Socioeconomic segregation of students

School segregation may be questioning the equity of the Spanish educational system. In this research, we analyse the school segregation by socioeconomic status using the Hutchens Index. Specifically, we decompose the effect of attending public vs semiprivate schools in terms of segregation. The analyses is based on data collecting information from the population of Andalusian students attending 5th grade. We found significant differences in the level of segregation between both schools types. Particularly, the results show that students from high socioeconomic and cultural status are more segregated in public schools, while students from a low socioeconomic and cultural status are more segregated in semiprivate schools. These differences provide evidence of the inequity of the education policy, which should rethink funding mechanisms as a means to fight against inequality.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. The data used in this research has been provided by the Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Andalucía. This work has been partly supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad under Research Project ECO2017-88883-R; Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andalucía under PAI group SEJ-532. Claudia Prieto Latorre acknowledges the scholarship FPU2017 00432 of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports [Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte] and the training received from the University of Malaga PhD Program in Economics and Business [Programa de Doctorado en Economía y Empresa de la Universidad de Malaga]

Self-Injurious Behaviour in SCA17: A New Clinical Observation

Background: Self-injurious behaviour has historically been associated with borderline personality disorder. Nevertheless, over recent years, it has been reported in numerous neurological syndromes, especially hyperkinesias. Case report: Two cases of SCA17 manifested self-injurious behaviour, namely repetitive scratching of the skin resulting in severe excoriations. In one of them, the abnormal behaviour was associated with the inability to resist the impulse to commit the act along with relief following the damage. Discussion: This is the first report describing self-injurious behaviour in SCA17, but the mechanisms underlying it are still not clear. Further studies are needed to clarify the pathophysiology of such manifestation in hyperkinetic syndromes

Pathophysiology and Treatment of Functional Paralysis: Insight from Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Functional paralysis (FP) or limb weakness is a common presentation of functional movement disorders (FMD), accounting for 18.1% of the clinical manifestations of FMD. The pathophysiology of FP is not known, but imaging studies have identified changes in structural and functional connectivity in multiple brain networks. It has been proposed that noninvasive brain stimulation techniques may be used to understand the pathophysiology of FP and may represent a possible therapeutic option. In this paper, we reviewed transcranial magnetic stimulation studies on functional paralysis, focusing on their pathophysiological and therapeutical implications. Overall, there is general agreement on the integrity of corticospinal pathways in FP, while conflicting results have been found about the net excitability of the primary motor cortex and its excitatory/inhibitory circuitry in resting conditions. The possible involvement of spinal cord circuits remains an under-investigated area. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation appears to have a potential role as a safe and viable option for the treatment of functional paralysis, but more studies are needed to investigate optimal stimulation parameters and clarify its role in the context of other therapeutical options

Nonylphenol, Octyphenol, and Bisphenol A in Groundwaters as a Result of Agronomic Practices

Due to increasing concern about the assessment and protection of the quality of groundwater as a limited natural resource, an extensive monitoring program has been carried out, covering a highly agricultural area of Catalonia where different types of crops have been grown during the last 5–10 years. The paper reports the analytical protocol used (sampling, filtration, preconcentration, and analysis) and the most relevant organic compounds present in groundwaters from agricultural areas as well as the concentration levels found

Desenvolupament de la psicomotricitat dels infants al medi natural: estrudi d'un cas

Aquest treball pretén esbrinar aquelles habilitats motores que més es desenvolupen en contacte amb la natura en un grup multinivell d’educació infantil concret i conéixer el grau de destresa d'aquestes. Altrament, s'assenyalaran altres beneficis físics que s'adquireixen amb el contacte regular amb l'entorn natural i aquells aspectes positius per als infants amb TEA. Finalment, també es visibilitzarà la visió i les preferències dels infants respecte a aquestes activitats. Els mètodes utilitzats en aquest estudi han estat l'observació i l'entrevista. Pel que fa al primer mètode s'usaran fotografies i vídeos, gravacions amb notes de veu com una mena de quadern de camp i una taula d'observació. D'altra banda, les entrevistes seran realitzades a la tutora, a l'educador i als mateixos infants. Els resultats d'aquest estudi suggereixen que les habilitats motores desenvolupades són moltes, com ara l'escalada, la pujada i baixada de rampes, el lliscament o el llançament d’objectes i que els beneficis que aquestes activitats provoquen als alumnes també són nombrosos. Altrament, s'observarà que el grau de destresa motriu es veu relacionada amb l'edat dels xiquets i xiquetes.The aim of this study is to identify which motor skills are most developed in contact with nature in a specific multilevel group of children in early childhood education and to determine the degree of skill of these habilities. Otherwise, other physical benefits acquired through regular contact with the natural environment and those positive aspects for children with ASD will be pointed out. Finally, the children's opinions and preferences regarding these activities will also be made visible. The methods used in this study were both observation and interview. Regarding the first method, photographs and videos, recordings with voice notes in the form of a field notebook and an observation chart will be used. On the other hand, interviews will be conducted with the tutor, the educator and the children themselves. The results of this study suggest that the motor skills developed are many, such as climbing, going up and down ramps, sliding or throwing objects, and that the benefits of these activities for the pupils are also numerous. It will also be observed that the degree of motor skills is related to the age of the children

Abnormal salivary total and oligomeric alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's disease

