La competencia social de jóvenes universitarios y mayores

p. 153-160Estamos en la era de la tecnología de la información y la comunicación virtual. Por ello, se hace necesario implementar, más que nunca, una educación basada en la competencia social si deseamos lograr que la invasión de las máquinas nos marquen las reglas de la sociedad del siglo XXI: productividad, indiferencia ante lo que está bien o mal, a los sentimientos, emociones, etc. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo explorar la competencia social en jóvenes y mayores que usan habitualmente las tecnologías. La muestra se formó con un grupo de 30 jóvenes universitarios y 38 personas mayores que participan en cursos de informática. El instrumento de evaluación utilizado fue un Cuestionario de Habilidades Sociales con el que se medía tanto la valoración de su propia competencia social, como la del grupo de iguales. Los resultados, en términos generales, evidencian más similitudes que diferencias entre jóvenes y mayores: 1. Coincidencia en la habilidad autoevaluada como más competente (“dar las gracias”). 2. La valoración de su propia competencia social es mejor que la de su grupo de igualesS

La narrativa gerontológica. Perspectiva subjetiva del conocimiento en la vejez

P. 57-66En el contexto de la gerontología narrativa emerge la perspectiva subjetiva del conocimiento del comportamiento en la última etapa de la vida. Esta perspectiva tiene por objeto empoderar a las personas mayores a la vez que la narrativa de su propia vida contribuye a completar la formación de los estudiantes de humanidades en contextos sociales, educativos y de la salud. El objeto de la investigación persigue una revisión de las diferentes narrativas de las historias de vida en la vejez, las semejanzas y diferencias asi como sus funciones y las peculiaridades de cada una de las narrativasS

Variables de medida para el razonamiento deductivo

p. 59-75Hay doble pulsión en el centro de la discusión del razonamiento deductivo. Una conduce aparentemente a la abstracción y dominios arbitrarios, mientras que la otra conduce a la concreción y la dependencia del contenido. El objetivo de esta investigación es diseñar, aplicar y validar un instrumento de evaluación que nos permita corroborar si el razonamiento deductivo maneja reglas lógicas o contenidos. La muestra de estudio se compuso de 80 participantes (edad 18-77 años). El test consta de 60 ítems categorizados en: formalidad, integrabilidad, complejidad y modalidad. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la fiabilidad del test de razonamiento deductivo con un alpha de Cronbach .775 y con un índice de validación.850para el índice de inteligencia no verbal (INV) del RIAS. Cómo conclusión inferimos que el razonador deductivo no dispone de un cuerpo preciso de reglas generales deductivas, sino que usa colecciones de reglas heurísticas cada vez menos abstractasS

Toma de decisiones y aspectos emocionales en la vejez

p. 49-56En la toma de decisiones no solo están implicados procesos cognitivos como la función ejecutiva y la memoria sino que también intervienen procesos emocionales. En esta investigación se delimitan los aspectos emocionales implicados en la toma de decisiones de personas mayores. En particular, se describe la localización de fuentes del proceso emocional, el marcador somático, la emoción razonada, la intuición y un modelo de evaluación emocional de toma de decisiones. Los contenidos abordados se basan en la teoría emocional de DamasioS

Therapeutic Response After Immunosuppressive Drug Prescription in Non-infectious Uveitis: A Survival Analysis

Immunosuppressive drugs; Response to therapyMedicaments immunosupressors; Resposta al tractamentMedicamentos inmunosupresores; Respuesta al tratamientoIntroduction To identify factors affecting the response rate to immunosuppressive drugs (ISDs) in patients with non-infectious uveitis (NIU). Methods This longitudinal retrospective cohort study included patients from the Hospital Clinico San Carlos Uveitis Clinic diagnosed with NIU from 1992 to 2016. Subjects were followed up from ISD prescription until the achievement of good therapeutic response (GTR), ISD treatment change, or up to 12 months. GTR was defined as the complete resolution of the eye inflammatory manifestations with a corticosteroid dose ≤ 10 or ≤ 5 mg per day of prednisone or equivalent (GTR10 and GTR5, respectively) maintained for at least 28 days. Kaplan–Meier curves were estimated for GTR. Demographic, clinical, and treatment-related factors were analyzed using Cox robust regression. Results A total of 73 patients (100 episodes of ISD prescription) were analyzed. In 44 and 41 episodes, GTR10 and GTR5 were achieved, respectively. A lower hazard for both GTRs was associated with uveitic macular edema at prescription and with a higher “highest oral corticosteroid dose prescribed in the year before ISD prescription”. GTR10 was higher if cyclosporine was prescribed (compared to other ISDs), and if a higher number of ISDs had been previously prescribed. GTR5 hazard was lower for patients with posterior uveitis or if the ISDs were prescribed before 2008, and higher if periocular corticosteroids had been administered before ISD prescription, or if the duration of the posterior segment activity was shorter. Conclusions Factors associated with GTR to ISDs may help to identify patients with NIUs who could benefit from a thorough follow-up.This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ministry of Health, Madrid, Spain [ICI19/00020; PI20/01221; RD21/002/0001]. The sponsor or funding organization had no role in the design or conduct of this research. The journal’s Rapid Service Fee was funded by the institution employing the senior author of the manuscript (Fundación Biomédica del Hospital Clínico San Carlos)

