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Ida Pfeiffer (1797-1858) tiene un lugar muy destacado en la historia de la literatura de viajes de mujeres, porque viajar, escribir y publicar suponía desafiar la división de roles de la época, que reservaba estas actividades solo para los hombres. En este trabajo presentamos brevemente los cinco viajes de esta vienesa que, con pocos recursos, consiguió visitar enclaves lejanos de Europa, Asia, América y África y publicar un libro de viaje de cada uno de sus periplos. No obstante, el objetivo principal del trabajo es abordar el contenido de su primera publicación Reise einer Wienerin in das heilige Land teniendo en cuenta, por una parte, la importancia de las peregrinaciones en la historia de los viajes y por otra, la experiencia de la alteridad cultural que supone Oriente para la Europa del siglo XIX.

Abstract Background Compulsivity is the hallmark of addiction progression and, as a construct, has played an important role in unveiling the etiological pathways from learning mechanisms underlying addictive behavior to harms resulting from it. However, a sound use of the compulsivity construct in the field of behavioral addictions has been hindered to date by the lack of consensus regarding its definition and measurement. Here we capitalize on a previous systematic review and expert appraisal to develop a compulsivity scale for candidate behavioral addictions (the Granada Assessment for Cross-domain Compulsivity, GRACC). Methods The initial scale (GRACC90) consisted of 90 items comprising previously proposed operationalizations of compulsivity, and was validated in two panel samples of individuals regularly engaging in gambling and video gaming, using exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and convergence analyses. Results The GRACC90 scale is unidimensional and structurally invariant across samples, and predicted severity of symptoms, lower quality of life, and negative affect, to similar degrees in the two samples. Additionally, poorer quality of life and negative affect were comparably predicted by compulsivity and by severity of symptoms. A shorter version of the scale (GRACC18) is proposed, based on selecting the 18 items with highest factor loadings. Conclusions Results support the proposal that core symptoms of behavioral addictions strongly overlap with compulsivity, and peripheral symptoms are not essential for their conceptualization. Further research should clarify the etiology of compulsive behavior, and whether pathways to compulsivity in behavioral addictions could be common or different across domains.

Abstract The structural addictive characteristics of gambling products are important targets for prevention, but can be unintuitive to laypeople. In the PictoGRRed (Pictograms for Gambling Risk Reduction) study, we aimed to develop pictograms that illustrate the main addictive characteristics of gambling products and to assess their impact on identifying the addictiveness of gambling products by laypeople. We conducted a three-step study: (1) use of a Delphi consensus method among 56 experts from 13 countries to reach a consensus on the 10 structural addictive characteristics of gambling products to be illustrated by pictograms and their associated definitions, (2) development of 10 pictograms and their definitions, and (3) study in the general population to assess the impact of exposure to the pictograms and their definitions (n = 900). French-speaking experts from the panel assessed the addictiveness of gambling products (n = 25), in which the mean of expert’s ratings was considered as the true value. Participants were randomly provided with the pictograms and their definitions, or with a standard slogan, or with neither (control group). We considered the control group as representing the baseline ability of laypeople to assess the addictiveness of gambling products. Each group and the French-speaking experts rated the addictiveness of 14 gambling products. The judgment criterion was the intraclass coefficients (ICCs) between the mean ratings of each group and the experts, reflecting the level of agreement between each group and the experts. Exposure to the pictograms and their definition doubled the ability of laypeople to assess the addictiveness of gambling products compared with that of the group that read a slogan or the control group (ICC = 0.28 vs. 0.14 (Slogan) and 0.14 (Control)). Laypeople have limited awareness of the addictive characteristics of gambling products. The pictograms developed herein represent an innovative tool for universally empowering prevention and for selective prevention.

