Enhancing the understanding of clinical trials with a sentence-level simplification dataset

Se presenta un conjunto de 1200 frases de ensayos clínicos en español simplificadas manualmente (144 019 tokens). Se analizaron 1040 anuncios del Registro Europeo de Ensayos Clínicos (EudraCT), seleccionando frases con ambigüedades o con más de 25 palabras. Se elaboraron criterios de simplificación recogidos en una guía distribuida públicamente con el conjunto de datos. Se obtuvieron dos versiones: oraciones simplificadas sintácticamente, y oraciones con simplificación léxica y sintáctica. Se presenta una evaluación cuantitativa, cualitativa y por tres evaluadores independientes sobre la gramaticalidad/fluidez, adecuación semántica y simplificación. Los resultados muestran que el recurso es adecuado para avanzar en la investigación en simplificación automática de textos médicos.We introduce a dataset with 1200 manually simplified sentences (144 019 tokens) from clinical trials in Spanish. A total of 1040 announcements from the European Clinical Trials Register (EudraCT) were analyzed to select sentences with ambiguities or exceeding 25 words. Simplification criteria were devised in an annotation guideline, which is released publicly along with the dataset. We obtained two versions: syntactically simplified sentences, and sentences with syntactic and lexical simplification. We report a quantitative, a qualitative and a human evaluation, in which three independent evaluators assessed the grammaticality/fluency, semantic adequacy and overall simplification. Results show that the resource is suitable for advancing research on automatic simplification of medical texts

Assessment of PFA-100 system for the measurement of bleeding time in oral surgery

Los métodos diagnósticos habituales para conocer la hemostasia primaria han sido calificados como cruentos, dependientes del operador, de difícil reproducción y en ocasiones no muy fiables. Es por ello que se han propuesto diferentes sistemas para valorar el tiempo de hemorragia, siendo uno de ellos el dispositivo PFA-100, el cual presentamos en este trabajo. Objetivo: Comparar la especificidad entre el método tradicional Ivy con el sistema PFA-100 para la determinación del tiempo de hemorragia. Material y método: Obtuvimos una muestra de 33 pacientes de entre 24-80 años en tratamiento antiplaquetario a los cuales se debía realizar una cirugía oral. Se les realizó un tiempo de hemorragia mediante el método Ivy , un INR mediante una analítica realizada el mismo día y un Coagucheck una hora antes de la cirugía así como la determinación del tiempo de sangrado mediante el dispositivo PFA-100. Resultados: El valor medio del tiempo de hemorragia mediante el método Ivy fue de 406.36 sg. El tiempo de hemorragia medio con el sistema PFA-100 para el cartucho de colágeno/epinefrina fue de 226.91 sg. y para el cartucho de colágeno/ ADP fue de 110.27 sg. Todos estos valores se encuentran dentro de la normalidad. Observamos desviaciones típicas muy altas con el método Ivy y más regulares para el sistema PFA-100 indicando una mayor especificidad del mismo. Obtuvimos también una gran correlación entre el cartucho colágeno/epinefrina y el ácido acetil salicílico. Conclusiones: Encontramos una mayor especificidad del analizador de función plaquetaria PFA-100 para la medición del tiempo de hemorragia en relación con el método tradicional Ivy

35 años de educación popular en los barrios de Madrid

Las escuelas populares son organizaciones de base para la Educación de Personas Adultas, el aprendizaje colectivo y la transformación social. Son organizaciones basadas en el voluntariado y en la gratuidad, resultan de la capacidad de la iniciativa social para auto organizarse y responder a las necesidades culturales de la comunidad

Incidence of oral health in paediatric patients with disabilities: sensory disorders and autism spectrum disorder. Systematic review II

Introduction: We are currently witnessing an increase in the number of disabled patients, creating the need for knowledge of each of the pathologies and of the different oral and dental conditions they present, in order to achieve efficient management and treatment. Objectives: To analyse the existing scientific literature on the oral conditions of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with sensory deficits (SD), in comparison with the healthy child population. Material and Method: The bibliographic search was carried out in Pubmed/Medline, Scopus and Cochrane Library and included articles taking a sample of children between 0 and 18 years of age diagnosed with the abovementioned disorders and including at least one of the following oral hygiene conditions - oral hygiene, dental caries, malocclusion, oral habits, dental trauma, and gingival-periodontal status - comparing them with a healthy population. Results: A total of 10 articles were obtained for autism spectrum disorder and six for sensory deficits. Conclusions: Of all the variables studied, only the state of oral, gingival and/or periodontal hygiene can be considered worse in patients with ASD and SD, although we believe a larger number of research studies is needed to corroborate these results

