Analysis of Heteronormativity and Gender Roles in EFL Textbooks

This paper examines the current representations of gender roles and heteronormativity in a corpus of textbooks used to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Spanish high schools. Several studies have documented the importance of recognizing problems of homophobic harassment and gender bias which may result in a significant number of students feeling excluded. It is notable that textbook publishers have failed to address this issue despite its relevance to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), raising the question of why this continues to go unnoticed by textbook publishers. The corpus selected comprises two sets of textbooks printed by leading publishers in the area of EFL. In order to gain insight into this issue, we have conducted a qualitative study analyzing the role of textbooks in perpetuating heteronormativity and stereotyped gender roles by exemplifying the naturalized heterosexual and male/female identities. Data were coded under two broad variables: heteronormativity and gender, which in turn were broken down into different units of analysis. The results suggested that heteronormativity still permeates the whole curriculum and that attempts to gender-balance need to be improved by reducing the number of male protagonists. Textbooks fell into some of the same clichés with regard to gender-related stereotypes, such as almost exclusively linking women with shopping and fashion. It is evidently clear from the findings that textbooks should be revised to ensure the right to quality education for all and to make students aware of SDGs, since 7 out of 17 are related to the target topics

Immunosuppression-independent role of regulatory T cells against hypertension-driven renal dysfunctions

Hypertension-associated cardiorenal diseases represent one of the heaviest burdens for current health systems. In addition to hemodynamic damage, recent results have revealed that hematopoietic cells contribute to the development of these diseases by generating proinflammatory and profibrotic environments in the heart and kidney. However, the cell subtypes involved remain poorly characterized. Here we report that CD39+ regulatory T (TREG) cells utilize an immunosuppression-independent mechanism to counteract renal and possibly cardiac damage during angiotensin II (AngII)-dependent hypertension. This mechanism relies on the direct apoptosis of tissue-resident neutrophils by the ecto-ATP diphosphohydrolase activity of CD39. In agreement with this, experimental and genetic alterations in TREG/TH cell ratios have a direct impact on tissue-resident neutrophil numbers, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, cardiorenal fibrosis, and, to a lesser extent, arterial pressure elevation during AngII-driven hypertension. These results indicate that TREG cells constitute a first protective barrier against hypertension-driven tissue fibrosis and, in addition, suggest new therapeutic avenues to prevent hypertension-linked cardiorenal diseases.This work has been supported by grants from the Castilla-León Autonomous Government (CSI101U13), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2012-31371, RD12/0036/0002), Worldwide Cancer Research, the Solórzano Foundation, and the Ramón Areces Foundation to X.R.B. P.M. is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2011-27330). S.F., M.M.-M., J.R.-V., and A.M.-M. were supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through BES-2010-031386, CSIC JAE-Doc, Juan de la Cierva, and BES-2009-016103 contracts, respectively. Spanish government-sponsored funding to X.R.B. is partially supported by the European Regional Development Fund.Peer Reviewe

Claiming the patrimonial value of the agrarian. Sugar cane in oriental Malaga

En el ámbito de protección del patrimonio, cada vez existen más autores y trabajos que inciden en la necesidad y la importancia de no concebir aisladamente los testigos inmuebles, muebles y territoriales de una determinada actividad a la hora de aplicarle una protección, pues los unos sin los otros no tienen razón de ser. En la industria de la caña de azúcar esta protección podría en muchos casos incluir el suelo agrario y fuente de materia prima que hizo funcionar dicha industria. De esta forma, la protección tendría efecto por igual sobre los elementos inmuebles (arquitectura), muebles (maquinaria y herramientas) y el territorio (suelo agrario donde se cultivaba la caña que suministraba la fábrica). El trabajo que se presenta a continuación se centra en la importancia de esta coexistencia entre fábrica-maquinariasuelo agrario. El estudio se focaliza en una de las fábricas existentes en el litoral este malagueño cuya situación en la actualidad se torna un tanto confusa debida a la ambigüedad de la norma aplicable. Por este motivo, se investiga la evolución del parcelario agrario en el entorno de la fábrica, así como el marco legislativo que da lugar al grado de protección actual ya que podría verse afectado por diversas actividades proyectadas en el municipio a corto-medio plazo. Se plantea una reflexión sobre la forma de proceder a la hora de proteger el patrimonio agrario en general, y más concretamente aquel vinculado a ciertas industrias que dejaron una profunda huella en el territorio de la Axarquía y sus habitantes.In the field of heritage protection, more and more authors and research emphasize the need and importance of not considering the immovable, movable and territorial testimonies of a certain activity independently when deciding the protection they deserve, since one without the other have no reason to exist. In the sugar cane industry, this protection could in many cases include the agricultural land which was the main source of raw material to such industry. This way, the protection would have an equal effect on the immovable elements (architecture), movable (machinery and tools), and the territory (lands where the canes were grown to supply the factory). The following work stresses on the significance of this coexistence between Factory-machinery- agricultural land. The study focusses on one of the existing factories on the east coast of Malaga, show current situation is somewhat confusing due to the ambiguity of the applicable regulations. For this reason, the evolution of the agricultural land in the area that surrounds the factory is throughtfully studied together with the legislative framework that gives rise to the current degree of protection, since this could be affected by various activities that are planned in the shortmedium term in the town. A reflection on how to proceed when it comes to protecting agricultural heritage in general, and more specifically that linked to certain industries that imprinted a deep agrarian character into the ‘Axarquia’ territory and its inhabitants

