Mental Health and Religiosity in the Sardinian Blue Zone: Life Satisfaction and Optimism for Aging Well

This study evaluated the impact of the sociocultural context on dispositional optimism and resilience, life satisfaction, and religiosity in late adulthood. Moreover, the associations between those psychological measures and religiosity were investigated. Ninety-five older individuals recruited in the Sardinian Blue Zone and Cagliari completed a battery of tools assessing cognitive and mental health, and religiosity. Life satisfaction correlated with resilience and religiosity, whereas resilience correlated with optimism. Furthermore, participants of the rural area reported greater optimism and life satisfaction than peers living in the urban area. In conclusion, optimism and hedonic well-being favor optimal aging in the Blue Zone

Associations between migration experience and perceived mental health in optimal ageing: evidence from the Sardinian Blue Zone

The effect of migration on perceived mental health has not been examined in older migrants after their return to their places of origin. This study was mainly aimed at evaluating the perceived mental health of older people who experienced migration and permanent resident peers living in the Sardinian Blue Zone (i.e. one of the four areas of exceptional longevity in the world). Forty-eight community-based older participants (32 males and 16 females) with and without a migration experience were recruited in two villages of the Sardinian Blue Zone and completed a battery of self-report inventories assessing psychological well-being, negative mood, and ego resilience. Older individuals who experienced migration reported higher ego resilience and exhibited greater resources used to manage positive emotionality (i.e. openness to life experiences). Moreover, compared to the normative data, both the groups reported higher psychological well-being and fewer depressive symptoms. Finally, no significant associations were found between the length of migration and each mental health index. In conclusion, resilience seems to represent a psychological trait that helps to manage stressful events and contributes to the preservation of perceived mental health in late adulthood

Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in late adulthood: lessons from Sardinia’s Blue Zone

This study was conducted to investigate whether socio-cultural context (i.e., urban versus rural), perceived physical health, marital status, and satisfaction with family and non-family ties predicted hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in late adulthood and to examine the impact of the socio-cultural context on well-being, physical health and satisfaction with family and non-family ties by controlling age.One hundred and one community-dwelling participants aged between 68 and 94 were enrolled in the Sardinian Blue Zone—an area of exceptional longevity located in Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea—and in the city of Cagliari—the regional capital. All participants completed a battery of tools assessing global cognitive efficiency, hedonic (i.e., SPANE and Satisfaction with Life Scales) and eudaimonic (i.e., Flourishing Scale) well-being, perceived physical health, and satisfaction with family and non-family ties. Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being were associated with several variables: marital status, socio-cultural context, and perceived physical health predicted 24% of the variance in the SPANE condition, 52% of the variance in the Satisfaction with Life condition was predicted by the socio-cultural context and satisfaction with family ties, whereas 39% of the Flourishing index was predicted by the socio-cultural context and physical health. Finally, the participants in the Sardinian Blue Zone reported better mental well-being and satisfaction with family and non-family ties than older people living in Cagliari. In conclusion, a socio-cultural context in which positive relationships in late adulthood are strengthened contributes to the promotion of mental health in late adulthood

Transformations due to mylonitization processes in granitic rocks

[Resumen] El objetivo de este estudio es determinar las transformaciones, tanto a nivel mineralógico como textural, experimentadas por rocas graníticas tardihercínicas afectadas por procesos de milonitización en el sector oriental de la Sierra de Gredos (Sistema Central Español). De igual modQ se intenta determinar la influencia de dichas transformaciones en la composición química de las rocas milonitizadas . El incremento progresivo de la deformación provoca una serie de transformaciones texturales en las que a partir de granitoides de grano grueso porfídicos se generan unas milonitas porfidoclásticas planolineares en el núcleo de la banda de fractura. Desde el punto de vista mineralógico se aprecia una total trituración y degradación de la biotita, que se transforma a clorita de grano muy fino dispersa en la matriz milonítica. También se observan ciertas removilizaciones de feldespato potásico y albita y reajustes metamórficos de bajo grado (en facies de esquistos verdes). Los cambios composicionales acompañantes consisten en un enriquecimiento en Si02, CaO y Na20 en la zona de máxima milonitización y un empobrecimiento en K20 y P20 S en el mismo sentido. En cuanto a los elementos traza, tan sólo Rb y Sr muestran un ligero empobrecimiento en la zona milonítica.[Abstract] The aim of this paper is the determination of the textural and mineralogical transformations introduced in late-Hercynian granitic rocks which have undergone mylonitization processes in the Eastern Sierra de Gredos (Spanish Central System). It also is intended to determine the influence of such changes on the chemical composition of the mylonitic rocks. The progressive increasing of strain causes a series of textural transformations in the originally porphyritic, coarse-grained granitoids leading to formation of porphyroclastic mylonitic rocks with development of planelinear fabrics at the core of the fracture zone. From a mineralogical point of view, transformation~ consist in entire crushing and degradation of biotite, which converts into very fine-grained chlorite disseminated within the mylonitic matrix. Likewise, K-feldspar and albite remobilizations and low grade (greenschists facies) metamorphic readjustments can be observed. The accompanying compositional changes are Si02, CaO and Na20 enrichment and K20 and P20S impoverishment towards the zone of maximum mylonitization. Concerning the trace elements, only Rb and Sr show a weak impoverishment within the mylonitic zone

Psychosocial correlates of flourishing in the late lifespan

Background Flourishing is a primary dimension of psychological well-being that contributes massively to the development of an active, purposeful, and respectful life, full of meaning, values, and personal interests that nurture social ties.AimsThis study primarily intended to examine the contribution of satisfaction with family relations, resilience, metacognitive efficiency, and crystallized intelligence in predicting a flourishing measure in cognitively healthy older adults. Moreover, the impact of gender was investigated on flourishing, satisfaction with family ties, resilience, and metacognitive efficiency.MethodsOne hundred and eighty 65-94-year-old community dwellers were recruited in Sardinia (Italy). Participants self-rated their flourishing, satisfaction with their family connections, psychological hardness (i.e., a dimension of resilience), and cognitive function, whereas global cognitive efficiency and vocabulary were assessed through two internationally validated objective tests.ResultsA hierarchical regression analysis revealed that 30% of the variance in the flourishing condition was explained by satisfaction with family ties, resilience, and metacognitive efficiency. In addition, males exhibited higher flourishing and satisfaction with family ties than females, and the former group also reported being more autonomous and acting proactively to influence its destiny.ConclusionEmotional support and rewarding relations with family members, the ability to face stressful events, and a good perception of one's cognitive efficiency play a crucial role in promoting flourishing in late adulthood

Physiological Responses to Drought Stress in Jatropha curcas Seedlings

Aims: The aim of the study was to investigate the physiological mechanisms of Jatropha curcas seedlings exposed to drought and the possible influence of seedling age. Study Design: A pot experiment was carried out using a completely randomized design with two seedling ages (2- and 3-month-old seedlings), two treatments per age (Watered: fully irrigated, and Unwatered: Not irrigated), six replicates (24 pots). Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was performed in a greenhouse facility located at the Experimental Station “Mauro Deidda” (Department of Agriculture of University of Sassari) at Ottava (Sassari, Italy) between June and September 2011. Methodology: To investigate the responses of 2- and 3-month-old J. curcas seedlings exposed to drought stress on 4th, 8th, 12th, 19th, and 26th day from treatment’s beginning, leaf and soil water content, biometric, gas exchange, and chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements were performed; on 26th day from treatment’s beginning, biometric destructive measurements were carried out. Results: Results support the hypothesis that J. curcas is appropriate to be cultivated in areas with limited water availability or prolonged periods of drought and highlight that mechanisms of drought response are highly influenced by seedling age. J. curcas seedlings maintained a good leaf water status by means of an effective stomatal closure, associated with a reduced aboveground growth and an increased root:shoot ratio. Under drought stress, 2-month seedlings showed a higher allocation of resources to roots compared to 3-month seedlings. Drought resulted in more detrimental effects on the photosynthetic response of 3-month seedlings, inducing the reduction of stomata conductance and the loss of photosystem II integrity. 2-month seedlings were instead able to activate mechanisms of drought tolerance through the activation of excess energy dissipation mechanisms. Conclusion: In the early stage of crop establishment, the transplanting of J. curcas 2-month seedlings proved to be more effective in order to avoid water stress related consequences

Modeling a biological reactor using sparse identification method

In this work a model-based controller for a fermentation bioreactor has been developed. By simulating the model of the process that acts as a virtual plant, input-output data have been generated and used to identify the system using sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics methodology. The obtained model is then used in a model-based algorithm to control the bioreactor temperature, where the manipulated action is obtained as a result of a constrained nonlinear optimization problem which minimizes the mismatch between the predicted trajectory and the desired one. Good performances have been obtained by applying the proposed control strategy for set-point changes and disturbance rejection