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Metacognitive training (MCT-Silver) for older adults with depressive symptoms in Portugal: a pilot study
Publication . Silva, Celso Filipe Boto; Alves, Elisabete; Schneider, Brooke C.; Sampaio, Francisco; Morgado, Bruno; Santos, Bruno M.; Correia, Tânia; Coelho, Joana; Tomaz, Mónica Lopo; Ferreira, Rogério; Fonseca, César; Pinho, Lara
Purpose Depressive symptoms in older adults represent a significant concern with major life impact. This uncontrolled pilot study evaluated the safety, feasibility and acceptance of metacognitive training for depression in later life (MCT-Silver) among Portuguese older adults. MCT-Silver is an 8-week psychological group intervention targeting (meta)cognitive beliefs to reduce depressive symptoms. The study also assessed changes in depressive symptoms, metacognitive beliefs, quality of life, ruminative responses, self-esteem, and dysfunctional attitudes. Methods A pilot, uncontrolled, single-group study with twenty-nine participants aged≥60 years without cognitive impairment and beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II) scores≥14 were included. Blinded assessments occurred at baseline and post-intervention using patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) (depression), metacognitions questionnaire-30 (MCQ-30) (metacognitive beliefs), world health organization quality of life instruments-Bref, item 1 (WHOQOL-Bref) (quality of life), ruminative responses scale (RRS-10) (ruminative responses), Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSE) (self-esteem), and dysfunctional attitudes scale-18B (DAS-18B) (dysfunctional attitudes). Acceptance was assessed with a 21-item questionnaire. Results Participants attended an average of 6 sessions (75%) and evaluated the intervention very positively, indicating they found it to be useful in daily life and fun. We did not receive any negative responses. Pre-post comparisons showed statistically significant changes in depressive symptoms, metacognitive beliefs, quality of life, rumination, self-esteem and dysfunctional attitudes; however, given the uncontrolled design, these findings should be interpreted as preliminary and exploratory rather than as evidence of efficacy. Conclusions Results of this uncontrolled single-group pilot study are encouraging, indicating safety, and feasibility of administration as well as high adherence and acceptance among Portuguese older adults. Given the uncontrolled singlegroup design, the observed pre-post improvements in clinical outcomes should not be interpreted as evidence of efficacy. Controlled studies are needed to confirm the efficacy of MCT-Silver in this population.
Bone retouchers and end-scrapers side by side at bushman rock shelter: exploring a ca. 100,000-year-old technological imbrication in southern Africa
Publication . Val, Aurore; Tribolo, Chantal; Schmid, Viola C.; Igreja, Marina; Texier, Pierre-Jean; Mercier, Norbert; Galy, Asmodée; Pécheyran, Christophe; Barbotin, Gaëlle; Porraz, Guillaume
A growing body of archaeological data points towards distinct cultural innovations during Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 5 in Africa. At Bushman Rock Shelter in South Africa, we described previously a large corpus of end-scrapers that constitute a technological novelty in the context of MIS 5 developments. Here, we describe 25 bones with impressions collected from the same deposits. Middle Stone Age layers at the site represent a succession of distinct technological phases, but the bones with impressions are strictly associated with one of them only, characterised by the presence of end-scrapers. Our refined optically stimulated luminescence and U-series chronology, presented here, dates securely this technological association to 103 ± 3 ka. Amongst the bones with impressions, there is a marked preference for the diaphyses of large ungulate long bones. Scraping marks linked to periosteum removal and evidence of fresh breakage indicate the use of bones while still fresh. Macro- and microscopic characteristics of the used areas confirm that the bones were used during percussive activities. The orientation of the bone surface modifications indicates repeated, similar technological gestures. We propose that these bones with impressions are bone retouchers that were fully integrated into the production of the end-scrapers and that they document a clear technological imbrication between the processing of animal resources and the manufacture and use of stone tools. We argue that the use of bones in lithic retouching or resharpening activities represents a critical step in the technological process that led to the exploitation of bone as a versatile raw material by hunter-gatherers.
