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Among the diverse advantages that neuropsychological assessment via video teleconference (VTC) presents, increased accessibility and convenience are the most recognized. However, questions remain regarding the impact of VTC on the validity of neuropsychological testing. This systematic review aimed to (a) update the current knowledge of neuropsychological testing validity conducted via VTC in adults; (b) identify factors contributing to variability in results; and (c) recommend best practices for conducting these assessments. A total of 21 crossover studies were analyzed. The samples of these studies included healthy adults and individuals with cognitive impairments, with mean ages ranging from 23 to 81 years. Overall, the results point toward a strong agreement between VTC and in-person assessments. However, some variability was found across domains, with motor and timed tasks being particularly vulnerable to technical problems such as poor video/audio quality, unstable internet connections, limited familiarity with software and inadequacy of some devices. Additional challenges were identified when providing these services to individuals with cognitive impairments, specifically in tasks requiring clear verbal instructions or precise visual details. Further research is essential to establish standardized VTC protocols and administration guidelines, particularly for clinical populations, to mitigate variability and enhance the validity of VTC-based neuropsychological assessment.

The current exponential growth of solar electricity technologies toward consumer-oriented applications, as in building- or vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (B/VIPV), is calling for improved solar cells, not only in cost-effectiveness, but also with better adaptability and aesthetics. Here, using perovskite solar cells (PSCs) as test bed, we demonstrate an unprecedented photonic method to generate any color on a cell layout, while also increasing PV efficiency. To this end, photonic surface features were designed for PSCs, which filled the dual purpose of light-trapping (LT) and modulation of reflected light interference. A variety of geometries, from simple gratings to complex semispheroids, were optically optimized for two of the most challenging colors, magenta and green, while assuring the generation of their maximum feasible photocurrent. The best results corresponded to a current density of 22.07 mA/cm 2 , obtained for the magenta solar cell with top domes, exhibiting an increase of 6.68%, relative to an optimized planar reference cell. In turn, the same type of geometry was able to generate the leading green cell, with up to 21.40 mA/cm 2 (a relative increase of 3.44%). Additionally, the uniformity of the optical output of the optimal solar cells was tested under a range of incident light angles, between 0 ◦ and 60 ◦ , where the current density suffered relative losses only down to 6.65%., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Introduction/aims: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may be familial or sporadic, and twin studies have revealed that even sporadic forms have a significant genetic component. Variants in 55 nuclear genes have been associated with ALS and although mitochondrial dysfunction is observed in ALS, variants in mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) have not yet been tested for association with ALS. The aim of this study was to determine whether mitogenome variants are associated with ALS., Methods: We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in mitogenomes of 1965 ALS patients and 2547 controls., Results: We identified 51 mitogenome variants with p values <10 -7 , of which 13 had odds ratios (ORs) >1, in genes RNR1, ND1, CO1, CO3, ND5, ND6, and CYB, while 38 variants had OR <1 in genes RNR1, RNA2, ND1, ND2, CO2, ATP8, ATP6, CO3, ND3, ND4, ND5, ND6, and CYB. The frequencies of haplogroups H, U, and L, the most frequent in our ALS data set, were the same in different onset sites (bulbar, limb, spinal, and axial). Also, intra-haplogroup GWAS revealed unique ALS-associated variants in haplogroups L and U., Discussion: Our study shows that mitogenome single nucleotide variants (SNVs) are associated with ALS and suggests that these SNVs could be included in routine genetic testing for ALS and that mitochondrial replacement therapy has the potential to serve as a basis for ALS treatment., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Working memory capacity (WMC) has been measured with a plethora of cognitive tasks. Several preeminent automated batteries of working memory (WM) tasks have been developed recently. However, despite all their advantages, most batteries were programmed in paid platforms and/or only included a single WM paradigm. To address these issues, we developed the OpenWMB, an automated battery comprising seven tasks from three distinct paradigms (complex spans, updating tasks, and binding tasks) that tap into several functional aspects of WM (simultaneous storage and processing, updating, and binding). The battery runs on open-source software (OpenSesame) and is freely available online in a ready-to-download format. The OpenWMB possesses flexible features and includes a data processing script (that converts data into a format ready for statistical analysis). The instrument is available in Portuguese and English. However, we only assessed the psychometric properties of the former version. The Portuguese version presented good internal consistency and considerable internal and predictive validity: all tasks loaded into a single factor. Additionally, the WMC estimate was strongly correlated with a fluid intelligence factor. This study also tried to contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the best method to assess WMC. We computed a permutation analysis to compare the amount of variance shared between a fluid intelligence factor and (1) each WM task, (2) homogenous WMC factors (based on multiple tasks from the same paradigm), and (3) heterogeneous WMC factors (derived from triplets of tasks from different paradigms). Our results suggested that heterogeneous factors provided the best estimates of WMC., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Cryptococcosis is a neglected fungal disease that causes many deaths annually, is primarily caused by Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii species. They are environmental fungus that engages lung pneumonia and a severe systemic infection. The rising incidence of affected immunocompetent hosts, particularly by the aggressive Cryptococcus deuterogattii (R265), underscores the urgency to understand factors influencing its dissemination. The immunopathogenesis of R265 infection is incompletely understood. Therefore, we investigate the role of IL-22 and IL-23 cytokines during R265 cryptocococcosis. Our findings highlight the crucial role of IL-22 and IL-23 cytokines in lung barrier homeostasis, preventing excessive lung damage. IL-22 not only prevents neutrophil infiltration and IL-17A production but also facilitates eosinophil lung infiltration. Ultimately, this study contributes vital insights into the selective role of IL-22 and IL-23 cytokines in immune activation and tissue regulation during the aggressive R265 lung and systemic infection., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Introduction: Diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is difficult, and the correct use of histopathological criteria can be useful in clinical practice. The present study evaluates the association between histopathological findings and the results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in clinically suspected cases of CL., Methodology: Skin samples were received in a laboratory from an endemic region of Brazil for over nine years. Associations were analyzed by means of the Chi square test with a 5% level of significance., Results: Of the 222 examined samples, 190 (85.6%) tested positive by PCR. All 25 cases identified by microscopic examination also tested positive by PCR. Except for the more intense inflammatory infiltrate, all other evaluated histological variables (ulceration, epidermal hyperplasia, hyperkeratosis, presence of granuloma, neutrophils, histiocytes, lymphocytes, plasmocytes, and necrosis) were not significantly associated with PCR positivity., Conclusions: The intensity of the inflammatory infiltrate is a good indicator of the occurrence of CL. Histopathological aspects are useful to increase the predictive values of CL diagnoses, but PCR is still necessary to confirm or exclude the disease., Competing Interests: No Conflict of Interest is declared, (Copyright (c) 2024 Heber P Pena, Vinícius S Belo, Igor dC Fontes, Saulo N de Melo, Paulo HA Soares, Ingrid M Santos, Tiago J Leitão, Maria Zélia dO Costa, Rafael G Teixeira-Neto, Eduardo S da Silva, José Cândido C Xavier-Junior.)