In Parkinson’s disease (PD), alpha-synuclein (a-syn) can be detected in biological fluids including saliva. Although previous studies found reduced a-syn total (a-syntotal) concentration in saliva of PD patients, no studies have previously examined salivary a-syn oligomers (a-synolig) concentrations or assessed the correlation between salivary a-syntotal, a-synolig and clinical features in a large cohort of PD patients. Is well known that a-synolig exerts a crucial neurotoxic effect in PD. We collected salivary samples from 60 PD patients and 40 age- and sex-comparable healthy subjects. PD was diagnosed according to the United Kingdom Brain Bank Criteria. Samples of saliva were analyzed by specific anti-a-syn and anti-oligomeric a-syn ELISA kits. A complete clinical evaluation of each patient was performed using MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Frontal Assessment Battery. Salivary a-syntotal was lower, whereas a-synolig was higher in PD patients than healthy subjects. The a-synolig/a-syntotal ratio was also higher in patients than in healthy subjects. Salivary a-syntotal concentration negatively correlated with that of a-synolig and correlated with several patients’ clinical features. In PD, decreased salivary concentration of a-syntotal may reflect the reduction of a-syn monomers (a-synmon), as well as the formation of insoluble intracellular inclusions and soluble oligomers. The combined detection of a-syntotal and a-synolig in the saliva might help the early diagnosis of P

Domestic refrigerator temperatures in Spain: Assessment of its impact on the safety and shelf-life of cooked meat products

Temperature is one of the main factors governing the growth of microorganisms. The aim of the present study was to provide temperature conditions representative of the food products stored in domestic refrigerators and to assess the impact of the temperature (fluctuation) on the shelf-life of refrigerated cooked meat products, from the safety and the spoilage point of view. The analysis of the time-temperature profiles recorded from 160 domestic refrigerators of households from small (28%) and large (72%) municipalities in Catalonia (Spain) showed that the 24 h-registers mean temperature could be described by a normal distribution (mean = 5.4 °C, standard deviation = 2.3 °C) with a mean value within the upper limit of the appropriate storage temperature of refrigerated products (i.e. ≤6 °C). The impact of door openings or day and night was not significant. Temperature distribution showed differences depending on the season, being higher in the cold season than in the warm one. Noteworthy, refrigerators of elderly (≥ 65 years old) household showed a higher percentage of time at temperatures >8 °C in comparison with those of the general population. Overall, the 75th percentile of the distribution of the 24 h-mean temperature values was 6.7 °C. This study can be used as a scientific evidence of the consumer storage stage when food business operators or laboratories conduct shelf-life studies. According to the simulation of the growth of Listeria monocytogenes and lactic acid bacteria in cooked meat products, risk scenarios were identified in which the critical level of the pathogen could be reached before lactic acid bacteria achieved the spoilage level. The fluctuation of the refrigerator temperature ranged from 0.5 up to 12.2 °C within the 24 h-profile. The assessment of the safety of cooked meat products stored at constant temperature or under different time-temperature profiles showed that both the mean and the fluctuation of the profile had an impact on the shelf-life, which was higher at low temperatures. The improvement of the household refrigerated storage would be an effective way to increase food safety of refrigerated ready-to-eat food.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Rethinking the neurophysiological concept of cortical myoclonus

Cortical myoclonus is thought to result from abnormal electrical discharges arising in the sensorimotor cortex. Given the ease of recording of cortical discharges, electrophysiological features of cortical myoclonus have been better characterized than those of subcortical forms, and electrophysiological criteria for cortical myoclonus have been proposed. These include the presence of giant somatosensory evoked potentials, enhanced long-latency reflexes, electroencephalographic discharges time-locked to individual myoclonic jerks and significant cortico-muscular connectivity. Other features that are assumed to support the cortical origin of myoclonus are short-duration electromyographic bursts, the presence of both positive and negative myoclonus and cranial-caudal progression of the jerks. While these criteria are widely used in clinical practice and research settings, their application can be difficult in practice and, as a result, they are fulfilled only by a minority of patients. In this review we reappraise the evidence that led to the definition of the electrophysiological criteria of cortical myoclonus, highlighting possible methodological incongruencies and misconceptions. We believe that, at present, the diagnostic accuracy of cortical myoclonus can be increased only by combining observations from multiple tests, according to their pathophysiological rationale; nevertheless, larger studies are needed to standardise the methods, to resolve methodological issues, to establish the diagnostic criteria sensitivity and specificity and to develop further methods that might be useful to clarify the pathophysiology of myoclonus

Rethinking the neurophysiological concept of cortical myoclonus

Cortical myoclonus is thought to result from abnormal electrical discharges arising in the sensorimotor cortex. Given the ease of recording of cortical discharges, electrophysiological features of cortical myoclonus have been better characterized than those of subcortical forms, and electrophysiological criteria for cortical myoclonus have been proposed. These include the presence of giant somatosensory evoked potentials, enhanced long-latency reflexes, electroencephalographic discharges time-locked to individual myoclonic jerks and significant cortico-muscular connectivity. Other features that are assumed to support the cortical origin of myoclonus are short-duration electromyographic bursts, the presence of both positive and negative myoclonus and cranial-caudal progression of the jerks. While these criteria are widely used in clinical practice and research settings, their application can be difficult in practice and, as a result, they are fulfilled only by a minority of patients. In this review we reappraise the evidence that led to the definition of the electrophysiological criteria of cortical myoclonus, highlighting possible methodological incongruencies and misconceptions. We believe that, at present, the diagnostic accuracy of cortical myoclonus can be increased only by combining observations from multiple tests, according to their pathophysiological rationale; nevertheless, larger studies are needed to standardise the methods, to resolve methodological issues, to establish the diagnostic criteria sensitivity and specificity and to develop further methods that might be useful to clarify the pathophysiology of myoclonus