Experimentació amb eina d'àudio i vídeo a la carta i arxiu multidocumental en entorn web

L'objectiu d'aquest pràcticum és treballar amb una eina d'edició i catalogació remota de vídeos accessible via internet. L'eina ha estat desenvolupada per l'empresa Vision Robotics. La memòria reflecteix les experiències viscudes a través del treball amb aquesta eina i analitza les possibilitats de millora, les potencialitats de l'eina a més d'afegir unes reflexions finals de l'eina en general.

A Carbon Tax for Ireland

The Programme for Government 2007-2012 states that '[a]ppropriate fiscal instruments, including a carbon levy, will be phased in on a revenue-neutral basis over the lifetime of this Government.' The terms of reference of the Commission on Taxation repeats the commitment to introduce measures to further lower carbon emissions and to phase in on a revenue neutral basis appropriate fiscal measures including a carbon levy over the lifetime of the Government and invites the Commission to [i]nvestigate fiscal measures to protect and enhance the environment including the introduction of a carbon tax. This paper presents thoughts and considerations about such a carbon tax. It discusses selected design issues, and presents a preliminary impact assessment for what the authors think is a reasonable design. More specifically, It addresses ten questions: 1. Why impose a carbon tax? 2. What level should the tax be? 3. Who should be taxed? 4. What is the expected revenue? 5. What to do with the revenue? 6. What are the macro-economic implications? 7. What are the effects on emissions? 8. What are the effects on income distribution? 9. How to tax internationally traded goods and services? 10. What about fuel tourism? On some of these questions, it presents arguments and evidence. Other questions call for further research. Aspects of some questions can only be answered by the Dail �ireann.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Psychosis with coexisting substance misuse: assessment and management in adults and young people.

This guideline offers best practice advice on the assessment and management of people with psychosis and coexisting substance misuse. Psychosis is a condition that affects a person’s mental state, including their thoughts, mood and behaviour. The symptoms of psychosis are:• hallucinations – hearing voices and sometimes seeing things that are not really there• delusions – having fixed beliefs that are false but which the person believes in completely. Substance misuse is a broad term encompassing, in this guideline, the harmful use of any psychotropic substance, including alcohol and either legal or illicit drugs. Use of such substances is harmful when it has a negative effect on a person’s life, including their physical and mental health, relationships, work, education and finances or leads to offending behaviour.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Cognitive behavioural therapy leaflet.

This leaflet is for anyone who wants to know more about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).It discusses how it works, why it is used, its effects, its side-effects, and alternative treatments. If you can't find what you want here, there are sources of further information at the end of this leaflet. What is CBT? It is a way of talking about: ï,§ how you think about yourself, the world and other people ï,§ how what you do affects your thoughts and feelings. CBT can help you to change how you think ('Cognitive') and what you do ('Behaviour'). These changes can help you to feel better. Unlike some of the other talking treatments, it focuses on the 'here and now' problems and difficulties. Instead of focusing on the causes of your distress or symptoms in the past, it looks for ways to improve your state of mind now. When does CBT help? CBT has been shown to help with many different types of problems. These include: anxiety, depression, panic, phobias (including agoraphobia and social phobia), stress, bulimia, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and psychosis. CBT may also help if you have difficulties with anger, a low opinion of yourself or physical health problems, like pain or fatigue. How does it work? CBT can help you to make sense of overwhelming problems by breaking them down into smaller parts. This makes it easier to see how they are connected and how they affect you. These parts are: ï,§ A Situation - a problem, event or difficult situation. From this can follow: ï,§ Thoughts ï,§ Emotions ï,§ Physical feelings ï,§ Actions Each of these areas can affect the others. How you think about a problem can affect how you feel physically and emotionally. All these areas of life can connect like this: {5 Areas - click related link below} What happens in one of these areas can affect all the others. There are helpful and unhelpful ways of reacting to most situations, depending on how you think about it. The way you think can be helpful - or unhelpful. An example: If you go home feeling depressed, you'll probably brood on what has happened and feel worse. If you get in touch with the other person, there's a good chance you'll feel better about yourself. If you avoid the other person, you won't be able to correct any misunderstandings about what they think of you - and you will probably feel worse. This 'vicious circle' can make you feel worse. It can even create new situations that make you feel worse. You can start to believe quite unrealistic (and unpleasant) things about yourself. This happens because, when we are distressed, we are more likely to jump to conclusions and to interpret things in extreme and unhelpful ways. CBT can help you to break this vicious circle of altered thinking, feelings and behaviour. When you see the parts of the sequence clearly, you can change them - and so change the way you feel. CBT aims to get you to a point where you can 'do it yourself', and work out your own ways of tackling these problems. [For full factsheet â?" click on link above]This resource was contributed by the National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Expansion of host range as a driving force in the evolution of Toxoplasma

The apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is unusual in being able to infect almost any cell from almost any warm-blooded animal it encounters. This extraordinary host-range contrasts with its far more particular cousins such as the various species of the malaria parasite Plasmodium where each species of parasite has a single genus or even species of host that it can infect. Genetic and genomic studies have revealed a key role for a number of gene families in how Toxoplasma invades a host cell, modulates gene expression of that cell and successfully evades the resulting immune response. In this review, I will explore the hypothesis that a combination of sexual recombination and expansion of host range may be the major driving forces in the evolution of some of these gene families and the specific genes they encompass. These ideas stem from results and thoughts published by several labs in the last few years but especially recent papers on the role of different forms of rhoptry proteins in the relative virulence of F1 Toxoplasma progeny in a particular host species (mice).

La palce de la spiritualité dans les soins infirmiers: une revue de littérature [The role of spirituality in nursing care: a literature review].

Spirituality addresses the need to give meaning to life events and is characterized by the relationship with oneself, others and the universe. This article aims to provide an overview of the empirical knowledge, and the prevailing thoughts about spirituality in nursing and suggest perspectives for future directions. The literature review was conducted using the main databases; 36 articles, published between 2008-2013, were selected. The themes covered include the definitions of the spirituality, the spiritual care and the spiritual well-being. Spirituality differs from, yet is not opposed to religion and takes different forms in multicultural and secular societies. Cancer incites existential questions and impacts quality of life, and spiritual well-being is recognized as a good indicator of quality of life for people living with cancer. Professional caregivers are concerned about the needs and spiritual well-being of their patients and often consider interventions to address them. This article reflects the depth of thought and research in nursing and touches on both discipline-specific and interdisciplinary issues.

Reaching for the Holy Grail: insights from infection/cure models on the prospects for vaccines for Trypanosoma cruziinfection

Prevention of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in mammals likely depends on either prevention of the invading trypomastigotes from infecting host cells or the rapid recognition and killing of the newly infected cells byT. cruzi-specific T cells. We show here that multiple rounds of infection and cure (by drug therapy) fails to protect mice from reinfection, despite the generation of potent T cell responses. This disappointing result is similar to that obtained with many other vaccine protocols used in attempts to protect animals from T. cruziinfection. We have previously shown that immune recognition ofT. cruziinfection is significantly delayed both at the systemic level and at the level of the infected host cell. The systemic delay appears to be the result of a stealth infection process that fails to trigger substantial innate recognition mechanisms while the delay at the cellular level is related to the immunodominance of highly variable gene family proteins, in particular those of the trans-sialidase family. Here we discuss how these previous studies and the new findings herein impact our thoughts on the potential of prophylactic vaccination to serve a productive role in the prevention of T. cruziinfection and Chagas disease.

Schizotypy : do not worry, it is not all worrisome

A long-standing tradition in personality research in psychology, and nowadays increasingly in psychiatry, is that psychotic and psychotic-like thoughts are considered common experiences in the general population. Given their widespread occurrence, such experiences cannot merely reflect pathological functioning. Moreover, reflecting the multi-dimensionality of schizotypy, some dimensions might be informative for healthy functioning while others less so. Here, we explored these possibilities by reviewing research that links schizotypy to favourable functioning such as subjective wellbeing, cognitive functioning (major focus on creativity) and personality correlates. This research highlights the existence of healthy people with psychotic-like traits who mainly experience positive schizotypy (but also affective features mapping onto bipolar disorder). These individuals seem to benefit from a healthy way to organise their thoughts and experiences, i.e. they employ an adaptive cognitive framework to explain and integrate their unusual experiences. We conclude that, instead of focussing only on the pathological, future studies should explore the behavioural, genetic, imaging and psychopharmacological correlates that define the healthy expression of psychotic-like traits. Such studies would inform on protective or compensatory mechanisms of psychosis-risk and could usefully inform us on the evolutionary advantages of the psychosis dimension.

Questioni di pulizia: rappresentazioni e valori

In the framework of social representation, this research explores how the concept of cleanness does not refer solely to individual hygienic praxes and thoughts, but it is also linked to social and cultural aspects. In this way, the definitions of what is dirty and what is clean, what is pure and what is impure, are linked to social discrimination attitudes, based for example on the fear for contamination. Our general hypothesis is that the representations of dirt/cleanness and purity/impurity define ideas and praxes linked to personal hygiene, but refer also to the way people interact with the world and the others. Hence, we hypothesize that the representations of dirt/cleanness and purity/impurity are linked to values and political and religious orientations. A questionnaire with closed-answer questions and a free association task were distributed to 450 subjects. Results show how, in effects, the concepts of dirt/cleanness, purity/ impurity skip from their daily praxis connotations and assume a symbolic function for discriminating between individuals and social groups.