In vivo trypanosomicidal activity of imidazole- or pyrazole-based benzo[ g ]phthalazine derivatives against acute and chronic phases of chagas disease

The in vivo trypanosomicidal activity of the imidazole-based benzo[g]phthalazine derivatives 1−4 and of the new related pyrazole-based compounds 5 and 6 has been studied in both the acute and chronic phases of Chagas disease. As a rule, compounds 1−6 were more active and less toxic than benznidazole in the two stages of the disease, and the monosubstituted derivatives 2, 4, and 6 were more effective than their disubstituted analogs. Feasible mechanisms of action of compounds 1−6 against the parasite have been explored by considering their inhibitory effect on the Fe-SOD enzyme, the nature of the excreted metabolites and the ultrastructural alterations produced. A complementary histopathological analysis has confirmed that the monosubstituted derivatives are less toxic than the reference drug, with the behavior of the imidazole-based compound 4 being especially noteworthy.The authors thank the Santander-Universidad Complutense Research Program (Grant GR58/08-921371-891), the Spanish MEC Project (Grant CGL2008-03687-E/BOS), and the MCINN Projects (CTQ2009-14288-C04-01 and Consolider CSD2010-00065) for financial support

Criteria for specimen collection in special situations of Newborn Screening. Review

La espectrometría de masas en tándem (MS-MS) ha permitido ampliar el alcance del cribado neonatal. Eso hace más complicado determinar el momento más adecuado para la toma de muestra, sobre todo en recién nacidos prematuros y/o bajo peso y/o ingresados en unidades neonatales. El objetivo del presente estudio ha sido revisar las normas de toma de muestra de los distintos programas en estas situaciones, a nivel nacional e internacional. Se obtienen los datos a través de páginas web de salud pública, de plataformas de búsqueda o por contacto con los centros. Existe gran disparidad de criterios para la toma de una nueva muestra, incluso dentro de un mismo país. La limitación de información disponible, hizo imposible obtener resultados de muchos países, en particular de África, Asia o Latinoamérica. A pesar de que cada vez más estados se acogen a las recomendaciones del Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute u otros organismos internacionales, el aumento del coste que implica, hace muy difícil conseguir la estandarización.The most significant breakthrough in the newborn screening (NBS) programs was the introduction of the tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) to the laboratory, which makes it possible to detect multiple disorders. However, it is difficult to choose the ideal time for the specimen collection, particularly in preterm, low birth weight, and sick newborns. The aim of this study was to revise the protocols, in national and international programs for specimen collection in these newborns. Data were collected from web pages of public health, internet searches, and contact with the laboratories. The results showed a great disparity in criteria for a new specimen collection, as well as among different centres within a country. It has been difficult to obtain this information from many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Although an increasing number of laboratories follow the recommendations of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute or other international guidelines, the increased cost involved makes standardisation difficult.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Criteria for specimen collection in special situations of Newborn Screening. Review

La espectrometría de masas en tándem (MS-MS) ha permitido ampliar el alcance del cribado neonatal. Eso hace más complicado determinar el momento más adecuado para la toma de muestra, sobre todo en recién nacidos prematuros y/o bajo peso y/o ingresados en unidades neonatales. El objetivo del presente estudio ha sido revisar las normas de toma de muestra de los distintos programas en estas situaciones, a nivel nacional e internacional. Se obtienen los datos a través de páginas web de salud pública, de plataformas de búsqueda o por contacto con los centros. Existe gran disparidad de criterios para la toma de una nueva muestra, incluso dentro de un mismo país. La limitación de información disponible, hizo imposible obtener resultados de muchos países, en particular de África, Asia o Latinoamérica. A pesar de que cada vez más estados se acogen a las recomendaciones del Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute u otros organismos internacionales, el aumento del coste que implica, hace muy difícil conseguir la estandarización.The most significant breakthrough in the newborn screening (NBS) programs was the introduction of the tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS) to the laboratory, which makes it possible to detect multiple disorders. However, it is difficult to choose the ideal time for the specimen collection, particularly in preterm, low birth weight, and sick newborns. The aim of this study was to revise the protocols, in national and international programs for specimen collection in these newborns. Data were collected from web pages of public health, internet searches, and contact with the laboratories. The results showed a great disparity in criteria for a new specimen collection, as well as among different centres within a country. It has been difficult to obtain this information from many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Although an increasing number of laboratories follow the recommendations of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute or other international guidelines, the increased cost involved makes standardisation difficult.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pilot multi-omic analysis of human bile from benign and malignant biliary strictures: a machine-learning approach