Background: Occlusal interferences lead to changes in mandibular kinematics to compensate and improve function. However, the effects of different types of eccentric disturbance on the comminution capacity are not known., Objective: To determine the immediate effect of eccentric occlusal interferences on masticatory performance., Methods: This crossover clinical trial included 12 healthy dentate subjects aged 25.2 ± 3.3 years who were randomly submitted to seven types of occlusal interference: unilateral and bilateral laterotrusive and mediotrusive, protrusive, dummy and control (no interference). The interference forms were planned in a semi-adjustable articulator, fabricated with composite resin and adhered to the mandibular first molars such that subjects' maximum intercuspation was maintained. Masticatory performance and the chewing rate during 20 cycles were evaluated during subjects' comminution of silicone test food under one interference condition per test day; the multiple sieve method was applied to the comminuted particles. The interference was removed upon test completion, and a 1-week washout period was applied between tests., Results: Comminuted median particle sizes were larger under unilateral (4.94 ± 0.41 mm) and bilateral (4.81 ± 0.49 mm) laterotrusive, bilateral mediotrusive (4.65 ± 0.50 mm) and protrusive (4.83 ± 0.54 mm) interferences (p < .05) than under the control (4.01 ± 0.52 mm) and dummy (4.18 ± 0.58 mm) conditions (p < .05). Only unilateral and bilateral laterotrusive interferences narrowed the comminuted particle size dispersion (p < .05). The chewing rate did not differ among conditions (p = .1944)., Conclusion: Artificial eccentric interferences had an immediate adverse effect on masticatory performance by resulting in larger comminuted particles., Clinical Trial Registration: Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (RBR-8g5zfg8)., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The impact of sexual dimorphism on facial attractiveness has been controversial owing to contradictory results, particularly in studies on female preferences. Given that sexually dimorphic facial features, especially more masculine ones, have been previously related to the perception of anger, we investigated the bi-directional influence of emotional expressions and facial masculinity and explored their impact on women's preferences for facial masculinity. We confirmed the effect of facial sexual dimorphism on the perception of emotional cues (happiness and anger) and explored whether smiling or angry expressions influence women's perception of masculinity in male faces. Additionally, we examined women's preferences for emotionally expressive male faces altered along a continuum of masculinity. The results showed that masculinised faces are perceived as angrier, while feminised faces are perceived as happier (Experiment 1), and that angry faces are perceived as more masculine when compared with happy faces (Experiment 2). It is noteworthy that our Experiment 3 uncovered a pivotal finding: women prefer reduced feminisation in happy faces compared with neutral/angry faces. This suggests that the avoidance response observed towards masculinity is attenuated by a smiling expression. The current study introduces a new perspective to be considered when exploring the role of facial masculinity in women's attractiveness preferences., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

Chronotype and Time of Day (ToD) can modulate several aspects of cognitive performance. However, there is limited evidence about the effect of these variables on face recognition performance, so the aim of the present study is to investigate this influence. For this, 274 participants (82.5% females; age 18-49 years old, mean = 27.2, SD = 1.82) were shown 20 short videoclips, each gradually morphing from a general identity unfamiliar face to a famous face. Participants should press the spacebar to stop each video as soon as they could identify the famous face, and then provide the name or an unequivocal description of the person. Analysis of response times (RT) showed that evening-types recognised the faces faster than morning-types. Considering different ToD windows, the effect of chronotype was only significant in the 13h-17h and in the 21h-6h time-windows. Altogether, results suggest an advantage of evening-types on famous face recognition using dynamic stimuli with morning-types, being particularly slower during their non-optimal period., Competing Interests: Conflict of interests: The authors have declared that there is no conflict of interest.

Introduction: High variation in the low-level proprieties of visual stimuli and varying degrees of familiarity with famous faces may have caused a bias in the results of investigations that tried to disentangle the processes involved in familiar and unfamiliar face processing (e.g., temporal differences in the detection of the first event-related potentials specialized in face processing may have been caused by different methods of controlling variance in the low-level proprieties of visual stimuli)., Objective: To address these problems, we developed a freely available database of 183 famous faces whose low-level proprieties (brightness, size, resolution) have been homogenized and the level of familiarity established., Method: The brightness of the stimuli was standardized by a custom-developed algorithm. The size and the resolution of the pictures were homogenized in Gimp. The familiarity level of the famous faces was established by a group of 48 Portuguese college students., Results: Our results suggest that the brightness of each image did not differ significantly from the mean brightness value of the stimuli set, confirming the standardizing ability of the algorithm. Forty-one famous faces were classified as highly familiar., Main FIndings and Implications: This study provides two important resources, as both the algorithm and the database are freely available for research purposes. The homogenization of the low-level features and the control of the level of familiarity of the famous faces included in our database should ensure that they do not elicit confounding effects such as the ones verified in past studies., Competing Interests: Conflict of interests: The authors have declared that there is no conflict of interest.

Background: Numerous studies have been developed in an attempt to understand which factors best predict improvements in cognitive function in the elderly such as exergaming. The aim of this study was to investigate and systematize literature on intervention programs that simultaneously include cognitive stimulation and physical activity, understand the importance of the use of new technology, including exergaming or computer programs, and understand their impact on cognitive function in older adults, giving indications about their contribution to healthy aging., Methods: A narrative approach was used for extraction and synthesis of the data. Relevant studies were identified from electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Academic Search Complete., Results: Thirty-two articles, involving 2815 participants, were identified. All selected studies were randomized controlled studies. The studies were published between 2011 and 2020. All studies included a combination of cognitive and physical interventions. Many of the studies used technology to administer the cognitive stimulation program., Conclusions: Most of the analyzed studies used exergaming in physical and cognitive interventions, demonstrating that this new form of intervention exerts lasting and stable benefits in cognition. However, we concluded that more studies are needed to compare interventions that use exergaming or computer programs with traditional interventions.

There is a substantial gap in our knowledge regarding the efficacy of exergames on the reduction of fall risk in older adults. This systematic review analyzes the findings of clinical trials describing the efficacy of exergames to improve balance or reduce the risk of falls in individuals above 60 years of age who are residents in community centers or nursing homes. We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, and Embase up to January 2023. Initially, 52,294 records were screened. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 20 studies were included in this systematic review. Meta-analyses revealed statistically significant reductions in the risk of falls and improvements in balance. Exergaming tended to produce positive benefits according to the results obtained using different instruments (TUG, PPA, BBS, and others), control groups, and times of intervention. Nevertheless, a substantial proportion of studies exhibited a high risk of bias and only one had a long follow-up period. Although a large body of evidence supports the view that exergaming is suitable for reducing fall risk and improving balance in older adults, some gaps remain in our knowledge about such benefits.

The global demand for minimally processed vegetables (MPVs) has grown, driven by changes in the population's lifestyle. MPVs are fresh vegetables that undergo several processing steps, resulting in ready-to-eat products, providing convenience for consumers and food companies. Among the processing steps, washing-disinfection plays an important role in reducing the microbial load and eliminating pathogens that may be present. However, poor hygiene practices can jeopardize the microbiological quality and safety of these products, thereby posing potential risks to consumer health. This study provides an overview of minimally processed vegetables (MPVs), with a specific focus on the Brazilian market. It includes information on the pricing of fresh vegetables and MPVs, as well as an examination of the various processing steps involved, and the microbiological aspects associated with MPVs. Data on the occurrence of hygiene indicators and pathogenic microorganisms in these products are presented. The focus of most studies has been on the detection of Escherichia coli , Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes , with prevalence rates ranging from 0.7% to 100%, 0.6% to 26.7%, and 0.2% to 33.3%, respectively. Foodborne outbreaks associated with the consumption of fresh vegetables in Brazil between 2000 and 2021 were also addressed. Although there is no information about whether these vegetables were consumed as fresh vegetables or MPVs, these data highlight the need for control measures to guarantee products with quality and safety to consumers.

Aim: Cognitive concerns are one of the most frequently reported symptoms by breast cancer survivors. This study aimed to evaluate perceived cognitive functioning in Portuguese women with breast cancer treated with chemotherapy., Methods: A cross-sectional study enrolling 146 women (73 with breast cancer and 73 healthy) was conducted from August to October 2017, invited to participate through online dissemination. Participants completed self-reported questionnaires to collect sociodemographic and clinical data and assess perceived cognitive functioning and psychological adjustment variables (anxiety and depression)., Results: Compared to healthy women, women with breast cancer showed significantly lower scores on the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function (FACT-Cog) subscales and higher levels of depression. Both groups showed significant negative correlations between perceived cognitive functioning and anxiety and depression. Health status and depression seem to better explain perceived cognitive functioning, with health status adding significantly more explained variance beyond sociodemographic and psychological adjustment variables., Conclusion: The current findings provide evidence for the existence of more cognitive complaints among Portuguese women with breast cancer, compared to healthy individuals. Anxiety, depression, age and education also explain perceived cognitive functioning. Considering that health status and psychological adjustment seem to significantly explain perceived cognitive functioning, special attention should be given by health-care professionals, including nurses, to designing clinical interventions for breast cancer patients to help manage cognitive impairment., (© 2022 The Authors. International Journal of Nursing Practice published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: Previous findings have shown that neuroticism is a higher-order vulnerability factor in the development and maintenance of sexual dysfunctions and can have an impact on the attentional processing of sexual stimuli; however, the influence of psychosexual dimensions on the early automatic phases of such cognitive processes has not been established yet., Aim: To examine the mediating role of sexual inhibition/excitation propensity in the relationship between neuroticism and automatic attention to visual erotica and to identify the neuroelectric correlates of such a process., Methods: We analyzed the answers provided by 58 individuals on the Neuroticism subscale of the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised and the Sexual Inhibition/Excitation Scales. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during a modified oddball paradigm containing romantic and sexually explicit pictures. Parallel mediations were performed to simultaneously test the mediating role of sexual inhibition/excitation in the relationship between neuroticism and each ERP., Outcomes: Three early attention ERP components (P1, P2, and N2) were assessed., Results: Findings revealed an indirect effect of neuroticism on automatic attention, via sexual inhibition due to threat of performance failure (SIS1), for romantic and sexually explicit stimuli. This effect was significant only for component N2, which showed increased amplitudes and earlier latencies in participants with high SIS1., Clinical Implications: Sexual stimuli, due to their emotional valence and arousal potential, might be perceived as virtually threatening by individuals with neuroticism, who may benefit from strategies that decrease hyperarousal and sympathetic activation., Strengths and Limitations: This was one of the first studies to analyze neuroelectric activity associated with automatic attention toward sexual stimuli in relation to personality and sexual excitation/inhibition propensity. Nevertheless, the limited number of participants demands caution in generalizing the results., Conclusion: These results provide a better understanding of the relationship between personality and sexual cognition and open new avenues of research in relation to other automatic cognitive phenomena related to human sexual behavior., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society of Sexual Medicine. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Cognitive difficulties are highly prevalent and negatively impact cancer survivors' quality of life. The UCLA Cognitive Rehabilitation Intervention Program (in short, UCLA program) is an evidence-based intervention developed and tested in the US to address the cognitive complaints of cancer survivors. Since there are no cognitive rehabilitation programs available for Portuguese cancer-related settings, this study aimed to culturally adapt the UCLA program to Portugal. Nine steps were implemented for this cultural adaptation: needs assessment, initial contacts, translation, cultural adaptation, independent review by a panel of experts (n = 6), focus group discussions with cancer survivors (n = 11), systematization of inputs and improvement of the final materials, fidelity check, and preliminary acceptability assessment. The findings suggested that changes to the original materials were needed. A Portuguese name, "CanCOG ® -Reabilitação Cognitiva no Cancro" (in English "CanCOG ® -Cognitive Rehabilitation in Cancer"), and a logo were created to make it more memorable and appealing for the Portuguese population. The language was adjusted to ensure content accessibility and semantic and conceptual equivalence. Finally, references to several cultural aspects, such as habits, customs, and traditions, were adapted to fit the new cultural context. The UCLA program may be a promising tool to help alleviate the cognitive difficulties reported by cancer survivors in different cultural contexts. Future research is needed to confirm the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of its Portuguese version, "CanCOG ® -Reabilitação Cognitiva no Cancro".