Una de las consecuencias inmediatas de la guerra de Rusia contra Ucrania ha sido el reconocimiento taxativo de que Ucrania «forma parte de la familia europea». El inicio de este conflicto puede retrotraerse, sin embargo, hasta marzo de 2014. Poco después de las protestas de Euromaidán, la UE firmó en 2014 con Ucrania el Acuerdo de Asociación que ha servido para enmarcar la política de vecindad con este país y posibilitar sus reformas. Tras el impacto de la pandemia del COVID-19, la invasión rusa de Ucrania a gran escala de 2022 ha supuesto el despertar de una UE geopolítica más asertiva en un mundo más inestable. Como consecuencia de ello, la UE ha relanzado las negociaciones de adhesión con los países de los Balcanes Orientales y ha admitido como candidatos a Ucrania y Moldavia. En este contexto ha nacido la Comunidad Política Europea, que podría servir de antesala a la adhesión de estos países a la UE. Sin embargo, sin un final de la guerra en el horizonte, Ucrania podría avanzar en el camino hacia la plena integración en la UE negociando el capítulo dedicado a la cultura entendiendo esta en sentido amplio, y beneficiándose de los programas e iniciativas comunitarios como otros Estados miembros por medio de una integración diferenciada. Recibido: 20 abril 2023 Aceptado: 7 junio 2023

Craving and emotion-driven impulsivity dimensions (positive and negative urgency) have been suggested as factors involved in the progression of different potentially problematic behaviors. However, their role in severity of video gaming-related problems remains unclear. This study aims to assess the differential capacity of negative and positive urgency to predict craving and the number of internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms endorsed (as a proxy to severity of video gaming problems) in majoritarily non-pathological video-gamers. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 232 Spanish and 222 Ecuadorian frequent video game players. Mixed-effects generalized linear (GMLE) and mediation modeling were used to test moderation and mediation hypotheses regarding the association between urgency, craving, and endorsement of IGD symptoms. Results show that (1) craving largely overlaps with endorsement of IGD symptoms; (2) craving for video games is linked to positive urgency, but not to negative urgency, which reinforces the idea that craving, at least in mostly non-pathological gamers, is a positively valenced expectancy state; (3) positive urgency exerts an indirect effect (mediated by craving) on the number of symptoms endorsed; (4) negative urgency exerts a direct effect on the number of symptoms endorsed; and (5) urgency traits do not interact with craving to predict the number of symptoms. These findings are consistent with the proposal that craving is an emotional state, and that dysregulation of positive affect (as measured by positive urgency) influences its emergence and control. In addition, they support the idea that craving is a central feature in the emergence of IGD symptoms.

Metabolic plasticity is the ability of a biological system to adapt its metabolic phenotype to different environmental stressors. We used a whole-body and tissue-specific phenotypic, functional, proteomic, metabolomic and transcriptomic approach to systematically assess metabolic plasticity in diet-induced obese mice after a combined nutritional and exercise intervention. Although most obesity and overnutrition-related pathological features were successfully reverted, we observed a high degree of metabolic dysfunction in visceral white adipose tissue, characterized by abnormal mitochondrial morphology and functionality. Despite two sequential therapeutic interventions and an apparent global healthy phenotype, obesity triggered a cascade of events in visceral adipose tissue progressing from mitochondrial metabolic and proteostatic alterations to widespread cellular stress, which compromises its biosynthetic and recycling capacity. In humans, weight loss after bariatric surgery showed a transcriptional signature in visceral adipose tissue similar to our mouse model of obesity reversion. Overall, our data indicate that obesity prompts a lasting metabolic fingerprint that leads to a progressive breakdown of metabolic plasticity in visceral adipose tissue.

Insulin secretion from pancreatic β cells is essential for glucose homeostasis. An insufficient response to the demand for insulin results in diabetes. We previously showed that β cell–specific deletion of Zfp148 (β-Zfp148KO) improves glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in mice. Here, we performed Ca2+ imaging of islets from β‑Zfp148KO and control mice fed both a chow and a Western-style diet. β-Zfp148KO islets demonstrated improved sensitivity and sustained Ca2+ oscillations in response to elevated glucose levels. β-Zfp148KO islets also exhibited elevated sensitivity to amino acid–induced Ca2+ influx under low glucose conditions, suggesting enhanced mitochondrial phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent (PEP-dependent), ATP-sensitive K+ channel closure, independent of glycolysis. RNA-Seq and proteomics of β-Zfp148KO islets revealed altered levels of enzymes involved in amino acid metabolism (specifically, SLC3A2, SLC7A8, GLS, GLS2, PSPH, PHGDH, and PSAT1) and intermediary metabolism (namely, GOT1 and PCK2), consistent with altered PEP cycling. In agreement with this, β-Zfp148KO islets displayed enhanced insulin secretion in response to l-glutamine and activation of glutamate dehydrogenase. Understanding pathways controlled by ZFP148 may provide promising strategies for improving β cell function that are robust to the metabolic challenge imposed by a Western diet.

