A retrospective study suggests 55 days of persistence of SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave of the pandemic in Santiago de Chile.

Background: As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, infections continue to surge globally. Presently, the most effective strategies to curb the disease and prevent outbreaks involve fostering immunity, promptly identifying positive cases, and ensuring their timely isolation. Notably, there are instances where the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains infectious even after patients have completed their quarantine. Objective: Understanding viral persistence post-quarantine is crucial as it could account for localized infection outbreaks. Therefore, studying and documenting such instances is vital for shaping future public health policies. Design: This study delves into a unique case of SARS-CoV-2 persistence in a 60-year-old female healthcare worker with a medical history of hypertension and hypothyroidism. The research spans 55 days, marking the duration between her initial and subsequent diagnosis during Chile's first COVID-19 wave, with the analysis conducted using RT-qPCR. Results: Genomic sequencing-based phylogenetic analysis revealed that the SARS-CoV-2 detected in both Nasopharyngeal swab samples (NPSs) was consistent with the 20B clade of the Nextstrain classification, even after a 55-day interval. Conclusion: This research underscores the need for heightened vigilance concerning cases of viral persistence. Such instances, albeit rare, might be pivotal in understanding sporadic infection outbreaks that occur post-quarantine.

Differential Susceptibility to Propofol and Ketamine in Primary Cultures of Young and Senesced Astrocytes.

The adverse effects of general anesthesia on the long-term cognition of young children and senior adults have become of concern in recent years. Previously, mechanistic and pathogenic investigations focused on neurons, and little is known about the effect of commonly used intravenous anesthetics such as propofol and ketamine on astrocytes. Recently, astrocyte dysfunction has been implicated in a wide range of age-related brain diseases. In this study, we examined the survival and viability of both young and senescent astrocytes in culture after adding propofol and ketamine to the media at varying strengths. Oxidative stimulus was applied to commercially available fetal cell lines of human astrocytes in vitro to induce morphological changes in cellular senescence. Our results indicate that propofol reduces the survival of young astrocytes as compared to controls, as well as to ketamine. These effects were seen in comparisons of total cell count and at both high and low dose concentrations. High doses of propofol also significantly reduced cell viability compared to those exposed to baseline controls and ketamine. Senescent astrocytes, on the other hand, demonstrated cell count reductions as compared to baseline controls and ketamine when exposed to either DMSO or propofol. The data show differential susceptibility of young astrocytes to propofol than to ketamine. The observed cell count reduction may be related to the adverse effects of propofol on mitochondrial function and free radical production, as described in previous studies. We speculate that ketamine may have a more favorable safety profile in infants and young children.

Happiness Maximization Is a WEIRD Way of Living.

Psychological science tends to treat subjective well-being and happiness synonymously. We start from the assumption that subjective well-being is more than being happy to ask the fundamental question: What is the ideal level of happiness? From a cross-cultural perspective, we propose that the idealization of attaining maximum levels of happiness may be especially characteristic of Western, educated, industrial, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies but less so for others. Searching for an explanation for why "happiness maximization" might have emerged in these societies, we turn to studies linking cultures to their eco-environmental habitat. We discuss the premise that WEIRD cultures emerged in an exceptionally benign ecological habitat (i.e., faced relatively light existential pressures compared with other regions). We review the influence of the Gulf Stream on the Northwestern European climate as a source of these comparatively benign geographical conditions. We propose that the ecological conditions in which WEIRD societies emerged afforded them a basis to endorse happiness as a value and to idealize attaining its maximum level. To provide a nomological network for happiness maximization, we also studied some of its potential side effects, namely alcohol and drug consumption and abuse and the prevalence of mania. To evaluate our hypothesis, we reanalyze data from two large-scale studies on ideal levels of personal life satisfaction-the most common operationalization of happiness in psychology-involving respondents from 61 countries. We conclude that societies whose members seek to maximize happiness tend to be characterized as WEIRD, and generalizing this across societies can prove problematic if adopted at the ideological and policy level.

