Red de evaluación del potencial en innovación docente del Personal Investigador (PI) en Ciencias Experimentales

El personal investigador (PI) universitario, cuyas tareas son fundamentalmente investigadoras, es un colectivo relativamente pequeño. Se compone del personal investigador en formación (contratados predoctorales), personal contratado con cargo a proyectos (pre o postdoctoral) y los contratados de acceso al sistema español de ciencia y tecnología. Aunque son figuras investigadoras, también se contempla la posibilidad de colaborar en tareas docentes. Nuestra red de innovación docente pretende, mediante la realización de encuestas, valorar el papel del PI en la docencia delas ciencias experimentales y determinar su capacidad para la innovación docente. El PI tiene una alta predisposición a realizar tareas docentes y realizar cursos de formación. Sin embargo su participación en la docencia se suele limitar a la colaboración en clases prácticas cuyo contenido está ya desarrollado, lo cual puede disminuir las posibilidades de que el PI realice innovación docente. En cualquier caso existe una clara predisposición tanto a la mejora mediante la realización de cursos de formación docente, así como a la preparación de material docente innovador. El PI apuesta por un fomento de su participación en tareas docentes, siempre y cuando no influya negativamente en sus tareas de investigación

Mitochondrial impairment activates the Wallerian pathway through depletion of NMNAT2 leading to SARM1-dependent axon degeneration.

Wallerian degeneration of physically injured axons involves a well-defined molecular pathway linking loss of axonal survival factor NMNAT2 to activation of pro-degenerative protein SARM1. Manipulating the pathway through these proteins led to the identification of non-axotomy insults causing axon degeneration by a Wallerian-like mechanism, including several involving mitochondrial impairment. Mitochondrial dysfunction is heavily implicated in Parkinson's disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, hereditary spastic paraplegia and other axonal disorders. However, whether and how mitochondrial impairment activates Wallerian degeneration has remained unclear. Here, we show that disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential leads to axonal NMNAT2 depletion in mouse sympathetic neurons, increasing the substrate-to-product ratio (NMN/NAD) of this NAD-synthesising enzyme, a metabolic fingerprint of Wallerian degeneration. The mechanism appears to involve both impaired NMNAT2 synthesis and reduced axonal transport. Expression of WLDS and Sarm1 deletion both protect axons after mitochondrial uncoupling. Blocking the pathway also confers neuroprotection and increases the lifespan of flies with Pink1 loss-of-function mutation, which causes severe mitochondrial defects. These data indicate that mitochondrial impairment replicates all the major steps of Wallerian degeneration, placing it upstream of NMNAT2 loss, with the potential to contribute to axon pathology in mitochondrial disorders

Innovación docente en los nuevos programas de doctorado de la facultad de ciencias

Durante el curso lectivo 2013-2014 comenzaron en la Universidad de Alicante los nuevos Programas de Doctorado formando parte así del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior, según el Real Decreto 99/2011. Esto supuso un cambio en la normativa de los Programas de Doctorado. Esta red ha tenido como objetivo principal analizar la aceptación de toda esa nueva normativa en la Facultad de Ciencias. La red fue creada por miembros del departamento de Ciencias del Mar y Biología Aplicada entre los que se incluyó a doctorandos, personal post doctoral, tutores y directores de tesis para contar con varios puntos de vista. Para ampliar el estudio se realizó una encuesta entre los participantes en Programas de Doctorado de la Facultad de Ciencias sobre los principales cambios de la normativa en lo referente a las actividades transversales, documento de tesis, información, administración y herramienta RAPI. Los resultados de estas encuestas fueron presentados en una comunicación en las XIV Jornadas de Redes de Investigación en Docencia Universitaria de la Universidad de Alicante

Innovación docente en los nuevos programas de doctorado de la Facultad de Ciencias