Norovirus in Bottled Water Associated with Gastroenteritis Outbreak, Spain, 2016

In April 2016, an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness (4,136 cases) occurred in Catalonia, Spain. We detected high levels of norovirus genogroups I and II in office water coolers associated with the outbreak. Infectious viral titer estimates were 33-49 genome copies/L for genogroup I and 327-660 genome copies/L for genogroup II

Oral health in children with physical (Cerebral Palsy) and intellectual (Down Syndrome) disabilities: systematic review I

Introduction: Traditionally, patients with physical and/or intellectual disabilities presented greater oral pathology, owing to their condition and to other external factors. Improved social and health conditions make it necessary to update knowledge on their oral and dental health. Material and Methods: For this purpose, a bibliographic review was done regarding the state of oral health of children with these two types of disability, in comparison with a control group. Some of the guidelines of the PRISMA statement were taken into account. The ranking of the articles found is based on the modified Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. The final number of articles evaluated was 14. Parameters such as dental caries, oral hygiene, gingival health, dental traumas, malocclusion and habits were considered. Results: There is no consensus among authors regarding dental caries, oral hygiene and gingival health. The different results obtained are due in part to the fact that the methodologies used were not the same. However, it has been noted that, when studying other parameters and regardless of the methodology employed, the results obtained are similar. Conclusions: Children with physical and intellectual disabilities constitute a group that needs early and regular dental care in order to prevent and limit the severity of the pathologies observed

Multiple headspace solid-phase microextraction (MHS-SPME) methodology applied to the determination of volatile metabolites of plasticizers in human urine

In the present work, an optimization and validation of an analytical method for the determination of two plasticizer metabolites, 2-ethylhexanol and 4-heptanone in urine, were carried out by multiple headspace solid-phase microextraction (MHS-SPME) coupled to GC-MS. The validation study was successfully performed in terms of stability, method selectivity, linearity, accuracy, recovery, intermediate precision, repeatability, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) in urine samples. Finally, two population group studies were developed in urine samples of volunteers with plastic exposure. First group represents the common plastic exposure of general population and the second one was carried out with healthy moderately trained individuals who have received blood transfusion. This study demonstrates that significantly increased levels of 2-ethylhexanol were found (p < 0.05) in urine samples of volunteers in the early hours after receiving blood transfusion.This work was funded by University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (project GIU19/068) . I. San Román was funded by the University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU)

La hiperresistència del norovirus

Sent una de les malalties més comunes entre la població, la gastroenteritis aguda (GEA) es relaciona habitualment amb els norovirus. Un grup de virus que pot afectar l'estómac i els intestins, i fàcilment transmissibles en espais tancats o per contacte personal, el que explica que habitualment es donin brots epidèmics durant els creuers. Destaquen per la seva capacitat de resistència a pràctiques higièniques o ambients extrems, per la qual cosa es converteixen en una de les primeres causes de malaltia gastrointestinal. Així doncs, el següent article presenta un estudi comparat de les taxes d'afectació per Salmonella i norovirus a Catalunya durant un període de 12 mesos. Els resultats atribueixen a aquest últim una major incidència d'atac i una clara propensió a l'epidèmia, en comparació amb altres agents infecciosos. Per això, proposen unes mesures higienistes més exhaustives.Siendo una de las enfermedades más comunes entre la población, la gastroenteritis aguda (GEA) se relaciona habitualmente con los norovirus. Un grupo de virus que pueden afectar el estómago y los intestinos, y fácilmente transmisibles en espacios cerrados o por contacto personal, lo que explica que habitualmente se den brotes epidémicos durante los cruceros. Destacan por su capacidad de resistencia a prácticas higiénicas o ambientes extremos, por lo que se convierten en una de las primeras causas de enfermedad gastrointestinal. Así pues, el siguiente artículo presenta un estudio comparado de las tasas de afectación por Salmonella y norovirus en Cataluña durante un periodo de 12 meses. Los resultados atribuyen a éste último una mayor incidencia de ataque y una clara propensión a la epidemia, en comparación con otros agentes infecciosos. Por ello, proponen unas medidas higienistas más exhaustivas y dedicar especial atención a los que siempre son los más débiles: ancianos y niños.Acute gastroenteritis (AGE), often related to noroviruses, is one of the most common diseases suffered by the population. Noroviruses affect the stomach and intestines and are easily transmissible through human contact or in enclosed spaces, which would explain why they appear relatively frequently during cruise trips. This group of viruses stands out for its ability to resist good hygiene habits or extreme environments and is one of the main causes of gastrointestinal diseases. The following article presents a comparative study of the index of Salmonella and norovirus cases in Catalonia over a twelve month period. The results show that there is a higher incidence of norovirus attacks and a clear predisposition to cause epidemics when compared to other infectious agencies. Researchers thus propose establishing more exhaustive hygiene measures and that special attention be given to those who always suffer the most: the elderly and children

The blended learning revolution in distance education

RESUMEN: Los avances tecnológicos adaptados al ámbito educativo han favorecido que la educación a distancia sea una opción formativa con un aumento significativo en el número de instituciones y de estudiantes que optan por esta modalidad. Evidentemente la rápida y continua aparición de recursos tecnológicos que se están integrando en el contexto educativo en todos los rincones del mundo supone un esfuerzo constante en su adaptación para lograr que el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje sea eficaz y adecuado a los nuevos contextos. El blended learning se consolida como una modalidad educativa que está revolucionando la educación a distancia y que se ha enriquecido con nuevos recursos tecnológicos e innovadoras propuestas metodológicas, superando obstáculos y avanzando en nuevas posibilidades que garantizan la calidad de la educación semipresencial. En este sentido, se presentan en este trabajo las aportaciones de expertos internacionales en blended learning que, a partir de un conocimiento y análisis profundo de la literatura científica y de las investigaciones focalizadas en esta modalidad de enseñanza, ofrecen experiencias y prácticas enriquecidas con tecnologías y metodologías emergentes como la realidad aumentada, las rúbricas electrónicas, la ludificación o el aula inversa, entre otras, que plantean una modalidad educativa adaptada a las necesidades de un profesorado que busca nuevas formas de lograr la eficacia en su actividad docente y de un alumnado que espera de las instituciones educativas respuestas adecuadas a sus necesidades de formación.ABSTRACT: The technological advances undertaken in the educational field have promoted distance education as an option with a significant increase in the number of institutions and students that opt for this modality. Evidently, the rapid and continuous appearance of technological resources that are being integrated into the educational context in all corners of the world implies a constant effort in its adaptation to ensure that the teaching-learning process is effective and adequate to the new contexts. Blended learning has been consolidated as an educational modality that is revolutionizing distance education and has been enriched with new technological resources and innovative methodological proposals, overcoming obstacles and making progress in new possibilities that guarantee the quality of blended education. In this sense, the contributions of international experts on blended learning are presented in this work. These contributions, which are based on in-depth knowledge and analysis of the scientific literature and the research focused on this teaching modality, offer experiences and practices enriched with technologies and emerging methodologies such as augmented reality, electronic rubrics, gamification and the flipped classroom, among others. These experiences and practices propose an educational modality adapted to the needs of a teacher who seeks new ways of achieving efficiency in their teaching activity and of a student body that expects educational institutions to respond appropriately to their training needs

A questão dos migrantes na Europa em perspectiva de análise com as categorias vida nua e estado de exceção de Agamben

O presente artigo se propõe a esboçar algumas chaves de leitura para uma possível interpretação da questão dos migrantes que chegam à Europa em perspectiva de análise com as categorias vida nua e estado de exceção de Agamben. Sabe-se que o drama dos migrantes torna-se a cada dia uma causa humanitária de enorme proporção, que ultrapassa em muito os desafios de cruzar o mediterrâneo em precárias embarcações ou receber alguma alimentação e cuidados médicos pontuais quando aportam no continente europeu.  Agamben denuncia por meio, das categorias vida nua e estado exceção, a urgência de uma tomada de decisão frente ao drama humano que aí está. Como apontar um caminho plausível frente ao desafio de milhares de pessoas de todas as idades que fogem aos horrores das guerras e da fome dos seus respectivos países em direção ao velho continente em busca de refúgio e uma chance de retomar as suas vidas? Certamente erguer cercas, cercar as fronteiras, impedir que aportem na costa europeia os milhares de migrantes, não será uma solução plausível para o êxodo humanitário que se apresenta em nossos dias, com inúmeras perdas ao longo da travessia do mar mediterrâneo.  A figura do migrante ou refugiado interpela a quebra de um paradigma preconceituoso e xenofóbico, em vista de uma causa humanitária que requer uma ação efetiva que possa devolver a dignidade, estampada no rosto humano do migrante portador de direitos à uma vida digna e autêntica em uma nova pátria. Vida nua e estado de exceção, são conceitos estratégicos para denunciar os dispositivos de controle biopolíticos contemporâneos expressos por meio de atos de xenofobia e exclusão em seus variados processos de subjetivação do vulnerável, impedindo de emergir a dimensão da ação humana que deverá constituir a política que vem, uma política de integração, de acolhida e ressignificação da vida como plena potência criativa frente ao ser humano tornado exceção e nu em seus direitos e dignidade