ARQUS ClusterMap: UGR Bibliometric Reports Part II

The Arqus European University Alliance, which was formally established in Brussels on 27 November 2018, brings together the universities of Bergen, Granada, Graz, Leipzig, Lyon, Padova and Vilnius. A multilateral alliance of internationalized institutions that aspires to consolidate a joint governance structure to achieve a high level of integration in its members’ policies and action plans for 2025 due to their prior experience in cooperation in order to: Enhance the education of critically engaged European and global citizens who are able and willing to contribute to a multicultural, multilingual and inclusive Europe which is open to the world; Increase and improve the joint research capacity of the partner universities; Better respond to the grand societal challenges of the 21st century in Europe and beyond.[1] There are a total of six action lines to reach this level of integration and achieve excellence in education and research. One of them is “Research Support and Early Stage Researcher Development”, which is coordinated by the Research Board, chaired by University of Graz. Its main objectives are: I. share best practice in research management and support; II. study the feasibility of sharing resources; III. promote joint doctoral initiatives and promote shared opportunities. Among its planned activities the first one is ClusterMap, an in-depth analysis of the status quo of research connections within the cluster (alliance). So as part of that activity this report offers an initial study to observe their research status and collaborations for the last 10 years. The main goals of the report are: Analyse the general research profile and publication trend of ARQUS’ universities. Study the collaborations between universities and identify which are their main and common research areas in order to facilitate and promote collaborations between them. An in depth analysis of the the universities publication and specialization profiles according to areas and disciplines Identify and map oustanding researcheres with the objetive of stablish a directory that facilite future collaboration

Indicadores y estadísticas de Investigación UGR 2021

La UGR ha publicado en 2020 un total de 4746 artículos científicos en revistas indexadas en las base de datos Web of Science (sin incluir ESCI); esta cifra supone un ascenso sobre el año 2019 cuando se publicaron 4490 artículos, es decir la producción científica ha aumentado un 6%. Sigue aumentando la cantidad de artículos científicos que la UGR publica en Acceso Abierto alcanzando su máximo en el año 2020 con 1530. Dichos trabajos han sido publicados en revistas de la denominada Ruta Dorada (Gold Open Access). La UGR publica el 25% de sus artículos en revistas en acceso abierto, una cifra que supera la media nacional. A nivel nacional y, considerando los años 2016-2020, la UGR se mantiene como la quinta universidad española con mayor producción científica internacional, y la primera universidad de Andalucía gracias a la publicación de un total de 15406 artículos. La investigación universitaria granadina se mantiene por cuarto año consecutivo entre las 300 mejores universidades del mundo, según la clasificación del Ranking Académico de las Universidades del Mundo (ARWU) de 2020, más conocido como el Ranking de Shanghai. En el Ranking de Shanghai la UGR comparte posición con la Autónoma de Barcelona, la Complutense y la Universidad de Valencia, que también se encuentran entre los puestos 200 y 300 a nivel mundial, como la segunda mejor institución académica de España. En 2020 contamos con ocho investigadores altamente citados en las áreas de Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Agricultura Science, según los listados de Clarivate Analytics. La UGR es la segunda universidad española con mayor número de investigadores altamente citados por detrás de la Universitat de Barcelona que tiene nueve. Hemos de indicar que 22 universidades españolas consiguen situar al menos un investigador en estos listados de excelencia

Indicadores y estadísticas de Investigación UGR 2022

La UGR ha publicado en 2021 un total de 4383 artículos científicos en revistas indexadas en las bases de datos Web of Science (sin incluir ESCI); esta cifra supone un ascenso sobre el año 2020, cuando se publicaron 4248 artículos, es decir, la producción científica ha aumentado un 2,33%. Sigue aumentando la cantidad de artículos científicos que la UGR publica en Acceso Abierto alcanzando su máximo en el año 2021 con 1484. Dichos trabajos han sido publicados en revistas de la denominada Ruta Dorada (Gold Open Access). La UGR publica el 24% de sus artículos en revistas en acceso abierto, una cifra que supera la media nacional. A nivel nacional y, considerando los años 2017-2021, la UGR se mantiene como la quinta universidad española con mayor producción científica internacional, y la primera universidad de Andalucía gracias a la publicación de un total de 16806 artículos. La investigación universitaria granadina se mantiene por quinto año consecutivo entre las 300 mejores universidades del mundo, según la clasificación del Ranking Académico de las Universidades del Mundo (ARWU) de 2021, más conocido como el Ranking de Shanghái. En el Ranking de Shanghái, la UGR comparte posición con la Autónoma de Barcelona, y la Complutense de Madrid, que también se encuentran entre los puestos 201-300 a nivel mundial, y puestos 2-4 a nivel nacional. En 2021 contamos con ocho investigadores altamente citados en las áreas de Computer Science, Cross-Field, Engineering, Mathematics, según los listados de Clarivate Analytics. La UGR es la segunda universidad española con mayor número de investigadores altamente citados por detrás de la Universidad de Barcelona que tiene diez. Hemos de indicar que 25 universidades españolas consiguen situar al menos un investigador en estos listados de excelencia

Opioids and Ocular Surface Pathology: A Literature Review of New Treatments Horizons

This review discusses the role of opioids in the corneal surface and the different pathways and therapeutic methods of management. A literature review was performed using PubMed database. For the database search, the main searching words “opioid” and “topical opioid treatment” were used with the descriptors “cornea”, “ocular surface”, “neuropathic corneal pain”, “corneal sensitivity” and “naltrexone”; original scientific articles and reviews were included to achieve the purpose of the review. The endogenous opioid system has relevant functions in the organism, and in daily use, opioids are used as painkillers. However, these drugs may be employed for other indications as opioid pathways have a wide spectrum. The corneal surface for topical treatment is easily accessible, hence sparing the side effects of systemic opioids. Instillation of opioid antagonist substances, such as naltrexone, increases corneal healing rates and stimulates the division of corneal epithelium cells without deleterious effects. The natural modulation of endogenous opioids controls different forms of pain, including inflammatory and neuropathic pain, both in the ocular surface and in the central nervous system. There are diverse methods in controlling pain using opioids, especially in refractory forms. This review attempts to collect the literature about corneal surface and opioid pathways to provide an overview image and a possible direction of the news treatments

Exploring the Healthy Eye Microbiota Niche in a Multicenter Study

Purpose: This study aims to explore and characterize healthy eye microbiota. Methods: Healthy subjects older than 18 years were selected for this descriptive cross-sectional study. Samples were collected with an eSwab with 1 mL of Liquid Amies Medium (Copan Brescia, Italy). Following DNA extraction, libraries preparation, and amplification, PCR products were purified and end repaired for barcode ligation. Libraries were pooled to a final concentration of 26 pM. Template preparation was performed with Ion Chef according to Ion 510, Ion 520, and Ion 530 Kit-Chef protocol. Sequencing of the amplicon libraries was carried out on a 520 or 530 chip using the Ion Torrent S5 system (Thermo Fisher; Waltham, MA, USA). Raw reads were analyzed with GAIA (v 2.02). Results: Healthy eye microbiota is a low-diversity microbiome. The vast majority of the 137 analyzed samples were highly enriched with Staphylococcus, whereas only in a few of them, other genera such as Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Corynebacterium predominate. We found an average of 88 genera with an average Shannon index of 0.65. Conclusion: We identified nine different ECSTs. A better understanding of healthy eye microbiota has the potential to improve disease diagnosis and personalized regimens to promote health

Opioids and Ocular Surface Pathology : A Literature Review of New Treatments Horizons

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.This review discusses the role of opioids in the corneal surface and the different pathways and therapeutic methods of management. A literature review was performed using PubMed database. For the database search, the main searching words “opioid” and “topical opioid treatment” were used with the descriptors “cornea”, “ocular surface”, “neuropathic corneal pain”, “corneal sensitivity” and “naltrexone”; original scientific articles and reviews were included to achieve the purpose of the review. The endogenous opioid system has relevant functions in the organism, and in daily use, opioids are used as painkillers. However, these drugs may be employed for other indications as opioid pathways have a wide spectrum. The corneal surface for topical treatment is easily accessible, hence sparing the side effects of systemic opioids. Instillation of opioid antagonist substances, such as naltrexone, increases corneal healing rates and stimulates the division of corneal epithelium cells without deleterious effects. The natural modulation of endogenous opioids controls different forms of pain, including inflammatory and neuropathic pain, both in the ocular surface and in the central nervous system. There are diverse methods in controlling pain using opioids, especially in refractory forms. This review attempts to collect the literature about corneal surface and opioid pathways to provide an overview image and a possible direction of the news treatments.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Ocular Surface Microbiota in Naïve Keratoconus: A Multicenter Validation Study

In the field of Ophthalmology, the mNGS 16S rRNA sequencing method of studying the microbiota and ocular microbiome is gaining more and more weight in the scientific community. This study aims to characterize the ocular microbiota of patients diagnosed with keratoconus who have not undergone any prior surgical treatment using the mNGS 16S rRNA sequencing method. Samples of naïve keratoconus patients were collected with an eNAT with 1 mL of Liquid Amies Medium (Copan Brescia, Italy), and DNA was extracted and analyzed with 16S NGS. The microbiota analysis showed a relative abundance of microorganisms at the phylum level in each sample collected from 38 patients with KC and 167 healthy controls. A comparison between healthy control and keratoconus samples identified two genera unique to keratoconus, Pelomonas and Ralstonia. Our findings suggest that alterations in the microbiota may play a role in the complex scenario of KC development

EphA2-induced angiogenesis in ewing sarcoma cells works through bFGF production and is dependent on caveolin-1

