Enseñar y aprender convivencia. Análisis de un programa socioeducativo práctico de mejora de la participación democrática en 2º ciclo de educación infantil.

Hoy en día continúan siendo muchos los centros educativos que perciben la necesidad de trabajar en aras de mejorar la convivencia escolar. Se trata de una preocupación de la totalidad de los profesionales de la educación, si bien, en este trabajo, nos centraremos en el 2.º ciclo de Educación Infantil, etapa clave para el inicio de un proceso formativo de calidad. Nuestro objetivo va dirigido a valorar los efectos y resultados del diseño y aplicación de un programa socioeducativo de convivencia, integrado por diversas estrategias de intervención, implantado en un Centro de Acción Educativa Singular (CAES) de la ciudad de Valencia. Se ha utilizado un diseño cuasiexperimental pretest-postest con grupo control, recogiendo información de 93 miembros de la comunidad escolar de la etapa de educación infantil, de los cuales 50 son estudiantes, 7 docentes y 18 padres y madres. Los resultados obtenidos (cuantitativos y cualitativos) demuestran el adecuado funcionamiento del programa: profesorado, alumnado y familias del grupo experimental afirman la necesidad de seguir trabajando en proyectos de este calibre con la finalidad de continuar apostando por una escuela democrática. Como propuestas de mejora, más allá de la apuesta por una formación integral en convivencia para toda la comunidad educativa, las audiencias implicadas subrayan la necesidad de incorporar acciones que potencien la participación de las familias en la vida cotidiana de los centros educativos de educación infantil. Nowadays, there are still many schools requiring the need to work in order to improve school coexistence; this is a concern for all the professionals in education, however in this paper, we will focus on the 2nd cycle of childhood education, key stage of development for the beginning of the quality educational process. Our aim is to evaluate the effects and results of the design and implementation of a particular socio coexistence program, composed of various intervention strategies, introduced at "Centro de Acción Educativa Singular" -CAES- city of Valencia. We used a quasiexperimental design with pretest-postest control group, gathering information from 93 members of the school community related to the early childhood education: 50 students, 7 teachers and 18 parents. The quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate the appropriate programme's functioning: teachers, students and families in the experimental group confirmed the need to continue working on this type of projects, in order to continue supporting the democratic school. To suggest improvements to the program, beyond the commitment for a comprehensive training in coexistence for the whole educational community, the audience involved strengthen the need of incorporating actions that enhance family involvement in the daily life of early childhood education centres

An Approximation to Mediation from Within. The Case of Secondary Education in Spain

School coexistence is an educational challenge and the implementation of mediation is an essential tool for managing conflicts and improving interpersonal relationships. However, there are few studies that show its impact and even fewer that take into account students' perceptions. In this ex post facto research, we are interested in finding out the ratings provided by students from Spanish secondary schools where mediation takes place, paying special attention to those students who mediate conflicts. Specifically, the aim is to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of mediation from the perspective of the participating students and to detect any significant differences depending on whether or not the student is a mediator, their gender, the educational stage and school year. To this end, 1,198 students answered a validated questionnaire developed ad hoc. As general results, the descriptive and inferential analyses show that there is an overall positive assessment of mediation, even though the students who are mediators provide higher ratings. In addition, there are hardly any differences between boys and girls, ratings are generally more positive in the compulsory secondary school stage and, more specifically, in the first years of secondary school. Regarding initiatives that could strengthen school mediation practices, it is necessary to provide information on mediation services in the education centres, train all students and expand the scope of mediation

An end-to-end framework for intima media measurement and atherosclerotic plaque detection in the carotid artery

Background and objectives: The detection and delineation of atherosclerotic plaque are usually manually performed by medical experts on the carotid artery. Evidence suggests that this manual process is subject to errors and has a large variability between experts, equipment, and datasets. This paper proposes a robust end-to-end framework for automatic atherosclerotic plaque detection. Methods: The proposed framework is composed of: (1) a semantic segmentation model based on U-Net, with EfficientNet as the backbone, that obtains a segmentation mask with the carotid intima-media region; and (2) a convolutional neural network designed using Bayesian optimization that simultaneously performs a regression to get the average and maximum carotid intima media thickness, and a classification to determine the presence of plaque. Results: Our approach improves the state-of-the-art in both co and bulb territories in the REGICOR database, with more than 8000 images, while providing predictions in real-time. The correlation coefficient was 0.89 in the common carotid artery and 0.74 for bulb region, and the F1 score for atherosclerotic plaque detecting was 0.60 and 0.59, respectively. The experimentation carried out includes a comparison with other fully automatic methods for carotid intima media thickness estimation found in the literature. Additionally, we present an extensive experimental study to evaluate the robustness of our proposal, as well as its suitability and efficiency compared to different versions of the framework. Conclusions: The proposed end-to-end framework significantly improves the automatic characterization of atherosclerotic plaque. The generation of the segmented mask can be helpful for practitioners since it allows them to evaluate and interpret the model's results by visual inspection. Furthermore, the proposed framework overcomes the limitations of previous research based on ad-hoc post-processing, which could lead to overestimations in the case of oblique forms of the carotid artery

Unraveling the genetics of transformed splenic marginal zone lymphoma

Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse; MutationLeucemia linfocítica crónica de células B; Linfoma de células B grandes difuso; MutaciónLeucèmia limfocítica crònica de cèl·lules B; Limfoma de cèl·lules B grans difús; MutacióThe genetic mechanisms associated with splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL) transformation are not well defined. We studied 41 patients with SMZL that eventually underwent large B-cell lymphoma transformation. Tumor material was obtained either only at diagnosis (9 patients), at diagnosis and transformation (18 patients), and only at transformation (14 patients). Samples were categorized in 2 groups: (1) at diagnosis (SMZL, n = 27 samples), and (2) at transformation (SMZL-T, n = 32 samples). Using copy number arrays and a next-generation sequencing custom panel, we identified that the main genomic alterations in SMZL-T involved TNFAIP3, KMT2D, TP53, ARID1A, KLF2, 1q gains, and losses of 9p21.3 (CDKN2A/B) and 7q31-q32. Compared with SMZL, SMZL-T had higher genomic complexity, and higher incidence of TNFAIP3 and TP53 alterations, 9p21.3 (CDKN2A/B) losses, and 6p gains. SMZL and SMZL-T clones arose by divergent evolution from a common altered precursor cell that acquired different genetic alterations in virtually all evaluable cases (92%, 12 of 13 cases). Using whole-genome sequencing of diagnostic and transformation samples in 1 patient, we observed that the SMZL-T sample carried more genomic aberrations than the diagnostic sample, identified a translocation t(14;19)(q32;q13) present in both samples, and detected a focal B2M deletion due to chromothripsis acquired at transformation. Survival analysis showed that KLF2 mutations, complex karyotype, and International Prognostic Index score at transformation were predictive of a shorter survival from transformation (P = .001; P = .042; and P = .007; respectively). In summary, SMZL-T are characterized by higher genomic complexity than SMZL, and characteristic genomic alterations that could represent key players in the transformation event.This study was supported by Fundacion Asociación Española Contra el Cancer (AECC)/Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Cancer (CIBERONC): PROYE18020BEA (S.B.), fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III “Cofinanciado por la Union Europea ´ and Fondos FEDER: European Regional Development Fund “Una manera de hacer Europa”: PI17/ 01061 (S.B.), PI19/00887 (A.L.-G. and E.G.), INT20/00050 (A.L.- G.), MaratO TV3-Cancer/201904-30 (S.B.), Generalitat de Catalunya Suport Grups de Recerca AGAUR (2021-SGR-01293 [S.B.] and 2021-SGR-01172 [E.C.]), and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (PID2021-123054OB-I00 [E.C.]). C.L. is supported by postdoctoral Beatriu de Pinos grant, Secretaria d´Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya and by Marie Sklodowska-Curie COFUND program from H2020 (2018-BP-00055). E.C. is an Academia Researcher of the "Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats" of the Generalitat de Catalunya. This work was mainly developed at the Centre Esther Koplowitz (CEK), Barcelona, Spain

