Psychometric properties of the Brief-COPE for the evaluation of coping strategies in the Chilean population

The Brief-COPE is an abbreviated version of the COPE (Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced) Inventory, a self-report questionnaire developed to assess a broad range of coping responses. Currently, it is one of the best validated and most frequently used measures of coping strategies. The aim of this study was to validate a culturally appropriate Chilean version of the Brief-COPE, assess its psychometric properties and construct and congruent validity. The Spanish version of the Brief-COPE was administrated in a community sample of 1847 Chilean adult (60.4% women) exposed to a variety of stressful experiences. The factorial structure of the inventory was examined by comparing four different models found in previous studies in Latin American population. The results of confirmatory factor analyses revealed, as in the original studies, a 14-factor structure of the Brief-COPE. These dimensions showed adequate internal structure and consistency. The factorial invariance comparing women and men confirmed strict invariance. Additionally, the results showed significant correlation between some Brief-COPE scales, such as denial and substance use, with perceived stress and emotional support and active coping with subjective well-being. Overall, the present work offers a valid and reliable tool for assessing coping strategies in the Chilean population.This study was funded by CONICYT/FONDECYT (grant number 1180134) awarded to Felipe E. Garcia

Ultra deep sub-kpc view of nearby massive compact galaxies

Using Gemini North telescope ultra deep and high resolution (sub-kpc) K-band adaptive optics imaging of a sample of 4 nearby (z~0.15) massive (~10^{11}M_sun) compact (R<1.5 kpc) galaxies, we have explored the structural properties of these rare objects with an unprecedented detail. Our surface brightness profiles expand over 12 magnitudes in range allowing us to explore the presence of any faint extended envelope on these objects down to stellar mass densities ~10^{6} M_sun/kpc^{2} at radial distances of ~15 kpc. We find no evidence for any extended faint tail altering the compactness of these galaxies. Our objects are elongated, resembling visually S0 galaxies, and have a central stellar mass density well above the stellar mass densities of objects with similar stellar mass but normal size in the present universe. If these massive compact objects will eventually transform into normal size galaxies, the processes driving this size growth will have to migrate around 2-3x10^{10}M_sun stellar mass from their inner (R<1.7 kpc) region towards their outskirts. Nearby massive compact galaxies share with high-z compact massive galaxies not only their stellar mass, size and velocity dispersion but also the shape of their profiles and the mean age of their stellar populations. This makes these singular galaxies unique laboratories to explore the early stages of the formation of massive galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter. Version revised to match the accepted versio

Sociologia de l’Activitat Física, l’Educació Física i l’Esport. L’estudi de casos una eina útil per a la docència i la recerca.

Aquesta publicació és fruit de l’experiència desenvolupada durant el curs 2015-16 en el marc del Màster d’Activitat Física i Educació en l’assignatura de Sociologia de l’Activitat Física, l’Educació Física i l’Esport. El present treball parteix de l’interès de l’alumnat sobre la seva realitat laboral i professional i es pretén aconseguir tres tipus d’objectius tal com recull Yin (2003) : a) un exploratori, és a dir, que els resultats obtinguts serveixin de base per formular preguntes d’investigació, ja que l’alumnat es troba immers en el desenvolupament del seu treball final de màster; b) un descriptiu doncs l’alumnat es proposa descriure el que passa en un cas particular; c) un explicatiu que facilita la interpretació de la realitat en la qual viuen professionalment i la comparteixen amb el grup. Els nou casos que es proposen són de gran interès i actualitat especialment pel que fa a la docència i la recerca en el camp de l’educació física i esportiva

Equilibri entre la resposta immunitària efectora i reguladora a l'intestí humà sa i inflamat. Relació amb la localització i el tipus de malaltia

