COVID-19 and e-teaching at University: practical case of the Advanced Pharmaceutical Management course

La crisis sanitaria derivada del COVID-19 cambió completamente el panorama educativo universitario. La enseñanza presencial fue suspendida o limitada a lo estrictamente necesario y, por consiguiente, las actividades docentes replanificadas y adaptadas a una modalidad exclusivamente virtual. El objetivo del presente trabajo es evaluar la calidad de la enseñanza virtual de la disciplina de Gestión Farmacéutica Avanzada, basada fundamentalmente en seminarios y casos prácticos, y que tradicionalmente se impartía de manera presencial. Los resultados obtenidos indican que, en general, la mayoría de los alumnos están satisfechos con la modalidad de docencia virtual de esta disciplina, siendo la plataforma virtual Moodle y la herramienta virtual “Blackboard Collaborate” buenas herramientas docentes. Sin embargo, los alumnos indicaron una mayor facilidad de distracción y una mayor dificultad a la hora de seguir las explicaciones, especialmente en la enseñanza de los seminarios, mostrando además una pérdida de aprendizaje al respecto con relación a la enseñanza presencial. Esto nos indica que una docencia presencial combinada con la modalidad online sería lo más adecuado.The COVID-19 health crisis changed the education system at university. The face-to-face teaching was suspended or limited to the essential activities. Therefore, teaching activities were completely replanned and adapted to an e-teaching modality. The aim of this work was to evaluate the quality of e-teaching of the Advanced Pharmaceutical Management course, mainly focused on seminars and practical cases, and that was offered via face-to-face modality. The results of this study indicated that, in general, most of the students were pleased with e-teaching and that Moodle platform and “Blackboard Collaborate” virtual tool are excellent resources for e-learning. However, the students declared that it was easier to get distracted and more difficult to follow the lessons, especially the seminars. Compared with face-to-face teaching, a loss of learning was also appreciated. This indicate that a blended learning would be more suitable.Facultad de Informátic

A year after virtual teaching in higher education: teachers and students’ opinion

La necesidad de transformar la docencia presencial a docencia online debido al COVID-19 supuso un reto para docentes y para alumnos. Lo inesperado de la situación hizo que rápidamente se intentaran establecer estrategias de virtualización que no en todos los casos fueron igual de eficaces. Después de un año de docencia online, es interesante analizar la valoración que tanto docentes como estudiantes realizan a todas estas estrategias y conocer su percepción ante esta situación. En este artículo se recoge la valoración de más de 50 alumnos del grado de Farmacia sobre la docencia online teórica, la docencia online práctica y la evaluación online, destacando las ventajas y limitaciones que suponen estos métodos de enseñanza. También se recoge la valoración de docentes que evalúan de forma positiva todo lo aprendido sobre TICs y nuevas plataformas pero que al igual que los alumnos piensan que el entorno no presencial supone una desventaja para la formación de los alumnos en grados con una importante carga de docencia práctica.The COVID -19 pandemic forced to move from face-to-face teaching to completely virtual teaching, which was a great challenge for both teachers and students. The unexpectedness of the situation led to rapid attempts to establish virtualization strategies, which were not always equally effective. After one year of online teaching, it is interesting to analyze the assessment that both teachers and students make of all these strategies and their perception of this situation. This manuscript collects the analysis of more than 50 students of the Pharmacy degree on both, theoretical and practical online lessons and on online exams, highlighting their advantages and limitations. Teacher’s assessment is also included. On the one hand, teachers positively value all that they have learned about information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the developed online teaching platforms. However, they consider that a completely virtual education impairs the learning, especially in practical lessons.Facultad de Informátic

Dinamización docente: las tutorías colectivas para optimizar la interacción profesor-alumno

Las tutorías colectivas, presenciales y semipresenciales, constituyen un recurso docente muy valioso para optimizar la interacción profesor-alumno. Además fomentan la igualdad e inclusión de los alumnos al realizarse en grupos reducidos

Matrix tablets based on a novel poly (magnesium acrylate) hydrogel for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases

The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential use of a new polymer (PAMgA) in the development sustained release matrix tablets for the treatment of bowel inflammatory diseases. For this purpose, budesonide, a highly lipophilic compound, was used as model drug. Tablets with two reticulation grades of PAMgA (PAMgA 5 and 40) and with 9 mg of budesonide were developed and characterized. All the studies were carried out using biorelevant media (FaSSGF and FaSSIF). Swelling and erosion of PAMgA tablets was influenced by the reticulation grade of the polymer and the biorelevant media assayed, being water uptake higher for PAMgA 40 tablets in intestinal fluid, whereas PAMgA 5 showed more intense erosion in this biorelevant medium. Budesonide was released slowly from PAMgA tablets, both in gastric and intestinal environment, following Super case II transport kinetics (relaxation-controlled delivery), with a lag time of around 1–2 h. When the dissolution medium was changed sequentially throughout the trial, 75% of the budesonide dose was released in a sustained manner between 4 and 20 h of testing from PAMgA tablets, showing a more controlled budesonide release than Entocort® and Budenofalk® (commercially available sustained release formulations of budesonide). In conclusion, PAMgA polymer allows controlling the release of highly lipophilic drugs as budesonide, being an useful excipient for the development of sustained release matrix tablets

The tale of microencapsulated rifampicin: is it useful for the treatment of periprosthetic joint infection?

