Evaluation of Happy Sport, an Emotional Education Program for Assertive Conflict Resolution in Sports

Background: Interpersonal conflicts occur in any kind of social relation, including the field of sports. Proper emotional management can improve athletes’ well-being, coexistence, and performance. This study presents the initial results of the gamified emotional education program Happy Sport in a sample of athletes in the field of non-formal education. Methods: The study sample consists of 194 athletes from the benjamín and alevín categories (3rd- to 6th-grade primary school children). A quasi-experimental pre-intervention and post-intervention design with a control group is followed using the Games and Emotions Scale (GES), Social Support Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA), and Bullying in Sports Questionnaire. Results: Statistically significant differences were found across participants in the experimental group between the pre- and post-intervention evaluations for the variables satisfaction and bullying. An analysis of the competencies related to emotion regulation revealed significant results for the experimental group for both scales (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression). Conclusions: The results show that after a training session with the gamified software Happy Sport, children’s satisfaction increased and bullying levels decreased. Changes in cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression may also be explained by the training received

Barrier-protective effects of activated protein C in human alveolar epithelial cells

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a clinical manifestation of respiratory failure, caused by lung inflammation and the disruption of the alveolar-capillary barrier. Preservation of the physical integrity of the alveolar epithelial monolayer is of critical importance to prevent alveolar edema. Barrier integrity depends largely on the balance between physical forces on cell-cell and cell-matrix contacts, and this balance might be affected by alterations in the coagulation cascade in patients with ALI. We aimed to study the effects of activated protein C (APC) on mechanical tension and barrier integrity in human alveolar epithelial cells (A549) exposed to thrombin. Cells were pretreated for 3 h with APC (50 mg/ml) or vehicle (control). Subsequently, thrombin (50 nM) or medium was added to the cell culture. APC significantly reduced thrombin-induced cell monolayer permeability, cell stiffening, and cell contraction, measured by electrical impedance, optical magnetic twisting cytometry, and traction microscopy, respectively, suggesting a barrier-protective response. The dynamics of the barrier integrity was also assessed by western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis of the tight junction ZO-1. Thrombin resulted in more elongated ZO-1 aggregates at cell-cell interface areas and induced an increase in ZO-1 membrane protein content. APC attenuated the length of these ZO-1 aggregates and reduced the ZO-1 membrane protein levels induced by thrombin. In conclusion, pretreatment with APC reduced the disruption of barrier integrity induced by thrombin, thus contributing to alveolar epithelial barrier protection

El uso del vocabulario emocional: un análisis a través de distintas etapas educativas

Desarrollar el vocabulario emocional contribuye a mejorar numerosos aspectos relacionados con el bienestar emocional y ayuda a construir la realidad, propiciando así una mejor adaptación al entorno. En vista de su importancia, este estudio pretende conocer las diferencias en el vocabulario emocional en función del sexo y la etapa educativa mediante un instrumento de generación de etiquetas elaborado ad-hoc. El número total de participantes fue de 1.244, pertenecientes a educación primaria, educación secundaria y grados universitarios. Se utilizaron estadísticos descriptivos y comparación de medias (ANOVA). Los resultados reflejan confusión en el concepto emoción y se reportan mayormente las emociones básicas alegría y tristeza

Aortic remodelling induced by obstructive apneas is normalized with mesenchymal stem cells infusion

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) promotes aortic dilatation, increased stiffness and accelerated atherosclerosis, but the mechanisms of vascular remodelling are not known. We aimed to assess vascular remodelling, its mechanisms, and the effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) infusions in a clinically relevant rat model of chronic OSA involving recurrent airway obstructions leading thoracic pressure swings and intermittent hypoxia/hypercapnia (OSA-rats). Another group of rats were placed in the same setup without air obstructions (Sham-rats) and were considered controls. Our study demonstrates that chronic, non-invasive repetitive airway obstructions mimicking OSA promote remarkable structural changes of the descending thoracic aorta such as eccentric aortic hypertrophy due to an increased wall thickness and lumen diameter, an increase in the number of elastin fibers which, in contrast, get ruptured, but no changes in tunica media fibrosis. As putative molecular mechanisms of the OSA-induced vascular changes we identified an increase in reactive oxygen species and renin-angiotensin system markers and an imbalance in oxide nitric synthesis. Our results also indicate that MSC infusion blunts the OSA-related vascular changes, most probably due to their anti-inflammatory properties

Protagonitza Barcelona

Treballs de l'alumnat del Grau de Comunicació Audiovisual, Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació, Universitat de Barcelona, [Projectes I - Grup VI]. Curs: 2015-2016, Tutor: Jaume Vilaseca Corderroure.Directors: Núria Barba, Aran Comín, Gemma Burgos, Mar Fernández, Raquel Gil, Alba Pedrerol i Berta Salvat; Productora: Alba Pedrerol; Aj. Producció: Núria Barba; Guionista: Berta Salvat; Directora de fotografia: Mar Fernández; Càmera: Gemma Burgos; Aj. càmera; Alba Pedrerol; Il·luminadora: Raquel Gil; Direcció de so: Aran Comín; Muntatge: Gemma Burgos; Música: Aran Comín; Equip artístic: Aran Comín, Josh Pricard, Raquel Gil, Núria Barba, Alba Pedrerol.Un grup de cinc amics participen en un joc d’atzar que consisteix a representar pel·lícules en llocs emblemàtics de Barcelona: la Sagrada Família, el Passeig de Gràcia, la Barceloneta, les Rambles, els Búnkers del Caramel, Plaça Catalunya i el Park Güell. Junts representen experiències de vida com l’amor, la diversió o el misteri a través de les pel·lícules Forrest Gump, Singin’ in the rain, Titanic, The Birds, The Lion King, The Lord of the Rings i Per qualche dollaro in più. El punt culminant és quan, després d’haver representat les escenes més mítiques dels films, van als cinemes Comedia per gaudir en companyia de les pel·lícules que els ofereix

Trends in Qualifying Biomarkers in Drug Safety. Consensus of the 2011 Meeting of the Spanish Society of Clinical Pharmacology

In this paper we discuss the consensus view on the use of qualifying biomarkers in drug safety, raised within the frame of the XXIV meeting of the Spanish Society of Clinical Pharmacology held in Málaga (Spain) in October, 2011. The widespread use of biomarkers as surrogate endpoints is a goal that scientists have long been pursuing. Thirty years ago, when molecular pharmacogenomics evolved, we anticipated that these genetic biomarkers would soon obviate the routine use of drug therapies in a way that patients should adapt to the therapy rather than the opposite. This expected revolution in routine clinical practice never took place as quickly nor with the intensity as initially expected. The concerted action of operating multicenter networks holds great promise for future studies to identify biomarkers related to drug toxicity and to provide better insight into the underlying pathogenesis. Today some pharmacogenomic advances are already widely accepted, but pharmacogenomics still needs further development to elaborate more precise algorithms and many barriers to implementing individualized medicine exist. We briefly discuss our view about these barriers and we provide suggestions and areas of focus to advance in the field