Mindfulness meditation and improvement in depressive symptoms among Spanish- and English speaking adults: A randomized, controlled, comparative efficacy trial.

ObjectiveLatino immigrants experience acculturative stress and increased depression risk. Mindfulness meditation improves depressive symptoms, yet the vast majority of research has focused on English speaking populations.MethodsIn this randomized clinical trial with 2 parallel treatment groups, adults with moderate levels of perceived stress (n = 76) were recruited from the Los Angeles community from October 2015 to March 2016, stratified into Spanish- (n = 36) and English speaking (n = 40) language groups, and randomized for 6 weeks of treatment with standardized mindful awareness practices (MAPs) or health education (HE). Main outcome measure was depressive symptoms, measured by the Beck Depression Inventory.ResultsUsing an intent-to-treat analysis, the primary outcome, depressive symptoms as indexed by the Beck Depression Inventory, showed greater improvement in MAPs vs. HE, with a between-group post-intervention mean difference of -2.2 (95% CI -4.4 - -0.07) and effect size of 0.28; similar effect sizes were found in the the Spanish- (0.29) and English speaking (0.30) groups. MAPs showed significant improvement relative to HE on secondary outcome of mindfulness with between group difference of 10.7 (95% CI4.5-16.9), but not perceived stress.ConclusionThe comparable efficacy of Spanish and English formats of mindfulness meditation in improving depressive symptoms suggests that this community based intervention may mitigate depression risk in Latino adults who are experiencing social adversity.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03545074

Metastatic cervical paravertebral solitary fibrous tumor detected by fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography.

Solitary fibrous tumor/hemangiopericytomas (SFT/HPC) are soft tissue tumors that can arising from the abomen, pleura, head and neck, or extremities. We report an unusual case of recurrent hemangiopericytoma in a 67-year-old female presenting with a painless and palpable mass within her right posterior neck. Eight years after initial resection of the mass, a follow-up MRI showed multiple enlarging calvarial lesions. A whole body FDG-PET/CT revealed not only hypermetabolic calvarial lesions but also numerous hypermetabolic axillary node and osseous metastases. Though the majority of these soft tissue tumors exhibit benign behavior and carry a favorable prognosis, patients with these slow growing tumors are at risk for local recurrence and distant metastases which demonstrate substantial FDG avidity. Additional studies are needed to clarify the role of whole body FDG-PET/CT in the surveillance of SFT/HPC to detect recurrent or metastatic lesions

Efecto de la modulación del receptor para cannabinoide 1 (RCB1) sobre marcadores bioquímicos y conductuales de neurotoxicidad estriatal inducidos por el ácido 3 nitropropiónico (3-NP) en ratas

CB1 receptors (also known as cannabinoid 1 receptors) are part of the endocannabinoid system (ESC) and participate in different physiological functions; they are abundant in the Central Nervous System and are mainly located in neuronal cells, where they regulate the synaptic functions at the presynaptic levels. Among these functions, CB1 inhibit the release of neurotransmitters such as glutamate (Glu) and gamma-aminobutiric acid (GABA). At the presynaptic level, they modulate the activity of GABAergic and glutamatergic receptors, inducing hypofunction of Nmethyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAr). CB1 receptors also participate in redox modulation. In this work, some processes linked with CB1 activity were evaluated in a rodent model of Huntington’s disease induced by the intrastriatal infusion of 3- nitropropionic acid (3-NP). 3-NP is a micotoxin derived from mushrooms and plants that blocks irreversibly the mitochondrial complex II (succinate dehydrogenase), thus inducing a decrease of ATP levels and an increase of free radical formation, favoring the process of secondary excitotoxicity due to neuronal depolarization and the subsequent NMDAr overactivation, which in turn allow a massive Ca2+ influx to further stimulate the death of striatal GABAergic neurons. First, we evaluated whether the CB1 receptor activation by the selective synthetic agonist of CB1, WIN 55,212-2, is able to protect the rat striatal tissue against the damage induced by 3-NP. For this purpose, WIN 55,212-2 (1 mg/kg i.p. x 6 days) was administered as a pretreatment to rats, and behavioral and biochemical parameters related with 3-NP-induced (500 nmol/µl, intrastriatal bilateral infusion) toxicity were evaluated in adult male Wistar rats x (280-320 g). Locomotor activity was estimated by the open field test, whereas the extent of tissue damage was evaluated by the hematoxilin & eosin (H&E) staining.Los receptores para cannabinoides 1 (RCB1) son parte del sistema endocannabinoide (SEC) y participan en diversas funciones del sistema nervioso central (SNC). En neuronas, los RCB1 inhiben la liberación del ácido ?-aminobutírico (GABA) y glutamato a nivel presináptico, mientras que a nivel postsináptico modulan la actividad de otros receptores que pueden ser GABAérgicos y glutamatérgicos, induciendo la hipofunción de receptores para N-metíl-D-aspartato (NMDA). También se ha demostrado que participan en la modulación redox. El WIN 55,212-2 es un cannabinoide sintético con mayor afinidad a los RCB1 que se utiliza en la investigación para explorar los mecanismos del SEC. El ácido 3-nitropropiónico (3- NP) es una micotoxina derivada de hongos y plantas que bloquea irreversiblemente al complejo II mitocondrial, también conocido como succinato deshidrogenasa (SDH). El 3-NP inhibe la producción de ATP, aumenta la producción de radicales libres y favorece la excitotoxicidad indirecta por desregulación del voltaje neuronal, con la consecuencia activación de receptores tipo NMDA y el alto flujo de calcio que lleva a la muerte celular de neuronas GABAérgicas del estriado

