Perspectives, Metodologies i Tecnologies en el desplegament de l'educació STEM

L'educació STEM es presenta sovint com una proposta innovadora i excitant que, tant al servei de l'augment de vocacions com orientada a millorar l'alfabetització de la població en aquest àmbit, ha arribat amb força al panorama educatiu també del nostre país. Quan ens preguntem, però, com fer-ho a les aules, veiem que sovint les propostes d'educació STEM es vinculen de forma reduccionista a certes metodologies concretes (com per exemple l'aprenentatge basat en projectes) o a certes tecnologies (com ara les tecnologies programables). En fer-ho, s'està obviant que qualsevol perspectiva, metodologia o tecnologia educativa que serveixi per a millorar tant les competències de l'àmbit científic-tecnològic de l'alumnat com el seu posicionament respecte el mateix serà adient, i que en educació STEM, com en totes les propostes educatives, és important la tria de què ensenyar i com fer-ho al servei de per a què ho volem fer.STEM education is often introduced as an innovative and exciting aproach that, both in the service of increasing vocations and aimed at improving citizens' literacy in this field, has strongly reached the educational landscape of our country. When we ask ourselves, however, how to do this in the classroom, we see that STEM education initiatives are often linked to specific methodologies (such as project-based learning) or to certain technologies (such as programmable technologies) in a reductionist way. In doing so, it is being ignored that any perspective, methodology or educational technology that serves to improve both students' STEM competence and their stance towards the STEM field will be appropriate. This is because in STEM education, as in all educational proposals, it is important to choose what to teach and how to do it in the service of what for.La educación STEM se presenta a menudo como una propuesta innovadora y excitante que, ya sea al servicio del aumento de vocaciones como orientada a mejorar la alfabetización de la población en este ámbito, ha llegado con fuerza al panorama educativo también de nuestro país. Pero cuando nos preguntamos cómo hacerlo en las aulas, a menudo vemos que las propuestas de educación STEM se vinculan de forma reduccionista a ciertas metodologías concretas (como por ejemplo el aprendizaje basado en proyectos) o a ciertas tecnologías (como las tecnologías programables). Al hacerlo, se está obviando que cualquier perspectiva, metodología o tecnología educativa que sirva para mejorar tanto las competencias del ámbito científico-tecnológico del alumnado como su posicionamiento hacía el mismo será adecuado, y que en educación STEM, como en todas las propuestas educativas, es importante la elección de qué enseñar y cómo hacerlo al servicio de para qué lo queremos hacer

El Pla de Departament Phi. Una empenta lingüística a la competència científica

Desplegar un ensenyament competencial de les Ciències és un repte que requereix incloure de manera sostinguda components epistèmiques, cognitives i lingüístiques que impacten metodològicament en el disseny d'actuacions i activitats. Es descriu el disseny i seqüenciació, aplicació i valoracions inicials dels aspectes lingüístics d'un Pla de Departament per al treball d'aquestes components al llarg dels quatre cursos de l'ESO en un institut de secundària. El pla s'ha aplicat durant el curs 2020-2021 i se'n fa una valoració inicial.The development of scientific competence is a challenge that requires a sustained inclusion of epistemic, cognitive, and linguistic components that methodologically impact the design of actions and activities. The design and sequencing, application and initial assessment of the linguistic aspects of a Department Plan for the work of these components throughout the four years of ESO in a secondary school are described. The plan has been implemented during the 2020-2021 academic year and an initial assessment is presented.Desplegar una enseñanza competencial de las Ciencias es un reto que requiere incluir de manera sostenida componentes epistémicas, cognitivas y lingüísticas que impactan metodológicamente en el diseño de actuaciones y actividades. Se describe el diseño y secuenciación, aplicación y valoraciones iniciales de los aspectos lingüísticos de un Plan de Departamento para el trabajo de estas componentes a lo largo de los cuatro cursos de la ESO en un instituto de secundaria. El plan se ha aplicado durante el curso 2020-2021 y se hace una valoración inicial

Human α-synuclein overexpression in mouse serotonin neurons triggers a depressive-like phenotype. Rescue by oligonucleotide therapy

Anxiety and depression affect 35–50% of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), often precede the onset of motor symptoms, and have a negative impact on their quality of life. Dysfunction of the serotonergic (5-HT) system, which regulates mood and emotional pathways, occurs during the premotor phase of PD and contributes to a variety of non-motor symptoms. Furthermore, α-synuclein (α-Syn) aggregates were identified in raphe nuclei in the early stages of the disease. However, there are very few animal models of PD-related neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, we develop a new mouse model of α-synucleinopathy in the 5-HT system that mimics prominent histopathological and neuropsychiatric features of human PD. We showed that adeno-associated virus (AAV5)-induced overexpression of wild-type human α-Syn (h-α-Syn) in raphe 5-HT neurons triggers progressive accumulation, phosphorylation, and aggregation of h-α-Syn protein in the 5-HT system. Specifically, AAV5-injected mice displayed axonal impairment in the output brain regions of raphe neurons, and deficits in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and 5-HT neurotransmission, resulting in a depressive-like phenotype. Intracerebroventricular treatment with an indatraline-conjugated antisense oligonucleotide (IND-ASO) for four weeks induced an effective and safe reduction of h-α-Syn synthesis in 5-HT neurons and its accumulation in the forebrain, alleviating early deficits of 5-HT function and improving the behavioural phenotype. Altogether, our findings show that α-synucleinopathy in 5-HT neurons negatively affects brain circuits that control mood and emotions, resembling the expression of neuropsychiatric symptoms occurring at the onset of PD. Early preservation of 5-HT function by reducing α-Syn synthesis/accumulation may alleviate PD-related depressive symptoms.We thank to the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Nivel Superior (CAPES-PDSE: 19/2016 88881.135527/2016-01), Brazil, for their financial support via a scholarship awarded to C.C.-S. We also thank JAE-Intro Program, CSIC (JAEINT_20_02116), Spain, for their financial support via a scholarship awarded to M.T.-L. This study was supported by grants SAF2016-75797-R, PID2019-105136RB-100, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), UE; and CB/07/09/0034 Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Mental Health (CIBERSAM)

Vocabulario de química [galego-español-inglés]

Dirección Xeral de Política Lingüística. Consellería de Educación e Ordenación Universitaria. Xunta de Galici

Recommendations for the Implementation of Article 37 of the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation Act: Open Access Dissemination

Handbook defines the main aspects of the national policy of open access and specifies what new roles to be taken by the groups involved in the production and market management of scientific information. Contains a chapter of specific recommendations for managers of public support for R + D + i, one for universities and research centers, one for researchers and other institutions subscribing to scientific journals. This document has been coordinated by FECYT under RECOLECTA activities whose actions are part of the collaboration agreement with REBIUN

Recomendaciones para la implementación del Artículo 37 Difusión en Acceso Abierto de la Ley de la Ciencia, la Tecnología y la Innovación

Guía práctica que define los aspectos principales de la política nacional de acceso abierto y especifica cuáles son los nuevos roles que habrán de adoptar los colectivos implicados en la producción y gestión del mercado de la información científica. Contiene un capítulo de recomendaciones específicas para gestores de ayudas públicas a la I+D+i, otro para las universidades y centros de investigación, otro para los investigadores y otro para las entidades suscriptoras de revistas científicas. Este documento ha sido coordinado por FECYT en el marco de las actividades de RECOLECTA, cuyas actuaciones se enmarcan en el convenio de colaboración con REBIUN

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Human α-synuclein overexpression in mouse serotonin neurons elicits a depressive phenotype: Focus on brain connectivity and synaptic density

Resumen del trabajo presentado en el 19th National Meeting of the Spanish Society of Neuroscience, celebrado en Lleida (España), del 3 al 5 de noviembre de 2021Anxiety and depression are the most prevalent neuropsychiatric disorders in Parkinson’s disease (PD) population (50%), often preceding the appearance of motor symptoms. Neuropathological and neurochemical changes in the serotonin (5-HT) system occurs during PD prodromal phase and contributes to a variety of non-motor symptoms. However, anxiety/depression brain circuits in PD are not known in detail. In this study, we hypothesized that synaptic impairments occur in the early stages of the disease onset before the neuronal cell loss. Dysregulating the synaptic junction would block neurotransmitter release, thus triggering a retrograde neurodegenerative process ending with neuronal cell loss by proceeding through the axons. We aimed to study whether synaptic density and functional connections are affected by α-synuclein accumulation in efferent brain regions from 5-HT raphe nuclei in the early stages of a depression/PD-like mouse model. We overexpressed human wild-type or A53T mutant α-synuclein (WTα-Syn and A53Tα-Syn, respectively) in 5-HT neurons using AAV vectors and two different synaptic markers, microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2) and synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) were examined 4 and 8 weeks later. Mice overexpressing WTα-Syn showed progressive reductions of MAP-2 levels in different 5-HT-inervated cortices (e.g. prelimbic, infralimbic, cingulate and motor cortices), caudate putamen and different sub-fields of hippocampus. In parallel, WTα-Syn mice showed also an accumulation of SV2A protein in cingulate and motor cortices, and caudate-putamen. In addition, changes of MAP-2 and SV2A synaptic markers were also found in different 5-HT projection brain areas of A53Tα-Syn mice, although these changes were of greater magnitude. Brain functional activity was examined in these mice using rsfRMI and early gene zif628 expression. Altogether, these data suggest that changes in the density of MAP-2 and SV2A synaptic markers linked to α-synuclein-induced axonal pathology lead to reduced 5-HT neurotransmission evoking a depressive-phenotype, and these effects precede neuronal degeneration.SAF2016-75797-R, PID2019-105136RB-100 (MINECO-ERDF)Peer reviewe

Inhibition of Gsk3b Reduces Nfkb1 Signaling and Rescues Synaptic Activity to Improve the Rett Syndrome Phenotype in Mecp2-Knockout Mice

Summary: Rett syndrome (RTT) is the second leading cause of mental impairment in girls and is currently untreatable. RTT is caused, in more than 95% of cases, by loss-of-function mutations in the methyl CpG-binding protein 2 gene (MeCP2). We propose here a molecular target involved in RTT: the glycogen synthase kinase-3b (Gsk3b) pathway. Gsk3b activity is deregulated in Mecp2-knockout (KO) mice models, and SB216763, a specific inhibitor, is able to alleviate the clinical symptoms with consequences at the molecular and cellular levels. In vivo, inhibition of Gsk3b prolongs the lifespan of Mecp2-KO mice and reduces motor deficits. At the molecular level, SB216763 rescues dendritic networks and spine density, while inducing changes in the properties of excitatory synapses. Gsk3b inhibition can also decrease the nuclear activity of the Nfkb1 pathway and neuroinflammation. Altogether, our findings indicate that Mecp2 deficiency in the RTT mouse model is partially rescued following treatment with SB216763. : Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by loss-of-function mutations in the MeCP2 gene. Jorge-Torres et al. show that mice models of RTT display hyperactivation of Gsk3b kinase and neuroinflammation. Inhibition of the Gsk3b pathway partially rescues the phenotype and affects neuronal morphology and synaptic activity. Keywords: Rett syndrome, Gsk3b, Nfkb1, neurons, mice models, SB216763, neuroinflammation, Mecp