Emotion regulation strategies affect the experience and processing of emotions and emotional stimuli. Chronotype has also been shown to influence the processing of emotional stimuli, with late chronotypes showing a bias towards better processing of negative stimuli. Additionally, greater eveningness has been associated with increased difficulties in emotion regulation and preferential use of expressive suppression strategies. Therefore, the present study aimed to understand the interplay between chronotype and emotion regulation on the recognition of dynamic facial expressions of emotion. To that end, 287 participants answered self-report measures and performed an online facial emotion recognition task from short video clips where a neutral face gradually morphed into a full-emotion expression (one of the six basic emotions). Participants should press the spacebar to stop each video as soon as they could recognize the emotional expression, and then identify it from six provided labels/emotions. Greater eveningness was associated with shorter response times (RT) in the identification of sadness, disgust and happiness. Higher scores of expressive suppression were associated with longer RT in identifying sadness, disgust, anger and surprise. Expressive suppression significantly moderated the relationship between chronotype and the recognition of sadness and anger, with chronotype being a significant predictor of emotion recognition times only at higher levels of expressive suppression. No significant effects were observed for cognitive reappraisal. These results are consistent with a negative bias in emotion processing in late chronotypes and increased difficulty in anger and sadness recognition for expressive suppressor morning-types.

Background: Cancer-related cognitive impairment is a common and potentially debilitating symptom experienced by patients with non-central nervous system (CNS) cancers, with negative impact on their quality of life. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function-Version 3 (FACT-Cog-v3) is the most extensively used instrument specifically developed to evaluate cognitive complaints in adult cancer patients. Nevertheless, this self-report measure is not yet validated for the Portuguese population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the FACT-Cog-v3 among patients with non-CNS cancers in Portugal., Methods: The validation study was conducted based on a convenience sample of 281 patients with non-CNS cancers, aged between 18 and 65 years, recruited online. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the factor structure of the Portuguese FACT-Cog-v3 version; internal consistency analysis was also conducted. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (EORTC QLQ-C30-version 3) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were also used to test the concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity of the scale., Results: CFA supported a four-factor model with good fix indexes and internal consistencies: perceived cognitive impairments (α = 0.97), comments from others (α = 0.92), perceived cognitive abilities (α = 0.93), and impact on quality of life (α = 0.92). Concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validities were confirmed. Moderate and strong correlations were found between the FACT-Cog-v3 subscales and the QLQ-C30 cognitive functioning subscale. Good convergent validity, with moderate correlations, was found between the FACT-Cog-v3 subscales and the HADS-A, HADS-D, and QLQ-C30 fatigue, sleep disturbance, and global health status subscales. Acceptable discriminant validity, with weak and moderate correlations, was demonstrated between the FACT-Cog-v3 subscales and the QLQ-C30 pain and nausea/vomiting subscales., Conclusions: The Portuguese FACT-Cog-v3 version can be considered a reliable and valid measure to assess cognitive concerns of patients with non-CNS cancers, with relevance for research and clinical practice., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In 2020, around 60,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in Portugal, and many of them suffered some level of Fear of Progression (FoP) of the disease. Although this FoP is realistic, and is part of the normal and appropriate response to this type of disease, there is no instrument to assess and understand whether it is exaggerated in the face of the situation. The present study aimed to translate and validate the Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form (FoP-Q-SF) for the Portuguese population. The sample consisted of 220 volunteers, aged 18 years or over and diagnosed with cancer for at least six months. Participants completed the FoP-Q-SF, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C). The FoP-Q-SF demonstrated high internal reliability (α = 0.86) and the confirmatory factor analysis supported the one-dimensional structure of the FoP-Q-SF. Convergent validity was supported with significant positive correlations with psychological distress, especially anxiety (0.68). The FoP-Q-SF has been found to be a valid instrument to measure FoP in Portuguese cancer survivors.

Structural variants (SV) have been linked to important bovine disease phenotypes, but due to the difficulty of their accurate detection with standard sequencing approaches, their role in shaping important traits across cattle breeds is largely unexplored. Optical mapping is an alternative approach for mapping SVs that has been shown to have higher sensitivity than DNA sequencing approaches. The aim of this project was to use optical mapping to develop a high-quality database of structural variation across cattle breeds from different geographical regions, to enable further study of SVs in cattle. To do this we generated 100X Bionano optical mapping data for 18 cattle of nine different ancestries, three continents and both cattle sub-species. In total we identified 13,457 SVs, of which 1,200 putatively overlap coding regions. This resource provides a high-quality set of optical mapping-based SV calls that can be used across studies, from validating DNA sequencing-based SV calls to prioritising candidate functional variants in genetic association studies and expanding our understanding of the role of SVs in cattle evolution., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Sleep has a major impact on a variety of human biological and cognitive functions. In particular, its impact on memory has attracted extensive research and has been amply demonstrated. However, it is still unclear whether sleep, or lack thereof, affects the ability to recognize faces. To clarify this, we conducted a scoping review on studies that included a face recognition memory task and any kind of sleep manipulation in adults without any sleep pathology. A systematic search and synthesis of peer-reviewed journal articles identified through the electronic databases Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO, and PubMed was performed. A final sample of 18 articles, corresponding to 19 studies, met the eligibility criteria. The results of 13 articles suggested that sleep benefited face recognition ability, whereas two articles indicated a detrimental effect of sleep on performance, and four articles found no significant effects. This review highlights the high methodological variability between studies, in terms of sleep manipulation, retention interval, tasks used to probe face recognition, and other variables. In sum, although around one third of the studies show a beneficial effect of sleep on memory for faces, we suggest that future research should invest in replicating these findings with a stricter control of potentially confounding variables to allow stronger conclusions to be drawn.

