Search Results (8)

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common childhood malignancy that remains a leading cause of death in childhood. It may be characterised by multiple known recurrent genetic aberrations that inform prognosis, the most common being hyperdiploidy and t(12;21) ETV6::RUNX1. We aimed to assess the applicability of a new imaging flow cytometry methodology that incorporates cell morphology, immunophenotype, and fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) to identify aneuploidy of chromosomes 4 and 21 and the translocation ETV6::RUNX1. We evaluated this new “immuno-flowFISH” platform on 39 cases of paediatric ALL of B-lineage known to have aneuploidy of chromosomes 4 and 21 and the translocation ETV6::RUNX1. After identifying the leukaemic population based on immunophenotype (i.e., expression of CD34, CD10, and CD19 antigens), we assessed for copy numbers of loci for the centromeres of chromosomes 4 and 21 and the ETV6 and RUNX1 regions using fluorophore-labelled DNA probes in more than 1000 cells per sample. Trisomy 4 and 21, tetrasomy 21, and translocations of ETV6::RUNX1, as well as gains and losses of ETV6 and RUNX1, could all be identified based on FISH spot counts and digital imagery. There was variability in clonal makeup in individual cases, suggesting the presence of sub-clones. Copy number alterations and translocations could be detected even when the cell population comprised less than 1% of cells and included cells with a mature B-cell phenotype, i.e., CD19-positive, lacking CD34 and CD10. In this proof-of-principle study of 39 cases, this sensitive and specific semi-automated high-throughput imaging flow cytometric immuno-flowFISH method has been able to show that alterations in ploidy and ETV6::RUNX1 could be detected in the 39 cases of paediatric ALL. This imaging flow cytometric FISH method has potential applications for diagnosis and monitoring disease and marrow regeneration (i.e., distinguishing residual ALL from regenerating haematogones) following chemotherapy. Full article

This paper presents an analysis of a ritual event memorialised on stone reliefs at the ancient city of Carchemish around 800 BC. It is argued that the reliefs represent a ceremony of investiture, in which boys of royal lineage are handed out toys as oracular instruments to elicit favourable omens for the heir apparent. The inclusion of boys and their toys in the visual commemoration of a political ritual has bearings on three levels of meaning. First, it testifies to a hitherto unrecognised cult practice, involving grouping boys in age classes and harnessing their ludic practices for ritual purposes. Second, it reflects local political preoccupations connected with dynastic controversies, in an attempt to silence counternarratives through the emphatic staging of children. Finally, the chosen imagery conveys complex philosophical ideas about life, education, and individual destiny, connecting with issues of material religion and childhood studies. The study integrates interpretive perspectives from visual semiotics, architectural analysis, and ancient studies to show how, upon specific occasions, marginal groups and everyday material items, such as children and their toys, may play critical roles in collective ritual events. Full article

The holiday atmosphere abounds in marketing campaigns. The present research examines how the holiday atmosphere of a brand logo influences consumers’ merchandise-related nostalgic preference. Across three studies, the authors find that when consumers are exposed to brand logos with a strong (vs. weak) holiday atmosphere, they prefer nostalgic products (Study 1). This effect occurs because consumers exposed to a strong (vs. weak) holiday atmosphere generate more childhood imagery, resulting in significantly more choices of nostalgic products (Study 2). Additionally, the paper finds that the effect of the holiday atmosphere of a brand logo on merchandise-related nostalgic preference—here, the preference for products of nostalgic brands—does not occur for non-traditional holidays (Study 3). These findings make important contributions to the literature on holiday marketing, logo design and nostalgic marketing. Full article

Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently have comorbid diagnoses such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and anxiety disorders (AD). Studies into the impact of these comorbidities on the outcome of PTSD treatment have yielded mixed results. The different treatments investigated in these studies might explain the varied outcome. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of these comorbidities on the outcome of two specific PTSD treatments. MDD and AD were analyzed as predictors and moderators in a trial comparing 12 sessions of either eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) or imagery rescripting (IR) in 155 adult patients with PTSD from childhood trauma. The primary outcome was reduction of PTSD symptoms (clinician-administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5, CAPS-5) assessed at eight-week follow-up and a secondary outcome was self-report PTSD symptoms (Impact of Event Scale, IES-R). MDD was not a predictor of treatment outcome but did have a significant moderator effect. Patients with MDD showed a better outcome if they were treated with IR, whereas patients without MDD improved more in the EMDR condition. No impact of AD emerged. It seems essential to consider comorbid MDD when planning PTSD treatment to improve treatment outcomes. More research is needed to replicate our findings and focus on different kinds of PTSD treatments and other comorbidities. Full article

This study aimed to explore patients’ and therapists’ experiences with trauma-focused treatments in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder from childhood trauma (Ch-PTSD). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients (n = 44) and therapists (n = 16) from an international multicentre randomised clinical trial comparing two trauma-focused treatments (IREM), imagery rescripting and eye movement and desensitisation (EMDR). Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes within the data. Patients and therapists commented about the process of therapy. The themes that emerged from these comments included the importance of the patients’ willingness to engage and commit to the treatment process; the importance and difficulty of the trauma work, observations of how the trauma focused therapy produced changes in insight, and sense of self and empowerment for the future. In addition, therapists made suggestions for optimising the therapist role in the trauma-focused treatment. This included the importance of having confidence in their own ability, confronting their own and their client’s avoidance and the necessity and difficulties of adhering to the treatment protocols. These reported experiences add further support to the idea that trauma-focused treatments, without a stabilisation phase, can be tolerated and deepens our understanding of how to make this palatable for individuals with Ch-PTSD. Full article

If restorative nostalgia concentrates on national past and future and reflective nostalgia on individual memory (Boym 2001), Lars Gustafsson’s “Where the Alphabet Has Two Hundred Letters” does neither. This article argues that Gustafsson’s treatment of the past landscape is metanostalgic, in the sense that nostalgia is a theme and a means, rather than a sentiment, and that the way his tropic reinvention deals with nostalgia differs from other uses. Though the poem partakes in the pastoral tradition, it is less concerned with this mode and more concerned with the notion of ‘effect’, of which Gustafsson has written extensively. Gustafsson has also elaborated on the aspects of ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’, notions that are used to define and extend the poetic landscape and the speaker’s position in, and relation to, it. His poetic landscape encompasses the extremes of continents near and far, but also landscapes temporally removed, which may hold a different status in terms of their impact on ‘effect’, a status that is then not hinging on the obvious hierarchies of traditional nostalgia. Full article

Mental imagery is a familiar aspect of most individuals’ mental lives, considered as an experience which occurs in the absence of actual stirrings for relevant perceptions. The primary importance of mental imagery has been demonstrated in several domains: learning and memory, reasoning and problem solving, inventive or creative thought and rehab. The project primarily refers to the analysis of infant visual impairment for a first scientific and social approach, with specific references to significant figures who have worked on these issues for years. Research is enriched by the contribution of educators working with children with these diseases. Thus, the proposal of a freehand illustrated tactile book, originally conceived for sighted and then reworked for blind and visually impaired, through the humanization of fantastic creatures designed to facilitate imaginative faculties, allowing the child to project his to an inanimate model. Full article

The present study investigates autobiographical memory through the use of imagery and a short narrative. A sample of 72 young adults, residing in Italy, were asked to draw a meaningful memory (and to choose a title for it) about their infancy, childhood, pre-adolescence and adolescence. Through the use of special markers, a qualitative-quantitative analysis of the drawings was carried out. The results made it possible to highlight the different elements that gave shape to the Self in a particular period, leaving traces in memory: specific social references, emotions and moods, places, actions, achievements and personal objects. Full article