Effectiveness of HIIT compared to moderate continuous training in improving vascular parameters in inactive adults

Background: Strong evidence shows that physical inactivity increases the risk of many adverse health conditions, including major non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), metabolic syndrome, and breast and colon cancers, and shortens life expectancy. We aimed to determine the effects of moderate (MCT)- versus high-intensity interval training (HIT) on vascular function parameters in physically inactive adults. We hypothesized that individualized HIT prescription would improve the vascular function parameters more than the MCT in a greater proportion of individuals. Methods: Twenty-one inactive adults were randomly allocated to receive either MCT group (60-75% of their heart rate reserve, [HRR] or HIT group (4 min at 85-95% of peak HRR), 3 days a week for 12 weeks. Vascular function (brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, FMD [%], normalized brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, FMDn [%], aortic pulse wave velocity, PWV [m·s - 1 ], AIx, augmentation index: aortic and brachial [%]), were measured at baseline and over 12 weeks of training. In order for a participant to be considered a responder to improvements in vascular function parameters (FMDn and PWV), the typical error was calculated in a favorable direction. Results: FMD changed by - 1.0% (SE 2.1, d = 0.388) in the MCT group, and + 1.8% (SE 1.8, d = 0.699) in the HIT group (no significant difference between groups: 2.9% [95% CI, - 3.0 to 8.8]. PWV changed by + 0.1 m·s - 1 (SE 0.2, d = 0.087) in the MCT group but decreased by - 0.4 m·s - 1 in the HIT group (SE 0.2, d = 0.497), with significant difference between groups: - 0.4 [95% CI, - 0.2 to - 0.7]. There was not a significant difference in the prevalence of no-responder for FMD (%) between the MCT and HIT groups (66% versus 36%, P = 0.157). Regarding PWV (m·s - 1 ), an analysis showed that the prevalence of no-responder was 77% (7 cases) in the MCT group and 45% (5 cases) in the HIT group (P = 0.114). Conclusions: Under the conditions of the present study, both groups experienced changed in vascular function parameters. Compared to MCT group, HIT is more efficacious for improving FMD and decreasing PWV, in physically inactive adults. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02738385 registered on 23 March 2016. © 2019 The Author(s)

Blood Biomarkers to Predict Long-Term Mortality after Ischemic Stroke

Altres ajuts: This work has been funded by La Fundació La Marató (Reg. 84/240 proj. 201702).Stroke is a major cause of disability and death globally, and prediction of mortality represents a crucial challenge. We aimed to identify blood biomarkers measured during acute ischemic stroke that could predict long-term mortality. Nine hundred and forty-one ischemic stroke patients were prospectively recruited in the Stroke-Chip study. Post-stroke mortality was evaluated during a median 4.8-year follow-up. A 14-biomarker panel was analyzed by immunoassays in blood samples obtained at hospital admission. Biomarkers were normalized and standardized using Z -scores. Multiple Cox regression models were used to identify clinical variables and biomarkers independently associated with long-term mortality and mortality due to stroke. In the multivariate analysis, the independent predictors of long-term mortality were age, female sex, hypertension, glycemia, and baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score. Independent blood biomarkers predictive of long-term mortality were endostatin > quartile 2, tumor necrosis factor receptor-1 (TNF-R1) > quartile 2, and interleukin (IL)-6 > quartile 2. The risk of mortality when these three biomarkers were combined increased up to 69%. The addition of the biomarkers to clinical predictors improved the discrimination (integrative discriminative improvement (IDI) 0.022 (0.007-0.048), p quartile 3 was an independent predictor of mortality due to stroke. Altogether, endostatin, TNF-R1, and IL-6 circulating levels may aid in long-term mortality prediction after stroke

Caracterización inmunológica de un grupo familiar colombiano con infección por SARS-CoV-2

