Up2B2: Playing English grammar games at the B2 level

The study presented herein is framed within the Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) approach and presents the results from the use of an original mobile app, developed by the research team, on the part of 73 students. The app prototype consists of multiple choice questions and answers that assess varied aspects of the grammar, vocabulary and use of English at level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). The application presents motivating gamification components that aim at enhancing students’ participation and regular use of the game. Some of these gamification features are response time, use of competition and training tests, and a score ranking based on nicknames. The study uses different indexes in order to describe the use of the platform and qualitative and quantitative indicators to reach positive conclusions related to students’ increased motivation and improvement in their grammar and vocabulary competence levels

Effect of social support on migrant workers' mental health: a systematic review

[ES] Introducción: Los trabajadores inmigrantes son una población especialmente vulnerable a desarrollar trastornos de la esfera psicosocial, en probable relación con las diferencias que este grupo de trabajadores presenta: barrera idiomática, dificultad para acceder al sistema, desconocimiento de recursos disponibles, falta y/o ausencia de una red de apoyo social estable y segura. Objetivo: Conocer la incidencia de trastornos psicosociales en trabajadores inmigrantes y la influencia del apoyo sociosanitario en el desarrollo o aparición de los mismos. Material y Métodos: Revisión de Revisiones Sistemáticas con búsqueda en Medline (Pubmed), Embase, Cochrane, Google Académico y Journal of Inmigrant and Minority Health. Se incluyeron revisiones sistemáticas publicadas entre 2003 y diciembre de 2021, en inglés y español. Se empleó AMSTAR2 para evaluar la calidad de los estudios incluidos. Resultados: Se incluyeron tres revisiones sistemáticas, de calidad intermedia. Los estudios mostraban que los trabajadores inmigrantes, presenta más riesgo de desarrollar depresión y hay una prevalencia mayor de ésta, debido a diversos factores como falta de apoyo social y familiar, la incertidumbre o el tipo de trabajo que desarrollan. En cuanto a ansiedad, también se vio un aumento del riesgo y la prevalencia en trabajadores inmigrantes, debido a los mismos factores. Conclusión: Es necesario desarrollar estrategias de prevención para la protección de la salud mental de los trabajadores inmigrantes, ya que por sus característica presentan un mayor riesgo psicosocial con aumento de prevalencia de enfermedades como depresión y ansiedad. Es importante conocer las características de los trabajadores, con el fin de poder emplear los recursos preventivos más acertados. [EN] Introduction: Migrant workers are a special kind of group with notable vulnerability to develop more psychosocial disorders compared to native workers, which may be due to several disadvantages such as language, culture shock, lack of social support or lack of access to health care between others. There are few studies on the health of immigrant groups at present, therefore, it is necessary and vital to explore and identify mental health situation and social support related factors or conditions. Objectives: To have knowledge of the incidence of psychosocial disorders in migrant workers and perceive the influence of social and health support in their development or appearance. Material and Methods: This is a review of Systematic Reviews by searching in Medline (Pubmed), Embase, Cochrane, Google Scholar and Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. Systematic reviews published between 2003 and December 2022 were included, both in English and Spanish. Results: Three systematic reviews, of intermediate quality according to the AMSTAR2 tool, were included. Regarding depression, they concluded that migrant workers, has a higher risk of developing depression due to some factors such as lack of social and family support, uncertainty, the type of work they develop, etc. Regarding anxiety, an increased risk and prevalence was also seen in migrant workers, also due to the same factors. Conclusion: Prevention strategies are required to protect migrant workers' mental health, as they are a remarkably vulnerable group with a higher psychosocial risk and an increased prevalence of diseases such as depression and anxiety.S

Aprendizaje asistido por dispositivos móviles: UP2B2

Este trabajo se enmarca en el enfoque denominado Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) y presenta un prototipo de juego de preguntas y respuestas de opción múltiple que revisa la gramática, el vocabulario y el uso de la lengua inglesa del nivel B2 (Marco Común Europeo de Referencia para las Lenguas-MCERL). La aplicación se caracteriza por presentar una componente de gamificación cuyo objetivo es motivar a los estudiantes a que la usen mediante un sistema de puntuación que los sitúa en un ranking global y que considera tanto los aciertos de cada uno como el tiempo en completar los tests. Se definen distintos índices para la monitorización de la plataforma e indicadores tanto de carácter cualitativo como cuantitativo para la medida de los resultados. ABSTRACT This work is framed within the approach called Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) and presents a game prototype consisting of multiple choice questions and answers that assess the grammar, vocabulary and the use of the English language at level B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. The application is characterized by a strong gamification component that aims to motivate the students using it. Therefore, response time, correct answers and a ranking with the punctuation centre the most prominent aspects related to its playability. Different indexes are defined for the monitoring of the platform as well as qualitative and quantitative indicators for the study of the results

Reproductive desire in women with HIV infection in Spain, associated factors and motivations: A mixed-method study

Background: Antiretroviral therapy has created new expectations in the possibilities of procreation for persons living with HIV. Our objectives were to evaluate reproductive desire and to analyze the associated sociodemographic and clinical factors in HIV-infected women in the Spanish AIDS Research Network Cohort (CoRIS).Methods: A mixed qualitative-quantitative approach was designed. Women of reproductive age (18-45) included in CoRIS were interviewed by phone, and data were collected between November 2010 and June 2012 using a specifically designed questionnaire. Reproductive desire was defined as having a desire to be pregnant at present or having unprotected sex with the purpose of having children or wanting to have children in the near future.Results: Overall, 134 women were interviewed. Median age was 36 years (IQR 31-41), 55% were Spanish, and 35% were unemployed. 84% had been infected with HIV through unprotected sex, with a median time since diagnosis of 4.5 years (IQR 2.9-6.9). Reproductive desire was found in 49% of women and was associated with: 1) Age (women under 30 had higher reproductive desire than those aged 30-39; OR = 4.5, 95% CI 1.4-14.3); 2) having no children vs. already having children (OR = 3.2; 1.3-7.7 3); Being an immigrant (OR = 2.2; 1.0-5.0); and 4) Not receiving antiretroviral treatment (OR = 3.6; 1.1-12.1). The main reasons for wanting children were related to liking children and wanting to form a family. Reasons for not having children were HIV infection, older age and having children already. Half of the women had sought or received information about how to have a safe pregnancy, 87% had disclosed their serostatus to their family circle, and 39% reported having experienced discrimination due to HIV infection.Conclusions: The HIV-infected women interviewed in CoRIS have a high desire for children, and the factors associated with this desire are not fundamentally different from those of women in the general population. Maternity may even help them face a situation they still consider stigmatized and prefer not to disclose. Health-care protocols for handling HIV-positive women should incorporate specific interventions on sexual and reproductive health to help them fulfill their procreation desire and experience safe pregnanciesThe RIS cohort (CoRIS) is funded by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III through the Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Sida (RIS C03/173

Prediction of poor outcome in clostridioides difficile infection: A multicentre external validation of the toxin B amplification cycle

Producción CientíficaClassification of patients according to their risk of poor outcomes in Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) would enable implementation of costly new treatment options in a subset of patients at higher risk of poor outcome. In a previous study, we found that low toxin B amplification cycle thresholds (Ct) were independently associated with poor outcome CDI. Our objective was to perform a multicentre external validation of a PCR-toxin B Ct as a marker of poor outcome CDI. We carried out a multicentre study (14 hospitals) in which the characteristics and outcome of patients with CDI were evaluated. A subanalysis of the results of the amplification curve of real-time PCR gene toxin B (XpertTM C. difficile) was performed. A total of 223 patients were included. The median age was 73.0 years, 50.2% were female, and the median Charlson index was 3.0. The comparison of poor outcome and non–poor outcome CDI episodes revealed, respectively, the following results: median age (years), 77.0 vs 72.0 (p = 0.009); patients from nursing homes, 24.4% vs 10.8% (p = 0.039); median leukocytes (cells/μl), 10,740.0 vs 8795.0 (p = 0.026); and median PCR-toxin B Ct, 23.3 vs 25.4 (p = 0.004). Multivariate analysis showed that a PCR-toxin B Ct cut-off <23.5 was significantly and independently associated with poor outcome CDI (p = 0.002; OR, 3.371; 95%CI, 1.565–7.264). This variable correctly classified 68.5% of patients. The use of this microbiological marker could facilitate early selection of patients who are at higher risk of poor outcome and are more likely to benefit from newer and more costly therapeutic options

Impact of late presentation of HIV infection on short-, mid- and long-term mortality and causes of death in a multicenter national cohort: 2004–2013

SummaryObjectivesTo analyze the impact of late presentation (LP) on overall mortality and causes of death and describe LP trends and risk factors (2004–2013).MethodsCox models and logistic regression were used to analyze data from a nation-wide cohort in Spain. LP is defined as being diagnosed when CD4 < 350 cells/ml or AIDS.ResultsOf 7165 new HIV diagnoses, 46.9% (CI95%:45.7–48.0) were LP, 240 patients died.First-year mortality was the highest (aHRLP.vs.nLP = 10.3[CI95%:5.5–19.3]); between 1 and 4 years post-diagnosis, aHRLP.vs.nLP = 1.9(1.2–3.0); and >4 years, aHRLP.vs.nLP = 1.5(0.7–3.1).First-year's main cause of death was HIV/AIDS (73%); and malignancies among those surviving >4 years (32%). HIV/AIDS-related deaths were more likely in LP (59.2% vs. 25.0%; p < 0.001). LP declined from 55.9% (2004–05) to 39.4% (2012–13), and reduced in 46.1% in men who have sex with men (MSM) and 37.6% in heterosexual men, but increased in 22.6% in heterosexual women.Factors associated with LP: sex (ORMEN.vs.WOMEN = 1.4[1.2–1.7]); age (OR31–40.vs.<30 = 1.6[1.4–1.8], OR41–50.vs.<30 = 2.2[1.8–2.6], OR>50.vs.<30 = 3.6[2.9–4.4]); behavior (ORInjectedDrugUse.vs.MSM = 2.8[2.0–3.8]; ORHeterosexual.vs.MSM = 2.2[1.7–3.0]); education (ORPrimaryEducation.vs.University = 1.5[1.1–2.0], ORLowerSecondary.vs.University = 1.3[1.1–1.5]); and geographical origin (ORSub-Saharan.vs.Spain = 1.6[1.3–2.0], ORLatin-American.vs.Spain = 1.4[1.2–1.8]).ConclusionsLP is associated with higher mortality, especially short-term- and HIV/AIDS-related mortality. Mid-term-, but not long-term mortality, remained also higher in LP than nLP. LP decreased in MSM and heterosexual men, not in heterosexual women. The groups most affected by LP are low educated, non-Spanish and heterosexual women

