Self-Esteem at University: Proposal of an Artificial Neural Network Based on Resilience, Stress, and Sociodemographic Variables

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a useful predictive tool for a wide variety of fields of knowledge. Despite this, the educational field is still an environment that lacks a variety of studies that use this type of predictive tools. In parallel, it is postulated that the levels of self-esteem in the university environment may be related to the strategies implemented to solve problems. For these reasons, the aim of this study was to analyze the levels of self-esteem presented by teaching staff and students at university (N = 290, 73.1% female) and to design an algorithm capable of predicting these levels on the basis of their coping strategies, resilience, and sociodemographic variables. For this purpose, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the Brief Resilience Scale were administered. The results showed a relevant role of resilience and stress perceived in predicting participants’ self-esteem levels. The findings highlight the usefulness of artificial neural networks for predicting psychological variables in education

The medaka mutation tintachina sheds light on the evolution of V-ATPase B subunits in vertebrates

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.Vacuolar-type H+ ATPases (V-ATPases) are multimeric protein complexes that play a universal role in the acidification of intracellular compartments in eukaryotic cells. We have isolated the recessive medaka mutation tintachina (tch), which carries an inactivating modification of the conserved glycine residue (G75R) of the proton pump subunit atp6v1Ba/vatB1. Mutant embryos show penetrant pigmentation defects, massive brain apoptosis and lethality before hatching. Strikingly, an equivalent mutation in atp6v1B1 (G78R) has been reported in a family of patients suffering from distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA), a hereditary disease that causes metabolic acidosis due to impaired kidney function. This poses the question as to how molecularly identical mutations result in markedly different phenotypes in two vertebrate species. Our work offers an explanation for this phenomenon. We propose that, after successive rounds of whole-genome duplication, the emergence of paralogous copies allowed the divergence of the atp6v1B cis-regulatory control in different vertebrate groups.IM holds a posdoctoral contract supported by the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant [268513]. This work was supported by grants BFU2008-04362, BFU2011-22916 and P11-CVI-7256 to JRMM.Peer reviewe

Sox2, Tlx, Gli3, and Her9 converge on Rx2 to define retinal stem cells in vivo

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License.-- et al.Transcriptional networks defining stemness in adult neural stem cells (NSCs) are largely unknown. We used the proximal cis-regulatory element (pCRE) of the retina-specific homeobox gene 2 (rx2) to address such a network. Lineage analysis in the fish retina identified rx2 as marker for multipotent NSCs. rx2-positive cells located in the peripheral ciliary marginal zone behave as stem cells for the neuroretina, or the retinal pigmented epithelium. We identified upstream regulators of rx2 interrogating the rx2 pCRE in a trans-regulation screen and focused on four TFs (Sox2, Tlx, Gli3, and Her9) activating or repressing rx2 expression. We demonstrated direct interaction of the rx2 pCRE with the four factors in vitro and in vivo. By conditional mosaic gain- and loss-of-function analyses, we validated the activity of those factors on regulating rx2 transcription and consequently modulating neuroretinal and RPE stem cell features. This becomes obvious by the rx2-mutant phenotypes that together with the data presented above identify rx2 as a transcriptional hub balancing stemness of neuroretinal and RPE stem cells in the adult fish retina.DI received fellowships from the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS); TT received a fellowship of the Hartmut Hoffmann Berling International Graduate School (HBIGS) in Heidelberg. The project was supported by the Collaborative Research Center SFB 873 (J.W.) of the German Research Foundation (DFG).Peer Reviewe

Vitronectin regulates Sonic hedgehog activity during cerebellum development through CREB phosphorylation

