European Union Cohesion Policy: Socio‑Economic Vulnerability of the Regions and the COVID‑19 Shock

The European Union Cohesion Policy for the period 2021–2027 focuses on five goals to make the European Union smarter, greener, more connected, more social and closer to citizens. However, a macroeconomic index is proposed as the predominant criterion for allocating the Structural Funds among regions. In this paper, we hypothesise that it is possible to take into account new, complementary criteria that better reflect citizens’ quality of life. To that end, we build a composite index of socio-economic vulnerability for the 233 regions. The results show that following our multidimensional approach for allocating the Structural Funds, there are remarkable differences in the maps of priority regions. In addition, the COVID- 19 pandemic represents a threat to well-being. Are all regions equally exposed to COVID-19 in terms of their socio-economic vulnerability? To address this issue, we estimate multilevel models which indicate that country characteristics interact with regions’ characteristics to alter patterns of vulnerability. More specifically, increases in government expenditures in education and an improvement in political stability would reduce the regional vulnerability or foster the capacity for resilience, whereas increases in poverty would be associated with greater vulnerability. Likewise, more vulnerable regions would be the most exposed to the negative socio-economic effects of COVID-19. However, it is remarkable that several regions of Sweden and Finland would be among the group of regions whose socio-economic vulnerability would be the most negatively affected.Universidad de Granada/CBUAproject ERDF-University of Granada B-SEJ-242.UGR2

Dealing with weighting scheme in composite indicators: An unsupervised distance-machine learning proposal for quantitative data

There is increasing interest in the construction of composite indicators to benchmark units. However, the mathematical approach on which the most commonly used techniques are based does not allow benchmarking in a reliable way. Additionally, the determination of the weighting scheme in the composite indicators remains one of the most troubling issues. Using the vector space formed by all the observations, we propose a new method for building composite indicators: a distance or metric that considers the concept of proximity among units. This approach enables comparisons between the units being studied, which are always quantitative. To this end, we take the P2 Distance method of Pena Trapero as a starting point and improve its limitations. The proposed methodology eliminates the linear dependence on the model and seeks functional relationships that enable constructing the most efficient model. This approach reduces researcher subjectivity by assigning the weighting scheme with unsupervised machine learning techniques. Monte Carlo simulations confirm that the proposed methodology is robust.European Commission European Commission Joint Research Centre 813234ERDF-Universidad de Granada B-SEJ-242-UGR20Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain (MICINN) Spanish Government PID2019-105708RBUniversidad de Granada/CBU

El tiro con arco como contexto deportivo para el fomento de la igualdad entre hombres y mujeres

En este trabajo ofrecemos una visión general de la situación deportiva actual desde una perspectiva de género y diferenciando aquellos deportes más técnicos de aquellos otros en los que las capacidades físicas potenciales de los deportistas y las deportistas van a suponer la principal variable de éxito en el rendimiento. Posteriormente, nos centramos en el tiro con arco en particular. Vamos a comentar varios aspectos de este deporte, comenzando por una breve descripción del mismo, resaltando la importancia de los aspectos psicológicos, comentando las diferencias existentes que podemos encontrar en esta práctica deportiva entre hombres y mujeres, así como el caso concreto de las arqueras surcoreanas. Finalmente realizamos algunas propuestas de intervención y mejora hacia la igualdad entre hombres y mujeres en esta modalidad deportiva y sugerimos algunas líneas futuras de investigación desde esta perspectiva de género

In Vitro Mutagenic and Genotoxic Assessment of a Mixture of the Cyanotoxins Microcystin-LR and Cylindrospermopsin

The co-occurrence of various cyanobacterial toxins can potentially induce toxic effects different than those observed for single cyanotoxins, as interaction phenomena cannot be discarded. Moreover, mixtures are a more probable exposure scenario. However, toxicological information on the topic is still scarce. Taking into account the important role of mutagenicity and genotoxicity in the risk evaluation framework, the objective of this study was to assess the mutagenic and genotoxic potential of mixtures of two of the most relevant cyanotoxins, Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and Cylindrospermopsin (CYN), using the battery of in vitro tests recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for food contaminants. Mixtures of 1:10 CYN/MC-LR (CYN concentration in the range 0.04-2.5 µg/mL) were used to perform the bacterial reverse-mutation assay (Ames test) in Salmonella typhimurium, the mammalian cell micronucleus (MN) test and the mouse lymphoma thymidine-kinase assay (MLA) on L5178YTk± cells, while Caco-2 cells were used for the standard and enzyme-modified comet assays. The exposure periods ranged between 4 and 72 h depending on the assay. The genotoxicity of the mixture was observed only in the MN test with S9 metabolic fraction, similar to the results previously reported for CYN individually. These results indicate that cyanobacterial mixtures require a specific (geno)toxicity evaluation as their effects cannot be extrapolated from those of the individual cyanotoxins.España Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad AGL2015-64558-

Actividades realizadas por los chicos y chicas fuera del centro escolar : una aplicación de ROSE

Se presenta un estudio sobre las diferencias de género ante las actividades que realizan los estudiantes fuera de las instituciones escolares, utilizando una de las escalas ROSE (Relevancia de la Educación Científica). Se observan diferencias significativas según el género. A la par, se extraen reflexiones sobre la importancia de tener en cuenta las experiencias previas de los estudiantes en relación al entorno para el desarrollo competencial en las clases de ciencias

Study of the language profile of young people who leave school early

En el abandono escolar temprano influyen muchos factores, entre ellos, la competencia comunicativa del alumnado. En Melilla2, ciudad con el índice de fracaso escolar más elevado de España, se realizó una investigación cuyo objetivo era definir el perfil personal y lingüístico del joven que abandona sus estudios antes de los 24 años. Se trabajó con una metodología mixta para unir los resultados de una encuesta realizada a estos jóvenes con la información aportada por un grupo de discusión. Los resultados atienden a: características personales, familiares, escolares y capacidades lingüísticas. Como conclusión, este perfil corresponde a una persona bereber, sin género definido, de entre 16 y 17 años, que usa el español y el “tamazight” en su vida diaria, y tiene un bajo rendimiento académico; además, el nivel de estudios y socioeconómico familiar es bajo. Respecto a sus capacidades lingüísticas, su hábito lector es muy escaso y tiene dificultades en comprensión oral.Early school-leaving is influenced by many factors, among which the communicative competence is included. In Melilla, where the rate of school failure is one of the highest in Spain, a research work was carried out to define the personal and language profile of young people who leave school before being 24. A mixed methodology was used to link the results of a survey with the information received from a discussion group. Data and results are arranged in three categories: personal and educational characteristics, family background and language skills. In conclusion, this profile corresponds to a young Berber person, with no defined gender, aged 16 and 17, who uses Spanish and Tamazight in daily life, and a poor academic performance; in addition, the family level of studies and socioeconomic status are low. Regarding the language skills, the reading habit is very limited and has difficulties in oral comprehension

Calidad de vida y sintomatología depresiva en esclerosis múltiple: un estudio transversal entre EE.UU. y España

Antecedentes: en los ensayos clínicos multinacionales en esclerosis múltiple (EM) es fundamental identificar diferencias entre países en calidad de vida (CV) para comprender la variabilidad de respuesta entre pacientes. Ningún estudio comparó la CV en EM entre España y EE. UU. Los objetivos de este estudio son: 1) comparar la CV y sintomatología depresiva entre pacientes españoles y estadounidenses, frente a datos normativos; 2) comparar la interrelación de tales constructos entre países; y 3) comparar predictores sociodemográficos y clínicos. Método: 114 participantes con EM fueron emparejados por género, discapacidad y educación. SF-36 y BDIFastScreen (BDI-FS) fueron las variables criterio. ANCOVA, correlaciones parciales y análisis de regresión múltiple fueron comparados entre países. Resultados: los españoles muestran peor sintomatología depresiva, CV y deterioro clínicamente significativo en todas las dimensiones, mientras que los estadounidenses presentan deterioro clínicamente significativo en dominios físicos. En España, más Dolor corporal se asoció con peor Funcionamiento social y Vitalidad; y peor Vitalidad se relacionó con peor Funcionamiento social. Además, Funcionamiento físico predijo BDI-FS mucho más entre los estadounidenses; pero en España, la discapacidad y Rol emocional predijeron mucho más BDI-FS y Salud mental, respectivamente. Conclusiones: los españoles muestran peor CV y sintomatología depresiva con mayor deterioro clínicamente significativo.Background: For multinational clinical trials in multiple sclerosis (MS), identifying cross-country differences on quality of life (QoL) is important for understanding patients’ response variability. No study has compared QoL between Spanish and American MS samples. This study aims to: 1) compare QoL and depressive symptomatology between Spanish and American patients, and against normative data; 2) compare the interrelationship between such constructs between countries; and 3) compare sociodemographic and clinical predictors on these outcomes. Method: 114 participants with MS were included and matched for gender, disability and education. The SF-36 Health Survey and BDI-FastScreen (BDI-FS) were the outcomes. ANCOVA, partial-correlations and multiple regression analyses were compared between countries. Results: Spaniards reported worse depressive symptomatology and QoL, and clinically significant impairment in all QoL dimensions, while Americans showed clinically significant impairment only in physical domains. Among Spaniards, more Bodily pain was more related to worse Social functioning and Vitality, and worse Vitality was more related to worse Social functioning than among Americans. From the regression models, Physical functioning predicted BDI-FS greater among Americans. Conversely, disability and Role-emotional predicted BDI-FS and Mental health, respectively, significantly stronger in Spain. Conclusions: Spaniards show worse QoL and depressive symptomatology and greater clinically significant impairment than the Americans

Gene expression pattern in swine neutrophils after lipopolysaccharide exposure: a time course comparison

Background: Experimental exposure of swine neutrophils to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) represents a model to study the innate immune response during bacterial infection. Neutrophils can effectively limit the infection by secreting lipid mediators, antimicrobial molecules and a combination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) without new synthesis of proteins. However, it is known that neutrophils can modify the gene expression after LPS exposure. We performed microarray gene expression analysis in order to elucidate the less known transcriptional response of neutrophils during infection. Methods: Blood samples were collected from four healthy Iberian pigs and neutrophils were isolated and incubated during 6, 9 and 18 hrs in presence or absence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. RNA was isolated and hybridized to Affymetrix Porcine GeneChip®. Microarray data were normalized using Robust Microarray Analysis (RMA) and then, differential expression was obtained by an analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: ANOVA data analysis showed that the number of differentially expressed genes (DEG) after LPS treatment vary with time. The highest transcriptional response occurred at 9 hr post LPS stimulation with 1494 DEG whereas at 6 and 18 hr showed 125 and 108 DEG, respectively. Three different gene expression tendencies were observed: genes in cluster 1 showed a tendency toward up-regulation; cluster 2 genes showing a tendency for down-regulation at 9 hr; and cluster 3 genes were up-regulated at 9 hr post LPS stimulation. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis revealed a delay of neutrophil apoptosis at 9 hr. Many genes controlling biological functions were altered with time including those controlling metabolism and cell organization, ubiquitination, adhesion, movement or inflammatory response. Conclusions: LPS stimulation alters the transcriptional pattern in neutrophils and the present results show that the robust transcriptional potential of neutrophils under infection conditions, indicating that active regulation of gene expression plays a major role in the neutrophil-mediated- innate immune respons

New Method for Simultaneous Determination of Microcystins and Cylindrospermopsin in Vegetable Matrices by SPE-UPLC-MS/MS

Cyanotoxins are a large group of noxious metabolites with different chemical structure and mechanisms of action, with a worldwide distribution, producing effects in animals, humans, and crop plants. When cyanotoxin-contaminated waters are used for the irrigation of edible vegetables, humans can be in contact with these toxins through the food chain. In this work, a method for the simultaneous detection of Microcystin-LR (MC-LR), Microcystin-RR (MC-RR), Microcystin-YR (MC-YR), and Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) in lettuce has been optimized and validated, using a dual solid phase extraction (SPE) system for toxin extraction and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) for analysis. Results showed linear ranges (5–50 ng g−1 f.w.), low values for limit of detection (LOD) (0.06–0.42 ng g−1 f.w.), and limit of quantification (LOQ) (0.16–0.91 ng g−1 f.w.), acceptable recoveries (41–93%), and %RSDIP values for the four toxins. The method proved to be robust for the three variables tested. Finally, it was successfully applied to detect these cyanotoxins in edible vegetables exposed to cyanobacterial extracts under laboratory conditions, and it could be useful for monitoring these toxins in edible vegetables for better exposure estimation in terms of risk assessment.España MINECO AGL2015-64558-