Variables que intervienen en la posesión de balón en rugby: una revisión sistemática

El presente artículo tuvo como objetivo identificar variables del juego relacionadas con la posesión del balón en equipos de alta competición en rugby. A través de una revisión sistemática, se examinó la literatura científica en estudios publicados entre el 2001 y 2021 que analizaran la posesión de balón en el contexto del rugby, en ligas profesionales, que identificaran variables de resultado y los patrones de juego. Se realizó una búsqueda en bases de datos especializadas: PubMed, Scopus, SportDiscus y Web of Science, y se encontró un total de 176 artículos. Cada estudio fue analizado por dos revisores de forma independiente; en caso de discrepancia, un tercer revisor decidió sobre su inclusión. Finalmente, fueron 16 los estudios que cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión. En la revisión se identificaron tres variables relacionadas con el resultado en las posesiones de balón: (a) ubicación en el terreno de juego y acción inicial de la posesión, (b) características de las fases de fijación (ruck), y (c) quiebres de línea. Los resultados muestran interdependencia en los diferentes estudios sobre la posesión del balón. Se considera que estas variables son responsables de la continuidad del juego ofensivo y pueden ser predictoras del resultado final de la posesión

Games for elders: Los Serious Games como herramienta alternativa para mejorar la calidad de vida en los hombres de la tercera edad que habitan en hogares geriátricos de las localidades de Chapinero, Teusaquillo y Barrios unidos

Games for Elders es un proyecto de diseño que busca generar e implementar una herramienta alternativa de alfabetización digital en personas de la tercera edad que se encuentran aisladas del mundo digital en hogares geriátricos y gerontológicos, a través del acercamiento a la tecnología mediante la implementación de videojuegos, para conseguir este objetivo se establecieron diferentes fases que se desarrollaron a lo largo de este proyecto; estos permitirían conocer el público objetivo con el que se trabajaría, conocer el espacio en el que viven y desarrollar e implementar serious games que mejoraran su calidad de vida y les permitiera conocer sobre este mundo digital, que para muchos de ellos puede ser ajeno a su vida hasta este momento. Sin embargo, existe un pequeño número de personas mayores que ya ha tenido contacto con dispositivos tecnológicos y por lo cual poseen conocimientos previos sobre el uso e importancia de estos, aunque sus actividades son externas a los videojuegos, los cuales gracias a sus características de interacción con el usuario permiten que este se sumerja dentro de la historia y al mismo tiempo utilice, desarrolle y fortalezca capacidades físicas, cognitivas o sociales, actuando, así como herramienta útil en la vida de la persona.Games for Elders is a design project that seeks to generate and implement an alternative digital literacy tool for elderly people who are isolated from the digital world in geriatric and gerontological homes, by approaching technology through the implementation of video games, to To achieve this objective different phases were established that would be developed throughout this project; These would allow knowing the target audience with which they would work, knowing the space in which they live and developing and implementing serious games that will improve their quality of life and allow them to know about this digital world, which for many of them may be alien to their life until this moment. However, there is a small number of older people who have already had contact with technological devices and therefore have prior knowledge about the use and importance of these, although their activities are external to video games, which thanks to their interaction characteristics with the user they allow this to immerse themselves in the history and at the same time use, develop and strengthen physical, cognitive or social abilities, acting as well as useful tool in the life of the person

Trojan Microparticles Potential for Ophthalmic Drug Delivery

The administration of drugs to treat ocular disorders still remains a technological challenge in this XXI century. Although there is an important arsenal of active molecules useful to treat ocular diseases, ranging from classical compounds to biotechnological products, currenty, no ideal delivery system is able to profit all their therapeutic potential. Among the intraocular drug delivery systems (IODDS) proposed to overcome some of the most important limitations, microsystems and nanosystems have raised high attention. While microsystems are able to offer long-term release after intravitreal injection, nanosystems can protect the active compound from external environment (reducing their clearance) and direct it to its target tissues. In recent years, some researchers have explored the possibility of combining micro and nanosystems in “nanoparticle-in-microparticle (NiMs)” systems or “trojan systems”. This excellent idea is not exempt of technological problems, remains partially unsolved, especially in the case of IODDS. The objective of the present review is to show the state of art concerning the design, preparation and characterization of trojan microparticles for drug delivery and to remark their potential and limitations as IODDS, one of the most important challenges faced by pharmaceutical technology at the moment

2-Hydroxybenzophenone as a Chemical Auxiliary for the Activation of Ketiminoesters for Highly Enantioselective Addition to Nitroalkenes under Bifunctional Catalysis

An organocatalytic system is presented for the Michael addition of monoactivated glycine ketimine ylides with a bifunctional catalyst. The ketimine bears an ortho hydroxy group, which increases the acidity of the methylene hydrogen atoms and enhances the reactivity, thus allowing the synthesis of a large variety of a,g-diamino acid derivatives with excellent stereoselectivit

Prevalence and Risk Factors of MASLD and Liver Fibrosis amongst the Penitentiary Population in Catalonia: The PRISONAFLD Study