La comunicación en la formación y el rendimiento del balonmano. Una variable perdida: revisión sistemática (2013-2023) / Communication in Handball Training and Performance, A Lost Variable: Systematic Review (2013-2023)

El balonmano, un deporte altamente dinámico y competitivo, involucra una interacción compleja de variables que influyen en el rendimiento de jugadores y equipos, entre ellas está la comunicación. Este artículo se centra en examinar la relación entre la comunicación y el entrenamiento en el balonmano durante el período 2013-2023. El objetivo de esta revisión sistemática es revelar el estado actual de la investigación en este ámbito. 12 estudios fueron exhaustivamente revisados, abordando la comunicación, el rendimiento y la formación en el contexto del balonmano a partir de una revisión sistemática siguiendo las directrices del PRISMA, recopilando evidencia de una exhaustiva búsqueda de literatura en la Web of Science, abarcando artículos publicados entre 2013 y 2023. Los resultados resaltan un interés creciente en la comunicación entre entrenadores y jugadores, especialmente enfocado en mejorar el rendimiento de los jugadores. La literatura subraya la importancia de una comunicación efectiva en la formación y el desempeño, pero se identifica una carencia en el enfoque integral de la comunicación como variable crítica. A pesar de la evidencia abundante sobre su importancia, la exploración de la comunicación en el contexto del balonmano aún está en sus etapas iniciales en comparación con otros deportes. Se concluye que existe un creciente interés en la relación entre la comunicación del entrenador y el rendimiento de los jugadores en balonmano, pero se necesita un enfoque más integral. Los entrenadores pueden utilizar esta información para mejorar la formación y el rendimiento (AU)

Handball, a highly dynamic and competitive sport, involves a complex interplay of variables influencing player and team performance, with communication being one of them. This article focuses on examining the relationship between communication and coaching in handball during the period 2013-2023. The objective of this systematic review is to unveil the current state of research in this field. Twelve studies were thoroughly reviewed, addressing communication, performance, and coaching in the context of handball through a systematic review following PRISMA guidelines, gathering evidence from an extensive literature search in the Web of Science, covering articles published between 2013 and 2023. The results highlight a growing interest in coach-player communication, particularly aimed at enhancing player performance. The literature underscores the importance of effective communication in training and performance but identifies a lack of a comprehensive approach to communication as a critical variable. Despite ample evidence of its significance, the exploration of communication in the context of handball is still in its early stages compared to other sports. It is concluded that there is a rising interest in the relationship between coach communication and player performance in handball, but a more comprehensive approach is needed. Coaches can use this information to enhance training and performance (AU)

Emotion regulation strategies and psychological health across cultures.

Emotion regulation is important for psychological health and can be achieved by implementing various strategies. How one regulates emotions is critical for maximizing psychological health. Few studies, however, tested the psychological correlates of different emotion regulation strategies across multiple cultures. In a preregistered cross-cultural study (N = 3,960, 19 countries), conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed associations between the use of seven emotion regulation strategies (situation selection, distraction, rumination, cognitive reappraisal, acceptance, expressive suppression, and emotional support seeking) and four indices of psychological health (life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and loneliness). Model comparisons based on Bayesian information criteria provided support for cultural differences in 36% of associations, with very strong support for differences in 18% of associations. Strategies that were linked to worse psychological health in individualist countries (e.g., rumination, expressive suppression) were unrelated or linked to better psychological health in collectivist countries. Cultural differences in associations with psychological health were most prominent for expressive suppression and rumination and also found for distraction and acceptance. In addition, we found evidence for cultural similarities in 46% of associations between strategies and psychological health, but none of this evidence was very strong. Cultural similarities were most prominent in associations of psychological health with emotional support seeking. These findings highlight the importance of considering the cultural context to understand how individuals from diverse backgrounds manage unpleasant emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Corrigendum: D-dimer trends elaborate the heterogeneity of risk in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: a multi-national case series from different waves.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1103842.].

D-dimer trends elaborate the heterogeneity of risk in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: A multi-national case series from different waves.

Introduction: Variable D-dimer trends during hospitalization reportedly result in distinct in-hospital mortality. In this multinational case series from the first and second waves, we show the universality of such D-dimer trends. Methods: We reviewed 405 patients with COVID-19 during the first wave admitted to three institutions in the United States, Italy, and Colombia, and 111 patients admitted to the U.S. site during the second wave and 55 patients during the third wave. D-dimer was serially followed during hospitalization. Results: During the first wave, 66 (15%) patients had a persistently-low pattern, 33 (8%) had early-peaking, 70 (16%) had mid-peaking, 94 (22%) had fluctuating, 30 (7%) had late-peaking, and 112 (26%) had a persistently-high pattern. During the second and third waves, similar patterns were observed. D-dimer patterns were significantly different in terms of in-hospital mortality similarly in all waves. Patterns were then classified into low-risk patterns (persistently-low and early-peaking), where no deaths were observed in both waves, high-risk patterns (mid-peaking and fluctuating), and malignant patterns (late-peaking and persistently-high). Overall, D-dimer trends were associated with an increased risk for in-hospital mortality in the first wave (overall: HR: 1.73) and stayed the same during the second (HR: 1.67, p < 0.001) and the third (HR: 4.4, p = 0.001) waves. Conclusion: D-dimer behavior during COVID-19 hospitalization yielded universal categories with distinct mortality risks that persisted throughout all studied waves of infection. Monitoring D-dimer behavior may be useful in the management of these patients.

Activating Specific Handball's Defensive Motor Behaviors in Young Female Players: A Non-Linear Approach.

Traditional models to train and teach young players in team sports assume that athletes learn as linear systems. However, an actual methodology called Non-Linear Pedagogy (NLP) accounts for the fact that the players and the team are complex dynamic systems. Experiences in handball under this methodology are scarce; due to this, an observational study has been conducted with a follow-up, idiographic and multidimensional design, in which 14 female school handball players belonging to four different local teams in Santiago, Chile (age = 15.55 + 0.51) agreed to participate in three special handball training sessions with the use of the NLP methodology where three different constraints were used. Descriptive analysis with the Chi-squared test showed a total of 252 observations where most of the variables were dependent on the constraints (p ≤ 0.001). Frequency showed that mainly "Defense in Line of progression" and "Proximal contact" were the most activated variables, followed by "Harassment" and "Deterrence" for all constraints. However, only constraint 2 highly activated two collective motor behaviors, while the rest only did it with individual motor behaviors. It is concluded that the constraints used in training seem to be effective in activating a group of defensive handball motor behaviors, specifically those that are basic for female school handball players.

Need for approval from others and face concerns as predictors of interpersonal conflict outcome in 29 cultural groups.

The extent to which culture moderates the effects of need for approval from others on a person's handling of interpersonal conflict was investigated. Students from 24 nations rated how they handled a recent interpersonal conflict, using measures derived from face-negotiation theory. Samples varied in the extent to which they were perceived as characterised by the cultural logics of dignity, honour, or face. It was hypothesised that the emphasis on harmony within face cultures would reduce the relevance of need for approval from others to face-negotiation concerns. Respondents rated their need for approval from others and how much they sought to preserve their own face and the face of the other party during the conflict. Need for approval was associated with concerns for both self-face and other-face. However, as predicted, the association between need for approval from others and concern for self-face was weaker where face logic was prevalent. Favourable conflict outcome was positively related to other-face and negatively related to self-face and to need for approval from others, but there were no significant interactions related to prevailing cultural logics. The results illustrate how particular face-threatening factors can moderate the distinctive face-concerns earlier found to characterise individualistic and collectivistic cultural groups.

Risk Perception and Security Attitudes: the Role of Human Values on Brazilian Police Officers and Civilians.

Studies on crime and parking facilities also appear to have a strong focus on car theft with small emphasis on psychological and cognitive variables to investigate potential crimes in this environment. Furthermore, there is limited literature on such crimes in South America, particularly in Brazil. This study has the objective of offering an instrument to assess risk perception in public and private parking lots of free circulation, as well as to understand and describe how individual values influence this variable regarding civilians' and police officers' perception of hazards present in free circulation public and private parking lots. A psychometrically valid risk perception and security attitude scale is presented. The scores of the two groups were predicted by human values. It was observed a mapping of risk situations in parking lots, as well as attitudes that can prevent crimes. Implications for the development of social public safety policies are discussed. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11896-022-09511-z.

"They Can Fight Their Own Fights": Prejudice, Permissiveness, and Discrimination against Minorities / "Ele Luta pela Causa Dele": Preconceito, Permissividade e Discriminação contra Grupos Minoritários

ABSTRACT The tendency to be permissive in face of a discriminatory situation is called collusion. The present study aimed to define and characterize collusion, and identify the variables connected to it, considering the perspective of different identity groups. Participants were 31 individuals divided in seven focus groups. The analysis indicated four categories connected to collusion: a) Close Relations: valuable interactions through which individuals learn behavioral patterns that lead to permissiveness; b) Group Identity: social identities, and intergroup relations patterns; c) Situation: characteristics of the situation in which discrimination is observed; and d) Cost-Effective Balance: perception the individuals have regarding the impact of their actions on the context and the cost attached to it.

