Features of non-kinship foster care children with birth family contact in Andalusia

The aim of the presentation is to describe the personal features of non-kinship foster care children who have visits with their birth family in Málaga, Granada and Jaén (provinces of Andalusia, Spain). This study was funded by the research project Application of a psychoeducational intervention program to improve visits between foster children and their biological families (Reference EDU2016 77094-P). SPSS v.21.0 was used to carry out the descriptive and frequency analysis of socio-demographic information collected by the Child File Summary Form designed for this study. There are 212 non-kinship foster care children who have visits with their birth family. Their mean age is 8.09 years old (SD= 4.73). The more frequent types of foster care are both long-term and short-term placement (30.7%, respectively), followed by specialized long-term foster care (20.3%), urgency placement (10.8%) and specialized short-term foster care (7.5%). The period of time they have been into the Child Protection System is on average 4.08 years (SD= 3.88) and into the current placement is on average 2.53 (SD= 2.95). Thus, 44.8% of foster children were in residential care and 30.2% were in previous foster care. The latter could have been with the current foster care family. Also, 41.0% of foster children were placed at least with one sibling. It is important to know the features of foster children in order to apply the main principle of “the best interests of the child” to the whole decision-making process about the child’s protection and welfare. In our project, these decisions concern foster care placement and birth family contact to maintain and strengthen family affective bonds and child’s identity formation. Our findings contribute to develop: (a) initiatives to improve children’s well-being; (b) support and social resources required by families; and (c) socio-educative tools for the social workers.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

A qualitative study about changes that parents experience through a pilot parenting support program to improve the quality of contact visits in non-kinship foster care

Despite the important impact that contact with birth parents during non-kinship foster care can have on a child’s well-being, there are few psychoeducational programs aimed at improving the quality of visits. The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions of changes in birth parents who have completed the first program of this kind to be developed in Spain, here in its pilot application. The aim of the program Visits: a context for family development is to improve parents’ emotional, communication, and parenting competences, and it comprises a total of seven sessions: six individual sessions that take place in the hour prior to consecutive scheduled visits with the child, and one group session involving all participating birth parents. A total of five families began the program, and three mothers completed all seven sessions. We conducted semi-structured interviews with mothers before and after the intervention so as to explore their perceptions regarding changes in their parenting competences and the quality of visits with their child. These data were complemented by participant-observer notes taken by one of the researchers during program sessions. Through content and semantic network analysis of interviews, we were able to identify changes in relation to five aspects of contact visits following participation in the parenting program. The results suggest that the program has the potential to enhance the parenting competences of birth mothers, to improve parentchild interaction during contact visits, and to encourage collaboration between the birth and foster families. These preliminary findings support the utility of the program for improving the quality of contact visits between birth parents and their children in non-kinship foster care.This study is part of an R + D Project of Excellence financed by the Spanish government (EDU201677094-P) [Proyecto I + D de Fomento de la Investigaci ón Científica y T écnica de Excelencia]. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de M ́alaga / CBUA. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Rail-to-rail class AB CMOS tunable transconductor with -52dB IM3 at 1MHz

A novel CMOS tunable transconductor is presented. The circuit operates in classAB hence featuring power efficiency. The internal feedback employed and the use of a linearized triode transistor for voltage-to-current conversion allows achieving high linearity. Rail-to-rail input range is obtained by using floatinggate transistors. Measurement results for a test chip prototype in a 0.5µm standard CMOS process show an IM3 of -52.13dB at 1MHz for a 2Vpp input and a power consumption of 2.2mW

El volunturismo: ¿una alternativa sostenible o un nuevo colonialismo disfrazado?

El presente Trabajo de Fin de Grado analiza y expone la disparidad de opiniones que surgen alrededor del fenómeno del volunturismo como alternativa sostenible al resto de prácticas relativas al ocio a nivel turístico e internacional. Ésta se trata de una alternativa surgida alrededor de los años 20 del siglo XX, a partir de la creciente conciencia de las consecuencias negativas del turismo de masas, planteando así una opción más sostenible que permite, además, realizar labores de voluntariado a la vez que el practicar el turismo.Como conclusiones adelantadas, existen dos opiniones que, normalmente, son incompatibles. Por un lado, las personas que apoyan esta práctica defienden que es algo que beneficia a ambas partes, tanto a la local como a la visitante. Ambas estimulan diferentes facetas necesarias, tales como la economía, el conocimiento, etc.; Por otro, la gente que opina que, principalmente, beneficia a la parte visitante sin apenas aportar a las personas locales que acogen y son receptoras de esa ayuda.<br /

Ammonium concentration in stream sediments resulting from decades of discharge from a wastewater treatment plant

A study of ammonium pollution in the sediments of a stream that receives wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) discharge has been carried out. It is urgently necessary to find environmental indicators that can help prevent and detect potential contamination of water, as water is an increasingly scarce resource. To understand the behaviour of ammonium ions introduced by a historical (50-year) contamination process, vertical boreholes were drilled in the stream banks to depths between 30 and 120 cm. Moisture, pH, ammonium (soluble and exchangeable), and clay fraction content were analysed. The variation profile of these parameters was evaluated as a function of depth to determine factors related to the distribution of ammonium in several locations along the stream banks. The ammonium concentration was asymmetrically distributed among samples collected in near-surface locations, with ammonium concentrations between 0.3048 mmol/kg soil and 0.0007 mmol/kg soil. Ammonium was typically concentrated at sediment depths of 30–40 cm, which also exhibited the highest clay fraction content. High positive correlations were detected (r > 0.8; p < 0.0001) among the different ammonium variables (exchanged and dissolved species). No contamination effect was observed below 60–70 cm depth, which was due to ammonium retention in a natural barrier layer of clayey sediment. The clays in our study area (previously identified as smectite, a 2:1 sheet silicate) were able to control the contamination by retaining ammonium in the interlayers, which retarded nitrification. It is suggested that clay could serve as a geo-indicator of ammonium pollution evolutio