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; Metabolic syndrome; PrisonMalaltia hepàtica esteatòtica associada a disfunció metabòlica; Síndrome metabòlica; PresóEnfermedad hepática esteatósica asociada a disfunción metabólica; Síndrome metabólico; PrisiónBackground and Aims: The prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases, particularly metabolic syndrome (MetS), has increased among the prison population. Nevertheless, we have limited data on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), the hepatic manifestation of this syndrome. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of MASLD and MASLD-associated liver fibrosis in the penitentiary population in Catalonia, Spain. Method: A cross-sectional observational study involving eight penitentiary centers. Participants had at least one metabolic disorder and were at a closed-regimen penitentiary. Individuals with concomitant liver diseases and/or alcohol risk consumption were excluded. Significant fibrosis and MASLD were defined as liver stiffness ≥8 kPa and a controlled attenuation parameter ≥275 dB/m by vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE), respectively. After exclusions, metabolic inmates with VCTE were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of MASLD and MASLD-associated significant fibrosis. Results: Out of the 4338 inmates studied, 1290 (29.7%) had metabolic disorders, and 646 (14.9%) underwent VCTE. The mean age was 48.0 years (SD 12.1), and 89.5% were male. MASLD prevalence was 33.9%. Significant fibrosis and MASLD-associated significant fibrosis were found in 16.4% and 9.4% of inmates, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, T2D, waist circumference, MetS, and higher ALT values were identified as independent risk factors for MASLD and MASLD-associated significant fibrosis amongst the prison population. Conclusions: Metabolic disorders including MASLD are highly prevalent among inmates. The prevalence of significant fibrosis seems notably higher than that of the general population, underscoring the need for targeted screening programs and therapeutic interventions in the incarcerated population

Intramolecular hydrogen bond activation: Thiourea-organocatalyzed enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of salicylaldehyde-derived azomethine ylides with nitroalkenes

An organocatalytic strategy for the synthesis of tetrasubstituted pyrrolidines with monoactivated azomethine ylides in high enantiomeric excess and excellent exo/endo selectivity is presented. The key to success is the intramolecular activation via hydrogen bonding through an o-hydroxy group, which allows the dipolar cycloaddition to take place in the presence of azomethine ylides bearing only one activating group. The intramolecular hydrogen bond in the azomethine ylide and the intermolecular hydrogen bond with the catalyst have been demonstrated by DFT calculations and mechanistic proofs to be crucial for the reaction to proceedThe Spanish Government (CTQ2015-64561-R, CTQ2016- 76061-P) and the European Research Council (ERC-CG, contract number 647550) are acknowledged. We acknowledge the generous allocation of computing time at the CCC (UAM). S.D.-T. gratefully acknowledges the “Ramón y Cajal” program (RYC-2010-07019). Financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the “Maria de Maeztu” Program of Excellence in R&D (MDM- 2014-0377

Microspheres as intraocular therapeutic tools in chronic diseases of the optic nerve and retina

Pathologies affecting the optic nerve and the retina are one of the major causes of blindness. These diseases include age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and glaucoma, among others. Also, there are genetic disorders that affect the retina causing visual impairment. The prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases of the posterior segment are increased as most of them are related with the elderly. Even with the access to different treatments, there are some challenges in managing patients suffering retinal diseases. One of them is the need for frequent interventions. Also, an unpredictable response to therapy has suggested that different pathways may be playing a role in the development of these diseases. The management of these pathologies requires the development of controlled drug delivery systems able to slow the progression of the disease without the need of frequent invasive interventions, typically related with endophthalmitis, retinal detachment, ocular hypertension, cataract, inflammation, and floaters, among other. Biodegradable microspheres are able to encapsulate low molecular weight substances and large molecules such as biotechnological products. Over the last years, a large variety of active substances has been encapsulated in microspheres with the intention of providing neuroprotection of the optic nerve and the retina. The purpose of the present review is to describe the use of microspheres in chronic neurodegenerative diseases affecting the retina and the optic nerve. The advantage of microencapsulation of low molecular weight drugs as well as therapeutic peptides and proteins to be used as neuroprotective strategy is discussed. Also, a new use of the microspheres in the development of animal models of neurodegeneration of the posterior segment is described

Gelatin Nanoparticles-HPMC Hybrid System for Effective Ocular Topical Administration of Antihypertensive Agents

The increment in ocular drug bioavailability after topical administration is one of the main challenges in pharmaceutical technology. For several years, different strategies based on nanotechnology, hydrogels or implants have been evaluated. Nowadays, the tolerance of ophthalmic preparations has become a critical issue and it is essential to the use of well tolerated excipients. In the present work, we have explored the potential of gelatin nanoparticles (GNPs) loaded with timolol maleate (TM), a beta-adrenergic blocker widely used in the clinic for glaucoma treatment and a hybrid system of TM-GNPs included in a hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) viscous solution. The TM- loaded nanoparticles (mean particle size of 193 ± 20 nm and drug loading of 0.291 ± 0.019 mg TM/mg GNPs) were well tolerated both in vitro (human corneal cells) and in vivo. The in vivo efficacy studies performed in normotensive rabbits demonstrated that these gelatin nanoparticles were able to achieve the same hypotensive effect as a marketed formulation (0.5% TM) containing a 5-fold lower concentration of the drug. When comparing commercial and TM GNPs formulations with the same TM dose, nanoparticles generated an increased efficacy with a significant (p < 0.05) reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) (from 21% to 30%) and an augmentation of 1.7-fold in the area under the curve (AUC)(0–12h). On the other hand, the combination of timolol-loaded nanoparticles (TM 0.1%) and the viscous polymer HPMC 0.3%, statistically improved the IOP reduction up to 30% (4.65 mmHg) accompanied by a faster time of maximum effect (tmax = 1 h). Furthermore, the hypotensive effect was extended for four additional hours, reaching a pharmacological activity that lasted 12 h after a single instillation of this combination, and leading to an AUC(0 12h) 2.5-fold higher than the one observed for the marketed formulation. According to the data presented in this work, the use of hybrid systems that combine well tolerated gelatin nanoparticles and a viscous agent could be a promising alternative in the management of high intraocular pressure in glaucoma