Therapeutic potential of spirituality and mystical experiences in the treatment of substance use disorders.

Objetivo. Este artículo tiene como objetivo ofrecer una descripción general del papel de la espiritualidad, de la fe y de las experiencias místicas en el tratamiento de los trastornos por uso de sustancias (TUS) presentando el caso de la comunidad terapéutica Takiwasi, donde se utilizan plantas psicoactivas, y considerando otras terapias pertenecientes a las medicinas complementarias y alternativas (MCA) que derivan de o tienen conexión con prácticas religiosas o espirituales. Metodología. La investigación se ha basado en la revisión de la literatura científica y gris y en una entrevista realizada con el presidente y fundador del Centro Takiwasi. Resultados y discusión. El sinergismo entre la espiritualidad cristiana y amazónica parece relevante dentro del protocolo Takiwasi. La literatura pone en evidencia el uso de MCA, incluyendo Mindfulness, Respiración Holotrópica y Yoga. Conclusión. La experiencia clínica muestra que la espiritualidad es un factor clave que se debe tener en cuenta en el tratamiento de la adicción y varias prácticas de MCA con connotaciones espirituales muestran un potencial prometedor para el tratamiento de los TUS.Objective. This article aims to give an overview on the role of spirituality, faith and mystical experiences in the treatment of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) by presenting the case of the therapeutic community Takiwasi, where psychoactive plants are used, and by considering other Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapies that are derived from or have connection with religious or spiritual practices. Methodology. The research has been based on the review of scientific and grey literature and on an interview performed with the president and founder of Takiwasi. Results and discussion. Synergism between Christian and Amazonian spirituality appears relevant within the Takiwasi protocol. The use of CAM including Mindfulness, Holotropic Breathwork and Yoga emerge from the literature. Conclusions. Clinical experience show that spirituality is a key factor to be taken into account when considering addiction treatment and several CAM practices with spiritual connotations show promising potential for the treatment of SUDs

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index versus Dark Green Colour Index to estimate nitrogen status on bermudagrass hybrid and tall fescue

In recent years digital sensors have been successfully integrated on board Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to assess crop vigour, vegetation coverage, and to quantify the ‘greenness’ of foliage as indirect measurements of crop nitrogen status. The classical approach of precision agriculture has involved the use of multispectral sensors onboard UAV and the development of numerous vegetation indices associated with vegetation parameters, such as the mostly used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). However, the main negative issue when dealing with multi and hyper-spectral reflectance measuring tools is their high cost and complexity from the operational point of view. As a low-cost alternative, vegetation indices derived from Red Green Blue (RGB) cameras have been employed for remote-sensing assessment, providing data on different stress conditions and species. Digital images record information as amounts of RGB light emitted for each pixel of the image; however, the intensity of red and blue will often alter how green an image appears. To simplify the interpretation of digital colour data, recent studies have suggested converting RGB values to the more intuitive Hue, Saturation, and Brightness (HSB) colour spectrum, and then into a single measure of dark green colour, the Dark Green Color Index (DGCI). In this study, NDVI acquired by a ground-based handheld crop sensor and by a multispectral camera mounted on board a UAV has been compared with DGCI calculated from images taken with a commercial digital camera on board a UAV, trying to quantify the colour of turfgrass that had received different nitrogen (N) rates. The objectives of the trial were to study an affordable easy-to-use tool evaluating the relationship among NDVI, DGCI and leaf nitrogen content on turfgrass