Abstract Background Decisions made by individuals with disordered gambling are markedly inflexible. However, whether anomalies in learning from feedback are gambling-specific, or extend beyond gambling contexts, remains an open question. More generally, addictive disorders—including gambling disorder—have been proposed to be facilitated by individual differences in feedback-driven decision-making inflexibility, which has been studied in the lab with the Probabilistic Reversal Learning Task (PRLT). In this task, participants are first asked to learn which of two choice options is more advantageous, on the basis of trial-by-trial feedback, but, once preferences are established, reward contingencies are reversed, so that the advantageous option becomes disadvantageous and vice versa. Inflexibility is revealed by a less effective reacquisition of preferences after reversal, which can be distinguished from more generalized learning deficits. Methods In the present study, we compared PRLT performance across two groups of 25 treatment-seeking patients diagnosed with an addictive disorder and who reported gambling problems, and 25 matched controls [18 Males/7 Females in both groups, Mage(SDage) = 25.24 (8.42) and 24.96 (7.90), for patients and controls, respectively]. Beyond testing for differences in the shape of PRLT learning curves across groups, the specific effect of problematic gambling symptoms’ severity was also assessed independently of group assignment. In order to surpass previous methodological problems, full acquisition and reacquisition curves were fitted using generalized mixed-effect models. Results Results showed that (1) controls did not significantly differ from patients in global PRLT performance nor showed specific signs of decision-making inflexibility; and (2) regardless of whether group affiliation was controlled for or not, gambling severity was specifically associated with more inefficient learning in phases with reversed contingencies. Conclusion Decision-making inflexibility, as revealed by difficulty to reacquire decisional preferences based on feedback after contingency reversals, seems to be associated with gambling problems, but not necessarily with a substance-use disorder diagnosis. This result aligns with gambling disorder models in which domain-general compulsivity is linked to vulnerability to develop gambling-specific problems with exposure to gambling opportunities.

Abstract Mitochondrial metabolism and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to the acquisition of DNA mutations and genomic instability in cancer. How genomic instability influences the metabolic capacity of cancer cells is nevertheless poorly understood. Here, we show that homologous recombination‐defective (HRD) cancers rely on oxidative metabolism to supply NAD+ and ATP for poly(ADP‐ribose) polymerase (PARP)‐dependent DNA repair mechanisms. Studies in breast and ovarian cancer HRD models depict a metabolic shift that includes enhanced expression of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway and its key components and a decline in the glycolytic Warburg phenotype. Hence, HRD cells are more sensitive to metformin and NAD+ concentration changes. On the other hand, shifting from an OXPHOS to a highly glycolytic metabolism interferes with the sensitivity to PARP inhibitors (PARPi) in these HRD cells. This feature is associated with a weak response to PARP inhibition in patient‐derived xenografts, emerging as a new mechanism to determine PARPi sensitivity. This study shows a mechanistic link between two major cancer hallmarks, which in turn suggests novel possibilities for specifically treating HRD cancers with OXPHOS inhibitors.

This article details a correction to: Holgado, D., Sanabria, D., Perales, J. C., & Vadillo, M. A. (2020). Mental Fatigue Might Be Not So Bad for Exercise Performance After All: A Systematic Review and Bias-Sensitive Meta-Analysis. Journal of Cognition, 3(1), 38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.126

BackgroundDistorted gambling-related cognitions are tightly related to gambling problems, and are one of the main targets of treatment for disordered gambling, but their etiology remains uncertain. Although folk wisdom and some theoretical approaches have linked them to lower domain-general reasoning abilities, evidence regarding that relationship remains unconvincing.MethodIn the present cross-sectional study, the relationship between probabilistic/abstract reasoning, as measured by the Berlin Numeracy Test (BNT), and the Matrices Test, respectively, and the five dimensions of the Gambling-Related Cognitions Scale (GRCS), was tested in a sample of 77 patients with gambling disorder and 58 individuals without gambling problems.Results and interpretationNeither BNT nor matrices scores were significantly related to gambling-related cognitions, according to frequentist (MANCOVA/ANCOVA) analyses, performed both considering and disregarding group (patients, non-patients) in the models. Correlation Bayesian analyses (bidirectional BF10) largely supported the null hypothesis, i.e., the absence of relationships between the measures of interest. This pattern or results reinforces the idea that distorted cognitions do not originate in a general lack of understanding of probability or low fluid intelligence, but probably result from motivated reasoning.

Co-occurrence of drug misuse with other dysregulated behaviors is common. This study was aimed at exploring the associations between the risk of presenting a clinically relevant condition involving non-substance-related addictive or dysregulated behaviors (as measured by the MultiCAGE CAD-4 screening), and cannabis abuse/dependence (CAST/SDS) scores, and the role of gender therein. Participants were recruited using stratified probabilistic sampling at the University of Granada. Mann-Whitney’s U tests were used to compare male and female students in SDS and CAST scores. Associations between gender and MultiCAGE scores were estimated using the γ ordinal correlation index, and tested with χ2. For each MultiCAGE dimension, a Poisson-family mixed-effects model was built with either SDS or CAST as the main input variable, while controlling for nicotine and alcohol dependence, and relevant sociodemographic variables. Incidence rate ratios (IRR) were computed for SDS/CAST effects, and the significance threshold was family-wise Bonferroni-corrected. Gender differences were significant for cannabis dependence/abuse and all MultiCAGE scores for non-substance-related conditions, with males showing higher risk scores for excessive gambling, excessive internet use, excessive video gaming, and hypersexuality, and females presenting higher scores in dysregulated eating and compulsive buying. Cannabis dependence and abuse were significantly associated with a higher risk of problematic video gaming. These associations were mostly driven by males. Importantly, although risk of problematic video gaming was specifically associated with cannabis abuse/dependence, there was only a weak non-significant association between problematic video gaming and alcohol use scores. Risk of alcohol use problems, in turn, was strongly associated with all other non-substance-related problems (problematic gambling, excessive Internet use, dysregulated eating, compulsive buying, and hypersexuality). These differential associations can cast light on the etiological similarities and dissimilarities between problematic substance use and putative addictive behaviors not involving drugs.

There is an ongoing debate in the scientific community regarding whether a state of mental fatigue may have a negative effect upon a range of objective and subjective measures of human performance. This issue has attracted attention from several fields, including sport and exercise sciences. In fact, a considerable body of literature in the sport science field has suggested that performing a long and demanding cognitive task might lead to a state of mental fatigue, impairing subsequent exercise performance, although research in this field has shown contradictory results. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to investigate these inconsistent findings. The analysis yielded small-to-medium effects of mental fatigue on exercise performance, 'dz' = 0.50, and RPE, 'dz' = 0.21. However, a three-parameter selection model also revealed evidence of publication or reporting biases, suggesting that the bias-corrected estimates might be substantially lower (0.08 and 0.10, respectively) and non-significant. In sum, current evidence does not provide conclusive support for the claim that mental fatigue has a negative influence on exercise performance.

A substantial body of work has depicted a positive association between physical exercise and cognition, although the key factors driving that link are still a matter of scientific debate. Here, we aimed to contribute further to that topic by pooling the data from seven studies (N = 361) conducted by our research group to examine whether cardiovascular fitness (VO2), sport type participation (externally-paced (e.g., football or basketball) and self-paced (e.g., triathlon or track and field athletes) vs. sedentary), or both, are crucial factors to explain the association between the regular practice of exercise and vigilance capacity. We controlled for relevant variables such as age and the method of VO2 estimation. The Psychomotor Vigilance Task was used to measure vigilance performance by means of reaction time (RT). The results showed that externally-paced sport practice (e.g., football) resulted in significantly shorter RT compared to self-paced sport (e.g., triathlon) and sedentary condition, depicting larger effects in children and adolescents than in adults. Further analyses revealed no significant effect of cardiovascular fitness and self-paced sport practice, in comparison to the sedentary condition, on RT. Our data point to the relevance of considering the type of sport practice over and above the level of cardiovascular fitness as crucial factor to explain the positive association between the regular practice of exercise and vigilance capacity.