Insights into democratic school in Argentina and Spain

El estudio de las múltiples relaciones entre la educación y el sentido conceptual de la democracia sigue siendo una temática de interés. El objetivo principal del trabajo que se presenta es poner en valor el concepto, los pilares y el proceso de construcción de una escuela democrática, categorías sobre cuyos cimientos se asienta el carácter democrático de la institución escolar: la exigencia de la participación y la mejora de la convivencia. Este estudio se ha desarrollado a través de la voz de especialistas de educación de Salta (Argentina) y Valencia (España), comparando las acepciones más destacadas entre ambos países. A nivel metodológico, se ha llevado a cabo una investigación de carácter cualitativo, a través de entrevistas, encuestas y grupos focales, participando un total de 680 sujetos. Los resultados obtenidos evidencian que, pese a las diferencias detectadas, las exigencias y las necesidades de ambos países confluyen más de lo previsto. Desde ambas perspectivas se hace latente la necesidad de construir una escuela más inclusiva, participativa y formadora, a través de la mejora de la coordinación y la implicación de profesionales, familias y comunidad. Se concluye, finalmente, que una escuela democrática es una comunidad de aprendizaje donde la participación de todos (educar en democracia), aspira a convertirse en un taller práctico de convivencia (educar para la democracia).The study of the multiple links between education and the conceptual meaning of democracy remains a topic of interest. This paper aims to bring to the fore the concept, the pillars and the building process of a democratic school. The foundation of these categories is where the democratic character of the educational establishment lies: the imperative for participation and the improvement of living together. This study is based on the insights of 680 education specialists from Salta (Argentina) and Valencia (Spain) and compares the most salient meanings between both countries. At the methodological level, we have carried out a qualitative research by conducting interviews, surveys and focus groups. Our findings reveal that, despite the differences detected, the demands and needs of both countries converge more often than anticipated. From both perspectives, it is clear that there is a need to build a more inclusive, participatory and formative school, by improving the coordination and involvement of professionals, families and the community. Finally, it follows that a democratic school is a learning community where everyone’s participation (educating about democracy) aspires to become a hands-on workshop on living together (educating for democracy)

Exploring allele specific methylation in drug dependence susceptibility

Drug dependence is a neuropsychiatric condition that involves genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Allele-specific methylation (ASM) is a common and stable epigenetic mechanism that involves genetic variants correlating with differential levels of methylation at CpG sites. We selected 182 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) described to influence cis ASM in human brain regions to evaluate their possible contribution to drug dependence susceptibility. We performed a case-control association study in a discovery sample of 578 drug-dependent patients (including 428 cocaine-dependent subjects) and 656 controls from Spain, and then, we followed-up the significant associations in an independent sample of 1,119 cases (including 589 cocaine-dependent subjects) and 1,092 controls. In the discovery sample, we identified five nominal associations, one of them replicated in the follow-up sample (rs6020251). The pooled analysis revealed an association between drug dependence and rs6020251 but also rs11585570, both overcoming the Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. We performed the same analysis considering only cocaine-dependent patients and obtained similar results. The rs6020251 variant correlates with differential methylation levels of cg17974185 and lies in the first intron of the CTNNBL1 gene, in a genomic region with multiple histone marks related to enhancer and promoter regions in brain. Rs11585570 is an eQTL in brain and blood for the SCP2 and ECHDC2 genes and correlates with differential methylation of cg27535305 and cg13461509, located in the promoter regions of both genes. To conclude, using an approach that combines genetic and epigenetic data, we highlighted the CTNNBL1, SCP2 and ECHDC2 genes as potential contributors to drug dependence susceptibility

Polyvascular Subclinical Atherosclerosis: Correlation Between Ankle Brachial Index and Carotid Atherosclerosis in a Population-Based Sample

We assessed the correlation between the biomarkers of lower limb atherosclerosis (eg, ankle-brachial index [ABI]) and of carotid atherosclerosis (eg, common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and presence of atherosclerotic plaque) in a population-based cohort from Girona (Northwest Spain) recruited in 2010. Ankle-brachial index and carotid ultrasound were performed in all participants. Generalized additive multivariable models were used to adjust a regression model of common carotid IMT on ABI. Logistic regression multivariable models were adjusted to assess the probability of carotid plaque in individuals with peripheral artery disease. We included 3307 individuals (54.2% women), mean age 60 years (standard deviation 11). Two patterns of association were observed between subclinical biomarkers of atherosclerosis at the lower limb and carotid artery. Ankle-brachial index and common carotid IMT showed a linear trend in men [beta coefficient (95% confidence interval) =-.068 (-.123; -.012); P = .016]. Women with peripheral artery disease presented with high risk of atherosclerotic plaque at the carotid artery [Odds ratio (95% confidence interval) = 2.61, (1.46; 4.69); P = .001]. Men showed a significant linear association between ABI levels and common carotid IMT values. Women with peripheral artery disease presented with high risk of atherosclerotic plaque at the carotid artery

Do individuals with autoimmune disease have increased risk of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis and stiffness?

To explore the role of chronic inflammation inherent to autoimmune diseases in the development of subclinical atherosclerosis and arterial stiffness, this study recruited two population-based samples of individuals with and without autoimmune disease (ratio 1:5) matched by age, sex, and education level and with a longstanding (≥6 years) diagnosis of autoimmune disease. Common carotid intima media thickness (IMT) and arterial distensibility and compliance were assessed with carotid ultrasound. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were adjusted for 10-year cardiovascular risk. In total, 546 individuals with and without autoimmune diseases (91 and 455, respectively) were included. Mean age was 66 years (standard deviation 12), and 240 (43.9%) were women. Arterial stiffness did not differ according to presence of autoimmune diseases. In men, the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases significantly increased common carotid IMT [beta-coefficient (95% confidence interval): 0.058 (0.009; 0.108); p-value=0.022] and the percentage having IMT ≥ percentile 75 [1.012 (0.145; 1.880); p-value=0.022]. Women without autoimmune disease were more likely to have IMT ≥ percentile 75 [-2.181 (-4.214; -0.149); p-value=0.035] but analysis of IMT as a continuous variable did not yield significant results. In conclusion, subclinical carotid atherosclerosis, but not arterial stiffness, was higher in men with autoimmune diseases. Women did not show significant differences in any of these carotid features. Sex was an effect modifier in the association between common carotid IMT values and the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases

Association of the PLCB1 gene with drug dependence

Genetic factors involved in the susceptibility to drug addiction still remain largely unknown. MiRNAs seem to play key roles in the drug-induced plasticity of the brain that likely drives the emergence of addiction. In this work we explored the role of miRNAs in drug addiction. With this aim, we selected 62 SNPs located in the 3'UTR of target genes that are predicted to alter the binding of miRNA molecules and performed a case-control association study in a Spanish sample of 735 cases (mainly cocaine-dependent subjects with multiple drug dependencies) and 739 controls. We found an association between rs1047383 in the PLCB1 gene and drug dependence that was replicated in an independent sample (663 cases and 667 controls). Then we selected 9 miRNAs predicted to bind the rs1047383 region, but none of them showed any effect on PLCB1 expression. We also assessed two miRNAs binding a region that contains a SNP in linkage disequilibrium with rs1047383, but although one of them, hsa-miR-582, was found to downregulate PLCB1, no differences were observed between alleles. Finally, we explored the possibility that PLCB1 expression is altered by cocaine and we observed a significant upregulation of the gene in the nucleus accumbens of cocaine abusers and in human dopaminergic-like neurons after cocaine treatment. Our results, together with previous studies, suggest that PLCB1 participates in the susceptibility to drug dependence

The challenge of coexistence in socially vulnerable schools

Society in general and schools in particular continue to express their concerns with regard to the many challenges posed nowadays by living in a globalized world, where learning to coexist involves knowing oneself and those around us. Therefore, the professionals from the education sector and specially from the most vulnerable contexts demand the necessity to know strategiesand initiatives which enable them to build a democratic school, where learning to coexist is the key to educate engaged citizens living in an increasingly intercultural, changing world. The study presented here has been conducted in two differentiated, butcomplementary, phases. During the first phase a document search has been conducted on two inter-connected concepts: education and democracy, reviewing the theoretical and conceptual contributions from prominent authors, both national and international. During the second phase we have selected a series of peer and cooperative support strategies, as we consider them to be most appropriate to transform the school of today and tomorrow. We have stated their characteristics and their implementation possibilities. Class Assembly, Peer Support Program, Pair Reading, and Alternative Leisure to the Playground, are just some of those selected. It must therefore be concluded that building a democratic school is the way towards quality in education, by opening the school to participation through strategies which give a voice tothe whole education community