sistemas agroflorestais (SAF's), roças (RÇ) e pastagens (PAS)