Background: Gambling disorder (GD) is a heterogeneous disorder which has clinical manifestations that vary according to variables in each individual. Considering the importance of the application of specific therapeutic interventions, it is essential to obtain clinical classifications based on differentiated phenotypes for patients diagnosed with GD.Objectives: To identify gambling profiles in a large clinical sample of n = 2,570 patients seeking treatment for GD.Methods: An agglomerative hierarchical clustering method defining a combination of the Schwarz Bayesian Information Criterion and log-likelihood was used, considering a large set of variables including sociodemographic, gambling, psychopathological, and personality measures as indicators.Results: Three-mutually-exclusive groups were obtained. Cluster 1 (n = 908 participants, 35.5%), labeled as “high emotional distress,” included the oldest patients with the longest illness duration, the highest GD severity, and the most severe levels of psychopathology. Cluster 2 (n = 1,555, 60.5%), labeled as “mild emotional distress,” included patients with the lowest levels of GD severity and the lowest levels of psychopathology. Cluster 3 (n = 107, 4.2%), labeled as “moderate emotional distress,” included the youngest patients with the shortest illness duration, the highest level of education and moderate levels of psychopathology.Conclusion: In this study, the general psychopathological state obtained the highest importance for clustering.

College students are particularly vulnerable to risky alcohol use, which increases their likelihood of developing an alcohol use disorder in the future. As such, preventing and reducing alcohol use among college students should be a priority for health and social policies. This work was aimed to show that brief group-delivered MI is as effective as brief-group CBT at reducing alcohol use in college students. Eighty-nine college students (69 females; mean age = 21.01, SD = 2.85) with risky alcohol use, as measured by the AUDIT-C, were assigned to two groups, receiving three sessions of either brief group-delivered MI or CBT (bMI/bCBT). Alcohol use was assessed 3 and 6 months after the interventions, and analyzed according to an Intention-to-treat design. Changes in alcohol use at both points (relative to baseline) as well as post-intervention scores of intention to continue treatment and satisfaction with the psychologist were compared across groups, using one-sided Bayesian t-tests. Alcohol use decreased in both groups at the 3- and 6-months measurement points (relative to baseline). However, using bCBT superiority as an alternative hypothesis and the absence of such superiority as a point-null hypothesis, the Bayes factors supported the null at both the 3- and the 6-months follow-up (BF01 = 7.13, and BF01 = 5.22 respectively). Furthermore, the intention to continue treatment was substantially higher in the bMI group (BF10 = 9.77). These results are considerably robust to changes in analyses' priors. This study suggests that bCBT is not more effective than bMI at reducing alcohol use in our college student group (in which females are overrepresented). Additionally, bMI showed higher intention to continue treatment scores. The comparable results of brief and group-delivered CBT and MI interventions in alcohol use reduction allows clinicians to select treatments based on their own skills or preferences without any detriment to efficacy.

BackgroundGambling behavior presents substantial individual variability regarding its severity, manifestations, and psychological correlates. Specifically, differences in emotion regulation, impulsivity, and cognitive distortions have been identified as crucial to describe individual profiles with implications for the prevention, prognosis, and treatment of gambling disorder (GD).Aims and methodThe aim of the present study was to investigate the associations of gambling-related cognitions (measured according to the GRCS model) with impulsivity (UPPS-P model) and emotion regulation (CERQ model), in a sample of 246 gamblers with different levels of gambling involvement, using mixed-effects modelling to isolate theoretically relevant associations while controlling for the potentially confounding effects of sociodemographic and clinical covariates.ResultsAffective/motivational dimensions of UPPS-P impulsivity positive urgency and sensation seeking, on the one hand, and CERQ emotion regulation strategies reappraisal, rumination and blaming others, on the other, independently and significantly predicted distorted gambling-related cognitions.ConclusionsThese results (a) reinforce the ones of previous studies stressing the relevance of emotional and motivational processes in the emergence of gambling-related cognitive distortions; and (b) replicate the seemingly paradoxical finding that gamblers use emotion regulation strategies customarily considered as adaptive (i.e. reappraisal) to strengthen and justify their biased beliefs about gambling outcomes and controllability.