Los nuevos Programas de Doctorado se pusieron en funcionamiento en el curso 2013-2014 de acuerdo con el Real Decreto 99/2011 con la finalidad de avanzar en el proceso de construcción del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. En este trabajo se realiza una evaluación general de los programas de doctorado de la Facultad de Ciencias, así como de la utilización de la herramienta RAPI, entre todos los participantes del programa: doctorandos, tutores y directores de tesis de la Universidad de Alicante. Con el objetivo de optimizar el desarrollo de los programas de doctorado se realizó un análisis interno mediante un cuestionario. Para dar mayor amplitud y proyección a la propuesta se enviaron los cuestionarios a todos los departamentos e institutos adscritos a la Facultad de Ciencias. El grado de satisfacción general fue bueno, aunque los participantes señalaron algunos aspectos concretos de la normativa o de la herramienta RAPI como mejorables. Estos cuestionarios reflejan la experiencia de los primeros 3 años de los nuevos programas de doctorado, para así poder obtener conclusiones e ideas de mejora para su posterior aplicación

Early surgery with neuraxial anaesthesia in patients on chronic antiplatelet therapy with a proximal femur fracture : Multicentric randomised clinical trial

Background: Patients with proximal femur fracture on antiplatelet treatment benefit from early surgery. Our goal was to perform early surgery under neuraxial anaesthesia when indicated by the platelet function test. Methods: We conducted a multicentre randomised open-label parallel clinical trial. Patients were randomised to either early platelet function-guided surgery (experimental group) or delayed surgery (control group). Early surgery was programmed when the functional platelet count (as measured by Plateletworks) was >80 × 10 /L. The primary outcome was the emergency admission-to-surgery interval. Secondary outcomes were platelet function, postoperative bleeding, medical and surgical complications, and mortality. Results: A total of 156 patients were randomised, with 78 in each group, with a mean (SD) age of 85.96 (7.9) years, and 67.8% being female. The median (IQR) time to surgery was 2.3 (1.5-3.7) days for the experimental group and 4.9 (4.4-5.6) days for the control group. One-third of patients did not achieve the threshold functional platelet count on the first day of admission, requiring more than one test. There was no difference in clinical outcomes between groups. Conclusions: A strategy individualised according to the platelet function test shortens the time to proximal femur fracture surgery under neuraxial anaesthesia in patients on chronic antiplatelet treatment. Better powered randomised clinical trials are needed to further evaluate the clinical impact and safety of this strategy

Application of “taxocene surrogation” and “taxonomic sufficiency” concepts to fish farming environmental monitoring. Comparison of BOPA index versus polychaete assemblage structure

“Taxocene surrogation” and “taxonomic sufficiency” concepts were applied to the monitoring of soft bottoms macrobenthic assemblages influenced by fish farming following two approaches. Polychaete assemblage evaluation through multivariate analysis and the benthic index BOPA were compared. Six fish farms along the Spanish Mediterranean coast were monitored. Polychaete assemblage provided a suitable picture of the impact gradient, being correlated with total free sulphides. BOPA did not support the impact gradient described by the polychaete assemblage, providing erroneous categorizations. The inclusion of several polychaete families, which were locally identified as indicative of affection to recalculate BOPA, resulted in an improved diagnosis and correlation with the impact gradient. Nevertheless, frequent misclassifications occurred. These results suggest that the structure of polychaete families, sulphides and granulometry conform an appropriate strategy for fish farming monitoring. Biotic indices need to be specifically designed for concrete activities, and regionally validated, because of the environmental plasticity of benthic invertebrates.This research was funded by the Spanish National Plans of Aquaculture (JACUMAR)

EU competitiveness: recent trends, drivers, and links to economic policy

This report informs the debate on Europe’s economic competitiveness and how it can be sustained under the pressures of globalisation. It presents a series of research findings from different areas of analytical work carried out at the ‘Growth and Innovation’ Directorate of the Joint Research Centre. The focus is on current challenges, with topics ranging from global value chains analysis to competition policy, and from the possible reasons for the recent EU productivity stagnation to the economic damage implied by FDI restrictions. The common denominator of all contributions is their aim to inform discussions on competitiveness and their relevance for EU economic policy.JRC.B.5 - Circular Economy and Industrial Leadershi

