Protocol for an observational cohort study on psychological, addictive, lifestyle behavior and highly prevalent affective disorders in primary health care adults

Depression and anxious symptoms are prevalent in the general population, and their onset and persistence may be linked to biological and psychosocial factors, many of which are lifestyle-related. The way we manage our care, physical and emotional health and/or discomfort is highly influenced by our own abilities, skills and attitudes despite life’s circumstances. The main aim of this protocol to analyze the relationship between psychological constructs (self-efficacy, activation, health literacy, resilience, personality traits, sense of coherence, self-esteem), and the presence of affective-emotional problems (anxiety, depression) and addictions in primary health care.MethodsThis is a protocol of a prospective longitudinal cohort study including people of 35–74 years old of Aragon primary health care centers (Spain). Three evaluations will be conducted: baseline evaluation, and follow-up assessments five and ten years after recruitment. The primary outcomes will be severity of depression, severity of anxiety, and addictive behaviors. A detailed set of secondary outcomes will be assessed across all three assessments. This will include psychosocial or personal factors on health behavior, social support, lifestyle patterns, quality of life, the use of health and social resources, and chronic comorbid pathology.DiscussionThe analysis of the impact of psychological constructs and lifestyles on the mental health of people and communities will provide evidence that will make it possible to better address and prevent these prevalent problems and address their improvement from a more global and holistic perspective. The evaluation of psychological constructs should be incorporated into health services to improve people’s ability their self-care, the level of knowledge of managing their disease and their physical, mental and social health.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.isrctn.com/, identifier ISRCTN12820058

Enhancement of a High Speed De-Excitation System for Brushless Synchronous Machines by large blocking voltage semiconductors

One of the main disadvantage of the synchronous machines with brushless excitation is that the field winding is not accessible for the de-excitation. The de-excitation process is very slow as the field current flows through the rotating diodes which operate in freewheel mode. Therefore in case of an internal fault, despite the correct operation of the protection relays, the machine could have severe damages. A high-speed de-excitation system for these machines was developed. The de-excitation is achieved by inserting a resistance in the field circuit by a static switch semiconductor based, obtaining a dynamic response similar to that achieved in machines with static excitation. This paper presents the improvement in the de-excitation system in the second commercial 20 MVA hydro generator in operation. In this case, high blocking voltage semiconductor was used, making the dynamic response even better, than in the first hydro generator

Angiotensin II type 2 receptor as a novel activator of brown adipose tissue in obesity

The angiotensin II type 2 receptor (AT2R) exerts vasorelaxant, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. In obesity, its activation counterbalances the adverse cardiovascular effects of angiotensin II mediated by the AT1R. Preliminary results indicate that it also promotes brown adipocyte differentiation in vitro. Our hypothesis is that AT2R activation could increase BAT mass and activity in obesity. Five-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were fed a standard or a high-fat (HF) diet for 6 weeks. Half of the animals were treated with compound 21 (C21), a selective AT2R agonist, (1 mg/kg/day) in the drinking water. Electron transport chain (ETC), oxidative phosphorylation, and UCP1 proteins were measured in the interscapular BAT (iBAT) and thoracic perivascular adipose tissue (tPVAT) as well as inflammatory and oxidative parameters. Differentiation and oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in the presence of C21 was tested in brown preadipocytes. In vitro, C21-differentiated brown adipocytes showed an AT2R-dependent increase of differentiation markers (Ucp1, Cidea, Pparg) and increased basal and H+ leak-linked OCR. In vivo, HF-C21 mice showed increased iBAT mass compared to HF animals. Both their iBAT and tPVAT showed higher protein levels of the ETC protein complexes and UCP1, together with a reduction of inflammatory and oxidative markers. The activation of the AT2R increases BAT mass, mitochondrial activity, and reduces markers of tissue inflammation and oxidative stress in obesity. Therefore, insulin reduction and better vascular responses are achieved. Thus, the activation of the protective arm of the renin–angiotensin system arises as a promising tool in the treatment of obesity15 página

Equalization in the model of regional financing.

