Differential effects of two virtual reality interventions: distraction versus pain control

There is evidence that virtual reality (VR) pain distraction is effective at improving pain-related outcomes. However, more research is needed to investigate VR environments with other pain-related goals. The main aim of this study was to compare the differential effects of two VR environments on a set of pain-related and cognitive variables during a cold pressor experiment. One of these environments aimed to distract attention away from pain (VRD), whereas the other was designed to enhance pain control (VRC). Participants were 77 psychology students, who were randomly assigned to one of the following three conditions during the cold pressor experiment: (a) VRD, (b) VRC, or (c) Non-VR (control condition). Data were collected regarding both pain-related variables (intensity, tolerance, threshold, time perception, and pain sensitivity range) and cognitive variables (self-efficacy and catastrophizing). Results showed that in comparison with the control condition, the VRC intervention significantly increased pain tolerance, the pain sensitivity range, and the degree of time underestimation. It also increased self-efficacy in tolerating pain and led to a reduction in reported helplessness. The VRD intervention significantly increased the pain threshold and pain tolerance in comparison with the control condition, but it did not affect any of the cognitive variables. Overall, the intervention designed to enhance control seems to have a greater effect on the cognitive variables assessed. Although these results need to be replicated in further studies, the findings suggest that the VRC intervention has considerable potential in terms of increasing self-efficacy and modifying the negative thoughts that commonly accompany pain problems

Strategies for annotation and curation of translational databases: the eTUMOUR project

The eTUMOUR (eT) multi-centre project gathered in vivo and ex vivo magnetic resonance (MR) data, as well as transcriptomic and clinical information from brain tumour patients, with the purpose of improving the diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of future patients. In order to carry this out, among other work, a database—the eTDB—was developed. In addition to complex permission rules and software and management quality control (QC), it was necessary to develop anonymization, processing and data visualization tools for the data uploaded. It was also necessary to develop sophisticated curation strategies that involved on one hand, dedicated fields for QC-generated meta-data and specialized queries and global permissions for senior curators and on the other, to establish a set of metrics to quantify its contents. The indispensable dataset (ID), completeness and pairedness indices were set. The database contains 1317 cases created as a result of the eT project and 304 from a previous project, INTERPRET. The number of cases fulfilling the ID was 656. Completeness and pairedness were heterogeneous, depending on the data type involved

La filosofía entre el bachillerato y la universidad: Perspectivas docentes para la educación en el siglo XXI

Depto. de Lógica y Filosofía TeóricaGrupo de Investigación "Metafísica, Crítica y Política"Fac. de FilosofíaFALSEsubmitte

La filosofía entre el bachillerato y la universidad: Perspectivas docentes para la educación en el siglo XXI (II)

Se trata de la memoria final de las actividades del proyecto nº 106 de la convocatoria de Proyectos Innova-Docencia UCM 2020-2021

Role of age and comorbidities in mortality of patients with infective endocarditis

[Purpose]: The aim of this study was to analyse the characteristics of patients with IE in three groups of age and to assess the ability of age and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) to predict mortality. [Methods]: Prospective cohort study of all patients with IE included in the GAMES Spanish database between 2008 and 2015.Patients were stratified into three age groups:<65 years,65 to 80 years,and ≥ 80 years.The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was calculated to quantify the diagnostic accuracy of the CCI to predict mortality risk. [Results]: A total of 3120 patients with IE (1327 < 65 years;1291 65-80 years;502 ≥ 80 years) were enrolled.Fever and heart failure were the most common presentations of IE, with no differences among age groups.Patients ≥80 years who underwent surgery were significantly lower compared with other age groups (14.3%,65 years; 20.5%,65-79 years; 31.3%,≥80 years). In-hospital mortality was lower in the <65-year group (20.3%,<65 years;30.1%,65-79 years;34.7%,≥80 years;p < 0.001) as well as 1-year mortality (3.2%, <65 years; 5.5%, 65-80 years;7.6%,≥80 years; p = 0.003).Independent predictors of mortality were age ≥ 80 years (hazard ratio [HR]:2.78;95% confidence interval [CI]:2.32–3.34), CCI ≥ 3 (HR:1.62; 95% CI:1.39–1.88),and non-performed surgery (HR:1.64;95% CI:11.16–1.58).When the three age groups were compared,the AUROC curve for CCI was significantly larger for patients aged <65 years(p < 0.001) for both in-hospital and 1-year mortality. [Conclusion]: There were no differences in the clinical presentation of IE between the groups. Age ≥ 80 years, high comorbidity (measured by CCI),and non-performance of surgery were independent predictors of mortality in patients with IE.CCI could help to identify those patients with IE and surgical indication who present a lower risk of in-hospital and 1-year mortality after surgery, especially in the <65-year group

Differential effects of two virtual reality interventions: distraction versus pain control

There is evidence that virtual reality (VR) pain distraction is effective at improving pain-related outcomes. However, more research is needed to investigate VR environments with other pain-related goals. The main aim of this study was to compare the differential effects of two VR environments on a set of pain-related and cognitive variables during a cold pressor experiment. One of these environments aimed to distract attention away from pain (VRD), whereas the other was designed to enhance pain control (VRC). Participants were 77 psychology students, who were randomly assigned to one of the following three conditions during the cold pressor experiment: (a) VRD, (b) VRC, or (c) Non-VR (control condition). Data were collected regarding both pain-related variables (intensity, tolerance, threshold, time perception, and pain sensitivity range) and cognitive variables (self-efficacy and catastrophizing). Results showed that in comparison with the control condition, the VRC intervention significantly increased pain tolerance, the pain sensitivity range, and the degree of time underestimation. It also increased self-efficacy in tolerating pain and led to a reduction in reported helplessness. The VRD intervention significantly increased the pain threshold and pain tolerance in comparison with the control condition, but it did not affect any of the cognitive variables. Overall, the intervention designed to enhance control seems to have a greater effect on the cognitive variables assessed. Although these results need to be replicated in further studies, the findings suggest that the VRC intervention has considerable potential in terms of increasing self-efficacy and modifying the negative thoughts that commonly accompany pain problems

Strategies for annotation and curation of translational databases: the eTUMOUR project

The eTUMOUR (eT) multi-centre project gathered in vivo and ex vivo magnetic resonance (MR) data, as well as transcriptomic and clinical information from brain tumour patients, with the purpose of improving the diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of future patients. In order to carry this out, among other work, a database-the eTDB-was developed. In addition to complex permission rules and software and management quality control (QC), it was necessary to develop anonymization, processing and data visualization tools for the data uploaded. It was also necessary to develop sophisticated curation strategies that involved on one hand, dedicated fields for QC-generated meta-data and specialized quèries and global permissions for senior curators and on the other, to establish a set of metrics to quantify its contents. The indispensable dataset (ID), completeness and pairedness indices were set. The database contains 1317 cases created as a result of the eT project and 304 from a previous project, INTERPRET. The number of cases fulfilling the ID was 656. Completeness and pairedness were heterogeneous, depending on the data type involved

Libro conmemorativo XX años de la legislación marítima Venezolana: en homenaje a la memoria de Julio César Sánchez-Vegas

El libro cuenta con la gentil participación de expertos extranjeros y nacionales, muchos de ellos familiarizados con la génesis de las leyes acuáticas cuyo aniversario celebramos, a quienes deseamos agradecer su valiosa y desinteresada colaboración para materializar esta obra