Introduction: In recent years, growing attention has been given to the study of the impact of cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) in working non-central nervous system (CNS) cancer survivors. Available literature has shown that working cancer survivors identify cognitive problems at work as very problematic and worrisome. Some reviews have discussed the association between CRCI and work-related outcomes; however, none to date have investigated this association through comprehensive systematic review with meta-analysis. Hence, this work will comprehensively summarise existing evidence from quantitative studies assessing the relationship between CRCI and work-related outcomes of adult non-CNS cancer survivors at working age., Methods and Analysis: The systematic review procedures and its report will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Electronic searches in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, PsycINFO and CINAHL, complemented by a manual search of other relevant articles, will be performed from 2000 onwards to identify relevant publications. Two independent reviewers will assess studies for inclusion and extract data from each article using a standardised form. Studies eligible for inclusion must be quantitative, contain adult non-CNS cancer survivors with CRCI, and a measure of cognitive functioning and work-related outcomes. To assess risk of bias, the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool Studies checklists will be independently used by the two researchers. Synthesis of the included articles will be conducted using a narrative method and through meta-analysis. Meta-analysis will be reported via correlation for the association between CRCI and work-related outcomes. The cumulative evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethics approval is not required since individual patient data will not be collected. The findings will be published in a peer-review indexed journal, presented at scientific meetings and included in a chapter of a Doctoral thesis., Prospero Registration Number: CRD42020165458., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

The permanence of a dog in a household is relevant in terms of public health and animal welfare because it implies that the animal is receiving better care and is unlikely to be abandoned. We have performed a survey in a medium-sized city in southeastern Brazil in order to identify predictors associated with the non-permanence of dogs in households as determined one year after the first visit. During the first of two visits to randomly selected domiciles, guardians were asked to complete a structured questionnaire regarding the traits and history of each dog in the household, features of the domicile, characteristics of the guardian and adherence to the principles of responsible companion animal guardianship (RCAG). A second visit to each domicile was performed one year later in order to establish in loco whether the dog still resided in the domicile and, where appropriate, to apply a further questionnaire concerning the fate of the missing animal. The total sample population comprised 513 dogs, of which 98 (19.1%) were verified as no longer resident in the domicile on the occasion of the second visit. Of the absent dogs, 59 had died as a result of fights with stray animals, traffic accidents, diseases or old age, 13 had been sent to alternative addresses, 8 had been donated to third parties and 7 had escaped from the domicile. The fates of the remaining 11 animals were not divulged by the guardians. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the risk of non-permanence was significantly higher (p < 0.05) among male dogs, those that were infested with ticks, had free access to the streets or resided in domiciles near a wooded area, but was significantly lower among wormed and neutered dogs. The adoption of RCAG principles is associated with the permanence of dogs in households and, consequently, in reduction of the stray population, animal well-being and prevention of zoonoses. On this basis, it is important to raise awareness about the concepts of RCAG and to strengthen accountability of guardians that do not take proper care of their animals., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The current study examined whether an attentional bias exists for reproduction-related visual cues among breast cancer survivors and its relationship with fertility concerns and emotional distress. Breast cancer survivors ( n  = 38) aged 18-40 were compared to 37 healthy women recruited from the general population. Attentional bias was investigated using a visual dot-probe task and response times (RT) were measured. Participants also completed several questionnaires, including the Reproductive Concerns After Cancer Scale (RCACS) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Biased cognitive processing toward reproduction-related stimuli was observed for all young women. However, attentional bias was a significant predictor of concerns about partner disclosure of fertility status, with higher bias scores associated with higher levels of concern only for breast cancer survivors. The desire to have a (or another) biological child was also a significant predictor of higher concerns related with fertility potential for all young women. Higher vigilance regarding reproduction-related cues seems to lead to higher concerns among women with breast cancer history whose fertility is threatened. This result may have important research and clinical implications. Interventions focused on goal-oriented attention self-regulation and problem-solving can help to manage fertility concerns and distress in the course of the disease.

Masseter hypertrophy is an uncommon condition, characterized by an increase in the volume of the masseter region, with the patient presenting functional and aesthetic complaints. Several therapeutic modalities have been suggested for this condition, however, a surgical approach usually presents consistent results in more complex cases. The objective of this article is to report a clinical case of masseter hypertrophy associated with class IV of Kin, treated through partial removal of the masseter muscle, bichectomy and genioplasty. Surgery was performed under general anesthesia in a hospital setting. The planning was previously carried out through prototyped models and radiographs to remove the excess bone shown in the mandibular angle region. Surgical treatment of masseter hypertrophy is effective and long-lasting in severe cases. Additional surgical procedures must be performed in order to provide the best possible result according to the facial deformity found., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThere are no conflicts of interest regarding the authors listed on the title page., (© The Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons of India 2022.)

Background: Responsible companion animal guardianship (RCAG) comprises a set of concepts involving activities, behavior and care that guardians must provide to ensure the welfare of their animals. When such principles are disregarded, the risk of animals developing zoonotic diseases, such as canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), increases. This disease is a public health problem in many urban settings in Brazil because dogs are the main reservoirs of Leishmania and are involved in the transmission of the parasites to humans. Our analytical cross-sectional epidemiological survey aimed to investigate the prevalence of CVL in a city in southeastern Brazil and to establish the association between the disease and a number of predictor variables including dog traits, socioeconomic status of guardians, ecological features of the domicile and RCAG., Results: Our study showed that the global prevalence of CVL in the sample canine population was 6.7% (47/704). All variables related to better dog care were associated with lower chances of infection. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the chances of animals being seropositive for CVL were significantly (p < 0.05) higher when guardians had no formal education or possessed a university degree (vs. those with complete primary or secondary schooling) and when dogs were sheltered outside the house and had free access to the streets. An additional novel finding was that dogs that were acquired as puppies presented half of the chance of developing the disease in comparison with those acquired at the adult stage. Geographically weighted logistic regression coefficients showed that the strengths of the predictor/CVL associations varied depending on the studied geographical space. Both models demonstrated that the associations were always in the same directions., Conclusions: Our findings indicate that regardless of age and mode of acquisition, adult dogs should be submitted to clinical evaluation and tests for CVL. RCAG can exert positive effects on the control of CVL., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The Neotropical region bears the most diverse freshwater fish fauna on the planet and is the stage for dramatic conservation struggles. Initiatives aiming for conservation of a single emblematic fish, a flagship species, to which different onlookers relate on a cultural/personal level, holds promise towards engagement and conservation actions benefiting whole biological communities and ecosystems. Here, we present the first comprehensive genomic resources for Salminus brasiliensis , a potential flagship Neotropical species. This fish faces pressing conservation issues, as well as taxonomic uncertainty, being a main species relevant to angling and commercial fisheries. We make available 178 million Illumina paired-end reads, 90 bases long, comprising 16 Gb (≈15X coverage) of filtered data, obtained from a primary genomic library of 500-bp fragments. We present the first de novo genomic assembly for S. brasiliensis , with ∼1 Gb ( N 50 = 10,889), as well as the coding genome annotation of 12,962 putative genes from assembled genomic fragments over 10 kb, most of which could be identified from the Ostariophysi GenBank database. We also provide a genome-wide panel for more than 80,000 predicted microsatellite loci for low-cost, fast and abundant DNA marker development for this species. A total of 47, among 52 candidates, empirically assayed microsatellites were confirmed as polymorphic in this fish. All genomic data produced for S. brasiliensis is hereby made publicly accessible. With the disclosure of these results, we intend to foster general biology studies and to provide tools to be applied immediately in conservation and aquaculture in this candidate flagship Neotropical species., Competing Interests: GY filled for a patent request involving certain combinations of specific microsatellites, from the set previously described in Cao et al. (2016), at INPI (Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial), Brazil (BR1020180128558), to be used as PCR multiplexes in commercial genotyping operations. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Graciano, Oliveira, Santos and Yazbeck.)

This study presents a systematic review of the sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial factors associated with distress in elderly cancer patients. Relevant studies were identified using four electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and ProQuest. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies exploring factors associated with distress in people over 60 years of age were included and independently assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Assessment Checklists. A total of 20 studies met the inclusion criteria. Research showed that being a woman, being single, divorced or widowed, having low income, having an advanced diagnosis, having functional limitations, having comorbidities, and having little social support were factors consistently associated with emotional distress. Data further showed that the impact of age, cancer type, and cancer treatment on symptoms of anxiety and/or depression in elderly patients is not yet well established. The findings of this review suggest that the emotional distress of elderly cancer patients depends on a myriad of factors that are not exclusive, but coexisting determinants of health. Future research is still needed to better understand risk factors for distress in this patient population, providing the resources for healthcare providers to better meet their needs.

This study researched how age predicts women's cognitive and emotional appraisal of sex pictures. One hundred and fifty five women were exposed to romantic, sexually moderate and sexually explicit pictures. Women reported on the emotional valence, subjective sexual arousal, and level of sexual content attributed to the pictures; women's sexual beliefs were further evaluated. Findings revealed that age predicted increased pleasantness to sexually moderate and explicit pictures, as well as higher subjective sexual arousal to all type of pictures. Some predictions were moderated by sexual beliefs and exposure time, pointing the role of contextual factors in women's appraisal of erotica.

Face recognition and related psychological phenomenon have been the subject of neurocognitive studies during last decades. More recently the problem of face identification is also addressed to test the possibility of finding markers on the electroencephalogram signals. To this end, this work presents an experimental study where Brain Computer Interface strategies were implemented to find features on the signals that could discriminate between culprit and innocent. The feature extraction block comprises time domain and frequency domain characteristics of single-trial signals. The classification block is based on a support vector machine and its performance for the best ranked features. The data analysis comprises the signals of a cohort of 28 participants.

Objectives: To evaluate changes in the characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) after the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant of concern (VOC) P.1 (Gamma), by comparing the clinical, demographic, and laboratory profiles of patients hospitalized during the first (May to July 2020) and second (December 2020 to February 2021) pandemic waves., Methods: Data were collected from the records of COVID-19 patients (n = 4164) admitted to a single hospital in Salvador, Northeast Brazil. SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing was performed on nasopharyngeal swab samples from 12 patients aged <60 years admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) in February 2021., Results: Between June 2020 and February 2021, the median age of patients admitted to the ICU decreased from 66 to 58 years (P < 0.05). This was accompanied by an increased proportion of patients without comorbidities (15.32% vs 32.20%, P < 0.0001). A significant reduction in the cycle threshold values of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests was observed in the second wave (P < 0.0001). Sequencing analysis detected lineage Gamma in all 12 ICU patients sampled in February 2021., Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrated an increased proportion of younger adults without comorbidities with severe disease during the second COVID-19 wave, shortly after the confirmation of local Gamma circulation., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest The authors claim no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Cancer treatments may compromise fertility and family building in reproductive-age women. Previous research has shown that younger women with cancer experienced several reproductive health concerns., Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a focused review of existing research about the subjective perceptions of reproductive concerns among young women with cancer (aged 15-49 years) and identify their potential predictors and outcomes., Methods: A systematic synthesis of mixed-methods research was conducted including peer-reviewed articles in English. Relevant studies were identified through the electronic databases Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, ProQuest, and Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection (through EBSCOhost)., Results: A total of 22 reports met the eligibility criteria (8 qualitative and 14 quantitative). Research showed that younger women reported concerns related to their fertility status and/or own health after conception, their children's health, and their dyadic relationships. Redefinition of the motherhood role and the family future were also a source of concern. However, there is variance among women in concerns and experiences based on life stages and expectations., Conclusions: Reproductive concerns seem to be affected by personal circumstances and previous therapeutics. These concerns constitute a potential risk factor, simultaneously, for psychosocial maladjustment and adherence to endocrine therapy and fertility care., Implications for Practice: This article proposes a conceptual framework to understand the dimensions and potential predictors and outcomes of perceived concerns among reproductive-age cancer patients. Our data allow us to look at these concerns from a multifactorial perspective, identifying areas to be addressed in providing clinical care, namely, by nurses accompanying patients over an extended period., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Breast cancer diagnosis can threaten fertility and biological motherhood in women of reproductive age due to the gonadotoxic effects of treatments. Much evidence documents these women fertility-related concerns and distress, but no study has attempted to understand how implicit cognitive processes can contribute to this maladjustment. In this research, we explored whether reproduction-related stimuli interfere with cognition among cancer survivors with infertility risk using an emotional Stroop task. Furthermore, we investigated the relationship between reproduction-related cognitive processing and psychological morbidity. Young cancer survivors aged 18-40 years who received anticancer treatments and an age-matched non-cancer control group without known fertility problems were compared. Color-naming times and error rates were assessed. Participants in both groups were slower naming the color of reproduction-related words in comparison to unrelated negative valence words. Although in the same direction, this difference did not reach statistical significance for positive and neutral unrelated word lists. Further analysis suggested that biased attention toward reproduction-related information was associated with higher depression levels in young women with personal breast cancer history, but not in healthy women. These findings suggest that biased processing of reproduction-related cues might be a vulnerability factor after a breast cancer diagnosis. Additionally, this study puts in evidence the potential usefulness of using experimental tasks to investigate attentional bias in a context where fertility is at risk., (© 2021. Marta Olivetti Belardinelli and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

