Extensão Universitária: o jogo entre as teorias institucionais e as motivações pessoais

A temática desta pesquisa refere-se ao estabelecimento de relações entre o institucional e o pessoal, a partir das teorias e práticas de Extensão Universitária, contextualizadas em uma determinada instituição de Ensino Superior, da rede particular do Estado de São Paulo. O seu objetivo é, através da explicitação da política institucional de Extensão Universitária, analisar e comparar as motivações pessoais e o perfil psicossocial dos alunos extensionistas, e observar como estes se relacionam, por meio da extensão, com o ensino, com a pesquisa e com as políticas institucionais estabelecidas. Foram entrevistados o PróReitor de Extensão, Coordenadores de Programas de Extensão e alunos extensionistas e utilizou-se o método da análise comparativa dos conteúdos. Como procedimento metodológico de análise tomouse o conjunto de informações recolhidas junto aos entrevistados, que foram organizadas em três grandes categorias: Política Institucional; Extensão, Pesquisa e Ensino; e Motivações. Concluiuse que as especificidades das políticas institucionais e das características pedagógicas da Extensão Universitária da Instituição influenciam e podem determinar formas de atuação dos alunos extencionistas, que são movidos por fatores motivacionais que transitam entre o olhar assistencial filantrópico, a motivação profissional e a militância política, tendo como norte o contexto cultural, político e socia, no qual estão inseridos, dentro e fora da Universidade, e que se manifestam no contato com o trabalho extencionista.(AU)

Polymerase recognition of synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides incorporating degenerate pyrimidine and purine bases

A universal base that is capable of substituting for any of the four natural bases in DNA would be of great utility in both mutagenesis and recombinant DNA experiments. This paper describes the properties of oligonucleotides incorporating two degenerate bases, the pyrimidine base 6H,8H-3,4-dihydropyrimido[4,5-c][1,2]oxazin-7-one and the purine base N6-methoxy-2,6-diaminopurine, designated P and K, respectively. An equimolar mixture of the analogues P and K (called M) acts, in primers, as a universal base. The thermal stability of oligonucleotide duplexes were only slightly reduced when natural bases were replaced by P or K. Templates containing the modified bases were copied by Taq polymerase; P behaved as thymine in 60% of copying events and as cytosine in 40%, whereas K behaved as if it were guanine (13%) or adenine (87%). The dUTPase gene of Caenorhabditis elegans, which we have found to contain three nonidentical homologous repeats, was used as a model system to test the use of these bases in primers for DNA synthesis. A pair of oligodeoxyribonucleotides, each 20 residues long and containing an equimolar mixture of P and K at six positions, primed with high specificity both T7 DNA polymerase in sequencing reactions and Taq polymerase in PCRs; no nonspecific amplification was obtained on genomic DNA of C. elegans. Use of P and K can significantly reduce the complexity of degenerate oligonucleotide mixtures, and when used together, P and K can act as a universal base.

Masking and unmasking of the sialic acid-binding lectin activity of CD22 (Siglec-2) on B lymphocytes

CD22 is a B cell-restricted glycoprotein involved in signal transduction and modulation of cellular activation. It is also an I-type lectin (now designated Siglec-2), whose extracellular domain can specifically recognize α2–6-linked sialic acid (Sia) residues. This activity is postulated to mediate intercellular adhesion and/or to act as a coreceptor in antigen-induced B cell activation. However, studies with recombinant CD22 indicate that the lectin function can be inactivated by expression of α2–6-linked Sia residues on the same cell surface. To explore whether this masking phenomenon affects native CD22 on B cells, we first developed a probe to detect the lectin activity of recombinant CD22 expressed on Chinese hamster ovary cells (which have no endogenous α2–6-linked Sia residues). This probe is inactive against CD22-positive B lymphoma cells and Epstein–Barr virus-transformed lymphoblasts which express high levels of α2–6-linked Sia residues. Enzymatic desialylation unmasks the CD22 lectin activity, indicating that endogenous Sia residues block the CD22 lectin-binding site. Truncation of the side chains of cell surface Sia residues by mild periodate oxidation (known to abrogate Sia recognition by CD22) also had this unmasking effect, indicating that the effects of desialylation are not due to a loss of negative charge. Normal resting B cells from human peripheral blood gave similar findings. However, the lectin is partially unmasked during in vitro activation of these cells. Thus, the lectin activity of CD22 is restricted by endogenous sialylation in resting B cells and may be transiently unmasked during in vivo activation, perhaps to modulate intercellular or intracellular interactions at this critical stage in the humoral response.