12 páginas, 7 figuras.During development of the cerebellum, Sonic hedgehog (SHH) is expressed in migrating and settled Purkinje neurons and is directly responsible for proliferation of granule cell precursors in the external germinal layer. We have previously demonstrated that SHH interacts with vitronectin in the differentiation of spinal motor neurons. Here, we analysed whether similar interactions between SHH and extracellular matrix glycoproteins regulate subsequent steps of granule cell development. Laminins and their integrin receptor subunit alpha6 accumulate in the outer most external germinal layer where proliferation of granule cell precursors is maximal. Consistent with this expression pattern, laminin significantly increases SHH-induced proliferation in primary cultures of cerebellar granule cells. Vitronectin and its integrin receptor subunits alpha(v) are expressed in the inner part of the external germinal layer where granule cell precursors exit the cell cycle and commence differentiation. In cultures, vitronectin is able to overcome SHH-induced proliferation, thus allowing granule cell differentiation. Our studies indicate that the pathway in granule cell precursors responsible for the conversion of a proliferative SHH-mediated response to a differentiation signal depends on CREB. Vitronectin stimulates phosphorylation of cyclic-AMP responsive element-binding protein (CREB), and over-expression of CREB is sufficient to induce granule cell differentiation in the presence of SHH. Taken together, these data suggest that granule neuron differentiation is regulated by the vitronectin-induced phosphorylation of CREB, a critical event that terminates SHH-mediated proliferation and permits the differentiation program to proceed in these cells.This research was supported by grant PM97-0018 to Dr Ignacio Torres Alemán and by grants PM97-0019 and BIO4-CT98-0399 to Dr Paola Bovolenta, in whose laboratories this research was carried out.Peer reviewe

Burnout, Resilience, and COVID-19 among Teachers: Predictive Capacity of an Artificial Neural Network

Emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and work inefficiency are three dimensions that define burnout syndrome among teachers. On another note, resilience can be understood as the ability to adapt to the environment and overcome adverse situations. In addition, COVID-19 has provided a threatening environment that has led to the implementation of resilience strategies to struggle with burnout and cope with the virus. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between resilience, burnout dimensions, and variables associated with COVID-19 through the design of an artificial neural network architecture. For this purpose, the Maslach Burnout InventoryGeneral Survey (MBI-GS), the Brief Resilience Coping Scale (BRCS), and a questionnaire on stress towards COVID-19 were administered to 419 teachers from secondary schools in southeastern Spain (292 females; 69.7%). The results showed that 30.8% suffered from burnout (high emotional exhaustion, high cynicism, and low professional efficacy) and that 38.7% had a high level of resilience, with an inverse relationship between both constructs. Likewise, we modelled an ANN able to predict burnout syndrome among 97.4% of teachers based on its dimensions, resilience, sociodemographic variables, and the stress generated by COVID-19. Our conclusions shed some light on the efficacy of relying on artificial intelligence in the educational field to predict the psychological situation of teachers and take early action

Doctors and Nurses: A Systematic Review of the Risk and Protective Factors in Workplace Violence and Burnout

The present study aims analyze the risk factors that lead to high levels of burnout among nurses and physicians and the protective factors that prevent them. Thus, it is also intended to explore the possible correlation between physical and verbal violence produced at work and the symptoms derived from burnout. Methods: The search was carried out on the Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science databases between 2000 and 2019 (on which date the bibliographic search ends). Descriptive studies estimating the prevalence of workplace violence and risk and protective factors and burnout were included. An adapted version of the Downs and Black quality checklist was used for article selection. 89.6 percent of the studies analysed were in the health sector. There is a significant correlation between burnout symptoms and physical violence at work. On the one hand, the risk factors that moderate this correlation were of structural/organisational type (social support, quality of the working environment, authoritarian leadership, little autonomy or long working days, etc.) and personal type (age, gender, nationality or academic degree, etc.). On the other hand, protective factors were the quality of the working environment, mutual support networks or coping strategies. The results were analysed in-depth and intervention strategies were proposed

Stress, Coping, and Resilience Before and After COVID-19: A Predictive Model Based on Artificial Intelligence in the University Environment

The COVID-19 global health emergency has greatly impacted the educational field. Faced with unprecedented stress situations, professors, students, and families have employed various coping and resilience strategies throughout the confinement period. High and persistent stress levels are associated with other pathologies; hence, their detection and prevention are needed. Consequently, this study aimed to design a predictive model of stress in the educational field based on artificial intelligence that included certain sociodemographic variables, coping strategies, and resilience capacity, and to study the relationship between them. The non-probabilistic snowball sampling method was used, involving 337 people (73% women) from the university education community in south-eastern Spain. The Perceived Stress Scale, Stress Management Questionnaire, and Brief Resilience Scale were administered. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 24) was used to design the architecture of artificial neural networks. The results found that stress levels could be predicted by the synaptic weights of coping strategies and timing of the epidemic (before and after the implementation of isolation measures), with a predictive capacity of over 80% found in the neural network model. Additionally, direct and significant associations were identified between the use of certain coping strategies, stress levels, and resilience. The conclusions of this research are essential for effective stress detection, and therefore, early intervention in the field of educational psychology, by discussing the influence of resilience or lack thereof on the prediction of stress levels. Identifying the variables that maintain a greater predictive power in stress levels is an effective strategy to design more adjusted prevention programs and to anticipate the needs of the community

Predicción de la resiliencia docente mediante redes neuronales arti-ficiales: influencia del burnout y del estrés por COVID-19

Antecedentes: La resiliencia en el profesorado permite afrontar situaciones difíciles y reponerse a la adversidad existiendo diferencias de género al respecto. Asimismo, la inteligencia artificial y las técnicas asociadas a ella han resultado ser de gran utilidad para predecir variables educativas y estudiar la interconexión entre ellas tras la COVID-19. Dicho esto, el objetivo general de esta investigación fue predecir los niveles de resiliencia en las profesoras y profesores de Secundaria a través del diseño de una red neuronal artificial (RNA). Método: Se administró la Escala Breve de Afrontamiento Resiliente, el Inventario de Burnout de Maslach y el Cuestionario de Estrés frente a la COVID-19 a 401 docentes de secundaria (70.6% mujeres) de centros educativos del sureste español, con una edad media de 44.36 años (DT= 9.38). Resultados: Se hallaron diferencias en la configuración de los modelos predictivos de la resiliencia entre profesoras y profesores contribuyendo las variables independientes en diferente grado en función del género. Conclusiones: Se pone de manifiesto la utilidad de las RNA en el ámbito educativo y la necesidad de diseñar programas más ajustados.Background: Resilience in teachers allows them to face difficult situations to recover from adversity and there are gender differences. Likewise, artificial intelligence and the techniques associated with it have proven to be very useful in predicting educational variables and studying the interconnection between them after COVID-19. That said, the general objective of this research was to predict the levels of resilience in secondary school teachers through the design of an artificial neural network (ANN). Method: The Brief Resilient Coping Scale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the COVID-19 Stress Questionnaire were administered to 401 secondary school teachers (70.6% female) from schools in southeastern Spain, with a mean age of 44.36 years (SD = 9.38). Results: Differences were found in the configuration of the predictive models of resilience between male and female teachers, with the independent variables contributing to different degrees depending on gender. Conclusions: It is highlighted the usefulness of ANNs in the educational setting and the need to design more adjusted programs

Control of early cell death by BDNF in the chick retina

8 páginas, 6 figuras, 1 tabla.The developing chick retina undergoes at least two discrete periods of programmed cell death. The earlier period coincides with the main onset of neuron birth and migration (embryonic day 5-7), whereas the latter one corresponds to the well-documented process of retinal ganglion cell death following tectal innervation (embryonic day 10-14; Rager, G. H. (1980) Adv. Anat. Embryol. Cell Biol. 63, 1-92). In the early period, apoptosis is induced by nerve growth factor (NGF) acting via its p75 receptor (Frade, J. M., Rodríguez-Tébar, A. and Barde, Y.-A. (1996) Nature 383, 166-168). Here, we show that the application of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to chick embryos in ovo prevented retinal cell death in the early period, whereas exogenously applied NGF and neurotrophin-3 had no such effect. The addition of BDNF to embryos resulted in about 70% increase in the number of retinal ganglion cells in both E6 and E9 retinas relative to controls. BDNF is first expressed in both the pigment epithelium and neural retina of embryonic day 4 embryos, and at the same stage of development, its TrkB receptor is expressed in the neural retina. Our data indicate that early cell death is an important process in the neurogenesis of retinal ganglion cells and is regulated by locally produced BDNF.This research was financed by grants from the DGCYT (Ministery of Science of Spain, no. PB95-0025 and PB94-0102-B), Regional Governments of Madrid and Canary Islands, Spain, and European Union, Programme Biotech (no. 960024).Peer reviewe