Cuerpo Técnico de la Administración de la Seguridad Social

In this practical case is reproduced the statement of assumption referred to the activity of the technicians of the Social Security Administration that was proposed as the third exercise in the competition for admission to the Higher Body of Technicians of Social Security Administration, made by Resolution of February 21, 2019 of the Undersecretariat (BOE of March 1, 2019). It is an analysis of the questions arising from the proposed case in made jointly with a law-based solution.En el presente caso práctico se reproduce el enunciado del supuesto que se planteó como tercer ejercicio en la convocatoria de la oposición para el ingreso en el Cuerpo Superior Técnico de la Administración de la Seguridad Social, efectuada por la Resolución de la Subsecretaría del entonces Ministerio de Trabajo, Migraciones y Seguridad Social de 21 de febrero de 2019 (BOE de 1 de marzo). En el mismo se lleva a cabo un análisis de las cuestiones derivadas del planteamiento, incorporando la fundamentación jurídica de las respuestas a tales cuestiones

Soil erosion susceptibility assessment in Mediterranean areas through the analysis of soil quality. A test in the Guadalmedina watershed (Málaga, Spain).

Soil erosion is one of the most relevant environmental problems facing society today. Thus, climate change has a direct impact on these processes through a feedback loop, especially in the Mediterranean region, where the situation is conceived as one of maximum fragility and sensitivity. The increase in extreme precipitation and temperature events, together with differential human land use, lead to an intense impoverishment of Mediterranean soils. In this sense, it is essential to determine the levels of susceptibility of the territory to erosive processes in order to create strategies aimed at improving the management of the territory and reducing the possible existing risks. Specifically, this work has focused on the Guadalmedina river basin in the province of Malaga (Spain), which is representative of the current dynamics of the Mediterranean landscape. To achieve this, a soil quality index based on a multi-criteria analysis of different soil indicators (water, physical and organic) has been applied in this work, using a total of 132 soil samples. In addition, the results of this analysis have been compared with soil erosion values derived from the application of the RUSLE model. On a general level, lower soil erosion rates clearly correspond to those areas where soil quality indicators show optimal values. Likewise, the results obtained show how soil organic indicators play a decisive role in water erosion processes in the Mediterranean area.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Propuesta didáctica: estudio de los espacios litorales a través de las TIG y metodologías activas.

La nueva legislación educativa señala la importancia de llevar a cabo un proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje para la materia de ‘Geografía e Historia’ basado del uso de metodologías activas y de herramientas digitales. Además, pone de manifiesto la necesidad de realizar un acercamiento a los retos actuales a través de un análisis local. En este sentido, uno de los grandes problemas a los que se enfrenta la región mediterránea es la degradación de las áreas litorales como consecuencia de los efectos del cambio climático. Por ello, se ha realizado una propuesta didáctica destinada a que el alumnado sea capaz de analizar y comprender el territorio a través de los recursos que les ofrece la geolocalización y la implantación de las TIG. Para ello, se ha elegido como área de estudio la franja litoral inmediata a la desembocadura del río Vélez (Vélez-Málaga, Málaga). Los diferentes métodos activos que se han realizado para el desarrollo de esta actividad atienden a metodologías activas, como ABP. La actividad está enfocada para el alumnado de primero de ESO y está programada en materia educativa estatal por la Ley Orgánica 3/2020 de 29 de diciembre (LOMLOE), el RD 217/2022 y la Instrucción 1/2022 en materia educativa autonómica (Andalucía).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

New markers for human ovarian cancer that link platinum resistance to the cancer stem cell phenotype and define new therapeutic combinations and diagnostic tools

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of gynecologic cancer-related death, due in part to a late diagnosis and a high rate of recurrence. Primary and acquired platinum resistance is related to a low response probability to subsequent lines of treatment and to a poor survival. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that drive platinum resistance is urgently needed. METHODS: We used bioinformatics analysis of public databases and RT-qPCR to quantitate the relative gene expression profiles of ovarian tumors. Many of the dysregulated genes were cancer stem cell (CSC) factors, and we analyzed its relation to therapeutic resistance in human primary tumors. We also performed clustering and in vitro analyses of therapy cytotoxicity in tumorspheres. RESULTS: Using bioinformatics analysis, we identified transcriptional targets that are common endpoints of genetic alterations linked to platinum resistance in ovarian tumors. Most of these genes are grouped into 4 main clusters related to the CSC phenotype, including the DNA damage, Notch and C-KIT/MAPK/MEK pathways. The relative expression of these genes, either alone or in combination, is related to prognosis and provide a connection between platinum resistance and the CSC phenotype. However, the expression of the CSC-related markers was heterogeneous in the resistant tumors, most likely because there were different CSC pools. Furthermore, our in vitro results showed that the inhibition of the CSC-related targets lying at the intersection of the DNA damage, Notch and C-KIT/MAPK/MEK pathways sensitize CSC-enriched tumorspheres to platinum therapies, suggesting a new option for the treatment of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The current study presents a new approach to target the physiology of resistant ovarian tumor cells through the identification of core biomarkers. We hypothesize that the identified mutations confer platinum resistance by converging to activate a few pathways and to induce the expression of a few common, measurable and targetable essential genes. These pathways include the DNA damage, Notch and C-KIT/MAPK/MEK pathways. Finally, the combined inhibition of one of these pathways with platinum treatment increases the sensitivity of CSC-enriched tumorspheres to low doses of platinum, suggesting a new treatment for ovarian cancerSpanish Ministry of Education FPU12/01380Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity, Plan Estatal de I + D + I 2013–2016Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (RTI2018–097455-B-I00)CIBER de Cáncer (CD16/12/00275)Spanish Consejería de Salud of the Junta de Andalucia (PI-0397-2017