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) may lead to the development of extrahepatic obstructive cholestasis. However, biliary stenoses can also be caused by benign conditions, and the identification of their etiology still remains a clinical challenge. We performed metabolomic and proteomic analyses of bile from patients with benign (n = 36) and malignant conditions, CCA (n = 36) or PDAC (n = 57), undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with the aim of characterizing bile composition in biliopancreatic disease and identifying biomarkers for the differential diagnosis of biliary strictures. Comprehensive analyses of lipids, bile acids and small molecules were carried out using mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR) in all patients. MS analysis of bile proteome was performed in five patients per group. We implemented artificial intelligence tools for the selection of biomarkers and algorithms with predictive capacity. Our machine-learning pipeline included the generation of synthetic data with properties of real data, the selection of potential biomarkers (metabolites or proteins) and their analysis with neural networks (NN). Selected biomarkers were then validated with real data. We identified panels of lipids (n = 10) and proteins (n = 5) that when analyzed with NN algorithms discriminated between patients with and without cancer with an unprecedented accuracy.This research was funded by: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) co-financed by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) Una manera de hacer Europa, grant numbers: PI16/01126 (M.A.A.), PI19/00819 (M.J.M. and J.J.G.M.), PI15/01132, PI18/01075 and Miguel Servet Program CON14/00129 (J.M.B.); Fundación Científica de la Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC Scientific Foundation), grant name: Rare Cancers 2017 (J.M.U., M.L.M., J.M.B., M.J.M., R.I.R.M., M.G.F.-B., C.B., M.A.A.); Gobierno de Navarra Salud, grant number 58/17 (J.M.U., M.A.A.); La Caixa Foundation, grant name: HEPACARE (C.B., M.A.A.); AMMF The Cholangiocarcinoma Charity, UK, grant number: 2018/117 (F.J.C. and M.A.A.); PSC Partners US, PSC Supports UK, grant number 06119JB (J.M.B.); Horizon 2020 (H2020) ESCALON project, grant number H2020-SC1-BHC-2018–2020 (J.M.B.); BIOEF (Basque Foundation for Innovation and Health Research: EiTB Maratoia, grant numbers BIO15/CA/016/BD (J.M.B.) and BIO15/CA/011 (M.A.A.). Department of Health of the Basque Country, grant number 2017111010 (J.M.B.). La Caixa Foundation, grant number: LCF/PR/HP17/52190004 (M.L.M.), Mineco-Feder, grant number SAF2017-87301-R (M.L.M.), Fundación BBVA grant name: Ayudas a Equipos de Investigación Científica Umbrella 2018 (M.L.M.). MCIU, grant number: Severo Ochoa Excellence Accreditation SEV-2016-0644 (M.L.M.). Part of the equipment used in this work was co-funded by the Generalitat Valenciana and European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) funds (PO FEDER of Comunitat Valenciana 2014–2020). Gobierno de Navarra fellowship to L.C. (Leticia Colyn); AECC post-doctoral fellowship to M.A.; Ramón y Cajal Program contracts RYC-2014-15242 and RYC2018-024475-1 to F.J.C. and M.G.F.-B., respectively. The generous support from: Fundación Eugenio Rodríguez Pascual, Fundación Echébano, Fundación Mario Losantos, Fundación M Torres and Mr. Eduardo Avila are acknowledged. The CNB-CSIC Proteomics Unit belongs to ProteoRed, PRB3-ISCIII, supported by grant PT17/0019/0001 (F.J.C.). Comunidad de Madrid Grant B2017/BMD-3817 (F.J.C.).Peer reviewe

Genome-wide association analysis of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes reveal novel loci associated with Alzheimer's disease and three causality networks : The GR@ACE project

Introduction: Large variability among Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases might impact genetic discoveries and complicate dissection of underlying biological pathways. Methods: Genome Research at Fundacio ACE (GR@ACE) is a genome-wide study of dementia and its clinical endophenotypes, defined based on AD's clinical certainty and vascular burden. We assessed the impact of known AD loci across endophenotypes to generate loci categories. We incorporated gene coexpression data and conducted pathway analysis per category. Finally, to evaluate the effect of heterogeneity in genetic studies, GR@ACE series were meta-analyzed with additional genome-wide association study data sets. Results: We classified known AD loci into three categories, which might reflect the disease clinical heterogeneity. Vascular processes were only detected as a causal mechanism in probable AD. The meta-analysis strategy revealed the ANKRD31-rs4704171 and NDUFAF6-rs10098778 and confirmed SCIMP-rs7225151 and CD33-rs3865444. Discussion: The regulation of vasculature is a prominent causal component of probable AD. GR@ACE meta-analysis revealed novel AD genetic signals, strongly driven by the presence of clinical heterogeneity in the AD series