Meaning is about mattering: evaluating coherence, purpose, and existential mattering as precursors of meaning in life judgments

When people judge their lives as meaningful, what is this judgment about? Drawing on recent tripartite theoretical accounts of meaning in life (MIL), we tested the separate contributions of coherence (or comprehension), purpose, and existential mattering (or significance) as potential precursors of people’s self-reported evaluations of MIL. In Study 1 (N = 314 social media users), we developed brief acquiescence-free measures of these constructs, confirming that sense of coherence, purpose, mattering, and MIL judgments were distinct from each other and from related constructs (sense of control, belonging, self-esteem, self-competence, mood). In Study 2 (N = 168 students) and Study 3 (N = 442 Prolific Academic respondents; preregistered), we collected longitudinal data to test temporal relationships between coherence, purpose, mattering, and MIL judgments over a 1-month time lag. In both studies, sense of mattering consistently emerged as a significant precursor of MIL judgments, whereas sense of purpose and coherence did not. We conclude that researchers and practitioners should pay more attention to the relatively neglected dimension of existential mattering, beyond their more common emphases on coherence or purpose as bases of meaningfulness

Impactul obezității asupra sintezei hormonilor intestinali

Introducere. Obezitatea este o boală cronică multifactorială ce se definește prin prezența unui indice al masei corporale mai mare de 30 kg/m2 la adulți. Actualmente, supraponderabilitatea și obezitatea afectează o treime din populația mondială. Dacă tendințele actuale vor continua, se estimează că spre finele anului 2030, 38% din populația globului va fi supraponderală, iar 20% va fi obeză. Expansiunea obezității este consecința unui aport excesiv și cronic de energie ce depășește necesitățile organismului. Într-o stare de suprasaturare energetică cronică, comportamentul alimentar devine neconcordant cu mecanismele endogene ale homeostaziei energetice. drept urmare, se produc o serie de schimbări adaptive ca răspuns al acumulării masei corporale, iar o bună parte din hormoni devin modulați de țesutul adipos. Printre acești hormoni se numără și cei intestinali, care sunt printre principalii dirijori ai aportului nutritiv din organism. Studierea modificărilor secreției hormonilor intestinali în obezitate ar releva noi verigi patogenetice care vor putea fi exploatate ulterior pentru combaterea obezității. Scopul. Elucidarea mecanismelor moleculare ale interrelației dintre hormonii intestinali și obezitate. Material și metode. Analiza literaturii din domeniu, a articolelor științifice prezente în bazele de date PubMed, Springer, ScienceDirect referitor la interrelația hormonilor intestinali cu obezitatea. Rezultate. La persoanele obeze se observă o tulburare a ritmului circadian secretor și o inhibiție deficitară a secreției postprandiale de grelină hormon intestinal orexigen. Unele studii au demonstrat că fenomenul este rezultatul atât al hiperplaziei celulelor gastrice secretoare de grelină, precum și a sensibilității scăzute a acestora către nutrienții din sânge. În același timp, la persoanele obeze se observă o secreție postprandială deficitară de GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide 1) și de PYY (Peptide YY), de hormoni anorexigeni intestinali ca urmare a secreției deficitare de histon-acetiltransferază, NEUROD-1 (neuronal differentiation factor 1) și neruogenină 3, factori de creștere necesari diferențierii celulelor enteroendocrine. La fel, se observă o creștere a secreției de amilină, de leptină și de GIP (gastric inhibitory polypeptide). Cu toate că sunt anorexigeni, ca urmare a scăderii sensibilității receptorilor respectivi, creșterea sangvină a concentrației acestor hormoni nu influențează senzația de sațietate a persoanelor obeze. Schimbările hormonale menționate duc la un deficit de integrare a stimulilor fiziologici interni cu cei externi și, ca urmare, senzația de sațietate se instalează mai tardiv, persoana consumând doze calorice mai mari, agravând obezitatea preexistentă. Concluzii. În obezitate se observă o inhibiție insuficientă a hormonilor orexigeni intestinali și o insuficiență de secreție a celor anorexigeni. În marea majoritate a cazurilor, schimbările în profilul hormonal intestinal sunt o consecință a obezității și nu o cauză a ei. Pe viitor, reechilibrarea balanței dintre hormonii intestinali anorexigeni și orexigeni ar putea deveni o opțiune de tratament efectivă ce ar completa efectele metodelor tradiționale de slăbire

What makes life feel meaningful?

Through a series of four papers using experimental and correlational methods, this thesis investigates precursors to judging life as meaningful. This thesis extends and tests tripartite models that define meaning in life (MIL) as comprised of the three dimensions of purpose, coherence and significance, while integrating claims derived from the Meaning Maintenance Model and previous research on sources of MIL (e.g., relationships, personal control). In Paper 1, we showed that different kinds of coherence threat (self-uncertainty and general uncertainty) were perceived differently, with self-uncertainty being overall most successful at influencing felt uncertainty; however, neither of the two manipulations influenced MIL judgements. In Paper 2, against our predictions, we did not find evidence that the effects of belongingness and personal control additively increase sense of MIL. In Paper 3, across three studies, we tested whether fulfilment of the three dimensions of MIL (coherence, purpose, significance) predicts MIL judgments contemporaneously and over time. In Study 1, we improved previous measures to create distinct scales of the key constructs. In Studies 2 and 3, we showed that sense of significance was the most consistent predictor of MIL judgments across time, with the effects of purpose and coherence being moderated by religious belief (Study 3). Finally, in Paper 4, we used a multilevel approach to show that different meaning frameworks (i.e., propositions that one holds about oneself and the world; e.g., identities, values) are seen as more meaningful, the more they provide a sense of purpose, significance and coherence. This, in turn, predicted the perceived importance of meaning frameworks.Finally, I discuss implications for the future of the construct of MIL in terms of definition, operationalisation, theoretical utility and future directions

