The Neural Mechanisms of Meditative Practices: Novel Approaches for Healthy Aging

ObjectivesMeditation has been shown to have physical, cognitive, and psychological health benefits that can be used to promote healthy aging. However, the common and specific mechanisms of response remain elusive due to the diverse nature of mind-body practices.MethodsIn this review, we aim to compare the neural circuits implicated in focused-attention meditative practices that focus on present-moment awareness to those involved in active-type meditative practices (e.g., yoga) that combine movement, including chanting, with breath practices and meditation.Recent findingsRecent meta-analyses and individual studies demonstrated common brain effects for attention-based meditative practices and active-based meditations in areas involved in reward processing and learning, attention and memory, awareness and sensory integration, and self-referential processing and emotional control, while deactivation was seen in the amygdala, an area implicated in emotion processing. Unique effects for mindfulness practices were found in brain regions involved in body awareness, attention, and the integration of emotion and sensory processing. Effects specific to active-based meditations appeared in brain areas involved in self-control, social cognition, language, speech, tactile stimulation, sensorimotor integration, and motor function.SummaryThis review suggests that mind-body practices can target different brain systems that are involved in the regulation of attention, emotional control, mood, and executive cognition that can be used to treat or prevent mood and cognitive disorders of aging, such as depression and caregiver stress, or serve as "brain fitness" exercise. Benefits may include improving brain functional connectivity in brain systems that generally degenerate with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other aging-related diseases

Financiamiento verde y conservación del ecosistema en las empresas metalmecánica del distrito de Comas año 2018

El presente trabajo de investigación, tiene por objetivo determinar de qué manera el financiamiento verde se relaciona significativamente con la conservación del medio ambiente en las empresas Metalmecánicas del Distrito de Comas, año 2018. Las dimensiones que se utilizaran asociada a la variable de financiamiento verde en el proyecto son mitigación al cambio climático, protección ambiental y descontaminación ambiental, mientras que las dimensiones relacionadas a la conservación del ecosistema son conservación de los ciclos ecológicos, conservación de los procesos ecológicos y medidas de recuperación del ecosistema frágiles. El presente trabajo de investigación comprende información sobre autores que han realizado investigaciones similares, los cuales representan un respaldo para el objeto de estudio, así mismo, se empleó teorías relacionadas al tema lo que va a permitir conocer con mejor facilidad y comprensión los conceptos que están relacionados a las variables. El tipo de investigación es aplicada, el diseño de la investigación es no experimental transversal y nivel de investigación descriptiva - correlacional, con una población seleccionada de 35 empresas Metalmecánicas del distrito de Comas. La técnica utilizada es la encuesta y el instrumento de recolección de datos es el cuestionario. Para la validez de los instrumentos se utilizó el criterio de juicios de expertos y así mismo, está avalado por el coeficiente del Alfa de Cronbach; para la corroboración de las hipótesis expuestas se procedió utilizar la prueba del Rho Spearman. En el desarrollo de la presente investigación se pudo concluir que el financiamiento verde se relaciona significativamente con la conservación del medio ambiente en las empresas Metalmecánicas del Distrito de Comas, año 201

Uso de psicodélicos clásicos y su implicancia en el desarrollo de enfermedades cardiovasculares

68 p.Las sustancias psicodélicas son consideradas como psicofármacos antiguos en la historia del ser humano, usadas para fines ceremoniales, recreacionales y medicinales por diversas culturas debido a su capacidad de alterar la conciencia. Actualmente su uso se enfoca en la terapia de trastornos psiquiátricos, tales como ansiedad, depresión, trastorno de estrés postraumático, entre otros. Dentro de la categoría de psicodélicos se encuentran triptaminas, fenetilaminas y ergolinas semisintéticas, las cuales ejercen su acción principalmente en el receptor 5-HT2A. Este tipo de sustancias comúnmente se han asociado a enfermedades cardiovasculares, las cuales son consideradas como una importante causa de morbilidad y mortalidad en países desarrollados. Sin embargo, de acuerdo con avances de los últimos años el uso de psicodélicos se considera seguro y eficaz en lo que respecta a la terapia para trastornos psiquiátricos, no obstante, puede ser un potencial factor de riesgo de patologías cardiovasculares en ambientes recreacionales y no controlados. El mecanismo de acción que relaciona estos compuestos con el sistema cardiovascular aún no es bien dilucidado, sin embargo, los receptores 5-HT2A y 5-HT1B, juegan un rol fundamental, generando una desregulación del sistema serotoninérgico. Se espera que en un futuro las investigaciones de las sustancias psicodélicas puedan tomar un nuevo rumbo en lo que respecta a ensayos clínicos enfocados en la psicoterapia y en la completa dilucidación de los mecanismos de acción de este tipo de compuestos en el sistema cardiovascular

