Identifying gifted children: congruence among different IQ measures

Copyright © 2017 Fernández, García, Arias-Gundín, Vázquez and Rodríguez.[EN] This study has two main aims: (1) analysing the relationship between intellectual capacities and levels of creativity in a sample of Spanish students from the third and sixth grades; and (2) examining the discrimination capacities and degree of congruence among different tests of intellectual ability that are commonly used to identify highability students. The study sample comprised 236 primary school students. Participants completed different tests of intellectual ability, which were based on both fluid and crystallized intelligence, as well as creativity. Results indicated that it is advisable to use varying tests in the assessment process, and a complementary measure (i.e., creativity) in order to create a multi-criteria means of detection that can more efficiently distinguish this population of studentsS

Hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI). Morgagni – Stewart – Morel (MSM) syndrome

La hiperostosis frontal interna (HFI) se caracteriza por un engrosamiento bilateral y simétrico de la tabla interna del hueso frontal, con una prevalencia del 5-12% en la población general. La HFI ha sido descrita como una condición independiente y como parte del síndrome de Morgagni-Stewart-Morel. Se considera que puede ser el resultado de un desequilibrio hormonal, principalmente asociado al metabolismo. La HFI es generalmente un hallazgo incidental, y aunque suele ser asintomático, a veces puede causar síntomas clínicosHFI is characterized by a bilaterally symmetrical thickening of the inner table of frontal bone. It has been reported in 5 to 12% of the general population. HFI has been postulate to be an independent condition or part of the Morgagni-Stewart-Morel. It is considered a result of a disbalance of hormones mainly linked to metabolism. HFI is usually an asymptomatic incidental finding, although sometimes it can cause clinical symptom

Otoprotective properties of 6α-methylprednisolone-loaded nanoparticles against cisplatin: In vitro and in vivo correlation

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine (2016): 59-65, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.nano.2015.12.3676α-Methylprednisolone-loaded surfactant-free nanoparticles have been developed to palliate cisplatin ototoxicity. Nanoparticles were based on two different amphiphilic pseudo-block copolymers obtained by free radical polymerization and based on N-vinyl pyrrolidone and a methacrylic derivative of α-tocopheryl succinate or α-tocopherol. Copolymers formed spherical nanoparticles by nanoprecipitation in aqueous media that were able to encapsulate 6α-methylprednisolone in their inner core. The obtained nanovehicles were tested in vitro using HEI-OC1 cells and in vivo in a murine model. Unloaded nanoparticles were not able to significantly reduce the cisplatin ototoxicity. Loaded nanoparticles reduced cisplatin-ototoxicity in vitro being more active those based on the methacrylic derivative of vitamin E, due to their higher encapsulation efficiency. This formulation was able to protect hair cells in the base of the cochlea, having a positive effect in the highest frequencies tested in a murine model. A good correlation between the in vitro and the in vivo experiments was foun

Identifying Gifted Children: Congruence among Different IQ Measures

This study has two main aims: (1) analysing the relationship between intellectual capacities and levels of creativity in a sample of Spanish students from the third and sixth grades; and (2) examining the discrimination capacities and degree of congruence among different tests of intellectual ability that are commonly used to identify high-ability students. The study sample comprised 236 primary school students. Participants completed different tests of intellectual ability, which were based on both fluid and crystallized intelligence, as well as creativity. Results indicated that it is advisable to use varying tests in the assessment process, and a complementary measure (i.e., creativity) in order to create a multi-criteria means of detection that can more efficiently distinguish this population of students

Health-related quality of life and mortality in the 'Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra' prospective cohort study

Objective: To study the association between health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and all-cause mortality in a healthy middle-aged Mediterranean cohort. Methods: We included 15,390 participants –mean age 42.8 years at first HRQoL ascertainment, all university graduates–. HRQoL was assessed with the self-administered Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) twice, with a 4-year gap. We used multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models to address the relation between self-reported health and Physical or Mental Component Summary (PCS-36 or MCS-36) and mortality, and their interaction with prior comorbidities or adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet). Results: Over 8.7 years of median follow-up time, 266 deaths were identified. Hazard ratio (HR) for the excellent vs. poor/fair category in self-reported health was 0.30 (95 % confidence interval (CI), 0.16–0.57) in the model with repeated measurements of HRQoL. Both the PCS-36 (HRquartile4(Q4)vs.Q1 0.57 [95%CI, 0.36–0.90], ptrend < 0.001; HRper+10points: 0.64 [95%CI, 0.54–0.75]) and the MCS-36 (HRQ4vs.Q1 0.67 [95%CI, 0.46–0.97], ptrend = 0.025; HRper+10points: 0.86 [95%CI, 0.74–0.99]) were inversely associated with mortality in the model with repeated measurements of HRQoL. Previous comorbidities or adherence to the MedDiet did not modify these associations. Conclusions: Self-reported HRQoL –assessed as self-reported health, PCS-36 and MCS-36– obtained with the Spanish version of the SF-36 were inversely associated with mortality risk, regardless of the presence of previous comorbidities or adherence to the MedDiet.This project was made possible by funding from the Spanish Government-Instituto de Salud Carlos III, and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) (RD 06/0045, CIBER-OBN, Grants PI10/02658, PI10/02293, PI13/00615, PI14/01668, PI14/01798, PI14/01764, PI17/01795, PI18/00631, PI20/00564 and G03/140), from the Government of Navarra (27/2011, 45/2011, 122/2014), from the National Plan on Drugs (2020/021) as well as from the University of Navarra

Hyperostosis frontalis interna (HFI). Morgagni - Stewart- Morel (MSM) syndrome

[ES] La hiperostosis frontal interna (HFI) se caracteriza por un engrosamiento bilateral y simétrico de la tabla interna del hueso frontal, con una prevalencia del 5-12% en la población general. La HFI ha sido descrita como una condición independiente y como parte del síndrome de Morgagni-Stewart-Morel. Se considera que puede ser el resultado de un desequilibrio hormonal, principalmente asociado al metabolismo. La HFI es generalmente un hallazgo incidental, y aunque suele ser asintomático, a veces puede causar síntomas clínicos. [EN] HFI is characterized by a bilaterally symmetrical thickening of the inner table of frontal bone. It has been reported in 5 to 12% of the general population. HFI has been postulate to be an independent condition or part of the Morgagni-Stewart-Morel. It is considered a result of a disbalance of hormones mainly linked to metabolism. HFI is usually an asymptomatic incidental finding, although sometimes it can cause clinical symptoms

Deliverable D3: Global climatic features over the next million years and recommendation for specific situations to be considered. Work Package 2, Simulation of the future evolution of the biosphere system using the hierarchical strategy. Modelling Sequential Biosphere Systems under Climate Change for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BIOCLIM)

The BIOCLIM project aims at assessing the possible long-term impacts of climate change on the safety of waste repositories in deep formations using climate simulations of the long-term climate in various European areas. One of the objectives of the project is to develop two strategies for representing sequential climatic changes to the geosphere-biosphere system for different sites over Europe, addressing the time scale of one million years. The results of this work will be interpreted in terms of global or regional changes of climate and of vegetation. The first strategy (hierarchical strategy) will use the full hierarchy of existing climate models (a climate model is a numerical simplified representation of the climate system behaviour and evolution). Simple models (LLN 2-D NH and threshold models; see the description here after) will simulate the overall long-term evolution of the global climate. Their results will then be used as inputs to more complex models (LMD climate models possibly coupled with vegetation models, either SECHIBA or ORCHIDE) and finally climate and vegetation cover will be determined for specific sites at specific times. A second strategy (integrated strategy) will consist in building an integrated climate model, which represents most of the physical mechanisms for studying long-term climatic variations. The results will then be interpreted on a regional scale. This deliverable is the first step of the hierarchical strategy. The purpose of this deliverable is to identify and justify some specific climatic situations amongst different long-term simulations that are of interest for assessing the safety of radioactive waste repository sites and that will be further studied with GCMs (General Circulation Model)

Deliverable D2:Consolidation of needs of the european wasten management agencies and the regulator of the consortium: Work Package 1, Site-specific and palaeo environmental data. Modelling sequential biosphere systems under climate change for radioactive waste disposal. (BIOCLIM)

The nature of long-lived radioactive wastes is that they present a radiological hazard over a period of time that is extremely long compared with the timescale over which the engineered protection systems and institutional management of a disposal, or long-term storage, facility can be guaranteed. Safety assessments for potential deep repositories need to be able to provide indicators of safety performance over time periods of hundreds of thousands of years. On such timescales, it is generally assumed that radionuclides may be slowly released from the containment system, migrating via geosphere pathways until they reach the accessible environment. Hence, there is a need to study the evolution of the environment external to the disposal system and the ways in which this might impact on its long-term radiological safety performance, for example in terms of influences on the migration and accumulation of radionuclides