While previous research has argued that neuroticism is a vulnerability factor for the experience of sexual difficulties, the basic cognitive processes associated with the impact of such a personality trait on the processing of sexually explicit stimuli are less understood. The current study examined the influence of neuroticism on the attentional processes and its neurophysiological correlates during the perception of sexual and non-sexual images. Event-related potentials from 30 women and 28 men were recorded during a modified oddball paradigm in which participants of both sexes visualized stimuli from three different categories (sexual, non-sexual positive, and non-sexual negative), and two arousal levels (high and low arousal). A P1 latency effect was found for female participants, in which high neuroticism was associated with longer latencies for pornographic compared to romantic sexual images. Higher levels of neuroticism were also associated with higher P3 amplitudes for highly arousing images, with both sexual and non-sexual content. Results were interpreted in light of the information processing model of sexual arousal and showed that neuroticism seems to impact both automatic and conscious pathways of processing of sexual stimuli., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Rationale and Aims: Malnutrition is common and multifactorial in cancer patients (CP), combining the systemic inflammatory process with decreased food intake, loss of muscle and bone mass, and decreased functional status (FS). We aimed to track and evaluate the nutritional status (NS) of CP; associate results between hospitalized patients (HP) and day hospital patients (DHP); associate NS with tumor, symptoms, and FS., Methods: Cross-sectional observational study in HP or DHP from Garcia de Orta Hospital, over 18 years old. NS was monitored and evaluated using Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS-2002), Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), and anthropometric and biochemical parameters. To assess FS we used the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), Karnofsky Performance Scale Index (KPSI), and handgrip dynamometer (HGD)., Results: The 265 CP (114-HP, 151-DHP), of which 34.2%-HP and 17.2%-DHP had low BMI. From NRS-2002, 86.0% and 35.8% were respectively at nutritional risk. Using PG-SGA, 93.0% and 39.7% were respectively malnourished. PG-SGA were positively correlated with ECOG ( p  < 0.01) and negatively correlated with KPSI ( p  < 0.01), BMI ( p  < 0.01), and handgrip strength-HGS ( p  < 0.01-DHP and p  < 0.05-HP)., Conclusions: PG-SGA and FS scales are appropriate and validated tools for early identification of malnutrition and FS in CP. HGD can be a useful tool for assessing FS and NS.

Background: The threat to fertility due to anticancer treatments can be distressing to women who wish to complete their family. The current study assessed the fertility-related concerns, psychological distress and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of breast cancer survivors in comparison to non-cancer women with infertility history and to healthy controls from the general population., Methods: We surveyed young adult women aged 18 to 40 who wished to have a (or another) biological child. Participants completed self-report measures assessing fertility concerns, anxiety, depression and physical, emotional, role and social functioning. Group differences were assessed using multivariate comparisons as well as univariate tests and discriminant analysis for individual measures., Results: A total of 136 women were recruited, of whom 43 were breast cancer survivors, 56 non-cancer infertile women and 37 healthy controls. Considering the female cancer survivors as the focus of the analysis, data suggested that these women presented identical concerns to the non-cancer infertile group and higher than the healthy women with regard to fertility potential (p < 0.01). However, women diagnosed with cancer reported worse HRQoL than their counterparts, showing lower scores in physical functioning (p < 0.05) than infertile women and lower role (p < 0.05) and social HRQoL (p < 0.01) than the controls. Anxiety and depressive symptoms did not differ between the three groups., Conclusions: The results suggest that living with uncertainty about reproductive potential after cancer can be a disruptive experience. Breast cancer survivors and infertile women are at risk of future emotional maladjustments, given the reported level of fertility concern.

Objectives: To analyse the accuracy of American tegumentary leishmaniasis (ATL) diagnostic methods and evaluate the quality of the existing publications by means of a systematic review., Methods: Diagnostic tests evaluated in at least two studies with common reference standards were included in the sensitivity and/or specificity meta-analyses. Quality and susceptibility to bias were analysed using the QUADAS-2 and STARD tools., Results: The title and abstract of 3387 publications were evaluated after deduplication resulting from database searches. Thirty-eight studies were included in the review, and 26 of them had results inserted in meta-analyses. The diagnostic methods with the highest pooled sensitivity values were ELISA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), indirect immunofluorescence reaction and Montenegro's intradermal reaction. Cytometry was assessed in only two studies and presented 100% sensitivity in both. Smear slide microscopy and histopathology showed low pooled values of sensitivity. For specificity, the highest pooled values were identified for PCR. High values were also identified for ELISA, except for studies in which the reference standard for defining negative participants included individuals with Chagas' disease or paracoccidioidomycosis, which also occurred for cytometry. IFR had lower specificities than ELISA. There was a predominance of case-control designs of phase 1 or 2 and only four studies were strongly recommended as evidence generators. Several reference standards were adopted, and different methods were assessed in a small number of studies., Conclusion: PCR showed the highest accuracy for the diagnosis of ATL, and its use should be encouraged in clinical practice. ELISA is recommended for the screening of suspected individuals, but the possibility of cross-reactions should be considered. New validation studies for the tests evaluated in few publications and studies of phase 3 with appropriate methods are needed., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Prisional health is, in its essence, public health. The COVID-19 pandemic poses a great threat to the world and has shown that preventing the disease escalation in prisons integrates the novel corona virus clash in society in general. Up to this moment, the most effective known measure to curb the disease spread is social isolation. Nevertheless, in penal institutions, often overcrowded, social isolation becomes difficult to carry out and, when it happens, it takes the enclosed population to overisolation, with consequences to their mental health. Besides, prisoners suffer with clogged up environment, lack of materials for personal hygiene, poor basic sanitary conditions and difficulties in accessing health services. This paper deals with a narrative review on the pandemic effects in prisons and how government and civil society have organized themselves in order to reduce the disease consequences at those places. The text has been divided into three sections: the first with literature review on the current health theme; the second discusses how different countries have been dealing with the prison situation in the pandemic context, and, the last part focuses on how the Brazilian Penal System has reacted to the new disease.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the 18-item Reproductive Concerns After Cancer Scale (RCACS) among young adult female cancer survivors., Methods: The psychometric validation was conducted based on a convenience sample of 192 cancer survivors aged between 18 and 40 years. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to test the factor structure of the Portuguese version of RCACS and reliabilities were examined. Convergent and discriminant validity was also used to assess the construct validity. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (EORT QLQ-C30) and the need for parenthood and rejection of child-free lifestyle subscales of the Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI) were used as convergent measures., Results: A five-factor model was obtained with acceptable fit indexes and internal consistencies (.72<α<.89): (1) fertility potential, (2) children's health risk and future life, (3) partner disclosure, (4) barriers to getting pregnant/having children and (5) acceptance. Overall, convergent and discriminant validities were confirmed. Levels of anxiety and depression symptoms as well as health-related quality of life (QoL) had weak-to-moderate associations with reproductive concerns. Women who had a child or did not want a biological child were less concerned., Conclusion: This scale proved to be a reliable and valid measure of reproductive concerns for the Portuguese population with potential relevance for application in clinical practice., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Biological motherhood plays an important role in the lives of many young women facing breast cancer and threats to reproduction may be disruptive. In this study, we explored the indirect effects of the importance of parenthood and childlessness on depression and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among cancer patients 18-40 years of age ( n  = 104) through reported reproductive concerns. These specific concerns fully mediated the relationship between the importance of parenthood in women's lives and HRQoL. Greater importance of parenthood was directly associated with higher depression symptoms. Interventions should address the reproductive needs and concerns of patients to improve their HRQoL.