The contribution of Sensory Processing Sensitivity and internalized attachment representations on emotion regulation competencies in school-age children

IntroductionAs captured by the individual trait of Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS), highly sensitive children perceive, process, and responds more strongly to stimuli. This increased sensitivity may make more demanding the process of regulating and managing emotions. Yet, developmental psychology literature also showed that other variables, as those related to the rearing environment, are likely to contribute to the process of regulating emotions. With the current contribution, we aim to bridge two lines of research, that of attachment studies and that of SPS, by investigating the additive and interactive contribution of SPS and internal working models of attachment representations on emotion regulation competencies in school-aged children.MethodParticipants were N = 118 Italian children (mean age: 6.5, SD = 0.58 years, and 51.8% female) with their mothers. Children’s positive attachment representations were rated observationally through the Manchester Child Attachment Story Task procedure during an individual session at school. Mothers reported on children SPS trait and emotion regulation competencies completing the Highly Sensitive Child Scale-parent report and the Emotion Regulation Checklist. We performed and compared a series of main and interaction effect models.ResultsSPS was not directly associated with emotion regulation but it was significantly associated with positive attachment representations in predicting emotion regulation. Highly sensitive children showed poorer emotion regulation when the internalized representations were low in maternal warmth and responsiveness. When driven by sensitive and empathic attachment representation, highly sensitive children showed better emotion regulation than less-sensitive peers, suggesting a for better and for worse effect.DiscussionHighly sensitive children are not only more vulnerable to adversities but also show better emotion regulation competencies when supported by positive internal working models of attachment relationships. Overall, findings shed light on the link between SPS and attachment and suggest that working for promoting secure attachment relationships in parent–child dyads may promote better emotion regulation competences, particularly in highly sensitive children

Participación de la mujer en un sistema de autoconstrucción sustentable

En este artículo se presentan los resultados de una investigación que, si bien atendió aspectos técnicos, fue su marcada tendencia social la que pone de manifiesto la importancia del desarrollo tecnológico propuesto. El proyecto de investigación consistió, en una parte, en determinar la factibilidad técnica de un desarrollo tecnológico para ser aplicado en la autoconstrucción de vivienda de bajo costo. Sin embargo, la principal aportación de este desarrollo es la participación activa de la mujer y ama de casa como factor principal en la mejora de su patrimonio familiar. El proyecto tuvo el objetivo de probar la viabilidad de una tecnología basada en el empleo de un sistema constructivo sustentable. Los resultados muestran que el sistema constructivo a base de muros de concreto aligerado con envases de PET tiene propiedades mecánicas similares a los materiales de construcción comerciales y posee un fuerte enfoque de sustentabilidad con mucho, superior a los sistemas constructivos existentes

Artificial reefs built by 3D printing: systematisation in the design, material selection and fabrication

The recovery of degraded marine coasts and the improvement of natural habitats are current issues of vital importance for the development of life, both marine and terrestrial. In this sense, the immersion of artificial reefs (ARs) in the marine environment is a way to stimulate the recovery of these damaged ecosystems. But it is necessary to have a multidisciplinary approach that analyses the materials, designs and construction process of artificial reefs in order to understand their true impact on the environment. For this reason, this paper presents the manufacture of artificial reefs by 3D printing, proposing designs with a combination of prismatic and random shapes, with different external overhangs as well as inner holes. For the definition of the artificial reef designs, criteria provided by marine biologists and the results obtained from a numerical simulation with ANSYS were taken into account, with which the stability of the artificial reefs on the seabed was analysed. Three dosages of cement mortars and three dosages of geopolymer mortars were studied as impression materials. The studies included determination of the rheological properties of the mortars, to define the printability, determination of the cost of the materials used, and determination of the mechanical strength and biological receptivity in prismatic specimens that were immersed in the sea for 3 months. To evaluate the environmental impact of the materials used in the production of the mortars, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was carried out. In order to choose the mortars that encompassed the best properties studied, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) was applied and the two best mortars were used for the manufacture of the artificial reefs. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the 3D printing process used were analysed. The results of the studies carried out in this research show that cement mortars have better characteristics for artificial reef applications using 3D printing, and that the technique applied for the manufacture of the artificial reefs allowed the digital models to be faithfully reproduced.This work has been co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg Atlantic Area Programme, under the project “Artificial Reef 3D Printing for Atlantic Area - 3DPARE” (EAPA_174/2016). Besides, the authors want to thank the following companies for their contribution: Solvay, for supplying the fly ash and sodium hydroxide; BASF, for providing the additives used in the research; Abonomar S.L., for providing the seashells sand; FCC ámbito, for providing the crushed recycled glass and Grupo Cementos Portland Valderribas (Mataporquera plant) for providing the cement

