The Spanish version of the Work-related Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (WAAQ)

Background: Psychological flexibility, a key construct of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), has recently been found to be an important determinant of mental health and behavioral effectiveness in the workplace. This finding has led to designing a measure of psychological flexibility especially tailored to the workplace (the Work-related Acceptance and Action Questionnaire; WAAQ) in the hope that it may reveal even stronger associations with variables related to a work context. Method: First, we back-translated the WAAQ into Spanish and then administered it to 209 workers, in addition to other relevant work-related measures. Results: Data were very similar to those obtained with the original WAAQ version. The WAAQ showed a very good internal consistency (a = .92) and a clear one-factor structure. It also showed higher correlations with work-specific measures than a general measure of psychological inflexibility (the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II; AAQ-II). As hypothesized by the ACT theory, the correlation between the WAAQ and the AAQ-II was moderate but not so high as to suggest that they are assessing the same construct. Conclusions: This Spanish translation of the WAAQ emerges as a reliable and valid measure of psychological flexibility in relation to the workplace. Versión española del Cuestionario de Aceptación y Acción Relacionado con el Trabajo (WAAQ). Antecedentes: la flexibilidad psicológica, un constructo central en la Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso (ACT), ha mostrado ser un determinante importante de la salud mental y la efectividad conductual en el trabajo. Estos hallazgos han llevado a diseñar una medida de flexibilidad psicológica ajustada al contexto laboral (Cuestionario de Aceptación y Acción en el Trabajo; WAAQ) que pudiera mostrar asociaciones incluso mayores con variables relacionadas con el contexto laboral. Método: se realizó una traducción inversa del WAAQ en español y se aplicó a 209 trabajadores conjuntamente con otras medidas. Resultados: los datos obtenidos fueron muy similares a los de la versión original. El WAAQ mostró muy buena consistencia interna (a= .92) y una estructura unifactorial. Además, el WAAQ mostró correlaciones más altas con medidas específicas del contexto laboral que una medida general de inflexibilidad psicológica (el Cuestionario de Aceptación y Acción - II; AAQ-II). Tal y como hipotetiza el modelo de ACT, la correlación entre el WAAQ y el AAQ-II fue moderada y no tan grande como para sugerir que ambos cuestionarios miden el mismo constructo. Conclusiones: la presente versión española del WAAQ se muestra como una medida fiable y válida de la flexibilidad psicológica en el contexto laboral

The Spanish version of the believability of anxious feelings and Thoughts Questionnaire

Background: Cognitive fusion is suggested to play an important role in the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders according to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. This study presents the psychometric data of the Spanish version of a cognitive fusion measure in the context of anxiety: the Believability of Anxious Feelings and Thoughts Questionnaire (BAFT). Method: First, we back-translated the BAFT into Spanish and then, administered it to three samples, with a total of 598 participants, in addition to other relevant anxiety measures. Results: Data were very similar to those obtained with the original BAFT version. The BAFT showed a very good internal consistency (overall a= .92) and a hierarchical factor structure with two lower-order factors and one hierarchical factor. Participants showing mild levels of anxiety symptoms scored higher on the BAFT than participants who scored below the cutoffs. BAFT scores were significantly related to anxiety symptoms and to measures of psychological inflexibility, anxiety sensitivity, and mindfulness facets. Moreover, the BAFT showed incremental validity relative to anxiety sensitivity. Conclusions: This Spanish version of the BAFT emerges as a reliable and valid measure of cognitive fusion with anxious thoughts and feelings. Versión española del Cuestionario de Credibilidad de Sentimientos y Pensamientos Ansiógenos. Antecedentes: la fusión cognitiva juega un papel importante en la etiología y mantenimiento de los trastornos de ansiedad según la Terapia de Aceptación y Compromiso. Este estudio presenta datos psicométricos de la versión española del Cuestionario de Credibilidad de Sentimientos y Pensamientos Ansiógenos (BAFT). Método: se realizó una traducción inversa del BAFT al español y se administró a tres muestras, con un total de 598 participantes, conjuntamente con otras medidas de ansiedad. Resultados: los datos fueron muy similares a los obtenidos en la versión original del BAFT. El BAFT mostró una muy buena consistencia interna (alfa promedio de .92) y una estructura jerárquica con dos factores de primer orden y un factor de segundo orden. Los participantes con niveles moderados de ansiedad puntuaron más en el BAFT que los participantes que mostraron puntuaciones inferiores. Las puntuaciones en el BAFT correlacionaron significativamente con variedad de síntomas de ansiedad y con medidas de inflexibilidad psicológica, sensibilidad a la ansiedad y facetas de mindfulness. El BAFT mostró validez incremental en relación a la sensibilidad a la ansiedad. Conclusiones: la versión española del BAFT emerge como una medida fiable y válida de fusión cognitiva con pensamientos y sentimientos ansiógenos

