Restorativeness is defined as the potential of the environment to re-establish certain cognitive capacities related to human information processing. The most frequently used instrument for evaluating the restorativeness of places is the Perceived Restorativeness Scale, proposed by Hartig and colleagues (1991). Later on, shorter versions of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale were proposed. The aim of this work is to evaluate the discriminatory capacity of the original and of a shorter Spanish version of the PRS, considering urban settings previously selected for having different level of restorativeness, according to expert’s criteria. The study involved 244 students and used a 3 x 2 mixed experimental design, with two independent variables: Restorativeness of a place (between-subjects), which was manipulated by showing pictures of settings selected with varying levels of restorativeness (high, medium, low), and length of the scale (within-subjects), which was manipulated by asking subjects to fill in both the original and a shorter version of the PRS. The order of presentation of the two scales was counterbalanced. Results show an appropriate reliability for both version of the scale. Items of being-away, fascination, and coherence of the shorter scale correlate more strongly with the corresponding factor of the original scale, compared to the others factors. Both scales produce similar values for the perceived restorativeness of the different places, except for places with low restorativeness.

This paper analyses the relationship between psychological wellbeing and frugality, evaluated as behaviour geared towards the voluntary restriction of consumption and the resourceful use of available resources. An analysis of structural equations was carried out using a model with moderated mediation on a sample of 1113 people. The main finding was the predictive capacity of frugal behaviour, in its two factors, to explain the level of wellbeing. A mediation effect was observed where the restriction of consumption drives the resourceful use of resources, which in turn significantly predicts the level of wellbeing. The moderating role played by the level of economic income on these relationships was analysed, conceptualized as an indicator of a person’s capacity to determine the restriction of their consumption. It is concluded that frugality is a positive element of sustainable behaviour that offers an alternative from the perspective of downscaling in contrast to models centred on efficiency.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the long-term outcomes of sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) in both idiopathic and neurogenic pelvic floor disorders in patients treated at a referral center.Methods: This retrospective observational study analyzed the records of 106 patients tested at our department from December 1999 to January 2017. The efficacy variables evaluated were the Global Response Assessment (range, 0%–100%) and, according to the clinical indication, other specific variables such International Consultation on Incontinence QuestionnaireShort Form, number of catheterizations or pads/day, and the numerical pain scale. The safety variables analyzed were complications (pain, migration, infection), reinterventions and explants. Patients’ quality of life (QoL) and satisfaction with the procedure were evaluated through telephone interviews.Results: The clinical indications were overactive bladder (OAB) (n=36), urinary retention (UR) (n=37), bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) (n=19), fecal incontinence (FI) (n=8), and double incontinence (DI) (n=6). The implant rates according to the clinical indication were as follows: OAB, 55.6%; UR, 56.8%; BPS/IC, 63.15%; FI, 87.5%; and DI, 66.7%. Clinical and/or statistically significant improvements in all efficacy variables were observed. Loss of therapeutic effect at 75 months of follow-up was observed in 34% of patients. Device-related pain appeared in 25 patients (39%); in 20 patients, it was resolved by reprogramming and 5 patients required device removal. An overall improvement in QoL and high levels of satisfaction with the procedure were observed. More than 90% of patients would recommend SNS to a friend or relative.Conclusions: SNS is a minimally invasive procedure that offers a real alternative to patients with refractory pelvic floor dysfunction. Its safety profile is very favorable and it provides a long-lasting improvement in symptoms and QoL.

Spatial thinking and spatial orientation skills are involved in tasks related to the recognition of landforms, mapping, spatial interpretation, and landscape analysis, and can be developed with specific training. Game engines can facilitate the creation of 3D virtual landforms and provide powerful rendering engines for the graphical representation of landscapes from a first-person perspective. In the present research, 27 engineering students participated in a workshop in a first-person virtual environment using landforms created with a game engine. The Spatial Thinking Ability Test and the Perspective Taking-Spatial Orientation Test measured improvement in spatial thinking and spatial orientation as a result of this workshop. The gain in spatial thinking (8.31%) is within the range observed in previous research in the field of geography using a web-based GIS strategy (7.31%–10.00%). The gain in Spatial Orientation skill (15.76%) is comparable with previous research using both first-person strategies based in urban virtual environments (14.23%), and Spatial Data Infrastructures (gains between 21.17% and 21.34%). Participants with better self-reported sense of direction had better performance on the spatial orientation test.