Structural inequality linked to brain volume and network dynamics in aging and dementia across the Americas.

Structural inequality, the uneven distribution of resources and opportunities, influences health outcomes. However, the biological embedding of structural inequality in aging and dementia, especially among underrepresented populations, is unclear. We examined the association between structural inequality (country-level and state-level Gini indices) and brain volume and connectivity in 2,135 healthy controls, and individuals with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobe degeneration from Latin America and the United States.

Pain Self-efficacy Is Associated With Patient-Reported Function in Individuals With Chronic Hip Pain.

Objective: To evaluate the associations between psychological factors (pain self-efficacy, kinesiophobia, and pain catastrophizing), physical activity, and patient-reported hip function in patients presenting to physical therapy with chronic (>3 months) hip pain.

Design: Observational, cross-sectional.

Methods: Participants completed a survey including age, sex, height/weight, symptom duration, 11-item Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK-11), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ), and 12-item International Hip Outcome Tool (iHOT-12).

Resilience and Well-Being Over the Course of an National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Gymnastics Season.

Context: Awareness regarding the importance of mental health in athletes has been increasing in recent years. Mental health has been investigated in relation to injury recovery and performance; however, less evidence has examined changes in mental health throughout a competitive season.

Objectives: This study aimed to: (1) evaluate the psychological factors of resilience and well-being over a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I gymnastics season and examine changes over 4 time points: preseason, start of the competitive season, midseason, and postseason and (2) examine the relationships between these psychological measures at these 4 time points.

Examining efficacy and potential mechanisms of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for anxiety and stress reduction among college students in a cluster-randomized controlled trial.

The pervasiveness of anxiety and stress among college students necessitates the investigation of potential alternative and accessible interventions which can be implemented into existing curricular and student-support programming to improve students' mental health. Mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) smartphone applications have shown promising outcomes in alleviating anxiety and stress. However, it is essential to gain insight into the feasibility and efficacy of such an interventional approach in a collegiate population, as well as explore potential underlying mechanisms, which could be better targeted to enhance the efficacy of future interventions for promoting mental health and well-being.

Patient Perceptions of Psychological and Rehabilitation Experiences After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Qualitative Study.

Context: Over 80% of patients anticipate fully returning to sport (RTS) within 1 year after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), but only one quarter of patients succeed. Although several factors influence the RTS process, this study focused on how psychological responses to injury, such as injury-related fear and self-determined motivation, help to explain variation in rehabilitation experiences. There is limited information about how these meaningful psychological responses to injury are connected to responses such as athlete burnout or how patient perceptions of these responses relate to rehabilitation.

The Relationship Between Active Coping Skills and Self-Reported Knee Function in Individuals with Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Context: Individuals with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury commonly experience injury related stressors which can adversely impact subjective knee function after ACL reconstruction (ACLR). Due to the positive effect of active coping skills on perceived stressors, use of such strategies may influence clinical outcomes in individuals with ACLR, such as self-reported knee function. However, it is unknown whether active coping skills are associated with self-reported knee function in this population.

Brain clocks capture diversity and disparities in aging and dementia across geographically diverse populations.

Brain clocks, which quantify discrepancies between brain age and chronological age, hold promise for understanding brain health and disease. However, the impact of diversity (including geographical, socioeconomic, sociodemographic, sex and neurodegeneration) on the brain-age gap is unknown. We analyzed datasets from 5,306 participants across 15 countries (7 Latin American and Caribbean countries (LAC) and 8 non-LAC countries).

Educational disparities in brain health and dementia across Latin America and the United States.

Background: Education influences brain health and dementia. However, its impact across regions, specifically Latin America (LA) and the United States (US), is unknown.

Methods: A total of 1412 participants comprising controls, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) from LA and the US were included.

Long-term strict ant-plant mutualism identity characterises growth rate and leaf shearing resistance of an Amazonian myrmecophyte.

Over 125 million years of ant-plant interactions have culminated in one of the most intriguing evolutionary outcomes in life history. The myrmecophyte Duroia hirsuta (Rubiaceae) is known for its mutualistic association with the ant Myrmelachista schumanni and several other species, mainly Azteca, in the north-western Amazon. While both ants provide indirect defences to plants, only M.