[cat] El sistema immune gastrointestinal ha de tenir un equilibri entre les respostes tolerogèniques i proinflamatòries per a mantenir la homeòstasi del sistema. Actualment es desconeixen les possibles diferències en la resposta immunitària entre diferents regions intestinals (ili, colon dret, colon esquerre) en condicions de salut i de malaltia. El primer estudi pretén determinar si hi ha diferències entre diferents àrees del budell sa i si es mantenen o no a la mucosa inflamada. A la mucosa sana es detecta un increment de cèl·lules Th17 i Treg al còlon en comparació amb l'íleum terminal, mentre que no hi ha diferències significatives en el percentatge de cèl·lules Th1. A la mucosa inflamada, els nivells de Th1 i Th17 presenten un patró dependent de malaltia i independent de localització. A la malaltia de Crohn (MC) i la colitis ulcerosa (CU) es detecta un increment de cèl·lules Th17, mentre que només a la MC es demostra un increment de la resposta Th1. Totes les formes d'inflamació intestinal (excepte la colitis infecciosa) presenten un gran increment en els percentatges de Treg, independentment de la localització. Els limfòcits atípics doble positius (DP, + + + + - - CD3 CD4 CD8 ) i doble negatius (DN, CD3 CD4 CD8 ) es comporten de manera especular a la mucosa sana en relació amb la localització: es detecta un increment de DP a l'íleum en comparació amb el còlon, mentre que els limfòcits DN són predominants al colon en vers el budell prim. La inversió en percentatge de DP es manté també a la mucosa inflamada, independentment del tipus de malaltia. Contràriament, s'han detectat patrons específics de malaltia en les cèl·lules DN, que es troben incrementades a la colitis microscòpica i reduïdes a la malaltia de Crohn de còlon. A la mucosa sana es detecta un increment en el percentatge de mort cel·lular per apoptosi que s'incrementa en sentit distal (ílium < colon dret < colon esquerre). Contràriament, totes les formes d'inflamació intestinal de colon (incloent la colitis infecciosa) presenten una davallada en els nivells d'apoptosi en comparació amb la mucosa intestinal sana, mentre que la malaltia de Crohn ileal presenta nivells de mort cel·lular per apoptosi superior a la de la mucosa ileal sana El segon estudi pretén determinar les similituds i les diferències en la resposta immunitària de la mucosa entre les dues formes de colitis microscòpica: colitis col·làgena (CC) i + colitis limfocítica (CL). A la CL s'ha observat un increment de les cèl·lules citotòxiques CD8 i + + una reducció dels limfòcits DP i CD4 . Tot i que la població de limfòcits CD4 total es troba + + reduïda, s'ha detectat un increment selectiu de la població CD4 TCRγδ a la CL. L'expressió gènica de la IL-15 es troba incrementada en la CL. Per contra, la CC no ha mostrat diferències amb els controls sans en cap d'aquests paràmetres. Els nivells de IL-10 es troben incrementats a tots els nivells mesurats (expressió gènica, proteïna total de teixit i secretada a sobrenadant de cultiu). Els nivells de cèl·lules Th1 i Th17 són significativament inferiors als detectats en controls sans, malgrat l'augment d'expressió de gens relacionats amb les vies Th1 i Th17. Per tant la CC i la CL comparteixen alguns mecanismes fisiopatològics però difereixen en altres.[eng] BACKGROUND: There is very limited information regarding region-specific immunological response in human intestine and its deregulation in inflammatory conditions. AIMS: To determine differences in immune compartmentalization between ileum and colon in healthy and inflamed mucosa (inflammatory bowel disease, infectious colitis and microscopic colitis) and to identify similarities and differences between the two forms of microscopic colitis (lymphocytic and collagenous colitis). RESULTS: Healthy colon showed higher percentages of Treg, Th17, and double negative T cells, and lower numbers of double positive T cells compared with ileum. Some but not all region-specific differences were lost in inflammatory conditions. Disease-specific patterns were found: a Th1/Th17 pattern in Crohn's Disease and a Th17 pattern in ulcerative colitis, whereas a reduction in Th1/Th17 was found in microscopic colitis. Double negative T cells were reduced in Crohn's Disease and increased in microscopic colitis. Higher levels of lymphocyte apoptosis were found in healthy colon compared to ileum. All forms of colonic inflammation presented a dramatic decrease in lymphocyte apoptosis compared with healthy colon. By contrast, ileal Crohn’s disease + + showed higher levels of cleaved-Caspase CD3 cells. Lymphocitic colitis + patients had lower numbers of CD4 and double-positive mucosal T + + + lymphocytes, and higher numbers of CD8 and CD4 TCRγδ mucosal T cells, coupled with an increase in Interleukin-15 mRNA levels, compared with controls and collagenous colitis patients. By contrast, an increase in Treg cells and in Interleukin-10 levels (mRNA and protein) was found in both collagenous and lymphocytic colitis compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Immunological differences exist in healthy gastrointestinal tract. Inflammatory processes overwhelm some location-specific differences, whereas others are maintained. Care has to be taken when analyzing immune response in intestinal inflammation, as location-specific differences may be relevant. Collagenous and lymphocytic colitis share some regulatory and effector mechanisms, but differ in others, suggesting that they are two closely related, but independent intestinal disorders

Ametryn removal by Metarhizium brunneum: Biodegradation pathway proposal and metabolic background revealed

Ametryn is a representative of a class of s-triazine herbicides absorbed by plant roots and leaves and characterized as a photosynthesis inhibitor. It is still in use in some countries in the farming of pineapples, soybean, corn, cotton, sugar cane or bananas; however, due to the adverse effects of s-triazine herbicides on living organisms use of these pesticides in the European Union has been banned. In the current study, we characterized the biodegradation of ametryn (100 mg L-1) by entomopathogenic fungal cosmopolite Metarhizium brunneum. Ametryn significantly inhibited the growth and glucose uptake in fungal cultures. The concentration of the xenobiotic drops to 87.75 mg L-1 at the end of culturing and the biodegradation process leads to formation of four metabolites: 2-hydroxy atrazine, ethyl hydroxylated ametryn, S-demethylated ametryn and deethylametryn. Inhibited growth is reflected in the metabolomics data, where significant differences in concentrations of L-proline, gamma-aminobutyric acid, L-glutamine, 4-hydroxyproline, L-glutamic acid, ornithine and L-arginine were observed in the presence of the xenobiotic when compared to control cultures. The metabolomics data demonstrated that the presence of ametryn in the fungal culture induced oxidative stress and serious disruptions of the carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Our results provide deeper insights into the microorganism strategy for xenobiotic biodegradation which may result in future enhancements to ametryn removal by the tested strain.National Science Center, Poland (Project No. 2015/19/B/NZ9/00167

AMI Large Array radio continuum observations of Spitzer c2d small clouds and cores

We perform deep 1.8 cm radio continuum imaging towards thirteen protostellar regions selected from the Spitzer c2d small clouds and cores programme at high resolution (25") in order to detect and quantify the cm-wave emission from deeply embedded young protostars. Within these regions we detect fifteen compact radio sources which we identify as radio protostars including two probable new detections. The sample is in general of low bolometric luminosity and contains several of the newly detected VeLLO sources. We determine the 1.8 cm radio luminosity to bolometric luminosity correlation, L_rad -L_bol, for the sample and discuss the nature of the radio emission in terms of the available sources of ionized gas. We also investigate the L_rad-L_IR correlation and suggest that radio flux density may be used as a proxy for the internal luminosity of low luminosity protostars.Comment: submitted MNRA