Reseña del libro: Calidad de vida y bienestar en la vejez || Review of the book: Quality of life and well-being in old age

The book Quality of life and well-being in old age focuses on the psychological well-being and quality of life of the elderly. The phenomenon of aging poses to society today demands related to the improvement of the quality of life of the elderly. Psychological well-being is an important challenge in order to feel alive and authentic. Thus, Freire and Ferradás analyze the dimensions of psychological well-being, highlighting the important role they play in achieving a better adaptation to this stage of life. Finally, the figure of the family caregiver as the main source of help for the elderly person in a situation of dependency is analyzed.El libro Calidad de vida y bienestar en la vejez se centra en el bienestar psicológico y la calidad de vida de las personas mayores. El fenómeno del envejecimiento plantea a la sociedad actual demandas relativas a la mejora de la calidad de vida del mayor. El bienestar psicológico constituye un reto importante para poder sentirse vivo y auténtico. Así, Freire y Ferradás analizan las dimensiones del bienestar psicológico, destacando el importante papel que éstas desempeñan en la consecución de una mejor adaptación a esta etapa de la vida. Por último, se analiza la figura del cuidador familiar como principal fuente de ayuda para la persona mayor en situación de dependencia

The role of animacy on European Portuguese relative clauses attachment: Evidence from production and comprehension tasks

En este trabajo se evaluó el papel de la animacidad en la desambiguación de cláusulas de relativo con doble antecedente en portugués europeo (PE). El estudio de cómo resuelve el procesador este tipo de ambigüedades ha sido objeto de gran interés en la investigación; sin embargo, en PE ésta ha sido escasa y poco consistente. Además, dado que la literatura más reciente ha destacado la relevancia de variables extrasintácticas en este proceso, se realizaron dos estudios con el objetivo de evaluar las estrategias de adjunción en PE manipulando la animacidad de los nombres. En el estudio 1 se empleó una tarea de compleción de frases y en el estudio 2 una tarea de lectura auto-administrada. En ambos, los resultados revelaron una preferencia significativa por la estrategia de adjunción alta. No obstante, el tipo de estrategia fue modulado por la animacidad de los nombres, de tal manera que se prefirió la estrategia de adjunción baja cuando el primer nombre era inanimado y el segundo animado. Estos resultados arrojan luz sobre el uso de estas estrategias en PE y parecen apoyar la idea de que, en fases relativamente tempranas del procesamiento, el procesador atiende a información no exclusivamente sintáctica.This work analyses the role of animacy in European Portuguese (EP) attachment preferences of relative clauses to complex noun phrases. Although the study of how the human parser solves this type of ambiguities has been the focus of extensive research in the literature, what is known about EP is both limited and puzzling. Additionally, as recent studies have stressed the importance of extra-syntactic variables in this syntactic process, two experiments were carried out in order to assess EP attachment preferences considering four animacy conditions: Study 1 used a sentence-completion-task, and Study 2 a self-paced reading task. In both studies results showed a significant preference for high attachment in EP. They also showed that this preference was modulated by the animacy of the host NP: when the first host was inanimate and the second animate, the parser changes its preference to a low attachment strategy. These findings clarify previous results on EP and strengthen the idea that even in early stages of processing the parser is sensitive to extra-syntactic information

Dances to a redox tune

Reduction and oxidation of proteins through changes in their disulfide/sulfhydryl groups (S-S/ SH) have been increasingly implicated over the past 25 years in the redox regulation of plant metabolism in the light and in the dark. Recent findings indicate that this redox mechanism might be important in modulating all levéis of gene expression in plants and suggest new avenues for future work

CPP32 inhibition prevents Fas-induced ceramide generation and apoptosis in human cells

AbstractIntracellular activation of sphingomyelinase, leading to ceramide generation, and ICE-like proteases have been implicated in TNF and Fas-induced apoptosis, but the links between these intracellular apoptotic mediators remain undefined. We show here that a specific peptide inhibitor of the ICE-like protease CPP32/Yama (DEVD-cho) blocks anti-Fasinduced apoptosis in Jurkat and U937 cells, while having no effect on TNF-induced apoptosis in U937 cells. This peptide also prevents ceramide accumulation induced by Fas engagement. Jurkat and U937 cells, as well as their mtDNA-depleted derived lines (π° cells), were sensitive to ceramide toxicity, which was not prevented by ICE-like protease inhibitors. These results, taken together, suggest that ICE-like protease activation is a prerequisite for ceramide generation and subsequent apoptosis, at least in the case of Fas-induced cell death

Gender Differences in Mathematics Motivation: Differential Effects on Performance in Primary Education

[Abstract] In addition to attempting to verify gender differences, this study aims to examine the explanatory potential of boys’ and girls’ attitudes toward mathematics on their performance. The sample comprised 897 students in the 5th and 6th years of primary education (450 boys and 447 girls). The results confirm what previous research has suggested, that girls tended to exhibit less positive attitudes about mathematics than their male classmates, in particular lower motivation, worse perception of competence, and higher rates of anxiety, although in all cases the effect sizes were small. Even though there no significant gender differences in academic performance, as expected, the explanatory power of attitudes toward mathematics was clearly more significant in boys than in girls (R2 = 0.194 and R2 = 0.103, respectively). The results of the regression analysis for each sample reinforce the well-known positive impact of perceived self-efficacy on mathematics performance and introduce the effect of achievement emotions of academic performance. Test anxiety in mathematics seems to only have a negative effect on boys’ grades, as this variable does not appear in the regression equation when explaining girls’ performance. In the light of control-value theory, we discuss the contingency of perceived competence and its involvement in anxiety and academic performance. Boys’ results could be affected by the levels of anxiety inasmuch as they tend to be confident in their abilities, motivated to stand out, and interested in mathematics. Whereas despite girls reporting high rates of anxiety, what may have a negative impact on their results might have more to do with a higher value placed on mathematics, as their perception of control may be low.This work was carried out with financing from the research projects EDU2013-44062-P (MINECO) and EDU2017-82984-P (MEIC

