Changes in cardiovascular health and white matter integrity with aerobic exercise, cognitive and combined training in physically inactive healthy late-middle-aged adults: the "Projecte Moviment" randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: This is a 12-weeks randomized controlled trial examining the effects of aerobic exercise (AE), computerized cognitive training (CCT) and their combination (COMB). We aim to investigate their impact on cardiovascular health and white matter (WM) integrity and how they contribute to the cognitive benefits.

Methods: 109 participants were recruited and 82 (62% female; age = 58.

New atherogenic index for the prediction of carotid atherosclerosis based on the non-ultrasensitive c-reactive protein/HDL ratio.

Introduction: Current guidelines recommend cardiovascular risk assessment as a preventive measure for cardiovascular diseases, whose fundamental etiology is arteriosclerosis. One of the tools used to estimate risk in clinical practice are atherogenic indices (AI), ratios between lipid fractions with well-established reference ranges. Despite its widespread use, there is still limited information on its clinical utility.

Functional improvement in chronic stroke patients when following a supervised home-based computerized cognitive training.

Background: Computerized Cognitive Training (CCT) is an effective treatment for cognitive impairment in the post-acute stage of stroke. However, it is still not clear if it is suitable for chronic stage.

Objectives: To explore if patients with cognitive deficit following stroke may benefit from CCT.

Long-interval intracortical inhibition in primary motor cortex related to working memory in middle-aged adults.

Introduction: Excitability of the primary motor cortex measured with TMS has been associated with cognitive dysfunctions in patient populations. However, only a few studies have explored this relationship in healthy adults, and even fewer have considered the role of biological sex.

Methods: Ninety-seven healthy middle-aged adults (53 male) completed a TMS protocol and a neuropsychological assessment.

Effects and mechanisms of mindfulness training and physical exercise on cognition, emotional wellbeing, and brain outcomes in chronic stroke patients: Study protocol of the MindFit project randomized controlled trial.

Background: Post-stroke cognitive and emotional complications are frequent in the chronic stages of stroke and have important implications for the functionality and quality of life of those affected and their caregivers. Strategies such as mindfulness meditation, physical exercise (PE), or computerized cognitive training (CCT) may benefit stroke patients by impacting neuroplasticity and brain health.

Materials And Methods: One hundred and forty-one chronic stroke patients are randomly allocated to receive mindfulness-based stress reduction + CCT ( = 47), multicomponent PE program + CCT ( = 47), or CCT alone ( = 47).

Corrigendum to "Prefrontal reactivity to TMS perturbation as a toy model of mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic"[Heliyon 8 (8), (August 2022) Article e10208].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.

Functional Brain Connectivity Prior to the COVID-19 Outbreak Moderates the Effects of Coping and Perceived Stress on Mental Health Changes: A First Year of COVID-19 Pandemic Follow-up Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to investigate the psychological impact of a global major adverse situation. Our aim was to examine, in a longitudinal prospective study, the demographic, psychological, and neurobiological factors associated with interindividual differences in resilience to the mental health impact of the pandemic.

Methods: We included 2023 healthy participants (age: 54.

Prefrontal reactivity to TMS perturbation as a toy model of mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Psychosocial hardships associated with the COVID-19 pandemic led many individuals to suffer adverse mental health consequences, however, others show no negative effects. We hypothesized that the electroencephalographic (EEG) response to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could serve as a toy-model of an individual's capacity to resist psychological stress, in this case linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from 74 participants who underwent mental health monitoring and concurrent electroencephalography with transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) and left inferior parietal lobule (L-IPL).

Molecular and Brain Volume Changes Following Aerobic Exercise, Cognitive and Combined Training in Physically Inactive Healthy Late-Middle-Aged Adults: The Projecte Moviment Randomized Controlled Trial.

Behavioral interventions have shown promising neuroprotective effects, but the cascade of molecular, brain and behavioral changes involved in these benefits remains poorly understood. Projecte Moviment is a 12-week (5 days per week-45 min per day) multi-domain, single-blind, proof-of-concept randomized controlled trial examining the cognitive effect and underlying mechanisms of an aerobic exercise (AE), computerized cognitive training (CCT) and a combined (COMB) groups compared to a waitlist control group. Adherence was > 80% for 82/109 participants recruited (62% female; age = 58.

Sense of Coherence Mediates the Relationship Between Cognitive Reserve and Cognition in Middle-Aged Adults.

In recent years, supported by new scientific evidence, the conceptualization of cognitive reserve (CR) has been progressively enriched and now encompasses not only cognitive stimulating activities or educational level, but also lifestyle activities, such as leisure physical activity and socialization. In this context, there is increasing interest in understanding the role of psychological factors in brain health and cognitive functioning. In a previous study, we have found that these factors mediated the relationship between CR and self-reported cognitive functioning.

Effect of Organic Farming and Agricultural Abandonment on Beneficial Arthropod Communities Associated with Olive Groves in Western Spain: Implications for Management.

Agricultural abandonment and intensification are among the main land-use changes in Europe. Along with these processes, different proposals have been developed to counteract the negative effects derived from agricultural intensification, including organic management. In this context, we aimed to determine how organic management and farmland abandonment affect and its main groups of natural enemies: hymenopteran parasitoids, spiders, ants, carabids, and staphylinids.

Associations of circulating C-reactive proteins, APOE ε4, and brain markers for Alzheimer's disease in healthy samples across the lifespan.

