Melatonin is an essential component for circadian system function, whose daily plasma secretory rhythm is driven by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), contributing to the communication of temporal messages from the central circadian clock to all cells. Melatonin secretion peaks in the dark, regardless of whether animals are diurnal or nocturnal. To date, the precise mechanisms that explain how the circadian system is configured as nocturnal or diurnal remain unknown. The present study examines mid-day and midnight melatonin plasma levels and the influence of exogenous melatonin on the circadian system phasing of Octodon degus, a diurnal rodent, which exhibits nocturnal and diurnal chronotypes when free access to a wheel is provided. Plasma levels of melatonin were determined by RIA in blood samples taken from the jugular vein at mid-light (ML) and mid-dark (MD). Melatonin (0.5 mg/kg b.wt.) was orally administered in their drinking water for 30 days, 2 hr before the onset of darkness. The results showed that plasma melatonin levels and their qualitative effects, hypothermia and improved synchronization with no modification in the 24-hr wheel running activity (WR), were similar in both nocturnal and diurnal degus. Furthermore, melatonin can be used to improve the impaired circadian rhythmicity observed in aged animals, with no rebound effect after ceasing the treatment. It is concluded that plasma melatonin levels and the differential responses to melatonin do not seem to be responsible for nocturnal and diurnal chronotypes, and thus other mechanisms upstream, within, or downstream from the SCN should be investigated.

Purpose of Review The field of problem gambling has been historically disconnected from the community experience of gambling and people of color, leading to a lack of integration of those with lived experience into programming. The aim of this article is to describe community-centered efforts to prevent and mitigate harm from problem gambling in Massachusetts—including a pilot program, the Massachusetts Ambassador Project, which is grounded within public health and lived experience frameworks. Recent Findings To engage Massachusetts communities in problem gambling prevention, planning processes were conducted to develop culturally appropriate prevention strategies. One of the recurrent themes was the desire of men in the substance misuse recovery community to share their knowledge with others, specifically, men of color who experience racism and health disparities. This finding informed the development of the Ambassador Project, a novel, peer-based, community-centered, and culturally responsive approach for men of color who have a history of substance misuse to engage other men of color in problem gambling prevention. Two organizations pilot tested the project and reached 4388 individuals. The pilot led to several findings in the design and implementation of related projects. Lessons are shared in three categories: structure, support, and implementation. Summary This article demonstrates an innovative approach to connect the field of problem gambling prevention to the community experience, using a public health and social justice lens. Others in the field should acknowledge the disconnect between problem gambling and the lived experience of those disproportionately impacted by creating opportunities for community voice to be at the center of programming.

This contribution describes a new laboratory experience that improves medical students' learning of chronobiology by introducing them to basic chronobiology concepts as well as to methods and statistical analysis tools specific for circadian rhythms. We designed an autorhythmometry laboratory session where students simultaneously played the role of researchers and experimental subjects. During this session, which lasted 24 h, students recorded their own arterial pressure, heart rate, oral temperature, forced expiratory flow, glucose tolerance, muscular strength, reaction time, and sensorimotor coordination at regular intervals and also took the Horne and Ostberg test, after which they analyzed their own data. Furthermore, to gather information from subjects under normal sleep and eating schedules, some students acquired data at home. To guide and help students with their work, a dedicated web page was implemented with scientific references, cosinor analysis software, and other valuable information. All these "raw" data were combined into a single database that students could use to evaluate whatever aspect of the data they seemed fit. A number of suggestions were offered to them as guidance. Students were then instructed to write a scientific article on the subject they had chosen. The experience was highly rewarding for both instructors and students alike. In view of the high level of absenteeism in Spanish universities and the fact that 93% of the students attended the exam and 95% of these passed, the experience was considered a great success.

Las condiciones laborales hacen referencía a las particularidades del entorno o ambiente en el que se realizan las actividades de trabajo. A lo largo de la história, las condiciones laborales de los docentes han experimentado contínuas transformaciones bajo distintas reformas educativas, que repercuten en su grado de bienestar en el trabajo. El objetivo de la presente investigación es analizar la relación entre la valoración de las condiciones de trabajo y el bienestar laboral percibido en 132 docentes de primaria y secundaria de colegios públicos y privados de la ciudad de Cali, Colombia. Para tal efecto se utilizó una metodología cuantitativa con diseño correlacional y muestreo no probabilístico intencional. Se evidenció un aumento en el tiempo dedicado a realizar la función docente, la organización y la carga laboral, lo cual genera en los docentes afectaciones en su bienestar laboral. Se encontró una relación significativa entre las condiciones de trabajo y el bienestar laboral de los docentes, de manera que el tipo de contratación temporal genera en ellos inseguridad, inestabilidad y algunos efectos colaterales como somatizaciones y agotamiento, perjudicando su rendimiento laboral, salud y bienestar.

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<p style="text-align: justify;">El presente estudio tiene como propósito elaborar y validar un instrumento de autopercepción de las competencias genéricas del egresado de una universidad privada de la ciudad de Cali, necesarias para enfrentar las demandas del entorno laboral actual. Se identificaron y se seleccionaron 37 competencias comunes a once carreras de pregrado mediante la revisión de los antecedentes empíricos y teóricos; estas fueron sometidas a validación de contenido por once jueces expertos, y a una prueba piloto con 22 egresados de las carreras de pregrado. Se aplicó a una muestra de 574 egresados pertenecientes a las once carreras, obteniendo un instrumento final con 33 competencias genéricas, con un coeficiente alfa de Cronbach de 0,912 y se aceptan los 33 ítems del instrumento.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Palabras clave:</strong> competencias genéricas, competencias del egresado, instrumento de autopercepción, validación de contenido.</p>

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psicología desde el caribe issn 0123-417x (impreso) issn 2011-7485 (on line) Volumen 35, n.º 2, mayo-agosto de 2018 http://dx.