Development and validation of a prognostic model for the early identification of COVID-19 patients at risk of developing common long COVID symptoms

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic demands reliable prognostic models for estimating the risk of long COVID. We developed and validated a prediction model to estimate the probability of known common long COVID symptoms at least 60 days after acute COVID-19. Methods: The prognostic model was built based on data from a multicentre prospective Swiss cohort study. Included were adult patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between February and December 2020 and treated as outpatients, at ward or intensive/intermediate care unit. Perceived long-term health impairments, including reduced exercise tolerance/reduced resilience, shortness of breath and/or tiredness (REST), were assessed after a follow-up time between 60 and 425 days. The data set was split into a derivation and a geographical validation cohort. Predictors were selected out of twelve candidate predictors based on three methods, namely the augmented backward elimination (ABE) method, the adaptive best-subset selection (ABESS) method and model-based recursive partitioning (MBRP) approach. Model performance was assessed with the scaled Brier score, concordance c statistic and calibration plot. The final prognostic model was determined based on best model performance. Results: In total, 2799 patients were included in the analysis, of which 1588 patients were in the derivation cohort and 1211 patients in the validation cohort. The REST prevalence was similar between the cohorts with 21.6% (n = 343) in the derivation cohort and 22.1% (n = 268) in the validation cohort. The same predictors were selected with the ABE and ABESS approach. The final prognostic model was based on the ABE and ABESS selected predictors. The corresponding scaled Brier score in the validation cohort was 18.74%, model discrimination was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.75 to 0.81), calibration slope was 0.92 (95% CI: 0.78 to 1.06) and calibration intercept was -0.06 (95% CI: -0.22 to 0.09). Conclusion: The proposed model was validated to identify COVID-19-infected patients at high risk for REST symptoms. Before implementing the prognostic model in daily clinical practice, the conduct of an impact study is recommended. Keywords: Clinical prediction model; Long COVID; Prognostic factors; Stratified medicin

Impact of sex and gender on post-COVID-19 syndrome, Switzerland, 2020

Background: Women are overrepresented among individuals with post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). Biological (sex) as well as sociocultural (gender) differences between women and men might account for this imbalance, yet their impact on PASC is unknown. Aim: We assessed the impact of sex and gender on PASC in a Swiss population. Method: Our multicentre prospective cohort study included 2,856 (46% women, mean age 44.2 ± 16.8 years) outpatients and hospitalised patients with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.ResultsAmong those who remained outpatients during their first infection, women reported persisting symptoms more often than men (40.5% vs 25.5% of men; p < 0.001). This sex difference was absent in hospitalised patients. In a crude analysis, both female biological sex (RR = 1.59; 95% CI: 1.41-1.79; p < 0.001) and a score summarising gendered sociocultural variables (RR = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.03-1.07; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with PASC. Following multivariable adjustment, biological female sex (RR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.74-1.25; p = 0.763) was outperformed by feminine gender-related factors such as a higher stress level (RR = 1.04; 95% CI: 1.01-1.06; p = 0.003), lower education (RR = 1.16; 95% CI: 1.03-1.30; p = 0.011), being female and living alone (RR = 1.91; 95% CI: 1.29-2.83; p = 0.001) or being male and earning the highest income in the household (RR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.60-0.97; p = 0.030). Conclusion: Specific sociocultural parameters that differ in prevalence between women and men, or imply a unique risk for women, are predictors of PASC and may explain, at least in part, the higher incidence of PASC in women. Once patients are hospitalised during acute infection, sex differences in PASC are no longer evident

