Perfiles de actividad magnética cerebral de jóvenes con consumo intensivo de alcohol

Tesis inédita de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Psicología, leída el 24-01-2017El patrón de consumo de alcohol binge drinking se caracteriza por la ingesta intermitente de grandes cantidades del alcohol en un corto espacio de tiempo alternándose con periodos de abstinencia. En España, este tipo de consumo de alcohol se asocia al conocido efecto botellón en el que los jóvenes se reúnen en espacios públicos, principalmente los fines de semana, teniendo el alcohol como protagonista. La adolescencia, edad en la que se inicia este tipo de consumo, es considerada un periodo crítico de desarrollo en el que el cerebro experimenta grandes cambios madurativos, fundamentalmente en los lóbulos frontales. Dada su inmadurez, el cerebro adolescente muestra mayor vulnerabilidad ante el efecto neurotóxico del alcohol que el cerebro adulto. Debido a la alta prevalencia que este tipo de consumo presenta entre los jóvenes, la comunidad científica ha mostrado interés en las últimas décadas por estudiar las posibles consecuencias que puede tener en la estructura y funcionamiento del cerebro de jóvenes que beben de este modo. Sin embargo, hasta el momento no existían estudios que evaluasen el efecto del binge drinking en la actividad magnética cerebral. La Magnetoencefalografía es una técnica no invasiva que mide las corrientes magnéticas generadas por las pequeñas corrientes neurales que producen las neuronas. La presente tesis ha utilizado esta técnica a lo largo de los tres experimentos en los que se estudió: 1) la actividad magnética cerebral en el espacio de los sensores asociada del estado de reposo de jóvenes universitarios de 18-19 años con el patrón binge drinking y un grupo control, 2) la actividad magnética cerebral en espacio de las fuentes del estado de reposo y la conectividad estructural de los mismos jóvenes dos años más tarde, con 20-21 años; y 3) la actividad magnética cerebral en espacio de las fuentes asociada a una tarea Go/NoGo de los mismos jóvenes durante la primera fase del estudio, cuando tenían 18-19 años...The alcohol consumption binge drinking pattern is characterized by intermittent intake of large amounts of alcohol in a short space of time, alternated with periods of abstinence. In Spain, this type of alcohol consumption is associated with the well-known “efecto botellón” where young people gather in public spaces, especially on weekends, having the alcohol as the protagonist. Adolescence, the age in which this type of consumption begins, is considered a critical period of neural development in which the brain undergoes maturational changes, mainly in the frontal lobes. Given its immaturity, adolescent brain is more vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol than the adult brain. Because of its high prevalence among young adolescents, since last decades the scientific community has shown increasing interest to study the possible consequences that binge drinking may have on the structure and functioning of the brain. However, so far there are no studies assessing the effect of binge drinking with Magnetoencephalography. Magnetoencephalography is a noninvasive technique that measures the magnetic currents generated by neural currents produced by pyramidal neurons. The present dissertation has used this technique over the three experiments, studying: 1) brain magnetic activity in the sensor space associated to resting state of university students of aged 18-19 years old with alcohol binge drinking pattern and also a control group, 2) brain magnetic activity in the source space also associated to resting state and structural connectivity of the same young students two years later, with 20-21 years old; and finally, 3) the brain magnetic activity in source space associated with a Go/NoGo task in the first phase of the study, when the participants were 18-19...Fac. de PsicologíaTRUEunpu

Environmental education through musical education

La Educación Ambiental supone un reto importante para la actualidad. Atendiendo a la situación crítica de nuestro planeta y con la obligación moral de sensibilizar al alumno en sus primeros años se pretende, utilizando el carácter interdisciplinario de la Educación Musical, dar a conocer las diferentes posturas y elementos que ambas áreas tienen en común. Este supone un primer paso indispensable y necesario, antes de realizar una posible propuesta de intervención pedagógicaEnvironmental Education is a major challenge for today. Attending to the critical situation of our planet and with the moral obligation to sensitize the student in its early years it is intended, by means of the interdisciplinary nature of Music Education, to release the different positions and elements that both areas have in common. This is an essential and necessary first step, before making a possible proposal for pedagogical interventio

Residues from rigid foams and graphene for the synthesis of hybrid polyurethane flexible foams composites

Hybrid biobased polyurethane flexible foam composites containing a residue from surf industry (polyurethane powder) as filler and graphite or graphene residue were synthe-sized. It was observed that the addition of the powder at low contents did not modify the final properties considerably, since the cell structure was not compromised. Moreover, the powder increased the capacity of the foams to retain the carbonaceous fillers. The compressive properties of the hybrid foams were not altered with the addition of the graphite and graphene. Finally, hybrid composites showed selective absorption capacity since the presence of the carbonaceous fillers provided the foams oil absorption capacity without modifying the hydrophobic nature of the matrix foams. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.Authors thank the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) (GIU18/216 Research Group), the Basque Government (PIBA19-0044 project) and the Provincial Country of Gipuzkoa (DG 19/28 Support Program for the Guipuzcoan Science, Technology and Innovation Network 2019) for the financial support. We also acknowledge the "Macrobehavior-Mesostructure-Nanotechnology " SGIker unit from the UPV/EHU, for their technical support and Olatu S.A. (Gipuzkoa) for providing the PUP. T.C-C. thanks the Provincial Country of Gipuzkoa (2017-BE01-000002-01) and the UPV/EHU (ESPDOC19/41)

Classdojo: a gamification and communication tool for the improvement of the educational process

En este estudio se aborda la influencia que pueden tener herramientas de gamificación y comunicación en el proceso educativo, más concretamente en la etapa de la Educación Primaria. Se presenta la plataforma y aplicación ClassDojo como una de las más atractivas para ello y con una aportación motivacional bastante relevante en el alumnado. A través de este estudio realizaremos una visión pormenorizada de las diferentes funcionalidades que nos otorga la herramienta para ello.This study addresses the influence that gamification and communication tools may have on the educational process, more precisely in the stage of Primary Education. The ClassDojo platform and application is presented as one of the most attractive for this field and with a very relevant motivational contribution in the students. Through this study we will carry out a a detailed view of the different functionalities that the tool gives us

NMR characterisation of the minimal interacting regions of centrosomal proteins 4.1R and NuMA1: effect of phosphorylation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Some functions of 4.1R in non-erythroid cells are directly related with its distinct sub-cellular localisation during cell cycle phases. During mitosis, 4.1R is implicated in cell cycle progression and spindle pole formation, and co-localizes with NuMA1. However, during interphase 4.1R is located in the nucleus and only partially co-localizes with NuMA1.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have characterized by NMR the structural features of the C-terminal domain of 4.1R and those of the minimal region (the last 64 residues) involved in the interaction with NuMA1. This subdomain behaves as an intrinsically unfolded protein containing a central region with helical tendency. The specific residues implicated in the interaction with NuMA1 have been mapped by NMR titrations and involve the N-terminal and central helical regions. The segment of NuMA1 that interacts with 4.1R is phosphorylated during mitosis. Interestingly, NMR data indicates that the phosphorylation of NuMA1 interacting peptide provokes a change in the interaction mechanism. In this case, the recognition occurs through the central helical region as well as through the C-terminal region of the subdomain meanwhile the N-terminal region do not interact.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These changes in the interaction derived from the phosphorylation state of NuMA1 suggest that phosphorylation can act as subtle mechanism of temporal and spatial regulation of the complex 4.1R-NuMA1 and therefore of the processes where both proteins play a role.</p

Lignocellulosic Biomass as a Source of Raw Materials for the Synthesis of Polyurethanes

Precursors have been satisfactorily synthesized from lignocellulosic biomass for later use in the synthesis of polyurethanes resulting in competitive final properties with those of petroleum derived polyurethanesWe thank the Basque Government (IT-776-13, ELKARTEK-KK2017/00003) for the financial support. We also wish to acknowledge the “Macrobehavior-Mesostructure-Nanotechnology” SGIker unit from the University of the Basque Country, for their technical support

Exploratory analysis of power spectrum and functional connectivity during resting state in young binge drinkers: A MEG study

