Competencias docentes en la era digital. La formación del pensamiento práctico

Las grandes transformaciones tecnológicas y las nuevas formas de concebir la enseñanza y el aprendizaje plantean la necesidad de volver a pensar el sentido y la naturaleza de la profesión docente. En este escenario, la investigación educativa se ha centrado en conocer cuáles son las competencias que los docentes necesitan para afrontar de manera satisfactoria los nuevos retos profesionales. Este artículo reflexiona, precisamente, acerca del sentido holístico del controvertido término competencias, sobre la selección de las que serían profesionalmente más sobresalientes y sobre los complejos procesos de formación de las mismas. Se destaca la importancia que adquieren el pensamiento práctico y el desarrollo de procesos de interacción entre la teoría y la práctica como marco privilegiado para la formación de competencias en el profesorado

Alternative electron transfer pathways in iron-metabolising bacteria

Ferric iron (Fe3+) can be used as a terminal electron acceptor by iron-reducing microorganisms to facilitate cellular respiration under anoxic conditions. In contrast, ferrous iron (Fe2+) is used as an electron donor by iron-oxidising microorganisms. The presence of dissimilatory pathways in iron metabolisers maintain bioavailable iron in the environment for other organisms. Redox reactions between gram-negative bacteria and iron usually occur through an extracellular electron transport (EET) pathway that allows electrons to cross from the inner membrane to the extracellular environment or vice versa. The study of the redox pathway has been thoroughly studied in the iron reducer Shewanella oneidensis, however, there is little information about the metabolic pathways used by other iron metabolisers. In this thesis, the environmental isolates Acinetobacter and Citrobacter have been described as novel iron reducing bacteria by using a combination of techniques including ferrozine assays, cytochrome identification methods and transcriptomic analysis. Results in this thesis suggest that Acinetobacter (previously described as a strict aerobic microorganism) in fact is capable of respiring using iron when oxygen is not available. In contrast, Citrobacter’s iron reduction pathway seems to involve fermentative processes. These results point out that extracellular electron transport is not the only mechanism in dissimilatory iron metabolism. Moreover, these results suggest that anaerobic environments could be a reservoir for pathogenic strains of Acinetobacter, as it has been shown that this species do not require oxygen to survive. In addition to the study of new iron reducers, an overexpression system has been developed to study proteins involved in metal oxidation pathways without the need of culturing the notoriously slow-growing iron oxidising bacteria. The genes cyc2 and cyc2PV-1, which encode outer membranes cytochromes from Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Mariprofundus ferrooxydans respectively, have been transformed into the iron reducer Shewanella oneidensis for protein expression optimization. The optimization of this process offers great possibility for the future study and applications of metal oxidation pathways

Increasing antibiotic resistance in preservative-tolerant bacterial strains isolated from cosmetic products

To ensure the microbiological quality, consumer safety and organoleptic properties of cosmetic products, manufacturers need to comply with defined standards using several preservatives and disinfectants. A drawback regarding the use of these preservatives is the possibility of generating cross-insusceptibility to other disinfectants or preservatives, as well as cross resistance to antibiotics. Therefore, the objective of this study was to understand the adaptive mechanisms of Enterobacter gergoviae, Pseudomonas putida and Burkholderia cepacia that are involved in recurrent contamination in cosmetic products containing preservatives. Diminished susceptibility to formaldehyde-donors was detected in isolates but not to other preservatives commonly used in the cosmetics industry, although increasing resistance to different antibiotics (β-lactams, quinolones, rifampicin, and tetracycline) was demonstrated in these strains when compared with the wild-type strain. The outer membrane protein modifications and efflux mechanism activities responsible for the resistance trait were evaluated. The development of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms due to the selective pressure from preservatives included in cosmetic products could be a risk for the emergence and spread of bacterial resistance in the environment. Nevertheless, the large contribution of disinfection and preservation cannot be denied in cosmetic products. [Int Microbiol 2015; 18(1):51-59]Keywords: Enterobacter · Pseudomonas · Burkholderia · cosmetic preservatives · antibiotics · cross-resistanc

Mechanisms of Bacterial Extracellular Electron Exchange.

