Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) during a Virtual Reality Task in Women with Fibromyalgia-A Randomized Clinical Study.

Background/objectives: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and impaired motor performance. This study aimed to investigate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) during virtual reality (VR) tasks on the motor performance of women with FM.

Methods: Participants were divided into two groups: Group A received active tDCS for 10 days followed by sham tDCS for 10 days, while Group B received the opposite sequence.

Explaining the stickiness of supply chain relations in the Brazilian soybean trade.

The global trade of agricultural commodities has profound social-ecological impacts, from potentially increasing food availability and agricultural efficiency, to displacing local communities, and to incentivizing environmental destruction. Supply chain stickiness, understood as the stability in trading relationships between supply chain actors, moderates the impacts of agricultural commodity production and the possibilities for supply-chain interventions. However, what factors determine stickiness, that is, how and why farmers, traders, food processors, and consumer countries, develop and maintain trading relationships with specific producing regions, remains unclear.

Disentangling the numbers behind agriculture-driven tropical deforestation.

Tropical deforestation continues at alarming rates with profound impacts on ecosystems, climate, and livelihoods, prompting renewed commitments to halt its continuation. Although it is well established that agriculture is a dominant driver of deforestation, rates and mechanisms remain disputed and often lack a clear evidence base. We synthesize the best available pantropical evidence to provide clarity on how agriculture drives deforestation.

Teamwork in Pediatric Resuscitation: Training Medical Students on High-Fidelity Simulation.

Background: Simulation training and teamwork for medical students are essential to improve performance in pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Purpose: To evaluate if a specific approach to teamwork improves technical and nontechnical performance.

Methods: We performed quasiexperimental, prospective, pre- and postinterventional, and nonrandomized research with 65 students in the fourth year of their medicine course.

A Commodity Supply Mix for More Regionalized Life Cycle Assessments.

Supply chain information is invaluable to further regionalize product life cycle assessments (LCAs), but detailed information linking production and consumption centers is not always available. We introduce the commodity supply mix (CSM) defined as the trade-volume-weighted average representing the combined geographic areas for the production of a commodity exported to a given market with the goal of (1) enhancing the relevance of inventory and impact regionalization and (2) allocating these impacts to specific markets. We apply the CSM to the Brazilian soybean supply chain mapped by Trase to obtain the mix of ecoregions and river basins linked to domestic consumption and exports to China, EU, France, and the rest of the world, before quantifying damage to biodiversity, and water scarcity footprints.

Transition of blind women to motherhood from the perspective of Transitions Theory.

Objective: to analyze the transition of blind women to motherhood from the perspective of Transitions Theory.

Method: a qualitative, descriptive study, which had as participants 11 blind women. An open interview was conducted using the narrative method.

Acknowledging uncertainty in evolutionary reconstructions of ecological niches.

Reconstructing ecological niche evolution can provide insight into the biogeography and diversification of evolving lineages. However, comparative phylogenetic methods may infer the history of ecological niche evolution inaccurately because (a) species' niches are often poorly characterized; and (b) phylogenetic comparative methods rely on niche summary statistics rather than full estimates of species' environmental tolerances. Here, we propose a new framework for coding ecological niches and reconstructing their evolution that explicitly acknowledges and incorporates the uncertainty introduced by incomplete niche characterization.

A better Amazon road network for people and the environment.

The rapidly expanding network of roads into the Amazon is permanently altering the world's largest tropical forest. Most proposed road projects lack rigorous impact assessments or even basic economic justification. This study analyzes the expected environmental, social and economic impacts of 75 road projects, totaling 12 thousand kilometers of planned roads, in the region.

Factors associated with traffic accidents among drivers: findings from a population-based study.

This study aimed to identify associated factors with drivers' involvement in traffic accidents (TA). Thus, in 2013, a household survey was conducted with 1,406 drivers in Jequié, Bahia, Brazil. A hierarchical conceptual model was established and consisted of four blocks of exposure factors, considering the proximal-distal relationships between them and the outcome.

Fractal correlations and linear analyses of heart rate variability in healthy young people with different levels of physical activity.

Changes in cardiac autonomic regulation, expressed by increased sympathetic activity and decreased heart rate variability, have an important relationship with the onset of lethal cardiac phenomena. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the cardiac autonomic behaviour in young people according to their level of physical activity. Through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, 55 healthy young non-smokers with no history of previous diseases and whose parents did not suffer from metabolic syndrome were assessed and divided into groups: sedentary (n=12), insufficiently active (n=16), active (n=14), and very active (n=13).

Stress, self-esteem and well-being among female health professionals: A randomized clinical trial on the impact of a self-care intervention mediated by the senses.

Background: Stress levels are evident among health professionals. However, there are few studies on sensory-based self-care aimed at stress management, self-esteem and subjective well-being in this group of professionals.

Objective: To assess the impact of a self-care intervention mediated by the senses on the stress levels, self-esteem and well-being of health professionals in a hospital environment.

A single bout of exercise with a flexible pole induces significant cardiac autonomic responses in healthy men.

Objectives: Flexible poles can provide rapid eccentric and concentric muscle contractions. Muscle vibration is associated with a "tonic vibration reflex" that is stimulated by a sequence of rapid muscle stretching, activation of the muscle spindles and stimulation of a response that is similar to the myotatic reflex. Literature studies analyzing the acute cardiovascular responses to different exercises performed with this instrument are lacking.

Acute auditory stimulation with different styles of music influences cardiac autonomic regulation in men.

Background: No clear evidence is available in the literature regarding the acute effect of different styles of music on cardiac autonomic control.

Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the acute effects of classical baroque and heavy metal musical auditory stimulation on Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in healthy men.

Patients And Methods: In this study, HRV was analyzed regarding time (SDNN, RMSSD, NN50, and pNN50) and frequency domain (LF, HF, and LF / HF) in 12 healthy men.

Prevalence of burnout syndrome in clinical nurses at a hospital of excellence.

Background: Burnout syndrome can be defined as long-term work stress resulting from the interaction between constant emotional pressure associated with intense interpersonal involvement for long periods of time and personal characteristics. We investigated the prevalence/propensity of Burnout syndrome in clinical nurses, and the factors related to Burnout syndrome-associated such as socio-demographic characteristics, work load, social and family life, leisure activities, extra work activities, physical activities, and work-related health problems.

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional, quantitative, prospective epidemiological study with 188 surgical clinic nurses.

Cardiac autonomic regulation during exposure to auditory stimulation with classical baroque or heavy metal music of different intensities.

Objectives: The effects of chronic music auditory stimulation on the cardiovascular system have been investigated in the literature. However, data regarding the acute effects of different styles of music on cardiac autonomic regulation are lacking. The literature has indicated that auditory stimulation with white noise above 50 dB induces cardiac responses.

Previous exposure to musical auditory stimulation immediately influences the cardiac autonomic responses to the postural change maneuver in women.

Background: Chronic exposure to musical auditory stimulation has been reported to improve cardiac autonomic regulation. However, it is not clear if music acutely influences it in response to autonomic tests. We evaluated the acute effects of music on heart rate variability (HRV) responses to the postural change maneuver (PCM) in women.

Late infra-renal aortic graft infection: a fearsome complication.

Since the 1950s, aortic graft infections (AGIs) constitute one of the most feared complications after reconstructive vascular surgery. This complication is not frequent, ranging from 1% to 2% in the recently reported series; however, the high rate of death and morbidity after therapeutic attempts justifies its dreadful fame. The majority of cases occur during the first month after surgery.