Introduction: Immunological markers have been described during COVID-19 and persist after recovery. These immune markers are associated with clinical features among SARSCoV-2 infected individuals. Nevertheless, studies reporting a comprehensive analysis of the immune changes occurring during SARS-CoV-2 infection are still limited.Objective: To evaluate the production of proinflammatory cytokines, the antibody response, and the phenotype and function of NK cells and T cells in a Colombian family cluster with SARS-CoV-2 infection.Materials and methods: Proinflammatory cytokines were evaluated by RT-PCR and ELISA. The frequency, phenotype, and function of NK cells (cocultures with K562 cells) and T-cells (stimulated with spike/RdRp peptides) were assessed by flow cytometry. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were determined using indirect immunofluorescence and plaque reduction neutralization assay.Results: During COVID-19, we observed a high proinflammatory-cytokine production and a reduced CD56bright-NK cell and cytotoxic response. Compared with healthy controls, infected individuals had a higher frequency of dysfunctional CD8+ T cells CD38+HLA-DR-. During the acute phase, CD8+ T cells stimulated with viral peptides exhibited a monofunctional response characterized by high IL-10 production. However, during recovery, we observed a bifunctional response characterized by the co-expression of CD107a and granzyme B or perforin.Conclusion: Although the proinflammatory response is a hallmark of SARS-CoV-2 infection, other phenotypic and functional alterations in NK cells and CD8+ T cells couldbe associated with the outcome of COVID-19. However, additional studies are required to understand these alterations and to guide future immunotherapy strategies.Introducción. Se han descrito diferentes marcadores inmunológicos durante la COVID-19, los cuales persisten incluso después de la convalecencia y se asocian con los estadios clínicos de la infección. Sin embargo, aún son pocos los estudios orientados al análisis exhaustivo de las alteraciones del sistema inmunológico en el curso de la infección.Objetivo. Evaluar la producción de citocinas proinflamatorias, la reacción de anticuerpos, y el fenotipo y la función de las células NK y los linfocitos T en una familia colombiana con infección por SARS-CoV-2.Materiales y métodos. Se evaluaron las citocinas proinflamatorias mediante RT-PCR y ELISA; la frecuencia, el fenotipo y la función de las células NK (en cocultivos con células K562) y linfocitos T CD8+ (estimulados con péptidos spike/RdRp) mediante citometría de flujo, y los anticuerpos anti-SARS-CoV-2, mediante inmunofluorescencia indirecta y prueba de neutralización por reducción de placa.Resultados. Durante la COVID-19 hubo una producción elevada de citocinas proinflamatorias, con disminución de las células NK CD56bright y reacción citotóxica. Comparados con los controles sanos, los individuos infectados presentaron con gran frecuencia linfocitos T CD8+ disfuncionales CD38+HLA-DR-. Además, en los linfocitos T CD8+ estimulados con péptidos virales, predominó una reacción monofuncional con gran producción de IL-10 durante la fase aguda y una reacción bifuncional caracterizada por la coexpresión de CD107a y granzima B o perforina durante la convalecencia.Conclusión. Aunque la reacción inflamatoria caracteriza la infección por SARS-CoV-2, hay otras alteraciones fenotípicas y funcionales en células NK y linfocitos T CD8+ que podrían asociarse con la progresión de la infección. Se requieren estudios adicionales para entender estas alteraciones y guiar futuras estrategias de inmunoterapia

‘Physio-EndEA’ Study: A Randomized, Parallel-Group Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effect of a Supervised and Adapted Therapeutic Exercise Program to Improve Quality of Life in Symptomatic Women Diagnosed with Endometriosis

This research was funded by the Health Institute Carlos III (FEDER funds), grant number PI17/01743, and donations from particular endometriosis women that believed in this project from the beginning. It was also partly supported by funds from the PAIDI group CTS-206 (Oncologia Basica y Clinica). This study takes place thanks to the additional funding from the University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigacion 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence; Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES).Aim: The ‘Physio-EndEA’ study aims to explore the potential benefits of a therapeutic exercise program (focused on lumbopelvic stabilization and tolerance to exertion) on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of symptomatic endometriosis women. Design: The present study will use a parallel-group randomized controlled trial design. Methods: A total of 22 symptomatic endometriosis women will be randomized 1:1 to the Physio-EndEA or usual care groups. The ‘Physio-EndEA’ program will consist of a one-week lumbopelvic stabilization learning phase followed by an eight-week phase of stretching, aerobic and resistance exercises focused on the lumbopelvic area that will be sequentially instructed and supervised by a trained physiotherapist (with volume and intensity progression) and adapted daily to the potential of each participant. The primary outcome measure is HRQoL. The secondary outcome measures included clinician-reported outcomes (pressure pain thresholds, muscle thickness and strength, flexibility, body balance and cardiorespiratory fitness) and patient-reported outcomes (pain intensity, physical fitness, chronic fatigue, sexual function, gastrointestinal function and sleep quality). Discussion: Findings of this study will help to identify cost-effective non-pharmacological options (such as this exercise-based intervention) that may contribute to the improvement of HRQoL in symptomatic endometriosis women.Health Institute Carlos III (FEDER funds) PI17/01743PAIDI groupUniversity of Granad