The biochemical mechanisms by which microbes interact with extracellular soluble metal ions and insoluble redox-active minerals have been the focus of intense research over the last three decades. The process presents two challenges to the microorganism; firstly electrons have to be transported at the cell surface, which in Gram negative bacteria presents an additional problem of electron transfer across the ~ 6 nm of the outer membrane. Secondly the electrons must be transferred to or from the terminal electron acceptors or donors. This review covers the known mechanisms that bacteria use to transport electrons across the cell envelope to external electron donors/acceptors. In Gram negative bacteria electron transfer across the outer membrane involves the use of an outer membrane β-barrel and cytochrome. These can be in the form of a porin-cytochrome protein, such as Cyc2 of Acidothiobacillus ferrioxydans, or a multiprotein porin-cytochrome complex like MtrCAB of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. For mineral respiring organisms there is the additional challenge of transferring the electrons from the cell to mineral surface. For the strict anaerobe Geobacter sulfurreducens this requires electron transfer through conductive pili to associated cytochrome OmcS that directly reduces Fe(III)oxides, while the facultative anaerobe S. oneidensis MR-1 accomplishes mineral reduction through direct membrane contact, contact through filamentous extentions and soluble flavin shuttles, all of which require the outer membrane cytochromes MtrC and OmcA in addition to secreted flavin

Análisis de la motivación y rendimiento académico utilizando el aprendizaje basado en problemas con estudiantes de Ciencias de la salud :Terapia ocupacional

El Aprendizaje basado en Problemas (ABP) se caracteriza por desarrollar una serie de habilidades y competencias indispensables en el entorno profesional. Es un método innovador en el cual el aprendizaje es significativo, ya que se centra en el estudiante y fomenta el aprendizaje autónomo. En las disciplinas de ciencias de la salud, se precisan unas estrategias educativas específicas, ya que los estudios de ciencias de la Salud están fragmentados en diferentes especialidades, es por este motivo que el ABP es una herramienta que puede ser muy útil. El objetivo de este estudio es conocer si la utilización del ABP mejora la motivación de los estudiantes y también si influye en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes. Para ello, se incorporó en la metodología el uso de actividades que conllevaran ABP en dos asignaturas y dos cursos de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, (Intervención de la Terapia Ocupacional en Salud Mental I y técnicas terapéuticas). Dichas asignaturas fueron impartidas en la titulación de Terapia Ocupacional durante el curso académico 2013/2014. La muestra estuvo compuesta por un total de 106 estudiantes. Para medir la motivación, se administró el cuestionario de motivación y estrategias de aprendizaje (en sus siglas en inglés, MSLQ) al comienzo de las dos asignaturas para conocer el nivel de motivación del que partían. Cuando finalizaron las dos asignaturas se volvió a administrar a los estudiantes que habían participado en la encuesta inicial. Concretamente, se presentan las características de la experiencia, así como un análisis descriptivo sobre la relación entre el uso de la ABP y la nota final de las asignaturas. Se compararon también las calificaciones de asignaturas que no habían implementado el ABP en su metodología. Los resultados mostraron de forma general que los niveles de motivación son parecidos en la fase inicial y final, obteniéndose por lo general puntuaciones de 4 en aproximadamente el 50% de los encuestados. En cambio, cabe señalar que al compararse las notas de de los estudiantes en las asignaturas que habían implementado ABP y en las que no, los resultados mostraron que en las asignaturas con ABP las calificaciones finales fueron más altas que en aquellas asignaturas que no se implementó. Estos resultados indican que el uso de la metodología basada en ABP contribuye a que los estudiantes mantengan un nivel de motivación durante la asignatura, el cual a su vez influye positivamente en el rendimiento académico de los estudiantesUniversidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Dimensiones de personalidad y calidad de vida relacionada con la salud en mujeres

