Progresando en competencias profesionales: utilidad del e-portafolio en una titulación en Estadística

This paper shows an easy to implement teaching strategy, which leads the students to their own progression towards the adquisition of professional competences, as well as to developing their own perception of the main deficiencies they should address. Once implemented in the UB-UPC Statistics Degree, the students showed concern with quality and good work, an increase in their self-criticism capacity, as well as in their motivation towards success; and finally, a better appraisal of team-work

Development and psychometric pilot test of a questionnaire for the evaluation of caregiver overload during home care in nursing

El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar las propiedades psicométricas del Cuestionario de Evaluación de la sobrecarga del cuidador (CESC) en la atención domiciliaria de enfermería. El estudio responde a una modalidad de investigación empírico-descriptiva y el diseño atiende a una metodología de tipo mixta. El estudio se desarrolló en 4 fases: marco teórico, diseño del cuestionario, prueba piloto (la muestra de estudio la componían 14 enfermeras/os de tres Centros de Atención Primaria del área de L'Hospitalet de Llobregat y 296 cuidadores; las variables de análisis fueron los síntomas y predictores de sobrecarga asociados al cuidador y al paciente) y medición de las características psicométricas. Se ha diseñado una escala que es estadísticamente fiable (KR-20=0,72), consistente y válida (r=0,79; KMO=0,74) y que permite medir la sobrecarga del cuidador con mayor precisión

Los hallazgos de la Cueva de Es Pas de Ferrerías

[spa] Se exponen las circunstancias que llevaron al descubrimiento y excavación de la cueva de Es Pas (Ferrerías), una cueva sepulcral de 3.000 años de antigüedad. La excepcionalidad de los restos arqueológicos hallados reside en la materia orgánica conservada, tanto humana (pelo, pulmones, cerebro, musculatura, coprolitos) como animal y vegetal (sudarios de cuero, dos parihuelas de madera, cuerdas de esparto...). Los restos de los 70 individuos identificados estaban depositados en el pequeño recinto, en posición fetal y envueltos con sudarios de cuero y atados con cuerdas, lo que certifica, por primera vez, el proceso post mórtem de este tipo de enterramientos.[eng] We expose in this paper how the 3.000 years old burial cave named "Cova des Pas», in Ferreries, Minorca, was discovered ans excavated. Archaeological remains are exceptional because organic elements have been well preserved: human remains as hair, lung, brain, muscles and coproliths, but also animal skin, two wood stretchers and ropes. We have identified 70 individuals in the little space of the cave, all in fetal position, envelopped in animal skin and tied with ropes; it certifies, for the first time, the post mortem processus in this kind of burials

Isotopic and chemical characterisation of metals from Cova des Pas (Ferreries, Menorca). A Late Bronze to Iron Age transition burial site

[spa] Se presenta el estudio de los objetos metálicos hallados en Cova des Pas (900-800 cal AC), una necrópolis situada en el barranco de Trebaluger (Ferreries, Menorca), excavada entre los años 2005 y 2006 por un equipo formado por miembros de la Universitat de les Illes Balears y la Universitat de Barcelona. El conjunto está compuesto por objetos de bronce y pequeñas anillas de estaño, un elemento alóctono en las Islas Baleares. Se describen las piezas metálicas en sus respectivos contextos arqueológicos, atendiendo a los aspectos tecnológicos que aportan información para caracterizar las producciones metalúrgicas de esta cronología en Menorca. A partir de los resultados de las analíticas de composición elemental y de isótopos de plomo, se argumenta la relación de la mayoría de los bronces con depósitos minerales de Menorca. No obstante, confrontando dichos datos con los publicados actualmente, se deduce que dos piezas de bronce muestran concordancia con minerales cupríferos de Cerdeña y tres con minerales de Linares (Jaén). (Jaén).[eng] This paper presents the analysis of metal objects found in Cova des Pas (900-800 cal BC), a necropolis located in the Trebaluger ravine (Ferreries, Menorca). The cave was excavated in 2005 and 2006 by a joint team from the University of the Balearic Islands and the University of Barcelona. The finds comprise not only bronze objects but also small rings made of tin¿an element not native to the Balearic Islands. The metal objects are described in their respective archaeological contexts, emphasizing the technological aspects that provide information to characterize metal production from this timeline in Menorca. Based on the chemical composition and lead isotope analysis, we find that most of the bronzes come from mineral deposits in Menorca. Nevertheless, by comparing these data to currently published information, we deduce that two bronze pieces show similarity to copper minerals in Sardinia and three to minerals from Linare

Whole body correction of mucopolysaccharidosis IIIA by intracerebrospinal fluid gene therapy

For most lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) affecting the CNS, there is currently no cure. The BBB, which limits the bioavailability of drugs administered systemically, and the short half-life of lysosomal enzymes, hamper the development of effective therapies. Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPS IIIA) is an autosomic recessive LSD caused by a deficiency in sulfamidase, a sulfatase involved in the stepwise degradation of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) heparan sulfate. Here, we demonstrate that intracerebrospinal fluid (intra-CSF) administration of serotype 9 adenoassociated viral vectors (AAV9s) encoding sulfamidase corrects both CNS and somatic pathology in MPS IIIA mice. Following vector administration, enzymatic activity increased throughout the brain and in serum, leading to whole body correction of GAG accumulation and lysosomal pathology, normalization of behavioral deficits, and prolonged survival. To test this strategy in a larger animal, we treated beagle dogs using intracisternal or intracerebroventricular delivery. Administration of sulfamidase-encoding AAV9 resulted in transgenic expression throughout the CNS and liver and increased sulfamidase activity in CSF. High-titer serum antibodies against AAV9 only partially blocked CSF-mediated gene transfer to the brains of dogs. Consistently, anti-AAV antibody titers were lower in CSF than in serum collected from healthy and MPS IIIA-affected children. These results support the clinical translation of this approach for the treatment of MPS IIIA and other LSDs with CNS involvement

Corrigendum: Melatonin and Nitrones As Potential Therapeutic Agents for Stroke

Stroke is a disease of aging affecting millions of people worldwide, and recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (r-tPA) is the only treatment approved. However, r-tPA has a low therapeutic window and secondary effects which limit its beneficial outcome, urging thus the search for new more efficient therapies. Among them, neuroprotection based on melatonin or nitrones, as free radical traps, have arisen as drug candidates due to their strong antioxidant power. In this Perspective article, an update on the specific results of the melatonin and several new nitrones are presented

Pilot study of living donor liver transplantation for patients with HCC exceeding Milan criteria

BACKGROUND & AIMS: A subset of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) beyond Milan criteria might obtain acceptable survival outcomes after liver transplantation. Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) has emerged as a feasible alternative to overcome the paucity of donors. METHODS: In 2001 we started a protocol for LDLT in Child A-B patients with HCC fulfilling a set of criteria - the BCLC expanded criteria- that expanded the conventional indications of transplantation: 1 tumor ≤ 7cm, 5 tumors ≤ 3cm, 3 tumors ≤ 5cm without macrovascular invasion or down-staging to Milan after loco-regional therapies. RESULTS: We present a prospective cohort of 22 patients with BCLC extended indications based on size/number (17) or down-staging (5) treated with LDLT between 2001 and 2014. Characteristics of the patients were as follows: median age: 57yr old; males/female: 20/2, Child-Pugh A/B: 16/6, AFP <100ng/mL: 21. Twelve patients received neo-adjuvant loco-regional therapies. At the time of transplantation, 12 patients had HCC staging beyond Milan criteria and 10 within. Pathological reports showed that 50% exceeded BCLC expanded criteria. Perioperative mortality was 0%. After a median follow up of 81 months, the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year survival was 95.5%, 86.4%, 80.2% and 66.8%, respectively. Overall, seven patients recurred (range 9-108 mo), and the 5-y and 10-yr actuarial recurrence rate was of 23.8% and 44,4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: A proper selection of candidates for extended indications of living donor liver transplantation for HCC patients provide survival outcomes comparable

L’ensenyament de l’estadística a través de l’estratègia flipped classroom. Informe final

En aquest informe presentem els resultats de l’aplicació de l’aula inversa en diverses assignatures de contingut estadístics que s’imparteixen a la Facultat d’Economia i Empresa de la Universitat de Barcelona. Els objectius principals del projecte eren millorar l’aprofitament del temps de classe per part del estudiants, de manera que tinguin un paper més actiu i la classe esdevingui més dinàmica i profitosa i, d’altra banda, millorar els resultats de rendiment acadèmic. Igualment, s’analitza la opinió del alumnes sobre l’experiència, a través d’una enquesta. Els resultats obtinguts són satisfactoris. En una de les assignatures involucrades s’ha detectat un augment significatiu en les notes des de la introducció de l’estratègia, que, en tots els casos, ha estat molt ben valorada pels estudiants. També realitzem algunes reflexions després de quatre cursos d’aplicació de l’estratègia, que creiem que contribuirien a millorar els resultats. En concret, s’ha vist recomanable introduir alguns canvis en la seva implementació a l’aula, i, en alguns casos, traslladar l’aplicació de la tècnica a altres blocs temàtics del pla docent, o inclús a noves assignatures. També considerem convenient recavar informació sobre com percep l’estudiant l’activitat de l’aula inversa en el conjunt de proves d’avaluació continua que realitza, el pes que té cadascuna d’elles, i en quina mesura creu que l’ajuda a assolir els objectius marcats al pla docent

Colon capsule endoscopy versus CT colonography in FIT-positive colorectal cancer screening subjects: a prospective randomised trial-the VICOCA study

Background: Colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) and CT colonography (CTC) are minimally invasive techniques for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Our objective is to compare CCE and CTC for the identification of patients with colorectal neoplasia among participants in a CRC screening programme with positive faecal immunochemical test (FIT). Primary outcome was to compare the performance of CCE and CTC in detecting patients with neoplastic lesions. Methods: The VICOCA study is a prospective, single-centre, randomised trial conducted from March 2014 to May 2016; 662 individuals were invited and 349 were randomised to CCE or CTC before colonoscopy. Endoscopists were blinded to the results of CCE and CTC. Results: Three hundred forty-nine individuals were included: 173 in the CCE group and 176 in the CTC group. Two hundred ninety individuals agreed to participate: 147 in the CCE group and 143 in the CTC group. In the intention-toscreen analysis, sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values for the identification of individuals with colorectal neoplasia were 98.1%, 76.6%, 93.7% and 92.0% in the CCE group and 64.9%, 95.7%, 96.8% and 57.7% in the CTC group. In terms of detecting significant neoplastic lesions, the sensitivity of CCE and CTC was 96.1% and 79.3%, respectively. Detection rate for advanced colorectal neoplasm was higher in the CCE group than in the CTC group (100% and 93.1%, respectively; RR = 1.07; p = 0.08). Both CCE and CTC identified all patients with cancer. CCE detected more patients with any lesion than CTC (98.6% and 81.0%, respectively; RR = 1.22; p = 0.002). Conclusion: Although both techniques seem to be similar in detecting patients with advanced colorectal neoplasms, CCE is more sensitive for the detection of any neoplastic lesion

Effects of functional remediation on neurocognitively impaired bipolar patients: enhancement of verbal memory

Background: functional remediation is a novel intervention with demonstrated efficacy at improving functional outcome in euthymic bipolar patients. However, in a previous trial no significant changes in neurocognitive measures were detected. The objective of the present analysis was to test the efficacy of this therapy in the enhancement of neuropsychological functions in a subgroup of neurocognitively impaired bipolar patients. Method: a total of 188 out of 239 DSM-IV euthymic bipolar patients performing below two standard deviations from the mean of normative data in any neurocognitive test were included in this subanalysis. Repeated-measures analyses of variance were conducted to assess the impact of the treatment arms [functional remediation, psychoeducation, or treatment as usual (TAU)] on participants' neurocognitive and functional outcomes in the subgroup of neurocognitively impaired patients. Results: patients receiving functional remediation (n = 56) showed an improvement on delayed free recall when compared with the TAU (n = 63) and psychoeducation (n = 69) groups as shown by the group × time interaction at 6-month follow-up [F 2,158 = 3.37, degrees of freedom (df) = 2, p = 0.037]. However, Tukey post-hoc analyses revealed that functional remediation was only superior when compared with TAU (p = 0.04), but not with psychoeducation (p = 0.10). Finally, the patients in the functional remediation group also benefited from the treatment in terms of functional outcome (F 2,158 = 4.26, df = 2, p = 0.016). Conclusions: functional remediation is effective at improving verbal memory and psychosocial functioning in a sample of neurocognitively impaired bipolar patients at 6-month follow-up. Neurocognitive enhancement may be one of the active ingredients of this novel intervention, and, specifically, verbal memory appears to be the most sensitive function that improves with functional remediation