The mSteps pilot study: Analysis of the distance walked using a novel smartphone application in multiple sclerosis

Background: Clinical studies in multiple sclerosis (MS) often require accurate measurement of walking distance. Utilisation of electronic devices could theoretically improve this. Mobile devices have the potential to continuously monitor health by collecting movement data. Popular fitness trackers record steps taken and distance travelled, typically using a fixed-stride length. However, applications using fixed-stride length may be less accurate in those with altered gait patterns. While useful for everyday purposes, medical monitoring requires greater accuracy. Objective: Our aim was to determine the agreement and reliability of using a smartphone application to measure distance walked. Method: A phone application (mSteps) was developed and tested in a pilot study and then a validation study, looking at an indoor and outdoor setting with people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and a control cohort. Results: In the pilot study, the 95% limits of agreement (LOA) for outdoor tracking in control cohort lay within the a priori defined limit; however, the indoor tracking in both cohorts did not meet the defined limit. The app was then successfully validated outdoors in PwMS. Conclusion: mSteps could be used to accurately measure distance outdoors in PwMS. There is still a need for solutions to accurately and reliably measure distance walked indoors

A R-Script for Generating Multiple Sclerosis Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plots

Càlcul estadístic R; Geoestadística; Esclerosi múltipleCálculo estadístico R; Geoestadística; Esclerosis múltipleR statistical computing; Geostatistics; Multiple sclerosisOne significant characteristic of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, is the evolution of highly variable patterns of white matter lesions. Based on geostatistical metrics, the MS-Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plot reduces complex three- and four-dimensional configurations of MS-White Matter Lesions to a well-arranged and standardized two-dimensional plot that facilitates follow-up, cross-sectional and medication impact analysis. Here, we present a script that generates the MS-Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plot, using the widespread statistical computing environment R. Input data to the script are Nifti-1 or Analyze-7.5 files with individual MS-White Matter Lesion masks in Montreal Normal Brain geometry. The MS-Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plot, variogram plots and associated fitting statistics are output to the R console and exported to standard graphics and text files. Besides reviewing relevant geostatistical basics and commenting on implementation details for smooth customization and extension, the paper guides through generating MS-Lesion Pattern Discrimination Plots using publicly available synthetic MS-Lesion patterns. The paper is accompanied by the R script LDPgenerator.r, a small sample data set and associated graphics for comparison

Marketing Plan "MBC Fest"

Treball final de Grau en Administració d’Empreses. Codi: AE1049. Curs acadèmic 2014-201

Ethics and Spanish journals of communication, education, and psychology: the publishers’ perception

El incremento de actividad en la publicación científica y su globalización están ocasionando una problemática relacionada con la ética de los procesos editoriales. Paralelamente, la presión que sufren los editores de revistas, motivada por los procesos de promoción académica y el contexto internacional de los autores, requieren una labor de aproximación consensuada en las formas de actuación ante los casos recurrentes de conductas poco éticas que se producen en la práctica. Este estudio tiene por objeto conocer la opinión de editores de revistas españolas de los ámbitos de Comunicación, Educación y Psicología sobre 16 tipos de mala praxis. Un 39,9% de los 203 editores encuestados respondieron al cuestionario online. Los datos permiten conocer el nivel de preocupación de los editores por aspectos éticos de la publicación científica: la frecuencia de cada mala praxis, la facilidad en su identificación, la gravedad percibida y su posible tendencia futura.The increased activity in scientific publishing and its globalization have led to a complex problem related to the ethics of the publishing process. At the same time, the pressure on journal publishers, due to academic promotion processes and the international background of authors, requires agreement on how to act against the recurrent cases of ethical misconduct that occur in practice. The aim of this study was to discover the opinion of Spanish journal publishers in the fields of Communication, Education and Psychology regarding 16 types of improper conduct. Of the 203 publishers surveyed, 39.9% answered the online survey. The quantitative data obtained provide an understanding of the publishers’ level of concern regarding ethical aspects of scientific publication: the frequency of misconduct, the ease of identifying it, its perceived gravity and possible future trends.Este estudio ha sido financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España, dentro del Plan Nacional de I+D+i (EDU2011-13034-E), acción complementaria: Observatorio de revistas científicas de ciencias sociales