Incluye: PDF de la presentación y video del seminario.El objetivo del estudio es analizar la asociación entre personalidad y calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS) en una muestra de mujeres españolas. Se quiere: explorar el papel de la edad como posible factor de confusión y el papel de la Family of Origin Socio Economic Status (FOSES) como posible modificador del efecto. Las conclusiones del estudio son: 1. Niveles altos de neuroticismo afectan negativamente los componentes físico y mental de la CVRS en mujeres españolas. 2. Extraversión alta está relacionada con mejores resultados en la CVRS mental en esta población. 3. Los niveles más altos de amabilidad se asocian con: Mujeres españolas con bajo nivel de FOSES: peores resultados de CVRS física pero mejores resultados de CVRS mental y mujeres con FOSES medio-alto: peor CVRS mental.N

microRNA Expression and Its Association With Disability and Brain Atrophy in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Treated With Glatiramer Acetate.

Background: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNA that regulate gene expression at a post-transcriptional level affecting several cellular processes including inflammation, neurodegeneration and remyelination. Different patterns of miRNAs expression have been demonstrated in multiple sclerosis compared to controls, as well as in different courses of the disease. For these reason they have been postulated as promising biomarkers candidates in multiple sclerosis. Objective: To correlate serum microRNAs profile expression with disability, cognitive functioning and brain volume in patients with remitting-relapsing multiple sclerosis. Methods: Cross-sectional study in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients treated with glatiramer acetate. Disability was measured with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and cognitive function was studied with Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Brain volume was analyzed with automatic software NeuroQuant® . Results: We found an association between miR.146a.5p (rs:0.434, p=0.03) and miR.9.5p (rs:0.516, p=0.028) with EDSS; and miR-146a.5p (rs:-0.476, p=0.016) and miR-126.3p (rs:-0.528, p=0.007) with SDMT. Regarding to the brain volume, miR.9.5p correlated with thalamus (rs:-0.545, p=0.036); miR.200c.3p with pallidum (rs:-0.68, p=0.002) and cerebellum (rs:-0.472, p=0.048); miR-138.5p with amygdala (rs:0.73, p=0.016) and pallidum (rs:0.64, p=0.048); and miR-223.3p with caudate (rs:0.46, p=0.04). Conclusions: These data support the hypothesis of microRNA as potential biomarkers in this disease. More studies are needed to validate these results and to better understand the role of microRNAs in the pathogenesis, monitoring and therapeutic response of multiple sclerosis.post-print1410 K

Juvenile polyautoimmunity in a rheumatology setting

Q1Q1Paciente jovenOvert polyautoimmunity (PolyA) corresponds to the presence of more than one well-defined autoimmune disease (AD) manifested clinically in a single patient. The current study aimed to describe the main characteristics of juvenile PolyA in a pediatric rheumatology setting and analyze the chronological aspects, index cases, familial autoimmunity, and clustering pattern. This was a cross-sectional and multicenter study in which 313 children with overt PolyA were included. Patients were systematically interviewed and their medical records reviewed using a questionnaire that sought information about demographic, clinical, immunological, and familial characteristics. A hierarchical cluster analysis was done to determine similarities between autoimmune diseases based on PolyA. PolyA occurred simultaneously in 138 (44%) patients. Multiple autoimmune syndrome was observed in 62 (19.8%) patients. There were 25 index diseases of which, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, n = 134, 42.8%), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA, n = 40, 12.7%), Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT, n = 24, 7.66%), immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP n = 20, 6.39%), antiphospholipid syndrome (APS, n = 15, 4.79%), and vitiligo (VIT, n = 15, 4.79%) were the most frequent and represented 79.23% of the total number of patients. Familial autoimmunity influenced PolyA. A high aggregation of autoimmunity was observed (λr = 3.5). Three main clusters were identified, of which SLE and APS were the most similar pair of diseases (based on the Jaccard index) followed by HT and JIA, which were related to ITP and Sjögren's syndrome. The third cluster was composed of localized scleroderma and VIT. Our findings may assist physicians to make an early diagnosis of this frequent condition. Pediatric patients with ADs should be systematically assessed for PolyA.Revista Nacional - Indexad

Fetal sex modulates developmental response to maternal malnutrition

The incidence of obesity and metabolic diseases is dramatically high in rapidly developing countries. Causes have been related to intrinsic ethnic features with development of a thrifty genotype for adapting to food scarcity, prenatal programming by undernutrition, and postnatal exposure to obesogenic lifestyle. Observational studies in humans and experimental studies in animal models evidence that the adaptive responses of the offspring may be modulated by their sex. In the contemporary context of world globalization, the new question arising is the existence and extent of sex-related differences in developmental and metabolic traits in case of mixed-race. Hence, in the current study, using a swine model, we compared male and female fetuses that were crossbred from mothers with thrifty genotype and fathers without thrifty genotype. Female conceptuses evidence stronger protective strategies for their adequate growth and postnatal survival. In brief, both male and female fetuses developed a brain-sparing effect but female fetuses were still able to maintain the development of other viscerae than the brain (mainly liver, intestine and kidneys) at the expense of carcass development. Furthermore, these morphometric differences were reinforced by differences in nutrient availability (glucose and cholesterol) favoring female fetuses with severe developmental predicament. These findings set the basis for further studies aiming to increase the knowledge on the interaction between genetic and environmental factors in the determination of adult phenotype

Abeta from APP/PS1 Alzheimer mice hippocampus induced synaptic damage in vivo and in vitro

We aim to investigate the effects of Abeta from young APP/PS1 mouse model of Alzheimer`s disease (AD) on the synaptic integrity, as the loss of synapses strongly correlates with cognitive deficits in patients. Plaque-associated abnormal swellings of neuronal processes represent the first indicator of disease development and might compromise neuronal integrity and synaptic function. Here, we examined the synaptic nature of dystrophic neurites, and the reduction of both synapses and vesicles density in presynaptic terminals along with the progressive accumulation of autophagic structures and Abeta within hippocampal synaptosomes during the aging. We analysed both the direct synaptotoxic effect of plaques in the hippocampus of this model and also the repercussion of the soluble (S1) fraction in neuronal cultures. Hippocampal synapses were observed under both optic and electron microscopy. Synapses and vesicle density were quantified in periplaque and control (plaque-free) areas by electron microscopy. Primary neuronal cultures were incubated for 48 hours with 6-month-old APP/PS1 and wild-type S1 fractions. In addition, Abeta immunodepletion was carried out with different anti-Abeta antibodies and the levels of synaptic proteins were measured by Western-blot (WB). Both synapse number and synaptic-vesicles density were significantly decreased in young APP/PS1 mice, close to the Abeta deposits, in several hippocampal layers. Importantly, there was a correlation between the synaptic deficiencies and the distance to plaques, which presented oligomeric forms in their periphery. Some presynaptic elements were abnormally swollen, containing autophagic vesicles. In addition, we found by WB a decrease in several hippocampal synaptic markers as early as 4 months of age in this model, and also in neuronal cultures incubated with S1 fractions. Significantly, the neuronal reduction in VGLUT was reversed after Abeta immunodepletion. Plaque-associated oligomeric Abeta induced an early deleterious effect on synapses that correlates with memory deficits in young APP/PS1 mice. Moreover, soluble Abeta derived from these transgenic mice reduced synaptic protein content in vitro, which was restored after immunodepletion of Abeta species. Therefore, this model produced synaptotoxic Abeta and may represent a valuable tool to test novel treatments to protect synapses as an early therapeutic approach for AD.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech