Calling for awareness and knowledge: perspectives on religiosity, spirituality and mental health in a religious sample from Portugal (a mixed-methods study)

Recent studies have demonstrated that when suffering or in psychological distress, religious clients tend to recover faster and with better outcomes when mental health professionals (MHPs) seek to integrate their clients' religious beliefs and practices in psychotherapy. As described in the literature and highly-recommended by the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, promotion of an accurate and sensitive integration of a client's religious and spiritual beliefs is implied among MHPs: the awareness of the particularities, the differences and barriers that religious clients might encounter when seeking help; the knowledge and respect of those specific characteristics and needs; and the development of specific competencies. A mixed-methods approach was used to conduct this study, with the aim of understanding the role which religiosity and spirituality play in mental health and the psychotherapeutic processes of religious members and clients in Portugal. Eight focus groups and three in-depth interviews were conducted, with a total of 41 participants. Participants stated their religiosity as vital aspects in their life and reported religious/spiritual practices as their primary coping strategies. They recognised that their religiosity should not be concealed or marginalised in the context of their psychological and/or psychiatric treatment, but revealed apprehensions, dilemmas and barriers prior to disclosure. MHPs and services were seen as a possible source of help, but often as a last resort. Participants who sought professional help overall seemed to be satisfied with the service provided to them, although such treatment was mostly related to symptoms relief. Also, many concerns were shared, among them were both their wish for a religious match/similarity with their MHP, and the perception of a lack of sensibility by their MHP towards religious and spiritual issues. Conclusions and implications for research are provided.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Calling for awareness and knowledge: perspectives on religiosity, spirituality and mental health in a religious sample from Portugal (a mixed-methods study)

Recent studies have demonstrated that when suffering or in psychological distress, religious clients tend to recover faster and with better outcomes when mental health professionals (MHPs) seek to integrate their clients' religious beliefs and practices in psychotherapy. As described in the literature and highly-recommended by the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, promotion of an accurate and sensitive integration of a client's religious and spiritual beliefs is implied among MHPs: the awareness of the particularities, the differences and barriers that religious clients might encounter when seeking help; the knowledge and respect of those specific characteristics and needs; and the development of specific competencies. A mixed-methods approach was used to conduct this study, with the aim of understanding the role which religiosity and spirituality play in mental health and the psychotherapeutic processes of religious members and clients in Portugal. Eight focus groups and three in-depth interviews were conducted, with a total of 41 participants. Participants stated their religiosity as vital aspects in their life and reported religious/spiritual practices as their primary coping strategies. They recognised that their religiosity should not be concealed or marginalised in the context of their psychological and/or psychiatric treatment, but revealed apprehensions, dilemmas and barriers prior to disclosure. MHPs and services were seen as a possible source of help, but often as a last resort. Participants who sought professional help overall seemed to be satisfied with the service provided to them, although such treatment was mostly related to symptoms relief. Also, many concerns were shared, among them were both their wish for a religious match/similarity with their MHP, and the perception of a lack of sensibility by their MHP towards religious and spiritual issues. Conclusions and implications for research are provided.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A call for collaboration: perception of religious and spiritual leaders on mental health (a Portuguese sample)

To assess the relationship and collaborations between mental health professionals and religious and spiritual leaders, eleven representatives of ten different religious affiliations in Portugal participated in this qualitative study. Major findings reported showed that religious leaders perceive themselves as important agents in promoting and preserving their congregants’ mental health, as well as aiding their recovery processes; however this occurs without much referral to or collaboration with mental health professionals. These findings are discussed, as well as why and how a healthy collaboration between mental health professionals and religious leaders can positively impact the psychotherapeutic relationship and clinical outcomes with religious/spiritual clients.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

A Reporter Screen in a Human Haploid Cell Line Identifies CYLD as a Constitutive Inhibitor of NF-κB

The development of forward genetic screens in human haploid cells has the potential to transform our understanding of the genetic basis of cellular processes unique to man. So far, this approach has been limited mostly to the identification of genes that mediate cell death in response to a lethal agent, likely due to the ease with which this phenotype can be observed. Here, we perform the first reporter screen in the near-haploid KBM7 cell line to identify constitutive inhibitors of NF-κB. CYLD was the only currently known negative regulator of NF-κB to be identified, thus uniquely distinguishing this gene. Also identified were three genes with no previous known connection to NF-κB. Our results demonstrate that reporter screens in haploid human cells can be applied to investigate the many complex signaling pathways that converge upon transcription factors

A genome-wide CRISPR screen identifies a restricted set of HIV host dependency factors

