Publications by authors named "Ruiz-Velasco S"

The aim of the present study was to contrast the potential influence of five independent types of leisure activities (physical, mental, social, cultural, and passive) on working memory in a lifespan sample and in specific stages of adulthood (young, middle-aged, and older adults). A sample of 1652 healthy adults between 21 and 80 years of age participated in the study. Leisure activities were assessed through a lifestyle questionnaire created for the study.

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Although marine invasions are increasingly a matter of concern, the impact of invasive species in the ecosystem and their ability to replace native taxa is still little understood. Data from 2011 to 2021 in marinas of the Southern Iberian Peninsula supported that the invasive amphipod Caprella scaura is replacing the resident Caprella equilibra over time. Six marinas where C.

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Widespread habitat-forming invaders inhabiting marinas, such as the spaghetti bryozoan Amathia verticillata, allow exploring facilitation processes across spatiotemporal contexts. Here we investigate the role of this bryozoan as habitat for native and exotic macrofaunal assemblages across different ecoregions of Western Mediterranean and East Atlantic coasts, and a monthly variation over a year. While only 7 (all peracarid crustaceans) of the 54 associated species were NIS, they dominated macrofaunal assemblages in terms of abundance, raising the potential for invasional meltdown.

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Recreational marinas are key points for the introduction and secondary spread of non-indigenous species (NIS). However, little is known about the influence of the habitat surrounding the marina on NIS communities. To explore this issue, we compared peracarid assemblages associated to the widespread ecosystem engineer Sabella spallanzanii in lower estuarine marinas (with oceanic salinity) and coastal marinas of the south of the Iberian Peninsula.

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Background: Previous studies have examined the direct relationship between metamemory and memory performance in young and older adults, but the results of these studies have been inconsistent. Therefore, we examined whether metamemory mediates the effects of age on memory performance.

Methods: We examined episodic memory and working memory through computerized tasks performed by a lifespan sample of 1554 healthy adults.

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Objective: To identify the nutrients that influence the performance of working memory, which is greatly affected as age progresses.

Method: A total of 1646 healthy adults between 21 and 80 years old participated in the study. The daily consumption of 64 nutrients was examined using a food frequency questionnaire that assessed food intake during the previous year.

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The aim of the study was to identify nutrients that have the ability to impact brain functioning and, as a consequence, influence episodic memory. In particular, we examined recollection, the ability to recall details of previous experiences, which is the episodic memory process most affected as age advances. A sample of 1,550 healthy participants between 21 and 80 years old participated in the study.

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Objectives: The effects of chronic low and high blood pressure on memory are unclear due to divergent results, originating in part due to participant misclassifications. The aim of this study was to compare source memory and working memory performance in individuals diagnosed with hypotension or hypertension with the performance of normotensive participants. Hypertensive and hypotensive individuals were receiving medical treatment.

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Axon initial segments (AIS) of dentate granule cells in the hippocampus exhibit prominent spines (AISS) during early development that are associated with microglial contacts. In the present study, we investigated whether developmental changes in AISS could be modified by early-life stress (ELS), specifically neonatal maternal separation (MS), through stress hormones and microglial activation and examined the potential behavioural consequences. We examined AISS at postnatal day (PND)5, 15 and 50, using Golgi-Cox staining and anatomical analysis.

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The aging process is associated with the gradual decline of several cognitive functions, and working memory is particularly affected. Although the majority of older adults experience a deterioration of their working memory, some individuals maintain their working memory in older age, and some suffer an extreme deterioration of their working memory. The purpose of the present study was to identify, among a total of 120 potential predictors, those that significantly contributed to these two extreme outcomes in working memory.

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: A number of cognitive aging models have been proposed to explain the age-related decline in several cognitive functions, but these models have rarely been examined together. We analyzed the contributions of four main models - processing resources, speed of processing, cognitive reserve and knowledge - to source memory decay related to the aging process.: A total of 1554 healthy adults between 21 and 80 years old participated in the study.