Compassion for Others and Self-Compassion:Levels, Correlates, and Relationship with Psychological Well-being

Compassion for others and self-compassion are assumed to be closely related concepts. Yet, as they have been mostly studied separately, little is known about their relationship and to what extent they differ or resemble each other with respect to their correlates. This cross-sectional study aimed to gain knowledge on their mean levels, interrelationship, and relationships to psychological well-being and demographic factors. A community sample of 328 adults completed a series of standardized self-report questionnaires to assess compassion for others, self-compassion, depressive symptoms, negative affect, and positive affect. Results showed that compassion for others and self-compassion were not significantly related. Self-compassion was more strongly related to negative and positive indicators of affect than compassion for others. Compassion for others was higher in women than in men, and in low educated individuals compared to higher educated individuals. In contrast, self-compassion was lower in low educated individuals. Future research can build up on these findings to enlarge the understanding of how compassion for others and self-compassion relate and differ from each other

How Can Personality Influence Perception on Security of Context-Aware Applications?

[Context and Motivation] Our lives are being transformed by context-aware software applications with important social, environmental, and economic implications. [Question/Problem] Experts recognized that quality attributes, e.g. security, are the cornerstone to get healthy social implications of these applications. However, do end-users (service consumers) perceive these attributes as so important? [Methodology] To answer this question, we designed a survey, to understand how end-users perceive security of context-aware software applications and how the users’ personality traits might influence their perceptions. To this end, we did a web-based survey that embeds two animated-demonstration videos in order to present i) the functionality of a context-aware mobile app, and ii) some vulnerabilities of the mobile app. It involved 48 subjects divided in two groups: subjects with software engineering (SE) background (Group A) and subjects without any SE background (Group B). [Results] Our study found that the importance of confidentiality and integrity is more clearly perceived by subjects with SE backgrounds (Group A). Accountability is more difficult to be perceived by subjects. And this difficulty can be even more pronounced for subjects without any SE background (Group B). Our findings suggest that importance preferences on security are influenced by personality types. For instance, open-minded people have a higher propensity to perceive the importance of confidentiality and integrity. Whilst, people with a high level of agreeableness hold quite different perceptions regarding the importance of authenticity and accountability. Analyzing the level of association between personality and the perceived importance on security, we found that the importance perceptions on confidentiality are influenced by the personality of subjects from Group B. And, the changes (positive an negative) in the importance perception on confidentiality are very strongly influenced by personality, even more so by the personality of subjects from Group B.</p

CIENCIA, TECNOLOGIA Y SOCIEDAD. ANTOLOGIA

ANTOLOGI

Determinants of quality and food safety systems adoption in the agri-food sector

Purpose In order to meet the increasingly demanding needs of international markets, quality and food safety systems have become widespread among companies in the agri-food sector. This has led to a transformation of the agri-food sector that has also been detrimental for companies seeking to adopt such standards. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to define the determining factors that affect the process of adopting quality and food safety standards in agri–food companies, from the implementation of standards in company quality management systems to the process of certification of these standards. Design/methodology/approach To this end, a literature review is carried out in which the motivations, benefits, barriers and contingency factors are identified, analyzing and delimiting the scope and contribution of each of them to the company’s quality management. Findings The results show that the most important benefits and motivations are access to new markets and compliance with legislation, while the most important barrier is the high cost of adopting QFS systems within the company. Finally, the most relevant contingency factor when adopting these systems is the size of the company. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the results are closely interrelated. In conclusion, the consideration of the determinants identified in the paper contributes to a better implementation of agri-food quality and safety standards by companies. Originality/value This paper combines an analysis of the determining factors for the adoption of quality systems in the agri-food industry with the identification of contingency factors that, despite their importance throughout the process, are scarcely analysed in the rest of the literature. Finally, the work points out future lines of research that are still underexplored, such as the relationship between quality assurance and financial development; (...)Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Máalaga/CBUA

