Representations of workplace psychological harassment in print news media

OBJECTIVE: To analyze discourses on workplace psychological harassment in print media. METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES: Documental study on workplace psychological harassment that analyzed news stories published in three major newspapers of the State of Sao Paulo (southeastern Brazil) between 1990 and 2008. Discourse analysis was performed to identify discursive practices that reflect the phenomenon of psychological harassment in today's society, explanations for its occurrence and impact on workers' health. RESULT ANALYSIS: This theme emerged in the media through the dissemination of books, academic research production and laws. It was initially published in general news then in jobs and/or business sections. Discourses on compensation and precautionary business practices and coping strategies are widespread. Health-related aspects are foregone under the prevailing money-based rationale. Corporate cultures are permissive regarding psychological harassment and conflicts are escalated while working to achieve goals and results. Indifference, embarrassment, ridicule and demean were common in the news stories analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: The causal explanations of workplace harassment tend to have a psychological interpretation with emphasis on individual and behavioral characteristics, and minimizing a collective approach. The discourses analyzed trivialized harassment by creating caricatures of the actors involved. People apprehend its psychological content and stigmatization which contributes to making workplace harassment an accepted practice and trivializing work-related violence.

MMP-7 and TIMP-1, news targets in predicting poor wound healing in apical periodontitis

Introduction: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) are strongly associated with tissue destruction because of inflammation. In this study, we investigated the expression of MMPs and TIMPs messenger RNA and protein levels in apical periodontitis lesions. Methods: Tissue samples from patients presenting clinical signs of chronic apical abscess (CAA) or asymptomatic apical periodontitis (AAP) were collected postoperatively and used for gene expression analysis of MMP-2, -3, -7, -9, -14, -16, and -25; TIMP-1; and TIMP-2 in real-time polymerase chain reaction. Immunohistochemistry was also performed to detect the expression of MMP-7 and TIMP-1 proteins. Lastly, U-937 cells were induced to terminal differentiation into macrophages, infected with purified Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, and assessed for the expression of MMP-7 and TIMP-1 using immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy. Results: Significantly higher messenger RNA levels were found for all genes in AAP and CAA samples when compared with healthy control samples (P < .001). AAP cases exhibited significantly higher TIMP-1 when compared with CAA cases, whereas CAA cases showed higher MMP-2, MMP-7, and MMP-9 messenger RNA levels (P < .05). We also detected positive the expression of MMP-7 and TIMP-1 proteins in the tissue samples. The expression of both MMP-7 and TIMP-1 were increased in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated cells compared with nonstimulated cells and appear to colocalize in the Golgi apparatus. Conclusions: MMPs appear to have an influential role in CAA cases in which ongoing tissue destruction is observed. TIMPs are preferentially associated with AAP, perhaps as a subsequent defense mechanism against excessive destruction. Taken together, our findings implicate MMP and TIMP molecules in the dynamics of inflammatory periapical lesion development

Graphic news: La nuova frontiera del fumetto, proposta di traduzione

Il presente elaborato si prefigge lo scopo di proporre una traduzione in francese di cinque fumetti di giornalismo a fumetti da pubblicare su un’ipotetica versione localizzata del sito http://graphic-news.com/. Si tratta di un sito di informazione a fumetti, che combina due grandi rivoluzione del fumetto: il fumetto digitale e il graphic journalism. Si cercherà di definire il fumetto in quanto linguaggio formato dall’interazione fra codice visivo e codice verbale, se ne traccerà la storia dalle sue origini fino agli sviluppi più recenti per individuare l’evoluzione che ha portato alla nascita del fumetto digitale, di cui saranno analizzate le principali caratteristiche insieme a una panoramica sul graphic journalism, un genere che ha permesso al fumetto di emanciparsi dalla sua nomea di letteratura per l’infanzia. In seguito, ci si concentrerà sull'ambiente digitale che accoglierà le traduzioni dei fumetti: si fornirà perciò una descrizione dell’organizzazione del sito e una sua analisi semiotica. Infine, si passeranno in rassegna le caratteristiche generali della traduzione dei fumetti con le sue specificità e si proporrà la traduzione dei cinque fumetti con relativo commento delle maggiori difficoltà incontrate nel processo di traduzione con un’attenzione particolare per i principali aspetti problematici legati all'interazione fra testo e immagini.