Childhood obesity and sedentary lifestyles are now gaining a foothold in the Western world. The aim of this research was to analyse the influence of physical education classes on a healthy diet ...(i.e., Mediterranean diet). To this end, psychological constructs derived from the theory of self-determination and the theory of planned behaviour were taken into account, such as the satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs, motivation in physical education classes, and social cognition and intention. A total of 3415 secondary school students (13-19 years) participated in this study. A structural equation model was proposed that would explain the relationships between the variables mentioned above and the adherence to a Mediterranean diet. The results provide adequate fit indexes for the proposed model. Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that a high satisfaction perceived in the physical education classes would help to reinforce the intention of having a healthy diet and therefore help to generate a perdurable commitment to this habit.
•Optimized N fertilization and irrigation show a large potential for N2O mitigation.•Reduced tillage and crop residues management show a large potential for reducing net GHG emissions.•CH4 fluxes ...from paddies are controlled by management of water table and organic inputs.•Factors beyond the plot scale may outweigh mitigation measures.•Training to farmers on the application of practices will overcome barriers for implementation.
An integrated assessment of the potential of different management practices for mitigating specific components of the total GHG budget (N2O and CH4 emissions and C sequestration) of Mediterranean agrosystems was performed in this study. Their suitability regarding both yield and environmental (e.g. nitrate leaching and ammonia volatilization) sustainability, and regional barriers and opportunities for their implementation were also considered. Based on its results best strategies to abate GHG emissions in Mediterranean agro-systems were proposed. Adjusting N fertilization to crop needs in both irrigated and rain-fed systems could reduce N2O emissions up to 50% compared with a non-adjusted practice. Substitution of N synthetic fertilizers by solid manure can be also implemented in those systems, and may abate N2O emissions by about 20% under Mediterranean conditions, with additional indirect benefits associated to energy savings and positive effects in crop yields. The use of urease and nitrification inhibitors enhances N use efficiency of the cropping systems and may mitigate N2O emissions up to 80% and 50%, respectively. The type of irrigation may also have a great mitigation potential in the Mediterranean region. Drip-irrigated systems have on average 80% lower N2O emissions than sprinkler systems and drip-irrigation combined with optimized fertilization showed a reduction in direct N2O emissions up to 50%. Methane fluxes have a relatively small contribution to the total GHG budget of Mediterranean crops, which can mostly be controlled by careful management of the water table and organic inputs in paddies. Reduced soil tillage, improved management of crop residues and agro-industry by-products, and cover cropping in orchards, are the most suitable interventions to enhance organic C stocks in Mediterranean agricultural soils. The adoption of the proposed agricultural practices will require farmers training. The global analysis of life cycle emissions associated to irrigation type (drip, sprinkle and furrow) and N fertilization rate (100 and 300kgNha−1yr−1) revealed that these factors may outweigh the reduction in GHG emissions beyond the plot scale. The analysis of the impact of some structural changes on top-down mitigation of GHG emissions revealed that 3–15% of N2O emissions could be suppressed by avoiding food waste at the end-consumer level. A 40% reduction in meat and dairy consumption could reduce GHG emissions by 20–30%. Reintroducing the Mediterranean diet (i.e. ∼35% intake of animal protein) would therefore result in a significant decrease of GHG emissions from agricultural production systems under Mediterranean conditions.
This study aimed to examine gender differences in distress and well-being two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing risk and protective factors for psychological distress and ...subjective well-being. It is a repeated cross-sectional study with a sample of 1,588 women (50%) and men (50%) from the general Spanish population aged 18-74 years who were assessed online by seven questionnaires and scales. Descriptive, variance, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were performed. From February to April 2022, 57.4% of women and 38.7% of men had psychological distress, percentages that totaled 50.5% and 41.5%, respectively, from October 2022 to February 2023. Women also had greater perceived vulnerability to diseases, more negative feelings, and lower affect balance, resilience, and self-esteem than men. The most important predictors of greater psychological distress refer to lower self-esteem, resilience, and social support and higher perceived vulnerability to diseases. Other statistically significant predictors included lower educational level in women and neither being married nor living with a partner in men. Lower self-esteem also best predicted lower subjective well-being, with lower social support and lower resilience also constituting significant predictors. Moreover, lower educational level and higher perceived vulnerability to diseases statistically and significantly predicted lower subjective well-being in women, as did not being a student in men. We conclude that psychological distress remains greatly prevalent in Spain two years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in women.
Considering algae as novel dietary ingredient for aquafeeds, this study evaluates the effects of three algae, Ulva rigida, Crassiphycus corneus (formerly Hydropuntia cornea) and Scenedesmus ...almeriensis, on non‐specific immune response and fatty acid profile in juvenile Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) after a short dietary administration period (30 days). U. rigida, C. corneus and S. almeriensis diets (UL‐25, CC‐25 and SC‐25 respectively) included 25% dry algae biomass, whereas an algae‐free diet was used as control. Biological samples were taken at 7, 15 and 30 days. Diet SC‐25 significantly improved respiratory burst, alternative complement (ACH50) and lysozyme activity (p < .05). Regarding tissue fatty acid composition, SC‐25 diet reduced the levels of saturated fatty acid in liver and muscle, while increased levels of C20:3n6 and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in liver, and total n‐3 content, arachidonic acid (ARA), EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in muscle (p < .05). UL‐25 and CC‐25 groups showed the lowest levels of ARA in liver but increased levels of monounsaturated fatty acids. In conclusion, the results obtained lead us to consider the use of a short pulse of dietary algae is suited for improving the immune response and modulating the tissue fatty acid composition in this fish species.
Caries rates in school-age children are still high enough to be the cause of serious concern for health systems in different countries. The biotechnology strategies studied to decrease these rates ...include the consumption of probiotics-available via a variety of functional foods obtainable on the market-that are able to inhibit bacteria associated with this disease. In this vein, the purpose of this study was to determine the effect of these foods on the growth of microorganisms in early carious lesions in children aged between 6 and 12. In the first phase, an agar well diffusion method was applied to selected foods, available in supermarkets, which contain probiotics that have already been shown to inhibit Streptococcus mutans (ATCC 25175), and to lower the pH in liquid culture media. In a second phase, these foods (n = 4) were examined in terms of their ability to inhibit the microorganisms in contact with early carious lesions in children and to reduce the pH of mixed cultures combined with the food. The results revealed that, of the foods tested, three inhibit the growth of microorganisms in carious lesions and, at the same time, lower the pH of the culture by more than 2.5 units. The food with the highest inhibitory capacity (14 mm, IQR 13-14) showed a similar effect among patients (P > 0.05), which together with the fact that its sugar concentration is less than 10%, makes it an ideal candidate for clinical study.
Objectives
Diet is one of the main factors influencing the diversity and interactions of the oral microbiota. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of sugar intake on the microbial ...diversity and bacteria that predominate under these conditions.
Material and Methods
A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guide, using the PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct databases and combinations of the words “microbiota,” “microbiology,” “bacteria,” “sugars,” “dysbiosis,” “caries,” “microbiome,” “oral microbial,” and “oral microbiota profile pattern.” The selection criteria included year, language, type of publication, comparison of microbiota during low and high sugar intake, and bacterial identification by molecular sequencing of the 16S subunit of ribosomal RNA.
Results
Out of a total of 374 papers that came up after the initial search, 8 met the criteria for this review. The papers included research on populations comprising children, young adults, and adults, with most of the studies reporting selection criteria for the participants and using validated instruments to determine sugar intake. Apart from one study, all others reported for high sugar intake conditions a significant decrease in microbial diversity of the oral microbiome and the predominance of several bacterial genera or species, including Streptococcus, Scardovia, Veillonella, Rothia, Actinomyces, and Lactobacillus.
Conclusions
Sugar‐rich diets have a significantly unfavorable effect on the diversity and balance of oral microbiota; however, further studies are required to determine the exact role of sugar in microbial interactions.
We report a comparative study using three different chemometric techniques to evaluate both spatial and temporal changes in Suquía River water quality, with a special emphasis on the improvement ...obtained using discriminant analysis for such evaluation. We have monitored 22 parameters at different stations from the upper, middle, and beginning of the lower river basin during at least two years including 232 different samples. We obtained a complex data matrix, which was treated using the pattern recognition techniques of cluster analysis (CA), factor analysis/principal components (FA/PCA). and discriminant analysis (DA). CA renders good results as a first exploratory method to evaluate both spatial and temporal differences, however it fails to show details of these differences. FA/PCA needs 13 parameters to point out 71% of both temporal and spatial changes, consequently data reduction from FA/PCA in this case is not as considerable as expected. However, FA/PCA allows to group the selected parameters according to common features as well as to evaluate the incidence of each group on the overall change in water quality, specially during the analysis of temporal changes. DA technique shows the best results for data reduction and pattern recognition during both temporal and spatial analysis. DA renders an important data reduction using 6 parameters to afford 87% right assignations during temporal analysis. Besides, it uses only 5 parameters to yield 75% right assignations during the spatial analysis of four different basin areas. DA allowed us to greatly reduce the dimensionality of the starting data matrix, pointing out to a few parameters that indicate the biggest changes in water quality as well as variation patterns associated with seasonal variations, urban run-off, and pollution sources, presenting a novel approach for water quality assessments.
