Quality of life and stressors in patients with chronic kidney disease depending on treatment.

This study evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a Spanish sample of chronic kidney disease patients (n = 90) undergoing different renal replacement therapies, considering the influence of treatment stressors, mood, anxiety and quality of sleep. While all patients had worse physical functioning than controls (p < .01), only those undergoing haemodialysis (HD) showed worse physical well-being, occupational functioning, spiritual fulfillment and more health interference with work (p < .05). They also obtained higher depression scores than renal transplant patients (TX) (p = .005). Those TX receiving the immunosuppressor sirolimus exhibited more cardiac/renal, cognitive and physical limitations than the rest (p < .05). Dialysis vintage correlated positively with sleep disturbances and depression scores and negatively with total Quality of Life (QLI) (p < .05). HD patients experienced more psychological distress than peritoneal dialysis patients (PD) (p = .036). Regression models including sleep, anxiety and depression were estimated for subscales of HRQOL. In TX patients, low depressive scores related to an optimal QLI in almost all subscales, while in HD patients they explained part of the variability in psychological well-being, interpersonal functioning and personal fulfillment. HD condition results in a QLI more distant to the standards of controls.

Quality of life and stressors in patients with chronic kidney disease depending on treatment

This study evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a Spanish sample of chronic kidney disease patients (n = 90) undergoing different renal replacement therapies, considering the influence of treatment stressors, mood, anxiety and quality of sleep. While all patients had worse physical functioning than controls (p < .01), only those undergoing haemodialysis (HD) showed worse physical well-being, occupational functioning, spiritual fulfillment and more health interference with work (p < .05). They also obtained higher depression scores than renal transplant patients (TX) (p = .005). Those TX receiving the immunosuppressor sirolimus exhibited more cardiac/renal, cognitive and physical limitations than the rest (p < .05). Dialysis vintage correlated positively with sleep disturbances and depression scores and negatively with total Quality of Life (QLI) (p < .05). HD patients experienced more psychological distress than peritoneal dialysis patients (PD) (p = .036). Regression models including sleep, anxiety and depression were estimated for subscales of HRQOL. In TX patients, low depressive scores related to an optimal QLI in almost all subscales, while in HD patients they explained part of the variability in psychological well-being, interpersonal functioning and personal fulfillment. HD condition results in a QLI more distant to the standards of controls (AU)

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Effects of emotional intelligence on entrepreneurial intention and self-efficacy / Efectos de la inteligencia emocional sobre la intención y la autoeficacia emprendedora

Past studies associated emotional intelligence with positive workplace outcomes, such as job performance and job satisfaction. However, to date, the relationship between emotional intelligence and individual differences in entrepreneurship has been scarcely examined. In this study, the contribution of emotional intelligence dimensions to entrepreneurial potential is explored, controlling for the influence of personality traits and demographic variables. Using a sample of 394 participants, it has been tested, by means of multiple hierarchical regression analyses, the mediating role of entrepreneurial self- efficacy in the relationship between emotional intelligence dimensions and the intention to become entrepreneur. Results indicate that two dimensions of emotional intelligence, regulation and utilization of emotions, positively positively affect entrepreneurial self-efficacy. In turn, the perception of self-efficacy mediates the relation between emotional intelligence and the intention to become an entrepreneur (AU)

Estudios previos relacionan la inteligencia emocional con resultados positivos en el puesto de trabajo, tales como el desempeño y la satisfacción laboral. Sin embargo, la relación entre la inteligencia emocional y las diferencias individuales en emprendimiento han sido escasamente examinadas. En el presente estudio se analiza el efecto de las dimensiones de la inteligencia emocional sobre el potencial emprendedor, tras controlar la influencia de los rasgos de personalidad y variables demográficas. Concretamente, con una muestra de 394 participantes, por medio de análisis de regresión jerárquica, se pone a prueba el rol mediador de la auto-eficacia emprendedora en la relación entre las dimensiones de la inteligencia emocional y la intención de llegar a ser un emprendedor. Los resultados indican que dos dimensiones de la inteligencia emocional, la regulación y la utilización de emociones, afectan positivamente a la auto-eficacia emprendedora. Además, la percepción de auto-eficacia media la relación entre la inteligencia emocional y la intención de ser un emprendedor (AU)

Effects of immunosuppressive drugs on the cognitive functioning of renal transplant recipients: a pilot study.

Some renal transplant patients show cognitive, emotional, and behavioral changes as part of possible neurotoxic effects associated with immunosuppressive medication, especially tacrolimus. This study evaluated effects of immunosuppressive drugs on some cognitive tasks. Patients treated with sirolimus and cyclosporine reported some of the noncognitive side effects related to immunosuppressive treatment. We observed attention and working memory impairment in patients treated with sirolimus or tacrolimus. Performance of cyclosporine-treated subjects was similar to that of healthy volunteer controls. Since the mood, anxiety, and sleep patterns measured were unaffected, it could be concluded that the cognitive deficit found was partly related to treatment.

The neural bases of empathy.

INTRODUCTION: Empathy is understood to refer to the capacity to vicariously experience the emotional states of others, and is considered to play a crucial role in many forms of adaptive social interaction. It has two components, one of which is cognitive and strongly related to the capacity to abstract the mental processes of other people, while the other is emotional and would be the reaction to the emotional state of another person. The development of neuroimaging techniques has made it possible to further our knowledge of the neuronal circuits involved in empathy by using a variety of strategies in the laboratory. The main studies in this field have focused on the presentation of stimuli. Thus, we have distinguished between those that involve emotions or expressing disgust, somatosensory and painful stimuli, and also those that analyse the relationship between empathy and forgiveness. AIMS AND DEVELOPMENT: Our aim in this study was to offer an updated view of the brain structures involved in empathy by analysing the different methodological strategies used in the scientific literature on this topic. Furthermore, we also sought to show the behavioural and neuroanatomical dissociation that exists between the cognitive and emotional components of empathy, as well as the fact that the majority of neural circuits regulating empathy are similar to those related to aggression and violence.