RESUMEN. Entre los aspectos más controvertidos de los sucesivos sistemas de financiación de las Comunidades de régimen común es la nivelación. El modelo actual introdujo un criterio de nivelación parcial, con el objetivo de garantizar la igualdad en la prestación de determinados servicios públicos fundamentales. De cara a la próxima reforma, este trabajo revisa los avances recientemente producidos. Puede señalarse que en el modelo actual pese a que garantiza el statu quo del sistema anterior, algunas regiones ganan más. Adicionalmente, si bien en términos de equidad, disminuye la dispersión interregional de recursos, sigue manteniéndose el problema de la ordinalidad.ABSTRACT. After a long process of negotiation between central and regional Governments, almost six years ago, the Council of Fiscal and Financial Policy approved the current funding system for the regions of the common system. In it, several technical issues such as the increase in tax rates transfers or the concept of partial equalization, based on the essential public services (health, education and essential social services), were collected. One of the most controversial aspects of the successive financing systems of the Autonomous Communities is the equalisation mechanisms. Thus, the current regional financing system introduced partial equalisation criteria, limited to 75 % of tax revenues in order to ensure equality in the provision of basic public services. In short, it may be noted that the reform carried out in 2009 had two main objectives: ensuring sufficient funding and equal resources to finance basic public services

La educación emocional como recurso para la prevención de la violencia de género en niños/as de educación de primaria.

La violencia de género suele ser entendida de forma sesgada como un problema que se produce en el ámbito privado. Sin embargo, debe interpretarse como un fenómeno que tiene lugar en nuestra sociedad, marcando de modo estructural la desigualdad entre hombres y mujeres. En este sentido, la calidad educativa en los últimos años, ha incorporado la Inteligencia Emocional como complemento del desarrollo cognitivo, existiendo en la actualidad trabajos encaminados a potenciar las habilidades sobre las emociones con el fin de afrontar las relaciones basadas en la igualdad. En el presente trabajo proponemos el entrenamiento en competencias de Inteligencia Emocional en las aulas de Educación Primaria como herramienta para la prevención de actitudes desencadenantes de violencia simbólica entre géneros. Para ello, presentamos un programa educación emocional planteado desde la prevención primaria y dirigido al alumnado preadolescente de Sexto de Educación Primaria (11-12 años). Se trata de 15 sesiones agrupadas en 4 bloques de contenidos de acuerdo al “Modelo Multifactorial de la Inteligencia Emocional” de Bar-On (1997). El programa supone una propuesta innovadora que facilite al alumno/a de forma integral: aprender a convivir, aprender a ser, aprender a hacer y a aprender a aprender (Delors, 1996).Gender violence is often understood in a biased manner as a problem that occurs in the private sphere. However, it is interpreted as a phenomenon that takes place in our society, marking in structural inequality between men and women. In this sense, the quality of education in recent years, has incorporated emotional intelligence as an adjunct to cognitive development, there is presently work aimed at enhancing the skills of emotions in order to cope with relationships based on equality. In this paper we propose training in emotional intelligence competencies in classrooms of primary education as a tool for preventing trigger attitudes of symbolic violence between genders. To do this, we present an emotional education program from primary prevention raised and directed to the preadolescent students in Sixth of Primary Education (11-12 years). It is 15 sessions grouped into 4 blocks of content according to the "Multifactor Model of Emotional Intelligence or noncognitive Intelligences" Bar-On (1997). The program is an innovative proposal to provide the student / a holistically: learning to live together, learning to be, learning to do and learning to learn (Delors, 1996)

El género como variable influyente para el desarrollo de malos tratos psicológicos en las relaciones de pareja de jóvenes universitarios/as

La violencia psicológica en el noviazgo es un fenómeno actual de magnitud universal. El presente trabajo aporta un mayor conocimiento sobre el maltrato psicológico en las relaciones de noviazgo en jóvenes universitarios/as. Asimismo, se analiza la relación entre los malos tratos psicológicos en la pareja y el sexo del sujeto. Participaron 216 estudiantes universitarios/as distribuidos en dos grupos atendiendo al sexo con edades comprendidas entre los 17 y 23 años. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto un mayor repertorio conductual por parte del varón en lo referido al maltrato psicológico en la pareja que la mujer, confirmándose la presencia de diferencias significativas en las conductas de ridiculización, reproches y amenazas. Todo parece indicar que el género es un factor influyente en la capacidad de infligir daño psicológico a la pareja. Se sugiere la puesta en práctica de medidas coeducativas que se anticipen a la instauración de aprendizajes patriarcales tradicionales.The psychological dating violence is a current phenomenon of universal magnitude. This study provides a better understanding of psychological abuse in dating relationships in young university / as. Furthermore, the relationship between psychological abuse in relationships and sex of the subject is analyzed. 216 attended university / as students divided into two groups according to sex aged between 17 and 23 years. The results show a greater behavioral repertoire by the man with regard to psychological abuse in the couple that the woman, confirming the presence of significant differences in the behavior of ridicule, accusations and threats. It seems that gender is an influential in the ability to inflict psychological harm to the couple factor. the implementation of co-educational measures that anticipate the establishment of traditional patriarchal learning is suggested

Knowledge representation tool for cognitiveprocesses modeling

In the last decades, neuropsychological theories tend to consider cognitive functions as a result of the whole brainwork and not as individual local areas of its cortex. Studies based on neuroimaging techniques have increased in the last years, promoting an exponential growth of the body of knowledge about relations between cognitive functions and brain structures [1]. However, so fast evolution make complicated to integrate them in verifiable theories and, even more, translated in to cognitive rehabilitation. The aim of this research work is to develop a cognitive process-modeling tool. The purpose of this system is, in the first term, to represent multidimensional data, from structural and functional connectivity, neuroimaging, data from lesion studies and derived data from clinical intervention [2][3]. This will allow to identify consolidated knowledge, hypothesis, experimental designs, new data from ongoing studies and emerging results from clinical interventions. In the second term, we pursuit to use Artificial Intelligence to assist in decision making allowing to advance towards evidence based and personalized treatments in cognitive rehabilitation. This work presents the knowledge base design of the knowledge representation tool. It is compound of two different taxonomies (structure and function) and a set of tags linking both taxonomies at different levels of structural and functional organization. The remainder of the abstract is organized as follows: Section 2 presents the web application used for gathering necessary information for generating the knowledge base, Section 3 describes knowledge base structure and finally Section 4 expounds reached conclusions

An approach to age and growth of south Atlantic swordfish (Xiphias gladius) stock

A first growth function was estimated for the South Atlantic swordfish stock. A total of 406 anal fins were collected from 2006 to 2013. Fins were classified into three types and the most common, type A, was selected. Biometric relationships among several ray section measurements and lower jaw fork length were analysed. A detailed methodological description for swordfish age interpretation has been developed. Inconclusive results have been obtained when indirect validation test, as edge type and marginal increment ratio analysis, were applied. Mean size at age and growth parameters were estimated using the Standard Von Bertalanffy growth model (VBGM) (L∞= 358.7, k= 0.092, t0= -1.929), which showed the best fit in comparison with other VBGMs

Functionality, physical activity, fatigue and quality of life in patients with acute COVID-19 and Long COVID infection

A prominent feature of COVID-19, both in the short and long term, is the reduction in quality of life (QoL) due to low functionality scores and the presence of fatigue, which can hinder daily activities. The main objective of this study is to compare the functional status, level of physical activity, fatigue, and QoL of patients with Long COVID to other COVID-19 patients who did not develop persistent illness, and to determine whether there is a relationship between these variables and QoL. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 170 participants who had been infected with COVID-19 or had developed Long COVID. The main variables studied were functionality, physical activity, QoL and fatigue, measured using the PostCOVID-19 Functional Status Scale (PCFS), International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), Short Form 12 (SF-12), and Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). The main findings show a significant relationship (p < 0.001) between reduced functionality, lower physical activity levels, increased fatigue severity, and poorer QoL in Long COVID patients. Furthermore, these variables are also related to worse QoL, but only functional status predicts it. In conclusion, our results have shown highly significant correlations between the group with COVID-19 and Long COVID regarding functional status, level of physical activity, QoL, and fatigue