RESUMO A tendência das pessoas de serem permissivas diante de uma situação discriminatória é chamada colusão. O presente estudo teve como objetivo definir e caracterizar colusão e identificar as variáveis a ela associadas, a partir da perspectiva de diferentes grupos identitários. Os participantes foram 31 sujeitos divididos em sete grupos focais. A análise indicou quatro categorias ligadas à colusão: a) Relações Próximas: interações por meio das quais os indivíduos aprendem padrões de comportamento que levam à permissividade; b) Identidade Grupal: identidades sociais e padrões de relações intergrupais; c) Situação: características da situação em que se observa discriminação; e d) Relação Custo-benefício: percepção que os indivíduos têm sobre o impacto de suas ações no contexto e o custo que lhes está associado.

Validity Evidence of the Work-Family Conflict Scale for Public Security Professionals / Evidências de Validade da Escala Conflito Trabalho-Família para Profissionais da Segurança Pública

Abstract The aim of this article is to present evidence of validity for the 'work-family conflict scale' with a sample of 10,383 professionals working in Brazilian public security. Cross-validation procedures were applied through the definition of two subsamples, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed. All ethical procedures were followed. The results found in both the exploratory factor analysis ('Work Interference with Family' Factor, with factor loadings between .91 and .81 and alpha of .93, and 'Family Interference with Work' Factor, with factor loadings between .96 and .71 and alpha of .90) and the confirmatory analysis (χ2/df <5; CFI >.98; TLI >.98; RMSEA <.10) demonstrate robust evidence of validity, indicating the use of the scale in other organizational contexts.

Resumo O artigo tem como objetivo geral apresentar evidências de validade da escala 'conflito trabalho-família' junto a uma amostra de 10.383 profissionais que atuam na segurança pública brasileira. Optou-se pela condução dos procedimentos de validação cruzada, por meio da definição de duas subamostras, foram realizadas análises fatoriais exploratórias e confirmatórias. Todos os procedimentos éticos foram adotados. Os resultados encontrados tanto na análise fatorial exploratória (Fator 'Interferência do Trabalho na Família', com cargas fatoriais entre 0,91 e 0,81 e alpha de 0,93 e Fator 'Interferência da Família no Trabalho, com cargas entre 0,96 a 0,71 e alpha de 0,90) quanto confirmatória (χ2/gl < 5; CFI > 0,98; TLI > 0,98; RMSEA < 0,1) demonstram robustas evidências de validade, indicando o uso da escala em outros contextos organizacionais.

Comparison of the First and Second Wave of Infections by SARS-CoV-2: A Retrospective and Longitudinal Study From a Primary Health Care Center in Santiago of Chile.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Many countries have reported the experience of at least two contagion waves, describing associated mortality rates and population behavior. The analysis of the effect of this pandemic in different localities can provide valuable information on the key factors to consider in the face of future massive infectious diseases. This work describes the first retrospective and comparative study about behavior during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile from a primary Healthcare Center. From 19,313 real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) tests assessed, the selected 1,694 positive diagnostics showed a decrease in mortality rate in the second wave (0.6%) compared with the first (4.6%). In addition, we observed that infections in the second wave were mainly in young patients with reduced comorbidities. The population with a complete vaccination schedule shows a decrease in the duration of symptoms related to the disease, and patients with more comorbidities tend to develop severe illness. This report provides evidence to partially understand the behavior and critical factors in the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic in the population of Santiago of Chile.

Refugees in Brazil: An investigation of Syrian refugees' psychological experiences.

Although there is a strong body of literature on the psychosocial distress of refugees from Global South to Global North, there is limited literature on refugees who migrate from Global South (i.e., Syria) to Global South (i.e., Brazil). The present study aims to investigate Syrian refugees in Brazil. Participants were 202 Syrians. Most respondents were men (62.9%), with an average age of 35.9 years old (SD = 11.13). Results suggest an effect of positive ethnic identity in psychological and physical distress, who also perceive more discrimination than individuals who negatively identify with their ethnicity. Structural equation model suggests the fit of the proposed mediation model. Our findings add to the much-needed line of investigations examining Syrian refugees settling in Brazil.

Effects of a Self-Regulated Training Program on the Repeated Power in Female College Handball Players: An Intervention Study.

Several resistance training programs using conventional methodologies have been implemented with the purpose of improving the ability to perform power actions in handball, especially during the competitive season. In contrast, methodologies based on a contemporary perspective, which considers the human being as a self-regulating biological entity, and designed specifically for female college players, are scarce. The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of an eight-week resistance training program, in which the athletes were able to control the loads according to their self-perceived effort and rest on their repeated shuttle sprint and jump ability. The sample was composed of 16 female players of a handball team from the faculty of physics and mathematics sciences of a Chilean university. The RSSJA test was used to evaluate players' conditions pre- and post-training program, and the self-perceived effort scale called OMNI-RES was used for the prediction and control of loads. Results indicated that, after the application of an eight-week resistance training program, significant improvements p ≤ 0.05 on the jump height (pre: 1836.4 W; average post: 2088.9 W) and running speed (average pre: 3.2 m/s; average post: 4.0 m/s) were obtained, as well as a significant reduction in the loss of power and speed between each set of the applied test.

Senescence in Primary Rat Astrocytes Induces Loss of the Mitochondrial Membrane Potential and Alters Mitochondrial Dynamics in Cortical Neurons.

The decline in brain function during aging is one of the most critical health problems nowadays. Although senescent astrocytes have been found in old-age brains and neurodegenerative diseases, their impact on the function of other cerebral cell types is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of senescent astrocytes on the mitochondrial function of a neuron. In order to evaluate neuronal susceptibility to a long and constant senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) exposure, we developed a model by using cellular cocultures in transwell plates. Rat primary cortical astrocytes were seeded in transwell inserts and induced to premature senescence with hydrogen peroxide [stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS)]. Independently, primary rat cortical neurons were seeded at the bottom of transwells. After neuronal 6 days in vitro (DIV), the inserts with SIPS-astrocytes were placed in the chamber and cocultured with neurons for 6 more days. The neuronal viability, the redox state [reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG)], the mitochondrial morphology, and the proteins and membrane potential were determined. Our results showed that the neuronal mitochondria functionality was altered after being cocultured with senescent astrocytes. In vivo, we found that old animals had diminished mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) proteins, redox state, and senescence markers as compared to young rats, suggesting effects of the senescent astrocytes similar to the ones we observed in vitro. Overall, these results indicate that the microenvironment generated by senescent astrocytes can affect neuronal mitochondria and physiology.

Paraconsistent Annotated Logic Algorithms Applied in Management and Control of Communication Network Routes.

This paper presents a computational method based on non-classical logic dedicated to routing management and information stream control in communication networks. Paraconsistent logic (PL) was used to create an algorithmic structure whose main property is to accept contradiction. Moreover, a computational structure, the denominated paraconsistent data analyzer (PDAPAL2v), was constructed to perform routing management in communication networks. Direct comparisons of PDAPAL2v with a classical logic system that simulates routing conditions were made in the laboratory. In the conventional system, the paraconsistent algorithms were considered as binary logic gates, and in the tests, the same adjustment limits of PDAPAL2v were applied. Using a database with controlled insertion of noise, we obtained an efficacy of 97% in the detection of deteriorated packets with PDAPAL2v and 72% with the conventional simulation system. Functional tests were carried out, showing that PDAPAL2v is able to assess the conditions and degradation of links and perform the analysis and correlation of various inputs and variables, even if the signals have contradictory values. From practical tests in the laboratory, the proposed method represents a new way of managing and controlling communication network routes with good performance.

Consenso Colombiano para la prevención, diagnóstico y manejo de condiciones trombóticas en pacientes adultos con COVID-19: aplicando el Marco de la Evidencia a la Decisión (EtD) GRADE / Colombian consensus for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of thrombotic conditions in adult patients with COVID-19: applying GRADE Evidence to Decision (EtD) Frameworks

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Abstract Recent studies have reported the occurrence of thrombotic phenomena or coagulopathy in patients with COVID-19. There are divergent positions regarding the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of these phenomena, and current clinical practice is based solely on deductions by extension from retrospective studies, case series, observational studies, and international guidelines developed prior to the pandemic. In this context, the aim was to generate a group of recommendations on the prevention, diagnosis and management of thrombotic complications associated with COVID-19. Methods: A rapid guidance was carried out applying the GRADE Evidence to Decision (EtD) frameworks and an iterative participation system, with statistical and qualitative analysis. Results: 31 clinical recommendations were generated focused on: a) Coagulation tests in symptomatic adults with suspected infection or confirmed SARS CoV-2 infection; b) Thromboprophylaxis in adults diagnosed with COVID-19 (Risk scales, thromboprophylaxis for outpatient, in-hospital management, and duration of thromboprophylaxis after discharge from hospitalization), c) Diagnosis and treatment of thrombotic complications, and d) Management of people with previous indication of anticoagulant agents. Conclusions: Recommendations of this consensus guide clinical decision-making regarding the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of thrombotic phenomena in patients with COVID-19, and represent an agreement that will help decrease the dispersion in clinical practices according to the challenge imposed by the pandemic.