Objective: To identify the association between perception of body image and oral health in school bullying among adolescents of an urban locality in Brazil., Methods: A self-questionnaire was applied on 381 students from public school between 12 and 15 years old. The variables studied were sex, age, schooling, school bullying events, and perception about their oral health and body image. The prevalence of bullying was 29.6%. The multivariate analysis showed that those who indicated that they were criticized due to the condition of their teeth had 4.37 more chance of victimization (oral 4371 CI 2325-8218). Those who felt that oral health had little effect on their relationship with other people had 2.2 times more chance to suffer from bullying (oral 2204 CI 1031-4708) than those who did not. Among adolescents who were not satisfied with their body image, 46.7% had more chance to be a victim of bullying (oral 2467 CI 1373-4431)., Conclusion: A high prevalence of students affected by bullying was observed. It was possible to observe an association between bullying and dissatisfaction with oral health and body image. It is important to implement and evaluate public policies on oral health, expanding access to and improving these public services offered to the population., (© 2019 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

This work presents an unsupervised mining strategy, applied to an independent component analysis (ICA) of segments of data collected while participants are answering to the items of the Halstead Category Test (HCT). This new methodology was developed to achieve signal components at trial level and therefore to study signal dynamics which are not available within participants' ensemble average signals. The study will be focused on the signal component that can be elicited by the binary visual feedback which is part of the HCT protocol. The experimental study is conducted using a cohort of 58 participants.

Background & Aims: Iodine deficiency inhibits the normal development of human beings and is the leading cause of preventable mental retardation. Our study aims to update the urinary iodine concentrations and the intake of iodized salt in children in Madrid (Spain)., Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed where 217 children aged 3-14 years old were studied. A nutritional survey including the intake of iodized salt and other iodine-rich foods was performed. In addition, the urinary concentration of iodine was determined in each patient., Results: Near 60% of the surveyed households routinely used iodized salt. Significant differences in age, sex, country of birth, or country of birth and parents educational levels and iodized salt consumption were not found. The median of the urinary iodine level (120 μg/L; interquartile range 80-184) was significantly higher in boys than girls and more elevated in younger children. Iodized salt and milk consumption significantly increased the concentration of urinary iodine. Children who drank less than two glasses of milk per day and did not consume iodized salt have four times the risk of iodine deficiency compared to children who daily drank at least two glasses of milk and consumed iodized salt (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: The nutritional level of iodine in the children studied is appropriate despite the low consumption of iodized salt. This is due to the consumption of dairy products and milk. The younger the child, the better his/her iodine nutritional level. Teenagers studied are at higher risk of iodine deficiency., (Copyright © 2019 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To provide a comprehensive review of psycho-educational interventions using telecommunication technologies developed for adult cancer patients, assessing their effectiveness in reducing emotional distress and improving quality of life (QoL)., Materials and Methods: A narrative approach was used for extraction and synthesis of the data. Relevant studies were identified through the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection (through EBSCOhost), and CENTRAL., Results: Eight studies involving 1016 participants met inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies included (n = 6) used a randomized design and were published between 2007 and 2016. Interventions used a variety of delivery resources, such as telephone, e-mail and websites, but all were aiming to respond to information needs and develop stress control skills. A trend toward reducing distress and improving QoL was found, but estimated effect sizes were typically small (d < 0.5). Telephonically delivered psycho-educational interventions presented the highest between-group effects on these outcomes during survival, but were limited by sample size., Conclusions: The efficacy of interventions using distance approaches in the cancer setting is still not well-established. Further research should be conducted through well-designed studies with more interactive features that minimize the lack of face-to-face interaction. Implications for rehabilitation Rehabilitation professionals working in the field of oncology should invest in the development of psycho-educational interventions responding the patients' educational needs and promoting their stress control skills. Programs using telecommunications technologies may reduce disparities in service delivery within this setting, minimizing geographic and socio-economic barriers to engagement in the interventions. With the current technological development, it is possible to perform more interactive interventions that stimulate therapist-patient interactions. However, available protocols in this field still employ basic resources (e.g., websites, e-mail, and videos). Young adult cancer patients are exposed to additional requirements related to fertility and parenthood. New intervention approaches should consider their informational needs.

Sexual dimorphism has been proposed as one of the facial traits to have evolved through sexual selection and to affect attractiveness perception. Even with numerous studies documenting its effect on attractiveness and mate choice, the neurophysiological correlates of the perception of sexual dimorphism are not yet fully understood. In the present study, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during visualisation of faces that had been previously transformed in shape to appear more masculine or more feminine. The participants' task consisted of judging the attractiveness of half of the total number of faces, and performing a sex discrimination task on the other half. Both early and late potentials were modulated by the sex of faces, whereas the effect of the sexually dimorphic transform was mainly visible in the P2 (positive deflection around 200 ms after stimulus onset), EPN (early posterior negativity) and LPP (late positive potential) components. There was an effect of sexual dimorphism on P2 and EPN amplitudes when female participants visualised male faces, which may indicate that masculinity is particularly attended to when viewing opposite sex members. Also, ERP results seem to support the idea of sex differences in social categorisation decisions regarding faces, although differences were not evident on behavioural results. In general, these findings contribute to a better understanding of how humans perceive sexually dimorphic characteristics in other individuals' faces and how they affect attractiveness judgements., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)