Revisiting effects of teacher characteristics on physiological and psychological stress: a virtual reality study.

Identifying personal characteristics associated with teachers' stress is a longstanding research goal with important implications for practice. The present work revisits the effects of individual characteristics in terms of neuroticism, classroom management self-efficacy, and cognitive (reasoning) abilities on stress using virtual reality (VR). Relying on a sample of 56 German pre-service teachers (Mage = 22.73, SDage = 4.93; 50.9% females), we capitalized on a VR classroom environment that allowed the integration of experimental control and authentic teaching situations, where pre-service teachers responded to the disruptive behaviors of the student avatars. We focused on stress responses in terms of psychological stress (self-reported stress) assessed after the VR session, and physiological stress (heart rate) assessed during the VR session. A total of 30 (26) participants was assigned to a condition with higher (lower) levels of disruptive student behavior, referred to as higher and lower complexity condition, respectively. Results from linear mixed-effects models revealed that neuroticism positively predicted psychological and physiological stress responses in pre-service teachers, whereas classroom management self-efficacy and cognitive (reasoning) abilities were not significantly related to stress responses. Level of complexity and the interaction between complexity and individual characteristics did not have an effect. This study underlines the value of VR as a tool for psychological research and contributes to existing knowledge on teacher characteristics and stress.

Diffuse ganglioneuromatosis and plexiform neurofibroma of the urinary bladder: report of a pediatric example and literature review.

As an initial manifestation of neurofibromatosis type 1, isolated neurofibroma of the urinary bladder occurs only rarely in the first 2 decades of life. We report a case of a 6-year-old African-American girl who presented in this manner and was found to have a plexiform neurofibroma as well as diffuse ganglioneuromatosis of the urinary bladder. We describe the clinical presentation, diagnostic procedures, and pathologic features encountered. In addition, we review the literature with respect to etiology, current treatment strategies, and the issue of surveillance for this complex lesion occurring in the pediatric population. Neurofibroma of the bladder should be considered in the differential diagnosis of painless hematuria in childhood. Its presentation in such patients warrants a complete evaluation to establish the diagnosis of neurofibromatosis type 1 and begin long-term surveillance for its associated manifestations. At present, there are no established criteria for the treatment of this rare lesion.

A role for DNA methylation in regulating the growth suppressor PMEPA1 gene in prostate cancer.

A cascade of epigenetic events contributes to the selective growth advantage of cancer cells during tumor progression. PMEPA1 gene is an androgen-inducible negative regulator of cell growth in the prostate epithelium. During prostate cancer progression PMEPA1 gene transcription is reduced or lost prompting us to investigate the role of epigenetic events in this process. In LAPC4 cells harboring wild type androgen receptor decitabine (5-aza-2'-deoxycitidine) treatment resulted in increased expression of PMEPA1 along with other androgen-inducible genes, suggesting a role for DNA methylation in the repression of androgenic cell growth control signals in prostate cancer. In contrast, mutant androgen receptor expressing LNCaP cells were deficient in this response. Therefore, decitabine-induced expression of cell growth controlling genes such as NKX3.1 or PMEPA1 underlines the clinical applicability of decitabine in prostate tumors harboring wild type androgen receptor. Further analysis of DNA methylation within the PMEPA1 promoter downstream sequences suggests that methylation of SP1 binding sites may also contribute to the repression of PMEPA1 gene.

Leiomyosarcoma of the urinary bladder in a teenage male.

Malignant neoplasms of the bladder are typically transitional cell carcinoma with squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma comprising nearly all of the remaining cases. Leiomyosarcoma is a rarely seen neoplasm of the bladder with a generally poor prognosis. It is important to distinguish leiomyosarcomas from rhabdomyosarcoma with the aid of immunohistochemical markers. A therapeutic dilemma exists with regard to the need for urethrectomy. We present the third reported case of leiomyosarcoma of the bladder in a teenage male patient.