Preassembly of interleukin 2 (IL-2) receptor subunits on resting Kit 225 K6 T cells and their modulation by IL-2, IL-7, and IL-15: A fluorescence resonance energy transfer study

Assembly and mutual proximities of α, β, and γc subunits of the interleukin 2 receptors (IL-2R) in plasma membranes of Kit 225 K6 T lymphoma cells were investigated by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) using fluorescein isothiocyanate- and Cy3-conjugated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that were directed against the IL-2Rα, IL-2Rβ, and γc subunits of IL-2R. The cell-surface distribution of subunits was analyzed at the nanometer scale (2–10 nm) by FRET on a cell-by-cell basis. The cells were probed in resting phase and after coculture with saturating concentrations of IL-2, IL-7, and IL-15. FRET data from donor- and acceptor-labeled IL-2Rβ-α, γ-α, and γ-β pairs demonstrated close proximity of all subunits to each other in the plasma membrane of resting T cells. These mutual proximities do not appear to represent mAb-induced microaggregation, because FRET measurements with Fab fragments of the mAbs gave similar results. The relative proximities were meaningfully modulated by binding of IL-2, IL-7, and IL-15. Based on FRET analysis the topology of the three subunits at the surface of resting cells can be best described by a “triangular model” in the absence of added interleukins. IL-2 strengthens the bridges between the subunits, making the triangle more compact. IL-7 and IL-15 act in the opposite direction by opening the triangle possibly because they associate their private specific α receptors with the β and/or γc subunits of the IL-2R complex. These data suggest that IL-2R subunits are already colocalized in resting T cells and do not require cytokine-induced redistribution. This colocalization is significantly modulated by binding of relevant interleukins in a cytokine-specific manner.

Intracellular localization of P1 ParB protein depends on ParA and parS

The P1 partition system promotes faithful plasmid segregation during the Escherichia coli cell cycle. This system consists of two proteins, ParA and ParB, that act on a plasmid site called parS. By immunofluorescence microscopy, we observed that ParB localizes to discrete foci that are most often located close to the one-quarter and three-quarters positions of cell length. The visualization of ParB foci depended completely on the presence of parS, although their visualization was independent of the chromosomal context of parS (in P1 or the bacterial chromosome). In integration host factor-defective mutants, in which ParB binding to parS is weakened, only a fraction of the total pool of ParB had converged into foci. Taken together, these results indicate that parS recruits a pool of ParB into foci and that the resulting ParB–parS complexes serve as substrates for the segregation reaction. In the absence of ParA, the position of ParB foci in cells is perturbed, indicating that at least one of the roles of ParA is to direct ParB–parS complexes to the proper one-quarter positions from a cell pole. Finally, inhibition of cell division did not inhibit localization of ParB foci in cells, indicating that the positioning signals in the E. coli host that are needed for P1 partition do not depend on early division events.

Distinct Actions and Cooperative Roles of ROCK and mDia in Rho Small G Protein-induced Reorganization of the Actin Cytoskeleton in Madin–Darby Canine Kidney Cells

Rho, a member of the Rho small G protein family, regulates the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions in various types of cultured cells. We investigated here the actions of ROCK and mDia, both of which have been identified to be putative downstream target molecules of Rho, in Madin–Darby canine kidney cells. The dominant active mutant of RhoA induced the formation of parallel stress fibers and focal adhesions, whereas the dominant active mutant of ROCK induced the formation of stellate stress fibers and focal adhesions, and the dominant active mutant of mDia induced the weak formation of parallel stress fibers without affecting the formation of focal adhesions. In the presence of C3 ADP-ribosyltransferase for Rho, the dominant active mutant of ROCK induced the formation of stellate stress fibers and focal adhesions, whereas the dominant active mutant of mDia induced only the diffuse localization of actin filaments. These results indicate that ROCK and mDia show distinct actions in reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. The dominant negative mutant of either ROCK or mDia inhibited the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions, indicating that both ROCK and mDia are necessary for the formation of stress fibers and focal adhesions. Moreover, inactivation and reactivation of both ROCK and mDia were necessary for the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate–induced disassembly and reassembly, respectively, of stress fibers and focal adhesions. The morphologies of stress fibers and focal adhesions in the cells expressing both the dominant active mutants of ROCK and mDia were not identical to those induced by the dominant active mutant of Rho. These results indicate that at least ROCK and mDia cooperatively act as downstream target molecules of Rho in the Rho-induced reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton.

RIP and FADD: two "death domain"-containing proteins can induce apoptosis by convergent, but dissociable, pathways.