Ethical principles of publishers in the Spanish scientific journals on Communication, Education and Psychology

La responsabilidad ética de los editores de las revistas científicas se alza como asunto capital que, sobre todo, se hace visible en los casos de publicaciones fraudulentas. Se presenta un estudio exploratorio sobre la opinión que los editores de revistas científicas españolas de Comunicación, Educación y Psicología tienen sobre estas cuestiones. Se aplicó una metodología cuantitativa con un cuestionario electrónico enviado a 203 editores, compuesto de 19 items. Se observa que los editores dan una importancia esencial al rigor de la tarea de revisión, sustentado por pares ciegos. La mayoría de editores se consideran autodidactas y plantean la necesidad de profesionalizar el proceso editorial.The ethical responsibility of the editors of scientific journals is a cardinal issue, particularly following a series of fraudulent publications. This article presents the results of an exploratory study on the opinion of editors of Spanish scientific journals in the fields of Communication, Education and Psychology on these matters. The design of this research stems from a quantitative methodology and uses an electronic questionnaire that was submitted to 203 editors and had 19 items. The editors attach a great importance to the rigor of the reviewing process, carried out by blind peers. Most of the editors label themselves as autodidacts and raise the need to professionalize the editorial process.Estudio financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España, dentro del Plan Nacional de I+D+i (EDU2011-13034-E), acción complementaria: Observatorio de revistas científicas de ciencias sociales

Serum neurofilament light and MRI predictors of cognitive decline in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: Analysis from the MS-STAT randomised controlled trial

Magnetic resonance imaging; Neurofilament light; Secondary progressive multiple sclerosisImatge per ressonància magnètica; Llum del neurofilament; Esclerosi múltiple secundària progressivaImagen por resonancia magnética; Luz de neurofilamento; Esclerosis múltiple secundaria progresivaBackground: Cognitive impairment affects 50%–75% of people with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (PwSPMS). Improving our ability to predict cognitive decline may facilitate earlier intervention. Objective: The main aim of this study was to assess the relationship between longitudinal changes in cognition and baseline serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) in PwSPMS. In a multi-modal analysis, MRI variables were additionally included to determine if sNfL has predictive utility beyond that already established through MRI. Methods: Participants from the MS-STAT trial underwent a detailed neuropsychological test battery at baseline, 12 and 24 months. Linear mixed models were used to assess the relationships between cognition, sNfL, T2 lesion volume (T2LV) and normalised regional brain volumes. Results: Median age and Expanded Disability Status Score (EDSS) were 51 and 6.0. Each doubling of baseline sNfL was associated with a 0.010 [0.003–0.017] point per month faster decline in WASI Full Scale IQ Z-score (p = 0.008), independent of T2LV and normalised regional volumes. In contrast, lower baseline volume of the transverse temporal gyrus was associated with poorer current cognitive performance (0.362 [0.026–0.698] point reduction per mL, p = 0.035), but not change in cognition. The results were supported by secondary analyses on individual cognitive components. Conclusion: Elevated sNfL is associated with faster cognitive decline, independent of T2LV and regional normalised volumes.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: No specific funding was received for this research. T.W. is currently funded by the MS-STAT2 trial grant (NCT03387670). This is funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme, Multiple Sclerosis Society (UK) and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (US)

Slowly expanding lesions relate to persisting black-holes and clinical outcomes in relapse-onset multiple sclerosis

