Desigualdad de género y convergencia en los países de la UE-28 (2005-2015)

En este trabajo se compara la situación de los países de la Unión Europea en términos de igualdad de género, y se analiza si los países con mayores desigualdades (los orientales) han logrado reducir la brecha con los más avanzados (los nórdicos) en el periodo 2005-2015. Para ello, examinamos "alfa"-convergencia y "beta"-convergencia utilizando datos de panel del Índice de Igualdad de Género para los 28 países de la Unión. Los resultados muestran cierto acercamiento en términos de equidad de género. Esta convergencia se ve condicionada por las diferencias educativas entre los países

Preclinical Development of RNAi-Inducing Oligonucleotide Therapeutics for Eye Diseases

RNA interference (RNAi) is a posttranscriptional mechanism of gene regulation present in eukaryotic cells. Inducers of RNAi are small molecules of RNA that act in the cytoplasm where they are able to impair translation of a specific mRNA to protein, hence modifying gene expression. The discovery of this mechanism in mammals led to the development of a new class of therapeutics with the aim of exploiting this endogenous mechanism of action. In the last decade, great efforts have been put into understanding RNAi and translating this accumulated knowledge into the design of modern therapeutics. With several compounds in phase III clinical development, the field is getting closer to its first market authorization. Here we make a thorough overview of the field of RNAi therapeutics in ophthalmology, one of the fields in which RNAi has been most successful

Features of birth families with foster children in Andalusia

The aim of the presentation is to describe the personal features of biological families whose children are in non-kinship foster care and with whom they have face-to-face contact in Málaga, Granada and Jaén (provinces of Andalusia, Spain). This study was funded by the research project Application of a psychoeducational intervention program to improve visits between foster children and their biological families (Reference EDU2016 77094-P). SPSS v.21.0 was used to carry out the descriptive and frequency analysis of socio-demographic information collected by the Child File Summary Form designed for this study. The results show the difficulties experienced by birth families to deal with the responsibility of parenthood. There is a high percentage of unemployment (54.5% mothers, 46.4% fathers), and a low level of education (61.7% uneducated mothers, 68.8% uneducated fathers). Furthermore, it is necessary to consider their diverse personal problems which undermine their competences to bring up and educate their children: substance abuse, mental health issues, mental disability and prison. Finally, the lack of relation between Social Services and birth families is highlighted. Knowing the circumstances of families at psychosocial risk permits to develop social policies that match with their specific necessities, by providing them the support and resources required, in line with Recommendation Rec(2006)19 of the Committee of Ministers to member states. Moreover, children and families’ rights have to be respected, such as their right to have contact to maintain and strengthen their affective bonds as part of their identity. These findings will contribute to design: (a) family intervention programs which allow parents to acquire the necessary parental skills; (b) support and educational tools for the social workers; and (c) projects to contribute to children’s well-being.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Os jogos experimentais de sala de aula, uma ferramenta didática em cuidados paliativos

Objetivo Avaliar o efeito de um programa, baseado em jogos, sobre estudantes de enfermagem da disciplina cuidados paliativos, medindo o medo da morte por meio da Escala Collett-Lester. O desafio é inovar e integrar, na sala de aula, teoria e experiências próximas ao contexto do luto. Método Estudo quase-experimental. Realizaram os questionários 101 e 11 estudantes, antes e depois da intervenção dos jogos, respectivamente. Disciplina ministrada no primeiro semestre do terceiro ano. Resultados Os estudantes obtiveram valores médios moderados na variável “medo da morte” (entre 14 e 19) para os dois momentos (pré e pós). Homens e mulheres aumentam esses valores de medo no pós-teste, ao mesmo tempo que diminuem sua “percepção sobre preparo emocional”, evidenciando-se o valor dos jogos ao expor o estudante a situações próximas às reais. Conclusões Consideramos que a ferramenta didática dos jogos, aplicada no contexto da sala de aula, fornece ao estudante a oportunidade de reconhecer o medo que a proximidade da morte gera, tanto no doente e na família, quanto nele próprio.Objective To evaluate the effect of a games-based intervention on palliative care nursing students’ scores on the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale. The challenge was to innovate and integrate grief-related theory and experiences into the classroom. Method Quasi-experimental study. Before and after the games-based intervention, 101 and 111 students completed the questionnaires, respectively. The intervention was performed in the context of a palliative care class taught during the first semester of the third year of the nursing programme. Results The students obtained moderate mean scores on the variable fear of death (between 14 and 19) at both time points (pre- and post-intervention). Both men and women indicated a heightened sense of fear post-intervention and a decrease in self-perceived emotional preparedness, which support the value of the games for exposing the student to situations that closely approximated reality. Conclusion The use of games as a didactic tool in the classroom context helped the students recognize the fear generated by proximity to death in the patient and family and in the student him- or herself.Objetivo Evaluar el efecto de un programa, basado en juegos, sobre estudiantes de enfermería de la asignatura cuidados paliativos, midiendo el miedo a la muerte mediante la Escala Collett-Lester. El desafío es innovar, e integrar en el aula, teoría y experiencias cercanas al contexto de duelo. Método Estudio cuasi-experimental. Realizaron los cuestionarios 101 y 111 estudiantes, antes y después de la intervención de los juegos, respectivamente. Asignatura impartida en el primer semestre de tercer curso. Resultados Los estudiantes obtuvieron valores medios moderados en la variable “miedo a la muerte” (entre 14 y 19) para ambos momentos (pre y post). Hombres y mujeres aumentan estos valores de miedo en el post-test, a la vez que disminuyen su “percepción sobre preparación emocional”, evidenciando el valor de los juegos, al exponer al estudiante a situaciones cercanas a las reales. Conclusión Consideramos que la herramienta didáctica de los juegos, aplicada en el contexto del aula, facilita que el estudiante pueda reconocer el miedo que genera la cercanía de la muerte, tanto en el enfermo y familia, como el propio

Effect of thermal mass activation on concrete mechanical properties of building structures

The aim of this work is to study the concrete behaviour of thermo-active slabs and foundations due to the inclusion of embedded pipes in which fluids circulate at low temperatures

Population Disequilibrium as Promoter of Adaptive Explorations in Hepatitis C Virus

Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Virus de l'hepatitis C; Vacunes universalsCoronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Virus de la hepatitis C; Vacunas universalesCoronavirus SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; 2019-nCoV; Hepatitis C virus; Universal vaccinesReplication of RNA viruses is characterized by exploration of sequence space which facilitates their adaptation to changing environments. It is generally accepted that such exploration takes place mainly in response to positive selection, and that further diversification is boosted by modifications of virus population size, particularly bottleneck events. Our recent results with hepatitis C virus (HCV) have shown that the expansion in sequence space of a viral clone continues despite prolonged replication in a stable cell culture environment. Diagnosis of the expansion was based on the quantification of diversity indices, the occurrence of intra-population mutational waves (variations in mutant frequencies), and greater individual residue variations in mutant spectra than those anticipated from sequence alignments in data banks. In the present report, we review our previous results, and show additionally that mutational waves in amplicons from the NS5A-NS5B-coding region are equally prominent during HCV passage in the absence or presence of the mutagenic nucleotide analogues favipiravir or ribavirin. In addition, by extending our previous analysis to amplicons of the NS3- and NS5A-coding region, we provide further evidence of the incongruence between amino acid conservation scores in mutant spectra from infected patients and in the Los Alamos National Laboratory HCV data banks. We hypothesize that these observations have as a common origin a permanent state of HCV population disequilibrium even upon extensive viral replication in the absence of external selective constraints or changes in population size. Such a persistent disequilibrium—revealed by the changing composition of the mutant spectrum—may facilitate finding alternative mutational pathways for HCV antiviral resistance. The possible significance of our model for other genetically variable viruses is discussed.The work at CBMSO was supported by grants SAF2014-52400-R from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO), SAF2017-87846-R and BFU2017-91384-EXP from Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), PI18/00210 from Instituto de Salud Carlos III, S2013/ABI-2906 (PLATESA from Comunidad de Madrid/FEDER), and S2018/BAA-4370 (PLATESA2 from Comunidad de Madrid/FEDER). C.P. is supported by the Miguel Servet program of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (CPII19/00001), cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). CIBERehd (Centro de Investigación en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas) is funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Institutional grants from the Fundación Ramón Areces and Banco Santander to the CBMSO are also acknowledged. The team at CBMSO belongs to the Global Virus Network (GVN). The work in Barcelona was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III, cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Grant No. PI19/00301 and by the Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial (CDTI) from the MICIU, Grant No. IDI-20200297. Work at CAB was supported by MINECO grant BIO2016-79618R and PID2019-104903RB-I00 (funded by the EU under the FEDER program) and by the Spanish State research agency (AEI) through project number MDM-2017-0737 Unidad de Excelencia “María de Maeztu”-Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA). C.G.-C. is supported by predoctoral contract PRE2018-083422 from MCIU. B.M.-G. is supported by predoctoral contract PFIS FI19/00119 from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo), cofinanced by Fondo Social Europeo (FSE)

Effect of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on Inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Depression Biomarkers in Women With Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Study objectives: The effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on mediators of cardiovascular disease and depression in women with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is unknown. We aimed to assess the effect of CPAP therapy on a variety of biomarkers of inflammation, antioxidant activity, and depression in women with OSA. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, randomized controlled trial in 247 women diagnosed with moderate-to-severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] ? 15). Women were randomized to CPAP (n = 120) or conservative treatment (n = 127) for 12 weeks. Changes in tumor necrosis factor ? (TNF?), interleukin 6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were assessed. Additional analyses were conducted in subgroups of clinical interest. Results: Women had a median (25th-75th percentiles) age of 58 (51-65) years, body mass index 33.5 (29.0-38.3) kg/m2, and AHI 33.3 (22.8-49.3). No differences were found between groups in the baseline levels of the biomarkers. After 12 weeks of follow-up, there were no changes between groups in any of the biomarkers assessed. These results did not change when the analyses were restricted to sleepy women or to those with severe OSA. In women with CPAP use at least 5 hours per night, only TNF? levels decreased compared to the control group (-0.29 ± 1.1 vs -0.06 ± 0.53, intergroup difference -0.23 [95% CI = -0.03 to -0.50]; p = 0.043). Conclusions: Twelve weeks of CPAP therapy does not improve biomarkers of inflammation, antioxidant activity, or depression compared to conservative treatment in women with moderate-to-severe OSA

Are Traditional Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) Landraces Valuable to Cope with Climate Change? Effects of Drought on Growth and Biochemical Stress Markers

[EN] Agrobiodiversity and adaptability to environmental changes derived from global warming are challenges for the future of agriculture. In this sense, landraces often have high levels of genetic variation, tightly connected with the changing environmental conditions of a territory. The genus Phaseolus, with five domesticated species, is one of the most important sources of proteins, carbohydrates and micronutrients in various countries. This study aimed to compare the adaptation capacity to drought, in the vegetative growth phase, of a commercial cultivar and two landraces traditionally cultivated in the Mediterranean basin of Phaseolus lunatus (Lima bean). Growth and biochemical responses of the analysed genotypes to different water¿deficit treatments were evaluated and compared. In addition, the effectiveness of the voltammetric method for evaluating stress levels in cultivated plants was tested. The studied parameters revealed that P. lunatus is a drought tolerant species, showing similar results for the three cultivars. However, contrary to what was expected from the germination phase results, the commercial variety Peru showed some better responses under water stress conditions. Finally, the voltammetric method proved to be a good and fast tool for assessing oxidative stress in cultivated plants, showing results in agreement with total phenolic compounds and total flavonoid fluctuations.Martínez-Nieto, MI.; González-Orenga, S.; Soriano, P.; Prieto-Mossi, J.; Larrea, E.; Doménech-Carbó, A.; Tofei, AM.... (2022). Are Traditional Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) Landraces Valuable to Cope with Climate Change? Effects of Drought on Growth and Biochemical Stress Markers. Agronomy. 12(7):1-20. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy1207171512012

Programa de preparación de las familias biológicas y acogedoras para mejorar la calidad de las visitas

Tras la trayectoria del grupo de investigación en acogimiento familiar, se pone de manifiesto la necesidad de mejorar la calidad de las visitas entre los niños en acogimiento con familia ajena y su familia biológica. En concreto, se pretende diseñar y aplicar un programa de intervención psicoeducativa de preparación y apoyo dirigido a las familias biológicas y las familias acogedoras. Este trabajo forma parte de un Proyecto de Excelencia I+D (EDU2016 77094-P), financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, titulado "Aplicación de un programa de intervención psicoeducativa para mejorar las visitas entre los niños acogidos y sus familias biológicas". Los participantes en el estudio son: a) las familias biológicas que mantienen contactos con los niños que se encuentran en acogimiento con familia ajena; b) las familias acogedoras de dichos menores, y c) los técnicos responsables de la supervisión de las visitas. Se realizará un diseño pretest-intervención-postest y la intervención se desarrollará en 7 sesiones de forma consecutiva, con la periodicidad que establezca el régimen de contactos de cada familia. Esta intervención consiste en una propuesta sistemática y organizada que establece de forma secuencial los principales contenidos a tratar en la preparación de las visitas. Algunas de las temáticas a abordar con las familias biológicas son aprender a transmitir mensajes adecuados a los niños, proponer los tipos de regalos y juguetes que pueden llevar a las visitas, entrenarles en habilidades específicas de comunicación, entre otras. En el caso de las familias acogedoras se pretende mostrar la importancia de preparar al niño acogido para las visitas con su familia biológica, comprender y ayudar a los niños acogidos a expresar las emociones que les producen los contactos con sus familiares, analizar las posibles dificultades que puedan provocar las visitas en el desarrollo de la vida familiar de los acogedores, etc

Long term follow-up of a full- arch rehabilitation with an implant-supported overdenture on four zirconia implants and a zirconia bar. A case report

This clinical report describes a mandibular full-arch rehabilitation by means of an implant-supported overdenture on four zirconia implants. A female patient with an edentulous mandibular arch attended our dental clinic seeking a metal-free mandibular re