O conceito de tempo na percepção de crianças e adolescentes

Introduction: Children and adolescents use different markers to elaborate the concept of time, and such markers change along their development. The objective of the present article was to analyze changes in time concepts in different age groups. Methods: The study included 81 children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years, attending elementary or high school at a public school in southern Brazil. Participants were asked to provide their definition of time, either orally (children) or in writing (older children and adolescents). Results: Twenty-one words were identified as related with the definition of time. The term “hours” was the most frequently cited (24.7%), followed by “clock” and “family” (11.1% each). Among children aged 6 to 8 years, “family” was the term most frequently mentioned to refer to time. Between 9 to 11 years of age, the notion of time was essentially related to the use of a clock, and in the 12-17-year age group, time was mostly associated with the word “days.” The word “family” appears to be a frequent temporal marker in childhood, but loses this function during adolescence, as new social relationships are established. Conclusion: The results of this study show that the concept of time varies according to age. Chronobiological studies should therefore take into consideration the temporal perception peculiar to each age group.Introdução: Crianças e adolescentes utilizam diferentes marcadores para a construção do conceito de tempo, os quais se modificam ao longo do desenvolvimento. O objetivo deste artigo foi analisar mudanças em conceitos temporais e suas transições ao longo da idade. Material e métodos: Participaram do estudo 81 crianças e adolescentes com idade entre 6 e 17 anos, estudantes do ensino médio e fundamental de uma escola pública do sul do Brasil. Solicitou-se aos participantes que informassem sua definição de tempo, verbalmente (crianças) ou por escrito (crianças mais velhas e adolescentes). Resultados: Foram identificadas 21 palavras relacionadas com a definição de tempo. O termo “horas” foi o mais citado (24,7%), seguido de “relógio” e “família” (11,1% cada). Entre 6 e 8 anos, o termo “família” foi o mais frequentemente mencionado para se referir ao tempo. Entre 9 e 11 anos, a noção de tempo esteve relacionada ao uso do relógio, e entre 12 e 17 anos, o tempo foi associado principalmente à palavra “dias”. Na infância, o termo “família” é um marcador temporal recorrente, mas perde tal significado na adolescência, à medida que surgem novas relações sociais. Conclusão: Os resultados deste estudo mostraram que o conceito de tempo varia conforme a idade. Portanto, estudos cronobiológicos devem considerar a percepção temporal própria para cada faixa etária

Estudo de aspectos comportamentais tempo-dependentes e cronotipo

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Work routines moderate the association between eveningness and poor psychological well-being

Well-being is a useful screening method for the detection of mood disorders. Evidence associating psychological well-being with sleep-wake patterns exists, as well as associations with sleep-wake patterns, work-related parameters, and perceived self-efficacy. Despite the growing research regarding the relationship between these factors and mental health, there are few studies that analyze them together. OBJECTIVE: To investigate if the association between sleep-wake patterns and psychological well-being is mediated or moderated by perceived self-efficacy, work flexibility and work routines. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cohort study was performed in southern Brazil. A sample of 987 individuals was analyzed (66.9% women; mean age = 43.9 years). Work routines parameters and work schedule flexibility were evaluated, most participants were farmers (46%) and most worked 7 days a week (69.1%). Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ) was administered for evaluation of sleep-wake patterns, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) for assessment the participants’ beliefs about how they coped with daily hassles, and World Health Organization Five-item Well-being Index (WHO-5) for evaluation of psychological well-being levels. Moderation and mediation models were tested. RESULTS: The moderation model showed influences of work end time on the relationship between sleep onset time and psychological well-being (R2 = 0.147; F = 24.16; p<0.001). The final regression model showed an association of psychological well-being with sex (Beta = -0.086; p = 0.004), sleep onset time (Beta = -0.086; p = 0.006), and self-efficacy (Beta = 0.316; p<0.001); the work end time showed association in the interaction with sleep onset time (Beta = -0.075; p = 0.016). ONCLUSION: The findings support the direct association of psychological well-being with sleep-wake patterns and self-efficacy, and show an interaction between work routines and sleep-wake patterns. Our results draw attention to the importance of the interplay between individual and social rhythms in relation to psychological well-being