Features of birth families with foster children in Andalusia

The aim of the presentation is to describe the personal features of biological families whose children are in non-kinship foster care and with whom they have face-to-face contact in Málaga, Granada and Jaén (provinces of Andalusia, Spain). This study was funded by the research project Application of a psychoeducational intervention program to improve visits between foster children and their biological families (Reference EDU2016 77094-P). SPSS v.21.0 was used to carry out the descriptive and frequency analysis of socio-demographic information collected by the Child File Summary Form designed for this study. The results show the difficulties experienced by birth families to deal with the responsibility of parenthood. There is a high percentage of unemployment (54.5% mothers, 46.4% fathers), and a low level of education (61.7% uneducated mothers, 68.8% uneducated fathers). Furthermore, it is necessary to consider their diverse personal problems which undermine their competences to bring up and educate their children: substance abuse, mental health issues, mental disability and prison. Finally, the lack of relation between Social Services and birth families is highlighted. Knowing the circumstances of families at psychosocial risk permits to develop social policies that match with their specific necessities, by providing them the support and resources required, in line with Recommendation Rec(2006)19 of the Committee of Ministers to member states. Moreover, children and families’ rights have to be respected, such as their right to have contact to maintain and strengthen their affective bonds as part of their identity. These findings will contribute to design: (a) family intervention programs which allow parents to acquire the necessary parental skills; (b) support and educational tools for the social workers; and (c) projects to contribute to children’s well-being.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Percepción de los acogedores sobre los programas de formación para el acogimiento familiar en Andalucía

Bernedo, I. M., González, L. y González, E. (2019). PERCEPCIÓN DE LOS ACOGEDORES SOBRE LOS PROGRAMAS DE FORMACIÓN PARA EL ACOGIMIENTO FAMILIAR EN ANDALUCÍA. Madrid: Dykinson.Extensa es la literatura científica sobre la educación formal, sin embargo, poco se conoce sobre ciertos ámbitos de la educación no formal, algunos muy específicos, como la formación de familias acogedoras. Incluso, dentro del ámbito del acogimiento familiar, la formación previa recibida para ser familia de acogida es un área poco investigada. Por ello, este estudio tiene como objetivo el análisis de la percepción de los acogedores sobre los programas de formación para el acogimiento familiar en Andalucía. Se ha analizado la satisfacción de acogedores/as de la Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía con la formación recibida para el acogimiento en relación a aspectos pedagógicos, técnicos y temáticos de la formación a través de un cuestionario on-line. Los resultados constatan la importancia de aplicar mejoras en los procesos de formación para el acogimiento familiar y la necesidad de seguimiento y formación continua durante el proceso de acogimiento familiar.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Overexpression of the ATPase Inhibitory Factor 1 Favors a Non-metastatic Phenotype in Breast Cancer

Partial suppression of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and the concurrent activation of aerobic glycolysis is a hallmark of proliferating cancer cells. Overexpression of the ATPase inhibitory factor 1 (IF1), an in vivo inhibitor of the mitochondrial ATP synthase, is observed in most prevalent human carcinomas favoring metabolic rewiring to an enhanced glycolysis and cancer progression. Consistently, a high expression of IF1 in hepatocarcinomas and in carcinomas of the lung, bladder, and stomach and in gliomas is a biomarker of bad patient prognosis. In contrast to these findings, we have previously reported that a high expression level of IF1 in breast carcinomas is indicative of less chance to develop metastatic disease. This finding is especially relevant in the bad prognosis group of patients bearing triple-negative breast carcinomas. To investigate the molecular mechanisms that underlie the differential behavior of IF1 in breast cancer progression, we have developed the triple-negative BT549 breast cancer cell line that overexpresses IF1 stably. When compared to controls, IF1-cells partially shut down respiration and enhance aerobic glycolysis. Transcriptomic analysis suggested that migration and invasion were specifically inhibited in IF1-overexpressing breast cancer cells. Analysis of gene expression by qPCR and western blotting indicate that IF1 overexpression supports the maintenance of components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and E-cadherin concurrently with the downregulation of components and signaling pathways involved in epithelial to mesenchymal transition. The overexpression of IF1 in breast cancer cells has no effect in the rates of cellular proliferation and in the cell death response to staurosporine and hydrogen peroxide. However, the overexpression of IF1 significantly diminishes the ability of the cells to grow in soft agar and to migrate and invade when compared to control cells. Overall, the results indicate that IF1 overexpression despite favoring a metabolic phenotype prone to cancer progression in the specific case of breast cancer cells also promotes the maintenance of the ECM impeding metastatic disease. These findings hence provide a mechanistic explanation to the better prognosis of breast cancer patients bearing tumors with high expression level of IF1.CN-T and IM-R were supported by pre-doctoral FPI-MEC and JAE-CSIC fellowships, respectively. This work was supported by grants from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (SAF2013-41945-R; SAF2016-75916-R), Comunidad Madrid (S2011/BMD-2402), and Fundación Ramón Areces 2015, Spain.Peer reviewedPeer Reviewe