Coastline evolution, submerged landscape, and island occupation: preliminary insight on pleistocene-holocene coastal environments of south-eastern Sicily
Publication . Ogloblin Ramirez, Isaac; Galili, Ehud; Tryon, Christian A.; Antonioli, Fabrizio; Zaia, Sara E.; Carroll, Peyton; Niespolo, Elizabeth M.; Gilmore, Lauren D.; Mauro, Sebastiano Di; Portella, Fabio; Minniti, Gianmarco; Monaco, Carmelo; Gonzalez, Nicholas Andrés; Insacco, Gianni; Patania, Ilaria
Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean and the closest to mainland Europe, holds some of the earliest uncontroversial evidence in the region of sustained island occupation by humans, dating back to ~16.5 thousand years ago (ka). Using archival studies as well as dive-based and coastal fieldwork, this study provides initial insights into the diversity of submerged and coastal Pleistocene–Holocene landscapes off and on the coast of south-eastern Sicily. New archaeological and geomorphological data demonstrate the continued importance of Sicily in understanding early human uses of islands and nearshore resources well into the Pleistocene. With underwater and coastal archaeological surveys in the Siracusa and Ragusa areas, combined with innovative citizen science, and museum research, and sedimentary analysis, we have identified five key archives: 1) Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological and geological sea-level markers, confirming the quasi-stable tectonic conditions of the SE area of Sicily; 2) Coastal and partially submerged caves containing Middle and Late Pleistocene fauna and geomorphological features, re-identified after their 19th-century discovery, offering valuable data on faunal transitions and environmental changes; 3) Submerged caves and shoreline caverns (at 1 to 25 m water depth) that are possible deposits containing fauna and anthropogenic remains; 4) Submerged landscapes with clay-rich deposits that may represent paleosols or terrestrial Pleistocene-Holocene deposits, possibly associated with prehistoric human occupation of the island; and 5) Three concentrations of Pleistocene-Holocene flint materials (two reworked assemblages of anthropogenically modified flint artifacts in Ognina and Portopalo di Capo Passero —possibly dating to the Neolithic/Mesolithic period — and a concentration of unworked flint nodules at Punta delle Formiche representing an unrecognized natural source of raw material for tool manufacture). These archives provide new data on the island's carrying capacity, the diversity andavailability of coastal resources,and sea-level changes since the Last Glacial Maximum (26.5–19 cal ka BP).
A sequential gated research framework for addressing potential impacts of marine carbon dioxide removal on fisheries, aquaculture, and Indigenous communities
Publication . Grabb, Kalina C.; Kitch, Gabriella D.; Findlay, Helen S.; Gurney-Smith, Helen J.; Myridinas, Maria; McElhany, Paul; Hogan, Fiona; Cape, Mattias Rolf; Sánchez, Nicolás; Stiasny, Martina H.; Jewett, Elizabeth B.; Balestri, Elena; Culhane, Fiona; Edwards, Peter E. T.; Faucher, Giulia; Hall, Raymond; Haugan, Peter; Howe, Jahnelle; Methratta, Elizabeth T.; Paul, Ken; SORDO, LAURA; Fabrice Pernet
Marine ecosystems are at risk due to the increasing pressures of climate change and other human activities. Fisheries and aquaculture, which employ 61.8 million people worldwide and supply ∼20% of human animal protein demand, are sectors that critically rely on healthy marine ecosystems. Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) encompasses a portfolio of novel approaches that aim to mimic natural processes to increase the ocean’s uptake and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide through intentional human interventions in the marine environment. Alongside verifying the efficacy of mCDR techniques, their environmental and social impact must also be assessed to enable informed decisions about what, if any,research, development, and deployment of mCDRshould move forward, accounting forthe full spectrum of benefits, costs, and trade-offs and in comparison with other CDR interventions. Evaluating the footprint of mCDR requires identifying and understanding positive and negative impacts beyond carbon dioxide removal. Here, we provide a multi-stage research framework for mCDR project developers to assess these interdisciplinary impacts, specifically in relation to marine ecosystems, fisheries, and aquaculture. This framework considers how projects can implement these recommendations across five research phases, using a stagegated approach that focuses on: Stage 0, Planning; Stage 1, Baseline Assessment and Experiments; Stage 2, Pilot Field Trial; Stage 3, Scaled-up Field Trial; and Stage 4,Operational Deployment and Long-term Monitoring. As an interdisciplinary team of academic and government scientists, non-governmental organizations, and fisheries and Indigenous community members, we offer this framework as a high-level user guide for projects to consider impacts through a fisheries and aquaculture lens. We pointto currentframeworks when possible and outline additional considerations that can be addressed as research scales.
Do virtual dissection tables add benefits to physical models in anatomy education? A review
Publication . Pinheiro, João; Magalhães Ribeiro, Anabela de; Ribeiro, Luís Pedro
The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate whether virtual dissection tables, particularly the Anatomage system, provide added educational value when used as a complement to physical anatomical models and cadaver-based teaching in anatomy education. Given the increasing challenges associated with traditional cadaveric dissection—including ethical constraints, high costs, and limited availability—this review aimed to determine the effectiveness of virtual dissection tables within blended learning approaches in improving anatomical understanding, student engagement, and academic performance [1–4].