© Electronic version of an article published as International Journal of Neural Systems, Volume 25, Issue 03, May 2015, 13 Pages (https://doi.org/10.1142/S0129065715500082)Binge Drinking (BD) is a pattern of intermittent intensive alcohol intake which has spread among young adults over the last decades. Adolescence constitutes a critical neuromaturation period in which the brain is particularly sensitive to the effects of alcohol. However, little is known about how BD affects the brain activity. This study aimed to characterize the brain's functional organization in BD and non-BD young population by means of analyzing functional connectivity (FC) and relative power spectra (PS) profiles measured with magnetoencephalography (MEG) during eyes-closed resting state. Our sample composed 73 first-year university students (35 BDs and 38 controls). Results showed that the BD subjects displayed a decreased alpha FC in frontal-parietal regions, and conversely, an enhanced FC in the delta, theta and beta bands in fronto-temporal networks. Besides the FC differences, the BD group showed a decreased PS within alpha range and an increased PS within theta range in the brain's occipital region. These differences in FC and PS measurements provide new evidence of the neurophysiological alterations related to the alcohol neurotoxicity and could represent an initial sign of an anomalous neural activity caused by a BD pattern of alcohol consumption during youthThis study was supported by the project SPI/2010/134 and SPI/2010/051, from the Spanish Ministry of Health and Social Politics (National Plan on Drugs), and two predoctoral fellowships from the Ministry of Education (FPI, BES-2010-036469 and FPU, AP2008-03433)S

Towards Circular Economy: Different Strategies for Polyurethane Waste Recycling and the Obtaining of New Products

As a consequence of the high production and simultaneous consumption of polyurethanes (PU) a great volume of PU waste is landfilled. In this scenario, suitable and efficient routes for PU waste recycling have been searched for many years. In this work two series of PUs using different recycled PU sources were synthesized: a thermoplastic PU series using a glycolysated polyol obtained from the glycolysis of elastomeric PU waste (chemical recycling) and a PU flexible foam series loaded with PU dust waste created in the shaping of PU surf tables (mechanical recycling). Results showed that the incorporation of recycled components in the formulation improved mechanical properties both in the case of thermoplastic polyurethanes and polyurethane foams. The optimum glycolysated polyol was fixed in 15% over the total polyol weight for thermoplastic PUs. In the case of foams, a maximum of 20% PU dust over the polyol weight was incorporated.We thank the Basque Government (IT-776-13) for the financial support. We also thank for technical and human support provided by SGIker of UPV/EHU and European funding (ERDF and ESF), and Olatu S.A (Gipuzkoa) for providing the PU dust. T.C.-C. thanks the University of the Basque Country (DOCREC17/13) and Provincial Country of Gipuzkoa (2017-BE01-000002-01)

Binge drinking affects brain oscillations linked to motor inhibition and execution

Introduction: Neurofunctional studies have shown that binge drinking (BD) patterns of alcohol consumption during adolescence and youth are associated with anomalies in brain functioning. Recent evidence suggests that event-related oscillations (EROs) may be an appropriate index of neurofunctional damage associated with alcoholism. However, there is no study to date that has evaluated the effects of BD on oscillatory brain responses related to task performance. The purpose of the present study was to examine brain oscillations linked to motor inhibition and execution in young binge drinkers (BDs) compared to age-matched controls. Methods: Electroencephalographic activity was recorded from 64 electrodes while 72 university students (36 controls and 36 BDs) performed a visual Go/NoGo task. EROs along with the Go-P3 and NoGo-P3 event-related potential (ERP) components were analysed. Results: While no significant differences between groups were observed regarding ERPs, ERO analysis showed that BDs displayed a lower oscillatory response than controls in delta and theta frequency ranges during Go and NoGo conditions. Conclusions: Findings are congruent with ERO studies showing reduced delta and/or theta oscillations in alcoholics during Go/NoGo tasks. Thus, BDs appear to show disruptions in neural oscillations linked to motor inhibition and execution similar to those observed in alcohol-dependent subjects. Finally, these results are the first to evidence that oscillatory brain activity may be a sensitive indicator of underlying brain anomalies in young BDs, which could complement standard ERP measures.This study was supported by the projects SPI/2010/134 and SPI/2010/051 from the Spanish Ministry of Health and Social Politics (National Plan on Drugs). Eduardo López-Caneda was supported by the SFRH/BPD/109750/2015 Postdoctoral Fellowship of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology as well as by the Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653). Carina Carbia was supported through the FPU program (FPU2013-04569) of the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.S