On the Acheulean origin of mind and language

Finally, we would like to restate that this paper is an exercise in thinking about what archaeological data mean in terms of cognition. As we said at the beginning, a more complex integration between theory of cognition and archaeological data is needed. This paper is a tentative step in that direction. As new data will be published, it may be that many of the archaeological features we attribute to the Late Acheulean are found to be more ancient. That would mean that the timetable we are proposing would have to be changed, and probably that the conclusions about the kind of language present would have to be modified. But, we hope, it would not harm the links between broad psychological concepts and patterns of archaeological data that we are proposing

Immortality of the soul as an intuitive idea: towards a psychological explanation of the origins of afterlife beliefs

This study tried to investigate if intuitive ideas about the continuation of the Self after death determine the way people represent the state of being dead, and, in this way, investigate possible psychological origins of afterlife beliefs, which constitute a recurrent cultural phenomenon. A semi-structured interview and a self-report questionnaire were used to obtain information on the experience of imagining oneself as dead and the representation of the dead-I of young adults. he results suggest that (1) there is a tendency to imagine the state of being dead as a continuation of the I, even in the absence of explicit afterlife beliefs; (2) perceptual, emotional, epistemic and desire experiences are associated to the dead-I; (3) the representation of the dead-I seems to be determined by an interaction between cognitive processes related to self-awareness and theory of mind, and the cultural afterlife beliefs explicitly learned. A previous alternative hypothesis, suggesting that simulation constraints were responsible for the emergence of non-reflective afterlife concepts (Bering, 2002, 2006) is not completely supported by our results. he data presented here suggest that immortality of the soul might be an intuitive religious concept, connected to the experience of the Self and to the implicit theorization that the experienced Self is independent from the body. Future studies should focus on the collection of cross-cultural and developmental data

A Narrative Review of Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents: What We Know and What We Need to Find Out

Lack of physical activity is a global public health problem causing not only morbidity and premature mortality, but it is also a major economic burden worldwide. One of the cornerstones of a physically active lifestyle is Motor Competence (MC). MC is a complex biocultural attribute and therefore, its study requires a multi-sectoral, multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approach. MC is a growing area of research, especially in children and adolescents due to its positive association with a plethora of health and developmental outcomes. Many questions, however, remain to be answered in this field of research, with regard to: (i) Health and Developmental-related Associations of MC; (ii) Assessment of MC; (iii) Prevalence and Trends of MC; (iv) Correlates and Determinants of MC; (v) MC Interventions, and (vi) Translating MC Research into Practice and Policy. This paper presents a narrative review of the literature, summarizing current knowledge, identifying key research gaps and presenting questions for future investigation on MC in children and adolescents. This is a collaborative effort from the International Motor Competence Network (IMCNetwork) a network of academics and researchers aiming to promote international collaborative research and knowledge translation in the expansive field of MC. The knowledge and deliverables generated by addressing and answering the aforementioned research questions on MC presented in this review have the potential to shape the ways in which researchers and practitioners promote MC and physical activity in children and adolescents across the worl

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Imago Mundi : perspectiva comparada da monitorização de estímulos discretos em animais

Tese de doutoramento em Psicologia (Psicologia Geral), apresentada à Universidade de Lisboa através da Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação, 1995O objectivo do presente trabalho é estudar, de um ponto de vista comparativo, a monitorização do ambiente. O conceito refere-se à forma pela qual os animais se mantêm ao corrente das alterações no ambiente que têm pertinência para a a sua sobrevivência. Esta noção é muito ampla, e abarca todos os casos em que há, no ambiente, informação a que o animal deve adaptar o seu comportamento, o que abrange a totalidade dos processos de interacção de um animal com o meio. Isto implica que, neste trabalho, o conceito tenha sido restringido de forma a poder ser utilizável. Aplica-se aqui, sobretudo, a casos em que a informação a ser monitorizada é nova, implicando processos de ganho de informação, embora seja feita uma breve referência (Capítulo II) a processos de monitorização sem memória. O facto de se considerar o processo pelo qual os animais detectam estimulação pertinente implica que se considere o problema da distinção entre os processos receptores e a sua adequação à informação do ambiente. Isto é, utilizando uma analogia informática, é necessário considerar a distinção entre o programa e os que lhe são dados. Um programa não aceita qualquer informação: há restrições àquilo que pode processar; e aquilo que é aceite é processado de forma particular. O que aqui é dito acerca de um programa é válido para qualquer situação: a água deitada num copo assume algumas propriedades do copo (a sua forma e o volume que ele pode conter) e, em geral, o conhecimento de qualquer processo de transferência de uma coisa para um suporte diferente implica o conhecimento da coisa e do suporte. Qualquer teoria da monitorização do ambiente deverá, então, considerar a questão de saber (retomando a analogia informática inicial) qual o programa e qual o input a que ele é sensível. Este tipo de problema foi central na Etologia objectivista: a herança kantiana, transmitida à Etologia por Jacob von Uexküll, enfatizava claramente esse aspecto, e toda a Etologia objectivista pode ser considerada como uma tentativa de caracterizar o comportamento animal a partir da noção de «programas perceptivos» e "outputs motores» típicos de cada espécie. Contudo, e exceptuando alguns projectos de investigação particulares, este tipo de atitude foi descontinuado na Etologia, na sequência das críticas que os investigadores provenientes da Psicologia Comparada e os etólogos por ela influenciados dirigiram ao referencial objectivista. Assim, um investigador que pretenda estudar a questão da monitorização encontra-se face a um vazio teórico: na Etologia moderna não há teoria que permita compreender a interacção entre, por um lado, os processos de detecção, tratamento e armazenamento de informação do ambiente e, por outro, a informação que o animal efectivamente encontra. Na falta de tal teoria, dirigi-me inicialmente para as correntes da Psicologia da aprendizagem mais compatíveis com o referencial etológico (sobretudo as teorias mais «cognitivistas»). Contudo, a releitura dos trabalhos da Etologia objectivista convenceu-me de que o vazio teórico criado pela crítica da Psicologia Comparada não foi preenchido na Etologia moderna, e de que essa crítica radica em incompreensões, mais ou menos pronunciadas, da teoria objectivista original. Mais, fui extremamente sensível à riqueza dos trabalhos empíricos gerados pelo referencial objectivista. Por tudo isso, pareceu-me imperativo começar este trabalho por um exame relativamente minucioso da pertinência das críticas dos comparativistas ao referencial objectivista. Isso obriga-me a retomar questões antigas, e a repisar argumentos com mais de trinta anos. Espero que o resultado da análise compense este recuo. (...

Brazilian guidelines on prevention of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes : a position statement from the Brazilian Diabetes Society (SBD), the Brazilian Cardiology Society (SBC) and the Brazilian Endocrinology and Metabolism Society (SBEM)

Background: Since the first position statement on diabetes and cardiovascular prevention published in 2014 by the Brazilian Diabetes Society, the current view on primary and secondary prevention in diabetes has evolved as a result of new approaches on cardiovascular risk stratification, new cholesterol lowering drugs, and new anti-hyperglycemic drugs. Importantly, a pattern of risk heterogeneity has emerged, showing that not all diabetic patients are at high or very high risk. In fact, most younger patients who have no overt cardiovascular risk factors may be more adequately classified as being at intermediate or even low cardiovascular risk. Thus, there is a need for cardiovascular risk stratification in patients with diabetes. The present panel reviews the best current evidence and proposes a practical riskbased approach on treatment for patients with diabetes. Main body: The Brazilian Diabetes Society, the Brazilian Society of Cardiology, and the Brazilian Endocrinology and Metabolism Society gathered to form an expert panel including 28 cardiologists and endocrinologists to review the best available evidence and to draft up-to-date an evidence-based guideline with practical recommendations for risk stratification and prevention of cardiovascular disease in diabetes. The guideline includes 59 recommendations covering: (1) the impact of new anti-hyperglycemic drugs and new lipid lowering drugs on cardiovascular risk; (2) a guide to statin use, including new definitions of LDL-cholesterol and in non-HDL-cholesterol targets; (3) evaluation of silent myocardial ischemia and subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with diabetes; (4) hypertension treatment; and (5) the use of antiplatelet therapy Conclusions: Diabetes is a heterogeneous disease. Although cardiovascular risk is increased in most patients, those without risk factors or evidence of sub-clinical atherosclerosis are at a lower risk. Optimal management must rely on an approach that will cover both cardiovascular disease prevention in individuals in the highest risk as well as protection from overtreatment in those at lower risk. Thus, cardiovascular prevention strategies should be individualized according to cardiovascular risk while intensification of treatment should focus on those at higher risk