Resumen Objetivo Determinar la prevalencia de violencia de género (VG) en futuras enfermeras e identificar su relación con variables sociodemográficas y personales (apoyo social y autoestima) y la ...percepción que tienen sobre su función como profesionales de atención primaria. Diseño Estudio descriptivo transversal. Emplazamiento Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud (Universidad de Oviedo). Participantes Estudiantes del Grado en Enfermería. Mediciones principales Se utilizó el cuestionario CUVINO, que mide 42 indicadores conductuales y 8 factores de VG y permite identificar conductas de violencia técnica y declarada durante el noviazgo y otras situaciones relacionadas. Se midió también el nivel de autoestima social, el número de apoyos y variables relacionadas con la función enfermera. Resultados Con criterio de «tolerancia cero», el 85,8% sufrió alguna situación de violencia técnica, mayoritariamente por «desapego» (73,3%) y «coerción» (66,3%), aunque casi 1 de cada 5 sufrió también violencia «física» (18,3%). El 9,0% declaró haber sido realmente maltratada, percepción relacionada con la proporción global de estudiantes que se sintieron atrapadas (31,7%, p < 0,001) y con miedo (13,8%, p < 0,001) y con una mayor demora en la ruptura de la relación (13,2 meses vs. 3,6; p < 0,05). Sufrir violencia técnica se asoció con menor número de apoyos (p < 0,05) y con menor autoestima social (p < 0,01). La formación en maltrato mejora su reconocimiento. Conclusiones La prevalencia de situaciones de maltrato entre las futuras enfermeras es muy elevada y su reconocimiento deficiente. La formación académica podría mejorar la percepción del problema, por lo que sería deseable reforzar su inclusión en el currículo y el entrenamiento de habilidades concretas.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a major threat to the health and well-being of people around the world that has impacted freedom of movement, social interaction and the economy. The aim of the present work ...was twofold: first, to study the presence of mental distress, positive and negative experiences and affect balance in women and men in Spain in two different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, the initial “first state of alarm” phase, characterized by maximum restrictions, and in the “new normal” phase with minimal restrictions, and second, to study the protective role of age, educational level, self-esteem, marital status and social support against mental distress, and as factors that increase the affect balance of women and men in the above mentioned phases of the first wave of the COVID- 19 pandemic in Spain. The study sample consisted of 652 women and 652 men from the general population, aged between 18 and 88 years, who were evaluated through self-reports. Results show greater mental distress in women than men but, strikingly, the magnitude of such differences were greater in the “new normal” phase than in the maximum restriction phase. In addition, in this last phase, women also experienced more negative feelings and less affect balance than men. High self-esteem and social support were also found to be protective factors for mental health, both in women and men, during the two phases of the pandemic studied. In conclusion, our study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has especially impacted the well-being of women.
To evaluate systemic involvement in primary SS in a large cohort of Spanish patients using the EULAR-SS disease activity index (ESSDAI) definitions.
Systemic involvement was characterized using ...ESSDAI definitions for the 10 clinical domains (constitutional, lymphadenopathy, glandular, articular, cutaneous, pulmonary, renal, peripheral nervous system, central nervous system and muscular). ESSDAI scores at diagnosis, during follow-up and cumulated at the last visit were calculated.
The cohort consisted of 921 patients. After a mean follow-up of 75 months, 77 (8%) patients still had an ESSDAI score of zero at the last visit. Organ by organ, the percentage of patients who developed activity during the follow-up (ESSDAI score ≥ 1 at any time) ranged between 1.4% and 56%, with articular, pulmonary and peripheral neurological involvement being the most common. Logistic multivariate regression analysis showed the following features at diagnosis and had the closest association with systemic activity (statistically significant independent variables in at least two domains): cryoglobulinaemia in five domains; anaemia, lymphopenia and low C3 levels in three domains each and age <35 years in two domains. Sicca features, ANA and RF at diagnosis were not associated with a higher cumulated activity score in any clinical domain.
Primary SS is undeniably a systemic disease, with the joints, lungs, skin and peripheral nerves being the most frequently involved organs. Cytopenias, hypocomplementaemia and cryoglobulinaemia at diagnosis strongly correlated with higher cumulated ESSDAI scores in the clinical domains. Clinically the ESSDAI provides a reliable picture of systemic involvement in primary SS.
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