Building Teams from a Distance

[Excerpt] Virtual teams are comprised of individuals that are separated geographically or organizationally and that rely primarily on technology to complete tasks (Powell, Piccoli & Ives, 2004). This work arrangement has been found to be advantageous for many firms because it reduces the costs and time associated with employee travel. It also permits organizations to attract and retain top talent because workplace flexibility is increasingly seen as a crucial aspect of job satisfaction for many employees (Bergiel, Bergiel & Balsmeier, 2008). Virtual teams are also valuable to many businesses because team members commonly focus their interests on tasks instead of shared social or cultural environments, which often impact the dynamic within conventional teams (Hamilton & Scandura, 2003). This fosters a working environment that encourages innovation and decreases discrimination by hierarchy, employee impairments, race or age because productivity is more important than other characteristics (Bergiel et al., 2008). While virtual teams have many advantages, they frequently struggle to establish a strong sense of trust between individuals, frequent team member intercommunication, and effective leadership; all of which are necessary for team success

Increasing the digital repository of DNA barcoding sequences of sand flies (Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)

Sand f ly identification is complex because it depends on the expertise of the taxonomist. The females show subtle morphological differences and the occurrence of the species complexes are usual in this taxon. Therefore, a fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene is used for taxon barcoding to resolve this kind of problem. This study incorporates barcode sequences, for the first time, for Evandromyia cortelezzii and Migonemyia migonei from Argentina. The nucleotide sequence divergences were estimated to generate a neighbour-joining (NJ) tree. The automatic barcode gap discovery (ABGD) approach was employed to find the barcode gaps and the operational taxonomic unit (OTU) delimitation. Other species of the subtribe were included. The frequency histogram of divergences showed a barcoding gap. The ABGD analysis identified 14 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from 13 morphological species. Sequences of Ev. cortelezzii and Mg. migonei formed well supported clusters and were diagnosed as primary species. These sequences are useful tools for molecular identification of the sand f lies of the New World.Fil: Laurito, Magdalena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones Entomológicas de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Ontivero, Iliana Mayra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones Entomológicas de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Almiron, Walter Ricardo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones Entomológicas de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentin

Neurofibromatosis type 1: Splicing mutation detected by MLPA and DNA sequencing in Argentina

La neurofibromatosis tipo 1 (NF1) es un desorden genético autosómico dominante, con una prevalenciade 1 en 2500-3000 nacidos vivos. La dificultad diagnóstica se debe al tamaño extenso delgen NF1 con pocos sitios hot-spot, la ausencia de una clara relación genotipo-fenotipo y rasgos clínicos conun espectro muy heterogéneo. Un caso sospechoso de NF1 procedente de la provincia de Jujuy fue analizadopor MLPA (multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification) en nuestro laboratorio. Mujer, adolescente mestiza(Amerindia/Europea), con un osteoma maxilar, lordosis lumbar, neurofibromas cutáneos y manchas café conleche. Por MLPA se detectó una alteración en el exón 13 del gen NF1. Por secuenciación del exón 13 se identificóuna mutación ?missense? en la posición 1466 del ARNm (NM_000267.3:c.1466A>G) que introduce un sitio desplicing aberrante. La patogenicidad de la mutación fue corroborada en la base de datos de variantes clínicasdel National Center for Biotechnology Information. En nuestro conocimiento, este es el primer registro de unamutación NF1 en un paciente proveniente de poblaciones mestizas del Noroeste Argentino. La alteración hasido reportada en individuos de otras poblaciones de origen muy disímil al del caso presentado, como la europea,sugiriendo que el sitio podría considerarse un sitio hot-spot del gen. Donde exista baja disponibilidad dediagnósticos moleculares, como en nuestro caso, se puede aplicar un algoritmo que comience por el estudio delgen NF1 por MLPA, metodología relativamente sencilla y de costo accesible. Con ella se evita enviar muestrasal extranjero para análisis genéticos.Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a dominant autosomic genetic disorder, with a birth incidence of 1 in 2500-3000. Diagnosis is difficult because of the size of gene NF1 that has few hot-spots sites, the absence of a clear genotype-phenotype relation, and a heterogeneous clinical manifestation. A NF1 suspected case from Jujuy province was analyzed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). Mestizo female teenage (Amerindian/European), with a maxilar osteoma, lumbar lordosis, cutaneous neurofibromas and café au lait spots. MLPA detected an alteration in exon 13 of the NF1 gene. By sequencing of exon 13, a missense mutation (NM_000267.3:c.1466A>G) was found which introduces an aberrant splicing site and is registered as pathogenic in the clinical variants database of NCBI. As far as we are aware, this is the first report of a NF1 mutation in mestizo population of Northwest Argentina. 1466A>G has been described before in patients of European origin, suggesting that the affected site could be a hot-spot site of the gene. For countries as Argentina, with limited availability of molecular diagnostic methods, we propose a diagnosis algorithm by starting the mutational analysis of NF1 with MLPA. This methodology is relatively simple and of low cost, avoiding to send samples abroad for genetic analyses.Fil: Laurito, Sergio Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Cienicas Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; ArgentinaFil: Dipierri, Jose Edgardo. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Instituto de Biología de la Altura; ArgentinaFil: Roqué, María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Cienicas Médicas. Instituto de Histología y Embriología de Mendoza Dr. Mario H. Burgos; Argentin

Detection of a Williams Beuren syndrome case by MLPA.

El síndrome de Williams-Beuren (WBS) es un trastorno del desarrollo neurológico que incluye diferentes manifestaciones clínicas como estenosis aórtica supravalvular, lesiones cerebrovasculares, retraso en el crecimiento, rasgos faciales "élficos" y retraso mental. Es causado por una microdeleción heterocigótica de genes contiguos en la banda cromosómica 7q11.23, generando un cambio en el número de copias (CNV) de esta región crítica. Los pacientes presentan una amplia manifestación clínica y variada expresión fenotípica. La confirmación de la sospecha clínica es esencial para el seguimiento clínico del paciente y el asesoramiento genético de la familia. La técnica estándar para la detección de WBS es la hibridización fluorescente in situ. En los últimos años la metodología MLPA (Multiplex Ligation dependent Probe Amplification) ha sido incorporada a los laboratorios diagnósticos para la detección de CNV relacionados con distintas enfermedades, incluyendo WBS. El objetivo de este trabajo fue confirmar el diagnóstico clínico de WBS en un niño, utilizando la técnica de MLPA. Los ensayos por MLPA permitieron detectar la deleción de los genes CYLN2, FZD9, STX1A, ELN, LIMK1y RFC2. En regiones geográficas donde la determinación por FISH (Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization) no está disponible para esta enfermedad, la metodología MLPA ha permitido confirmar el diagnóstico clínico y detectar los genes involucrados en la alteración. Hasta nuestro conocimiento no hay otros casos publicados sobre síndrome de WB detectado por la técnica MLPA en la ArgentinaDetection of a Williams Beuren syndrome case by MLPA. Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a rare developmental disorder characterized by distinctive facial, neurobehavioral, and cardiovas- cular features. WBS is caused by a heterozygous contiguous gene microdeletion of the WBS crítical region on chromosome 7q11.23. Confirmation of clinical suspicion is essential for clinical monitoring of the patient and genetic counseling of the family. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is considered the gold standard technique for detecting WBS. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) has been introduced into DNA diagnostic laboratories for the detection of copy number variations in several diseases including WBS. The objective of this study was to confirm, by MLPA, the clinical diagnosis of WBS in a pediatric patient. This technique allowed to detect the deletion of CYLN2, FZD9, STX1A, ELN, LIMK1 and RFC2 genes. In geographic regions were the detection by FISH is not available for this disease, the MLPA methodology allowed to confirm the clinic diagnostic of WBS. To our knowledge this is the first report demonstrating the confirmation of WBS by MLPA in Argentina.Fil: Laurito, Sergio Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Histologia y Embriologia de Mendoza; Argentina;Fil: Branham, Maria Teresita. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Histologia y Embriologia de Mendoza; Argentina;Fil: Herrero, Gustavo. Pediátrica San Luis Centro Médico Privado; Argentina;Fil: Marsá, Silvana. Pediátrica San Luis Centro Médico Privado; Argentina;Fil: Garro, Fernanda. Pediátrica San Luis Centro Médico Privado; Argentina;Fil: Roque Moreno, Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Mendoza. Instituto Histologia y Embriologia de Mendoza; Argentina

New records of mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae) from Catamarca and Santa Fe provinces, Argentina

RESUMEN. Se extiende la distribución geográfica de Culex acharistus, C. bidens, C. chidesteri, C. dolosus, C. interfor, C. maxi, C. saltanensis y Ochlerotatus scapu- laris, incrementando el número de especies de mosquitos citadas de las provincias de Catamarca, de 14 a 20, y de Santa Fe, de 57 a 59.ABSTRACT. The geographical distribution of Culex acharistus, C. bidens, C. chidesteri, C. dolosus, C. interfor, C. maxi, C. saltanensis and Ochlerotatus scapu- laris is extended, increasing the number of mosquito species in the provinces of Catamarca, from 14 to 20, and Santa Fe, from 57 to 59.Fil: Laurito, Magdalena. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Centro de Invest.Entomologicas de Cba; Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnol.conicet - Cordoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biologicas y Tecnologicas, Argentina;Fil: Visintin, Andrés Mario. Universidad Nacional de la Rioja; Argentina;Fil: Lorenzo, Pablo R.. Universidad Nacional de la Rioja; Argentina;Fil: Berrón, Clara Inés. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Virología; Argentina;Fil: Diez, Natalia. Universidad Nacional del Litoral; Argentina;Fil: Almiron, Walter Ricardo. Consejo Nacional de Invest.cientif.y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnol.conicet - Cordoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biologicas y Tecnologicas, Argentina

Aberrant DNA methylation in breast cancer cells

The epigenome is regulated by a large number of macromolecular machines that are dynamically involved in various processes, including DNA methylation, histone modification and non-coding RNA signals, all of them working together to regulate the proper expression of the genome. Thus, in contrast with the genome, whose sequence is carefully conserved during cell life, the epigenome is highly dynamic. The epigenomic modifications are acquired during normal cell differentiation, replicated during mitosis and passed to daughter cells. A fundamental epigenetic attribute is that this plasticity occurs in response to environmental signals. It is therefore now accepted that the environment influences modifications in the cellular transcriptome through the epigenome. In developmental and evolutionary terms, the regulation of gene expression through epigenomic modifications is an advantageous shortcut and a highly conserved mechanism. However, it implies an increased risk for misregulation, as, for example, aberrant epigenomic modifications associate with the development of different human diseases, i.e. lupus, asthma, neurological diseases and cancer. Although epigenetic alterations in breast cancer have been deeply studied and discussed in the last decades, apparently contradictory results are yet often observed. Consequently, in this review, we will briefly discuss the latest findings of aberrant DNA methylation in breast tumorigenesis. Emphasis will be given to the discussion of the idea that different environments could explain paradoxical biological and pathobiological behaviors in individual patients and thus should be taken into consideration for the design and implementation of diagnosis, prognosis and predictive biomarkers.Fil: Campoy, Emanuel Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Mendoza. Instituto Histologia y Embriologia de Mendoza "Dr. M. Burgos"; ArgentinaFil: Laurito, Sergio Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Mendoza. Instituto Histologia y Embriologia de Mendoza "Dr. M. Burgos"; ArgentinaFil: Urrutia, Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Mendoza. Instituto Histologia y Embriologia de Mendoza "Dr. M. Burgos"; ArgentinaFil: Branham, Maria Teresita. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Mendoza. Instituto Histologia y Embriologia de Mendoza "Dr. M. Burgos"; ArgentinaFil: Roque Moreno, Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Mendoza. Instituto Histologia y Embriologia de Mendoza "Dr. M. Burgos"; Argentin

Repeated exposure to urban violence harms the academic performance of New York City school children

How does exposure to violence in children’s local neighborhoods affect how they perform at school? In new research Agustina Laurito uses student-level data from New York City to investigate how exposure to violence affects students’ test performances. She finds that the students who live in the most violent neighborhoods do become sensitized to violence and that their academic performance suffers as a result

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy for DeafBlind Individuals with Progressive Vision Loss

Deafblind individuals with progressive visual conditions are presented with the challenge of adjusting to the gradual loss of sight over time and the social, psychological, environmental, and communicative implications relative to that process. Mental health treatment for these individuals is not widely researched due to the lack of homogeneity in the deafblind population; therefore, exploratory studies are necessary. Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is an evidence-based treatment that has successfully addressed a range of symptoms in many psychological and medical diagnoses but has not been researched with individuals who are deafblind. In this multiple baseline design study, the researcher delivered a six-week REBT intervention to investigate its effect on symptoms of emotional distress, rational/irrational beliefs, and acceptance and adjustment towards vision loss. The study occurred during a global pandemic (COVID-19) and was therefore conducted via telehealth. The intervention resulted in improvement for two out of the three participants, with little improvement observed in the one participant likely due to confounding variables outside of the study’s control. Additionally, results were maintained one month after the intervention was completed. These findings contribute to the research on REBT and support the need for more research using REBT with individuals who are deafblind

Acute effect of extensors knee unilateral on leg extension machine with and without stimulation on the vibrating platform

INTRODUCTION: A great number of studies have been conducted lately concerning the use of mechanical vibration as part of the training for improvement of physical conditioning. However, the majority of these studies have evaluated the effects of the exercises joined with the vibrating training in order to determine if there was post-training improvement, and did not evaluate the effects of both vibrating and non-vibrating platform exercises. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the acute effect of exercise on the knee extensors, with and without the stimulus of the vibrating platform. METHODS: Thirty male active individuals, with age range between 18 and 45 years, randomly conducted three protocols: with the platform on (POG), the platform off (POFFG) and control group (CG). Each protocol began with a five minute warm-up on the ergonomic bicycle, with loads ranging from 75 to 100 watts and 70 rotations per minute, followed by six sets of 10 unilateral squats with one minute of pause between them, with or without mechanical vibrating, and finished with the Work Test, performed only on the dominant leg for determination of the physical valences: work, strength, power and speed. RESULTS: Only the variable speed has presented statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) when the platform on was compared to the control. CONCLUSION: The training on the vibration platform had no influence on the work or muscle power variables, but it exerted negative influence on the movement velocity causing fatigue in the quadriceps muscles.INTRODUÇÃO: Nos últimos anos muitos estudos foram feitos com o objetivo de avaliar a utilização da vibração mecânica como parte de treinamento para melhora do condicionamento físico. Entretanto, a maioria avaliou os efeitos dos exercícios em conjunto com o treinamento vibratório para determinar se havia melhora após o treinamento, sem avaliar os efeitos dos exercícios realizados na plataforma com e sem vibração. OBJETIVO: Avaliar o efeito agudo do exercício nos extensores do joelho, com e sem o estímulo da plataforma vibratória. MÉTODOS: Trinta indivíduos ativos, do sexo masculino, com idades entre 18 e 45 anos, realizaram, de forma randomizada, três protocolos: grupo plataforma ligada (GPL), grupo plataforma desligada (GPD) e grupo controle (GC). Cada protocolo começava com aquecimento de cinco minutos em bicicleta ergométrica, com carga entre 75 e 100 watts e 70 rotações por minuto, seguido por seis séries de 10 movimentos de agachamento unilateral com intervalo de um minuto entre elas, com ou sem vibração mecânica, e terminava com o Work Test, realizado apenas no membro inferior dominante para determinação das valências físicas: trabalho, força, potência e velocidade. O grupo controle realizou apenas o Work Test após o aquecimento. RESULTADOS: Apenas a variável velocidade apresentou diferença estatisticamente significante (p < 0,05) quando comparado o GPL ao GC. CONCLUSÃO: O estímulo na plataforma vibratória não exerceu influência nas variáveis trabalho e potência dos extensores do joelho unilateral, mas, na velocidade do movimento, exerceu influência negativa causando fadiga.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Centro de Medicina da Atividade Física e do EsporteUnifieo Fundação Instituto de Ensino para OsascoUNIFESP, Centro de Medicina da Atividade Física e do EsporteSciEL

Wellness Wednesday: Community Nutrition Education

Wellness Wednesday is a interdisciplinary health education program for residents of the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority (AMHA) funded by the Area Health Education Center. The program aims to provide knowledge and resources to support healthy lifestyles within an underserved population. An original nutrition education curriculum has been developed as part of this program. Group activities, cooking demonstrations, and education materials have been integrated into the curriculum. The topics for discussion were determined by the residents; therefor presentations were catered to specific concerns of the population. The materials have been presented at three different AMHA buildings each month for six total months. At the end of each presentation, residents evaluated their experience using a questionnaire survey. The final product of this project is a nutrition education curriculum that can be utilized for future dietetics students working within the community. In all, the Wellness Wednesday education program has shown the potential to impact the health and lifestyles of Akron community members and guide them towards healthier lives