The Influence of Sports-Related Concussion on Cognition and Landing Biomechanics in Collegiate Athletes.

Injury surveillance data indicate that collegiate athletes are at greater risk for lower extremity (LE) injuries following sports-related concussion (SRC). While the association between SRC and LE injury appears to be clinically relevant up to 1-year post-SRC, little evidence has been provided to determine possible mechanistic rationales. Thus, we aimed to compare collegiate athletes with a history of SRC to matched controls on biomechanical and cognitive performance measures associated with LE injury risk.

Brain clocks capture diversity and disparity in aging and dementia.

Brain clocks, which quantify discrepancies between brain age and chronological age, hold promise for understanding brain health and disease. However, the impact of multimodal diversity (geographical, socioeconomic, sociodemographic, sex, neurodegeneration) on the brain age gap (BAG) is unknown. Here, we analyzed datasets from 5,306 participants across 15 countries (7 Latin American countries -LAC, 8 non-LAC).

Healthy aging meta-analyses and scoping review of risk factors across Latin America reveal large heterogeneity and weak predictive models.

Models of healthy aging are typically based on the United States and Europe and may not apply to diverse and heterogeneous populations. In this study, our objectives were to conduct a meta-analysis to assess risk factors of cognition and functional ability across aging populations in Latin America and a scoping review focusing on methodological procedures. Our study design included randomized controlled trials and cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies using multiple databases, including MEDLINE, the Virtual Health Library and Web of Science.

Neuroanatomical markers of social cognition in neglected adolescents.

Growing up in neglectful households can impact multiple aspects of social cognition. However, research on neglect's effects on social cognition processes and their neuroanatomical correlates during adolescence is scarce. Here, we aimed to comprehensively assess social cognition processes (recognition of basic and contextual emotions, theory of mind, the experience of envy and and empathy for pain) and their structural brain correlates in adolescents with legal neglect records within family-based care.

Brain health in diverse settings: How age, demographics and cognition shape brain function.

Diversity in brain health is influenced by individual differences in demographics and cognition. However, most studies on brain health and diseases have typically controlled for these factors rather than explored their potential to predict brain signals. Here, we assessed the role of individual differences in demographics (age, sex, and education; n = 1298) and cognition (n = 725) as predictors of different metrics usually used in case-control studies.

A Multidimensional, Person-Centered Framework for Functional Assessment in Dementia: Insights from the 'What', 'How', 'To Whom', and 'How Much' Questions.

Dementia is a syndrome characterized by cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with progressive functional decline (FD). FD is a core diagnostic criterion for dementia, setting the threshold between its prodromal stages and the full-blown disease. The operationalization of FD continues to generate a great deal of controversy.

Athletic Trainers' Perceptions of Implementing Psychological Strategies for Patient Management: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To synthesize the best available evidence regarding the perceptions and current clinical practices of athletic trainers (ATs) in integrating psychological skills into patient management.

Data Sources: PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL; via EBSCOhost), PsycInfo (via EBSCOhost), SPORTDiscus (via EBSCOhost), and Scopus (via Elsevier).

Study Selection: Studies had to investigate the current clinical practices and perceptions of certified ATs in integrating psychologically informed practice for patient management.

No Association Between Injury-Related Fear and Isokinetic Quadriceps Strength in Individuals With a History of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Context: Injury-related fear and quadriceps strength are independently associated with secondary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. It is not known whether injury-related fear and quadriceps strength are associated, despite their individual predictive capabilities of secondary ACL injury. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between injury-related fear and quadriceps strength in individuals at least 1 year after ACL reconstruction (ACLR).

Psychological Readiness, Injury-Related Fear, and Persistent Knee Symptoms After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Context: Poor psychological responses after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) have been associated with a failure to return to sport and increased secondary injury risk. However, we do not know whether poor psychological responses after ACLR influence patient-reported knee function and knee symptoms.

Objective: To examine the association between psychological factors (ie, psychological readiness and injury-related fear) and the presence of persistent knee symptoms in individuals 6 to 12 months after ACLR.