Religious practice, religious change: Evangelicals and Catholics in Santiago de Chile's civil society

Religious life in contemporary Chile is marked by both a sustained growth of Pentecostal churches and by an increase in those without religion affiliation. These developments suggest that Chile is an interesting case study for exploring religious change. This research aims to understand and interpret how religious change is experienced among religiously involved individuals, and how the formerly dominant Catholic and recently powerful Pentecostal churches are reacting to this changing environment. The thesis draws on social differentiation theory; viewing secularisation as the specification and specialisation of the religious sphere and not its disappearance in modern societies. The thesis undertook explorative qualitative comparative case study, including ethnographic interviews, participant observation and secondary data analysis as its main methods. The Catholic Chapel of Del Carmen and the Zelada Temple of the First Methodist Pentecostal Church of Chile, two churches located in Santiago´s city centre, were selected in order to understand how the two main denominations in the country were changing in an urban and modernising location. The thesis is organised into six chapters. The first presents and discusses the main versions of the secularisation theory and the public role of churches, in order to locate my cases in the sociological discussion of religion in modern societies. I further locate discussion in religiosity in Latin America, and in Chile in particular. In the second chapter I reflect on the methodological aspects of the research, namely the research problem and research objectives, and the rationale and choice of an ethnographic approach. I also review the main research methods: ethnographic interviews, participant observation and secondary data analysis. The third chapter provides a descriptive analysis of the particular field of this research, namely the municipality of Estación Central and the two churches where fieldwork took place, in Santiago, Chile. I describe this location as an appropriate place to observe religious change and its consequences, given its urban character and the social mobility of its inhabitants. Chapter 4 is the first of three ‘findings’ chapters. It focuses on the intergenerational transmission of religion, and examines how the new generation of Evangelicals - the most commonly used term to refer to the main branch of Latin American Protestants - are problematising and adapting certain religious practices within this new social context as a means of integrating in contemporary Chilean culture. In Chapter 5, I analyse how both the Pentecostal Methodist Church and the Catholic Church engage, in different ways, with leadership challenges emerging from a changing environment. I suggest that Weber’s idea of charisma is useful to understand the contrasting but also the similar processes that both churches are undergoing. Chapter 6 analyses the problem of how religious-based morality is exercised in the context of an increasingly secular society. I discuss how religious individuals conceive and practise the moral teachings of their churches, revealing contrasts between Catholics and Evangelicals. At the institutional level, I argue that the Catholic and Evangelical churches reflect different approaches to the public role of religion in a secularising society. The concluding section reflects on the findings as a whole and seeks to understand the ways in which they contribute to and are reflective of the emergence of a vibrant civil society

Improving Long-Term Care Facilities’ Crisis Response: Lessons From the COVID-19 in Chile

Context: The COVID-19 pandemic hit Chile hard and affected older people the most. Through its National Service for Older Adults, the country implemented a strategy to prevent and mitigate infection and spread in long-term care facilities (LTCF), reaching regulated and registered residences and, for the first time, informal and unregistered residences. Objective: Identify the challenges and lessons from the COVID-19 response in LTCF with respect to the support received, the implementation of infection control measures, workforce challenges experienced and the measures adopted to promote residents’ wellbeing. Methods: An online questionnaire was sent to all LTCF managers (N = 385, Response Rate = 32.4%). Statistical tests compare results to identify differences across LTCF characteristics: residence size, location and management type (private, public or subsidized, or informal). Findings: Irrespective of their location, size or management, managers highlight common challenges during the crisis. They include limited personal protective equipment (PPE) availability, staff shortages, low quality of replacement staff, reduced staff mental health, and the difficulty to understand and implement protocols. Managers acknowledge receiving institutional support in the form of PPE provision and opportunities for staff training, but managers noted the need to expand this support to cover staffing surge needs, staff psychological needs, and ensure the continuity of clinical support for residents as well. Managers share a common demand for a more coordinated response from public institutions. Managers recognize that the pandemic and the measures implemented to mitigate it negatively affected staff morale and residents’ wellbeing. Many noted that peer-to-peer support was a mechanism to support staff. Limitations: Results might be subject to selection bias. Data collection covered a limited period of time at the early stage of the pandemic. Implications: Findings are relevant to assess the COVID-19 response and to better prepare for another COVID-19 wave or similar health or environmental threats in the future

Manic Episode Associated with Mega Cisterna Magna

Mega cisterna magna is a part of "Dandy-Walker Complex" and it is characterized by the enlargement of the cisterna magna, morphologically intact vermis and cerebellar hemispheres. We report a case of manic attack in a 23-year-old man with mega cisterna magna. The patient was treated with quetiapine 1,000 mg/day and sodium valproate 1,500 mg/day and the symptoms were ameliorated within 2.5 months. In this case, mega cisterna magna and manic symptoms may be found together coincidentally or any cerebellar dysfunction due to mega cisterna magna may cause or contribute to the appearance of affective symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first case reporting manic attack with psychotic symptoms associated with mega cisterna magna. This report suggests that any lesion in the cerebellum might contribute to the occurrences of some affective and psychotic symptoms seen in bipolar disorder

When Comorbidity, Aging, and Complexity of Primary Care Meet: Development and Validation of the Geriatric CompleXity of Care Index

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97480/1/jgs12160.pd

Sleep disorders and work performance: findings from the 2008 National Sleep Foundation Sleep in America poll

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86904/1/j.1365-2869.2010.00890.x.pd

Neocortical hyperexcitability in a genetic model of absence seizures and its reduction by levetiracetam

PURPOSE: To study the effect of the antiepileptic drug levetiracetam (LEV) on the patterns of intrinsic optical signals (IOSs) generated by slices of the somatosensory cortex obtained from 3- and 6-month-old WAG/Rij and age-matched, nonepileptic control (NEC) rats. METHODS: WAG/Rij and NEC animals were anesthetized with enfluorane and decapitated. Brains were quickly removed, and neocortical slices were cut coronally with a vibratome, transferred to a submerged tissue chamber, and superfused with oxygenated artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF). Slices were illuminated with a dark-field condensor and examined with a x2.5 objective; images were processed with a real time digital video image-enhancement system. Images were acquired before (background) and during electrical stimulation with a temporal resolution of 10 images/s and were displayed in pseudocolors. Extracellular stimuli (200 micros; <4 V) were delivered through bipolar stainless steel electrodes placed in the white matter. RESULTS: IOSs recorded in NEC slices bathed in control aCSF became less intense and of reduced size with age (p < 0.05); this trend was not seen in WAG/Rij slices. Age-dependent decreases in IOS intensity and area size were also seen in NEC slices superfused with aCSF containing the convulsant 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, 5 microM); in contrast, significant increases in both parameters occurred with age in 4-AP-treated WAG/Rij slices (p < 0.05). Under any of these conditions, the IOS intensity and area size slices were larger in WAG/Rij than in NEC slices. LEV (50-500 microM) application to WAG/Rij slices caused dose-dependent IOS reductions that were evident both in control and in 4-AP-containing aCSF and were more pronounced in 6-month-old tissue. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate age-dependent IOS modifications in NEC and WAG/Rij rat slices and identify a clear pattern of hyperexcitability that occurs in 6-month-old WAG/Rij neocortical tissue, an age when absence seizures occur in all animals. The ability of LEV to reduce these patterns of network hyperexcitability supports the potential use of this new antiepileptic drug in primary generalized epileptic disorders

Greater incidence of depression with hypnotic use than with placebo

Abstract Background Although it has been claimed that insomnia causes an increased risk for depression, adequate controlled trials testing this hypothesis have not been available. This study contrasted the incidence of depression among subjects receiving hypnotics in randomized controlled trials versus those receiving placebo. Methods The incidence of depression among patients randomized to hypnotic drugs or placebo was compiled from prescribing information approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and from FDA New Drug Application documents. Available data for zolpidem, zaleplon, eszopiclone, and ramelteon were accessed. Results Data for 5535 patients randomized to a hypnotic and for 2318 randomized to placebo were compiled. The incidence of depression was 2.0% among participants randomized to hypnotics as compared to 0.9% among those randomized in parallel to placebo (p Conclusion Modern hypnotics were associated with an increased incidence of depression in data released by the FDA. This suggests that when there is a risk of depression, hypnotics may be contra-indicated. Preventive treatments such as antidepressant drugs, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or bright light might be preferred. Limitations in the FDA data prevented a formal meta-analysis, and there was a lack of information about drop-out rates and definitions of depression. Trials specifically designed to detect incident depression when treating insomnia with hypnotic drugs and better summarization of adverse events in trials submitted to the FDA are both necessary.</p