Applying a positive behaviour support plan in school context

El Plan de Apoyo Conductual Positivo es una práctica basada en la evidencia que tras mostrar su eficacia para tratar conductas desafiantes en el ámbito de la discapacidad se está empezando a aplicar con éxito en los colegios de educación regular para responder a las necesidades asociadas a la conducta. El objetivo de este estudio es describir el proceso por el que se empieza a implantar este tipo de intervención proactiva en un Colegio de Educación Infantil y Primaria (CEIP) mediante un programa de formación de carácter teórico-práctico dirigido a once profesores de ese CEIP, y analizar los efectos que el programa tiene sobre la conducta y el clima social de sus aulas. Se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre las puntuaciones obtenidas antes y después del programa en el Test de Alteración de la Conducta en la Escuela (Arias, Ayuso, Gil y González, 2006), la adaptación del Inventario de conductas en clase (Curwin y Mendler, 1983) realizada por Fernández (1998), y una adaptación de la escala para evaluar el clima social del aula (Pérez, Ramos y López, 2009). Se contrastan los resultados con los obtenidos con métodos cualitativos y se describe el proceso por el que el profesorado va transformando sus creencias y comienza a aplicar en su aula las estrategias que conducen a la creación de una escuela positiva.Positive Behavior Support Planning is an evidence based practice which, after showing its efficiency to deal with challenging behaviors in the disability world, is beginning to be applied with success in regular schools to respond to the needs associated with behaviour. The aim of this study is to describe the process through which this kind of proactive intervention is applied in an Infant and Primary Education School (IPES) with a theoretical and practical training directed to eleven teachers of that IPES, and to analyze the effects that the program has on behaviour and classroom social climate. Significant statistical differences were found between the scores obtained before and after applying the program in the Test of Challenging Behaviors in the School (Arias, Ayuso, Gil y González, 2006), the adaptation of the Inventory of behaviors in the Classroom (Curwin y Mendler, 1983) made by Fernández (1998), and an adaptation of a Scate to Evaluate Social Climate in the Classroom (Pérez, Ramos y López, 2009). Results are contrasted with those obtained with qualitative methods, and the process by which teachers keep on changing their beliefs and begin to apply in their classrooms the strategies leading to create a positive school is described

Deliverable D4/5: Global climatic characteristics, including vegetation and seasonal cycles over Europe, for snapshots over the next 200,000 years. Work Package 2, Simulation of the future evolution of the biosphere system using the hierarchical strategy. Modelling Sequential Biosphere Systems under Climate Change for Radioactive Waste Disposal (BIOCLIM)

The aim of the BIOCLIM project is to develop and present techniques that can be used to develop self-consistent patterns of possible future climate changes over the next million years (climate scenarios), and to demonstrate how these climate scenarios can be used in assessments of the long-term safety of nuclear waste repository sites. Within the project, two strategies are implemented to predict climate change. The first is the hierarchical strategy, in which a hierarchy of climate models is used to investigate the evolution of climate over the period of interest. These models vary from very simple 2-D and threshold models, which simulate interactions between only a few aspects of the earth system, through general circulation models (GCMs) and vegetation models, which simulate in great detail the dynamics and physics of the atmosphere, ocean, and biosphere, to regional models, which focus in particular on the European region and the specific areas of interest. The second strategy is the integrated strategy, in which intermediate complexity climate models are developed, and used to consecutively simulate the development of the earth system over many millennia. Although these models are relatively simple compared to a GCM, they are more advanced than 2D models, and do include physical descriptions of the biosphere, cryosphere, atmosphere and ocean. This deliverable, D4/5, focuses on the hierarchical strategy, and in particular the GCM and vegetation model simulation of possible future climates. Deliverable D3 documented the first step in this strategy. The Louvain-la-Neuve 2-D climate model (LLN-2D) was used to estimate (among other variables) annual mean temperatures and ice volume in the Northern Hemisphere over the next 1 million years. It was driven by the calculated evolution of orbital parameters, and plausible scenarios of CO2 concentration. From the results, 3 future time periods within the next 200,000 years were identified as being extreme, that is either significantly warmer or cooler than the present. The next stage in the hierarchical strategy was to use a GCM and biosphere model, to simulate in more detail these extreme time periods