Nuevas tecnologías aplicadas al ocio terapéutico: Proyecto activa

3rd International Conference on the Elderly and New Technologies. III Jornadas Internacionales de Mayores y Nuevas Tecnologías.The combination of games and technology opens up new possibilities for entertainment and also enables integral development of individuals by enhancing highly valued skills in a range of contexts (school, work, therapy, etc). Likewise, it provides versatility in generating contents and accessing them in a natural way, which is particularly favourable for games of all ages. From aiju, in particular from the Department of Pedagogy (New Technologies and Recreational Therapy Area), work is carried out on recreational development activities to aid e-inclusion, as well as on improving the different capacities/skills (cognitive, physical, socio-emotional, etc.) for communities that are most excluded from the new technologies. Our team works using this media to bring the benefits of games, toys and new technologies closer to new users. An example of this is the activa research project: The development of a system of active therapy based on physical exercise that enables muscular strengthening in patients with Parkinson’s through recreation and the latest Information and Communication Technologies. The main aim of the activa project is to provide the base for development of an interactive game of highly recreational and therapeutic value based on a combination of physical exercise and advanced visual and communication technologies in order to promote socialisation and entertainment and to improve motor skills and muscular dexterity for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease.La combinación de juegos y tecnologías ofrece nuevas posibilidades de entretenimiento y permite, a su vez, el desarrollo integral de los individuos mejorando capacidades de gran valor para diferentes tipos de contextos (escolar, profesional, terapéutico, etc.). Así mismo, aporta versatilidad en la generación de contenidos y en el acceso a los mismos de forma natural, lo que favorece especialmente el juego para todas las edades. Desde aiju, y más concretamente desde el Departamento de Pedagogía (Área de Nuevas Tecnologías y Ocio Terapéutico), trabajamos en desarrollos lúdicos que contribuyen a la e-inclusión y a la mejora de diferentes capacidades/habilidades (cognitivas, físicas, socio-afectivas, etc.) de los colectivos más alejados del uso de las nuevas tecnologías. Nuestro equipo trabaja a través de este medio para acercar los beneficios del juego, los juguetes y las nuevas tecnologías a nuevos usuarios. Ejemplo de ello es el proyecto de investigación activa: desarrollo de un sistema de terapia activa basada en el ejercicio físico que permita el fortalecimiento muscular en enfermos de Parkinson a través del ocio y las nuevas tecnologías de la información y la Comunicación. El proyecto activa tiene como principal objetivo establecer la base para el desarrollo de un juego interactivo de alto valor lúdico y terapéutico basado en la combinación del ejercicio físico con tecnologías avanzadas de visualización y comunicación para la promoción de la socialización, el entretenimiento y la mejora de las habilidades motoras y musculares en personas con Parkinson

Direct Evidence of Internalization of Tau by Microglia in Vitro and in Vivo

The microtubule-associated protein (MAP) tau plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of tauopathies. Excess tau can be released into the extracellular medium in a physiological or pathological manner to be internalized by surrounding neurons' a process that contributes to the spread of this protein throughout the brain. Such spreading may correlate with the progression of the abovementioned diseases. In addition to neurons, tau can be internalized into other cells. Here we demonstrate that microglia take up tau in vitro and in vivo. In this regard, microglia from primary cultures internalized soluble (human recombinant tau42) and insoluble (homogenates derived from human AD brain) tau in vitro. Furthermore, using stereotaxic injection of tau in mice in vivo, we show that murine microglia internalize human tau. In addition, we demonstrate, for the first time, that microglia colocalize with various forms of tau in postmortem brain tissue of patients with Alzheimer's disease and non-demented control subjects. Our data reveal a potential role of microglia in the internalization of tau that might be relevant for the design of strategies to enhance the clearance of extracellular tau in neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the accumulation of this protein.Spanish Ministry of Health, the Comunidad de Madrid, the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED, ISCIII), and the Alzheimer’s Association.Peer Reviewe

DNA damage response-related alterations define the genetic background of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and chromosomal gains

[EN]The presence of chromosomal gains other than trisomy 12 suggesting a hyperdiploid karyotype is extremely rare in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and is associated with a dismal prognosis. However, the genetic mechanisms and mutational background of these patients have not been fully explored. To improve our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of this subgroup of CLL, seven CLL patients with several chromosomal gains were sequenced using a next-generation sequencing (NGS)-targeted approach. The mutational status of 54 genes was evaluated using a custom-designed gene panel including recurrent mutated genes observed in CLL and widely associated with CLL pathogenesis. A total of 21 mutations were detected; TP53 (42.8%), ATM (28.5%), SF3B1 (28.5%), and BRAF (28.5%) were the most recurrently mutated genes. Of these mutations, 61.9% were detected in genes previously associated with a poor prognosis in CLL. Interestingly, five of the seven patients exhibited alterations in TP53 or ATM (deletion and/or mutation), genes involved in the DNA damage response (DDR), which could be related to a high genetic instability in this subgroup of patients. In conclusion, CLL patients with several chromosomal gains exhibit high genetic instability, with mutations in CLL driver genes and high-risk genetic alterations involving ATM and/or TP53 genes

El aprendizaje de habilidades sociales: una valoración previa a la implantación del Grado en Publicidad y Relaciones Públicas

Presentación realizada en el I Congreso Internacional "Los Estudios de Comunicación en el EEES", Huesca, 7-8 octubre 2010.En un entorno laboral como el publicitario, donde la rutina es el trabajo en equipo, la adquisición y el fortalecimiento de habilidades sociales debe ser incluida en la curricula universitaria. Así, en el Libro Blanco de Títulos de Grado en Comunicación (Aneca, 2005), en los estudios de Publicidad, la capacidad para trabajar en equipo es la competencia específica más valorada. En este sentido, la Ética, Deontología y Autorregulación Profesional es la materia encargada de ayudar al estudiante en la adquisición de esta competencia. Con el fin de valorar la necesidad de reforzar en el Grado de Publicidad las estrategias de intervención educativa centradas en el desarrollo social del individuo, se administró una encuesta sobre habilidades sociales (Goldstein et al., 1989) a una muestra de 461 estudiantes de Deontología en la licenciatura de Publicidad. Los resultados muestran que aunque las mujeres destacan sobre los hombres en todas las habilidades sociales, de forma unánime, los estudiantes puntúan muy alto en las destrezas evaluadas. No obstante, las evidencias observadas apuntan a la necesidad de mejorar ciertas habilidades como la capacidad para hacer frente al estrés, en el caso de las mujeres, y las habilidades de planificación en los hombres

Transcultural adaptation and psychometric properties of Family Quality of Life Survey for caregivers of people with neurodegenerative disease: a study of Spanish families who live in the rural Spain–Portugal cross-border

[EN]Background: Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are one of the main causes of disability and dependence that have a great impact both on the quality of life of people with disabilities and their families. A majority of people with NDs receive care and support from the family, but there is no tool in Spain with which to measure whole-family QOL. The aim of this study was the translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the FQOLS–Dementia into Spanish to assess FQOL among family members of individuals with NDs who live in the Spain–Portugal cross-border area. Method: The Spanish version was translated and adapted following the international guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation tests. A sample of 300 family caregivers was interviewed, applying an adapted version of the Family Quality Survey (FQOLS–Dementia). Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to validate the factor structure, and convergent validity was examined with Pearson’s correlation coefficients of the global FQOL with the domains. Internal consistency reliability was determined using Cronbach’s alpha. Results: The domain structure of the FQOLS–ND showed a good fit. In the convergent validity, it was found that the total score and the subscale domain scores were associated with the global FQOL score, except for the Values domain. Internal consistency of nine domain subscales was strong (α = 0.80 to 0.91), and excellent for the total FQOL (α = 0.85) and the global FQOL (α = 0.87). Conclusion: The FQOLS–ND presented good validity and reliability in caregiver families with individuals with ND, so its application shows its usefulness in detecting areas of improvement and intervention strategies for FQOL in the Spain–Portugal cross-border area

Splice donor site sgRNAs enhance CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout efficiency

[EN]CRISPR/Cas9 allows the generation of knockout cell lines and null zygotes by inducing site-specific double-stranded breaks. In most cases the DSB is repaired by non-homologous end joining, resulting in small nucleotide insertions or deletions that can be used to construct knockout alleles. However, these mutations do not produce the desired null result in all cases, but instead generate a similar, functionally active protein. This effect could limit the therapeutic efficiency of gene therapy strategies based on abrogating oncogene expression, and therefore needs to be considered carefully. If there is an acceptable degree of efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 delivery to cells, the key step for success lies in the effectiveness of a specific sgRNA at knocking out the oncogene, when only one sgRNA can be used. This study shows that the null effect could be increased with an sgRNA targeting the splice donor site (SDS) of the chosen exon. Following this strategy, the generation of null alleles would be facilitated in two independent ways: the probability of producing a frameshift mutation and the probability of interrupting the canonical mechanism of pre-mRNA splicing. In these contexts, we propose to improve the loss-of-function yield driving the CRISPR system at the SDS of critical exons

The Spanish version of the child medical fear questionnaire: cross-cultural adaptation and validation

Having valid and reliable tools that help health professionals to assess fear in children undergoing medical procedures is essential to offer humanised and quality of care in the paediatric population. The aim of this study was to develop the cross-cultural adaptation and the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the 'Child Medical Fear Scale' in its shortened version (CMFS-R). The design consisted of two phases: first, of cross-cultural adaptation and second, of the psychometric validation of the CMFS-R with a sample of 262 children from Spain, applying a cross-sectional design. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess construct validity and the Cronbach's alpha and the adjusted item-total score correlation coefficients were performed to study reliability. The results confirmed internal consistency and construct validity of the Spanish version of the CMFS-R, indicating that the scale has an acceptable level of validity and reliability. Therefore, this study brings a new version of the scale to assess fear related to medical procedures for use in the Spanish paediatric population.This work was funded by the Department of Education of the Government of Navarre, grant number CENEDUCA4/201

The Moderating Role of Teamwork Engagement and Teambuilding on the Effect of Teamwork Competence as a Predictor of Innovation Behaviors among University Students

Sustainable innovation is the cornerstone of economic growth and development of regions and nations, as well as of organizational competitiveness and success. Innovation is a complex process that relies on individuals and often implies social activities based on interaction with others. Higher Education (HE) is expected to prepare innovative and teamwork-competent individuals. However, it has been noted that, so far, HE has not really addressed the question of how to train innovative college students capable of working in teams. To face such challenges, incorporating active teaching and learning methodologies, such as game-based learning (GBL), could be of great utility, as well as conducting much more research about the effect of teamwork-related factors on IWB, such as teamwork engagement (TWE) and teambuilding (TB). Under this background, our aim was to test the predictor effect of teamwork competence (TWE) on IWB, exploring the moderating role of TWE and TB in a sample comprising 142 college students of Health Sciences and Social Work. Our obtained results, through a multiple additive moderation analysis, showed that TWC positively predicted IWB. Moreover, this effect was moderated by TWE and TB. Therefore, these findings set light around how to foster IWB in HE

CRISPR/Cas9-generated models uncover therapeutic vulnerabilities of del(11q) CLL cells to dual BCR and PARP inhibition

[EN]The deletion of 11q (del(11q)) invariably comprises ATM gene in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Concomitant mutations in this gene in the remaining allele have been identified in 1/3 of CLL cases harboring del(11q), being the biallelic loss of ATM associated with adverse prognosis. Although the introduction of targeted BCR inhibition has significantly favored the outcomes of del(11q) patients, responses of patients harboring ATM functional loss through biallelic inactivation are unexplored, and the development of resistances to targeted therapies have been increasingly reported, urging the need to explore novel therapeutic approaches. Here, we generated isogenic CLL cell lines harboring del(11q) and ATM mutations through CRISPR/Cas9-based gene-editing. With these models, we uncovered a novel therapeutic vulnerability of del(11q)/ATM-mutated cells to dual BCR and PARP inhibition. Ex vivo studies in the presence of stromal stimulation on 38 CLL primary samples confirmed a synergistic action of the combination of olaparib and ibrutinib in del(11q)/ATM-mutated CLL patients. In addition, we showed that ibrutinib produced a homologous recombination repair impairment through RAD51 dysregulation, finding a synergistic link of both drugs in the DNA damage repair pathway. Our data provide a preclinical rationale for the use of this combination in CLL patients with this high-risk cytogenetic abnormality

Evaluation of the potential of InSAR time series to study the spatio-temporal evolution of piezometric levels in the Madrid aquifer

The Tertiary detritic aquifer of Madrid (TDAM), with an average thickness of 1500 m and a heterogeneous, anisotropic structure, supplies water to Madrid, the most populated city of Spain (3.2 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area). Besides its complex structure, a previous work focused in the north-northwest of Madrid city showed that the aquifer behaves quasi elastically trough extraction/recovery cycles and ground uplifting during recovery periods compensates most of the ground subsidence measured during previous extraction periods (Ezquerro et al., 2014). Therefore, the relationship between ground deformation and groundwater level through time can be simulated using simple elastic models. In this work, we model the temporal evolution of the piezometric level in 19 wells of the TDAM in the period 1997–2010. Using InSAR and piezometric time series spanning the studied period, we first estimate the elastic storage coefficient (Ske) for every well. Both, the Ske of each well and the average Ske of all wells, are used to predict hydraulic heads at the different well locations during the study period and compared against the measured hydraulic heads, leading to very similar errors when using the Ske of each well and the average Ske of all wells: 14 and 16 % on average respectively. This result suggests that an average Ske can be used to estimate piezometric level variations in all the points where ground deformation has been measured by InSAR, thus allowing production of piezometric level maps for the different extraction/recovery cycles in the TDAM.This work is supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and EU FEDER funds under projects TEC2011-28201-C02-02, TIN2014-55413-C2-2-P and ESP2013-47780-C2-2-R, by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport trough the project PRX14/00100 and by the project 15224/PI/10 from the Regional Agency of Science and Technology in Murcia