Angiogenesis is the result of the combined activity of the tumor microenvironment and signaling molecules. The angiogenic switch is represented as an imbalance between pro- and anti-angiogenic factors and is a rate-limiting step in the development of tumors. Eph receptor tyrosine kinases and their membrane-anchored ligands, known as ephrins, constitute the largest receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) subfamily and are considered a major family of pro-angiogenic RTKs. Ewing sarcoma (EWS) is a highly aggressive bone and soft tissue tumor affecting children and young adults. As other solid tumors, EWS are reliant on a functional vascular network for the delivery of nutrients and oxygen and for the removal of waste. Based on the biological roles of EphA2 in promoting angiogenesis, we explored the functional role of this receptor and its relationship with caveolin-1 (CAV1) in EWS angiogenesis. We demonstrated that lack of CAV1 results in a significant reduction in micro vascular density (MVD) on 3 different in vivo models. In vitro, this phenomenon correlated with inactivation of EphA2 receptor, lack of AKT response and downregulation of bFGF. We also demonstrated that secreted bFGF from EWS cells acted as chemoattractant for endothelial cells. Furthermore, interaction between EphA2 and CAV1 was necessary for the right localization and signaling of the receptor to produce bFGF through AKT and promote migration of endothelial cells. Finally, introduction of a dominant-negative form of EphA2 into EWS cells mostly reproduced the effects occurred by CAV1 silencing, strongly suggesting that the axis EphA2-CAV1 participates in the promotion of endothelial cell migration toward the tumors favoring EWS angiogenesis

CartoCell, a high-content pipeline for 3D image analysis, unveils cell morphology patterns in epithelia

Decades of research have not yet fully explained the mechanisms of epithelial self-organization and 3D packing. Single-cell analysis of large 3D epithelial libraries is crucial for understanding the assembly and function of whole tissues. Combining 3D epithelial imaging with advanced deep-learning segmentation methods is essential for enabling this high-content analysis. We introduce CartoCell, a deep-learning-based pipeline that uses small datasets to generate accurate labels for hundreds of whole 3D epithelial cysts. Our method detects the realistic morphology of epithelial cells and their contacts in the 3D structure of the tissue. CartoCell enables the quantification of geometric and packing features at the cellular level. Our single-cell cartography approach then maps the distribution of these features on 2D plots and 3D surface maps, revealing cell morphology patterns in epithelial cysts. Additionally, we show that CartoCell can be adapted to other types of epithelial tissues.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2019-103900GB-I00, PID2020-120367GB-I00, PID2021-126701OB-I00Junta de Andalucía US-1380953, PY18-631Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BES-2022-07778

Educar en patrimonio con perspectiva de género desde la educación no formal: El proyecto “Soleando en el río de la vida”

Introduction: This article presents the research project entitled "Sunning in the river of life". Carried out by a group of women belonging to Matria Association of women for a culture also in feminine*, linked to the field of formal and non-formal education, with the aim of valuing the maintenance activities carried out by women in their daily life called "domestic".  Method: The methodology used has been narrative biographical, which as a branch of interpretive research, shares some general principles of qualitative research. Method that focuses on the experience of the subject whose story allows us to know her experience centered on a topic and in a specific time and context. Using standardized and in-depth interviews, systematic and participant observation, discussion groups with the participation of researchers, to obtain data.  Results: The results of the investigation have shown numerous variables related to the daily work of women and water, relevant to deepen the analysis of the history of the daily life of women and to value the so-called "domestic" jobs that They are guarantors of the well-being of the community.  Conclusions: This research opens the way to continue with the investigation of the history of the daily life of women in a specific time and context and to reflect on it from a critical and constructive perspective both in formal and non-formal and informal education with the goal of achieving a more just and egalitarian society and favor culture also in feminine.Introducción: En este artículo se presenta el proyecto de investigación titulado “Soleando en el río de la vida”. Llevado a cabo por un grupo de mujeres pertenecientes a Matria Asociación de mujeres por una cultura también en femenino*, vinculadas al ámbito de la educación formal y no formal, con el objetivo de poner en valor las actividades de mantenimiento realizadas por las mujeres en su vida cotidiana denominadas “domésticas“. Método: La metodología utilizada ha sido la biográfica narrativa, la cual como rama de la investigación interpretativa, comparte algunos principios generales de la investigación cualitativa. Método que se focaliza en la experiencia del sujeto cuyo relato permite conocer su experiencia centrada en un tema y en un tiempo y contexto geográfico concreto. Utilizando para la obtención de datos las entrevistas estandarizadas y en profundidad, la observación sistemática y participante y los grupos de discusión con la participación de las personas que componen el equipo de investigación  Resultados: Los resultados de la investigación han mostrado numerosas variables relacionadas con el trabajo cotidiano de las mujeres y el agua, relevantes para profundizar en el análisis de la historia de la vida cotidiana de la mujeres y poner el valor los trabajos denominados “domésticos” que son garantes del bienestar de la comunidad. Conclusiones: Esta investigación abre camino para continuar con la investigación de la historia de la vida cotidiana de la mujeres en un tiempo y un espacio concretos y reflexionar sobre ello desde una perspectiva critica y constructiva tanto en la educación formal como no formal con el objetivo de lograr un sociedad más justa e igualitaria y favorecer la cultura también en femenino.&nbsp