Evaluación de la percepción socio-emocional en personas con Alexitimia

Alexithymia has been defined as difficulties in identifying, analysing, and expressing emotional experiences. It has been reported that people with alexithymia have social difficulties and difficulties in perceiving different emotional stimuli. However, the results have not been consistent. Objective: To identify the effect of socio-emotional words (insults, praise, and neutral words) on the perception of people with high and low levels of alexithymia using an emotional Stroop test. Method: Participants were 44 undergraduate students. Two groups were formed based on the TAS-20 scale: one group with high GA scores (>61) and the other with low GB scores (<28). The emotional Stroop test was used to assess the perception of socio-emotional stimuli presented in blocks by category. Scores on clinical depression, anxiety, and social phobia scores were recorded. Results: Reaction times to socio-emotional words were longer in the GA group than those in the GB group. Scores on clinical measures were higher in the GA group than in the GB group. Conclusions: The results suggest an attentional bias associated with a deficiency in emotional regulation(top-down) when people with alexithymia are presented with socio-emotional words. In addition, scores on the clinical measures suggest an association between alexithymia and clinical symptoms.La alexitimia se define como la dificultad de identificar, analizar y expresar las experiencias emocionales. Se ha reportado que las personas con alexitimia presentan dificultades a nivel social y en la percepción de distintos estímulos emocionales, sin embargo los resultados no han sido consistentes. Objetivos: identificar el efecto de palabras socio-emocionales (insultos, elogios y neutros) en la percepción de personas con alto y bajo nivel de alexitimia por medio de un Stroop emocional. Método: Participaron 44 estudiantes de nivel licenciatura y se conformaron dos grupos con base en la escala TAS-20, un grupo con alto puntaje GA (>61) y otro con bajo puntaje de alexitimia GB (<28). Se evaluó la percepción de estímulos socio-emocionales por medio del Stroop emocional, presentados en bloques por categoría. Además, se registraron los puntajes clínicos de depresión, ansiedad y fobia social. Resultados: Se observó que el GA tuvo mayores tiempos de reacción ante las palabras socio-emocionales en comparación con el GB. Se presentó también un mayor puntaje en las escalas clínicas en el GA que el GB. Conclusiones: Los resultados sugieren un sesgo atencional en personas con alexitimia ante palabras socio-emocionales. Asimismo, la puntuación obtenida de las escalas se mostró a favor de la relación entre la alexitimia y los síntomas clínicos

Maximum occlusal force and medial mandibular flexure in relation to vertical facial pattern: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Vertical facial pattern may be related to the direction of pull of the masticatory muscles, yet its effect on occlusal force and elastic deformation of the mandible still is unclear. This study tested whether the variation in vertical facial pattern is related to the variation in maximum occlusal force (MOF) and medial mandibular flexure (MMF) in 51 fully-dentate adults. METHODS: Data from cephalometric analysis according to the method of Ricketts were used to divide the subjects into three groups: Dolichofacial (n = 6), Mesofacial (n = 10) and Brachyfacial (n = 35). Bilateral MOF was measured using a cross-arch force transducer placed in the first molar region. For MMF, impressions of the mandibular occlusal surface were made in rest (R) and in maximum opening (O) positions. The impressions were scanned, and reference points were selected on the occlusal surface of the contralateral first molars. MMF was calculated by subtracting the intermolar distance in O from the intermolar distance in R. Data were analysed by ANCOVA (fixed factors: facial pattern, sex; covariate: body mass index (BMI); alpha = 0.05). RESULTS: No significant difference of MOF or MMF was found among the three facial patterns (P = 0.62 and P = 0.72, respectively). BMI was not a significant covariate for MOF or MMF (P > 0.05). Sex was a significant factor only for MOF (P = 0.007); males had higher MOF values than females. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that MOF and MMF did not vary as a function of vertical facial pattern in this Brazilian sample

Search for coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering at a nuclear reactor with CONNIE 2019 data

The Coherent Neutrino-Nucleus Interaction Experiment (CONNIE) is taking data at the Angra 2 nuclear reactor with the aim of detecting the coherent elastic scattering of reactor antineutrinos with silicon nuclei using charge-coupled devices (CCDs). In 2019 the experiment operated with a hardware binning applied to the readout stage, leading to lower levels of readout noise and improving the detection threshold down to 50 eV. The results of the analysis of 2019 data are reported here, corresponding to the detector array of 8 CCDs with a fiducial mass of 36.2 g and a total exposure of 2.2 kg-days. The difference between the reactor-on and reactor-off spectra shows no excess at low energies and yields upper limits at 95% confidence level for the neutrino interaction rates. In the lowest-energy range, 50-180 eV, the expected limit stands at 34 (39) times the standard model prediction, while the observed limit is 66 (75) times the standard model prediction with Sarkis (Chavarria) quenching factors.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figure

A“Dirty” Footprint: Macroinvertebrate diversity in Amazonian Anthropic Soils

International audienceAmazonian rainforests, once thought to be pristine wilderness, are increasingly known to have been widely inhabited, modified, and managed prior to European arrival, by human populations with diverse cultural backgrounds. Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are fertile soils found throughout the Amazon Basin, created by pre-Columbian societies with sedentary habits. Much is known about the chemistry of these soils, yet their zoology has been neglected. Hence, we characterized soil fertility, macroinvertebrate communities, and their activity at nine archeological sites in three Amazonian regions in ADEs and adjacent reference soils under native forest (young and old) and agricultural systems. We found 673 morphospecies and, despite similar richness in ADEs (385 spp.) and reference soils (399 spp.), we identified a tenacious pre-Columbian footprint, with 49% of morphospecies found exclusively in ADEs. Termite and total macroinvertebrate abundance were higher in reference soils, while soil fertility and macroinvertebrate activity were higher in the ADEs, and associated with larger earthworm quantities and biomass. We show that ADE habitats have a unique pool of species, but that modern land use of ADEs decreases their populations, diversity, and contributions to soil functioning. These findings support the idea that humans created and sustained high-fertility ecosystems that persist today, altering biodiversity patterns in Amazonia

Genetic Characterization of Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 in Mozambique: Transcontinental Lineages Drive the HTLV-1 Endemic

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the causative agent of Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (ATL), the Tropical Spastic Paraparesis/HTLV-1-associated Myelopathy (TSP/HAM) and other inflammatory diseases, including dermatitis, uveitis, and myositis. It is estimated that 2–8% of the infected persons will develop a HTLV-1-associated disease during their lifetimes, frequently TSP/HAM. Thus far, there is not a specific treatment to this progressive and chronic disease. HTLV-1 has means of three transmission: (i) from mother to child during prolonged breastfeeding, (ii) between sexual partners and (iii) through blood transfusion. HTLV-1 has been characterized in 7 subtypes and the geographical distribution and the clinical impact of this infection is not well known, mainly in African population. HTLV-1 is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Mozambique is a country of southeastern Africa where TSP/HAM cases were reported. Recently, our group estimated the HTLV prevalence among Mozambican blood donors as 0.9%. In this work we performed a genetic analysis of HTLV-1 in blood donors and HIV/HTLV co-infected patients from Maputo, Mozambique. Our results showed the presence of three HTLV-1 clusters within the Cosmopolitan/Transcontinental subtype/subgroup. The differential rates of HIV-1/HTLV-1 co-infection in the three HTLV-1 clusters demonstrated the dynamic of the two viruses and the need for implementation of control measures focusing on both retroviruses