Night‑time use of electronic devices, fear of missing out, sleep difficulties, anxiety, and well‑being in UK and Spain: a cross‑cultural comparison

Data availability The data that support the findings of this study are available in the repository: https://osf.io/5scb7/?view_only=de34082b5aaf460fb79a14b701e403e1Electronic devices such as smartphones have become a primary part of young people's lives. Fear of missing out seems to influence the ability to set boundaries around sleep time. This study aims to explore (1) the use of electronic media devices in presleep time, quality of sleep, anxiety, and well-being in females and males’ university students in the UK and Spain, (2) whether university students’ fear of missing out (FoMO) is associated with a higher usage of electronic devices at night-time by gender. A cross-sectional, quantitative design through Qualtrics.com was used. Samples were formed by N = 159 British participants, and N = 172 Spanish. Findings from this study suggest that fear of missing out in females is a predictor, in both countries, of electronic devices usage at night-time but not in males. Night-time usage of electronic devices is a predictor of: higher sleep difficulties in British males and females and in Spanish females, higher FoMO in females from both countries but not in males, and higher negative experiences in Spanish females. Night-time usage of electronic devices did not predict satisfaction with life or loneliness. There is a lack in the literature examining general electronic devices usage habits during night-time, fear of missing out, well-being and mental health, a lack of cross-cultural studies and that consider well-being not with positive or negative factors but from a broad perspective of the construct. Findings suggest the necessity to evaluate students’ levels of FoMO in clinical practice, especially in females, and to incorporate this construct in prevention and intervention programs

Caracterización del litoral español para el cultivo y aprovechamiento de algas

- Un Sistema de Información Geográfica (SIG o GIS, en su acrónimo inglés) es una integración organizada de hardware, software, datos geográficos y personal, diseñado para capturar, almacenar, manipular, analizar y desplegar en todas sus formas la información geográficamente referenciada con el fin de resolver problemas complejos de planificación y gestión. - Los SIG`s son herramientas que permiten la incorporación de información de diferentes fuentes, además de la visualización y control de los datos. -Es así como se presenta el subproyecto “Caracterización del litoral español para el cultivo y aprovechamiento de algas”. Este proyecto se enmarca en el Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica (I+D+I 2004-2007) convocado por el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino

Desarrollo de herramientas para la gestión integral del litoral

La presión antrópica sobre la zona litoral, en países como España, hace necesario llevar a cabo una adecuada planificación, gestión y administración para lograr el desarrollo sostenible de esta frágil zona. Las adecuadas estrategias para alcanzar dicho objetivo, requieren la integración de información de diversas áreas del conocimiento, para ello esta en curso de realización el proyecto “Desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías de Modelización física del entorno costero y herramientas para su uso en la Gestión Integral del Litoral en España” (BIA2006-15555). Los objetivos que se plantean en el desarrollo de este proyecto son los siguientes

One-pot synthesis of compact DNA silica particles for gene delivery and extraordinary DNA preservation

Repairing genetic defects using exogenous DNA is a major challenge the science is currently facing. This requires the design of vectors that can effectively encapsulate, protect and target nucleic acids to specific cells safely and precisely. Here we have designed silica-based physiologically responsive particles to encapsulate, store, and transfer DNA. Unlike existing vectors (e.g., viral or lipidic particles), these DNA@SiO2 systems are very stable at room temperature. We also demonstrate how they protect the encapsulated DNA from exposure to different biological and physicochemical stresses, including DNase, denaturation temperatures (>100 °C), or reactive oxygen species (ROS). Remarkably, upon cellular uptake, these vectors dissolve safely unpacking the DNA and transfecting the cells.Acknowledgments: We are grateful to D. Munoz for her technical support and Dr. Kirst for his criticisms of the manuscript. MLF acknowledges the financial support from the Spanish Instituto de Salud Carlos iii, and the European Union FEDER funds under Projects ref. PI22/00030 and PI19/00349, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, “Investing in your future” and Grant TED2021-129248 BeI00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the “European Union Next Generation EU/PRTR”. We also thank the Gobierno Regional de Cantabria and IDIVAL for the project Refs IDI 20/22, INNVAL21/19, and IDI-020-022 fellowship to ARV and technological and administrative services. MACD acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad under grant PID2020-113704RB-I00, Xunta de Galicia/FEDER (IN607A 2018/5 and Centro Singular de Investigacion de Galicia, Acc. 2019e2022, ED431G 2019e06), 0712/ACUINANO1E, 0624/ 2IQBIONEURO6E cofounded by FEDER through the program Interreg V-A Espana-Portugal (POCTEP), and NANOCULTURE (ERDF: 1.102.531) Interreg Atlantic Area, the European Union (European Regional Development Fund-ERDF). LMC acknowledges the Margarita Salas requalification grants for the training of young doctors Ref.: REC-Salas21, Uvigo-UC (Ministerio de Universidades). Figures and graphs have been created with BioRender software (BioRender.com, License ID: 9519A1C8-0002). We are grateful to Dr. Lansford, Dr. Parton, Dr. Greene, Dr. Davidson, Dr. Bement and Dr. Voeltz for the plasmids references in Table S1 (obtained fron Addgene)

Tailoring physicochemical properties of collagen-based composites with ionic liquids and wool for advanced applications

Wool, choline dihydrogen phosphate ([Ch][DHP]) or choline serinate ([Ch][Seri) ionic liquids (ILs) were incorporated into native collagen formulations and films were prepared by compression molding. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed no agglomeration, indicating good dispersion of additives within films. The denaturation peak observed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), along with infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results, showed that collagen fibrillary structure was preserved in all samples. These outcomes were correlated with X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. Wool or ILs addition increased tensile strength and improved electrical conductivity and all films showed antistatic behaviour. The samples showed a high dielectric constant, mainly determined by mobile charge contributions. This work shows the potential of native collagen films with tuneable physical-chemical characteristics for a new generation of sustainable materials for a wide variety of applications.This research was funded by MCI/AEI/FEDER, UE, grant number RTI2018-097100-B-C22. This work was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under strategic funding UIDB/04650/2020, UID/FIS/04650/2021, project PTDC/FIS-MAC/28157/2017, grant SFRH/BPD/121526/2016 (D.M.C) and Investigator FCT Contract 2020.04028.CEECIND (C.M.C.) funded by national funds through FCT and by the ERDF through the COMPETE2020-Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalizacao (POCI). The authors also acknowledge funding from the Basque Government (KK-2021/00131). Mireia Andonegi also thanks the Basque Government for her fellowship (PRE_2017_1_0025). Thanks are also due to the Advanced Research Facilities (SGIker) from the UPV/ EHU. Finally, the authors would like to thank Paula Menoyo for the wool provided

Sustainable Collagen Composites with Graphene Oxide for Bending Resistive Sensing

This work reports on the development of collagen films with graphene oxide nanoparticles (GO NPs), aiming toward the development of a new generation of functional sustainable sensors. For this purpose, different GO NP contents up to 3 wt % were incorporated into a collagen matrix, and morphological, thermal, mechanical and electrical properties were evaluated. Independently of the GO NP content, all films display an increase in thermal stability as a result of the increase in the structural order of collagen, as revealed by XRD analysis. Further, the inclusion of GO NPs into collagen promotes an increase in the intensity of oxygen characteristic absorption bands in FTIR spectra, due to the abundant oxygen-containing functional groups, which lead to an increase in the hydrophilic character of the surface. GO NPs also influence the mechanical properties of the composites, increasing the tensile strength from 33.2 ± 2.4 MPa (collagen) to 44.1 ± 1.0 MPa (collagen with 3 wt % GO NPs). Finally, the electrical conductivity also increases slightly with GO NP content, allowing the development of resistive bending sensors.This research was funded by Grant PID2021-124294OB-C22 funded by MCI/AEI10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. This work was also supported by the Basque Government (IT1658-22) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under strategic funding UIDB/04650/2020, UID/FIS/04650/2021, project PTDC/FIS-MAC/28157/2017, and Investigator FCT Contract 2020.02915.CEECIND (D.M.C) and 2020.04028.CEECIND (C.M.C.) funded by national funds through FCT and by the ERDF through the COMPETE2020-Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI). The authors also acknowledge funding from the Basque Government Industry and Education Department under the ELKARTEK program. M.A. thanks the Basque Government for her fellowship (POS_2022_1_0007)

GENERAL ASPECTS REGARDING THE GROWTH FRESHWATER FISH IN CUBES, AN ALTERNATIVE FOR AQUACULTURE IN ROMANIA

Due to the increased consumption of fish, as an alternative to achieving healthy population nutrition, the development of European aquaculture also shows an increasing trend. At present, freshwater culture is about 42% of total European fish production. Valuable species, from an economic point of view, can be reared in intensive systems in cages on running waters or ponds, combined with less valuable species. There are also new species that are gradually becoming increasingly important for the fish industry in Europe. Freshwater aquaculture in Romania is based on rainbow trout and carp which are still predominant species, but there is significant demand for valuable fish species [11,12,16]. Â

Magnetically responsive chitosan-pectin films incorporating Fe3O4 nanoparticles with enhanced antimicrobial activity.

Chitosan-pectin films with iron oxide (Fe3O4) magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by solution casting in order to produce biopolymer based magnetically active materials. Infrared (FTIR) spectra indicated physical interactions between the matrix and nanoparticles, corroborated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results. In addition, thermal characterization suggested that the interactions between chitosan, pectin and the nanoparticles resulted in a less compact structure, influencing the film mechanical properties. Regarding vibrating-sample magnetometry (VSM) and electrical analysis, chitosan-pectin films with Fe3O4 nanoparticles showed ferrimagnetic behavior, with an increase of the dielectric constant as the nanoparticle concentration increased. Furthermore, films displayed enhanced antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (Gram-positive) bacteria. Therefore, chitosan-pectin films with Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles provide promising results for active and intelligent food packaging applications.Grant PID2021-124294OB-C22 funded by MCI/AEI10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”. Biomat group thanks the Basque Government for funding (IT1658-22) and I.Z. thanks the Basque Government for her fellowship (22-2018-00078). This work was also supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under strategic funding UIDB/04650/2020, UID/FIS/04650/2021, project PTDC/FIS-MAC/28157/2017, and Investigator FCT Contracts 2020.02915.CEECIND (D.M.C) and 2020.04028.CEECIND (C.M.C.) funded by national funds through FCT and by the ERDF through the COMPETE2020-Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI). Thanks are also due to the Advanced Research Facilities (SGIker) from the UPV/EHU

Loot box purchases and their relationship with internet gaming disorder and online gambling disorder in adolescents: A prospective study

In recent years, the video game industry has introduced Loot Box (LB), a new type of microtransaction in which a gamer uses real currency to purchase a random virtual item within a video game. Recently, LBs became more widespread and there is evidence suggesting their similarity to online gambling. Although some studies have investigated the association between LBs with disordered gaming and disordered gambling, very few have done so with clinical indicators of these problems. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge no longitudinal evidence of such relationships currently exists in the literature. Therefore, the present study aimed to 1) ascertain the stability of LB purchasing in minors and 2) investigate the associations between LB purchasing with gambling online and online gambling disorder within six months. A prospective cohort study was conducted at two time points six months apart. In total, 2.213 Spanish adolescents (1.067 [48.9%] boys) aged between 11 and 17 years participated in both waves. The purchase of LBs was prevalent and stable in the sample across the six months. While a positive relationship was found between purchasing LBs and online gambling six months later, the relationships between purchasing LBs and the presentation of online gambling disorder and gaming disorder require further study