SHEDs modulate the cytokine profile in co-culture with iDCs and mDCs.

<p>Graphics indicate soluble factors levels (pg/mL; detection by CBA technique) present in the culture moDCs after seven days of differentiation (co-cultured with or without SHEDs, in a 1∶10 ratio) stimulated (to generate mDC) or not (to maintained iDC) with LPS (during the last two days of culture). Comparisons were done using t-test between iDC and iDC+SHED and between mDC and mDC+SHED; *p≤0.05 and **p≤0.01; n = 4.</p

MoDCs previously stimulated by SHEDs are deficient to induce the proliferation of allogeneic T cells.

<p>Immature and mature moDCs co-cultured with SHEDs were isolated by anti-HLA-DR magnetic beads. MoDCs isolated were co-cultured with 1×10⁵ non-adherent cells CFSE stained (1∶10 ratio). After five days, T cells were stained with anti-CD4 and anti-CD8 antibodies, and CFSE dilution was determined by flow cytometry analysis. This analysis was previously performed within FSC and SSC gate, followed by CD4 or CD8 gate for T cells type of interest. PHA (Phytohemagglutinin A) was used as a polyclonal-positive stimulus. At least 20,000 events were acquired. iDC – without SHED contact; iDC+SHED – iDC previously co-cultured with SHED; mDC – without SHED contact; mDC+SHED – mDC previously co-cultured with SHED. Comparisons were done using t-test between iDC and iDC+SHED and between mDC and mDC+SHED co-cultured with T cells; *p≤0.05 and **p≤0.01 for the groups that showed significant differences; n = 3.</p

SHEDs express characteristic of MSCs as predicted markers and differentiation potential into mesodermal lineages.

<p>(A) SHEDs was characterized by expression of mesenchymal markers CD90, CD73 and CD105. For prove stem cell plasticity of SHEDs, this cell was differentiated to: osteogenic lineage and Alizarin Red was used for stained mineral deposition (B); adipogenic lineage analyzed by neutral lipids accumulation in fat vacuoles stained with oil red O (C); and undifferentiated SHEDs fibroblast-like morphology without differentiation stimulus (D).</p

Increase in proportion of CD4⁺Foxp3⁺T cells and intracellular production of IL-10 or IFN-γ.

<p>MoDCs differentiated and matured in presence of SHEDs induce increase in proportion of CD4+Foxp3+ T cells and intracellular production of IL-10 or IFN-γ. CD4⁺ T cells expressing FoxP3 and IL-10 or IFN-y were analyzed after mDCs co-cultures (in the presence or not of SHEDs). (A) Representative average of population proportion CD4⁺FoxP3⁺IL-10⁺ or CD4⁺FoxP3⁺IFN-γ⁺ T cells. (B) Comparison between the groups means CD4⁺FoxP3⁺ (left), CD4⁺FoxP3⁺IFN-γ⁺ (center) and CD4⁺FoxP3⁺IL-10⁺ (right). Analysis was performed with four unrelated donors (n = 4). It was realized t-test between T cells+mDC and T cells+mDC[SHED] groups; *p≤0,05 and **p≤0,01 01 for the groups that showed significant differences.</p