Rationale and methodAccurately identifying motives to gamble is crucial in the functional analysis of gambling behavior. In this study, a data-driven approach was followed to clarify the factor structure underlying a pool of motives for gambling, selected from the Gambling Motives Questionnaire-Financial (GMQ-F), and the Reasons for Gambling Questionnaire (RGQ), in a sample of regular problem and non-problem gamblers. Additionally, the role of gambling motives in the relationship between root behavioral activation/inhibition systems (BIS/BAS) and gambling severity, frequency, and preferences was explored using structural equation modelling (SEM).Results and conclusionsThe present study identified Social, Financial, and Fun/thrill-related gambling motives factors, but also a fourth factor in which some positive and negative reinforcement-based motives were grouped into a single and broader Affect regulation factor. This Affect regulation factor shared variance both with BIS and BAS-related measures, and was the only direct predictor of disordered gambling symptoms. The Fun/thrill factor was directly related to frequency of participation in high-arousal, skill-based games, and all factors were related to participation in lower-arousal, chance games (with Social motives negatively predicting both participation in the latter and total severity). In the SEM model, measures of BIS/BAS sensitivity were connected to gambling behavior only through gambling motives. Based on measures of items' specificity, a shortened Spanish scale (the brief Gambling Motives Inventory, bGMI) is proposed to assess gambling motives in accordance with the observed 4-factor structure.

A review of available results on non-destructive testing of physical systems, using the concept of topological sensitivity, is presented. This mathematical tool estimates the sensitivity of a set of measurements in some given sensors, distributed along the system, to defects/flaws that produce a degradation of the system. Such degradation manifests itself on the properties of the system. The good performance of this general purpose post-processing method is reviewed and illustrated in some applications involving non-destructive testing. These applications include structural health monitoring, considering both elastodynamic ultrasonic guided Lamb waves and active infrared thermography. Related methods can also be used in other fields, such as diagnosis/prognosis of engineering devices, which is also considered.

En el presente trabajo se cultivó un bloom de microalgas en un fotobiorreactor piloto tipo high rate algae pond (HRAP), con un volumen de 450 l. Éste se operó en discontinuo, con un medio sintético y bajo condiciones ambientales de luz y temperatura. El objetivo era utilizar un modelo cinético que predijera las velocidades de crecimiento de biomasa, consumo de nitrógeno y fósforo, y la evolución del contenido de estos dos nutrientes en la biomasa. Los resultados parecen indicar que el contenido en nitrógeno y fósforo se redujo en más de un 80% en el agua residual sintética y que efectivamente el modelo resultó útil para predecir el consumo de nutrientes por las microalgas, lo que junto con los datos experimentales del contenido en nutrientes de la biomasa indicó la existencia de otros procesos que compiten con las microalgas en la eliminación de los nutrientes del fotobiorreactor.

El objetivo principal de este trabajo ha sido el estudio de la velocidad de crecimiento y de consumo de nitrógeno y fósforo de un bloom de microalgas cultivadas en aguas residuales urbanas con diferente nivel y tipología de tratamiento. Para ello se han cultivado las microalgas por duplicado en discontinuo bajo condiciones controladas de temperatura, luz y aireación, en cuatro medios de ensayo, consistentes en cuatro aguas residuales: (1) salida de pretratamiento; (2) efluente de decantación secundaria; (3) efluente de un reactor anaerobio de flujo ascendente denominado UASB (Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket), y finalmente, (4) mezcla de efluente del UASB y agua de secundario, todas de la misma estación depuradora de aguas residuales urbanas. La modelización cinética para el análisis de resultados con los modelos de Verhulst y el Photobiotreatment model indica una evolución temporal diferente de la concentración de biomasa, N y P total disuelto, respectivamente, en los diferentes medios de ensayo. La productividad es mayor en los ensayos con agua procedente del biorreactor UASB (0.094 g SS l-1 d-1). En este medio de cultivo, la velocidad de eliminación del nitrógeno no presenta diferencia con el resto de aguas residuales utilizadas en el ensayo, mientras que en el caso del fósforo, la eliminación es la menor de entre todos los medios estudiados.

Los martirios de Japón de 1622 tuvieron gran repercusión gracias a las crónicas que tanto los dominicos, franciscanos y jesuitas mandaron a Europa. De estas relaciones la crónica del jesuita García Garcés fue la que más difusión tuvo en Europa. En ella, el autor menciona dos pinturas que le enviaron desde Nagasaki y que utilizó como testimonio para aportar veracidad a su escrito. Por sus similitudes iconográficas, una de estas pinturas debió de tratarse del cuadro que representa el gran martirio de Nagasaki conservado en la Iglesia del Gesù de Roma. Este artículo analiza la función de las pinturas en la crónica de Garcés como fuentes de inspiración para la relación de los hechos que representan. Además, se explora el modo en el que estos cuadros de testimonios eran percibidos en aquella época. Esta información también aporta nuevos datos sobre la fecha y lugar de producción de la pintura de la Iglesia del Gesù.

En la génesis y el desarrollo del juego patológico entran en juego factores múltiples. No obstante, entre ellos se han considerado de especial importancia los procesos de aprendizaje. La evidencia acumulada desde la Neurociencia del Aprendizaje, que aborda su objeto de estudio desde tres niveles de análisis (conductual, cognitivo y neurobiológico), sugiere que (1) las alteraciones del sistema mesolímbico de la recompensa están ligadas a la sensibilidad a la recompensa de los jugadores patológicos y su vulnerabilidad a los programas de reforzamiento del juego de azar, (2) las anomalías de los sistemas orbitofrontales encargados de computar y contextualizar los beneficios y las pérdidas de las propias decisiones están igualmente vinculados a la alteración en la toma de decisiones, la hiposensibilidad al castigo y la rigidez en el aprendizaje identificadas en esta población y (3), al igual que en otros trastornos adictivos, la alteración de los sistemas prefrontales dorsolateral y dorsomedial de control cognitivo puede dar cuenta de la pobre planificación de las conductas alternativas al juego y el debilita miento de la capacidad para regular los impulsos, incluido el deseo intenso de jugar o craving. Esta evidencia justifica un abordaje terapéutico integral orientado a la rehabilitación de las funciones alteradas. Para ello se plantea la utilización integrada de técnicas habituales propias de la terapia cognitivo-conductual para la reducción de saliencia de incentivo, reducción y control del craving y mejora de la capacidad de planificación e inhibición. Asimismo, se propone el uso de técnicas de economía conductual para impulsar fuentes de reforzamiento más allá del juego y la simulación controlada de episodios de juego para el aprendizaje de la contabilización adecuada de los beneficios y pérdidas monetarios. El uso de estas técnicas en cada caso particular debería ir guiado por la correcta caracterización de las vulnerabilidades propias del paciente.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is the key enzyme in gluconeogenesis/glyceroneogenesis, which catalyzes the decarboxylation of oxaloacetate to phosphoenolpyruvate. [...]

BACKGROUND:The negative consequences of energy dense foods are well known, yet people increasingly make unhealthy food choices leading to obesity (i.e., risky decisions). The aims of this study were: [1] to compare performance in decision-making tasks under risk and under ambiguity between individuals with obesity, overweight and normal weight; [2] to examine the associations between body mass index (BMI) and decision-making, and the degree to which these associations are modulated by reward sensitivity. METHODS:Seventy-nine adults were recruited and classified in three groups according to their BMI: obesity, overweight and normal-weight. Groups were similar in terms of age, education and socio-economic status, and were screened for comorbid medical and mental health conditions. Decision-making under risk was measured via the Wheel of Fortune Task (WoFT) and decision-making under ambiguity via the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Reward sensitivity was indicated by the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire (SPSRQ). RESULTS:Individuals with obesity made riskier choices in the WoFT, specifically in choices with an expected value close to zero and in the propensity to risk index. No differences were found in IGT performance or SPSRQ scores. BMI was associated with risk-taking (WoFT performance), independently of reward sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS:Obesity is linked to a propensity to make risky decisions in experimental conditions analogous to everyday food choices.