A Study on the Psychological Wound of COVID-19 in University Students

Publication of this manuscript was supported by Regional Goverment of Galicia, Programa de Axudas para a Consolidación e Estruturación de Unidades de Investigación Competitivas e outras Accións de Fomento, Refs. ED431C 2018/2 and ED431B 2019/20An increasing number of studies have addressed the psychological impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the general population. Nevertheless, far less is known about the impact on specific populations such as university students, whose psychological vulnerability has been shown in previous research. This study sought to examine different indicators of mental health in university students during the Spanish lockdown; we also analyzed the main sources of stress perceived by students in relation to the COVID-19 crisis, and the coping strategies adopted when faced with the situation. Data was collected from 932 students (704 women) through a web-based platform. Measures of anxiety (i.e., GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), irritability, and self-perceived change in mental health were administered, as well as ad hoc measures of stressors and coping strategies. Results indicated that students experienced considerable psychological problems during the confinement, with higher rates of emotional difficulties in women and undergraduate students than in men and postgraduates, respectively. Psychological distress was mainly related to several specific domains of stressors, as perceived by the participants: academic future, task overload, worsening of interpersonal conflicts, and restrictions in pleasant social contact; and far less related to the spread of the disease and its consequences for physical health. As regards coping strategies, both reframing skills and daily routines were shown to be the most effective. A path-analysis model integrating stressors, coping, and mental health revealed that coping strategies partially mediated the effect of stressors on psychological health. In general, results suggest that students’ psychological health was substantially affected by the COVID-19 situation and that the academic and relational changes were the most notable sources of stress. This study reinforces the need to monitor and promote mental health in university students to boost resilience in times of crisis. Our results on effective coping strategies may inform preventive programs aimed at helping students to deal with challenges like the COVID-19 pandemicS

Perceived Stress and Indicators of Burnout in Teachers at Portuguese Higher Education Institutions (HEI)

The aim of this study was to examine the phenomena of burnout and perceived stress in teachers at Higher Education Institutions, as this professional class is one of the most affected by high levels of stress. A sample of 520 university teachers was used, of which 339 (65.2%) were women. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to measure burnout, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to measure perceived stress. A sociodemographic data questionnaire produced by the authors was also applied, which consisted of questions about age, sex, experience in the teaching profession and the participants’ teaching areas. The results indicated that university teachers over 60 years old exhibited lower levels of perceived stress, as did teachers with more teaching experience (30 years or more), and those with less experience (less than 10 years). Women exhibited higher levels of perceived stress than men. Women also scored higher levels of Emotional Exhaustion in the burnout dimensions, whereas teachers will less experience (under 10 years) and teachers with more experience (more than 30 years) had the lowest scores in this dimension. Through an examination of the relation between perceived stress and the burnout dimensions, we concluded that perceived stress was directly proportional to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization; and was inversely proportional to personal accomplishment. A total of 31.3% of the variance in burnout was explained by perceived stressS

School Engagement, Academic Achievement, and Self-Regulated Learning

[Abstract] School engagement occupies a place of reference in recent educational psychology research owing to its potential to address poor school results and school dropout rates. However, there is a need for a unifying theoretical framework. The study proposed the characterization of school engagement and explored the extent to which different profiles are associated with academic performance and self-regulation. With a sample of 717 5th and 6th year primary school students, this study was carried out via the latent profile analysis (LPA). Two groups of low school engaged students—one characterized by low behavioral engagement (5.02%) and the other by low emotional engagement (6.55%)—were distinguished. The majority of participants showed moderately high (31.95%) or moderate (56.48%) levels of school engagement in its three dimensions. Students with high engagement had the best grades and managed their time and study surroundings better, were the most strategic in seeking information, and showed less maladaptive regulatory behavior. The differences between students exhibiting low behavioral and emotional engagement and those exhibiting moderate levels in these dimensions may center upon the management of contextual resources and management of information and help. This research supports the need to approach the study of school engagement by observing the combination of its emotional, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions.This study was performed thanks to financing from research project EDU2013-44062-P (MINECO) and EDU2017-82984-P (MEIC)

So far but yet so near: examining the buffering effect of perceived social support on the psychological impact of Spanish lockdown

The main objective of this study was to examine the moderating or buffering effect of social support (SS) perceived by university students on the psychological impact of lockdown on mental health. Specifically, a total of 826 participants (622 women) completed an online survey that included standardized measures of anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), and irritability (Brief Irritability Test), as well as measures of stressors, perceived SS, and self-perceived change in mental health. The results of hierarchical regression analyses suggest that SS contributes toward attenuating the negative impact of academic stressors, general overload, and interpersonal conflict on the indicators of psychological well-being; however, moderation analysis only confirms the buffering effect for symptoms of anxiety. In conclusion, it is suggested that SS networks need to be strengthened as a basic means of protecting health and well-being during unexpected disastersPublication of this manuscript was supported by Regional Government of Galicia, Programa de Axudas para aConsolidación e Estruturación de Unidades de Investigación Competitivas e outras Accións de Fomento, Refs.ED431C 2018/2 and ED431B 2019/20S