Black holes; Chronic active lesions; Volumetric MRIAgujeros negros; Lesiones activas crónicas; Resonancia magnética volumétricaForats negres; Lesions actives cròniques; Ressonància magnètica volumètricaBackground Slowly expanding lesions (SELs) are MRI markers of chronic active lesions in multiple sclerosis (MS). T1-hypointense black holes, and reductions in magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) are pathologically correlated with myelin and axonal loss. While all associated with progressive MS, the relationship between these lesion’s metrics and clinical outcomes in relapse-onset MS has not been widely investigated. Objectives To explore the relationship of SELs with T1-hypointense black holes, and longitudinal T1 intensity contrast ratio and MTR, their correlation to brain volume, and their contribution to MS disability in relapse-onset patients. Methods 135 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) were studied with clinical assessments and brain MRI (T2/FLAIR and T1-weighted scans at 1.5/3 T) at baseline and two subsequent follow-ups; a subset of 83 patients also had MTR acquisitions. Early-onset patients were defined when the baseline disease duration was ≤ 5 years (n = 85). SELs were identified using deformation field maps from the manually segmented baseline T2 lesions and differentiated from the non-SELs. Persisting black holes (PBHs) were defined as a subset of T2 lesions with a signal below a patient-specific grey matter T1 intensity in a semi-quantitative manner. SELs, PBH counts, and brain volume were computed, and their associations were assessed through Spearman and Pearson correlation. Clusters of patients according to low (up to 2), intermediate (3 to 10), or high (more than 10) SEL counts were determined with a Gaussian generalised mixture model. Mixed-effects and logistic regression models assessed volumes, T1 and MTR within SELs, and their correlation with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and confirmed disability progression (CDP). Results Mean age at study onset was 35.5 years (73% female), disease duration 5.5 years and mean time to last follow-up 6.5 years (range 1 to 12.5); median baseline EDSS 1.5 (range 0 to 5.5) and a mean EDSS change of 0.31 units at final follow-up. Among 4007 T2 lesions, 27% were classified as SELs and 10% as PBHs. Most patients (n = 65) belonged to the cluster with an intermediate SEL count (3 to 10 SELs). The percentage of PBHs was higher in SELs than non-SELs (up to 61% vs 44%, p < 0.001) and within-patient SEL volumes positively correlated with PBH volumes (r = 0.53, p < 0.001). SELs showed a decrease in T1 intensity over time (beta = -0.004, 95%CI −0.005 to −0.003, p < 0.001), accompanied by lower cross-sectional baseline and follow-up MTR. In mixed-effects models, EDSS worsening was predicted by the SEL log-volumes increase over time (beta = 0.11, 95%CI 0.03 to 0.20, p = 0.01), which was confirmed in the sub-cohort of patients with early onset MS (beta = 0.14, 95%CI 0.04 to 0.25, p = 0.008). In logistic regressions, a higher risk for CDP was associated with SEL volumes (OR = 5.15, 95%CI 1.60 to 16.60, p = 0.006). Conclusions SELs are associated with accumulation of more destructive pathology as indicated by an association with PBH volume, longitudinal reduction in T1 intensity and MTR. Higher SEL volumes are associated with clinical progression, while lower ones are associated with stability in relapse-onset MS

Assessing Lumbar Plexus and Sciatic Nerve Damage in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Using Magnetisation Transfer Ratio

Neurografia de ressonància magnètica (MRN); Relació de transferència de magnetització (MTR); Esclerosi múltiple del sistema nerviós perifèric (SNP)Neurografía de resonancia magnética (MRN); Relación de transferencia de magnetización (MTR); Esclerosis múltiple del sistema nervioso periférico (SNP)Magnetic resonance neurography (MRN); Magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR); Multiple sclerosis peripheral nervous system (PNS)Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) has traditionally been regarded as a disease confined to the central nervous system (CNS). However, neuropathological, electrophysiological, and imaging studies have demonstrated that the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is also involved, with demyelination and, to a lesser extent, axonal degeneration representing the main pathophysiological mechanisms. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess PNS damage at the lumbar plexus and sciatic nerve anatomical locations in people with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and healthy controls (HCs) in vivo using magnetisation transfer ratio (MTR), which is a known imaging biomarker sensitive to alterations in myelin content in neural tissue, and not previously explored in the context of PNS damage in MS. Method: Eleven HCs (7 female, mean age 33.6 years, range 24-50) and 15 people with RRMS (12 female, mean age 38.5 years, range 30-56) were recruited for this study and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) investigations together with clinical assessments using the expanded disability status scale (EDSS). Magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) was first used for visualisation and identification of the lumbar plexus and the sciatic nerve and MTR imaging was subsequently performed using identical scan geometry to MRN, enabling straightforward co-registration of all data to obtain global and regional mean MTR measurements. Linear regression models were used to identify differences in MTR values between HCs and people with RRMS and to identify an association between MTR measures and EDSS. Results: MTR values in the sciatic nerve of people with RRMS were found to be significantly lower compared to HCs, but no significant MTR changes were identified in the lumbar plexus of people with RRMS. The median EDSS in people with RRMS was 2.0 (range, 0-3). No relationship between the MTR measures in the PNS and EDSS were identified at any of the anatomical locations studied in this cohort of people with RRMS. Conclusion: The results from this study demonstrate the presence of PNS damage in people with RRMS and support the notion that these changes, suggestive of demyelination, maybe occurring independently at different anatomical locations within the PNS. Further investigations to confirm these findings and to clarify the pathophysiological basis of these alterations are warranted.The UK MS Society and the UCL-UCLH Biomedical Research Centre for ongoing support. CGW-K receives funding from the MS Society (#77), Wings for Life (#169111), BRC (#BRC704/CAP/CGW), UCL Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), MRC (#MR/S026088/1), Ataxia UK. FP had a non-clinical Postdoctoral Guarantors of Brain fellowship (2017-2020). FP was supported by the National Institute for Health Research, UCL Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre. CT is being funded by a Junior Leader La Caixa Fellowship (fellowship code is LCF/BQ/PI20/11760008), awarded by la Caixa Foundation (ID 100010434). She has also received the 2021 Merck's Award for the Investigation in MS, awarded by Fundación Merck Salud (Spain). In 2015, she received an ECTRIMS Post-doctoral Research Fellowship and has received funding from the UK MS Society. She has also received honoraria from Roche and Novartis, and is a steering committee member of the O'HAND trial and of the Consensus group on Follow-on DMTs. This project has received funding under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 634541 and from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC EP/R006032/1), funding FG. FG was currently supported by PREdICT, a study at the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona funded by AstraZeneca

Specialisation and Spanish journals of communication

Introducción. La especialización de las revistas se desprende de la clasificación que reciben en bases de datos y de los términos utilizados en su información pública (denominación, temática declarada y público destinatario). La especialización se manifiesta en la imagen proyectada por la revista y es decisiva para su elección y consideración; también indica el grado de consolidación del campo científico. Se adopta el enfoque de la Comunicación Estratégica. Metodología. Se realiza un análisis de contenido de las variables mencionadas en las webs y de las categorías de clasificación en IN-RECS, Dialnet, Carhus Plus+, RESH, DICE, MIAR e ISOC. La muestra está compuesta por 63 revistas académicas españolas de Comunicación. Resultados y conclusiones. La mayoría de revistas (80%) utiliza descriptores generalistas coincidentes con el campo científico o área de conocimiento. El 57% de revistas menciona subdisciplinas concretas manifestando un grado de especialización mayor. Se verifica que las denominaciones utilizadas por las bases de datos para nombrar el campo científico y el área de conocimiento presentan cierto desorden y no observan criterios comunes.Introduction. The specialisation of journals derives from their classification in databases and the terms used by journals to describe themselves (title, scope and target audience). A journal’s specialisation is manifested in the image it promotes, which is decisive for its selection and consideration by authors. In addition, the specialisation reflects the journal’s degree of consolidation in a particular field of knowledge. Method. This study incorporates the perspective of strategic communication and is based on the content analysis of the Spanish journals of communication’s websites and on their classification in the databases IN-RECS, Dialnet, Carhus Plus+, RESH, DICE, MIAR and ISOC. The sample of Spanish journals is composed of 63 publications. Results and conclusions. Most journals (80%) use general descriptors from the field of communication, while 57% mentions specific sub-disciplines and reflects a greater degree of specialisation. The terms used by the different databases to refer to the scientific field and area of knowledge are not uniform and do not reflect common criteria.Esta investigación ha sido financiada por el Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de España durante el periodo 2012-2014, dentro del Plan Nacional I+D+i (EDU2011-13034-E) como acción complementaria, proyecto “Observatorio de Revistas Científicas de Ciencias Sociales”

Informe 2006 programación televisiva infantil

Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia-FEDER; Secretaría de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales; Programa I+D+i 2004-2007(SEJ2004-01830/CPOL)