With use of the yeast two-hybrid system, the proteins RIP and FADD/MORT1 have been shown to interact with the "death domain" of the Fas receptor. Both of these proteins induce apoptosis in mammalian cells. Using receptor fusion constructs, we provide evidence that the self-association of the death domain of RIP by itself is sufficient to elicit apoptosis. However, both the death domain and the adjacent alpha-helical region of RIP are required for the optimal cell killing induced by the overexpression of this gene. By contrast, FADD's ability to induce cell death does not depend on crosslinking. Furthermore, RIP and FADD appear to activate different apoptotic pathways since RIP is able to induce cell death in a cell line that is resistant to the apoptotic effects of Fas, tumor necrosis factor, and FADD. Consistent with this, a dominant negative mutant of FADD, lacking its N-terminal domain, blocks apoptosis induced by RIP but not by FADD. Since both pathways are blocked by CrmA, the interleukin 1 beta converting enzyme family protease inhibitor, these results suggest that FADD and RIP can act along separable pathways that nonetheless converge on a member of the interleukin 1 beta converting enzyme family of cysteine proteases.

Dimerization specificity of Arabidopsis MADS domain homeotic proteins APETALA1, APETALA3, PISTILLATA, and AGAMOUS.

The MADS domain homeotic proteins APETALA1 (AP1), APETALA3 (AP3), PISTILLATA (PI), and AGAMOUS (AG) act in a combinatorial manner to specify the identity of Arabidopsis floral organs. The molecular basis for this combinatorial mode of action was investigated. Immunoprecipitation experiments indicate that all four proteins are capable of interacting with each other. However, these proteins exhibit "partner-specificity" for the formation of DNA-binding dimers; only AP1 homodimers, AG homodimers, and AP3/PI heterodimers are capable of binding to CArG-box sequences. Both the AP3/PI heterodimer and the AP1 or AG homodimers are formed when the three corresponding proteins are present together. The use of chimeric proteins formed by domain swapping indicates that the L region (which follows the MADS box) constitutes a key molecular determinant for the selective formation of DNA-binding dimers. The implications of these results for the ABC genetic model of flower development are discussed.

Cyclin-dependent protein kinase and cyclin homologs SSN3 and SSN8 contribute to transcriptional control in yeast.

The SSN3 and SSN8 genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were identified by mutations that suppress a defect in SNF1, a protein kinase required for release from glucose repression. Mutations in SSN3 and SSN8 also act synergistically with a mutation of the MIG1 repressor protein to relieve glucose repression. We have cloned the SSN3 and SSN8 genes. SSN3 encodes a cyclin-dependent protein kinase (cdk) homolog and is identical to UME5. SSN8 encodes a cyclin homolog 35% identical to human cyclin C. SSN3 and SSN8 fusion proteins interact in the two-hybrid system and coimmunoprecipitate from yeast cell extracts. Using an immune complex assay, we detected protein kinase activity that depends on both SSN3 and SSN8. Thus, the two SSN proteins are likely to function as a cdk-cyclin pair. Genetic analysis indicates that the SSN3-SSN8 complex contributes to transcriptional repression of diversely regulated genes and also affects induction of the GAL1 promoter.

Análisis comparativo sobre trabajo rural en la forestoindustria, las semilleras y la fruticultura (Argentina 2008-2011)

Este artículo analiza transversalmente estudios de caso sobre el trabajo rural en la Argentina entre 2008 y 2011 en unidades de producción de capital concentrado: fruticultura en el Alto Valle de Río Negro, forestación en el NO de Misiones y producción de semillas de maíz transgénico en la Zona Núcleo Cerealera. La metodología aplicada fue la etnografía multisitio. Para el análisis que se presenta en este artículo se aplicó el método comparativo, que permitió establecer continuidad entre los casos sobre la base de tres estrategias empresariales: la reducción de puestos de trabajo clásico distinguiendo producción y servicios; la ambientalización de las relaciones laborales y territorios diferenciados para la producción, y el trabajo y la residencia de los trabajadores

Struggling, Coping, And Thriving: Sense-Making In Stepfamily Couples' Narratives About Coparenting