Host proteins are essential for HIV entry and replication and can be important nonviral therapeutic targets. Large-scale RNA interference (RNAi)-based screens have identified nearly a thousand candidate host factors, but there is little agreement among studies and few factors have been validated. Here we demonstrate that a genome-wide CRISPR-based screen identifies host factors in a physiologically relevant cell system. We identify five factors, including the HIV co-receptors CD4 and CCR5, that are required for HIV infection yet are dispensable for cellular proliferation and viability. Tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase 2 (TPST2) and solute carrier family 35 member B2 (SLC35B2) function in a common pathway to sulfate CCR5 on extracellular tyrosine residues, facilitating CCR5 recognition by the HIV envelope. Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM) mediates cell aggregation, which is required for cell-to-cell HIV transmission. We validated these pathways in primary human CD4 + T cells through Cas9-mediated knockout and antibody blockade. Our findings indicate that HIV infection and replication rely on a limited set of host-dispensable genes and suggest that these pathways can be studied for therapeutic intervention

Impact of the insulin and glucose content of the postoperative fluid on the outcome after pediatric cardiac surgery

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the insulin and glucose content of the maintenance fluid in influencing the outcomes of pediatric patients undergoing heart surgery. METHODS: A total of 2063 consecutive pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery were screened between 2003 and 2008. A dextrose and an insulin propensity-matched group were constructed. In the dextrose model, 5% and 10% dextrose maintenance infusions were compared below 20 kg of weight. RESULTS: A total of 171 and 298 pairs of patients were matched in the insulin and glucose model, respectively. Mortality was lower in the insulin group (12.9% vs. 7%, p = 0.049). The insulin group had longer intensive care unit (ICU) stay [days, 10.9 (5.8–18.4) vs. 13.7 (8.2–21), p = 0.003], hospital stay [days, 19.8 (13.6–26.6) vs. 22.7 (17.6–29.7), p < 0.01], duration of mechanical ventilation [hours, 67 (19–140) vs. 107 (45–176), p = 0.006], and the incidence of severe infections (18.1% vs. 28.7%, p = 0.01) and dialysis (11.7% vs. 24%, p = 0.001) was higher. In the dextrose model, the incidence of pulmonary complications (13.09% vs. 22.5%, p < 0.01), low cardiac output (17.11% vs. 30.9%, p < 0.01), and severe infections (10.07% vs. 20.5%, p < 0.01) was higher, and the duration of the hospital stay [days, 16.4 (13.1–21.6) vs. 18.1 (13.8–24.6), p < 0.01] was longer in the 10% dextrose group. CONCLUSIONS: Insulin treatment appeared to decrease mortality, and lower glucose content was associated with lower occurrence of adverse events

Extraspinal articular tuberculosis: An 11-year retrospective study of demographic features and clinical outcomes in East London

OBJECTIVES: To describe demographic features, clinical outcomes and diagnostic delay amongst patients with extra-spinal articular tuberculosis (TB) in a low-incidence setting. METHODS: Cases of TB treated at our institution between 2004 and 2014 were identified via the London TB register (LTBR). Demographic features of extra-spinal articular TB cases were compared to controls with TB at all other sites. For articular cases (excluding individuals <16 years or with spinal TB without peripheral joint involvement) clinical data were retrospectively collected. RESULTS: 6,146 TB patients were identified over the study period; 146 (2.4%) cases had extra-spinal articular infection. There was no difference in median age between extra-spinal articular TB cases and controls with TB at other sites (31 vs 32 years, p = 0.57). Articular cases were more likely to be male (70.6% vs 59.5%, p = 0.007), Bangladeshi (28.7% vs 18.0%) or Pakistani (24.0% vs 16.1%) and were less likely to be Black-African (9.5% vs 19.8%) (p < 0.001). 93 cases were included in the case series; 85 (88.5%) were migrants and 83 (89.2%) were South Asian. Knee and elbow joints were affected in 22 (23.7%) and 18 (19.4%) cases respectively. The median durations of pre-healthcare and healthcare associated delay were 16 and 6 weeks respectively. Where mycobacterial culture was performed, 57/75 (76%) were positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. 86 (92.5%) cases received standard quadruple therapy for a median of 6 months (IQR 6–9). Recurrence of TB infection occurred in 4 (4.3%) cases and there were no TB related deaths. Seven (7.6%) cases required surgical intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Extra-spinal articular TB more commonly affected men and people of South Asian ethnicity. Significant diagnostic delays were identified, including avoidable healthcare-associated delays

Ultraconserved Elements in the Olig2 Promoter

. basal promoter and found that it represses expression in undifferentiated embryonic stem cells. expression during development

Diversity of 23S rRNA Genes within Individual Prokaryotic Genomes

The concept of ribosomal constraints on rRNA genes is deduced primarily based on the comparison of consensus rRNA sequences between closely related species, but recent advances in whole-genome sequencing allow evaluation of this concept within organisms with multiple rRNA operons. was the only species in which intragenomic diversity >3% was observed among 4 paralogous 23S rRNA genes.These findings indicate tight ribosomal constraints on individual 23S rRNA genes within a genome. Although classification using primary 23S rRNA sequences could be erroneous, significant diversity among paralogous 23S rRNA genes was observed only once in the 184 species analyzed, indicating little overall impact on the mainstream of 23S rRNA gene-based prokaryotic taxonomy