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Objective: This study aims to test the association of rest-activity rhythm (intradaily variability and interdaily stability) with all-cause mortality in an older adult cohort in Brazil. It also assesses whether the amount of time spent at each intensity level (i.e., physical activity and nocturnal sleep) interferes with this association. Methods: This cohort study started in 2014 with older adults (≥60 years). We investigated deaths from all causes that occurred until April 2017. Rest-activity rhythm variables were obtained using accelerometry at baseline. Intradaily variability indicates higher rhythm fragmentation, while interdaily stability indicates higher rhythm stability. Cox proportional-hazard models were used to test the associations controlling for confounders. Results: Among the 1451 older adults interviewed in 2014, 965 presented valid accelerometry data. During the follow-up period, 80 individuals died. After adjusting the analysis for sociodemographic, smoking, morbidity score, and number of medicines, an increase of one standard deviation in interdaily stability decreased 26% the risk of death. The adjustment for total sleep time and inactivity did not change this association. On the other hand, the association was no longer significant after adjusting for overall physical activity and moderate to vigorous physical activity. Conclusion: Rest-activity rhythm pattern was not associated with mortality when physical activity was considered, possibly because this pattern could be driven by regular exercise. Promoting physical activity remains a relevant strategy to improve population health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of subjects' temporal frames of thought and action has long been central to the study of social stratification. However, theorisation of these processes has tended to focus on highly institutionalised environments in the global North. By contrast, the peripheries of Brazilian cities constitute "heterogeneous fields" of subjectivity formation, in which state institutions act in highly uneven ways and coexist with other actors and processes. To account for these contextual differences, this article proposes we reimagine linear processes of social reproduction, characteristic of structuralist models, as processes of "individuation", whereby subjects emerge through interaction with heterogeneous pre-individual fields. As they individuate, subjects encounter diverse "rhythms", generating experiences of "eurhythmia" and "arrythmia" that influence individual decisions and shape life trajectories. To illustrate the approach, these analytical tools are applied to case studies of three young people drawn from ethnographic research conducted in the periphery of São Paulo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying communities at different stages of urbanisation and industrialisation can teach us how timing and intensity of light affect the circadian clock under real‐life conditions. We have previously described a strong tendency towards morningness in the Baependi Heart Study, located in a small rural town in Brazil. Here, we tested the hypothesis that this morningness tendency is associated with early circadian phase based on objective measurements (as determined by dim light melatonin onset, DLMO, and activity) and light exposure. We also analysed how well the previously collected chronotype questionnaire data were able to predict these DLMO values. The average DLMO observed in 73 participants (40 female) was 20:03 ± 01:21, SD, with an earlier average onset in men (19:38 ± 01:16) than in women (20:24 ± 01:21; P ≤.01). However, men presented larger phase angle between DLMO and sleep onset time as measured by actigraphy (4.11 hours vs 3.16 hours; P ≤.01). Correlational analysis indicated associations between light exposure, activity rhythms and DLMO, such that early DLMO was observed in participants with higher exposure to light, higher activity and earlier light exposure. The strongest significant predictor of DLMO was morningness‐eveningness questionnaire (MEQ) (beta=−0.35, P ≤.05), followed by age (beta = −0.47, P ≤.01). Sex, light exposure and variables derived from the Munich chronotype questionnaire were not significant predictors. Our observations demonstrate that both early sleep patterns and earlier circadian phase have been retained in this small rural town in spite of availability of electrification, in contrast to metropolitan postindustrial areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bateria (bah-teh-REE-ah) means drum set in Portuguese. In terms of Brazilian samba music, the bateria is the percussion ensemble driving the groove of the whole samba band. Organizing a batucada (bah-tooKAH-dah), a Brazilian percussion jam session, is possible in general music classes throughout elementary and secondary school. The necessary instruments are easily available through percussion and educator websites. In addition, quality online tutorials are easily accessible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the last century, linkages between music and race show how rhythm, melody, harmony, and dissonance have been ever-present as Brazilians negotiate their physical and symbolic places in society. This article focuses on just two intersections of race and music in Brazil: the transformation of samba from localized sound to national music, and the creation and subsequent global commercial success of samba-reggae. This analysis should inform any situation where music or any other social/cultural form are both present in the ongoing (re)creation of cultural identity and simultaneously a force used for explicit political or economic gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dance activities were administered to a group of deaf adolescents via visual and auditory stimuli in order to improve their perceptions of monotonic rhythmic structures. Status of psychomotor development was also assessed before and after participation in the program. Twenty deaf adolescents (ages between 12 and 13 years) were divided into two groups, experimental (EG) and control (CG). Before and after participating in the program for 26 weeks, participants were evaluated in rhythmical tasks adapted from the classical test of M. Stambak. The tasks included the perception of drum beats, actually viewed hit movements, or heard via a sound amplifier. Psychomotor tests were administered only to the EG. The period of practice with dance activities changed the individuals' performance in the monotonic rhythmic test. Also, the success rate improved in both, visual and auditory input tasks. Individuals in the CG showed no changes in performance. For the EG, in the post-test, the status of psychomotor development was six months below the target age of the tests (i.e., 11 years). Findings suggested that dance activities can change deaf individuals' auditory perception of rhythmic structures. Participation in such a program can also positively affect psychomotor development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the activity pattern of males and females of the neotropical barvestman Neosadocus maximus Giltay 1928 focusing on behavioral variations between day and night and also between summer and winter. Our study also proposes a new method for quantifying arthropod behavior in captivity based on totally random samplings, which minimizes problems of pseudoreplicabon, so common in studies of behavioral repertoires. Eighteen individuals (nine males and nine females) collected at the Parque Estadual Intervales, São Paulo state, Brazil, were maintained in the laboratory from June 2003 to February 2004 for qualitative and quantitative observations. Thirty-four behavioral acts grouped in five behavioral categories were recorded, with "resting" (53.1%) and "exploration" (30.8%) being the most frequent. The behavioral repertoire of males (32 acts) was more diversified than that of females (29 acts). Moreover, there was a significant effect of sex (male x female) on the frequency of the behavioral categories: females expended more time resting than did males, whereas males expended more time in exploration and grooming activities than did females. There was also a significant effect of time of day (day x night) and of season (winter x summer) on the frequency of the behavioral categories: individuals were most active at night and during summer, Finally, temperature, but not humidity, had a positive effect on the activity of the individuals, In conclusion, the activity of N. maximus has sexual, daily, and seasonal variations, which are both quantitative and qualitative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent studies with the mood rhythm instrument (MRhI) have shown that the presence of recurrent daily peaks in specific mood symptoms are significantly associated with increased risk of psychiatric disorders. Using a large sample collected in Brazil, Spain, and Canada, we aimed to analyze which MRhI items maintained good psychometric properties across cultures. As a secondary aim, we used network analysis to visualize the strength of the association between the MRhI items. Methods: Adults (n = 1275) between 18–60 years old from Spain (n = 458), Brazil (n = 415), and Canada (n = 401) completed the MRhI and the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20). Psychometric analyses followed three steps: Factor analysis, item response theory, and network analysis. Results: The factor analysis indicated the retention of three factors that grouped the MRhI items into cognitive, somatic, and affective domains. The item response theory analysis suggested the exclusion of items that displayed a significant divergence in difficulty measures between countries. Finally, the network analysis revealed a structure where sleepiness plays a central role in connecting the three domains. These psychometric analyses enabled a psychometric-based refinement of the MRhI, where the 11 items with good properties across cultures were kept in a shorter, revised MRhI version (MRhI-r). Limitations: Participants were mainly university students and, as we did not conduct a formal clinical assessment, any potential correlations (beyond the validated SRQ) cannot be ascertained. Conclusions: The MRhI-r is a novel tool to investigate self-perceived rhythmicity of mood-related symptoms and behaviors, with good psychometric properties across multiple cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]