Proyecto de Innovación Docente “MarWatching”

Hay a disposición una serie de videos públicos que complementan el tutorial de MyOcean del Capítulo 4 (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd7A9IeroEZgAnLudkqbXRAA8bxJrPXJe).El presente documento, financiado por el Programa de Investigación en Docencia Universitaria de la Universidad 2021-22 (Xarxa 5543) tiene el objetivo de facilitar el uso de una serie de herramientas que permitan el estudio y análisis del cambio climático en el ámbito universitario de forma transversal. La base de datos de Copernicus, Programa de Observación de la Tierra de la Unión Europea, en su sección marina (Copernicus Marine Service; https://marine.copernicus.eu/) alberga una infinidad de datos que pueden ser difíciles de manejar por docentes y estudiantes. En concreto, se pretende facilitar el empleo de la herramienta MyOcean de Copernicus (https://marine.copernicus.eu/access-data/ocean-visualisation-tools) a través de este manual y de un curso Moodle y Mooc que estarán disponibles en la web de la UA.REDES DE CALIDAD, INNOVACIÓN E INVESTIGACIÓN EN DOCENCIA UNIVERSITARIA. CONVOCATORIA 2021-22 Vicerrectorat de Transformació Digital. Institut de Ciències de l'Educació

The Lipid Handling Capacity of Subcutaneous Fat Is Programmed by mTORC2 during Development

Overweight and obesity are associated with type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer, but all fat is not equal, as storing excess lipid in subcutaneous white adipose tissue (SWAT) is more metabolically favorable than in visceral fat. Here, we uncover a critical role for mTORC2 in setting SWAT lipid handling capacity. We find that subcutaneous white preadipocytes differentiating without the essential mTORC2 subunit Rictor upregulate mature adipocyte markers but develop a striking lipid storage defect resulting in smaller adipocytes, reduced tissue size, lipid re-distribution to visceral and brown fat, and sex-distinct effects on systemic metabolic fitness. Mechanistically, mTORC2 promotes transcriptional upregulation of select lipid metabolism genes controlled by PPARγ and ChREBP, including genes that control lipid uptake, synthesis, and degradation pathways as well as Akt2, which encodes a major mTORC2 substrate and insulin effector. Further exploring this pathway may uncover new strategies to improve insulin sensitivity.Fil: Hsiao, Wen Yu. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Jung, Su Myung. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Tang, Yuefeng. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Haley, John A.. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Li, Rui. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Li, Huawei. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Martinez Calejman, Camila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Estudios Farmacológicos y Botánicos; Argentina. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Sanchez Gurmaches, Joan. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados Unidos. University of Cincinnati; Estados UnidosFil: Hung, Chien-Min. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Luciano, Amelia K.. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: DeMambro, Victoria. University of Maine; Estados UnidosFil: Wellen, Kathryn E.. University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Rosen, Clifford J.. University of Maine; Estados UnidosFil: Zhu, Lihua Julie. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Guertin, David A.. University Of Massachussets. Medical School; Estados Unido

The Lipid Handling Capacity of Subcutaneous Fat Is Programmed by mTORC2 during Development

Overweight and obesity are associated with type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer, but all fat is not equal, as storing excess lipid in subcutaneous white adipose tissue (SWAT) is more metabolically favorable than in visceral fat. Here, we uncover a critical role for mTORC2 in setting SWAT lipid handling capacity. We find that subcutaneous white preadipocytes differentiating without the essential mTORC2 subunit Rictor upregulate mature adipocyte markers but develop a striking lipid storage defect resulting in smaller adipocytes, reduced tissue size, lipid re-distribution to visceral and brown fat, and sex-distinct effects on systemic metabolic fitness. Mechanistically, mTORC2 promotes transcriptional upregulation of select lipid metabolism genes controlled by PPARgamma and ChREBP, including genes that control lipid uptake, synthesis, and degradation pathways as well as Akt2, which encodes a major mTORC2 substrate and insulin effector. Further exploring this pathway may uncover new strategies to improve insulin sensitivity