Android app for automatic music composition

In this contribution, we present an Android App that generates music automatically replicating a specific contemporary genre, specifically rock music. The composition system is based on the analysis of a set of songs of the desired genre. The analysis results the automatic composition algorithm requires are exported to a JSON file that can be readily imported and parsed. The Android App developed creates a symbolic representation of the music generated for drums, bass and rhythm guitar that can be exported to a MIDI file or audio waveform. The evaluation results show that the automatic compositions generated are not distinguished amongst other excerpts created by human composers.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Gobierno de España, Proyecto TIN2016-75866-C3-2-R

Psychological treatments in social phobia in childhood and adolescence: a qualitative review

Se presentan los resultados de un estudio cualitativo de revisión de la eficacia de los tratamientos psicológicos utilizados en la fobia social en niños y adolescentes. Se localizaron 26 investigaciones: 5 artículos son diseños de caso único, 6 presentan los datos de un solo grupo tratado y aportan medidas pretest-postest y 16 informes son grupos de comparación entre tratamientos psicológicos y control o tratamiento farmacológico. Los programas más utilizados son The Social Effectiveness Therapy for Children; The Social Effectiveness Therapy for Adolescents Spanish version, SET-Asv y la Intervención en Adolescentes con Fobia Social, siendo la exposición el componente más utilizado en la mayoría de las investigaciones. En la mayor parte de los estudios que presentan datos de seguimiento, se produce un mantenimiento y/o mejora de los resultados del postest al seguimiento no sólo en la variable ansiedad social, sino también en habilidades sociales, depresión, autoestima, etc. Todos los programas resultan eficaces en el tratamiento de la fobia social en el rango de edad estudiado. Se constata la inexistencia de artículos de investigación a este respecto en las bases de datos consultadas en los países americanos de habla hispana y portuguesa. Palabras clave: tratamiento, fobia social, niños, adolescentes.We present the results of a qualitative review of the efficacy of psychological treatments used for social phobia in children and adolescents. We located 26 research: 5 articles were case studies, 6 articles used pretest-posttest assessments of a single group and 16 reports were group comparisons betwen psychological treatments and control or pharmacological treatment. The most frequently used programs were Social Effectiveness Therapy for Children; Social Effectiveness Therapy for Adolescents Spanish version, SET-Asv and Intervention with Adolescents with Social Phobia. In most of the studies that present follow-up information, there was a continuation and/or improvement of the results of the post-test in the follow-up, not only in the social anxiety variable, but also in social skills, depression, self-steem, etc. The programs are effective for social phobia in the age range studied. We confirm the nonexistence of research articles on this subject in the databases consulted in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries. Key words: treatment, social phobia, children, adolescents

Human and microbial proteins from corpora amylacea of Alzheimer's disease

Corpora amylacea (CA) are spherical bodies mainly composed of polyglucans and, to a lesser extent, proteins. They are abundant in brains from patients with neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease. Although CA were discovered many years ago, their precise origin and function remain obscure. CA from the insular cortex of two Alzheimer's patients were purified and the protein composition was assessed by proteomic analysis. A number of microbial proteins were identified and fungal DNA was detected by nested PCR.A wide variety of human proteins form part of CA. In addition, we unequivocally demonstrated several fungal and bacterial proteins in purified CA. In addition to a variety of human proteins, CA also contain fungal and bacterial polypeptides.In conclusion, this paper suggests that the function of CA is to scavenge cellular debris provoked by microbial infections.The financial support of Pharma Mar, S.A. is acknowledged. We also acknowledge an institutional grant to Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” from the Fundación Ramón Arece

Chemical, nutritive composition and a wide range of bioactive properties of honey mushroom: Armillaria mellea (Vahl: Fr.) Kummer

A. mellea fruiting bodies collected from nature were chemically characterized and shown to be rich in carbohydrates (81.25 g per 100 g dw), ash, fat and proteins (8.84 g per 100 g dw, 1.97 g per 100 g dw and 1.81 g per 100 g dw, respectively). Mannitol was the main free sugar while malic acid was the most abundant organic acid. d-Tocopherol was the dominant form of tocopherols with 42.41 µg per 100 g dw. Polyunsaturated fatty acids were predominant, followed by saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. A methanolic extract prepared from these samples was tested for antioxidant, quorum sensing and antimicrobial assays, as well as for its cytotoxicity effects. The extract showed antimicrobial activity against all tested microorganisms, including Candida albicans. Furthermore, when tested at sub-MIC concentration, it showed reduction of virulence factors and biofilm formation against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The extract also exhibited antioxidant activity and did not show toxicity against tumor and non-tumor cells. Due to the observed bioactive properties and compounds of the honey mushroom and its well-balanced nutrients, this mushroom emerges as an interesting functional food and a source of nutraceuticals with applications in different diseases based on antioxidant and antimicrobial effects.The authors are grateful to the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, grant number 173032 for financial support. The authors are also grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013) and L. Barros contract.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pesquisa de microrganismos em dispensadores de antissépticos, desinfetantes e detergentes num hospital

As Infeções Associadas aos Cuidados de Saúde (IACS) estão entre as principais causas de mortalidade em todo o mundo. Adquiridas em meio hospitalar, resultam da incorreta desinfeção praticada, desde dispositivos médicos a superfícies hospitalares e práticas de higienização de profissionais de saúde. O presente trabalho teve como principais objetivos verificar a existência de microrganismos em dispensadores de antissépticos, desinfetantes e detergentes em diferentes serviços na Unidade de Saúde de Bragança; e identificar e testar o perfil de sensibilidade dos microrganismos detetados. As amostras recolhidas foram semeadas em Gelose Columbia + 5% de sangue de carneiro, incubadas a 37ºC durante 48 horas. Em caso de crescimento bacteriano procedeu- se à repicagem das colónias para meio Gelose Columbia + 5% de sangue carneiro e/ ou para meio MacConkey para obtenção de culturas puras. A identificação bacteriana e determinação do perfil de sensibilidade aos diferentes antimicrobianos foi realizada com recurso ao aparelho Vitek 2 da BioMérieux. De entre as 151 amostras semeadas, 25 apresentaram crescimento de microrganismos, constituindo uma percentagem de contaminação de 17%. Os microrganismos mais frequentemente isolados foram Staphylococcus hominis, Sphingomonas paucimobilis e Staphylococcus epidermidis com uma percentagem de 20%, 20% e 16%, respetivamente. Algumas das bactérias isoladas demonstraram perfis de resistências preocupantes que apesar de pertencerem a um grupo de bactérias comensais, estes são responsáveis por IACS. É essencial que se tomem medidas relativas ao manuseamento e acondicionamento de todas as soluções, para que se consiga diminuir a taxa de contaminação das mesmas e, consequentemente, as IACS.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

La participación e implicación de las familias en un centro privado de Granada

Son muchos los expertos y las investigaciones que evidencian que la implicación de las familias en los centros educativos tiene una influencia positiva sobre la calidad de la educación, aumentando el rendimiento de los alumnos y su motivación, y reduciendo la tasa de abandono. Es por ello que se presenta una investigación cuyo objetivo general es conocer el grado de participación e implicación de las familias de los alumnos de primer ciclo en la propia escuela y en la educación de sus hijos, así como las vías que emplean para ello, en un centro privado de la provincia de Granada. Para alcanzar este objetivo se va a emplear una metodología de encuesta, siendo la entrevista semiestructurada en profundidad la técnica escogida para la recogida de la información y los participantes los cuatro tutores del primer ciclo de Educación Primaria del centro en cuestión. En cuanto al análisis de la información, se ha seguido un proceso propiamente cualitativo, usando el software informático Nudist Vivo como medio de apoyo. Los resultados recogidos muestran que las familias de los alumnos están, por lo general, implicadas en el centro educativo a través de los diferentes órganos de participación y tomando parte activa en las actividades que este organiza. Igualmente, conocen la línea de trabajo de la escuela y la apoyan. En lo relativo a la educación de sus hijos, también están bastante involucrados, acuden a las tutorías cuando se les cita, se reúnen con el tutor y con otros profesionales del centro cuando lo requieren, manteniéndose informados del progreso académico y personal de sus hijos. No obstante, aunque esta es la línea predominante, también hay familias que están menos implicadas o que no lo están tanto como quisieran, en estos casos la razón primordial son las ocupaciones laborales.

Assistência de enfermagem no uso da medicina não-convencional: acupuntura

Acupuncture is part of traditional Chinese medicine and was discovered many years ago in Chinese society, it visualizes the body through the “qi” energy and through everything that moves the universe, the five elements of nature. There are several scientific studies to try to prove its effectiveness. This study aims to understand the role of professional nurses in the use of ancient Chinese medicine: acupuncture, through studies of scientific articles carried out between 2012 and 2017. In this way, it was possible to identify in the results that the trained acupuncturist nurse already showed interest before even starting the postgraduate course and that, with such practice, it is possible to develop the profession with autonomy.A acupuntura faz parte da medicina tradicional chinês e foi descoberta há muitos anos em meio a sociedade chinesa, ela visualiza o corpo através da energia “qi” e por tudo que move o universo, os cinco elementos da natureza. Há diversos estudos científicos para tentar comprovar sua eficácia. Este estudo tem por objetivo compreender o papel do profissional enfermeiro no uso da medicina milenar chinesa: a acupuntura, através de estudos de artigos científicos realizados entre 2012 e 2017. Desta forma foi possível identificar nos resultados que o enfermeiro acupunturista formado, já demonstrava interesse antes mesmo de iniciar o curso de pós-graduação e que, com tal prática, é possível desenvolver com autonomia o exercício da profissão

Antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of various Greek garlic genotypes

Recent studies show a significant variation in antioxidant and antimicrobial properties between the various garlic genotypes mostly due to differences in chemical composition and bioactive compounds content. The aim of the present study was to evaluate antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity of garlics collected from the main cultivation areas of Greece, as well as to correlate this activity with their total phenolics content. Genotype G5 showed the highest total phenolics content, which was significantly correlated with the lowest EC 50 values for all the tested antioxidant activity assays. Antimicrobial activity was significant, especially against the bacteria Proteus mirabilis and Antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli. In conclusion, significant variation was observed between the studied garlic genotypes, indicating the importance of both growing conditions and genotype on bioactive properties of dry garlic bulbs. This variation could be further exploited in breeding programs in order to select elite genotypes with increased bioactive properties.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Program PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013), A. Fernandes grant (SFRH/BPD/114753/2016) and L. Barros contract. The authors are also grateful to the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, grant number 173032 for financial support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Aportes de la Tutoría a la Convivencia en la Escuela

Este material contiene un marco conceptual para pensar los proyectos de tutoría en la escuela, un apartado con orientaciones y propuestas de trabajo con alumnos, equipos de conducción, docentes, tutores y familias y bibliografía

Nutritional value, chemical composition, antioxidant activity and enrichment of cream cheese with chestnut mushroom Agrocybe aegerita (Brig.) Sing

A very well-known and appreciated mushroom, Agrocybe aegerita (Brig.) Sing, was the subject of chemical profiling, antioxidant assays and sensory evaluation test in creamcheese. Methanolic extract obtained from a wild sample of A. aegerita fruiting body was fully chemically identified. Sample was found to be rich in carbohydrates (84.51 g/ 100 g dw), ash and proteins (6.69 g/100 g dw and 6.68 g/ 100 g dw, respectively). Trehalose was the main free sugar while malic acid was the most abundant organic acid. Four isoforms of tocopherols were identified; γ- tocopherol was the dominant isoform with 86.08 μg/100 g dw, followed by β- tocopherol, δ-tocopherol and α-tocopherol (8.80 μg/ 100 g dw, 3.40 μg/100 g dw and 2.10 μg/100 g dw, respectively). Polyunsaturated fatty acids were predominant, with linoleic acid as the most prominent one (78.40 %). Methanolic extract of chestnut mushroom exhibited high antioxidant activity. Sensory evaluation test included grading by panelists and comparing the overall acceptability of cream cheese alone and enriched cream cheese with dry powder of A. aegerita. General conclusion of the participants was that the newly developed product was more likeable in comparison to cream cheese alone. Due to the health-beneficial effects of antioxidants and wealth of chemically identified nutrients, A. aegerita is a promising starting material for incorporation on larger scale products