Risk of suicide in households threatened with eviction: the role of banks and social support

Background: One of the greatest effects of the financial crisis in Spain has been the enormous increase in the number of evictions. Several studies have shown the association of evictions with different aspects of the physical and mental health. Furthermore, evictions have been associated with an increased risk of suicide. Our objective was to evaluate the risk of suicide among victims of eviction and investigate whether it is associated with specific characteristics of households and interviewees, the eviction process and social support, and health needs. Results: Almost half of the sample (46.7%) were at low (11.8%), moderate (16.9%), or high suicide risk (17.9%). Household and interviewee features had a limited association with suicide risk. On the contrary, the risk of suicide is greater with a longer exposure to the eviction process. In addition, threatening phone calls from banks increased significantly the risk of suicide, especially among men. Suicide risk was also associated with low social support, especially among women. Interviewees at risk of suicide received more help from nongovernmental organizations than those who were not at risk. In interviewees at risk, the main unmet needs were emotional and psychological help, especially in men. A high percentage of those at risk of suicide declare having large unmeet health needs. Finally, there was a tendency among the evicted at risk of suicide to visit emergency room and primary care more often than those not at risk, especially among women. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study showing that when banks adopt a threatening attitude, suicide risk increases among the evicted. As hypothesized, when the evicted felt socially supported, suicide risk decreased. Emotional help was the main mediator of suicide risk and the main unmet need, especially among me

PAT Ciencias: Actividades del Programa de Acción Tutorial de la Facultad de Ciencias

El principal objetivo de este proyecto es organizar una serie de actividades que puedan ser de interés general para todos los estudiantes de la Facultad de Ciencias. Estas actividades, ya sean cursos, seminarios o reuniones, tendrán diferentes objetivos: ayudar al estudiante a mejorar su organización y planificación; fomentar los programas de movilidad europea y no europea; y preparar a los estudiantes para enfrentarse a su futura vida laboral. Todas estas actividades, junto con la información que pueda ser de interés para el estudiante, serán promovidas gracias a la creación de una página de Facebook para el PAT de la Facultad de Ciencias. Con la organización de las actividades propuestas, desde el PAT de la Facultad de Ciencias se pretende favorecer el desarrollo de las competencias transversales de sus estudiantes, ayudándoles y apoyándoles para la superación de las asignaturas matriculadas. Asimismo, se pretende también fomentar la movilidad de nuestros estudiantes tanto a nivel europeo como no europeo, y prepararlos para su futura incursión en el mundo laboral

Dendritic cell deficiencies persist seven months after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 infection induces an exacerbated inflammation driven by innate immunity components. Dendritic cells (DCs) play a key role in the defense against viral infections, for instance plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), have the capacity to produce vast amounts of interferon-alpha (IFN-α). In COVID-19 there is a deficit in DC numbers and IFN-α production, which has been associated with disease severity. In this work, we described that in addition to the DC deficiency, several DC activation and homing markers were altered in acute COVID-19 patients, which were associated with multiple inflammatory markers. Remarkably, previously hospitalized and nonhospitalized patients remained with decreased numbers of CD1c+ myeloid DCs and pDCs seven months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, the expression of DC markers such as CD86 and CD4 were only restored in previously nonhospitalized patients, while no restoration of integrin β7 and indoleamine 2,3-dyoxigenase (IDO) levels were observed. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the immunological sequelae of COVID-19

Identification of novel risk loci, causal insights, and heritable risk for Parkinson's disease: a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies

Background Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in Parkinson's disease have increased the scope of biological knowledge about the disease over the past decade. We aimed to use the largest aggregate of GWAS data to identify novel risk loci and gain further insight into the causes of Parkinson's disease. Methods We did a meta-analysis of 17 datasets from Parkinson's disease GWAS available from European ancestry samples to nominate novel loci for disease risk. These datasets incorporated all available data. We then used these data to estimate heritable risk and develop predictive models of this heritability. We also used large gene expression and methylation resources to examine possible functional consequences as well as tissue, cell type, and biological pathway enrichments for the identified risk factors. Additionally, we examined shared genetic risk between Parkinson's disease and other phenotypes of interest via genetic correlations followed by Mendelian randomisation. Findings Between Oct 1, 2017, and Aug 9, 2018, we analysed 7·8 million single nucleotide polymorphisms in 37 688 cases, 18 618 UK Biobank proxy-cases (ie, individuals who do not have Parkinson's disease but have a first degree relative that does), and 1·4 million controls. We identified 90 independent genome-wide significant risk signals across 78 genomic regions, including 38 novel independent risk signals in 37 loci. These 90 variants explained 16–36% of the heritable risk of Parkinson's disease depending on prevalence. Integrating methylation and expression data within a Mendelian randomisation framework identified putatively associated genes at 70 risk signals underlying GWAS loci for follow-up functional studies. Tissue-specific expression enrichment analyses suggested Parkinson's disease loci were heavily brain-enriched, with specific neuronal cell types being implicated from single cell data. We found significant genetic correlations with brain volumes (false discovery rate-adjusted p=0·0035 for intracranial volume, p=0·024 for putamen volume), smoking status (p=0·024), and educational attainment (p=0·038). Mendelian randomisation between cognitive performance and Parkinson's disease risk showed a robust association (p=8·00 × 10−7). Interpretation These data provide the most comprehensive survey of genetic risk within Parkinson's disease to date, to the best of our knowledge, by revealing many additional Parkinson's disease risk loci, providing a biological context for these risk factors, and showing that a considerable genetic component of this disease remains unidentified. These associations derived from European ancestry datasets will need to be followed-up with more diverse data. Funding The National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health (USA), The Michael J Fox Foundation, and The Parkinson's Foundation (see appendix for full list of funding sources)

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale