Assessing the development of second language syntax in Content and Language Integrated Learning

This study examined the effect of the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach on the English proficiency and syntax of a group of Andalusian learners. High-school students (n = 22) enrolled in CLIL and non-CLIL classes in the same school (I.E.S. Mariana Pineda) took an English proficiency test adapted from the University Entrance Examination. Students were assessed for syntactic development in English using an Elicited Imitation (EI) task in conjunction with an experimental design based on the syntactic properties of English. Pre-intervention academic achievement, socio-economic status (SES), and gender were included as covariates in the analyses. CLIL students scored significantly higher than non-CLIL students on the syntactic task (p = 0.002) and the proficiency test (p < 0.001). Results revealed a significant positive correlation between the scores obtained in the proficiency test and the EI task for the CLIL group (p < 0.01), but not for the non-CLIL group (p = 0.39). These findings advance a methodology to assess the English syntax of CLIL students.Este estudio examinó la efectividad del Aprendizaje Integrado de Contenidos y Lenguas Extranjeras (AICLE) respecto al dominio del inglés y la incorporación de su sintaxis en un grupo de estudiantes andaluces. Alumnos de instituto (n = 22) matriculados en clases AICLE y clases no-AICLE del mismo centro educativo (I.E.S. Mariana Pineda) realizaron un examen de inglés adaptado de la Prueba de Evaluación de Bachillerato para el Acceso a la Universidad. Se evaluó el grado de desarrollo de la sintaxis del inglés en los alumnos empleando una prueba de Imitación Elicitada (EI) en conjunción con un diseño experimental basado en las propiedades sintácticas del inglés. Se incluyeron como covariables en el análisis el nivel académico y socioeconómico previos a la intervención, así como el sexo del alumnado. Los alumnos AICLE obtuvieron mejores resultados que los no-AICLE en la prueba sintáctica (p = 0.002) y en el examen de inglés (p < 0.001). Los resultados evidenciaron una correlación significativa positiva entre la puntuación obtenida en el examen inglés y en la prueba EI para el grupo AICLE (p < 0.01), pero no para el no-AICLE (p = 0.39). Estos resultados proponen una metodología para evaluar la sintaxis inglesa de los estudiantes CLIL

Association between biomarkers of iron status and cardiometabolic risk in Spanish children aged 9-10 years. The ELOIN study

The relationship between iron metabolism and cardiometabolic risk factors has been scarcely studied in children, and the results are controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between iron parameters and lipid, glycemic and blood pressure alterations in the pediatric population. This was a cross-sectional study of 1954 children between 9 and 10 years of age in Madrid (Spain), participants in a longitudinal study of childhood obesity. Iron metabolism parameters, i.e., serum iron (Is), ferritin (Fs), transferrin (Tf) and transferrin saturation (STf) and lipid, glycemic and blood pressure profiles were evaluated. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated using logistic regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, diet, physical activity, C-reactive protein and body mass index. Compared with the participants in the low Is and STf tertiles, those in the upper tertiles had a lower risk of low HDL-Chol (OR: 0.34; 95%CI: 0.17; 0.67) and OR: 0.44 (95%CI: 0.23; 0.84), respectively, and children in the upper Fs tertile had an OR of 2.07 (95%CI: 1.16; 3.68) for low HDL-Chol. Children in the highest Is and STf tertiles had a lower risk of prediabetes [OR: 0.63 (95%CI: 0.41; 0.97) and OR: 0.53 (95%CI: 0.34; 0.82)] and insulin resistance (IR) (OR: 0.37; 95%CI: 0.22; 0.64), and those in the upper Tf tertile had a higher risk of IR (OR: 1.90; 95%CI: 1.16; 3.12). An increased risk of hypertension was found only in children in the upper Fs tertile (OR: 1.46; 95%CI: 1.01; 2.13). Conclusions: Biomarkers of iron metabolism are associated with cardiometabolic alterations in the pediatric population, with a variable direction and magnitude depending on the indicators used. What is known: • Iron metabolism is related to important cardiometabolic alterations such as metabolic syndrome and its components. • Association between biomarkers of iron status and cardiometabolic risk have been less explored in children. What is new: • Biomarkers of iron metabolism are associated with cardiometabolic alterations in the pediatric population. • Iron parameters in the pediatric population could be of great help to detect and prevent cardiometabolic abnormalities early.The ELOIN study was funded by the General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health of the Community of Madrid. The authors have not received financial support for the research, authorship or publication of this article. This project received a grant for the translation and publication of this paper from the Foundation for Biosanitary Research and Innovation in Primary Care (FIIBAP).S

Estudios Filológicos: revisión de las Memorias de grado

El trabajo llevado a cabo por la Red Estudios Filológicos ha consistido en la revisión de las memorias de los siguientes grados: Español: lengua y literaturas; Estudios árabes e islámicos; Estudios franceses; Estudios ingleses y Filología Catalana. Se han corregido erratas evidentes, se han unificado criterios compartidos por todos los grados y se han subsanado yerros tanto de forma como de contenido con el objetivo de proceder a una solicitud de modificación de estas Memorias

Taller de revistes digitals com a eina didàctica: de l’ensenyament no universitari a la universitat

El novembre de 2014 el CEFIRE d’Alacant organitzà el I Taller d’Intercanvi d’Experiències per a l’elaboració i divulgació de revistes digitals, hereu de la I i II Jornadas de Prensa en los IES de Alicante que es celebraren els anys 2007 i 2011. Aquest taller tingué com a objectius, entre d’altres, divulgar i intercanviar experiències didàctiques relacionades amb revistes digitals entre centres de diversos nivells, afavorir la creació de projectes educatius cooperatius mitjançant les revistes digitals o establir les bases que permeteren la creació d’una xarxa col·laborativa de revistes digitals. A banda de palesar les diverses propostes dels centres escolars i la incorporació de la revista escolar tradicional al món digital, d’aquella experiència, i parant sobretot atenció al darrer dels objectius citat, ha sorgit la xarxa en docència universitària “Taller de revistes digitals com a eina didàctica: de l’ensenyament no universitari a la universitat”, amb l’objectiu d’aprofundir en les possibilitats didàctiques de les revistes digitals tant pel que fa a l’alumnat no universitari com en les diverses titulacions que ofereix la Universitat d’Alacant. A més de compartir experiències i fomentar l’aprenentatge col·laboratiu de l’alumnat i del professorat implicats, aquesta xarxa en docència universitària vol articular-hi un espai digital permanent en que es puguen recopilar les revistes digitals dels diversos centres educatius

Comparing the microstructure and photovoltaic performance of 3 perylene imide acceptors with similar energy levels but different packing tendencies

While it is widely recognized that microstructure plays an important role in the performance of organic photovoltaics (OPV), systematic studies are often challenging, as varying the molecular packing through typical chemical means (such as sidechain tuning) often affects the molecular energy levels, thus preventing a clear correlation. In this work we present the synthesis of three perylene imide (PI) based electron acceptors with almost identical energy levels, but distinct packing tendencies. We confirm our initial hypothesis by measuring solution and solid-state absorption, cyclic voltammetry as well as characterizing the films by grazing incident wide angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS). In a second step, we repeat the characterization of the three materials in blends with two polymer donors, namely PCDTBT or PBDBT, whose energy levels are well aligned with those of the PI acceptors, and which, additionally, exhibit different degrees of structural order. We show how the initial strong difference between acceptors is partially blurred in blends, but still critical. Finally, we correlate our structural data with OPV devices made with the corresponding six blends. Our data suggest that a good donor acceptor marriage should ensure good energy alignment but also exhibit complementary crystallization tendencies of the two components.The authors acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through the Severo Ochoa” Program for Centers of Excellence in R&D (No. CEX2019-000917-S), and projects PGC2018-095411-B-I00, PID2019-106268GB-C33 and PID2019-110305GB-I00, as well as the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie ITN Programme, SEPOMO, Grant Number: 722651, and the UCM (INV.GR.00.1819.10759). E.G. specially acknowledges Comunidad de Madrid and Universidad Complutense de Madrid for a post-doctoral contract (CT20/19- CT21/19/PEJD-2018-POST/IND-8661PAI). M.J.A.N. acknowledges URJC for a post-doctoral contract. R.P.O and A.H. also acknowledge support from Junta de Andalucía (projects UMA18-FEDERJA-080). We acknowledge support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI).Peer reviewe

ClinPrior: an algorithm for diagnosis and novel gene discovery by network-based prioritization

BackgroundWhole-exome sequencing (WES) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) have become indispensable tools to solve rare Mendelian genetic conditions. Nevertheless, there is still an urgent need for sensitive, fast algorithms to maximise WES/WGS diagnostic yield in rare disease patients. Most tools devoted to this aim take advantage of patient phenotype information for prioritization of genomic data, although are often limited by incomplete gene-phenotype knowledge stored in biomedical databases and a lack of proper benchmarking on real-world patient cohorts.MethodsWe developed ClinPrior, a novel method for the analysis of WES/WGS data that ranks candidate causal variants based on the patient's standardized phenotypic features (in Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) terms). The algorithm propagates the data through an interactome network-based prioritization approach. This algorithm was thoroughly benchmarked using a synthetic patient cohort and was subsequently tested on a heterogeneous prospective, real-world series of 135 families affected by hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) and/or cerebellar ataxia (CA).ResultsClinPrior successfully identified causative variants achieving a final positive diagnostic yield of 70% in our real-world cohort. This includes 10 novel candidate genes not previously associated with disease, 7 of which were functionally validated within this project. We used the knowledge generated by ClinPrior to create a specific interactome for HSP/CA disorders thus enabling future diagnoses as well as the discovery of novel disease genes.ConclusionsClinPrior is an algorithm that uses standardized phenotype information and interactome data to improve clinical genomic diagnosis. It helps in identifying atypical cases and efficiently predicts novel disease-causing genes. This leads to increasing diagnostic yield, shortening of the diagnostic Odysseys and advancing our understanding of human illnesses

Entrevistas a artistas y formatos de interacción. Red para el intercambio de conocimientos y experiencias entre artistas y conservadores-restauradores

Este proyecto ha tenido como objetivo la creación de una red interdisciplinar, internivelar, interdepartamental e interfacultativa de profesores, estudiantes y alumni de las áreas de Bellas Artes, Conservación-Restauración y Diseño de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid y de la Universidad de La Laguna. El presente proyecto surge de la necesidad constatada durante el contexto del COVID-19 de proporcionar nuevas herramientas a los estudiantes que les permitan desarrollar las competencias que sus titulaciones establecen y de fortalecer el tejido de interacciones transdisciplinares dentro de la Facultad de Bellas Artes. A través de una convocataoria pública a artistas y de una reflexión en torno a la metodología de entrevista al artista en conservación-restauración de arte contemporáneo, se han desarrollado dinámicas interdisciplinares y estrategias de enseñanza-aprendizaje horizontales entre artistas, profesores y estudiantes de distintos niveles (grado, postgrado, doctorado) como fórmula para amplificar la generación de conocimiento en la universidad. El proyecto ha abarcado la dirección de TFGs, el desarrollo de una investigación en torno a nuevos formatos de interacción entre conservadores-restauradores y artistas, y el desarrollo de dos seminarios públicos. Esta memoria recoge los objetivos propuestos y evalúa los alcanzados en base a una serie de indicadores, describe la metodología utilizada en el proyecto, analiza las características del equipo de trabajo y expone las actividades desarrolladas durante el curso 2020-2021. Los Anexos incluyen documentación sobre las actividades desarrolladas e imágenes sobre los procesos de investigación

Tree growth response to drought partially explains regional-scale growth and mortality patterns in Iberian forests

Tree-ring data has been widely used to inform about tree growth responses to drought at the individual scale, but less is known about how tree growth sensitivity to drought scales up driving changes in forest dynamics. Here, we related tree-ring growth chronologies and stand-level forest changes in basal area from two independent data sets to test if tree-ring responses to drought match stand forest dynamics (stand basal area growth, ingrowth, and mortality). We assessed if tree growth and changes in forest basal area covary as a function of spatial scale and tree taxa (gymnosperm or angiosperm). To this end, we compared a tree-ring network with stand data from the Spanish National Forest Inventory. We focused on the cumulative impact of drought on tree growth and demography in the period 1981–2005. Drought years were identified by the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, and their impacts on tree growth by quantifying tree-ring width reductions. We hypothesized that forests with greater drought impacts on tree growth will also show reduced stand basal area growth and ingrowth and enhanced mortality. This is expected to occur in forests dominated by gymnosperms on drought-prone regions. Cumulative growth reductions during dry years were higher in forests dominated by gymnosperms and presented a greater magnitude and spatial autocorrelation than for angiosperms. Cumulative drought-induced tree growth reductions and changes in forest basal area were related, but initial stand density and basal area were the main factors driving changes in basal area. In drought-prone gymnosperm forests, we observed that sites with greater growth reductions had lower stand basal area growth and greater mortality. Consequently, stand basal area, forest growth, and ingrowth in regions with large drought impacts was significantly lower than in regions less impacted by drought. Tree growth sensitivity to drought can be used as a predictor of gymnosperm demographic rates in terms of stand basal area growth and ingrowth at regional scales, but further studies may try to disentangle how initial stand density modulates such relationships. Drought-induced growth reductions and their cumulative impacts have strong potential to be used as early-warning indicators of regional forest vulnerability.This study was financially supported by Xunta de Galicia, Grant/Award Number PGIDIT06PXIB502262PR, GRC GI-1809; INIA, Grant/Award Number RTA2006-00117; CANOPEE, 2014-2020-FEDER funds, Spanish Science Ministry RTI2018-096884-B-C31, RTI2018-096884-B-C33, AGL2017-83828-C2-2R, RTI2018-096884-B-C3,1 and RTI2018-096884-B-C32 projects. Gabriel Sangüesa-Barreda was supported by a “Juan de la Cierva-Formación” grant from MINECO (FJCI 2016-30121). Antonio Gazol and Paloma Ruiz-Benito were supported by a project “2018 Leonardo Grant for Researchers and Cultural Creators, BBVA Foundation.” Ana-Maria Hereş was supported by the project PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-1099 financed by the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research through UEFISCDI. Raúl Sánchez-Salguero was supported by VULBOS project (UPO-1263216, FEDER Funds, Andalusia Regional Government, Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad 2014-2020). Paloma Ruiz-Benito was supported by the Community of Madrid Region under the framework of the multi-year Agreement with the University of Alcalá (Stimulus to Excellence for Permanent University Professors, EPU-INV/2020/010) and the University of Alcalá “Ayudas para la realización de Proyectos para potenciar la Creación y Consolidación de Grupos de Investigación.” Andrea Hevia was supported by PinCaR project (UHU-1266324, FEDER Funds, Andalusia Regional Government, Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad 2014-2020).Peer reviewe

Long-Term Real-World Effectiveness and Safety of Ustekinumab in Crohn’s Disease Patients: The SUSTAIN Study

Background Large real-world-evidence studies are required to confirm the durability of response, effectiveness, and safety of ustekinumab in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients in real-world clinical practice. Methods A retrospective, multicentre study was conducted in Spain in patients with active CD who had received ≥1 intravenous dose of ustekinumab for ≥6 months. Primary outcome was ustekinumab retention rate; secondary outcomes were to identify predictive factors for drug retention, short-term remission (week 16), loss of response and predictive factors for short-term efficacy and loss of response, and ustekinumab safety. Results A total of 463 patients were included. Mean baseline Harvey-Bradshaw Index was 8.4. A total of 447 (96.5%) patients had received prior biologic therapy, 141 (30.5%) of whom had received ≥3 agents. In addition, 35.2% received concomitant immunosuppressants, and 47.1% had ≥1 abdominal surgery. At week 16, 56% had remission, 70% had response, and 26.1% required dose escalation or intensification; of these, 24.8% did not subsequently reduce dose. After a median follow-up of 15 months, 356 (77%) patients continued treatment. The incidence rate of ustekinumab discontinuation was 18% per patient-year of follow-up. Previous intestinal surgery and concomitant steroid treatment were associated with higher risk of ustekinumab discontinuation, while a maintenance schedule every 12 weeks had a lower risk; neither concomitant immunosuppressants nor the number of previous biologics were associated with ustekinumab discontinuation risk. Fifty adverse events were reported in 39 (8.4%) patients; 4 of them were severe (2 infections, 1 malignancy, and 1 fever). Conclusions Ustekinumab is effective and safe as short- and long-term treatment in a refractory cohort of CD patients in real-world clinical practice