Genetic relationships between suicide attempts, suicidal ideation and major psychiatric disorders: A genome-wide association and polygenic scoring study.

Epidemiological studies have recognized a genetic diathesis for suicidal behavior, which is independent of other psychiatric disorders. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on suicide attempt (SA) and ideation have failed to identify specific genetic variants. Here, we conduct further GWAS and for the first time, use polygenic score analysis in cohorts of patients with mood disorders, to test for common genetic variants for mood disorders and suicide phenotypes. Genome-wide studies for SA were conducted in the RADIANT and GSK-Munich recurrent depression samples and London Bipolar Affective Disorder Case-Control Study (BACCs) then meta-analysis was performed. A GWAS on suicidal ideation during antidepressant treatment had previously been conducted in the Genome Based Therapeutic Drugs for Depression (GENDEP) study. We derived polygenic scores from each sample and tested their ability to predict SA in the mood disorder cohorts or ideation status in the GENDEP study. Polygenic scores for major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium were used to investigate pleiotropy between psychiatric disorders and suicide phenotypes. No significant evidence for association was detected at any SNP in GWAS or meta-analysis. Polygenic scores for major depressive disorder significantly predicted suicidal ideation in the GENDEP pharmacogenetics study and also predicted SA in a combined validation dataset. Polygenic scores for SA showed no predictive ability for suicidal ideation. Polygenic score analysis suggests pleiotropy between psychiatric disorders and suicidal ideation whereas the tendency to act on such thoughts may have a partially independent genetic diathesis. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Factors psicosocials associats a Inexperiència de dolor crònic en adolescents

El dolor crònic pediàtric és un problema molt important. Malgrat que la informació disponible és molt menor que en adults, els informes publicats no deixen lloc a cap mena de dubte. Per una banda els treballs epidemiològics realitzats en la població general mostren que els problemes de dolor crònic són habituals entre la població infantil i adolescent, mentre que, per una altra, els estudis fets amb població clínica apunten que el dolor crònic pediàtric és causa important de desajust social i un dels problemes que més perjudiquen la qualitat de vida dels nens, i dels seus familiars, a tots els nivells. L’objectiu fonamental d’aquest treball era avançar en el oneixement dels factors psicosocials relacionats amb l’experiència del dolor crònic, de manera que a llarg termini aquesta informació ens permetés plantejar i contrastar programes de prevenció secundària pel dolor i la discapacitat crònics. Han participat un total de 92 joves amb edats compreses entre els 14 i 16 anys (79% de resposta positiva), dels quals el 64.2% eren noies. Majoritàriament experimentaven problemes de dolor abdominal. Els resultats han mostrat que, en efecte, els adolescents amb dolor crònic (dolor igual o superior a tres mesos) tenenuna pitjor qualitat de vida que els nois d’edat semblant però sense problemes crònics de dolor. Específicament, destaquen d’entre els factors estudiats: els pensaments catastròfics, l’estat afectiu, i certes actituds i alguns tipus d’estratègies d’afrontament dels nens. Les reaccions dels pares davant la conducta de dolor dels seus fills també resulta ser un factor de risc que cal considerar: les conductes dels pares tendents a minimitzar el problema estaven relacionades significativament amb el dolor i la discapacitat dels seus fills/es.

Quality of life transformations before and after kidney transplantation: A prospective qualitative study.

The aim of this IRB-approved study was to analyze prospectively quality of life (QOL) and psychological changes in 30 ESRD patients before and after kidney transplantation (KT). Semi-structured interviews were conducted after inclusion on the waiting list (A). Follow-up interviews were performed 6 months later with patients still awaiting KT (B6, n= 15), and with transplant recipients 6, 12 and 24 months after KT (C6, n=15; C12, n=15; C24, n=14). Qualitative thematic analysis was performed. A: All patients reported loss of freedom, 87% tried to maintain normality; 57% modified medical directives. All mentioned emotional fragility, negative thoughts (43%), and suicidal thoughts (20%) related to loss of QOL from dialysis (D), and professional tension (26%). B6: 40% reported no change compared to baseline, while 60% mentioned increase of illness intrusiveness, 46% D side effects, 40% communication problems, and 33% concerns about the waiting list handling. Fear of emotional breakdown (40%), couple problems (47%), and worsened professional difficulties (20%) were reported. C6: All patients reported recovery of QOL and concerns about acute rejection. 73% were anxious about laboratory results. 93% felt dependent on immunosuppressants (IS), 47% reported difficulties coping with their regimen, and 47% were concerned about side effects; 67% had resumed work, but medical constraints led 40% to professional stigmatization. C12: All enjoyed good QOL. Adherence to IS was mandatory (100%). All were aware of the limited long-term graft survival and 47% anxious about a possible return to D. 60% underlined positive life value; 47% resumed a full time job; 40% were on social security. C24: Good QOL was underlined (86%). Patients stated they would prefer re-TX to resuming D (71%). Post-TX health problems were mentioned (64%); increase of creatinine levels induced fear (36%). 79% complained about side effects. 64% reported changes in life values. This study reveals positive QOL and psychological transformations after KT, which are associated with positive changes related to graft survival and freedom from D. Psychological follow-up should be offered to patients who face relapsing ESRD or post-TX co-morbidities.