Effectiveness of Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavaria Nordic Vaccination in a Population at High Risk of Mpox: A Spanish Cohort Study

Background: With over 7,500 cases notified since April 2022, Spain has experienced the highest incidence of mpox in Europe. From July 12th onwards, the Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavaria Nordic (MVA-BN) smallpox vaccine was offered as pre-exposure prophylaxis for individuals at high-risk of mpox, including those receiving pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (HIV-PrEP). Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of one dose of MVA-BN vaccine as pre-exposure against mpox virus (MPXV) infection in persons on HIV-PrEP. Methods: We conducted a national retrospective cohort study between July 12 and December 12, 2022. Individuals ≥18 years, receiving HIV-PrEP as of July 12 and with no previous MPXV infection or vaccination were eligible. Each day, we matched individuals receiving a first dose of MVA-BN vaccine and unvaccinated controls of the same age group and region. We used a Kaplan-Meier estimator and calculate risk ratios (RR) and vaccine effectiveness (VE = 1-RR). Results: We included 5,660 matched pairs, with a median follow-up of 62 days (interquartile range 24-97). Mpox cumulative incidence was 5.6 per 1,000 (25 cases) in unvaccinated and 3.5 per 1,000 (18 cases) in vaccinated. No effect was found during days 0-6 post-vaccination (VE -38.3; 95% confidence interval (95%CI): -332.7; 46.4), but VE was 65% in ≥7 days (95%CI 22.9; 88.0) and 79% in ≥14 days (95%CI 33.3; 100.0) post-vaccination. Conclusions: One dose of MVA-BN vaccine offered protection against mpox in a most-at-risk population shortly after the vaccination. Further studies need to assess the VE of a second dose and the duration of protection over time.S

Systematic Collaborative Reanalysis of Genomic Data Improves Diagnostic Yield in Neurologic Rare Diseases

Altres ajuts: Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Salut; Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament d'Empresa i Coneixement i CERCA Program; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; Instituto Nacional de Bioinformática; ELIXIR Implementation Studies (CNAG-CRG); Centro de Investigaciones Biomédicas en Red de Enfermedades Raras; Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa; European Regional Development Fund (FEDER).Many patients experiencing a rare disease remain undiagnosed even after genomic testing. Reanalysis of existing genomic data has shown to increase diagnostic yield, although there are few systematic and comprehensive reanalysis efforts that enable collaborative interpretation and future reinterpretation. The Undiagnosed Rare Disease Program of Catalonia project collated previously inconclusive good quality genomic data (panels, exomes, and genomes) and standardized phenotypic profiles from 323 families (543 individuals) with a neurologic rare disease. The data were reanalyzed systematically to identify relatedness, runs of homozygosity, consanguinity, single-nucleotide variants, insertions and deletions, and copy number variants. Data were shared and collaboratively interpreted within the consortium through a customized Genome-Phenome Analysis Platform, which also enables future data reinterpretation. Reanalysis of existing genomic data provided a diagnosis for 20.7% of the patients, including 1.8% diagnosed after the generation of additional genomic data to identify a second pathogenic heterozygous variant. Diagnostic rate was significantly higher for family-based exome/genome reanalysis compared with singleton panels. Most new diagnoses were attributable to recent gene-disease associations (50.8%), additional or improved bioinformatic analysis (19.7%), and standardized phenotyping data integrated within the Undiagnosed Rare Disease Program of Catalonia Genome-Phenome Analysis Platform functionalities (18%)

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Aplicación de tecnologías de Voz sobre IP en Centros de Control de Comunicaciones

En este trabajo se describe el desarrollo de un sistema de comunicaciones integrado para centros de control de llamadas basado en tecnologías de Voz sobre IP (VoIP). La solución desarrollada permite evitar el doble cableado hasta el puesto de operador habitualmente requerido en los centros de llamadas convencionales para la conexión ofimática y la de telefonía. Así mismo, el sistema es conforme a los estándares H.323 y SIP, garantizando de este modo la compatibilidad con equipos de cliente basados en ambos protocolos. Otras características destacadas del sistema son su escalabilidad, y fiabilidad, siendo este último aspecto especialmente crítico en el caso de centros de control de emergencia