Long-Term Effects of Self-Control on Alcohol Use and Sexual Behavior among Urban Minority Young Women

High risk alcohol use and sexual behaviors peak in young adulthood and often occur in the same individuals. Alcohol use has been found to impair decision-making and contribute to high risk sexual activity. However, the association between alcohol use and risky sexual behavior may also reflect enduring individual differences in risk taking, sociability, self-control, and related variables. Both behaviors can serve similar functions related to recreation, interpersonal connection, and the pursuit of excitement or pleasure. The present study examined the extent to which high risk drinking and sexual behavior clustered together in a sample of urban minority young adult women, a demographic group at elevated risk for negative outcomes related to sexual health. We tested whether psychosocial functioning measured at the beginning of high school predicted classes of risk behaviors when girls were tracked longitudinally into young adulthood. Latent class analysis indicated three distinct profiles based on high risk drinking and sexual behavior (i.e., multiple sex partners) in young adulthood. The largest class (73% of the sample) reported low levels of risky drinking and sexual behavior. The next largest class (19%) reported high risk drinking and low risk sexual behavior, and the smallest class (8%) reported high levels of both behaviors. Compared to women from other racial/ethnic groups, black women were more likely to be categorized in the high risk drinking/low risk sex class. Multinomial logistic regression indicated that self-control in adolescence had a broad and enduring protective effect on risk behaviors eight years later and was associated with a greater probability of being in the low risk drinking/low risk sex class. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding the phenotypic expressions of risk behavior as they relate to early psychosocial development and the long-term protective function of self-control in reducing high risk drinking and sexual behaviors

Communication in health practices: integrative literature review

Objectivethis study aims to describe the main thematic axes explored in the communication field in health practices in the scenarios of the Unified Health System (SUS). Methodintegrative literature review conducted by means of search for articles in the databases Latin American Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS), International Literature on Health Sciences (MedLine), and Science Direct, using the descriptors: health communication or communication. A crossing of the descriptors communication and health education was provided. Resultfour themes were constructed: 1) communication to establish relationships between health professionals and users; 2) (in)communication: barriers to the communicative act, 3) communication and health professional education; and 4) communicative health models: search for the dialogic model. Conclusionby understanding dialogic communication, which must be observed in communication, the new requirements posed by the legalization of SUS have shown weaknesses of the single-line and vertical communication model and the need to provide health professionals, since the undergraduate course, with knowledge that enable dialogic communication practices. The challenge of reflective and participatory experiences in the various health care settings still remains, in order to promote a sharing of knowledge that leads to understanding between the interlocutors involved in the communicative act.Objetivoeste artigo tem por objetivo descrever os principais eixos temáticos explorados no campo da comunicação nas práticas em saúde nos cenários do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Métodorevisão integrativa da literatura realizada a partir da busca de artigos nas bases de dados Literatura Latino-Americana em Ciências da Saúde (Lilacs), Literatura Internacional em Ciências da Saúde (MedLine) e Science Direct, utilizando os descritores: comunicação em saúde ou comunicação. Procedeu-se ao cruzamento dos descritores comunicação e educação em saúde. Resultadoforam construídas quatro temáticas: 1) a comunicação no estabelecimento de relações entre profissionais da saúde e usuários; 2) (des)comunicação: barreiras ao ato comunicativo; 3) comunicação e formação do profissional da saúde; e 4) modelos comunicativos em saúde: a busca pelo modelo dialógico. Conclusãoa partir do entendimento da comunicação dialógica, que deve estar presente na comunicação, as novas demandas da legalização do SUS vêm mostrando fragilidades do modelo unilinear e verticalizado de comunicação e a necessidade de instrumentalizar os profissionais da saúde, desde a graduação, com saberes que proporcionem práticas comunicativas dialógicas. Persiste o desafio de vivências reflexivas e participativas nos vários cenários de assistência à saúde, de forma a promover um compartilhamento de saberes que conduza ao entendimento entre os interlocutores envolvidos no ato comunicativo.Universidade Federal de PernambucoUniversidade Federal de Pernambuco Departamento de FonoaudiologiaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Centro de Desenvolvimento do Ensino Superior em SaúdeUniversidade Federal de Pernambuco Departamento de EnfermagemUNIFESP, Centro de Desenvolvimento do Ensino Superior em SaúdeSciEL