A Reconsideration of the Self-Compassion Scale's Total Score:Self-Compassion versus Self-Criticism

The Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) is currently the only self-report instrument to measure self-compassion. The SCS is widely used despite the limited evidence for the scale's psychometric properties, with validation studies commonly performed in college students. The current study examined the factor structure, reliability, and construct validity of the SCS in a large representative sample from the community. The study was conducted in 1,736 persons, of whom 1,643 were included in the analyses. Besides the SCS, data was collected on positive and negative indicators of psychological functioning, as well as on rumination and neuroticism. Analyses included confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), exploratory factor analyses (EFA), and correlations. CFA showed that the SCS's proposed six-factor structure could not be replicated. EFA suggested a two-factor solution, formed by the positively and negatively formulated items respectively. Internal consistency was good for the two identified factors. The negative factor (i.e., sum score of the negatively formulated items) correlated moderately to strongly to negative affect, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, as well as to rumination and neuroticism. Compared to this negative factor, the positive factor (i.e., sum score of the positively formulated items) correlated weaker to these indicators, and relatively more strongly to positive affect. Results from this study do not justify the common use of the SCS total score as an overall indicator of self-compassion, and provide support for the idea, as also assumed by others, that it is important to make a distinction between self-compassion and self-criticism.</p

Medicinal Plants of Chile: Evaluation of their Anti-Trypanosoma cruzi Activity

San Martin, J (San Martin, Jose). Univ Talca, Inst Biol Vegetal & Biotecnol, Talca, ChileThe extracts of several plants of Central Chile exhibited anti-Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes activity. Most active extracts were those obtained from Podanthus ovatifolius, Berberis microphylla, Kageneckia oblonga, and Drimys winteri. The active extract of Drimys winteri (IC50 51.2 mu g/mL) was purified and three drimane sesquiterpenes were obtained: polygodial, drimenol, and isodrimenin. Isodrimenin and drimenol were found to be active against the trypomastigote form of T cruzi with IC50 values of 27.9 and 25.1 mu M, respectivel

Razlike u razinama anti-Müllerovog hormona u krvnoj plazmi i reproduktivnih parametara između dvije vrste goveda Bos indicus i Bubalus bubalis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible relationships between reproductive parameters and Anti Mullerian Hormone (AMH) levels in two closely related bovine species. AMH levels and the reproductive parameters of 50 water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) and 50 Zebu cattle (Bos indicus) of the same age and raised in similar conditions were evaluated. Clinical data were obtained from the farm in specialized designed format, and AMH was measured by ELISA. The results show that Zebu cattle had higher AMH levels than water buffaloes (P<0.0001), while water buffaloes exhibited better reproductive parameters: days open to pregnancy (P<0.0001), parity (P<0.0005), age at first calving (P<0.0001), and intercalving period (P<0.0001). Although both species have different reproductive parameters, no correlations were found between AMH and the reproductive parameters evaluated in either species. Finally, pregnant Zebu cattle and water buffalo showed a tendency to have lower AMH levels than non-pregnant counterparts. The results are paradoxical as the species with lower AMH levels exhibited better reproductive parameters, suggesting that the reproductive parameters within the herd do not depend solely on the ovarian reserve of females.Cilj je ovog rada bio procijeniti je li moguće ustanoviti povezanost između reproduktivnih parametara i razina anti-Müllerovog hormona (AMH) u dvije blisko srodne vrste goveda. Analizirane su razine AMH i reproduktivni parametri 50 bivola (Bubalus bubalis) i 50 zebu goveda (Bos indicus) iste dobi uzgojenih u sličnim uvjetima. Klinički podatci dobiveni su s farme u posebno osmišljenom pokusu. AMH je određivan pomoću ELISA metode. Rezultati pokazuju da su razine AMH više u goveda nego u bivola (P<0,0001). Bivoli su pokazali bolje reproduktivne parametre: servisno razdoblje (P<0,0001), paritet (P<0,0005), dob kod prvog teljenja (P<0,0001) i međutelidbeno razdoblje (P<0,0001). Premda obje vrste imaju različite reproduktivne parametre, nije ustanovljena povezanost između AMH i analiziranih reproduktivnih parametara niti u jedne od istraživanih vrsta. Zaključno, steone ženke goveda i bivola pokazuju tendenciju manjih razina AMH u usporedbi s nesteonim. Rezultati dobiveni u ovoj studiji su paradoksalni, jer vrste s nižim AMH razinama pokazuju bolje reproduktivne parametre. Ovi rezultati ukazuju na to da reproduktivni parametri unutar krda ne ovise samo o rezervi jajnih stanica u ženki