Progress-Oriented Workshops for Doctoral Well-being: Evidence From a Two-Country Design-Based Research

This paper explores an intervention approach (in the form of workshops) focusing on doctoral progress, to address the problems of low emotional well-being experienced by many doctoral candidates. Doctoral education suffers from two severe overlapping problems: high dropout rates and widespread low emotional well-being (e.g., depression or anxiety symptoms). Yet, there are few interventional approaches specifically designed to address them in the doctoral student population. Among structural, psychosocial, and demographic factors influencing these problems, the self-perception of progress has emerged recently as a crucial motivational factor in doctoral persistence. This paper reports on an iterative design-based research study of workshop interventions to foster such perception of progress in doctoral students? everyday practice. We gathered mixed data over four iterations, with a total of 82 doctoral students from multiple disciplines in Spain and Estonia. An approach to preventive interventions that combines research-backed education about mental health and productivity, peer sharing and discussion of experiences, and indicators of progress, as well as self-tracking, analysis, and reflection upon everyday evidence of their own progress. The paper provides initial evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed interventions, across two institutions in two different countries. Further, our data confirms emergent research on the relationships among progress, emotional well-being, and dropout ideation in two new contexts. Finally, the paper also distills design knowledge about doctoral interventions that focus on progress, relevant for doctoral trainers, institutions, and researchers.This research has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innova-tion programme under grant agreement No. 669074 (CEITER). It has also received funding from the European Union’s Erasmus Plus programme, grant agreement 2019-1-NO01-KA203-060280 (DE-TEL). The Universidad de Valladolid co-authors acknowledge funding of the European Regional Development Fund and the National Research Agency of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innova-tion, and Universities, under project grant TIN2017-85179-C3-2-R (SmartLET), and PID2020-112584RB-C32, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Regional Government of Cas-tile and Leon, under project grant VA257P18

No self-similar aggregates with sedimentation

Two-dimensional cluster-cluster aggregation is studied when clusters move both diffusively and sediment with a size dependent velocity. Sedimentation breaks the rotational symmetry and the ensuing clusters are not self-similar fractals: the mean cluster width perpendicular to the field direction grows faster than the height. The mean width exhibits power-law scaling with respect to the cluster size, ~ s^{l_x}, l_x = 0.61 +- 0.01, but the mean height does not. The clusters tend to become elongated in the sedimentation direction and the ratio of the single particle sedimentation velocity to single particle diffusivity controls the degree of orientation. These results are obtained using a simulation method, which becomes the more efficient the larger the moving clusters are.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Single-case learning analytics: Feasibility of a human-centered analytics approach to support doctoral education

Recent advances in machine learning and natural language processing have the potential to transform human activity in many domains. The field of learning analytics has applied these techniques successfully to many areas of education but has not been able to permeate others, such as doctoral education. Indeed, doctoral education remains an under-researched area with widespread problems (high dropout rates, low mental well-being) and lacks technological support beyond very specialized tasks. The inherent uniqueness of the doctoral journey may help explain the lack of generalized solutions (technological or otherwise) to these challenges. We propose a novel approach to apply the aforementioned advances in computation to support doctoral education. Single-case learning analytics defines a process in which doctoral students, researchers, and computational elements collaborate to extract insights about a single (doctoral) learner's experience and learning process. The feasibility and added value of this approach are demonstrated using an authentic dataset collected by nine doctoral students over a period of at least two months. The insights from this exploratory proof-of-concept serve to spark a research agenda for future technological support of doctoral education, which is aligned with recent calls for more human-centred approaches to designing and implementing learning analytics technologies

Evaluation of the Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Clinical Course of Migraine

Objective: Previous studies have demonstrated that emotional stress, changes in lifestyle habits and infections can worsen the clinical course of migraine. We hypothesize that changes in habits and medical care during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown might have worsened the clinical course of migraine. Design: Retrospective survey study collecting online responses from migraine patients followed-up by neurologists at three tertiary hospitals between June and July 2020. Methods: We used a web-based survey that included demographic data, clinical variables related with any headache (frequency) and migraine (subjective worsening, frequency, and intensity), lockdown, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Results: The response rate of the survey was 239/324 (73.8%). The final analysis included 222 subjects. Among them, 201/222 (90.5%) were women, aged 42.5 ± 12.0 (mean±SD). Subjective improvement of migraine during lockdown was reported in 31/222 participants (14.0%), while worsening in 105/222 (47.3%) and was associated with changes in migraine triggers such as stress related to going outdoors and intake of specific foods or drinks. Intensity of attacks increased in 67/222 patients (30.2%), and it was associated with the subjective worsening, female sex, recent insomnia, and use of acute medication during a headache. An increase in monthly days with any headache was observed in 105/222 patients (47.3%) and was related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress, older age and living with five or more people. Conclusions: Approximately half the migraine patients reported worsening of their usual pain during the lockdown. Worse clinical course in migraine patients was related to changes in triggers and the emotional impact of the lockdown. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine

Pasados releídos: el Dolmen del Portillo de las Cortes. Guadalajara / MAN

La oportunidad de retomar el estudio del dolmen del Portillo de las Cortes, Guadalajara, a partir de los materiales conservados en el MAN y de recientes trabajos de campo, ofrece un resultado positivo. Podemos aportar el conocimiento de fuentes de aprovisionamiento, una fecha C14 obtenida de un cráneo recientemente documentado en la reestructuración del MAN, y una nueva lectura de posibles refacturas del monumento

Quality changes and shelf-life prediction of a fresh fruit and vegetables purple smoothie

The sensory, microbial and bioactive quality changes of untreated (CTRL) and mild heat−treated (HT; 90 ºC/45 s) smoothies were studied and modelled throughout storage (5, 15 and 25 ºC). The overall acceptability was better preserved in HT samples being highly correlated (hierarchical clustering) with the flavour. The sensory quality data estimated smoothie shelf−life (CTRL/HT) of 18/55 (at 5 ºC), 4.5/12 (at 15 ºC), 2.4/5.8 (at 25 ºC) days. The yeast and moulds growth rate was lower in HT compared to CTRL while a lag phase for mesophiles/psychrophiles was observed in HT−5/15 ºC. HT and 5 ºC−storage stabilized the phenolics content. FRAP reported the best correlation (R2=0.94) with the studied bioactive compounds, followed by ABTS (R2=0.81) while DPPH was the total antioxidant capacity method with the lowest adjustment (R2=0.49). Conclusively, modelling was used to estimate the shelf−life of a smoothie based on quality retention after a short time−high temperature heat treatment that better preserved microbial and nutritional quality during storage.The financial support of this research was provided by the Ministerio Español de Economía y Competitividad MINECO (Projects AGL2013−48830−C2−1−R and AGL2013−48993−C2−1−R) and by FEDER funds. G.A. González−Tejedor thanks to Panamá Government for the scholarship to carry out his PhD Thesis. A. Garre (BES−2014−070946) is grateful to the MINECO for awarding him a pre−doctoral grant. We are also grateful to E. Esposito and N. Castillejo for their skilful technical assistance

Boosting background suppression in the NEXT experiment through Richardson-Lucy deconvolution

Next-generation neutrinoless double beta decay experiments aim for half-life sensitivities of ~$10^{27}$ yr, requiring suppressing backgrounds to <1 count/tonne/yr. For this, any extra background rejection handle, beyond excellent energy resolution and the use of extremely radiopure materials, is of utmost importance. The NEXT experiment exploits differences in the spatial ionization patterns of double beta decay and single-electron events to discriminate signal from background. While the former display two Bragg peak dense ionization regions at the opposite ends of the track, the latter typically have only one such feature. Thus, comparing the energies at the track extremes provides an additional rejection tool. The unique combination of the topology-based background discrimination and excellent energy resolution (1% FWHM at the Q-value of the decay) is the distinguishing feature of NEXT. Previous studies demonstrated a topological background rejection factor of ~5 when reconstructing electron-positron pairs in the $^{208}$Tl 1.6 MeV double escape peak (with Compton events as background), recorded in the NEXT-White demonstrator at the Laboratorio Subterr\'aneo de Canfranc, with 72% signal efficiency. This was recently improved through the use of a deep convolutional neural network to yield a background rejection factor of ~10 with 65% signal efficiency. Here, we present a new reconstruction method, based on the Richardson-Lucy deconvolution algorithm, which allows reversing the blurring induced by electron diffusion and electroluminescence light production in the NEXT TPC. The new method yields highly refined 3D images of reconstructed events, and, as a result, significantly improves the topological background discrimination. When applied to real-data 1.6 MeV $e^-e^+$ pairs, it leads to a background rejection factor of 27 at 57% signal efficiency.Comment: Submitted to JHE

NEXT-CRAB-0: A High Pressure Gaseous Xenon Time Projection Chamber with a Direct VUV Camera Based Readout

The search for neutrinoless double beta decay ($0\nu\beta\beta$) remains one of the most compelling experimental avenues for the discovery in the neutrino sector. Electroluminescent gas-phase time projection chambers are well suited to $0\nu\beta\beta$ searches due to their intrinsically precise energy resolution and topological event identification capabilities. Scalability to ton- and multi-ton masses requires readout of large-area electroluminescent regions with fine spatial resolution, low radiogenic backgrounds, and a scalable data acquisition system. This paper presents a detector prototype that records event topology in an electroluminescent xenon gas TPC via VUV image-intensified cameras. This enables an extendable readout of large tracking planes with commercial devices that reside almost entirely outside of the active medium.Following further development in intermediate scale demonstrators, this technique may represent a novel and enlargeable method for topological event imaging in $0\nu\beta\beta$.Comment: 32 Pages, 22 figure