Purpose Microencapsulation techniques have allowed the addition of rifampicin to bone cement, but its in vivo efficacy has not been proven. The aim of our study is to determine the superiority of cement containing gentamicin and rifampicin microcapsules in the treatment of PJI versus cement exclusively containing gentamicin. Methods An S. aureus PJI was induced in 15 NZW rabbits. A week after inoculation, the first stage of replacement was carried out, and the animals were divided into two groups: group R received a spacer containing gentamicin and rifampicin microcapsules, and group C received a spacer containing gentamicin. Intra-articular release curve of rifampicin and infection and toxicity markers were monitored for four weeks post-operatively, when microbiological analysis was performed. Results The microbiological cultures showed a significantly lower growth of S. aureus in soft tissue (2.3·104 vs 0; p = 0.01) and bone (5.7·102 vs 0; p = 0.03) in the group with rifampicin microcapsules. No differences were found in systemic toxicity markers. Rifampicin release from the cement spacer showed higher concentrations than the staphylococcal MIC throughout the analysis. Conclusion The in vivo analyses demonstrated the superiority of cement containing gentamicin and rifampicin microcapsules versus the isolated use of gentamicin in the treatment of PJI in the rabbit model without serious side effects due to the systemic absorption of rifampicin. Given the increasing incidence of staphylococci-related PJI, the development of new strategies for intra-articular administration of rifampicin for its treatment has a high clinical impact

Women as Industry 4.0. entrepreneurs : unlocking the potential of entrepreneurship in higher education in STEM-related fields

Industry 4.0 is the realization of digital transformation including enhanced productivity and flexibility due to real-time decision making which is possible due to the high-speed internet, the internet of things, and smart machines capable of autonomously exchanging information, triggering actions, and controlling each other independently. A high level of education and skills is increasingly more important in the job market over the next years necessitating finding a balance among behavioural, technological, analytical, and entrepreneurial skills. EU and governments worldwide should invest in closing the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education as this will directly impact the economic growth. Even though there is some progress in the hiring percentage of women in large technological companies, a clear glass ceiling in leadership roles still remains. Here, we have undertaken a pilot study at University Complutense of Madrid (UCM, Spain) aimed at empowering women in academia to transition from the “publish or perish” paradigm towards creating and protecting their intellectual property to close the gender gap in STEM fields and leadership roles and training to fuel the development of innovative start-ups addressing societal challenges. A total of 20 participants inclusive of UCM staff and postrgraduate and postdoctoral researchers were enrolled after successfully obtaining at least a score of 5 out of 10 in custom-made Entrepreneurial competency test provided by Business and Professional Women Association (BPW, Spain) and theGrowBox Innovation Ltd. The study, approved by the UCM ethical committee, was conducted after participants engaged and completed a training program on “Enterpreneurship in STEM-related fields in Higher Education” aimed to introduce the participants to the entrepreneurial world. Programme involved a structured training programme covering the (i) business canvas design, (ii) development of minimum viable product (MVP), (iii) market evaluation, (iv) finance analysis using the Growbox platform, (v) introduction to venture capital, and (vi) human resources management followed by individual mentoring sessions prior completion of their business plans that were pitched to a panel of mentors and BPW representatives. Finally, all participants completed an anonymous survey of 12 open questions to evaluate the impact of the training in awakening the entrepreneurial spirit in academic researchers in Higher Education in STEM-related fields. Three quarters of participants were novices in terms of Enterpreneurship, but all after the programme presented a complete business plan. The three points that women identified as prohibitive factors were lack of self-confidence, ambition, and knowledge in the fields of patent filing, finance and marketing. Participants were likely to initiate their own start-up in the next five years but had mixed fillings regarding the complexity of the process. Nine months after the course ended, four out of 20 participants have been successful in attracting initial funding to support the initiation of a start-up involving protected intellectual property and managed to secure an award to provide them with office space to build their company. The long-term impact of this training programme will need to be followed. Entrepreneurial training is crucial to be embedded in curricula for postgraduate and if possible undergraduate students to pursue a major transformation targeting the STEM-related fields in Higher Education to enable women in becoming key participants and leaders in the Industry 4.0 era

DoE-based development of celecoxib loaded PLGA nanoparticles: In ovo assessment of its antiangiogenic effect

Abnormal angiogenesis plays a main role in the pathogenesis of many diseases such as cancer, and inflammatory autoimmune disorders among others, and its inhibition represents a potential strategy for their management. Celecoxib (CXB) that is one of the most prescribed selective COX-2 inhibitors and is currently approved for the treatment of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis inhibits angiogenesis. The objective of this manuscript was to design, develop, and characterize polymeric nanoparticles for the parenteral administration of CXB which the aim of facilitating its administration and improving its antiangiogenic activity while decreasing its adverse effects. A Plackett-Burman design was used to optimize the formulation. The PVA concentration, the sonication time, the sonicator amplitude and the CXB:PLGA ratio were selected as independent variables and particle size, polydispersity index, drug loading, and entrapment efficiency as responses. Optimized nanoparticles (formulations F2, F6 and F9) showed a particle size around 280 nm, a low polydispersion (PDI ≤ 0.2), a negative zeta potential around -25mV, a high entrapment efficiency (above 88%) and a controlled drug release for at least 10 days. Moreover, they were physically and chemically stable for at least 3 months when stored at 4°C. Interestingly, CXB-loaded nanoparticles showed a higher angiogenesis inhibition than CXB in solution administered at the same concentration. F9 nanoparticles that were prepared using PVA at 0.5%, a sonication time of 7 minutes, a sonicator amplitude of 80% and a CXB:PLGA ratio of 20:100 were selected as the most suitable CXB-formulation. It represents a promising strategy to administer CXB and improve its efficacy in disorders with pathological angiogenesis such as cancer and arthritic diseases

Enmascaramiento de sabores en formas farmacéuticas sólidas orales

Aunque tradicionalmente ligado a formas farmacéuticas líquidas orales, el enmascaramiento del sabor como parámetro crítico en la formulación de medicamentos ha cobrado recientemente un nuevo auge en respuesta al desarrollo de formas farmacéuticas sólidas orales que persiguen una disgregación bien ex vivo, bien en la cavidad bucal.El enmascaramiento no sólo comprende la neutralización del potencial sabor desagradable inherente al principio activo, sino también la obtención de un sabor agradable en la formulación final, con repercusión tanto a nivel sanitario, puesto que cuanto mayor sea la aceptación por parte del paciente, mayor será su adherencia al tratamiento; como a nivel económico, ya que el sabor del producto puede marcar la diferencia entre el éxito y el fracaso comercial.Mediante esta revisión se ponen de relieve las estrategias aplicables en el enmascaramiento de sabores de formas farmacéuticas sólidas orales, se clasifican y describen los principales excipientes correctores del sabor, así como se efectúa una compilación exhaustiva de las técnicas de evaluación de la eficacia de los distintos recursos empleados en el enmascaramiento del sabor desagradable. De esta forma, se amplía el ámbito de aplicación del concepto enmascaramiento del sabor, demostrándose que es un área del cual aún hay mucho por decir

Resources for the online teaching of Technological Practical Courses: application and validation in Pharmaceutical Technology

Para llevar a cabo la virtualización, es importante adaptar la metodología a seguir, al objetivo, necesidades y contenido de la asignatura. Esto supone un reto a la hora de virtualizar prácticas de laboratorio en materias tecnológicas. Por ello se desarrolló un proyecto con el fin de crear diversos recursos para la virtualización de este tipo de materias. En concreto, el proyecto se centra en la virtualización de prácticas que comprenden la elaboración y control de calidad de comprimidos, la cual está recogida en el temario de la asignatura de Tecnología Farmacéutica I (grado en Farmacia). Para ello, se emplearon vídeolecciones como herramienta docente, ya que favorece los procesos perceptivos y cognitivos durante el proceso de aprendizaje del alumno, y además permite ver los procedimientos, equipos de fabricación y de control de calidad que son los pilares fundamentales en el desarrollo tecnológico de medicamentos. Otra estrategia desarrollada es la evaluación de datos prácticos para aplicarlos a la cumplimentación de un boletín de análisis de control de calidad. Todo ello se implementó en 3 grupos de 12 alumnos que recibieron prácticas semipresenciales y que posteriormente valoraron la utilidad de estos recursos como medio para la virtualización de las prácticas de laboratorio.To carry out virtualization, it is important to adapt the methodology, to the objective, needs and content of the course. E-teaching of laboratory courses of technological disciplines is really challenge. For this reason, a teaching project was developed to create various resources for the virtualization. of laboratory courses that include the production and quality control of tablets, which is included in the syllabus of the Pharmaceutical Technology I discipline (degree in Pharmacy). For this, video lessons were used as a teaching tool, since it favors the perceptual and cognitive processes during the student's learning process, and allows to see the procedures, manufacturing equipment and quality control that are the fundamental pillars in technological development of medications. Another strategy developed is the evaluation of practical data to apply them to the completion of a quality control analysis bulletin. All of this was implemented in 3 groups of 12 students who received blended practices and who subsequently assessed the usefulness of these resources as a means for the virtualization of laboratory practices.Facultad de Informátic