The apolipoprotein E gene ε4 allele (APOE ε4) and higher circulating level of C-reactive protein (CRP) have been extensively investigated as risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Paradoxically, APOE ε4 has been associated with lower levels of blood CRP in middle-aged and older populations. However, few studies have investigated this intriguing relation and its impact on neurological markers for AD in younger ages, nor across the whole lifespan.

Toward Personalized Web-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation for Patients With Ischemic Stroke: Elo Rating Approach.

Background: Stroke is a worldwide cause of disability; 40% of stroke survivors sustain cognitive impairments, most of them following inpatient rehabilitation at specialized clinical centers. Web-based cognitive rehabilitation tasks are extensively used in clinical settings. The impact of task execution depends on the ratio between the skills of the treated patient and the challenges imposed by the task itself.

tDCS-Induced Memory Reconsolidation Effects and Its Associations With Structural and Functional MRI Substrates in Subjective Cognitive Decline.

Previous evidence suggests that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-DLPFC) can enhance episodic memory in subjects with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), known to be at risk of dementia. Our main goal was to replicate such findings in an independent sample and elucidate if baseline magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics predicted putative memory improvement. Thirty-eight participants with SCD (aged: 60-65 years) were randomly assigned to receive active ( = 19) or sham ( = 19) tDCS in a double-blind design.

A Minor Role of Host Fruit on the Parasitic Performance of (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) on Medfly Larvae.

Host fruit is known to strongly affect the performance of both fruit pests and their potential natural enemies. This is particularly important in the control of tephritid fruit flies, whose larvae develop inside the fruit and thus create a set of foraging problems for parasitoids. In the present study, we assessed the response of female (Weld) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) one of the most promising parasitoids for tephritid biocontrol in the Mediterranean Basin, to different potential host fruit species.

Meaning in Life: A Major Predictive Factor for Loneliness Comparable to Health Status and Social Connectedness.

Loneliness is the subjective distress of feeling alone and has a strong impact on wellbeing and health. In addition to well-known predictors like isolation and poor health, a better understanding of the psychological determinants of loneliness would offer effective targets for future complementary interventions. In this cross-sectional observational study ( = 2,240), we compared the explanatory power of several important risk factors of loneliness with the affective, motivational, and cognitive aspects of the Meaning in Life (MiL) construct.

The paradoxical effect of COVID-19 outbreak on loneliness.

As in previous periods of quarantine, lockdown confinement measures dictated to control SARS-CoV-2 would be expected to negatively affect mental health. We investigated the immediate effects (over a 10 day period) of a strict nationwide stay-at-home order imposed in Spain, one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing our analysis on the feelings of loneliness, we obtained our measures within a social context characterised by strong and continuous public and governmental support for increasing social bonds and cooperation in order to face the common public threat.

Effects of Aerobic Exercise, Cognitive and Combined Training on Cognition in Physically Inactive Healthy Late-Middle-Aged Adults: The Projecte Moviment Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Lifestyle interventions are promising strategies to promote cognitive health in aging. Projecte Moviment examines if aerobic exercise (AE), computerized cognitive training (CCT), and their combination (COMB) improves cognition, psychological health, and physical status compared to a control group. We assessed the moderating role of age and sex and the mediating effects of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), physical activity (PA), and psychological health on intervention-related cognitive benefits.

Farming system shapes traits and composition of spider assemblages in Mediterranean cherry orchards.

Habitat properties, including crop type, farming system, management practices, or topographic features such as the hillside aspect, may act as environmental filters that select organisms sharing traits compatible with those conditions. The more environmentally-friendly management practices implemented in organic farming seem to benefit a range of taxa, but the extent of those benefits is not well understood. In cherry orchards of the Jerte Valley (Extremadura, western Spain), we explored the response of spider assemblages to the farming system (organic and conventional) and the hillside aspect (sunny or shady) from a taxonomical, behavioral, and morphological perspective.

Low Host Specialization in the Cuckoo Wasp, , Weakens Chemical Mimicry but Does Not Lead to Local Adaption.

Insect brood parasites have evolved a variety of strategies to avoid being detected by their hosts. Few previous studies on cuckoo wasps (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae), which are natural enemies of solitary wasps and bees, have shown that chemical mimicry, i.e.

Effects and Mechanisms of Cognitive, Aerobic Exercise, and Combined Training on Cognition, Health, and Brain Outcomes in Physically Inactive Older Adults: The Projecte Moviment Protocol.

Introduction: Age-related health, brain, and cognitive impairment is a great challenge in current society. Cognitive training, aerobic exercise and their combination have been shown to benefit health, brain, cognition and psychological status in healthy older adults. Inconsistent results across studies may be related to several variables.

Parasitism Response to Medfly Host Fruit and Fruit Infestation Age.

The parasitoid (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is increasingly being used in integrated pest management (IPM) programs as a biological control agent in order to suppress tephritid fruit flies of economic importance. Innate and acquired behavioral responses-such as pest host fruit preference-of parasitoids can modulate their efficiency in the field and should be taken into consideration prior to parasitoid species' selection for mass-rearing. We have assessed the influence of medfly-infested (two infestation ages, 1 and 4-d-old) and uninfested fruit species on host preference and efficiency of by using a multistep assay including olfactory, laboratory and semi-field trials.

A Positive Relationship between Cognitive Reserve and Cognitive Function after Stroke: Dynamic Proxies Correlate Better than Static Proxies.

Objectives: How brain damage after stroke is related to specific clinical manifestation and recovery is incompletely understood. We studied cognitive reserve (CR) in stroke patients by two types of measurements: (i) objectively verifiable static proxies (i.e.