Development of brief version of the Social Rhythm Metric

Objetivo: O objetivo deste trabalho é o estabelecimento de uma versão abreviada da Escala de Ritmo Social, com vistas à aplicação em pesquisa. Métodos: Tomando como padrão-ouro a Escala de Ritmo Social de 17 itens, estabelecidas três versões breves a partir de três critérios diferentes. Comparados escores de regularidade e quantidade de atividades desenvolvidas em um período de uma semana de 167 sujeitos saudáveis, 25 portadores de epilepsia mioclônica juvenil e 16 portadores de transtorno depressivo. Resultados: A versão breve de seis itens mostrou melhor concordância com relação ao padrão-ouro k = 0,51; p < 0,001. A análise bivariada demonstrou significativa correlação entre a versão breve-6 e o padrão-ouro: (r = 0,87; p < 0,001). Houve correlação com idade na versão breve-6 (r = 0,2; p < 0,001), ainda mais significativa do que no padrão-ouro (r = 0,2; P < 0,01). Na análise ANOVA, o grupo saudável apresentou escores mais altos de regularidade em ambas as escalas. Com relação à quantidade de atividades, o grupo saudável assemelhou-se ao dos portadores de epilepsia e o dos portadores de depressão apresentou médias mais baixas. Conclusão: A simplificação da escala diminui a porcentagem de itens não preenchidos e custo em material impresso e facilita a padronização. O processo envolveu cuidadosa análise da adequação do instrumento à cultura-alvoOBJECTIVE: The objective of this work was to establish a brief version of the Social Rhythm Metric, aimed at applying it in research. METHODS: Taking the 17-item Social Rhythm Metric as the gold standard, three brief versions were created based on three different criteria. compared the scores of the regularity and quantity of activities carried out in a week for 167 healthy subjects and 25 individuals with juvenile myoclonic epilepy and 16 with depressive disturbance. RESULTS: The brief version of 6 items showed better concordance in relation to the gold standard; k = 0.51, p < 0.001. Bivariate analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between the brief version 6 and the gold standard (r = 0.87; p < 0.001). There was a correlation with age in the brief 6 version (r = 0.2; p < 0.001), even more significant than in the gold standard (r = 0.2; P < 0.01). ANOVA showed higher scores for regularity in the healthy using both scales. However, in relation to the quantity of activities, the healthy group resembled the epilepsy group, and the individuals with depression showed lower means. CONCLUSION: The simplification of the Social Rhythm Metric decreased the percenta-ge of items not filled in and the cost of printed matter and facilitate the standardization. The process involved a careful analysis of suitability of the instrument for the target culture

Boat noise and black drum vocalizations in Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (Argentina)

Human-generated underwater noise and its effect on marine biota is recognized as an important issue. Boat noise can affect the communication success of fish species that use sounds for spawning purposes. During the reproductive period, males of the black drum Pogonias spp. produce calls ranging from 90 Hz to 300 Hz. In the Mar Chiquita coastal lagoon (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Pogonias courbina is one of the primary fishing species. Although no regulation is directly applied to protect it, a ban protects the reproductive period of other fish species during weekdays. Here, we investigated the potential effect of boat noise on P. courbina vocalizations through a passive acoustic method. Acoustic data were collected, and P. courbina calls were identified and counted. The files with boat noise passages were categorized into classes according to their noise frequency range (A = below 700 Hz, B = over 700 Hz, and C = below and above 700 Hz). The fish call rate was lower in files where boat noise overlapped the fish call frequency (Classes A and C). Only boat noise from Class C was significantly reduced during days with the active fishing ban. These results suggest that anthropogenic noise may affect the P. courbina call rate and underline the importance of including the evaluation of anthropogenic noise in the current management of the area.Fil: Ceraulo, Maria. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino; ItaliaFil: Sal Moyano, María Paz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Hidalgo, Fernando Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Bazterrica, Maria Cielo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Mazzola, Salvatore. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino; ItaliaFil: Gavio, Maria Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Buscaino, Giuseppa. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Istituto per lo studio degli impatti Antropici e Sostenibilità in ambiente marino; Itali

Metabolic disturbances due to a high-fat diet in a non-insulin-resistant animal model

OBJECTIVE: Shift workers have metabolic changes more often than day workers. It is also known that night workers prefer foods high in saturated fat. Such data suggest that shift workers are prone to cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the objective of this study was to propose an animal model to test the effect of high-fat diet (HFD) based on shift workers’ diet. METHODS: This is an experimental study with 20 Wistar rats. Ten rats were allocated to the control group (CG) and were fed standard diet. Ten rats were allocated to the experimental group (EG) and were fed HFD (45% fat). Serum triglycerides (TG), glucose and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-cho) were measured 5, 10 and 15 weeks after the beginning of the study. The amount of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was determined. Body weight was assessed weekly, and food and water intake were measured daily. Student’s t-test was used for independent samples, and Po0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: After 15 weeks of intervention, the EG showed increased serum levels of TG (P = 0.001) and glucose (Po0.001) and decreased HDL-cho (Po0.001) when compared with the CG. The EG showed increased VAT (P = 0.005) and liver weight (P = 0.01). Food intake and water intake were higher in the CG (Po0.001 and Po0.001, respectively), whereas energy intake showed no difference (P = 0.48). No difference was found in the weight of adrenal glands (P = 0.07) and body weight (P = 0.63). CONCLUSIONS: The experimental diet was effective to show changes in the serum levels of glucose, TG and HDL-cho and visceral fat in spite of no change in body weight in 15 weeks

Relationship between circadian strain, light exposure, and body mass index in rural and urban quilombola communities

Industrialization has greatly changed human lifestyle; work and leisure activities have been moved indoors, and artificial light has been used to illuminate the night. As cyclic environmental cues such as light and feeding become weak and/or irregular, endogenous circadian systems are increasingly being disrupted. These disruptions are associated with metabolic dysfunction, possibly contributing to increased rates of overweight and obesity worldwide. Here, we aimed to investigate how activity-rest rhythms, patterns of light exposure, and levels of urbanization may be associated with body mass index (BMI) in a sample of rural and urban Quilombola communities in southern Brazil. These are characterized as remaining social groups who resisted the slavery regime that prevailed in Brazil. Quilombola communities were classified into five groups according to their stage of urbanization: from rural areas with no access to electricity to highly urbanized communities. We collected anthropometric data to calculate BMI, which was categorized as follows: from ≥ 18.5 kg/m2 to < 25 kg/m2 = normal weight; from ≥ 25 kg/m2 to < 30 kg/m2 = overweight; and ≥ 30 kg/m2 = obese. Subjects were asked about their sleep routines and light exposure on workdays and work-free days using the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (N = 244 included). In addition, we analyzed actimetry data from 121 participants with seven consecutive days of recordings. Living in more urbanized areas and higher intradaily variability (IV) of activity-rest rhythms were associated with an increased risk of belonging to the overweight or obese group, when controlling for age and sex. These findings are consistent with preclinical data and point to potential strategies in obesity prevention and promotion of healthy metabolic profiles

Melatonin and depression : a translational perspective from animal models to clinical studies

Daily rhythm of melatonin synchronizes the body to the light/dark environmental cycle. Several hypotheses have been raised to understand the intersections between melatonin and depression, in which changes in rest-activity and sleep patterns are prominent. This review describes key experimental and clinical evidence that link melatonin with the etiopathology and symptomatology of depressive states, its role in the follow up of therapeutic response to antidepressants, as well as the clinical evidence of melatonin as MDD treatment. Melatonin, as an internal temporal cue contributing to circadian organization and best studied in the context of circadian misalignment, is also implicated in neuroplasticity. The monoaminergic systems that underly MDD and melatonin production overlap. In addition, the urinary metabolite 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6) has been proposed as biomarker for antidepressant responders, by revealing whether the blockage of noradrenaline uptake has taken place within 24 h from the first antidepressant dose. Even though animal models show benefits from melatonin supplementation on depressive-like behavior, clinical evidence is inconsistent vis-à-vis prophylactic or therapeutic benefits of melatonin or melatonin agonists in depression. We argue that the study of melatonin in MDD or other psychiatric disorders must take into account the specificities of melatonin as an integrating molecule, inextricably linked to entrainment, metabolism, immunity, neurotransmission, and cell homeostasis