The history and role of long duration stimulation in fMRI.

During the past 20 years, BOLD fMRI has developed towards a central and fundamental tool in neuroscience. It has been shown that the BOLD response provides an indicator of neuronal activity in the brain. Consequently, for an accurate interpretation of findings in BOLD MRI experiments and to draw meaningful conclusions about the temporal evolution of neural events, a deep understanding of the nature of the BOLD contrast has become of essential importance. Since the dynamics of the major direct determinants of the BOLD signal (CBF, CBV and CMRO(2)) range between seconds and minutes, long duration stimulation was an early key strategy needed to study and understand the BOLD characteristics. This paper summarizes and discusses the thoughts and rationales of the long duration stimulation studies.

“IF ONLY I COULD�? ~ “THERE IS ALWAYS A LOOPHOLE"? Hope and hopelessness experienced by the severely depressive and nondepressive

The aim of this research was to structure a conceptual model of hope and hopelessness based on dictionary definitions, and to verify this model on the basis of the experiences of the severely depressive and non-depressive elderly. This research has produced a substantive theory of hope and hopelessness which is based on the experiences of the depressive and non-depressive elderly, and on the concept analysis of hope and hopelessness based on English dictionary definitions. The patients who participated in the research were 65 years old and older men and women (n=22) who had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital because of major depression, and another group: the non-depressive elderly (n=21), who were recruited from the pensioners’ clubs. The data were collected in interviews using the Clinical Assessment Tool, developed by Farran, Salloway and Clark (1990) and Farran, Wilken and Popovich (1992), and it produced 553 pages of written text, which were analysed using the ATLAS/ti programme. ATLAS/ti is a tool for analysing qualitative data and is based on Grounded Theory. The medical and nursing records of the depressive elderly completed source triangulation. The concept analysis of hope and hopelessness was made on the basis of the definitions of English dictionaries (n=103), using semantic analysis and the ATLAS/ti programme. The most important hope-promoting factors were human relations, health and managing in everyday living. Autonomy, self-determination and feeling of security were highly appreciated among the elderly. Hopelessness, on the other hand, was most often associated with the same factors: human relations, health and everyday living. Especially, losses of significant others were experienced as strongly hope-diminishing. Old age had brought freedom from duties concerning others, but now, when you finally had an opportunity to enjoy yourself, you could not accomplish anything; you were clasped in the arms of total inability, depression had come. The most obvious difference in the life course of the depressive and nondepressive elderly was the abundance of traumatic experiences in the childhood and youth of the depressive elderly. The continuous circulation of fearful thoughts was almost touchable, and suicidality was described in connection with these thoughts. You were afraid to be awake and also to go to sleep. Managing day by day was the goal. The research produced the Basic Social Process (BSP) of hope: achieving - maintaining - losing, which expresses a continuous balancing between Being without and Being with. The importance of the object of hope was combined with the amount of hope and disappointment. The process of approaching defined the realisation of hope and the process of withdrawal that of losing. Joy and security versus grief and insecurity defined the Being with and Being without. Two core categories were found. The first one “If only I could�? reflects lack of energy, lack of knowledge, lack of courage and lack of ability. The other one “There is always a loophole�? reflects deliberate tracing of possibilities and the belief in finding solutions, and managing.

Gerontology course in the nursing undergraduate curricula

Objective To explores nursing faculty members’ attitudes towards older people, their thoughts about gerontological nursing education. Method Five focus groups and a survey were used with nursing faculty members 132 at the three nursing schools to explore their attitudes towards the care of older people and the perceived status of gerontological nursing education. The survey was given to 132 faculty members, including 76 clinical instructors, 40 associate professors and 16 professors. The nursing faculty in general had a positive attitude toward older people (M=3.36, SD 0.25), and teachers’ attitudes were higher than those of their nursing students (M=3.18, SD0.29). Results This study results suggests that Saudi nursing curricula should include more extensive gerontology content and clinical experience with older people. Conclusion This is the first time in Saudi Arabia that research has listened to their voices and examined their commitments toward gerontology education.