Pharmacological aspects of methylphenidate usage

Departament of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, The 8th International Medical Congress for Students and Young Doctors, September 24-26, 2020Introduction. Numerous recent studies show that misuse of stimulants by individuals without ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) has increased over last years, in order to enhance cognitive performance. This is especially popular among students. Hence, the need to assess the effects of methylphenidate on healthy brain (without ADHD), as well as the associated adverse reactions, arises. Aim of the study. To evaluate the prevalence of methylphenidate (MPH) usage among medical students, to emphasize pharmacological effects and adverse reactions. Materials and methods. A self-administered, anonymous questionnaire was distributed in online and sheet forms to students of the ungraduated medical programme. The literature review on stimulants misuse has been performed, including search of following databases: PubMed, ResearchGate, neurology.com, etc. Results. 114 questionnaires have been completed, including: 34 – online and 80 – on sheets. Approximately 14,0% (16 of 114) of surveyed students have used MPH for non-medical purposes. Most of them used it to enhance their ability to concentrate 63,64 % (7 of 11). Next adverse reactions were mentioned: tachycardia/High Blood Pressure (8 of 13); anxiety/fear (5 of 13); headache (5 of 13); seizures/convulsions (2 of 13); sleep disorders (9 of 14). Recent studies put college students’ nonprescription use of stimulant drugs — Ritalin and amphetamines such as Adderall and Dexedrine — at rates anywhere between 14 and 38 percent, depending on the type of college and age of student. Main purpose of usage is enhancing the ability to concentrate and memorize. Most frequent adverse reactions (>10%) are: psychiatric disorders, insomnia, irritability, decreased appetite, headache, infections. Conclusions. The prevalence of MPH usage among medical students fits in general statistics. The primary reason of usage also coincides. Some respondents have not mentioned the emergence or absence of adverse reactions. This may be due to refusal to answer or unawareness of the adverse reactions. The literature review revealed that benefic effects of MPH are observed in individuals with lower ability of concentration/memorization, showing that the drug is more effective at correcting deficits than “enhancing performance”. In individuals with good ability of concentration/memorization enhanced motivation has been observed, although associated with higher incidence of adverse reactions

The importance of circulating tumor products as „liquid biopsies” in colorectal cancer

Liquid biopsies represent an array of plasma analysis tests that are studied to evaluate and identify circulating tumor products, especially circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Examining such biomarkers in the plasma of colorectal cancer patients has attracted attention due to its clinical significance in the treatment of malignant diseases. Given that tissue samples are sometimes challenging to procure or unsatisfactory for genomic profiling from patients with colorectal cancer, trustworthy biomarkers are mandatory for guiding treatment, monitoring therapeutic response, and detecting recurrence. This review considers the relevance of flowing tumor products like circulating tumor cells (CTCs), circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating messenger RNA (mRNA), circulating micro RNA (miRNA), circulating exosomes, and tumor educated platelets (TEPs) for patients with colorectal cancer

Loupe: Driving the Development of OS Compatibility Layers

Supporting mainstream applications is fundamental for a new OS to have impact. It is generally achieved by developing a layer of compatibility allowing applications developed for a mainstream OS like Linux to run unmodified on the new OS. Building such a layer, as we show, results in large engineering inefficiencies due to the lack of efficient methods to precisely measure the OS features required by a set of applications. We propose Loupe, a novel method based on dynamic analysis that determines the OS features that need to be implemented in a prototype OS to bring support for a target set of applications and workloads. Loupe guides and boosts OS developers as they build compatibility layers, prioritizing which features to implement in order to quickly support many applications as early as possible. We apply our methodology to 100+ applications and several OSes currently under development, demonstrating high engineering effort savings vs. existing approaches: for example, for the 62 applications supported by the OSv kernel, we show that using Loupe, would have required implementing only 37 system calls vs. 92 for the non-systematic process followed by OSv developers. We study our measurements and extract novel key insights. Overall, we show that the burden of building compatibility layers is significantly less than what previous works suggest: in some cases, only as few as 20% of system calls reported by static analysis, and 50% of those reported by naive dynamic analysis need an implementation for an application to successfully run standard benchmarks.Comment: Accepted to appear at ASPLOS'24 (https://www.asplos-conference.org/asplos2024/

The relationship between quality of life and functionality in patients with schizophrenia – A preliminary report

This research aimed to investigate the relationship between quality of life and level of functioning in a group of Romanian patients with schizophrenia. A cross-sectional, observational, prospective study on 47 patients with schizophrenia was conducted. Socio-demographic and clinical data were documented and WHOQOL-BREF and Life Skills Profile-16 instruments were further administered. To examine the correlation between variables, Person correlation test was employed. The mean age of the sample was 38.32±12.32 years and 66% of the patients were males. Significant correlations were found between all aspects of the quality of life (physical health, psychological, social relationships and environmental health) and total score of LSP-16 (r=-0.426,

A Mania that is not Mania: A Case of Frontotemporal Dementia with Early Onset

The clinical picture of the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia can be very similar to a manic episode. Paying a careful attention to memory and attention problems and assessing the cognitive status of a patient with mania-like symptoms and no previous psychiatric history should be a standard procedure in order to distinguish mania from behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia. Sometimes, imaging techniques are revealing important aspects that are essential for a correct diagnosis and treatment plan. Here, we present a case of frontotemporal dementia with early onset that had a manic like clinical presentation. Also, we shortly discuss the available pharmacological approaches and outline the importance of thorough differential diagnosis.</em