Hand Rehabilitation after Chronic Brain Damage: Effectiveness, Usability and Acceptance of Technological Devices: A Pilot Study

Purpose: The aim is to present an overview of existing tools for hand rehabilitation after brain injury and a pilot study to test HandTutor® in patients with chronic brain damage (CBD)

Validation of the Collett-Lester fear of death scale in occupational therapy students: psychometric testing and implications for palliative care education

Background The fear of death is a common experience among healthcare students and professionals that may impact the quality of care provided to patients, particularly those receiving palliative care. The Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale is a widely used instrument to assess this fear, although its psychometric properties have not been extensively studied in Occupational Therapy students. The present study aimed to validate the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale (CL-FODS) in a sample of Occupational Therapy students and to explore its implications for palliative care education. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted to perform psychometric testing of the CL-FODS in Occupational Therapy undergraduate students. Structural validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were analysed. A total of 195 Occupational Therapy students were included in this study. Additionally, the participants completed a brief survey on their experiences and attitudes towards palliative care. Results The internal consistency was satisfactory (α = 0.888). The exploratory factor analysis to evaluate the internal structure yielded four factors. The model fit indices were: comparative fit index = 0.89, and root mean square error of approximation = 0.06). The test–retest reliability was satisfactory and demonstrated an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.939. Conclusion The Spanish version of the CL-FODS showed satisfactory psychometric properties; therefore, assessing fear of death in Occupational Therapy students is helpful. This study highlights the importance of addressing fear of death and palliative care education in Occupational Therapy undergraduates to improve future professional attitudes and, consequently, the quality of patient care at the end of life

Applying pulsed electric fields to whole carrots enhances the bioaccessibility of carotenoid and phenolic compounds in derived products

We propose the application of pulsed electric fields (PEF) to carrots to obtain derived products with increased phenolic and carotenoid bioaccessibility. For this purpose, juices, purees, and oil-added purees were obtained from whole PEF-treated carrots (five pulses of 3.5 kV cm−1 ; 0.61 kJ kg−1 ). In order to obtain shelf-stable products, the effect of a thermal treatment (70 ◦C for 10 min) was also studied. Carrot juices exhibited the highest carotenoid (43.4 mg/100 g fresh weight) and phenolic (322 mg kg−1 dry weight) contents. However, caffeic and coumaric acid derivatives were highly sensitive to PEF. The phenolic bioaccessibility reached 100% in purees obtained from the PEF-treated carrots, whereas the further thermally treated oil-added purees exhibited the greatest carotenoid bioaccessibility (7.8%). The increase in carotenoid bioaccessibility could be related to their better release and solubilization into micelles. The results suggest that food matrix aspects apart from particle size (e.g., pectin characteristics) are involved in phenolic bioaccessibilityThis research was funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) grant number AGL2013-44851-R and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Spain) grant number RTI2018-095560-B-I00. López-Gámez, G. thanks the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR) for the predoctoral grant (2019FI_B2 00129

Recent Advances toward the Application of Non-Thermal Technologies in Food Processing: An Insight on the Bioaccessibility of Health-Related Constituents in Plant-Based Products

Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of bioactive compounds and micronutrients. Some of the most abundant are phenols and carotenoids, whose consumption contributes to preventing the occurrence of degenerative diseases. Recent research has shown the potential of non-thermal processing technologies, especially pulsed electric fields (PEF), ultrasounds (US), and high pressure processing (HPP), to trigger the accumulation of bioactive compounds through the induction of a plant stress response. Furthermore, these technologies together with high pressure homogenization (HPH) also cause microstructural changes in both vegetable tissues and plant-based beverages. These modifications could enhance carotenoids, phenolic compounds, vitamins and minerals extractability, and/or bioaccessibility, which is essential to exert their positive effects on health. Nevertheless, information explaining bioaccessibility changes after non-thermal technologies is limited. Therefore, further research on food processing strategies using non-thermal technologies offers prospects to develop plant-based products with enhanced bioaccessibility of their bioactive compounds and micronutrients. In this review, we attempt to provide updated information regarding the main effects of PEF, HPP, HPH, and US on health-related compounds bioaccessibility from different vegetable matrices and the causes underlying these changes. Additionally, we propose future research on the relationship between the bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds and micronutrients, matrix structure, and non-thermal processing.This research was funded by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) grant number AGL2013-44851-R and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Spain) grant number RTI2018-095560-B-I00. López-Gámez, G. thanks the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR) for the predoctoral grant (2019FI_B2 00129)

La Inteligencia Emocional en la formación de estudiantes de Grado en Terapia Ocupacional

El desarrollo de habilidades emocionales es esencial en las funciones profesionales de los terapeutas ocupacionales, cuyo rol principal implica el trato directo con personas que están en situación desventajosa y/o solicitan ayuda así como la colaboración multidisciplinar con otros profesionales. Objetivo: conocer las habilidades emocionales basales de los estudiantes de Terapia Ocupacional, previo al inicio de la formación práctica. Material y método: Estudio multicéntrico observacional prospectivo (antes-después de las prácticas), con un seguimiento de 8 meses, y una duración de cuatro años. La muestra estuvo compuesta por los estudiantes del grado de Terapia Ocupacional de la UCLM, UMA, UMH y la USP de Costa Rica. Para evaluar la inteligencia emocional se utilizó el cuestionario TMMS-24 (Trait Meta-Mood Scale). Resultados: Muestra de 763 estudiantes, 13.2 % varones y 86.8 % mujeres. El 41,3 % de pertenecían a la UCLM, 42,3 % a la UMA y 16.4 % a la UMH. Se apreciaron diferencias importantes según el género en la dimensión de Atención del TMMS (presta poca atención el 20,4% (IC95% 12,8-29,7) de los Hombres frente al 38,2% (IC95% 34,4-42,1) de las Mujeres; p<0.001). Según la edad se observaron diferencias en la dimensión de Atención del TMMS: un 55% (IC95% 38,5-69,3) de los de 26 años o más prestan poca atención frente a 27 a 37% (IC95% 31,4-43,3)en las edades menores (p=0,022). Según el curso se observaron diferencias en Claridad: en primer curso 35,8% (IC95% 28,4-43,4) debe mejorar frente a solo 21 a 25% (IC95% 18,1-36,7) en segundo y tercero. Respecto al área de prácticas, disfunción física y geriatría mostraban escasa atención en un 38 a 40% (IC95% 30,6-49,9) frente a 27 a 29% (IC95% 23-36,7) en infancia o SM.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech