Relationship between posture and temporomandibular disorders. Systematic review and meta-analysis

Introducción: La relación entre la postura y los trastornos temporomandibulares (TTM) ha sido abordada desde hace décadas, sin que se haya podido aportar fuerte evidencia en ningún sentido. El objetivo de este estudio fue revisar sistemáticamente y sintetizar de forma cuantitativa (vía metaanálisis) la evidencia existente sobre la relación entre postura y TTM. Material y método: Se realizó una búsqueda en los recursos electrónicos Pubmed, Lilacs, Sciencedirect, Scielo, Pedro y The Cochrane Library de estudios analíticos observacionales de cohortes, de casos y controles y/o transversales de asociación cruzada, que evaluaran la relación entre postura y TTM, publicados a partir de 2012, en inglés, español, portugués y francés. Dos revisores analizaron la calidad metodológica de los artículos incluidos. Resultados: Ocho artículos fueron seleccionados finalmente y evaluados. Cinco encontraron relación, mientras tres no la hallaron. El metanálisis tampoco arrojó resultados esclarecedores, aunque parece indicar que pueden existir diferencias en el ángulo “ojo-trago”-“plano horizontal”, siendo ligeramente menor este ángulo en sujetos sanos en comparación con los sujetos con TTM. Conclusiones: no se puede establecer que haya una fuerte evidencia científica favorable a que exista relación entre postura y TTM, debido a la paridad del número de estudios con resultados en ambos sentidos y a la calidad metodológica que presentan los artículos incluidos

Down-regulation of a pectin acetylesterase gene modifies strawberry fruit cell wall pectin stracture and increases fruit firmness

Antisense-mediated down-regulation of several fruit-specific genes has previously demonstrated how the cell wall disassembly in strawberry fruit is mediated by a series of enzymes that act sequentially (Posé et al. 2011). An interesting example, the silencing of the polygalacturonase gene FaPG1, was also related with a significant increase of the post-harvest strawberry fruit firmness (Posé et al. 2013). Our research group has isolated a pectin acetylesterase gene, FaPAE1, which expression is enhanced during strawberry ripening. The main goal of this work was to elucidate the role of the degree of acetylation in cell wall integrity and fruit firmness through the antisense-mediated down-regulation of FaPAE1 in strawberry plants. Several transgenics lines were generated and 5 of them produced fruits 5-15% firmer than controls. Cell wall from ripe fruits was isolated from two independent transgenic lines and a control line, and sequentially extracted with different solvents (PAW, H2O, CDTA, Na2CO3). Modifications in fraction yield, its sugar composition and the degree of acetylation in each fraction were determined. Higher amounts of CDTA and Na2CO3 fractions were obtained in transgenic fruits, suggesting a decreased pectin solubilization as results of FaPAE1 silencing. Accordingly, the degree of acetylation of the Na2CO3-soluble pectins was greater in the transgenic lines than the control, but the opposite result was found in pectins from the CDTA fraction. These results suggest that PAE is preferentially active in pectis that are tightly bound to the cellulose-hemicellulose network and its activity could reduce the complexity of the cell wall structure, allowing that other hydrolytic enzymes could access the pectin chains. Thus, the increased fruit firmness observed in the transgenic FaPAE1 lines could be attributed to the direct effect of the silencing of the PAE enzyme and also to the indirect effect that the increase of the degree of acetylation of pectins has on the activity of other enzymes involved in the cell wall degradation. * Posé et al. (2011). Genes, Genomes and Genomics, 5 (Special Issue 1):40-48 * Posé et al. (2013). Plant Physiology, 150: 1022-1032 We acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and competitivity and Feder EU Funds (grant reference AGL2011-24814), FPI fellowships support for SP (BES-2006-13626) and CP (BES-2009027985), and grant "Ramón y Cajal" support for AJMA (RYC-2011-08839).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Lavado de manos: prevención de infecciones nosocomiales en una clínica de podología

The transfer of microorganisms via the hands of medical staff has been identified as the most important factor in the transmission of infections in hospitals or Health Clinics. Health ministers, technical experts and the World Health Organization (WHO) suggest some measures to combat hospital - acquired infections, also known as nosocomial infections. One of the main measures to avoid these infections is hand washing. For the importance of this topic an inquiry was conducted in a university clinic of podiatry, to identify knowledge of the people working there, or doing practices on prevention of these infections, and to determine the frequency with which they perform hand washing and if they performed correctlyLa transferencia de microorganismos a través de las manos del personal sanitario ha sido identificada como el factor más importante en la transmisión de infecciones en medios hospitalarios. Ministros de salud y funcionarios superiores, expertos técnicos y la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) sugieren una serie de medidas fundamentales para luchar contra las infecciones asociadas a la atención sanitaria, también conocidas como infecciones nosocomiales, que ponen en peligro los avances obtenidos con grandes esfuerzos en los ámbitos de la salud y la esperanza de vida. Una de las medidas primordiales para evitar estas infecciones, es el lavado de manos. Debido a su repercusión y la importancia de este tema se realiza una encuesta en una Clínica Universitaria de Podología, para identificar los conocimientos del personal que trabaja o hace practicas en esta clínica sobre la prevención de este tipo de infecciones, así como para conocer la frecuencia con la que realizan el lavado de manos y si se realiza de manera correcta

Wood/water relations of 15 south american lesser-used wood species

In the Amazonian forests of Perú a large variety of native wood species can be found, of which only a few are commercially exploited. Exploitation is focused on high density durable hardwoods for flooring applications. After selective logging of a few valuable trees the forests often are considered being “unproductive” because there is no market for most of the remaining trees. Having a long-term sustainable forest management and utilization plan in mind, a continuous extraction of more tree species is desirable. For opening out new markets for lesser-used species a concise knowledge of their physical and mechanical properties is essential. Fifteen lesser-used Peruvian wood species were investigated to characterize their wood/water relations. Density, shrinkage behavior, and sorption characteristics were determined. In addition, the functional relation between electrical resistance and moisture content was determined to provide a sound basis for non-destructive moisture content measurements

Can gamification help in software testing education? Findings from an empirical study

Software testing is an essential knowledge area required by industry for software engineers. However, software engineering students often consider testing less appealing than designing or coding. Consequently, it is difficult to engage students to create effective tests. To encourage students, we explored the use of gamification and investigated whether this technique can help to improve the engagement and performance of software testing students. We conducted a controlled experiment to compare the engagement and performance of two groups of students that took an undergraduate software testing course in different academic years. The experimental group is formed by 135 students from the gamified course whereas the control group is formed by 100 students from the non-gamified course. The data collected were statistically analyzed to answer the research questions of this study. The results show that the students that participated in the gamification experience were more engaged and achieved a better performance. As an additional finding, the analysis of the results reveals that a key aspect to succeed is the gamification experience design. It is important to distribute the motivating stimulus provided by the gamification throughout the whole experience to engage students until the end. Given these results, we plan to readjust the gamification experience design to increase student engagement in the last stage of the experience, as well as to conduct a longitudinal study to evaluate the effects of gamification

El Centro de Estudios sobre Deporte Inclusivo (CEDI): investigación aplicada, formación y promoción deportiva para personas con discapacidad en acción

La Universidad Politécnica de Madrid y la Fundación Sanitas firmaron un convenio en octubre de 2009 para la creación del primer Centro de Estudios sobre Deporte Inclusivo (CEDI) en España, con sede en la Facultad de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte (INEF). Su objetivo principal es investigar, generar conocimiento y divulgar la información pertinente relativa al fenómeno de la inclusión de las personas con discapacidad en el deporte, difundiendo los beneficios que las actividades físicas y deportivas tienen para los participantes a la hora de mejorar su salud y favorecer su integración social

Impact Assessment of Gridded Precipitation Products on Streamflow Simulations over a Poorly Gauged Basin in El Salvador

[EN] In this study, five open access gridded precipitation (GP) products (CFSR, MSWEPv1.1, PERSIANN-CDR, CMORPH, and CHIRPSv2.0) and local climate data were evaluated over the Grande de San Miguel (GSM) River Basin in El Salvador. The main purpose was to identify optional data sources of precipitation for hydrological modelling given that ground-based precipitation gauges in El Salvador are scarce and their data includes important temporal and spatial gaps. Firstly, a direct comparison was made between the precipitation data from the five GP products and from the rain gauges. Secondly, the SWAT model was used to simulate the streamflow regimen based on the precipitation datasets. The analysis of results showed that the models produced correct predictions, and the accuracy increased as models were calibrated to each specific precipitation product. Overall, PERSIANN-CDR produced the best simulation results, including streamflow predictions in the GSM basin, and outperformed other GP products and also the results obtained from data precipitation gauges. The findings of this research support the hydrological modelling based on open-access GP products, particularly when the data from precipitation gauges are scarce and poor.This research was funded by Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion of Espana (grant numbers RTI2018-096384-B-I00, RTC-2017-6389-5 and RTC2019-007159-5) and by Ramon y Cajal Program (grant number RYC2018-025580-I).Jimeno-Sáez, P.; Blanco-Gómez, P.; Pérez-Sánchez, J.; Cecilia-Canales, JM.; Senent-Aparicio, J. (2021). Impact Assessment of Gridded Precipitation Products on Streamflow Simulations over a Poorly Gauged Basin in El Salvador. Water. 13(18):1-21. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13182497121131

Targeting Environmental and Technical Parameters through Eco-Efficiency Criteria for Iberian Pig Farms in the dehesa Ecosystem

Eco-efficiency could be defined as the simultaneous ability to achieve acceptable economic results with the least possible environmental degradation. Its analysis in crop and livestock production systems has become a hot topic among politicians and scientists. Pig pasture production systems are in high commercial demand because they are associated with high quality and environmentally friendly products. This work aimed to assess the eco-efficiency of pig farms and subsequently explore the determinants of inefficiency in the dehesa ecosystem in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Farmers from 35 randomly selected farms were interviewed to obtain farm-level data. The eco-efficiency level was calculated through a joined data envelopment analysis (DEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Subsequently, a truncated Tobit model was applied to determine factors associated with inefficiency. The results of the research revealed that Iberian pig farms are highly eco-efficient. The estimated average eco-efficiency score is 0.919 and ranges from 0.479 to 1, suggesting that the average farm could increase its value by about 8.1%. This means that the aggregate environmental pressures could be reduced by approximately this proportion (8%) while maintaining the same input level. The determinants related to social and demographic characteristics that positively affected eco-efficiency were the number of children, while years of farm activity and educational level had a negative effect. On the other hand, farm’s characteristics and the type of management, the percentage of own surface area, the percentage of livestock use, and the high proportion of pigs fattened in montanera, positively affected the eco-efficiency leve

Tuning the structural, optical and photoluminescence properties of hybrid perovskite quantum dots by A-site doping

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites have been widely investigated in recent years due to their role as light absorbers in highly efficient solar cells and as emitters. Consequently, to control the emission properties of perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) is of great interest. In this study, Csx MA(1-x) PbI3 PQDs were synthesized. A shift in the emission peak from 670 to 740 nm was found for x≥0.2, and the quantum yield (QY) and recombination lifetime were affected when Cs was incorporated. The shift in the emission is observed to be due to the displacement of the valence band edge, but this is not because of an electronic effect resulting from the Cs incorporation, as observed from the PDOS analyses. It is likely due to the transition from tetragonal to orthorhombic phase of the PQDs when the Cs amount increased. Therefore, the emission properties of the PQDs synthesized can be regulated according to the amount of Cs incorporated in their network