The first year: The relationship between loneliness & wellness among college freshmen

Loneliness is common in the majority of first-semester college students, but if left unaddressed, long-term loneliness may cause physical health problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between perceived loneliness and physical health among college freshmen at James Madison University using a Qualtrics survey. The relationship between loneliness and health was assessed using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) to gauge physical health and the UCLA Loneliness Survey (UCLA-LS) to gauge perceived loneliness. Contrary to the hypothesis, results indicated there was no relationship between loneliness and physical health. It was thought the BRFSS was a limitation in this study. Additionally, two branches of social support, quality and quantity of friendships, were investigated for their influence on loneliness. Because past research suggested social support may help buffer loneliness, which may prevent the subsequent emergence of other health problems, the present study sought to investigate the quality and quantity of friendships using the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (SSS). Results comparing loneliness scores among the two sections of SSS scores indicated both branches were predictors of loneliness. Of the two, the quality of social support was the most significant indicator of loneliness as indicated by its mean p-value (M = 0.0003, SD = 0.0004), but further research must be conducted to verify this. The results of the social support investigation stress the importance of enhancing quality of friendships to reduce loneliness. The results for the physical health investigation warrant further research and the use of a better survey instrument to more comprehensively analyze physical health to compare with loneliness

Network Performance in HTML5 Video Connections

[EN] Currently, most of remote education systems use video streaming as the main basis to support teaching. These emissions can be seen in devices with different hardware features such as personal computers, tablets or smartphones through networks with different capacities. The use of different web browsers and coding options can also influence the network performance. Therefore, the quality of the video displayed may be different. This work presents a practical study to establish the best combination of web browsers and containers to encode multimedia files for videos streaming in personal computers running Windows 7 and Windows 10 operating systems. For this, a video encoded with different codecs and compressed with different containers have been transmitted through a 1000BaseT network. Finally, the results are analyzed and compared to determine which would be the most efficient combination of parameters according to the resolution of the transmitted video.This work has been partially supported by the European Union through the ERANETMED (Euromediterranean Cooperation through ERANET joint activities and beyond) project ERANETMED3-227 SMARTWATIR and by the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte , through the Convocatoria 2016 - Proyectos I+D+I - Programa Estatal De Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación Orientada a los retos de la sociedad (Project TEC2016-76795-C6-4-R) and through the Convocatoria 2017 - Proyectos I+D+I - Programa Estatal de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, convocatoria excelencia (Project TIN2017-84802-C2-1-P).Sendra, S.; Túnez-Murcia, AI.; Lloret, J.; Jimenez, JM. (2018). Network Performance in HTML5 Video Connections. Network Protocols and Algorithms. 10(3):43-62. https://doi.org/10.5296/npa.v10i3.13933S436210

Plasma and surface diagnostics of silicon nitride thin film coatings generated by SiH4+NH3 RF discharges.

Although plasma processing in low pressure electric discharge reactors has become an extensive and critical step in the fabrication of microelectronic devices, its development has been carried out mostly empirically so far, by changing external reactor parameters in order to develop the best achievable film properties, whereas the intrinsic state of the plasma has been largely unknown [1, 2]. In this work, silicon nitride (SiN) thin films have been grown on silicon samples and on AlGaN/GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMT) by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PE-CVD). The SiN coatings have been produced in a RF discharge reactor, employing SiH4 and NH3 as precursors, at different electric powers and gas flow ratios. During depositions, the plasmas have been characterized by mass and time resolved quadrupole mass spectrometry, and the depletion ratios of parent gases have been observed. Afterwards, the refractive indexes and growth rates of the films have been analysed by ellipsometry, and their composition, by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The electrical characteristics and frequency responses of these films when deposited on HEMT (where they are just usually employed to passivate these devices against current collapses) have been studied too by means of DC, pulsed currents, and small signal RF measurements. The plasma characteristics for the different deposition conditions have been correlated with the subsequent changes in the properties of the films. A comparison with the results previously reported in the literature is addressed

Stimuli-responsive selection of target DNA sequences by synthetic bZIP peptides

One of the strategies used by nature to regulate gene expression relies on the stimuli controlled combination of DNA-binding proteins. This in turn determines the target-binding site within the genome, and thereby whether a particular gene is activated or repressed. Here we demonstrate how a designed basic region leucine zipper-based peptide can be directed towards two different DNA sequences depending on its dimerization arrangement. While themonomeric peptide is non-functional, a C-terminal metallo-dimer recognizes the natural ATF/CREB-binding site (5'-ATGA cg TCAT-3'), and a N-terminal disulphide dimer binds preferentially to the swapped sequence (5-TCATcg ATGA-30'). As the dimerization mode can be efficiently controlled by appropriate external reagents, it is possible to reversibly drive the peptide to either DNA site in response to such specific inputs. This represents the firstexample of a designed molecule that can bind to more than one specific DNA sequence depending on changes in its environment.Fil: Mosquera, Jesus. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. Facultad de Quimica. Departamento de Quimica Organica; EspañaFil: Jimenez Balsa, Adrian. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. Facultad de Quimica. Departamento de Quimica Organica; EspañaFil: Dodero, Veronica Isabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Química del Sur; Argentina. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; EspañaFil: Vázquez, M. Eugenio . Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. Facultad de Quimica. Departamento de Quimica Organica; EspañaFil: Mascareñas, José L. . Universidad de Santiago de Compostela. Facultad de Quimica. Departamento de Quimica Organica; Españ

Heterologous expression of AtNPR1 gene in olive for increasing fungal tolerance

The NPR1 gene encodes a key component of SAR signaling mediated by salicylic acid (SA). After a pathogen infection, the accumulation of SA releases NPR1 monomers in the cytosol that are translocated to the nucleus, activating the expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. Overexpression of NPR1 has conferred resistance to fungal, viral and bacterial pathogens in several plant species. The aim of this research was to generate transgenic olive plants expressing the gene AtNPR1 from Arabidopsis thaliana to obtain material resistant to fungal pathogens. Three transgenic lines expressing AtNPR1 gene under the control of the constitutive promoter CaMV35S were obtained following the protocol of Torreblanca et al. (2010), using an embryogenic line derived from a seed of cv. Picual. Level of AtNPR1 expression in transgenic calli varied greatly among the different lines, being higher in the line NPR1-780. The elicitation of embryogenic calli in liquid medium with AS did not increase endochitinase activity, a PR protein. However, jasmonic acid induced a transient increase in chitinase activity after 24 h of treatment in all the lines, being the increment higher in transgenic NPR1 than in control. After maturation and germination of transgenic somatic embryos, plants were micropropagated and acclimated to ex vitro conditions. The expression of AtNPR1 did not alter the growth of transgenic plants neither in vitro nor in the greenhouse. Experiments are in progress to determine the resistance of transgenic AtNPR1 plants to V. dalihae and R. necatrix.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Research projects: Plan Nacional AGL2014-52518-C2-1-R; AGL2017-83368-C2-1-R and Junta de Andalucía P11-AGR799

Cognitive assessment in patients with multiple sclerosis: A Spanish consensus

Cognitive assessment; Consensus; Multiple sclerosisEvaluación cognitiva; Consenso; Esclerosis múltipleAvaluació cognitiva; Consens; Esclerosi múltipl

A dynamic explanation for the origin of the western Mediterranean organic-rich layers

The eastern Mediterranean sapropels are amongst the most intensively investigated phenomena in the palaeoceanographic record , but relatively little has been written regarding the origin of the equivalent of the sapropels in the western Mediterranean, the Organic Rich Layers (ORL's). ORL's are recognised as sediment layers containing enhanced Total Organic Carbon that extend throughout the deep basins of the Western Mediterranean, and are associated with enhanced total barium concentration and a reduced diversity (dysoxic but not anoxic) benthic foraminiferal assemblage. Consequently, it has been suggested that ORL's represent periods of enhanced productivity coupled with reduced deep ventilation, presumably related to increased continental runoff, in close analogy to the sapropels. We demonstrate that despite their superficial similarity, the timing of the deposition of the most recent 1 ORL in the Alboran Sea is different to that of the approximately coincident sapropel, indicating that there are important differences between their modes of formation. We go on to demonstrate, through physical arguments, that a likely explanation for the origin of the Alboran ORLs lies in the response of the Western Mediterranean basin to a strong reduction in surface water density and a shoaling of the interface between intermediate and deep water during the deglacial period. Furthermore, we provide evidence that deep convection had already slowed by the time of Heinrich Event 1, and explore this event as a potential agent for preconditioning deep convection collapse. Important differences between Heinrich-like and deglacial-like influences are highlighted, giving new insights into the response of the western Mediterranean system to external forcing

Design of a Functionalized Metal-Organic Framework System for Enhanced Targeted Delivery to Mitochondria.

Mitochondria play a key role in oncogenesis and constitute one of the most important targets for cancer treatments. Although the most effective way to deliver drugs to mitochondria is by covalently linking them to a lipophilic cation, the in vivo delivery of free drugs still constitutes a critical bottleneck. Herein, we report the design of a mitochondria-targeted metal-organic framework (MOF) that greatly increases the efficacy of a model cancer drug, reducing the required dose to less than 1% compared to the free drug and ca. 10% compared to the nontargeted MOF. The performance of the system is evaluated using a holistic approach ranging from microscopy to transcriptomics. Super-resolution microscopy of MCF-7 cells treated with the targeted MOF system reveals important mitochondrial morphology changes that are clearly associated with cell death as soon as 30 min after incubation. Whole transcriptome analysis of cells indicates widespread changes in gene expression when treated with the MOF system, specifically in biological processes that have a profound effect on cell physiology and that are related to cell death. We show how targeting MOFs toward mitochondria represents a valuable strategy for the development of new drug delivery systems