The term coparenting implies a bioparental dyad that often excludes the stepparent's role in sharing parenting across joint-custody households. Focusing solely on this dyad also precludes gaining an understanding of how stepfamily couples manage together the communication and sharing of parental responsibilities with the parent(s) in the shared children's other home. In a departure from this bioparental dyad-focused approach, this study locates the stepfamily couple at the center of an inquiry into managing coparenting across households. This mixed methods design study included in-depth interviews of 32 stepfamily couples whose narratives about coparenting were analyzed using grounded theory methods. Forty-one percent of stepparents engage in direct coparenting communication, sometimes manifested as the coactive approach identified in this study. Stepfamily couples also involve the stepparent indirectly in coparenting communication, through the conferred and consultative approaches. As well, the couples' narratives about coparenting identify them as either united, where they share the experience, or divided, where coparenting is reserved exclusively for the bioparent to manage. The stepfamily couples' narratives about significant coparenting experiences revealed that they experience and make sense of coparenting as 1) struggling, 2) coping, or 3) thriving. No significant relationship was found between marital satisfaction and experiencing coparenting as strugglers, copers or thrivers. Grounded theory analysis of these narratives also reflects the four dichotomous dimensions of 1) regard-disregard, 2) decency-duplicity, 3) facilitation-interference, and 4) accommodation-inflexibility. Significant incidents located along these dimensions contribute to the stepfamily couples' identification as struggling, coping, or thriving in coparenting. Experiences on the extreme ends of the dichotomous dimensions generate positive and negative turning points for the coparenting interactions and relationships. As well, experiences on the negative end of the dimensional poles can present challenges for the stepfamily couples. Finally, a synthesis of the findings related to the dichotomous dimensions generates a theory of shared parenting values expectancy.

Mobility and Aging in Denver, Colorado: Travel Behavior, Mobility Barriers, and Perceptions of Transit

The number of seniors in the U.S. today is growing rapidly because of longer life expectancies and the aging Baby Boomer generation. This age groups' travel behavior will have substantial impacts on transportation, economics, safety, and the environment. This research used a mixed-methods approach to address issues of mobility and aging in Denver, Colorado. A quantitative approach was used to answer broad questions about travel behavior and the effects of age, gender, work status, disability, residential location and socio-economic status on mobility. Qualitative interviews with seniors in the Denver metro area were conducted to identify barriers to mobility, decision-making processes and travel decisions, and seniors' perceptions of public transit. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analyses show that residential location is an important variable for determining seniors' travel behaviors and transportation options. Perceptions of public transit were positive, but accessibility and information barriers exist that prevent older adult from using transit. The findings of this study will help to provide transportation and service recommendations to policymakers and planners in the Denver area as well as to inform studies of other North American cities with large aging populations.

An Acceptance and Commitment Approach to Issues of Behavioral Health Care in Soldiers

For over a decade, the U.S. military has been engaged in two distinct, yet equally deadly conflicts: Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). There are many physical and psychological effects of war necessitating the activation and interventions of a myriad of behavioral health professionals. The purpose of the paper was to understand how and if contemporary military culture may work to support or hinder application of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach to issues of psychological health among Soldiers. While the empirical research on efficacy with Soldiers is limited, a review of military culture revealed the promotion of rigid rule following, although effective in combat, influences the emotional control agenda and stigma while in garrison. However, empirical research demonstrating the clinical benefits and flexibility of ACT is rapidly emerging with civilian and Veteran populations. Suggested as a prevention technique utilized early in Soldier's training to increase psychological flexibility, ACT appears to demonstrate much promise in ameliorating the psychological consequences of war.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Forensic Inpatients

This paper provides a preliminary exploration of the application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) within the context of a forensic hospital. ACT has a reputation for being a clinically flexible and empirically sound therapeutic intervention, which appears uniquely suited for forensic hospital settings. However, no research has been published to date on the use of ACT as a treatment for forensic inpatients. The ACT approach directly aims to help people let go of the unwinnable struggles to control symptoms of mental illness, and instead focus on constructing a "life worth living." ACT interventions can equip forensic patients with the values and flexible behavioral repertoires necessary to lead lives that are personally meaningful and satisfying and do not involve inflicting harm to others. The ACT model also attempts to minimize the therapist-patient hierarchy through an emphasis on the ubiquitous nature of human suffering. This approach can be particularly useful when working with marginalized, treatment-resistant patients. Continued research on the application of ACT with forensic inpatients is recommended.

A Framework for Addressing Psychological Inflexibility Among Act Therapists-In-Training.

Novice therapists training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may encounter challenges in therapy in which their own personal history functions as a barrier to flexible modes of therapeutic engagement with the therapist. From the ACT perspective, counter-therapeutic interpersonal responses may be examined relative to six behavioral sub-processes. It is suggested that the most vulnerable moments for the therapist will involve those in which certain contextual features of therapy pull historical awareness of a painful personal past into relation with the psychological present. This paper hypothesizes that utilizing approaches based in ACT will assist therapists in overcoming these challenges and will illustrate how to approach case formulation and intervention with therapists in training from a functional contextualistic perspective. To begin, the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of ACT will be outlined in sufficient depth to intellectually ground the model and its therapeutic project. This conceptual foundation will then be brought to applied focus using hypothetical case material, followed by ACT interventions designed to increase clinical flexibility in the given therapeutic scenario. Future research that systematically examines the effectiveness of such methods among therapists is encouraged.