Implications of the Intervention Program for Physical Activity (IPPA) in the perception of illness and wellbeing in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

The aim of this study is to examine the implications of the IPPA in the perception of illness and wellbeing in MS patients. Methods - This is a quasi experimental study non-randomized study with 24 MS patients diagnosed at least 1 year before, and with an EDSS score of under 7. We used the IPPA in 3 groups of eight people in 3 Portuguese hospitals (Lisbon, Coimbra, and Porto). The sessions were held once a week for 90 minutes, over a period of 7 weeks. The instruments used were: We asked the subjects the question “Please classify the severity of your disease?” and used the Personal Wellbeing Scale (PWS) at the beginning (time A) and end (time B) of the IPPA. We used the SPSS version 20. A non-parametric statistical hypothesis test (Wilcoxon test) was used for the variable analysis. The intervention followed the recommendations of the Helsinki Declaration. Results – The results suggest that there are differences between time A and B, the perception of illness decreased (p<0.08), while wellbeing increased (p<0.01). Conclusions: The IPPA can play an important role in modifying the perception of disease severity and personal wellbeing.

Metacognitive and social cognition training (MSCT) in schizophrenia: a preliminary efficacy study

Psychosocial interventions have proven to be effective in treating social cognition in people with psychotic disorders. The current study aimed to determine the effects of a metacognitive and social cognition training (MSCT) program, designed to both remediate deficits and correct biases in social cognition. Thirty-five clinically stable outpatients were recruited and assigned to the MSCT program (n = 19) for 10 weeks (18 sessions) or to the TAU group (n = 16), and they all completed pre- and post-treatment assessments of social cognition, cognitive biases, functioning and symptoms. The MSCT group demonstrated a significant improvement in theory of mind, social perception, emotion recognition and social functioning. Additionally, the tendency to jump to conclusions was significantly reduced among the MSCT group after training. There were no differential benefits regarding clinical symptoms except for one trend group effect for general psychopathology. The results support the efficacy of the MSCT format, but further development of the training program is required to increase the benefits related to attributional style.

Risk perception about zoonoses in immigrants and Italian workers in Northwestern Italy

OBJETIVO: To assess factors associated with a low risk perception of zoonoses and to identify the gaps in knowledge about transmission and prevention of zoonoses in immigrant and Italian workers. MÉTODOS: A cross-sectional study with 175 workers in the agro-livestock and agro-food industry in Piemonte, Italy, was carried out. Data were collected with a semi-structured questionnaire based on knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey. We calculated proportions and used chi-square tests and odds ratios to assess associations. Eight individual interviews with key informants on immigration and public health in Piemonte were carried out. RESULTADOS: Participants were 82 (47%) Italians and 93 (53%) immigrants. Immigrants were from Romania, Morocco, Albania, India, China, Argentina, Peru, Macedonia, Ivory Coast, Ukraine and Colombia. The study revealed significant differences in risk perception at work (p = 0.001). We found associations between "not having correct knowledge about zoonoses" and the following variables: i. "being immigrant" OR = 4.1 (95%CI 1.7;9.8 p ≤ 0.01); ii. "working in the livestock industry" OR = 2.9 (95%CI 1.2;15.4 p = 0.01); and iii. "being an unqualified worker" OR = 4.4 (95%CI 2.9;15.4 p ≤ 0.01). Another strong association was found between being immigrant and having a low job qualification OR = 6.7 (IC95% 2.9 - 15.4 p ≤ 0.01). Asian immigrants were the group with the highest frequency of risky behaviours and the lowest level of knowledge about zoonoses. CONCLUSÕES: Our results indicate that there were differences in risk perception of zoonoses between the groups participating in our study. These results suggest that immigrant status can be considered a risk factor for having lower risk perception and lower level of knowledge of zoonoses at work. There is a relationship between this specific knowledge of zoonoses and lack of training and instruction among migrant populations. Our results stress the need for developing education programs on zoonoses prevention among the immigrant population in Piemonte, Italy.

Psychological well-being and perception of disease severity in people with multiple sclerosis, who underwent a program of self-regulation to promote physical activity

Rehabilitation is very important for in the results of treatment in individuals with multiple sclerosis. Rehabilitation processes occur through gradual changes. These changes integrate intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms of the individual, promoting adaptations to the needs and activities of daily living according to individual goals. Recommendations for exercise in multiple sclerosis: these recommendations apply only to patients with EDSS less than 7; moderate intensity aerobic exercise for a total of 20 to 30 minutes, twice or three times for week; the resistance training with low or moderate intensity is well tolerated by patients with MS; associated with these exercises were recommended flexibility exercises of moderate intensity, as well as strengthening exercises. The aim of this study is to examine the implications of the program of self-regulation in the perception of illness and mental health (psychological well-being domain) in multiple sclerosis patients.

Association between social capital and self-perception of health in Brazilian adults

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between social capital and social capital and self-perception of health based on examining the influence of health-related behaviors as possible mediators of this relationship.METHODS A cross-sectional study was used with 1,081 subjects, which is representative of the population of individuals aged 40 years or more in a medium-sized city in Southern Brazil. The subjects who perceived their health as fine, bad or very bad were considered to have a negative self-perception of their health. The social capital indicators were: number of friends, people from whom they could borrow money from when needed; the extent of trust in community members; whether or not members of the community helped each other; community safety; and extent of participation in community activities. The behaviors were: physical activity during leisure time, fruits and vegetable consumption, tobacco use and alcohol abuse. The odds ratios (OR) and confidence intervals (CI) 95% were calculated by binary logistic regression. The significance of mediation was verified using the Sobel test.RESULTS Following adjustment for demographic and clinical variables, subjects with fewer friends (OR = 1.39, 95%CI 1.08;1.80), those who perceived less frequently help from people in the neighborhood (OR = 1.30, 95%CI 1.01;1.68), who saw the violent neighborhood (OR = 1.33, 95%CI 1.01;1.74) and who had not participated in any community activity (OR = 1.39, 95%CI 1.07;1.80) had more negative self-perception of their health. Physical activity during leisure time was a significant mediator in the relationship between all social capital indicators (except for the borrowed money variable) and self-perceived health. Fruit and vegetable consumption was a significant mediator of the relationship between the extent of participation in community activities and self-perceived health. Tobacco use and alcohol abuse did not seem to have a mediating role in any relationship.CONCLUSIONS Lifestyle seems to only partially explain the relationship between social capital and self-perceived health. Among the investigated behaviors, physical activity during leisure time is what seems to have the most important role as a mediator of this relationship.

Amygdala activation in response to 2D and 3D emotion-inducing stimuli

Studying changes in brain activation according to the valence of emotion-inducing stimuli is essential in the research on emotions. Due to the ecological potential of virtual reality, it is also important to examine whether brain activation in response to emotional stimuli can be modulated by the three-dimensional (3D) properties of the images. This study uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to compare differences between 3D and standard (2D) visual stimuli in the activation of emotion-related brain areas. The stimuli were organized in three virtual-reality scenarios, each with a different emotional valence (pleasant, unpleasant and neutral). The scenarios were presented in a pseudo-randomized order in the two visualization modes to twelve healthy males. Data were analyzed through a GLM-based fixed effects procedure. Unpleasant and neutral stimuli activated the right amygdala more strongly when presented in 3D than in 2D. These results suggest that 3D stimuli, when used as “building blocks” for virtual environments, can induce increased emotional loading, as shown here through neuroimaging.

Safety climate and its relationship with furniture companies’ safety performance and workers’ risk acceptance

This study aims to analyse the relationship between safety climate and the level of risk acceptance, as well as its relationship with workplace safety performance. The sample includes 14 companies and 403 workers. The safety climate assessment was performed by the application of a Safety Climate in Wood Industries questionnaire and safety performance was assessed with a checklist. Judgements about risk acceptance were measured through questionnaires together with four other variables: trust, risk perception, benefit perception and emotion. Safety climate was found to be correlated with workgroup safety performance, and it also plays an important role in workers’ risk acceptance levels. Risk acceptance tends to be lower when safety climate scores of workgroups are high, and subsequently, their safety performance is better. These findings seem to be relevant, as they provide Occupational, Safety and Health practitioners with a better understanding of workers’ risk acceptance levels and of the differences among workgroups.

The perception, beliefs and practices toward genitourinary schistosomiasis by inhabitants of selected endemic areas (Edo/Delta States) in south-eastern Nigeria

Well-structured questionnaire on the perception, impression and response to genitourinary bilharziasis (Genitourinary schistosomiasis) was administered and explained in local languages: 'Igbo' 'Esan' 'Ezon' Itshekiri and Bini to 33815 inhabitants of selected endemic areas in south-eastern Nigeria from January, 1999 to December, 2001. Out of this number, 3815 (11.3%) were properly filled and returned. About 42.0% of the inhabitants admitted knowledge of the disease, while 14 (0.4%) knew about the aetiologic agent. About 181 (5.0%) who responded, admitted procuring treatment, while 100 (5.0%) declined to seek treatment of any sort. The relationships between water-bodies and human activities, and infection were well discussed. Amongst those who admitted knowledge of the disease but no knowledge of its etiologic agent, declined seeking treatment of any kind, but believe the disease is a natural phenomenon in ones developmental stage and therefore of no morbidity and mortality. Laboratory analysis of urine, faeces, semen and HVS was employed to assess questionnaire responses, and in some cases, physical examination was utilized to augment laboratory analysis in confirming urinal diagnosis. Haematuria was only directly related to egg count in the early part of life. Females were significantly haematuric and excreted more ova than males (p < 0.05). Headache (43.0%) and fever (31.0%) were major clinical signs while sexual pains (22.0%) were the least.

Structured Light System Calibration for Perception in Underwater Tanks

The process of visually exploring underwater environments is still a complex problem. Underwater vision systems require complementary means of sensor information to help overcome water disturbances. This work proposes the development of calibration methods for a structured light based system consisting on a camera and a laser with a line beam. Two different calibration procedures that require only two images from different viewpoints were developed and tested in dry and underwater environments. Results obtained show, an accurate calibration for the camera/projector pair with errors close to 1 mm even in the presence of a small stereos baseline.

Simulation Environment for Multi-Robot Cooperative 3D Target Perception

4th International Conference, SIMPAR 2014, Bergamo, Italy, October 20-23, 2014

Velas içadas: navigating emotion in a sea of science

Dissertação para obtencão do grau de Mestrado em Arte e Ciência do Vidro

Emotion-oriented interventions for environment and the facilitation of pro-environmental behavior

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Ambiente, pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia

A cross-cultural study on the effect of decimal separator on price perception

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics