Mapping IS6110 in high-copy number Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains shows specific insertion points in the Beijing genotype

Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strains are characterized by a large number of IS6110 copies, suggesting the potential implication of this element in the virulence and capacity for rapid dissemination characteristic of this family. This work studies the insetion points of IS6110 in high-copy clinical isolates specifically focusing on the Beijing genotype. Results: In the present work we mapped the insertion points of IS6110 in all the Beijing strains available in the literature and in the DNA sequence databases. We generated a representative primer collection of the IS6110 locations, which was used to analyse 61 high-copy clinical isolates. A total of 440 points of insertion were identified and analysis of their flanking regions determined the exact location, the direct repeats (DRs), the orientation and the distance to neighboring genes of each copy of IS6110. We identified specific points of insertion in Beijing strains that enabled us to obtain a dendrogram that groups the Beijing genotype. Conclusions: This work presents a detailed analysis of locations of IS6110 in high-copy clinical isolates, showing points of insertion present with high frequency in the Beijing family and absent in other strains. Keywords: IS6110, Insertion points, M. tuberculosis, Beijing genotype

Enhancing motivation, engagement and team building among psychology undergraduates through game base learning

10th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN2018)Regardless of their form, educational games have as primary purpose educating or training. In the higher university context, serious games, gamification and game-based learning, are designed to make educational processes more efficient. A growing body of research has shown that the incorporation of games in the classroom is often more effective than traditional teaching methods in terms of active participation, concentration, development of social and solving problems skills, academic achievements and performance among university students. Furthermore, games can enhance intrinsic motivation, flow experiences, and engagement, as well as some relevant key groups’ skills as teamworking. In order words, learning would be interesting, motivating, engaging, funny and effective through games. However, a substantial part of the aforementioned results regard to usefulness and relevance of game based learning, come from digital games. In this sense, it has been noted that digital game environments cannot provide face-to-face interaction, while in a classroom situation, student-student interactions could exert a profound impact on learning. Game based learning based on this face-toface interaction could be even more crucial in the case of Psychology undergraduates. As future psychologists, they will often have to work, on the basis of that face-to-face interaction, managing groups and work teams that will have to be effective. An important part of key knowledges to develop such competence must be learned in the classroom of Groups Psychology, at the end of the third course of Psychology Degree. In this context, the main objective of this work is to evaluate the effects of a group simulation gamebased learning experience, in terms of intrinsic motivation, engagement and teamworking amongst psychology undergraduates. Such game-based learning experience implies for the undergraduates to use some of the learnings and knowledges related to the physical and social environment of the groups that will be easier acquired and interiorized through this game. Psychology undergraduates are confronted in small groups –around five members- to a new and a potential stressing situation that needs a fast and effective solution. Our results, in a sample composed by the 31 Psychology Undergraduates that participated in the game, based on face-to-face interaction, showed that after it, undergraduates’ intrinsic motivation was higher, as well as, they experienced more engagement, and a stronger sense of team building within their own work group. We think these findings are useful in order to foster intrinsic motivation, engagement, and team working among university students

The Francoist purge of the teaching staff: ideological control of secondary school teachers

The main purpose of this article is to analyse purges of secondary teachers from a qualitative point of view: ideological basis, legislative control and the stages of the teaching staff purge, and that is the reason why we have divided our work into different sections. We tried the teachers to be who put us in touch with the truth from the analysis of the 2.445 files related to secondary teacher’s purge which are kept in the AGA. goals which lie behind repressive politics and the way they decided to sanction or to exonerate people. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the purging process, we make a global approach to the lists of accusations, the evidences, reports, etc. Finally, we show some quantitative data related to the sanctioned teachers and their classification according to several factors.El principal objetivo de este artículo es el análisis de los aspectos cualitativos de la depuración franquista de los profesores de instituto: bases ideológicas, instrumentos de control legislativo y fases del proceso depurador, y en función de ello se dividen los distintos apartados del mismo. Se ha procurado que sean los propios docentes quienes nos pongan en contacto con la realidad, a partir del análisis de los 2.445 expedientes depositados en el AGA. También hemos profundizado en los agentes de la represión, los informantes, la ideología y fines que subyacen a la política represiva y la mecánica seguida en la toma de decisiones sancionadoras o exculpatorias. Asimismo, analizamos globalmente los expedientes con los cargos formulados, los pliegos de descargo adjuntos, las acusaciones e informes, etc., para así poder entender mejor el proceso depurador. Finalmente, ofrecemos algunos datos cuantitativos sobre el profesorado sancionado y su distribución en función de diversas variables

Profesoras de Instituto y de Escuela Normal sancionadas en Andalucía durante la guerra civil española: apuntes biográficos

The objective of the article is to “rescue from oblivion” and, therefore, “make visible”, the female teachers at the grammar and teacher training schools of Andalusia that were sanctioned during the Spanish civil war. Silence leads to oblivion on the part of the protagonists themselves and, above all, to the ignorance of those who have not lived the facts. We intend to rescue these teachers from that oblivion and thereby recover their name and their memory. Here we have applied the historical-educational methodology, based on a review of the existing literature and, fundamentally, the use of primary sources. We have consulted the publications on the development of the different purging processes and gone to the primary sources—personal purging files, minutes of the teacher training schools, etc.— to make a portrait, however brief, of the different teachers. We also resorted to the scarce historiography that we found.The work is structured in three parts: a first part is dedicated to reflecting on the peculiarities of internal exile to which the teachers were subjected; in a second moment we highlight the general peculiarities of the purges, both at the level of secondary schools and teacher-training schools, in terms of the number of teachers sanctioned, charges pressed, type of sanctions, etc.; and finally, we focus on the biographies of the teachers.El objetivo del artículo es «sacar del olvido» y, por tanto, «visibilizar» a las profesoras de los institutos y escuelas normales de Andalucía que fueron sancionadas durante la guerra civil. El silencio lleva al olvido por parte de los propios protagonistas y, sobre todo, a la ignorancia de aquellos que no han vivido los hechos. Pretendemos rescatar de ese olvido a aquellas profesoras y con ello recuperar su nombre y su memoria.La metodología aplicada ha sido la histórico educativa a través de la revisión de la bibliografía existente sobre el desarrollo de los distintos procesos de depuración y, fundamentalmente, de la utilización de fuentes primarias —expedientes personales de depuración, actas de las escuelas normales, etc.—. Ello nos ha permitido realizar una semblanza, aunque sea breve, de las distintas profesoras y, con ello, pretendemos contribuir a mitigar la escasa historiografía que existe sobre esta temática. El trabajo se ha estructurado en tres partes: una primera dedicada a reflexionar sobre las peculiaridades de exilio interior al que se vieron sometidas las profesoras; en una segunda destacamos las peculiaridades generales de la depuración, tanto a nivel de institutos como de escuelas normales, en lo que se refiere al número de sancionadas, cargos imputados, tipo de sanciones, etc. y, por último, nos centramos ya en las biografíasde las profesoras

Percepciones de bienestar de inmigrantes iberoamericanos en la región de Teruel

This paper assesses the well-being perceived of immigrants from South and Central America living in Teruel. Teruel is a rural municipality of Aragon, Spain, where the decline in fertility rate and aging has been remarkably during the last decades. To carry out this research we have drawn data from a self-elaborated survey. The final sample is comprised of 295 Latin American immigrants aged 18 to 60 years living in the province of Teruel. Despite the circumstances of rural areas, immigrants have a good self-perception of their well-being, regardless of their gender or educational level. In addition, immigrants think that their future will be better. This conclusion has important implications for local governments, since immigration can represent a viable solution to depopulation problems.Esta investigación evalúa el bienestar percibido de los inmigrantes de América del Sur y Central que viven en Teruel. Teruel es un municipio rural de Aragón, España, donde el descenso de la tasa de fertilidad y el envejecimiento está aumentando notablemente durante las últimas décadas. Para llevar a cabo este estudio utilizamos una base de datos de elaboración propia mediante la técnica de encuesta. La muestra final la comprenden 295 inmigrantes latinoamericanos de 18 a 60 años residentes de la provincia de Teruel. A pesar de los desafíos socioeconómicos que afrontan las áreas rurales, los inmigrantes encuestados valoran su bienestar en estos entornos de un modo positivo, independientemente de su género o nivel educativo. Además, los inmigrantes piensan que su futuro será mejor. Esta conclusión tiene implicaciones para los gobiernos locales, pues la inmigración puede representar una solución viable a los problemas de despoblación

Willingness to pay for a quality-adjusted life year: an evaluation of attitudes towards risk and preferences

BACKGROUND: This paper examines the Willingness to Pay (WTP) for a quality-adjusted life year (QALY) expressed by people who attended the healthcare system as well as the association of attitude towards risk and other personal characteristics with their response. METHODS: Health-state preferences, measured by EuroQol (EQ-5D-3L), were combined with WTP for recovering a perfect health state. WTP was assessed using close-ended, iterative bidding, contingent valuation method. Data on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, as well as usage of health services by the subjects were collected. The attitude towards risk was evaluated by collecting risky behaviors data, by the subject’s self-evaluation, and through lottery games. RESULTS: Six hundred and sixty two subjects participated and 449 stated a utility inferior to 1. WTP/QALY ratios varied significantly when payments with personal money (mean €10,119; median €673) or through taxes (mean €28,187; median €915) were suggested. Family income, area income, higher education level, greater use of healthcare services, and the number of co-inhabitants were associated with greater WTP/QALY ratios. Age and female gender were associated with lower WTP/QALY ratios. Risk inclination was independently associated with a greater WTP/QALY when “out of pocket” payments were suggested. Clear discrepancies were demonstrated between linearity and neutrality towards risk assumptions and experimental results. CONCLUSIONS: WTP/QALY ratios vary noticeably based on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the subject, but also on their attitude towards risk. Knowing the expression of preferences by patients from this outcome measurement can be of interest for health service planning

Valoración de la capa de fibras nerviosas de la retina en pacientes con diabetes mellitus tipo 2 mediante Tomografía de Coherencia Óptica

La reciente aplicación de las técnicas de análisis digital de imagen en oftalmología ha supuesto la aparición y desarrollo de parámetros que permiten una medición cuantitativa, objetiva y reproducible de la capa de fibras nerviosas de la retina (CFNR) y del nervio óptico. Entre estas técnicas de análisis por imagen destaca la Tomografía de coherencia óptica (OCT).Este nuevo instrumento diagnóstico ha permitido a algunos autores observar alteraciones en la CFNR de pacientes con diabetes mellitus (DM) incluso sin la existencia de retinopatía diabética (RD).Este hallazgo arroja un nuevo enfoque sobre la afectación ocular de la DM, que no se centra en las alteraciones vasculares de la retina sino en las alteraciones neurorretinianas. El objetivo de esta tesis es confirmar mediante técnicas de OCT que existe una alteración subclínica en la CFNR de los pacientes diabéticos, aunque no presenten RD.La metodología empleada en este trabajo analiza parámetros endocrinológicos, de función visual (agudeza visual, sensibilidad al contraste, campo visual, visión cromática) y estructurales de la retina (medidos mediante dos sistemas de OCT, Triton y Spectralis) en una muestra de 60 ojos de pacientes con DM tipo 2 sin RD y los compara con ojos de sujetos sanos de su misma edad y sexo.Como resultado principal, se objetivo un adelgazamiento de la CFNR tanto del área peripapilar como macular en el grupo de pacientes con DM2 respecto al grupo control. La calidad visual de los pacientes diabéticos se encontraba dentro de la normalidad, aunque algunos en algunos parámetros los resultados fueron ligeramente peores respecto al grupo control.<br /

Efectividad del índice de Brass en la planificación del alta por enfermeras gestoras de casos

Classifying patients according to complexity and frailty during hospitalization allows efficient planning of the scope of care required by the patient at discharge. The aim of this study was to measure the screening validity of the Blaylock Risk Assessment Screening Score and its effectiveness in discharge planning.Methods: We analyzed the variables hospital stay, destination at discharge, use of healthcare resources and mortality in 370 patients. Results: Analysis of the relationship between mortality and the BRASS-Sp index with regard to gender and number of days of stay yielded a hazard ratio of 1.73 (95% CI 1.22-2.46; p=0.002) for male gender and 2.08 (95% CI 1.43-3.04; p&lt;0.001) for the BRASS-Sp score. Patients who continued in case management in Primary Care had a mean BRASS-Sp of 20.97 (standard deviation 6.11), while in the other patients the mean was 19.35 (standard deviation 5.60), p=0.02. Conclusions: The BRASS-Sp proved easy-to-use with verified content validity that is effective for screening hospitalized patients by case management nursesEstratificar a los pacientes en relación con la complejidad y fragilidad durante la hospitalización, nos permite planificar de manera más eficiente los cuidados y el ámbito de atención que precisa al alta. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar la efectividad de la traducción al español de índice de BRASS en la planificación del alta hospitalaria por enfermeras gestoras de casos de atención hospitalaria.Método: Se analizaron variables relacionadas con la estancia hospitalaria, destino al alta, utilización de recursos sanitarios y mortalidad en 370 pacientes.. Resultados: La edad media fue 72.6 años (DE 14.05), 191 (51.6%) eran mujeres. Cuando analizamos la relación entre mortalidad e índice de BRASS-Sp en relación al sexo y número de días de ingreso encontramos una HR=1.73 (95% CI de 1.22 a 2.46) con una p=0.002 para sexo masculino y una HR=2.08 (95% CI 1.43 a 3.04) con una p&lt;0.001 para puntuación del índice de BRASS_Sp. Los pacientes que continuaron en gestión de casos en Atención Primaria obtuvieron una media del BRASS-Sp de 20.97 (DE 6.11) mientras que en los demás fue de 19.35 (DE 5.60), p=0.02. Conclusiones: La traducción al español del índice de BRASS se muestra como un instrumento fácil de usar y con validez de contenido y efectividad para cribado de pacientes hospitalizados por enfermeras gestoras de casos. &nbsp

Efectividad del tratamiento tópico de la flebitis secundaria a la cateterización periférica: una revisión sistemática

Background: Phlebitis is the most common complication induced by peripheral intravenous catheter.Aim: To assess the best available evidence concerning the effectiveness of topical therapies in patients with peripheral venous canulation who developed phlebitisMethod: The bibliographic search for clinical trials and sistematic reviews, published between 1995 and 2015, was carried out in the following databases Pubmed, Cinahl, Cochrane plus CUIDEN and BVS (Biblioteca Virtual en Salud), in english and spanish. Inclusion criteria were: adult inpatient with peripheral venous cateterization with continous or intermitent infusion, including all types of infusion therapy who developed any degree of superficial phlebitis. The quality of selected studies was assessed independently by peer reviewers using the Clinical Appraisal Skills Programme in its spanish version.Results: 11 studies were identified, 8 clinical trials and 3 sistematic reviews.  The efectiveness of topical phytotherapeutics: aloe vera, chamomilla recutita and notoginseny; heparinoid creams and heparin gels; anti-inflamatory as diclofenac, and vasodilators as nitroglycerin was analized, showing effectivity all of them.Conclusions: Aloe vera, notoginseny, diclofenac and heparine gel suggest a weak level of evidence and moderate grade of recommendation. Heparin gel is the only product provided by the Spanish Medicine Agency to treat post-infusion phlebitis, notoginseny is not marketed in Spain and diclofenac is an anti-inflammatory used for various pathologies. Deserves special attention of topical therapy with aloe vera but further studies are neededIntroducción: La flebitis es la complicación más frecuente secundaria a la cateterización periférica.Objetivo: Evaluar la evidencia disponible sobre la efectividad de tratamientos tópicos de la flebitis post-perfusión en pacientes portadores de catéter venoso periférico.Método: Se realizó revisión sistemática de ensayos clínicos y revisiones sistemáticas publicados desde 1995 a 2015 en las bases de datos Pubmed, Cinahl, Cochrane plus CUIDEN y la BVS (Biblioteca Virtual en Salud), en inglés y español. Los criterios de inclusión fueron: paciente adulto hospitalizado, portador de vía venosa periférica, con perfusión continua o intermitente, incluyendo todo tipo de terapia de infusión que hubieran desarrollado cualquier grado de flebitis. La valoración de la calidad metodológica de los estudios seleccionados, se realizó por pares de forma independiente utilizando el Clinical Appraisal Skills Programme en su versión española.Resultados: Se seleccionaron 11 estudios: 8 ensayos clínicos y 3 revisiones sistemáticas. Analizaron los efectos de fitoterapéuticos: aloe vera, chamomilla recutita y notoginseny; pomadas heparinoides y geles de heparina; antiinflamatorios como el diclofenaco y vasodilatadores como la nitroglicerina, resultando todos ellos efectivos.Conclusiones: El aloe vera, notoginseny, diclofenaco y heparina gel 1000 UI, mostraron nivel de evidencia y grado de recomendación moderado. La heparina gel es el único compuesto con indicación de la Agencia Española del Medicamento para tratar la flebitis post-perfusión, el notoginseny no está comercializado en Occidente y el diclofenaco es un antiinflamatorio utilizado en diversas patologías. Es merecedor de especial atención el tratamiento con aloe vera a la espera de estudios más concluyente

Arterial stiffness is associated with adipokine dysregulation in non-hypertensive obese mice

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Vascular Pharmacology 77 (2016): 38-47, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vph.2015.05.012The aim of this study was to characterize alterations in vascular structure and mechanics in murine mesenteric arteries from obese non-hypertensive mice, as well as their relationship with adipokines. Four-week old C57BL/6J male mice were assigned either to a control (C, 10% kcal from fat) or a high-fat diet (HFD, 45% kcal from fat) for 32 weeks. HFD animals weighed 30% more than controls (p < 0.001), exhibited similar blood pressure, increased leptin, insulin and superoxide anion (O2radical dot−) levels, and reduced adiponectin levels and nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Arterial structure showed an outward remodeling with an increase in total number of both adventitial and smooth muscle cells in HFD. Moreover, HFD mice exhibited an increased arterial stiffness assessed by β-values (C = 2.4 ± 0.5 vs HFD = 5.3 ± 0.8; p < 0.05) and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV, C = 3.4 ± 0.1 vs HFD = 3.9 ± 0.1; p < 0.05). β-Values and PWV positively correlated with leptin, insulin or O2radical dot− levels, whereas they negatively correlated with adiponectin levels and NO bioavailability (p < 0.01). A reduction in fenestrae number together with an increase in type-I collagen amount (p < 0.05) were observed in HFD. These data demonstrate that HFD accounts for the development of vascular remodeling and arterial stiffness associated with adipokine dysregulation and oxidative stress, independently of hypertension developmentThis work was supported by grants from Ministerio de Ciencia e Investigación (BFU2011-25303), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (SAF2009-09714, SAF2011-25303, BFU2012-35353), Grupos Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM; GR-921641), Fundación Universitaria CEU-San Pablo, Fundación Mutua Madrileña and Sociedad para el Estudio de la Salud Cardiometabólica (SESCAMET). MGO is recipient of a Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia fellowshi