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Source memory decline has been identified as one of the types of memory most seriously affected during older age. It refers to our capacity to recollect the contextual information in which our experiences take place. Although most elderly adults will be affected by progressive source memory decline, a subset of individuals will not follow this average pattern; instead, their source memory capabilities will remain functional.

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Working memory abilities significantly decrease with advancing age; hence, the search for factors that may increase or mitigate this decline is critical. Several factors have been identified that influence working memory; however, their effects have been mainly assessed separately and rarely together with other factors in the same sample. We examined 120 variables to search for factors that jointly act as mediators of working memory decay across the adult life span.

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Previous evidence links substance use disorders (SUD) to STI/HIV risk and suggests that comorbid psychiatric disorders increase the probability to engage in sexual risk behaviors. This study had two aims: (1) to identify subgroups based on sexual risk behavior using a person-centered approach in a sample of substance users and (2) to measure the association of psychiatric and SUD with subgroup membership. We assessed 402 male adults with SUD, reporting sexual intercourse in the previous 12 months using the HIV-Risk Behavior Scale and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview.

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The ability to remember the details of our own experiences declines gradually as we get old. The reason for this decay has been attributed to several factors besides age, such as education, nutrient intake and health status. However, the influence of these factors has mainly been examined individually and rarely together.

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Background: Most approaches to predict ventricular tachyarrhythmias which are based on RR intervals consider only sinus beats, excluding premature ventricular complexes (PVCs). The method known as heartprint, which analyses PVCs and their characteristics, has prognostic value for fatal arrhythmias on long recordings of RR intervals (>70,000 beats).

Objective: To evaluate characteristics of PVCs from short term recordings (around 1000 beats) and their prognostic value for imminent sustained tachyarrhythmia.

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L-Dopa is the major symptomatic therapy for Parkinson's disease, which commonly occurs in elderly patients. However, the effects of chronic use on mood and cognition in old subjects remain elusive. In order to compare the effects of a chronic pulsatile L-Dopa treatment on emotional and cognitive functions in young (3 months) and old (18 months) intact rats, an L-Dopa/carbidopa treatment was administered every 12 h over 4 weeks.

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Aiming to characterize the bacterial diversity of modern tufa systems of the Iberian Range (Spain), we surveyed the 16S rRNA gene sequence diversity from 24 sites within three rivers (Añamaza, Mesa and Piedra). These tufas record substantial calcareous growth under different physicochemical conditions and are part of an important, regional landscape-building system. The bacterial community structure and composition, richness and diversity were quantified from denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprints.

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Objective: To study the relationship between bullying behavior and psychopathology.

Materials And Methods: A total of 1 092 students identified their peers' bullying status based on the Bull-S questionnaire. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to determine psychopathology levels.

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Objective: To compare and quantify the retinal vascular changes induced by non-intentional pressure contact by digital handheld camera during retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) imaging by means of a computer-based image analysis system, Retinal Image multiScale Analysis.

Methods: A set of 10 wide-angle retinal pairs of photographs per patient, who underwent routine ROP examinations, was measured. Vascular trees were matched between 'compression artifact' (absence of the vascular column at the optic nerve) and 'not compression artifact' conditions.

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Particulate matter air pollution has been related to an increase in cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality especially in susceptible subjects with a known cardiopulmonary disease. Recent studies suggest that PM(2.5) air pollution was associated with changes in heart rate variability (HRV).

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Background: Data on young people's knowledge about cancer prevention are not currently available for many populations, including Mexican young people, although cancer is the second most common cause of death among the Mexican population.

Methods: A questionnaire was applied to 13,293 public school students aged 11-24 years in Morelos, Mexico. A knowledge-based scale was constructed from survey answers about risk factors for cancer.

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We examined the association of breastfeeding and the presence of chronic respiratory symptoms among 5,182 Brazilian schoolchildren 7-14 years of age who were participants in the International Study on Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). The prevalence of medically diagnosed asthma and current wheeze were respectively 4.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.

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